Craft. Crochet. Create.
This darling little crochet sea turtle will delight all children with his adorable hexagon sheep and tiny little flippers. Make him in 2 or 3 colors and he will be your child’s new favorite toy. This sea turtle crochet pattern is adapted from a pattern originally found at joann.com and is posted with permission here. This post also includes affiliate links, which means I get a small commission at at now extra cost to you. Thanks for your cooperation!
Wonderland Blocks is a guest post written by Abbey from The Firefly Hook. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
These blocks make a sweet toy for baby. Light enough to be stacked or thrown, these soft playthings are safe for little ones and add charm to any nursery. Place a jingle bell or sound maker in the interior for a playful noisemaker!
Get the FREE PDF here:
Favorite or queue on Ravelry here.
The Wonderland Blocks pattern is one of seven designs included in the latest eBook by The Firefly Hook:
You can purchase the entire 35 page eBook for $10.50 on Ravelry and Etsy.
Single patterns are on sale at The Firefly Hook’s Etsy shop.
The Pioneer Rug is a guest post written by Abbey from The Firefly Hook. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
The Pioneer Rug
My kids and I recently listened to all the Little House on the Prairie books. I love connecting to that time in history when people lived off the land and depended on each other to survive.
My son Benjamin especially enjoyed listening to all of Laura’s adventures. He connected to her wild and free spirit and wishes he could be friends with her.
It’s truly special when you kids connect deeply with something you held so dear as a child.
I love simplicity. I find it difficult to achieve, but I envy the Ingalls’ small Christmas celebrations. Everyone adored each small part because that’s all there was! One small gift or one special dessert wasn’t taken for granted.
I remember when the Ingalls girls pooled their money together to buy a gift for Pa: store-bought suspenders. Many gifts were handmade: socks, dolls, crocheted collars.
Remember in The Long Winter when Laura and her friends would sit together in Pa’s shop while they knit and crocheted lace collars? The crochet-lover in me wished I could sit and crochet with Laura and her friends as they watched people passing by on the street. I wish I could find a pattern for the collars they made!
In the spirit of a handmade Christmas, let me introduce the Pioneer Rug.
Crocheted with a 12mm hook and three strands held together, you can whip up one of these in a few hours. What’s more – I made this 28” rug for $7.00!
You can tailor the colors and size depending on who you are making the gift for and make it the perfect addition to any home, accommodating any style!
Enjoy!
Sign up for The Firefly Hook’s monthly newsletter!
The Pioneer Rug
Yarn:
Any inexpensive worsted weight acrylic.
Size shown used 14 ounces.
Hook size: 12 mm
Completed Dimensions: 28″ diameter
Gauge: 6 sts and 4 rnds = 4″ in dc
Abbreviations:
CA—color A
CB—color B
ch—chain
dc—double crochet
rep—repeat
rnd(s)—round(s)
sc—single crochet
sl st—slip stitch
st—stitch
Pattern:
Note: Hold three strands together; use 3 separate skeins or make 3 balls from 1 skein. Carry unused color on wrong side of work. Change color on the yarn over of the sl st when connecting rnds.
Rnd 1: With CA, ch 4 (counts as 1 dc), 11 dc in fourth ch from hook. (12 dc)
Rnd 2: Sl st in first dc from rnd 1 and switch to CB, ch 3 (counts as 1 dc here and throughout pattern), dc in same st as ch, 2 dc in each st around. (24 dc)
Rnd 3: Sl st in first dc from previous rnd and switch to CA, ch 3, dc in same st as ch (place marker), [dc in next st, 2 dc in next st (place marker in second dc)] around, dc in last dc. (36 dc)
Rnd 4: Sl st in first dc from previous rnd and switch to next color, ch 3, dc in same st as ch (move marker), [dc in each st to marker, work 2 dc at marker (move marker to second dc)] rep around, dc in each st to end of rnd. (48 dc)
Rnds 5 – 13: Rep rnd 4 alternating colors on each rnd. (each rep adds 12 to the stitch count)
Rnd 14: Sl st in first dc from previous rnd and switch to CB, ch 1 (counts as 1 sc), sc in same st as ch, [sc in each st to marker, work 2 sc at marker] rep around, sc in each st to end of rnd.
Rnd 15: Sl st in first sc from previous rnd and switch to CA, sl st in each st around, sl st in first sl st, finish off.
