yarn | Squirrel Picnic

January 20, 2016
by JO 4 Comments

You Made This!

It’s so cool to see Squirrel Picnic projects from people all over the world. Thank you all for choosing my patterns and for taking the time to share your finished projects with me.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to these awesome folks, whose projects are featured in this edition: Alicia Kelly Rippingale, Margie Smith, Theresa Estep, Christine Knapp, Elaine Womack, Julie-Anna Smith, Marta Ruso, Ina Ringel, Marcia Cristina, Ankharas, Mona Reyes, Taylor, Janette Vanzanen, bpitard, cyrusmum, plantersmith, ellafofella, nlezama, nessiesparklepony, kaypendragon, mamascents, ShiloSol, lyndeepitiak, rpayne8457, violinone, kaurin, Penella, angelclassy, foxxxy, mrsrefjr, rosecrochet44, lese1, Idskje, walkerlover, Blacky67, and Frau Tapete.

If you’ve made something awesome with one of my patterns, I’d love to include you in a future installment of You Made This! And if there’s anyone I missed, I’m terribly sorry. Let me know and I’ll include you in the next edition. Please send a photo of your project to squirrelpicnic{at}gmail{dot}com. Continue reading →

August 7, 2014
by JO 11 Comments

SQUIRREL PICNIC (the comic): A Day at the Spa

Previous episode: Beatrix’s Perfume

So they checked into the spa and spent the day getting all the kinks worked out. Jelly Belly Bunny enjoyed having her ears rubbed. Rosa Robin got a seaweed wrap, which she ended up eating instead. Tina developed a crush on her masseur and bought a fifty-visit punch card on her way out. Hodge and Podge received paraffin paw treatments and now they’re ready to crochet up a storm.

Welcome the new and improved cast of Squirrel Picnic! They’re bigger and better. Can you tell the difference?

What do you do when your muscles ache from an overindulgence in needle crafting? Do you relax with a heat pad or get a massage? Try a different style of hook or needles? Do you take time off and explore another medium? If you’re suffering from a needle-crafting injury, I’m sending you soothing thoughts and some good wishes to get you back to your craft soon again…

Because next week, I’ll release the pattern for Tina Ballerina Bear and I know you’ll want to try this!

August 1, 2014
by JO 2 Comments

Calling All Crafters! You Could Be Featured on Squirrel Picnic

Susan uses croshades to turn urban sculptures into funny characters.

Margie’s Mr. Potato Head is amazing. She even crocheted the facial features!

Have you made a pair of croshades and used them to yarnbomb your neighborhood? Have you made a Batman mask, a Mr. Potato Head, or a Bowser sweater for your turtle? Do you have a Squirrel Picnic character that you’re proud to call your own? If so, I’d love to see it.

I’m in the process of putting together a roundup of crocheted awesomeness by fantastic picnickers like you. If you’ve had fun using one of my patterns, send a photo of what you made to squirrelpicnic{at}gmail{dot}com by August 22, and I’ll include it in the roundup.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!

May 22, 2014
by JO 10 Comments

The Sleepyz Blanket: Joining Forces

Now that I’ve crocheted a ton of Zs, it’s time to join them all together. You may remember from the original story that once the Sleepy Zs get a hold of you, they join forces to take you down (nap time!).

The idea is simple enough, but coming up with a method of joining all those Zs took me months to determine. You probably already know my problem… once again, I had to try things the hard way.

When my husband (the Ideas Man) and I came up with the concept for the Sleepyz Blanket, we had very different ideas in mind. While he said that in the construction of the final blanket it should be obvious that it is made out of Zs, I’ve held a totally different opinion: the Zs should go together to create a completely new design (that may not look like Zs at all). So for months I attempted to connect all these Zs with a join-as-you-go method that would only require two or three FOs. I eventually drew up a chart, decided on an arrangement, and started working on joining them, only to decide in the end that it was just too complicated. Also, the holes in between the Zs were far too big… even by crochet standards. I had to admit that the blanket that this would create would be flimsy and shapeless in the end. Here are some of the design concepts that I explored.

Join-as-you-go.

Staggered Zs.

Block layout.

So it was back to the drawing board and time to consult the Ideas Man again. This time he elaborated on his vision of a blanket with Sleepyz sewn onto it like appliqués. “You’ve got to be kidding me?” I said. “I just spent months crocheting all these Zs and now I have to crochet a blanket for them to go on?!” It took me a while to warm up to this idea, but once I tried it out, I was convinced that it would look better than any of my other options.

Here’s the plan for the blanket. I came up with four very easy, but also very interesting double-crochet stitches. I’ll crochet long strips made up of blocks done in each of these stitches. Then I’ll sew the strips together and sew on the Zs as well. I might also add a border of Zs and another border in white. What do you think? Could this work?

