Latte Baby Coat free knit pattern by Lisa Chemery

With a new great niece on the way an offer was made to crochet or knit matching outfits for the yet unborn baby girls and her older brother.  Our niece looked through many free patterns on the internet and settled on Latte Baby Coat by Lisa Chemery (click the name for link to pattern).  

The pattern is on Ravelry and an account is required to access all patterns, this is not an difficult process and there are amazing free patterns.

The pattern is clear and well written.  I did Youtube how to do the Woven Basket Stitch there are many to choose from here is the link that I used. 

The pattern called for four button we went with two and we used the weave to create the button hole.

Grandma Snyder

Free Cable Knit Dog Sweater Pattern

This is a Drops Design pattern #102 -43 

Click here to be linked with the pattern

This pattern worked up quickly and was easy to follow.

We doubled the length of the turtle neck and added 4 inches on to the end of the sweater so that it would fit our granddog Toaster.

We would recommend that if you are going to make this dog sweater that you create a 5 stitch button hole at the center back at the end of the turtle neck in the row prior to starting the cable.

We did not do this and our son asked that a hole be made for the lead to attach to the dog collar, so we cut and stitched a hole into the sweater – that was a few tense moments.

We are very happy with the result and recommend this free pattern by Drops.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

March 2016's Crochet Along on Google+

Lil' Baby Unicorn and Bobble Sheep

March was an exciting and anxious crochet month because while I have crocheted many things I have not developed my craft in the area of amigurumi.

This is a Japanese art form of knitting or crocheting small creatures.  They are three dimensional and often stuffed.  

The actual word according to Wikipedia  breaks down into two parts, 

ami crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi stuffed doll.

The actual March Crochet along project was Bobble Sheep.  

As members of this community we all have a vote on the projects and I voted for Lil’ Baby Unicorn.

I had fun making Bobble Sheep the pattern is easy to follow, now I would recommend not using black yarn because I found I had to work in full daylight as the stitches were difficult to find.

Click here to be directed to Bobble Sheep free pattern 

Once I had mastered the Bobble Sheep I moved on the project that excited me Lil’ Baby Unicorn and again the pattern is well written and easy to follow.  

Click here to be directed Lil' Baby Unicorn free pattern

Come and join us at Crochet Along on Google +

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Fancy Pants Crochet Pattern 5" Doll

This is our first crochet pattern and as full retirement approaches we hope to have more for both 5 inch dolls and 18 inch dolls.

Fancy Pants

Using size 10 cotton and a 1.75 crochet hook chain 40 stitches and join the chain into a circle with a slip stitch.

Round #1 single crochet in each stitch join round with a slip stitch

Round #2 single crochet in each stitch join round with a slip stitch

Round #3 single crochet in the first three stitches and then for the next 14 stitches single crochet into the back loop only and return to crocheting through both loops and join round with a slip stitch

Round #4 repeat round #1

Round #5 repeat round #3

Round #6 repeat round #1

Round #7 repeat round #1

Row #8 single crochet for 20 stitches turn

Row #9 chain 1 decrease one stitch and single crochet to last two stitches and decrease across these two stitches turn

Row #10 through #11 repeat round #9

Row #12 chain 1 decrease two stitches, single crochet to last three stitches and decrease two stitches turn (10 stitches)

Row #13 through #15 repeat round 12 (2 stitches)

Row #16 single crochet in each stitch turn

Row #17 single crochet in each stitch and cut the thread lock stitch.

Pick up stitch 21 of round and repeat rows 8 through 17

Join the two row 17s together for form the underpants.

Back Lace:

Return to the first row of 14 stitches crocheted into the back loop.  Pick up the front loop and chain three then double crochet twice in the same loop, single crochet in the next loop, three double crochet in the loop and repeat this across, cut the thread and repeat this for the second line of available front loops.

Pick up 20 single crochet around each the pant leg and repeat the three double crochet followed by a single stitch.

February 2016's Crochet Along on Google+

This was a fun and relatively quick project to work up. 

The pattern easy to follow and aside from making an error in the braiding I had no problem putting it together.

This project was made with three different red yarns from my stash as doing this year long project is for the purpose of using up the stash of yarn I have collect.

This is pattern is called Madly In Love 

by moogly 

Click here for pattern

Mother has spoken for this cowl.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Sometimes We Just Need A Warm Hat

The sewing guild that we belong to last year sewed preemie hats and some of us knitted preemie hats.  Our local hospital was very happy to accept our donations.  

As the fall is now upon us consider making hats for your local hospital to provide to parents for their infants as they leave the hospital because

Sometimes we just need a warm hat.

