Herbert the Owl

My middle son asked me to make him a stuffed owl.

He even specified certain details he wanted the owl to have: "black pupils and flappy wings."

And as much as I...don't enjoy stuffed animals as much as my kids do, in an effort to be the ever-doting mom I am (um, not really....), I decided I had a mission to accomplish and a challenge to complete. So I checked my stash of yarn and whipped this cutie right up yesterday afternoon and finished it this morning.

This owl worked up really quick and easy and it turned out completely adorable. I used a basic hat pattern (+ several simple increases and inches) to form the body, and simple crocheting techniques to do the eyes and wings.

I present to you, Herbert the Owl

Here's the pattern in case you're interested in making your own Herbert or "whooo"-ever!

Supplies:

• J10 hook
• Worsted weight yarn. For the owl body, I used just short of one skein of Vanna's Choice "Barley," which is a chocolate brown with flecks of cream and black. Perfect & owl-y, right? For the eyes, any white yarn will do. For the wings and black pupils and beak I just used scraps of black, forest green, and orange.
• Stitch marker to put at the beginning of each round to keep track of your rounds.
• Tapestry needle to sew in ends and to make beak and pupil details.
• A few handfuls of polyester stuffing you can buy at a craft or fabric store.
• The pattern assumes you know basic crochet terminology and stitches.

First, make the body:

Round 1: Start with magic ring and 6 sc in ring
 (This great tutorial is where I learned to make a magic ring a few years back).
Round 2: 2 sc in each st, around
Round 3: 2 sc in next st, sc in next st around
Round 4: 2 sc in next st, sc in next 2 sts around
Round 5: 2 sc in next st, sc in next 3 sts around
Round 6: 2 sc in next st sc in next 4 sts around
Round 7: 2 sc in next st, sc in next 5 sts around
Round 8: 2 sc in next st, sc in next 6 sts around
Round 9: 2 sc in next st, sc in next 7 sts around

Now you're done with the increases and you'll just continue to crochet around until you have a body shell that's as tall as you want it to be. This particular owl measures approximately 10"x10".

Don't tie off the body just yet. Leave it attached to your skein of yarn until it's time to stuff!

Set the body aside and make two eyes. 

Start with a magic ring and 6 sc in ring.
2 sc in each st around
2 sc in each st, sc in next st around
Go one more round of increases (2 sc in each st, sc in next 2 sts around) if you want the eyes to be bigger.
Tie off ends but leave a long enough tail to sew onto the body.

Next, make two wings--you can use two colors or one, it's up to you!

Start with magic ring and 6 sc in ring.
2 sc in each st around
2 sc in each st, sc in next st around
2 sc in each st, sc in next 2 sts around
2 sc in each st, sc in next 3 sts around
Tie off ends and leave a long tail for sewing the wing together and attaching it to the body.
Next, fold wing in half, and sew together from the top down the round side of the circle, only halfway down so that half of it is closed and half is open.

Approximate the placement of  owl eyes and wings and grab your tapestry needle. 

Attach the eyes to the body by sewing around the whole circle. I like to put the eyes right next to each other so they touch ever-so-slightly.
And the wings need to go on the front-ish sides of the body. Sew those on, too!
At this point, it's all coming together, you just need to add the details!

I'll be the first to admit—sewing in the details is not my biggest strength. There was a lot of guessing involved but I think it turned out okay.

Beak:
Take two strands of orange yarn and just...sew a beak, starting right between the bottom of the eyes and working your way down to form a triangle. Tie off and knot ends on the wrong side of the front of the body.
Pupils:
Then, take two strands of black yarn and sew pupils. I just guessed how to do this and it worked out pretty good.  You can use your magic ring circle to guide your needle! Tie off and knot ends on the wrong side of the front of the body.

Now that everything is sewed on, it's time to stuff and close!

Bring together the front and back of the body in a straight line. Take your long piece of yarn from where you left off with crocheting the body (the yarn that's still attached to the skein) and slip stitch through both the front and the back stitches—4 stitches total that you'll go through at each slip stitch. Stitch that sucker closed across the top of the body, about 1/2 way or 3/4 of the way across.
Take your stuffing and fill up your owl to the desired puffiness and fluff.

Pick up your hook again, and continue the slip stitch until it's all closed. Tie off and weave in ends!

And...you're done!

Enjoy!

Cheery Rainbow Scarf

Find this cutie here!

The Chevron Problem.

So. I think I have a problem. And really, when you think about it, there are worse problems to have. However. This one is growing a little out of control.

The problem? Chevron. As my friend would say, I'm "gently" addicted.

Okay.

Maybe not so gently?

Here's why I love it so:

• It's classic. 
• It's easy to crochet, but not boring.
• It works up relatively quickly. 
• It's versatile.
• You can do a lot with color and stripe work.
• It's always a hit.

And...as a bonus, (maybe not? I'm not sure yet?)

Chevron is really popular now. My first chevron afghan I made back in August 2011 and I haven't been able to stop! But it's everywhere. Rugs, dresses, necklaces, fabrics, paper...everywhere! I LOVE IT!

I've made two adult-size afghans, and am on my third baby blanket.

Here's one I made back in July for sweet baby J.

For sweet baby J's, I used KnitPicks (my fave!) Comfy Sport (my fave!) in Creme Brulee (that lovely mustard yellow) and Whisker (the amazing gray).

For each baby blanket, I use the Sunshine Baby Afghan pattern, which can be found here.

I always buy extra yarn but really need to keep better track of how much yarn I used for each blanket. With Comfy Sport, I used  probably 5-6 skeins of each color. Each skein makes one of the big stripes.

Currently on my hooks is a blue and white one for baby C due in February!

b&w stripey hat

Wow. It's been almost a year since my last crafty post.

Just. Wow.
 
I've been keeping busy crafting though, and am excited to share some new things here!

This hat I knit for an Etsy custom order, and it turned out really cute. The only direction I had from the buyer was that she requested the colors. She left the design up to me.

I used my basic adult sized hat pattern, and this Mother's Day Flower from Lion Brand website. I knit 3/4" black and white stripes, and the hot pink flower makes the stripes pop!

It turned out very adorable and hope that the recipient loves it as much as I do!

Blanket Envy

The throw I crocheted for Lindsay turned out to be quite popular.

My sisty, Kelly, asked me to make one for her, too. She wanted different colors and different yarn, but still wanted the chevron wide-stripe.

She chose Knit Picks (my fave!) Swish Worsted yarn in Black and Marble Heather. A great feature of this yarn is that it is machine washable merino wool. But not the scratchy kind of wool. It's super soft and it has a nice drape and weight to it. And it's SUPER duper warm.

It's an honor to be a part of a family heirloom. Enjoy, Blumbergs!

Lindsay's Chevron Throw

I wanted to make a chevron blanket for my sister-in-law, Lindsay, for her birthday, and so I based one off of this Berroco pattern called Madrid.

However, I didn't want that much color so I stuck with Berroco Comfort  (acrylic & nylon) in Hackberry Heather & Ivory and I modified it to 4" wide stripes. The pattern states to work in the back loop of each stitch, which gives it this amazing & visible texture.

Some tricks that I learned along the way:

• TRUST the pattern. Especially on the downslope. It doesn't seem like it will line up, but it all works out in the end.
• Always count your stitches, 9 up & 9 down. 
• At the end of each row and section, I chained one in the working color and then started the new color with my sc in the next stitch.

I love how it turned out!