Crochet Fingerless Gloves

The past couple of months have been busy to say the least! I have made a few things as Christmas gifts but the one thing I have made more than one of were the fingerless gloves. When I was working on the very first pair of the adult ones, my little girl kept asking if she could have a pair too. After making 2 pairs in adult size I sat down and made her a pair. That day she wore them at home most of the day.

I have found the pattern here but have made a bit of a change to it by making the cuffs different and this way no buttons were needed. They are fun to make and wear!

the adult ones

the little girl one

I will definitely be making a few more pairs of these!

Crochet Christmas Gifts

With Christmas only 3 months away, I have started planning my presents for friends and family. Since my little boy was born 4 years ago, most of the family get the traditional calendar every year. I really enjoy making them and find them the perfect gift for grandparents and great grandparents.

Handmade gifts are always more special not only because they are hand made but also because there was a lot of time, thought and effort put into them.

When I make the calendars, I spend a lot of time editing the photos, choosing the design and layout and adding personal captions.

The same goes for anything crochet. Choosing the right yarn and the right pattern are just as important as picking the right colours and deciding on the right size for the right season.

Bellow are a few ideas that could make the perfect gift for that special someone.

 I love these crochet baby boots, the patterns were designed by Elizabeth Alan of The Lovely Crow. She has a few different boot patterns and they are equally beautiful.

Crochet Baby Hat & Booties Gift Sets

I have a few projects on the go right now. Some are almost done, some are halfway done, some only need buttons.
The reasons for this can be different:
I like to work on something on my way to work on the bus/train as I find dosing off on the way just makes me more tired. So I turn on my I-pod, turn on the little light above my seat as it is still dark being only 5 am, and start working on something. I like to have something smaller with me to work on while travelling.
 Sometimes I start a new project as a request from someone, so I will leave a different one to the side and work on that.
 Sometimes I just feel like starting something new.
Eventually everything gets finished...

My latest little finished projects were request for Baby Sets. I have made 2 different ones, both for little girls.

Baby Hat & MJ Booties Set made with Cotton-Modal yarn.

The green flower can be clipped on and off the hat and used as a hair clip too.

Baby Hat & Boots set made with Cotton-Modal yarn.

Both boot patterns were written by Elizabeth Alan of The Lovely Crow and her shop can be found here.

Give Away

As I have already announced on my Facebook page, I have decided to do a give away!!!

To enter all you have to do is become a member/follower of my blog and comment on at least one of my posts.

It is very simple!

And here is what the winner will receive!

A beautiful top for a little girl 3 - 6 months. The top is made with cotton-modal yarn. It has a little bit of shine to it and is very soft and comfortable!

Crochet Owl Hats

One of my girlfriends loves owls. So when she told me she was pregnant, I set out on a mission to find the perfect pattern for a perfect owl baby hat. I have searched every crochet website I could find including Etsy and Ravelry. I found many patterns for hats that had the owl eyes and ears but it wasn't what I was looking for. Eventually I have found the perfect pattern. I really love how the owl silhouettes go around the whole hat. They can be made in any colour or size and have a beautiful texture to them. Definitely one of my favourites.

The very first owl hat made for my friends little girl.

Owls in purple

Owls in cream

Pink and brown

Owls in silver/gray

Light violet with dark trim

The different sizes of the hats 

Crochet Girl Hats

I have made many cute hats for little girls and big girls since that very first one for my little girl. Bellow are just a few of the many. There are lots of possibilities for girl hats, not only for colour but also style, design, type of yarn. Every time I am working on one, my little girl asks me if that one is for her. She has had a few different ones and she will have a few new ones for the coming seasons.

Baby girl hat for Spring/Fall made with Cotton-Modal yarn 

Toddler girl hat made with sport weight Cotton-Modal yarn

Cotton blue and white hat made with worsted weight yarn.

Purple hat with green flower also made with sport weight Cotton-Modal yarn .

This one is mad with super-wash wool.

I love the rose colour of these hats combined with mauve made with cotton yarn.

Spring/Fall hat in purple cotton yarn.

The possibilities are endless and I could be posting photos for a long time if I wanted to post all of them. There are some hats that I have made and I have not taken any pictures of.

I like the qualities of wool but a lot of people find wearing wool itchy. We don't get cold enough winters to have to wear very thick wool hats but I did make some. My little girl liked hers and did not complain or itch.

Crochet Baby Booties

I love baby booties! They are so cute! With straps or without! There are many patterns available for a lot of different styles. I have searched around a lot and found my favourites but keep looking for more. The first time I wanted to make them was for my daughter. I found a couple of free patterns online and tried them out but found that the sole just did not work. I kept looking and finally found some on Etsy. I bought a couple of patterns to start with and try out but after that I kept getting more and I kept checking the designer's pages to see if they came out with new ones. Here are some of the ones I have made using one and the same pattern! They are fun and easy to make, add a little imagination for colour and for the buttons and you have unique, one of a kind booties!

Pink and Cream

Pink with Flowers

Purple

Dark Purple

Brown and Fuchsia

Bonbon

Purple with wooden button

Dark & Light Purple

I found the chocolate dessert buttons at the Arts & Crafts store and thought they would be fun to add on booties. I am always looking for something new. There are too many possibilities out there!

The pattern for the booties was designed by Elizabeth Alan and can be found here.

