Tuesday, April 30, 2013

LET'S DO THE TWIST

Oliver Twist

Introducing Oliver.  Oliver Twist to be more precise.  Although, sometimes we call him Ollie, and sometimes we call him Pick Pocket (he likes to steal anything he can get his little mouth on and make us chase him around the house).  Once in a while, you may even hear him being referred to as The Little Dickens!

Oliver is a Coton de Tulear.  His hair is super soft and feels like cotton, hence the name.  This breed is from Madagascar.  Oliver is 7 months old, although we've only known him for two weeks.  When full grown, he should only weigh about 8.8 to 13 lbs.  Oliver is very playful, affectionate, and extremely intelligent.  He loves to have fun.  He is very circus-like.  Cotons are known to have a habit of jumping up and walking on their hind legs to please people.  We have even seen Oliver do somersaults!  Cotons love meeting new people and are very curious in new situations. They are easy to train and very eager to please.  They are also great with kids and other animals. This breed, much like the Bichon Frise, has hair, therefore, it is a great pet for allergy sufferers.  They do not shed!

Oliver, or whatever we may call him, has once again brought happiness and laughter back into our home!

S.W.A.K.

P.S. - I just finished knitting a snazzy sweater for this little guy in colors to match his circus-like demeanor.

Monday, April 29, 2013

TUTTI FRUTTI

I was just messin' around and whipped up some new crochet cherry hair ornaments to replace the ones I made last year (I never made a post about that).  Frannie goes through a lot of hair ornaments.  These are a little different in that I made a long stem to attach the cherries.  I figure she can just tie them around her braid instead of using the hair bands I usually secure them to.  I'm hoping these will be easier to put on in the morning.  Last year's cherries were pink,  but I was in the mood for red this year.  They look pretty darn cute dangling off the back of her hair.  I love cherries.

S.W.A.K.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON

I had a request for a set of crochet covered hangers.  I did not have a pattern, but did have a some original hangers to copy from.  Frannie has received many of these from her Great Aunt Grace.

It starts with a wooden coat hanger, most of which I find at tag and estate sales.  Since these are for a little girl, the hanger gets cut down to measure 12" (6" on each side of the hook).  I used worsted weight #4 acrylic yarn (it's okay to use the cheap stuff here - you know what kind I mean) and two different sized hooks (that's because I chain tightly - do what works for you).  With white yarn and size "I" hook, I chained 47 then switched over to pink yarn and chained an additional 4 stitches for a total of 51.  With a "G" hook, in the 4th chain from the hook (6 double crochet, skip 2 chains, 1 single crochet, skip 2 chains, 6 double crochet) - repeat until you have crocheted 9 clusters and then continue your pattern around on the other side.  Slip stitch in first double crochet.  End pink yarn.  With white and starting at the center point (just after the third double crochet stitch in the 5th cluster), single crochet around entire piece, but where the two clusters meet on each end, put in 2 single crochet to go around the curve.  Slip stitch in first single crochet.  Make two pieces because you need a front and a back.  At this point, if you prefer, you can cover the metal hook.  Starting at the top of the hook, make a loop with your yarn and using the "G" hook, begin slip stitching all the way to the end.  Leave a long tail and wrap it around the wood part of the hanger just to be secure.  No need to weave in any of the previous yarn tails because these all get hidden by the crochet cover.  Now place together the front and back crocheted pieces with wrong sides facing and begin slip stitching them together - again beginning at the center point.  Work 3/4 of the way around and then insert your hanger - continue slip stitching until you reach the beginning and then slip stitch into your first stitch.  Finish off by weaving in your yarn tail.

Using a "C" hook, I tightly chained 100 to make a cord for a pom-pom and tied it around the hook.

(I sure do hope all this makes sense!)

Frannie would like me to make her some new crocheted hangers.  I will make them using a full-size hanger and just crochet more clusters.  Instead of pom-poms as an embellishment, Frannie has decided that some crocheted flowers and leaves would be more grown up.  I agree.

S.W.A.K.


Thursday, April 11, 2013

RAINING IN OUR HEARTS

GEORGIE
March 14, 1999 - April 10, 2013
a.k.a.
Pookie
The Pookster
Captain Georgie
Sweetie
Honey
Baby
etc.
etc.
etc.
S.N.I.F.F.