Crocheted Polar Bear

As soon as I finished the Crocheted Frog, I started working on this Crocheted Polar Bear featured in Vanessa Mooncie's Crocheted Wild Animals book. He was finished and ready for photos Saturday morning. 

Take a look. Isn't he simply adorable?

 

   

  

This Crocheted Polar Bear is the fourth thing I've made from the book. I've already started on a fifth. Can you guess what it is from the list below?

Here are the fourteen different animals featured in the Crocheted Wild Animals book with the ones I've completed so far marked "Made It". 

• Camel
• Elephant
• Polar Bear - Made It #4
• Deer
• Fox
• Monkey
• Rabbit - Made It #2
• Snake
• Lion
• Giraffe
• Owl - Made It #1
• Frog - Made It #3
• Flamingo
• Chameleon 

  

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Flowers for Mothers' Day

Our son left for Kenora last weekend to spend the summer fighting wild fires. Before he left, he bought me Flowers for Mothers' Day. 

I found this on the mantle along with a hand-written note last Friday when I got home from work. It was sweet of him to think of me with all the other things he had to prepare for his summer away. 

  

Thank you for buying me Flowers for Mothers' Day. I love this white Fuji Spider Mum paired with purple irises ... perfect choice.

In case you're wondering, our son has been sending regular updates from Kenora this week. He loves where he's staying (a cottage on a lake with three other young men) and loves that he gets to work fighting wildfires. 

I found a video series online called "Playing With Fire". My son tells me he knows some of the people in the videos. They are his coworkers. 

About Playing With Fire:

"Drought and climate change have turned Canada’s forests into fire bombs that go off every summer. In Ontario alone, there are over 1000 blazes each year. Even with new technology, the essential weapon in the fight against fires is the initial attack crews. These firefighters are ready at a moment’s notice to protect our forests, our communities and our lives. Playing With Fire is the story of two northwestern Ontario crews, one in Kenora and the other in Sioux Lookout."

As you can imagine, I will be sending lots of 'stay safe' wishes his way.

I am truly happy for him and looking forward to hearing all about his adventures. It's bound to be an exciting summer. 

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All Three Together

I have three of Vanessa Mooncie's crochet books: Crocheted Wild Animals, Animal Heads - Trophy Heads to Crochet and Crocheted Sea Creatures. 

I bought all these books on the recommendation of a friend and fellow crocheter who had been working with the Crocheted Sea Creatures book for almost a year. Since my friend had already made a bunch of beautiful sea creatures, I decided to start with Crocheted Wild Animals.

There are fourteen different patterns listed in the Crocheted Wild Animals book.

• Camel
• Elephant
• Polar Bear
• Deer
• Fox
• Monkey
• Rabbit - Made It #2
• Snake
• Lion
• Giraffe
• Owl - Made It #1
• Frog - Made It #3
• Flamingo
• Chameleon 

So far, I have finished only three of these woolly friends. My plan is to work through the book, in no particular order, crocheting one of each until all fourteen are completed. I'd like to take a photo of all fourteen together. We'll see if I actually manage to hold on to all of them long enough for that. "All Fourteen Together" is a lofty, long-range goal for me.

In the meantime, check out these photos showing All Three Together.

 

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Crocheted Frog

As soon as Rabbit was finished, I started on the frog featured in Vanessa Mooncie's Crocheted Wild Animals book. What's not to love about this Crocheted Frog with his big googly eyes and floppy jointed legs? 

He posed for a bunch of photos just to show off his moves really.

Coincidentally the green from my stash looks similar to the recommended yarn, so my Crocheted Frog looks very much like the frog in book. 

Just one more photo showing how Frog and Rabbit enjoy hanging together like two "hoppy-happy" friends.

Although I'm tempted to make another frog in blue or some other cool colour, I am moving on for now making yet another animal from the book. As always, I will be sure to share photos when I finish. 

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Crocheted Rabbit

Once I finished my Seaside Ripple Blanket, I pulled out Vanessa Mooncie's Crocheted Wild Animals book again to pick my next project. Crocheting blankets is relaxing and fun, but I really LoVe making toys. And I really, really LoVe Vanessa Mooncie's crocheted wild animal patterns.

Since it was close to Easter at the time, I decided to crochet a rabbit. I love how this Crocheted Rabbit turned out. He is just so adorable with his huge ears and big feet. Take a look and let me know what you think.

To make this Crocheted Rabbit, I followed Vanessa Mooncie's rabbit pattern changing only the yarn and expression on his face. 

In case you're wondering, I used DK weight yarn left over from my blanket ... soft grey for the rabbit, white for his tail and cotton candy inside his ears. I stitched his face using dove grey with a bit of black for his eyes. 

As soon as this rabbit hopped off my hook, I started on a frog also from Vanessa's Crochet Wild Animals book. I will be sharing photos of the Crocheted Frog as well. Watch for them coming soon.

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Seaside Ripple Blanket

I am so happy to have finished this Seaside Ripple Blanket to show you.

I bought the yarn way before Christmas, but didn't start crocheting until January 3rd. I know because I wrote down the date. I also wrote down the starting chain, hook size, yarn colours and their order ... making it so much easier to complete this write up.

I bought 12 balls of yarn at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts in Port Huron then picked up 6 more balls at Michaels here in London at two-for-one sales. JoAnn's yarn turned out to be the better bargain because their buy two get one free sale was buy two and one is free while Michaels' was actually buy two get one free. I bought extra just to make sure I had enough for a blanket to fit our granddaughter's full size bed.

To make this blanket, I followed instructions covering Ripple Blanket Know How posted by blogger Lucy at Attic24. This is not my first ripple blanket and it won't be my last as it's possibly my favourite type to make.

I love how this Seaside Ripple Blanket turned out with ripply stripe upon ripply stripe in colours reminiscent of the sea creating a blanket so suitably named. Check out the photos to see what I mean.

This Seaside Ripple Blanket made with love from Grammeo is folded and ready for our granddaughter. She can get it when they're here in July or we can deliver it the next time we visit them in Boulder. 

Technical details for my Seaside Ripple Blanket are listed below for the crocheters out there who might like to make one too. 

Follow these free instructions covering Ripple Blanket Know How posted by blogger Lucy at Attic24. 

Starting Chain - 269 (19x14+3)

Finished Size - 94"(length) x69" (width)

2 rows per stripe 

91 stripes (182 rows)

7 colours

Time to Complete - Approximately 66 hours (40 mins per stripe + border)

Yarn Used (7 colours): Snuggly Wuggly by Loops and Threads (DK weight)

Dark Turquoise (3 balls) 

White (3 balls)

Dove Grey (2 balls) 

Soft Mint (2 balls) 

Cotton Candy (2 balls) 

Soft Grey (2 balls) 

Cool Baby (2 balls) 

Hook size - 4 mm

Eighteen stripes repeated five times ending with Dark Turquoise on the last repeat:

1.  Dark Turquoise

2.  White

3.  Dove Grey

4.  Cool Baby

5.  Cotton Candy

6.  Dark Turquoise

7.  White

8.  Soft Grey

9.  Soft Mint

10. White

11. Dark Turquoise

12. Dove Grey

13. White

14. Cool Baby

15. Dark Turquoise

16. Soft Mint

17. Cotton Candy

18. Soft Grey

Border Colours:

Round 1: Dark Turquoise

Round 2: Cotton Candy

Round 3: Dove Grey

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