Crochet Baby Romper Photo Prop

Photography has always been my hobby and after coming to Canada I have found a few courses. Back then I was still using my film SLR and took more black and white photos than colour ones. I really enjoyed printing my own photos in the darkroom and watch the process off the image magically appearing on the paper in my chemicals. I still love and prefer traditional black and white photos to the ones printed from digital images.

 In 2007 I finally gave in and bought my digital SLR. I love that I can take 100+ photos in an hour and I don't have to have them printed all, I can delete the ones I don't like without wasting money on printing them out first. Especially when photographing babies and children I find it really handy as a lot of times they move, look away or make faces.

I love looking at other photographers work especially of babies. There are so many different ideas for props a photographer can use for taking amazing, unique, one of a kind pictures. I have been searching for crochet baby props around and found some that are really cute.

Ruffled baby bums are adorable and make for great props. Here is the one I made. The pattern I bought is ok, I am still searching for the perfect one.

I used Egyptian Cotton Yarn for this one and I really love the look of it.

My favourite photo prop is the Baby Romper.

 The pattern for this baby romper can be found here.

Front of the Romper

Back of Romper

Egyptian Cotton

While searching around on the internet for new yarn, I found WEBS which is an on-line yarn store. They have so many amazing yarns in hundreds of different colours and many different fibres.

I find the regular priced yarn on this site a bit too expensive for my budget but they do have amazing deals in the close out section. It is here that I have found this beautiful Egyptian Cotton yarn and instantly fell in love. I have ordered a few different colours not knowing exactly just yet what project I would be using them for. Once my order has arrived and I got to touch and feel my new yarn I knew I wanted to make something beautiful for a little baby. Something unique.

After searching around I found the perfect pattern -  The Piper Dress by Kristi Simpson.

                                         

Baby Fair

Exactly about a year ago a friend of mine asked me if I would participate in the very first local Baby Fair. She basically talked me into taking my little crochet creations out into the public for everyone to see. After making arrangements with my kids Auntie to watch the kids for the 4 hours on a Saturday morning in October, I have registered and rented a table to display my craft. I packed up my suitcase and pulled it all the way to the location of the event. I asked another friend to come with me just for support. I was excited and nervous, did not know what to expect or how to go about the whole thing. |

I was happy and proud as people stopped by and complimented on the little items on my table and even sold a few things. It was a great experience and I was happy I could show that crochet could be modern and fun, proving a lot of people wrong. There were some who did not even know what they were looking at and thought it was all knitted, not knowing the difference. And it was fun!

I hope one day I can teach my little girl to crochet. She loves arts and crafts...

Crochet Baby Girl Boots

I had fun making these little boots. I used a superwash wool yarn in two colours and the result was beautiful:

Without the flower

With the flower

The pattern can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sugar-and-spice-baby-set

Crochet Baby Boots

I have always loved the look of crochet baby boots. I have spent hours researching the internet for a free pattern that would work and I have also spent hours testing and trying these patterns - all without success! That is until I found The Lovely Crow on Etsy. She designs the perfect little baby boots for boys and girls and her patterns are amazing! They are easy to follow and at the end you end up with the perfect, most beautiful little boot. I have bought a few of her boot patterns and recommend investing into them!

 The pattern for these can be found here:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-cowboy-boots-pattern-baby-boot-scootn-boots

These little booties can be made for boys or girls, the colour options are endless with a little imagination.

Hats

Bellow you will find some of hats I have made so far.

I love looking at yarn, the beautiful colours and textures. I am also very specific, particular if you please, about the type of yarn I use. It has to be made from natural fibres: cotton, linen, silk, wool, modal...  I don't use and don't wear anything that is made out of polyester, nylon or any other man made material.

I made this little hat using 2 strands of yarn together - blue and brown sport weight yarn. I like the look of it 

I love the combination of blue and grey/silver on little boys. As I have a little boy I had to experiment with colours and textures. Hats aren't only for little girls, boys can have cute hats too and my little boy loves his hats.

This little hat was made with wool yarn for the winter.

A very simple yet cute hat. I used a cotton-modal yarn for this one.

Designers

I would like to share some of my favourite crochet designers. I have discovered their designs through Etsy.

Of course they all have a Facebook page too and they are easy to find.

http://www.facebook.com/monpetitviolon

http://www.facebook.com/TheLovelyCrow

I have tried many patterns from the 2 designers above and I really enjoy them. I find the patterns easy to read, they work and they do fit.

About me

Welcome to my blog, a tiny corner of the net, where I would like to share my creations and thoughts. 

My name is Marika. My nationality is Hungarian but was born in the former Czechoslovakia and now I live in Canada.

I am a single mom to two beautiful children. Just after my daughter was born over 2 years ago, I have decided that I needed to learn something new and challenging. I love to read but with my baby crying a lot and me not sleeping enough, I could not concentrate on the book I was reading and kept having to go back pages a re-read them. I needed something I could put down and pick up again later and I would not be lost, could just pick up and continue where I have left it off.

So the idea was born - learn to crochet. With the help of the internet - videos and crochet websites; and the library where I was able to find books, I learned to crochet. Through many trials and errors I made a little hat for my baby girl and I was very proud of it! It was not perfect as I had not mastered the art of pattern reading yet, but it did fit her head and I was very proud. She looked beautiful in it but I still wanted to make her the perfect one. Now, over two years later, she has many hats and still asks for more :). 

Being able to create something beautiful and wearable makes me very happy and I am constantly looking for new patterns and ideas.