Window Shopping

Hey there!

It's been a while since my last blog-post (thank you all so much for your comments on my Starlight Baby Blanket, I'm glad you all like the pattern!). Today I thought I'd show you a round-up of things I've made recently to fill the shelves of my new DaWanda-Shop. But don't worry - this is not an attempt to lure you into my shop :) I know that the readers of my blog are more interested in making than buying, so I've included some pattern-links for you!

Although I'm really not a fan of amigurumi (there's far too much attention and concentration required for my taste *gg*) I sometimes stumble upon a pattern that's just too cute to resist, like this clown here:

It's a paid pattern by Mari-Liis Lille from Lilleliis, and I can tell you it's really worth the money! She's got a whole bunch of lovely patterns, so I've also made these cute Cuddly Babies:

Since both these dolls and my baby-blankets take some time to make, I also wanted to offer some smaller, quicker-to-make items in my shop, and so I've made a selection of baby teethers. Using wooden rings, I sealed them with coconut-oil and simply worked a few rows of single-crochet stitches around half the ring and added a little hanger (just because I thought it looked cute *gg*):

The idea for the other rings I've made is inspired by the Bunny Slope Teethers, a free pattern from Playin' Hooky Designs. To make the strap that is attached to the ring I didn't work in rows like the original pattern suggests, though, but made up a pattern myself that is worked in the round.

And of course, I've made some items that are based on my own patterns, like this set of spiral coasters...

... or some pincushions in different color-combinations.

And just because I've heard on Television that toilet paper covers are SO yesterday, I even made one of those using my latest mandala-pattern - just to prove a point :) Well, the cover still hasn't sold yet, but I'm not losing hope! :)

Last but not least, I felt like making some more crochet covered stones. If you've been following my blog from the start, you know that every once in a while I've made those stones as gifts, and I thought they'd be a nice addition to my shop.

Well, that was mostly it, I hope you've found some inspiration today :) 

Currently I'm working on yet another baby blanket, but it's taking me longer than expected. In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you the pattern (both graphic and written) for the c2c lion blanket I've made recently.

So stay tuned for the next blog post with the free pattern! :)

Have a great and sunny day,

New Spiral Coasters

Hello, hello!

How are you all doing on this second Sunday in Advent?

Here's a little something I've made from one of my own patterns. Although the Little Spring Mandala seems to be my most popular pattern (and post), I personally like my Spiral Coasters better. They're so quick and easy to make, and so I've made two new sets last week:

It's a set of six coaster, made with different shades of blue, turquoise and green, and so I've called it the "Ocean Breeze" set.

And here's the "Rosegarden" set, made with different shades of red, pink and purple:

Maybe I should have made a yellow one, too (you know, like "The Yellow Rose of Texas"), but then again - not everyone's a fan of Country Music and yellow wouldn't really fit into the Rosegarden-palette. Great, and now I've got Lynn Anderson's "Rosegarden" in my head! I beg your pardon... :)

These Coaster Sets are now available in my Etsy-Shop, but if you'd rather like to make some coasters yourself, you can find the free pattern here. Oh, and if you're looking for more inspiration, I'd suggest you hop over to the Project Gallery on Ravelry and check out all the lovely Spiral Coasters that other users have shared.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone,









Countdown: only 16 more days until Christmas-Eve! Yes, I love it!! :)

Spiral Coaster/Potholder Pattern

Pattern: Made in K-Town by Barbara 

 

Please respect my rights as designer: do not sell, share, translate, or publish any parts of this pattern (including pictures) online or elsewhere without my permission. Do not claim this pattern as your own. Feel free to sell the finished items you’ve made from my pattern! If you do, a link-back to my blog www.made-in-k-town.blogspot.de would be great.

Thank you!

Material:

Again, I used small amounts of Catania by Schachenmayer (cotton yarn) and a 2.5mm hook. My coasters measure 8.5cm in diameter (3.3") but the size will vary depending on the yarn you use.

