Lucy Lamb

I am slowly working through my yarn stash making toys. I'd like to use up most of it before buying new to make another ripple blanket. Don't you think making toys is a good way to clear up yarn clutter? Luckily crochet critter clutter doesn't bother me.

This time I made a lamb and called her Lucy. Lucy loved posing to show off both her front side and back side. Isn't she cute with her big white fluffy body and lovely lamb ears? 

Lucy meets the rest of the gang and they hit if off right away.

To make Lucy, I used #4 worsted weight yarn for the legs, hands, head and inside ears, but the body, arms, hood and outside ears were made using #5 bulky weight yarn. The different yarn weights required pattern alterations to make everything fit. 

I've listed the alterations below in case you might like to make one too. 

Word of warning - my jot notes were scribbled and difficult to decipher, so I may have got it wrong in a few places. I do plan to test this pattern to make a kitten, so will be sure to provide updates if I find any errors.

lucy lamb PATTERN

PDF Version

Materials used:

partial ball of Patons Divine (#5 bulky weight yarn) in icicle white

partial ball of Patons Divine (#5 bulky weight yarn) in pink

partial ball of #4 worsted weight yarn in pink (100% acrylic)

partial ball of #4 worsted weight yarn in beige (100% acrylic)

Hook size = 3.5 mm

yarn needles to join pieces

Polyester Fiberfill for stuffing

Small amount of black yarn (for eyes)

Small amount of light pink yarn (for mouth)

Stitches used:

ch - chain stitch

ss - slip stitch

sc - single crochet

sc2tog - single crochet 2 together

Magic Circle - see how here (start each piece with magic circle)

Time to Complete - 10 hours (approximately)
Finished size - 13 inches tall

Legs (x2)

Start with pink worsted weight yarn

R1 - 6 sc (6)

R2 - inc x6 (12)

R3 - (sc inc) x6 (18)

R4 - (2 sc inc) x6 (24)

R5-R6 - sc around (24)

R7 - sc2tog x4 + 16 sc (20)

R8 - sc2tog x4 + 12 sc (16)

R9-R13 - sc around (16)

R14 - (3 sc inc) x4 (20)

R15-R16 - sc around (20)

R17 - (4 sc inc) x4 (24)

Switch to white Patons Divine yarn

R18 - sc around (24) 

Body

Use white Patons Divine yarn to join legs

R19 - sc around (50)

R20 - sc around (50)

R21 - (5 sc inc) x 7 + 3 sc (60)

R22 - sc around (60)

R23 - (8 sc inc) x 6 (66)

R24 - sc 24 + (sc inc + 2 sc) x6 + 25 sc (68)

R25 - sc around (68)

R26 - sc around (68)

R27 - sc around (68)

R28 - sc around (68)

R29 - (6 sc dec) x7 + 2 sc dec (60)

R30 - sc around (60)

R31 - sc around (60)

R32 - sc around (60)

R33 - (8 sc dec) x6 (54) 

R34 - 7 sc dec dec + 23 sc dec dec + sc to marker(50)

R35 - (3 sc dec) x10 (40)

R36 - sc around (40)

R37 - (8 sc dec) x4 (36)

R38 - sc around (36)

R39 - (4 sc dec) x6 (30)

R40 - sc around (30)

R41 - (2 sc dec) x6 (24)

R42 - sc around (24)

R43 - (1 sc dec) x6 (18)

R44 - sc around (18)

Finish off leaving a long tail for joining.

Arms (x2)

Start with pink worsted weight yarn

R1 - 6 sc (6)

R2 - inc x6 (12)

R3 - (sc inc) x6 (18)

R4 - sc around (18)

R5 - (4 sc dec) x3 (15)

R6 - sc around (15)

R7 - (3 sc dec) x 3 (12)

R8 - sc around (12)

R9 - (4 sc dec) x 2 (10)

R10-R11 sc around (10)

Switch to pink Patons Divine yarn

R12-R26 - sc around (10)

Switch to white Patons Divine yarn

R27 - sc around (10)

Finish off and cut yarn leaving a long tail for joining. Stuff only hands and part way up arm.

Head

Use beige worsted weight yarn.

R1 - 6 sc (6)

R2 - inc x6 (12)

R3 - (sc inc) x6 (18)

R4 - (2 sc inc) x6 (24)

R5 - (3 sc inc) x6 (30)

R6 - (4 sc inc) x6 (36)

R7 - (5 sc inc) x6 (42)

R8 - (6 sc inc) x6 (48)

R9 - (7 sc inc) x6 (54)

R10 - (8 sc inc) x6 (60)

R11 - sc around (60)

R12 - sc around (60)

R13 - sc around (60)

R14 - sc around (60)

R15 - sc around (60)

R16 - sc around (60)

R17 - sc around (60)

R18 - sc around (60)

R19 - sc around (60)

R20 - (8 sc dec) x6 (54)

R21 - sc around (54)

R22 - (7 sc dec) x6 (48)

R23 - (6 sc dec) x6 (42)

R24 - (5 sc dec) x6 (36)

R25 - (4 sc dec) x6 (30)

R26 - (3 sc dec) x6 (24)

R27 - (2 sc dec) x6 (18)

R28 - (2 sc dec) x3 + 6 sc (15)

R29 - sc around (15)

R30 - sc around (15)

Finish off and cut yarn leaving a long tail for joining. Stuff head and neck firmly to hold shape.

