Summer Bucket List

 Okay, It's the beginning of June. I came up with the idea of making a 50-point list of items I've been meaning to make, and see if I can get through the list over the course of the summer. I do have two big craft shows in July, so I may be doing some emergency restocking in the two weeks between the shows if show #1 goes well. 

So, I'm compiling this list by looking around... looking at patterns I've printed, but not done yet, yarn I have around that I'd like to use up, summer challenges, etc. I'll give a little explanation of why that project popped into my head, and as I finish items, I'll add pictures here. Let's see if I can knock off all 50! 

1. Ballerina Kitty - it's a great seller, would like to have a few for the big sales

2. Ankylosaur - Again, a best seller, I would like to have 3 or 4 for my big shows.

3. Bumble Bees - I have yellow & black bulky yarn! 

4. Glow in the dark alien - I have glow in the dark yarn! 

5. Fancy Frog - blue stained glass skirt (using Fancy Fur yarn I have left over)

6. Goldfish (#amibookchallenge for June) - from the book Crocheted Softies

7. Avocato - my June challenge from the "Bought, not Made" category

8. Highland Cow mini - saw a pic online, just have to make it

9. Mesh Sweater - #MYC624 - crocheted sweater for ME! 

10. Scrappy Tote - #MYC624 - I'm going to do a color block tote

11. Easy Crochet Scarf - #MYC624 (because I'm trying to ace this challenge)

12. Strawberry Stitch blanket square #MYC624

13. Ice Cream Stitch Blanket Square #MYC624

14. Tulip Stitch Blanket Square #MYC624

15. Edelweiss Dishcloth #MYC624

16. Baby Booties #MYC624

17. 2 x 2 Rib Knit Hat #MYC624

18. Spiral Knit Hat #MYC624

19. My Dachshund - best seller

20. Afternoon Stroll Cowl  #MYC624

21. Pastel Stripes Loaf Kitty - because I have leftover yarn from a striped chicken

22. Rainbow Turtle - because I don't think I have one in stock

23. Schnauzer - #amialong2024

24. Parasaurolophus - #amialong2024

25. Cockatiel - #amialong2024

26. Bulky sea turtle - good seller, and I have bulky yarn to use up

27. Purple Monster - I need to test my pattern and review the yarn!

28. June Monster of the Month - Because I design a new month each month! 

29. Pink puppy - because pink yarn from the #blairstitchproject24 is calling to me (I sort of cheated by making #20 in pink...)

30. Gray Donkey - because I love the Duo Donkey pattern and think he'll look great in gray! 

31. Purple Hilde - because I don't have one in stock

32. Retro Stripes Hilde - because I don't have one in stock

33. Toby the Baby Dragon - because I made one before and it was super cute

34. Colorful chicken - because I made one before and it was super cute

35. Trunk the Turtle - cute turtle with removable shell

36. Cactus - finish up yarn from kit

37. Pink Frog - because the pattern is cute! 

38. Purple Frog - Let's make a rainbow of my favorite frog pattern! 

39. Yellow Frog - see above

40. Blue Frog - see above

41. Puddles the Duck - made before, it sold

42. Duck on a swing - so cute

43. Mallard on a swing - let's try this variation

44. Eagle on a swing - and another

45. Cute Dino - green / yellow - restocking sold item

46. Bearded Dragon - restocking sold item

47. Hedgehog using Fancy Fur (because I have Sooooo much Fancy Fur!)

48. Purple Possum - sounds cute to me! 

49. Chubby Mouse - I bought the pattern months ago, but haven't made it yet! 

50. Mini Penguin - purple

35 down, 15 to go! 

The #BlairStitchProject24 begins!

 

I felt like some shopping therapy today... But I wanted to keep the cost down, since May has been an awful month for sales. My first show of the month didn't go well, and it's been a month since I had a sale in my Etsy shop. So I figured I'd just swing by the Goodwill on my way to Walmart and see if they had any yarn in the color of the week. 

But... as I was driving in that direction...I saw that the Blair Farm was having their spring garage sale, and they always have a yarn corner! 

I filled up a reusable tote I had in my car and headed to the checkout at the front of the barn... I got 3.6 pounds of yarn for $12.75 (all I had on me!)

I have this in a separate box, and will be keeping track of the items I made from the yarn. I'll be sharing them here, on Instagram, and on my YouTube channel, tagged with #BlairStitchProject24 

See those three fluffy pastel yarns in the bottom right? Actually, there were four, and one of them became a fluffy little hedgehog, project #1! 

Happy Coffee Cup #2

   #3 - Frog on a Swing. I played yarn chicken with this one and lost. I was going to make little eye bumps for this frog on a swing, but ran out of yarn. So I embroidered the eyes. He looks pretty goofy. Then he kept flipping over on the swing, so I had to sew the ropes to his head. Ouch!  
I had seen a picture for a cute little chicken, the size you can hang from a backpack. I tried making up on freehand... 

 Maybe a little too long... 

Oh, that's better. Make another one! 

 or two... or three

 A few more scrappy projects with the small balls of yarn: a pink possum, two turtles, a micro cat and a scrappy loaf cat!