Best of all, this approach is still in keeping with the original story: the Sleepyz create a blanket in order to wrap you up and send you to dreamland. I’ve even named each of the double-crochet blocks so that I can write them into the story to show how they work together to make you drowsy.

It won’t be long now before it’s all done! I can’t wait to show you the comic that will illustrate the Sleepyz story too. I hope you’re looking forward to the exciting conclusion of this series as much as I am!

Mohair Brooch: a Crochet Pattern for Mother’s Day

My grandma receives a knitting lesson from my great-grandmother.

Ask any knitter or crocheter where they learned their skills, and the vast majority will tell you from their mother or grandmother.

I remember when I first moved to Colorado, my mother flew out to visit me for a week. I was living in a studio apartment with nothing but a couch in my living room and not much to entertain us. My mom taught me how to crochet a granny square that week. (That’s all the entertainment we needed!) I really took to it, and before long I was crocheting granny blankets for everyone I knew.

My grandmother was also an avid and prolific knitter. I think she knit a sweater for every one of her grand kids. My brother got a sweater with a really cool dinosaur on it, and I got a Southwest-inspired one that I still have today. In most of my memories of her, she is knitting. Grandma even took her projects with her on all of the long, cross-country trips that she and Grandpa loved to take. I feel like she and I have so much in common. I am very thankful that I inherited her love of fiber arts as well as her abundant yarn stash.

In celebration of my mom and grandmother and all that they taught me, this Mother’s Day I thought I’d crochet a brooch out of vintage mohair yarn that once belonged to Grandma.

In keeping with the vintage motif, I designed a brooch that’s reminiscent of the filigree knot jewelry that was popular in the 1950s and 60s. I guess there is a chance that this mohair could be from that time period too!

Mother’s Day is just around the bend, but you still have time to make something for your mom. Maybe a brooch in her favorite color would do nicely. And don’t forget to thank your mom for everything she’s taught you, especially if one of those things was knitting or crochet.

Crochet Mohair Brooch

Materials

Small amount of fingering weight mohair yarn in light aqua (ArtYarns Silk Mohair in Aqua, 60% mohair, 40% silk, 0.88 oz [25 g] / 312 yds [285 m])
Small amount of fingering weight yarn in white (Bernat Baby in White, 90% acrylic, 10% nylon, 1.75 oz [50 g] / 191 yds [175 m])
C-2 (2.75 mm) crochet hook
Yarn needle
1” bar pin
Sewing needle and thread
Beads (optional)

Instructions

Wrap aqua yarn around index finger 10 times to form a ring. Insert crochet hook, yo, and pull through all the loops. Slst to secure.

Rnd 1: 24 sc into center of the ring. It’s easier if you sc a few before taking the ring off your finger.

Join with slst to 1st sc.

Rnd 2: (Ch 8, sk 3, sc) 5 times. Ch 8, sk 3, join with slst to 1st sc.

Rnd 3: Sc 11 in ea ch-8 sp. BO

Rnd 4: Hold the brooch with RS facing. Ensuring that your yarn is in front of the brooch, attach white yarn in any center sc of the 3 skipped in Rnd 2.

* Ch 12. Hold the next aqua loop forward. Working behind the loop, sc in the next center st by inserting your crochet hook from front to back.

Ch 12. Hold the next aqua loop backward. Working in front of the loop this time, sc in the next center st.

Rep from * to the end. BO. Weave in ends.

Sew on beads if desired.

Position the bar pin at the top of the center ring created in Rnd 1. Make sure that you can’t see it from the front. Sew bar pin on.

April 24, 2014
by JO 10 Comments

The Sleepyz Blanket: Crocheting Zs Everywhere I Go

It feels like I’ve been crocheting Zs forever! Everywhere I go, I have my yarn and my crochet hook. It’s a great way to keep my hands busy and to pass the time. I find needlecrafts to be very calming, especially when I’m cramped on a bus after a long day at work. So I guess it’s a good thing I have a lot of Zs to crochet! Does crocheting and knitting have a soothing effect on you too?

It’s been about a month since I started crocheting these Zs. Every night when I get home, I toss the Zs I made that day into a box to be wet blocked later. When I finally took a look at my Z stash the other day, I was floored by the number I’ve already made! I almost have the 155 Sleepyz I’ll need to make a standard size afghan, and seeing them all together was a little overwhelming. I found myself getting sleepier and sleepier in their presence. It shouldn’t be that surprising, but crocheting Sleepyz will wear you out!

In the park, on the bus, in my office while at lunch. Crochet here, crochet there. I crochet Zs everywhere!