Hood

Use white Patons Divine yarn.

R1 - 6 sc (6)

R2 - inc x6 (12)

R3 - (sc inc) x6 (18)

R4 - (2 sc inc) x6 (24)

R5 - (3 sc inc) x6 (30)

R6 - (4 sc inc) x6 (36)

R7 - (5 sc inc) x6 (42)

R8 - (6 sc inc) x6 (48)

R9 - sc around (48)

R10 - sc around (48)

R11 - sc around (48)

R12 - sc around (48)

R13 - sc around (48)

R14 - sc around (48)

R15 - sc around (48)

R16 - sc around (48)

R17 - sc around (48)

R18 - sc around (48)

R19 - sc around (48)

R20 - sc around (48)

R21 - (8 sc dec) x6 (42)

R22 - ss loosely around (42)

Finish off and cut yarn leaving a long tail for joining. Position on head as shown in photos above. After attaching head to body, I like to wrap the tail from the hood around the neck to cover joining stitches.

Ears

I used this pattern for lamb ears provided by blogger Sarah at RepeatCrafterMe. The inner ear was made with a starting chain of 8 instead of 6, so it would fit nicely inside the outer ear made with bulky weight yarn.

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Crochet Fluffy Ripple Blanket

Remember the 12 balls of yarn I bought on sale at Michael's on Boxing Day? I decided to crochet a fluffy ripple ripple blanket for my son. Lion Brand Homespun Thick and Quick is not my favourite yarn to work with as it tends to stick and catch on the hook but it does make a soft fluffy blanket. It's just the sort of blanket our son prefers so worth the effort.

I bought 12 balls of yarn thinking it would be too much. I asked if I could return unused yarn and confirmed I needed to keep the receipt and return it within 60 days of purchase. No problem, I was hoping to finish this blanket before our son headed back to University on January 3rd.  

I used two colours to make this blanket; pearl and dove. Pearl is the slightly darker colour. When my son headed back to University, I was still three balls short of finishing and I was beginning to think I might have to buy more. In the end, I used all but a small amount of each colour.

I finished the blanket on Monday night but had to wait until Friday for some decent sunlight to take photos. Our son's room faces West but the sunlight fades fast after work. I plopped the folded blanket in the middle of his bed before unfolding it a bit then spreading it out across the bed.

The blanket fits crosswise on a queen size bed with lots of coverage down both sides. Twelve balls of bulky yarn make a really big blanket. I also stretched it out lengthwise on the bed. I like it this way as well.

I love the way this blanket looks and it really is oh so cuddly. Here is a closeup showing the stitches. I do love this colour combination. It's such a warm neutral look that I'm sure our son will love too.

So I've shown the blanket both crosswise and lengthwise on the bed but here is the way I imagine it will look when our son gets it, all crumpled and cozy and ready to use of course.

In case you would like to make a blanket just like this one, I've included the Nitty Gritty Details below:

I followed this basic crochet ripple pattern by blogger Lucy at Attic24.

Supplies:
12 balls of Lion Brand Homespun Thick and Quick yarn
  - 6 balls of pearl (creamy white and taupe)
  - 6 balls of dove (warm cream)
Hook size N 10 mm

Starting Chain = 129 (9 x 14 + 3)

Stripes worked as follows:
Start with 6 rows of pearl 
Alternate: 4 rows of dove (7 times) and 2 rows of pearl (6 times)
Finish with 6 rows of pearl

Border in pearl: 
Starting at lower right corner with front side facing up. 2 dc (double crochet) in each row end up the side. 3 sc (single crochet) in the corner and sc in each stitch across the top. 3 sc in next corner. 2 dc in each row end down the side. 3 sc in third corner and sc each stitch across the bottom. Finish with 3 sc in last corner. Join to first dc and finish off. Weave in all ends.

Finished size: 92" (wide) x 72" (high)

Note: Each ball worked approximately 4 rows with a starting chain of 129

Cost:
12 balls x $7.99 (sale price) = $95.88 + $12.46 HST = $108.34 Total
12 balls x $12.99 (original price) = $155.88 + $20.26 HST = $176.14 Total
Savings: $67.80

Total Time: 
I'm not really sure how many hours of work went into this blanket as I didn't time how long it took to finish each row. I can tell you I started December 27th and finished January 5th (10 days total). It was a relatively quick and easy project.

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