 

 There was some rug yarn in the mix, so I made a couple of coasters. 

April Monster of the Month

April Monster of the Month

This month’s monster is a cheerful little guy, with a few different design features. I mix up rows and rounds in the head/body to give it more of a boxy shape. The foot/leg section has a built-in ankle.

 

Made with worsted weight yarn and an F hook, he measures about 9” tall.

 

I used 2.1 ounces of the main color, less than half an ounce of the accent color, and less than a yard of white and black for eye accent and smile.

 

I used 15 mm safety eyes

 

Start at the top with main color. First section is worked in rows. Note: the body is done in HDC, while arms, legs and horns are made in SC

Row 1: Ch 13. Starting in 2nd ch from hook, hdc 12.

Rows 2-4: Ch 1, turn, hdc 12. 

Row 5: Do not turn. Add an additional hdc in the same stitch just worked. Turn your work and work 4 hdc down the side, with an additional hdc in the corner. Turn work and make 12 hdc across, with an additional hdc in the corner stitch. Turn and work 4 hdc up the side. Place one more hdc in the corner. (36: 12 on each long side, 4 on each short side, and one additional hdc in each corner)

 

Now we work in continuous rounds. Use a stitch marker to mark your beginning point to help keep track of rows.

Round 1: BLO hdc (36)

Rounds 2-8: hdc (36)

 

Now we go back to working back and forth. If needed, hdc over to the beginning of a long row. 

Row 1: BLO hdc 12

Rows 2-4: ch 1, turn, hdc 12. FO, leaving long tail for sewing closed.

 

Fingers (make 8 in accent color)

Ch 4. Starting in 2nd chain from hook, sl st 3. FO, leaving a 2” tail for attaching.

 

Arm (Make 2 in main color)

Round 1: Ch 5. Starting in 2nd chain from hook, sc 3, 3 sc in last chain, turn work and sc 2, inc in the back side of the chain. (10)

Rounds 2-7: sc (10) (See note below about attaching fingers.)

Finish off after row 7, leaving a tail to sew arms to body.

 

After row 2, attach fingers. Your starting chain will have four small holes.  Pull your starting tail for the first finger through 1st hole and your finishing tail through the 2nd hole. Triple knot your yarn ends. Trim close to the knot. 

Continue with three more fingers. Finger #2 will go in holes 2 & 3, Finger 3 in hole 3 & 4, Finger 4 in hole 4 and the adjacent sc in round 1.

 

Possible variations: you can make your fingers longer with a longer starting chain. Since the arms are not stuffed, you could go up with your hook size to make the arms more flexible. 

 

 

Foot (make 2 in main color)

Round 1: sc 6 in mr

Round 2: inc x 6 (12)

Round 3: *sc, inc* x 6 (18)

Rounds 4-5: sc (18)                                                                                

Round 6: *sc 4, dec* x 3 (15)

Round 7: *sc 3, dec* x 3 (12)

Stuff lightly and fold the top together. Sc 5 across the top. 

Ankle transition: 

Ch 1, turn, hdc 5 (5)

Ch 1, turn, FLO sc 5, turn your work and BLO sc 5 on the other side. (10) Now we will go back to working in the round again. 

Round 1: sc (10)

Round 2: (sc, inc) x 5 (15)

Rounds 3-6: sc (15) FO, leaving a tail to sew to body. You can stuff the legs or leave them unstuffed to make him more of a sitting monster.

 

Horns (make 2 in accent color)

Round 1: 4 sc in MR (4)

Round 2: inc, sc 3 (5)

Round 3: inc, sc 4 (6)

Round 4: inc, sc 5 (7)

Round 5: inc, sc 6 (8)

Round 6: inc, sc 7 (9)

Round 7: inc, sc 8 (10)                                                                    

FO, leaving tail to sew to head. 

 

Eyebrows: (make 2 in accent color)

Ch 7. Starting in 2nd chain from hook, sl st, sc, hdc, dc 3. FO, leaving tail to sew to head. 

 Place safety eyes between rounds 4 & 5, with 6 stitches between. Before securing safety eyes, place the eyebrows above the eyes to make sure you have enough room. Use a little white yarn to make an accent on the outer side of each eye. Sew eyebrows over eyes, with the thickest part at the center of the face. Embroider a mouth over round 6. Stuff head/body and sew the bottom flap closed.

Sew the horns on the top of the head. I placed mine close to the outer edges.

Sew legs to the bottom of the head/body. I positioned my legs so that  the edges lined up with the edges of the bottom of the head/body.

 

Sew arms to the side of the body, even with the bottom of the eyes.

Possible variations: add some hair between the horns: a mohawk, a few strands of yarn, or dreads. To make dreads, I take about a yard of yarn and pull a loop through a stitch where I want the dread. Then, using a K hook, I crochet a chain using both strands of the yarn. When I run out of yarn, I finish off the chain, pulling the yarn nice and tight, and trim the ends to make them even.

Thank you to Bonnie for testing my pattern for me! Here is her adorable monster!