Granny Circle

Image from Where Your Heart Is. (But first spied at Oh Happy Day!)

Note that stool cover as a possible cosy cover idea for the bathroom's toddler step stool. I could totally make that!

UPDATE: Apparently, this is a cover to beautify a rattan stool.

Crochet: Raffia

Where it all started.

Fayme Harper's video tutorial - she also covers shaping and dyeing

Crochet Asylum's raffia

Plastic Yarn

Inspired by Gooseflesh.

Cristen Crochet's plastic yarn tutorial.
Gooseflesh's plastic yarn tutorial.
About.com's trickier option.

Baskets: Vietnamese Rice Baskets

Image from Lantern MoonInspired by Soule Mama's photo on her blog of her Ghanaian market basket, I was determined to get a proper knitting basket.

While looking for such a basket, I stumbled upon Lantern Moon's even lovelier, to my eyes anyway, rice baskets from Vietnam. I decided to give the smallest one a try and, continuing the cautious streak, ordered a plain one.

It has since arrived and been in constant use. It is lightweight but strong and despite being the smallest one holds quite a lot: one almost complete TSJ (i.e., Toddler Suprise Jacket), two balls of yarn, the pattern, three magazines, and occasionally an ipod or even some toys. It is very pliable but keeps a nice, deep upright shape so your goods do not spill out and roll away.

Another perk is that, like a Transformer, the upper portion with the handles can tuck down into the bottom half so that it can be stored stacked, or filled like a bowl. This made me love it even more. I am trying to justify a second one!

I am sure they would be great for holding so many other things!

Tentacles, Part I

So blame it on my trawling around Flickr, Etsy, and the usual haunts but I have reinvigorated my enthusiasm for cephalopods and other tentacled creatures.

Check out the work by Wunderkammer. I like that she stays true to life without getting all Disney/Cutesey/Anime. This means, essentially, that the eyes are in the right place and not necessarily in the best place for a cartoon franchise. But the name, crocheted Cuddlefish (for Cuttlefish), does make me smile. I must add the pattern to my archive.

Dooptheory has some exquisite little octopi and squids.
I am so tempted to buy one but haven't come up with a solid justification just yet. Her design is her own and very cute while not straying far from reality. I am so tempted to commission a red, red, red one.

Image by Dooptheory
Partly to blame for my renewed interest is stumbling across Tokkyu2222 Takoyama.
His Octopi are exquisite and BIG.
When I am rich(er), I would like to commission him to do one.

Image by Tokyo2222

And while not cephalopods, Ugly Gerbil's Cthulhu Babies do have tentacles galore. I find their single, glaring eye irresistable. I confess that a red one is in the mail.

Blocking

Flexible Interlocking Tiles by Coco Knits and at KnitPicks
EZ Blocking Boards, Large Format Bi-fold Format
Wondermat, a thrifty alternative

African Flower

A beautiful take on the hexagon.

Image by MIA Inspiration.

Pattern by Elizabeth Cat.
1st Round: Chain 5 stitches and join with slip stitch to form a ring.
2nd Round: Chain 3 (count as first dc), 1 dc in ring, (1 chain stitch, 2 db in ring) 5 times, 1 chain stitch, join with slip stitch to first dc (6 shells).
3rd Round: Join next colour and crochet in each of the 6 chain spaces: (2 dc, 1 chain stitch, 2dc). Join with slip stitch to first dc.
4th Round: Join next colour and crochet 7 dc in each of the 5 chain spaces. Join with slip stitch to first dc.
5th Round: Join next colour and crochet 1 sc in each of the next 7 dc, except between the 2 dc of the third row where you do a dc which you join to the 3rd round in order to form the petal - (7 sc and 1 dc) 6 times.
6th Round: Join next colour and crochet 1 dc in each sc, except for the middle of each petal where you crochet (1 dc,1 sc, 1dc) in each petal. Tie off.

*dc: double crochet, sc: single crochet

Please note that mine has sc in 6th row! I made the cushion first and got the pattern later!:)

Japanese Patterns

Whip Up

Plastic Coiless Safety Pins

Potential stitch markers at California Bird Nerds

Hexagons

Attic 24's Hexagon Tutorial
Basically ...
Round 1: Chain 3; Join with Slipstitch; Chain 3; DC (US) eleven times in ring; join ring with slipstitch.
Round 2: Chain 2, DC (US) into same stitch *DC (US) Bobbles Twice, Chain 1* eleven times through stitches of previous round. Join round with slipstitch.
Round 3: Chain 3; DC twice into same space, *DC (US) three times, CHain 1* eleven times through spaces of previous round. Join round with slipstitch.
Round 4: PUll loop through space and chain three; *slip stitch into next space and chain 3* into spaces of previous round. Join round with slipstitch.
Round 5: You are using the same colour as the last round, and you will be working the stitches under the chain-3 loops you created. So to begin, make a slip stitch under the nearest chain-3 loop.

Chain 3 (counts as one dc/tr), then US dc / UK tr twice. Chain 2 (this is the corner spacing), then in the SAME chain-3 loop, US dc / UK tr three times. This is your first corner, it should look like a double cluster of 6 dc/tr's with a pointy corner bit in the middle.

Into the next chain-3 loop, work US dc / UK tr three times. This is a single cluster and makes a straight side.

Into the next chain-3 loop, work US dc / UK Tr three times, chain 2, then US dc / UK Tr three times. This is your second corner.

Continue working your way round making your clusters of 3 dc's /tr's, alternating between making a double cluster corner group (with chain 2 spacing) and a straight side single cluster. You should be ending the round on a straight-side group of three dc's/Tr's. Join the round with a slip stitch and fasten off.

Moonstitches's Joining Tutorial


Haverhill Afghan at Garnet Hill