Some general notes:

This pattern is written in US crochet terms. We’ll need the following stitches: chain stitch (ch), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc), and surface stitches (these will be explained below).

The most important thing: remember this is a spiral coaster, so do not join rounds, but work in a spiral! Use a stitch-marker, a contrasting thread or a paper clip to mark the first stitch of the round, and move the marker after each round.

 

1st Round: Start with a magic ring, ch1, then work 1sc, 1hdc, and 12dc into the ring (14 stitches)

2nd Round: Work 2dc in each stitch of the previous round (28 dc’s)
 

3rd Round: Repeat *dc in the next dc, 2dc in the next dc* around (42 dc's)

4th Round: Repeat *dc in the next 2 dc’s, 2dc in the next dc* around (56 dc’s)

5th Round: 1hdc in the next dc, (sc, ch6, sc) in the next dc (this will be the hanger), then repeat *skip one dc, work (sc, ch3, sc) in the next dc* around. If your stitch-count is right, your last sc-ch3-sc-group should be worked into the last dc of round 4.

Finishing the spiral: skip the hdc, sc in the next sc, work 8 sc’s into the ch6-space of the previous round, and finish with a slip-stitch to the next sc. Finish off.

Adding the surface stitches: hold your contrasting yarn at the back of your work, insert hook in between the hdc and the first dc in the middle of your spiral, yo, pull loop through the gap. Now you’ve got a loose loop on your hook (hold the end of your yarn tight for the first stitch!). *Insert hook in between the next two dc’s, yo, pull loop through the gap and through the loop on your hook*. It’s like working slip stitches. Work this way around, the spiral will form all by itself. Work your last stitch between the hdc and the sc at the end of the spiral, cut thread, yo, pull thread through the gap and through your loop and finish off (use your hook or a needle to pull the lose end through to the back again)

Weave in the lose ends and your first spiral coaster is finished - quick and easy, right? :)

This basic pattern offers some possibilities to be creative: e.g. you could use variegated yarn for a more interesting effect, and/or use a different color for the last round of the spiral, and/or work a larger spiral to make a potholder. I've combined those ideas to make this quick potholder:

Here's how I did it:

With variegated yarn (same quality as Catania) I worked the first 4 rounds as described above and continued in this style for 4 more rounds: *3 dc's, 1 increase* in the next round (70 dc's), then *4 dc's, 1 increase* in the next round (84 dc's), then *5 dc's, 1 increase* in the next round (98 dc's), then *6 dc's, 1 increase* in the next round (112 dc's).

Then I switched to another yarn for the last round, which is the 5th round of the coaster pattern above: the only difference is, that I made ch-8 for the hanger (instead of ch-6), and worked 10 sc's inside the hanger (instead of 8 sc's).

I've added the contrasting surface spiral exactly as described above, using the same color as I used for the border (off-white).

I hope you like this pattern! If you've got any questions, or find errors, please let me know! And if you've been here before, you know that I always love to see your finished coasters and potholders, too - so please feel free to leave a comment with a link to your blog or flickr picture :)

Want to see more Spiral Coasters? Check out the Project Gallery on Ravelry!

 

Spiral Coasters Preview

 Good morning lovely people! :)

Today I just want to show you a few pictures of the spiral coasters I've been making recently.

Again I've tried to use lots of different Catania colors, I just love the way they look all together, just like a colorful rainbow :) As you might notice, the coasters got little hangers - which is not necessary for the coasters to serve their purpose of course, but I think it's a nice extra, and - moreover - it makes the end of the spiral look less conspicuous. You might also notice that I've used surface stitches again (which I've done before in my Spring Mandala) - I'm quite addicted to those stitches right now, for they can create an interesting effect on any piece of crochet. I think you might see them more often in my projects now :)

Do you like my spiral coasters so far? They're very quick and easy to make, and I had so much fun taking the pictures and preparing them for posting. If you're interested in the pattern, please stop by again, I'm working on it!

Have a great week-end,