Favorite or queue on Ravelry here.
Sign up for The Firefly Hook’s monthly newsletter!
Happy crocheting,
Abbey
Cowgirl Meets Minneapolis is a guest post written by Abbey from The Firefly Hook. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Cowgirl Meets Minneapolis
Tumbleweed or graffiti art, cowboy coffee or artisan lattes, lonely mountains or crowded streets…it turns out you can love both.
I recently moved from Wyoming back to Minneapolis, and the culture, slang, and rhythms of both ways of life pulse together through my veins and find their way into my designs.
Growing up in a quiet, sleepy farm-town in rural MN, I lived on the same street my entire life until college. Minnesota with its crisp apples, wild snowstorms, and intense turn of the season is forever dear to my heart.
My husband and I moved to Wyoming shortly after we married, and we both fell in love with the stark prairie beauty and sunsets that fill the entire sky. After 8 amazing years and 3 amazing kids later, we moved back home to be near family.
This bandana cowl combines the spirit of the wild west with the urban fashion of south Minneapolis. Both places will always be a part of me and I love that this piece incorporates design elements from places so disparate and equally wonderful.
The piece is worked into a triangle, then after two corners are joined together, the cowl is created by working stitches in a tube. This is a straightforward project with simple stitches that crocheters of any skill level will enjoy.
Whether you are working up this project on a ranch or on a subway, you will no doubt find a way to wear this bandana that’s all your own.
Cowgirl Meets Minneapolis
Materials:
Gauge: 2 rows and 4 sts = 1 inch in dc
Completed dimensions: 19″ circumference, 14″ in height
Abbreviations:
ch—chain
sc—single crochet
dc—double crochet
st—stitch
sp—space
ch-sp—refers to space under the chain already made.
yoh—yarn over hook
Reverse Single Crochet (reverse sc) – working backwards across the row, insert hook into next st to the right (if left handed – insert hook into next st to the left), yoh, draw loop up (2 loops on hook), yoh and draw through both loops on hook, 1 reverse sc complete.
Pattern:
Row 1: Ch 4 (counts as 1 dc), 3 dc in 4th ch from hook, ch 1, work 4 more dc in same sp. (8 dc)
Row 2: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc here and throughout pattern), turn, dc in same st as ch, dc in each st to ch-1 space, (2dc, ch 1, 2dc) in ch-1-sp, dc in each st working 2 dc in last st. (14 dc) Note: Stitch count increases by 6 each row, here through row 22.
Row 3: Ch 3, turn, dc in same st as ch, dc in each st to ch-1-sp, (2dc, ch 1, 2dc) in ch-1 space, dc in each st working 2 dc in last st.
Row 4: Ch 1, turn, 2 sc in first st, sc in each st to ch-1-sp, (2sc, ch 1, 2sc) in ch-1 space, sc in each st working 2 sc in last st.
Rows 5, 6: Rep row 4.
Rows 7 – 9: Rep row 3.
Rows 10 – 12: Rep row 4.
Rows 13 – 18: Rep rows 7 – 12.
Row 19: Rep row 3.
Rows 20 – 22: Rep row 4.
Finish off.
Top of cowl:
Row 1: Attach yarn to corner of triangle and sc evenly across entire top of triangle, working across ends of rows 1 – 20.
Row 2: Ch 3, turn, dc in each st across.
Row 3: Rep row 2.
Row 4 – 5: Ch 1, turn, sc in each st across.
Row 6: Rep row 2.
Rows 7 – 8: Rep rows 4 – 5.
Finish off.
Sew ends of rows 1 – 8 just worked for top of cowl together.
Edging:
Work a reverse sc around top of cowl. Finish off.
Work a reverse sc around bottom of cowl. Finish off.
Favorite or queue on Ravelry here.
Sign up for The Firefly Hook’s monthly newsletter!
Happy crocheting,
Abbey
The Occasional Cowl pattern is a guest post written by Abbey from The Firefly Hook. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
I live in a lovely little lake town in rural Minnesota.
It’s cute.
Really, really cute.
The downtown is cozied up to the lake shore and nestled between two major highways. (And by that I mean they’re “major” for the country roads west of the big cities!)
There are big box stores strung along the highway, but just a few blocks south of the bustle is where all the magic happens.
Coffee shops, local shopping, the library, the little theater and… my favorite… the neighborhood yarn shop.
