Crochet Brown Bunny

I made another critter from my stash. What do you think of this Crochet Brown Bunny? Isn't he sweet in his little blue scarf with a blue and white fringe? I especially love his fluffy white pompom tail.

 

 

If you would like to make a similar looking bunny, I loosely followed this free pattern by blogger Sharon at Amigurumi To Go just changing the ears, legs and arms to make my Crochet Brown Bunny unique. 

Wishing you all a Healthy and Hoppy New Year in 2019
from meo my crochet.

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Crochet Christmas Bear

What's red and white and cute all over? 

It's a Crochet Christmas Bear of course. 

This year for Christmas I crocheted a polar bear using red and white yarn from my stash. His eyes, nose and smile were stitched in black. 

I took a couple photos in the house then headed outside for a proper photo shoot in the snow. What do you think? Isn't he perfectly adorable?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the crocheters out there who might like to make a similar looking bear, I loosely followed this Christmas Bear pattern by blogger Yellow Pink and Sparkly. For the hat, I followed this free pattern by blogger Planet June adding two rows to make it fit my bear a bit better.

Wishing you all a Bear-y Merry Christmas from 
meo my crochet.

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Tale of Thomas Orphan

My husband's family name "ORPHAN" can be traced back to Thomas Orphan, a 2-week old foundling "dropt at a Hospital gate" in the County of Cumberland on April 25, 1764. Documents show Thomas was "taken into the Hospital very young, quite helpless and forsaken and deserted by Parents and Friends. Out of charity he had been fed, clothed and instructed." The Governors of the Hospital sent Thomas to apprentice with a carpet manufactury in Lowther, Northumberland with instructions "to serve his Master until 21 years old" in order to pay back his debt to society. Thomas lived to be 79 years old dying in 1843.

Tony Callaghan a local artist with a booth at the Western Fair Market called "Sidhe Ring" totally transformed an old wooden highchair that has been in my family for over 80 years - my Uncle Bill's chair. 

Tony illustrated the story of the origins of my husband's family name ORPHAN carving whimsical images onto the back, seat and arms of the highchair along with a beautifully written story on the back of the tray.

We provided the highchair, a copy of the original document (above) and suggested using images incorporating faerie doors, faeries, woodland creatures, birds and trees.

I absolutely love, love, love what Tony did with our chair. It's even better than I imagined. I especially love how it illustrates the Tale of Thomas Orphan and celebrates the ORPHAN name. 

 

Tale of Thomas Orphan

(inscribed on bottom of tray)

"Twas a wet cold April morn in the year of our Lord 1764. On the steps of an Alms House in a wicker cradle a childe was left. Burlap and moss around a fair sleeping babe, upon his chest spelt out with twigs was the name THOMAS. The Alms House received its new guest without enthusiasm, another foundling 2 be fed by the generosity of Lord Sir James Lowther patron and carpet purveyor and manufacturer in Northumberland. At 2 weeks old, Tom as the work house girl called him, was a bonny bairn indeed if not a little fey in looks (they made a sign of the cross). He was fair skinned, brown/black of eye with slim nimble digits. The latter would be useful indeed in later years when his apprenticeshipe would come into being. Fed, nursed, bathed (on occasion) schooled and disciplined, Thomas grew lithe, quiet, and curious of every mundane routine he endured. Till the year of our Lord 1774, Thomas enters a new world as an aprentice carpet maker in the factory of Sir James for the period of 11 years to pay off the debt of care from the Alms House he owed."

(inscribed on bottom of seat)

"this story comes to providence in the year of our Lord, 2018 and the rest of this story be history."

Thank you Tony for making this chair into something truly special ... a treasure for our family.

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Bernat Handicrafter Holidays

Recently I bought a big ball of Bernat Handicrafter Holidays cotton yarn to crochet dishcloths ... an easy practical gift to give at Christmas. 

This big ball of yarn made fourteen and a half dishcloths. I folded the dishcloths twice and tied them in bundles of two to give as hostess gifts.

With the half dishcloth, I joined the short ends to make a cup cozy ... perfect for mugs without handles when they're too hot to hold.

If you would like to make dishcloths too, you can find my free pattern here. It's one of my favourite easy things to make.

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Pink Boo Bears

I have been busy making Boo Bears using pink yarn from my stash. So far I have made a total of four. Four Pink Boo Bears each with a unique look and character created using different types of pink yarn.

I usually start with the head then make a hood to fit. Next I make and attach the ears before adding a face. I prefer to keep the face simple stitching two black eyes plus a nose and sometimes eyelids. From there I make the legs and body followed by two arms and a tail. 

This Pink Boo Bear posed before and after joining. I love how the final assembly creates a new little Boo Bear ready and waiting to be cuddled. 

The next Boo Bear was made using slightly thicker yarn so is bigger than the rest. Also this Boo Bear's arms are a slightly different shade of pink. Working with yarn from my stash often requires improvisation.

So far I have finished four Pink Boo Bears. Two tall dark Pink Boo Bears and two small light Pink Boo Bears. The bigger bears were made with chunky yarns and the smaller bears with fine fuzzy yarn. 

All four of my Pink Boo Bears had fun posing together for these photos. 

 

 

Each Pink Boo Bear looks a little bit different yet still completely cute. 

If you would like to make a similar looking Boo Bear, check out my free pattern here. As always, happy crocheting.

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A Lamb and a Pumpkin

A Lamb and a Pumpkin together ... a perfect pairing for fall.

I continue to crochet using yarn from my stash most recently completing A Lamb and a Pumpkin. 

This lamb was was made using a multi-coloured textured yarn for the hood and body while the face and legs were made using beige worsted weight yarn. The textured yarn was challenging as it varied from thin to thick tending to snag and catch on the hook. Challenging yet so worth the extra effort. I love the look of this lamb. Isn't he sweet?

 

In keeping with the season, I also made a little orange pumpkin. 

A Lamb and a Pumpkin ... most definitely a perfect pairing for fall.

If you would like to make an adorable Little Lamb similar to this one, you can find the free pattern here designed by blogger Ashleigh at Sewrella.

If you would like to make a cute little pumpkin, you can find that free pattern here designed by blogger June at PlanetJune.

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Three Bear Hats

Our daughter and granddaughter stopped to admire hand-made hats on Pearl Street in Boulder. When our daughter mentioned Grammeo could make hats like that, our granddaughter asked for a bear hat. One without ear flaps. She is totally into bears these days.

They sent a photo for reference. Like this, but without the bee please.

I started our granddaughter's bear hat one week before our trip to Boulder. The first one was too big. I could tell because it fit me. The second one looked about right. I couldn't be sure because our daughter forgot to send measurements. Since these hats worked up quickly, I did one more in a smaller size for our littlest grandson making Three Bear Hats in total. A perfect surprise for our granddaughter and daughter.

 

 

 

 

 

These Three Bear Hats were a big hit with our granddaughter. She enjoyed donning her hat pretending to be a bear. Our youngest grandson tolerated his hat for short periods. The largest hat fit our daughter perfectly. I can just picture the three of them dressed as bears on cold winter days walking to school to pick up our oldest grandson ... so sweet.

To make these hats, I used worsted weight acrylic yarn in brown, off-white and black with a 5.0 mm hook. For the base of the hat I followed this panda hat pattern at Repeat Crafter Me making three sizes: child, toddler/preschooler and 9-12 months. I made the ears from my Buster Bear pattern. The muzzle is a simple circle worked using half double crochet. The nose is an elongated circle in single crochet. I added button eyes and embroidered the face using the long tail from the nose. Hats like these are an easy project sure to impress the little ones in your life.

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