Hot Time knitting and crochet

Let's face it, the weather affects what you want to work on, right? Here in Chicago it is a humid 83 Fahrenheit and I am avoiding the presence of my woollier, warmer yarns for the time being.

So, what to do? My answer is usually: Cotton or small or quick or all of the above.

Melt Slouch Hat

Realistic Crochet Octopus

crochet headband party!

Some random tips for making yarn-crafting bearable during the warmer months:

• Drink more water! (basically my solution for everything)
• Put your project and/or yarn into a bag so they don't get fuzzies all over you
• invest in a spray bottle from the Dollar Store or something, mist yourself like an orchid when you get hot
• stick to smooth fibers like cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, viscose 

I'm getting ready to make a few pairs of cotton socks. Keepin' it cool and small.

Has summer crafting season reached you yet? Got any more tips? Because you know we're not just gonna stop just because it's hot!

Which creature to feature next? Vote vote vote

I just posted a poll asking crafters far and wide to VOTE on which sea creature they'd like to see next as a pattern. Stop by and tell me what you think!

Click here and scroll down a tad

It's a bebeh!

I am torn between writing a knit octopus pattern (I just have a crochet octopus so far), super-cute amigurumi style baby octopus and squid combo pattern (see above), a crochet seahorse (which I KEEP TYPING as seahore... um), a knit tentacle scarf (see previous post for a taste of that sauce), or a starfish/sea star.

Sea-lady-of-the-night

As always, it will be a blend of anatomically correct/realistic and cute.

There's also a write-in option. What critter are you itchin' to make? Let me know!

Octopus Crochet Pattern at last...

Happy April Fools! Um, I wish I had thought of something tricky or clever for this post, but you see, I have been distracted.

IT. HAS. RISEN.

The octopus crochet pattern is here. I didn't sleep much last night, but it was totally worth it. I have wanted to release this for about four years... a sorta-realistic octopus with curly tendril-like arms.

Any weight of yarn can be used for this, it will just change the size of the creature. For an octopus with a large egg-sized head, I used chunky weight yarn, a G hook for the head and a J hook for the rest. Just make sure your smaller hook size is small enough to prevent holes in the fabric so the head stuffing doesn't come spilling out. No one likes to see that.

Please enjoy, and spread the cephalopod love!

Realistic Octopus crochet pattern PDF

$6