I’m a yarn snob, okay?
Don’t judge me.
I love wool. Beautiful, soft wool. Blends of fibers and combos that make me swoon. And I know local yarn shops have the goods. I have to show restraint!
My little town is also full of occasional shops.
I had never heard of them before moving here so let me explain what they are. I’ll give you my definition, but know others may explain it differently.
I think of them as awesome garage sales: almost like a pop up-restaurant for sweet finds. No junk. No dirt. No strange smell. People pricing the items actually know their value.
Vintage finds are speckled throughout each store.
Do-it-yourself and Pinterest projects finished and ready for you to display proudly in your home (without the tears).
Feel what I’m feeling?
Yeah.
So, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon locally handspun wool & silk yarn at one such shop.
Joy. Delight.
I wanted to buy it all.
Now.
But since my dear friend (who is also my photographer and business partner and one to whom I refer as the string to my kite since she is a bit more calculated and logical in her decisions) was with me, I couldn’t buy them all.
(Fine. I could have. I’m a grown woman. But it may have caused the friendship schism of 2016 had I filled my arms with yarn and marched to the check-out.)
I had to have a plan.
So I chose one skein for each of my kids. The string to my kite approved. Schism averted.
Enter these three lovely skeins:
Each skein perfectly reflects each of their personalities.
Benjamin is my eldest and “his color” has been orange since he was born. It’s bright and bold, just like his kind heart. If being a good friend could be a super-power, it would be his.
Naphtali is my pickle in the middle (and kindred spirit since I also grew up in the middle). He is serious and focused and seems to blend in until you get a little closer and then, like the yarn I chose for him, you can see the rich, regal colors of his heart.
While Benjamin is a lot like Daddy and Naphtali is a lot like Mommy, we call Iva our “Sparkle Fairy Princess” since everything she does is filled with glitter and performed in a sweet theatrical fashion. She is filled to the brim with pure joy, so soft pinks and pastels made the perfect yarn color choice.
When I got home with my treasures, the skeins practically jumped onto my crochet hook and begged to be turned into cowls. I wanted to design something flexible enough to work with any yarn and hook combo so you all can go find a yarn treasure and replicate the pattern.
So here’s a cowl in honor of the occasional shops and the joy of finding a perfect gift:
The Occasional Cowl
Materials: Bulky yarn (ounces needed per size indicated below)
Hook: 8 mm
Gauge: 11 sts and 12 rows = 4” in sc
Sizes, completed dimensions (lying flat, width x height) and ounces of yarn needed:
1 – 3 years 9.5” x 8” 3 oz
4 – 6 years 10” x 10” 3.25 oz
7 – 12 years 10.5” x 11” 4 oz
Teen/Adult 11” x 13” 5 oz
Skill level: Beginner
Necessary Skills: single crochet, working in a tube
Abbreviations:
ch—chain
rep—repeat
rnd—round
sc—single crochet
sl st—slip stitch
st—stitch
Notes:
Rnds worked in a spiral, do not connect rnds.
How to replicate with any yarn/hook combo: If your yarn doesn’t have a suggested hook size, you can find the right hook for your yarn by placing the yarn inside the crook of the hook and choose the hook that the yarn fills completely without popping out of the crook too much; chain the number of chains to get the desired width of the specific size you want and follow the rest of the pattern exactly from rnd 1.
Pattern:
Ch 52 (58, 62, 65) sl st in first ch to connect ch (careful not to twist ch).
Rnd 1: Sc in each ch around.
Rnd 2: Working in the back loop of the st, sc in each st around. (52, 58, 62, 65 sc)
Rnds 3 – end: Rep rnd 2 until cowl measures desired height/size, do not finish off.
To finish: Sl st in each st around, finish off.
To wear:
Iva (pink cowl) is wearing her cowl with the right side facing. This shows the loops left from the back loop single crochet stitches. (See photo below.)
Benjamin and Naphtali are wearing theirs with the wrong side facing. This shows off the little curly nubs from the other side of the back loop single crochet stitches. This is how I envisioned the cowl being worn. (See photo below.)
Abbey Swanson is a crochet designer and teacher of The Firefly Hook.
You can see more of her work over on her website: thefireflyhook.com
If you live near Minneapolis, MN you can find all the classes Abbey has to offer in your area on her facebook page!
Favorite or queue on Ravelry here.