Links to patterns including the one in this post:

1. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/preemie-hats-for-charity
2. http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/preemie-hats
3. http://thedaintydaisyblog.blogspot.ca/p/preemie-patterns.html
4. Strawberry Hat Pattern that I used

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

10 Favourite Online Dish Cloth Patterns

Here are my ten favourite free Dish Cloth Patterns on the internet.

This is a fun lace dish cloth to make.  I have made six of these out of different colours and then ties them up to look like flowers and included in a housewarming gift

Click here to be directed to Rhonda's website and the pattern

This is my go to pattern when I want to use up my stash of yarn ends, now don't cheat just use the colours you have the results are fun and tell you a great deal about the colours you work with.

Click here to be directed to the Bernat Chrysanthemum pattern

I used this pattern when I am teaching short row knitting and I like the feel of this cloth.  Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountain pattern is easy to follow.

Click here to be directed to the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountain Picot Swirl dishcloth pattern 

This is a great scrubbing dishcloth I used twine for the ruffles which made a great pot scrubbing dishcloth

Click here to be directed to Nake-id Knits Really Fierce Dishcloth pattern  

This is my go to dishcloth when I want to give homemade dishcloths as a gift.  At Christmas I use red instead of the white and at Easter a pastel colour.

Click here to be directed to Whiskers & Wool Simple Stripes Dishcloth

This is the fastest dishcloth to make up and a great project for new knitters to work on.

Click here to be directed to Groovy Mom Crafty Idiot's Dishcloth pattern

Again this is one of my teaching go to dishcloths.  Yarnspirations has a well written pattern to work with.

Click here to be directed to Yarnspirations Celtic Cables Dishcloth

Mary Ann's Washcloth while not a dishcloth it is my favourite washcloth to take camping.  Everyone gets one and after using they hang it up on the clothesline where it dries for the next use.

Click here to be directed to Mary Ann Borden-Neary's Washcloth pattern.

Here is another great dishcloth pattern from Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.  If you use a yarn with texture it makes a great scrubbing dishcloth

Click here to be directed to Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains Tulip Stitch Dishcloth

And I have saved the one I like the best for last, the Scrubby Posey from Yarnsipiration reminders of my grandmother's home.

Click here to be directed to Yarnsipiration Scrubby Posey pattern

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

My part in the War on Cancer

Chemo Caps   

Written for and featured today on Nana Hood.com Teresa Bell Kindred hosts this website and for the entire month of October all of her articles draw attention to breast cancer.  I encourage all of you to click on the link and spend sometime reading the articles.

 Why am I making chemo caps?  

 My Aunt Marjorie taught me to knit.  As a child I would spend a week of summer vacation with her and my Grandfather.  In the evening we would sit outside on the large front veranda.  Grandpa in his chair reading the paper and Aunt Marjorie and I sitting side-by-side on the swing as she taught me to hold my knitting needles and thread.  On one of these occasions I wondered out loud where Aunt Marjorie learned to knit.  Her answer surprised me.

Aunt Marjorie learned to knit at school as part of the war effort.  School children were taught to knit bandages for the Red Cross.  While I no longer remember the number of stitches I can still see Aunt Marjorie casting on the requisite number of stitches and without pausing being the process of making her bandage.  

“We knit the bandages whenever we had spare time, we were doing something important.  We would talk about how our bandages would help to save the lives of the brothers, fathers and uncles who had left us to fight in the war.”

Like Aunt Marjorie I make chemo caps because it is what I can do to help in the war against cancer, it gives me a personal way to help.  I imagine the women who will wear the cap in her personal war against the cancer within her.  With every stitch I pray for her recovery and that she be surrounded by love and support.

Though I will never see her face, I do see other faces:

• Aunt Audrey standing in the lobby of the funeral home crying as she attends the funeral of a family friend and my longing to wrap my arms around her and knowing I could not because she had just left hospital having had a mastectomy.

• Audrey T. a woman of immense spiritual courage, bald from the chemotherapy comforting a young woman who had been a foster child in Audrey’s home.

• Aunt Adela a woman I knew as child.  She would make us Barbie doll cakes for our birthdays and a woman who died before I could tell her that I loved her.

• Kristi my administrative assistant.  A young mother who spends long hours at a computer terminal typing all the time wearing a full arm and hand compression bandage.

• Eunice my sister-in-law who never speaks about her two battles with breast cancer and the personal cost.

These are the faces that I see when I am doing my part in this war on cancer.  I do it because I am grateful that I have never had breast cancer and to work through my survivors guilt.  I create chemo caps because I have to do something and  

this is what I can do.

Again I will put out my challenge to those among my reader who sew, knit or crochet.  Will you join me in this task?  Click here to return to the October 2, 2013 blog post where I talk about Chemo Caps and provide links to free patterns.

The colour pictures used in this blog post where taken by my Grandson James.

 

Grandma Snyder