Monday 10 September 2012

The owl and the pussycat

Its been a another busy week. I've been working on a design commission for lets knit magazine. I can't show you any pictures till its in the mag but I am very happy that my first patterns to be featured in a magazine are some of the cutest creatures I've ever created :)
 I was also lucky enough to be asked to write about blogging for lets knit and after worrying about what to write for a few days I sat down and got my thoughts on paper and wrote my little article. It left me feeling a bit mushy about my blog and my readers so I thought I'd give you all a little treat in this weeks post.

After all that work that I can't post pics about I didn't really have anything to show for my week of work so last night I decided to write a new free pattern :)

 These little mini owls are really cute and quick to make.



i owl pattern

You will need
DK weight yarn one multicolour and one plain to match
3.5mm crochet hook
Wool needle
Toy stuffing
Scraps of felt
Felting needle
Long pins

Abbreviations
St Stitches (this is shown at the end of every row so you know how many stitches you should have at the end of the round)
CH chain
SS slip stitch
SC single crochet
HDC half double crochet
DC double crochet
INC single crochet increase (2 single crochet into the stitch)
DEC single crochet decrease (single crochet the next 2 stitches together by inserting yarn into the next stitch, draw through a loop, insert hook into the next stitch, draw through a loop, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook) *I like to give the yarn a little tug after doing this stitch to make sure the decrease is nice and tight which is important cause these guys are so little*
() around Brackets show an action that is to be repeated .

Owl body
This is worked in a spiral; use a contrasting piece of yarn as a row marker so you know when you have got to the end of the row.

Start with your plain coloured yarn

Row 1 – Start with 6SC into ring                6St
Row 2 – (INC) around                                  12St
Row 3 – (1SC, INC) around                         18St
Row 4 –  (INC, 2SC) around                        24St
Row 5 – (INC, 3SC) around                         30St Change colour to your multi coloured yarn now
Row 6 – (SC) around                                    30St
Row 7 – (SC) around                                    30St
Row 8 – (SC) around                                    30St
Row 9 – (DEC, 3SC) around                         24St
Row 10 – 1SC (DEC, 2SC) around, 1SC         18St
Row 11 – (1SC, DEC) around                         12St *Stuff your toy now*
Row 12 – (DEC) around                                  6St

Cut the yarn leaving a long tail and pull through loop to secure.

Using a wool needle weave the yarn through the last 6 Stitches and pull tight to close. Weave in yarn ends and cut off remaining yarn.


Wings
Make 2 using 3.5mm crochet hook

This is worked along the front and back of a foundation chain so your chain becomes the centre of the wing.

Ch 5
SS in 2nd Ch from hook, SC, HDC, 3DC in last chain from hook
Turn and work along the back of the chain
HDC, SC, SS to join into your first stitch

Cut the yarn leaving a long tail and pull through loop to secure.

Sew the wings onto the owl’s body at the line where your yarn changes colour. One on each side

Weave in any loose ends and cut of remaining yarn.

Cut circles out of felt to make the eyes and attach to the body with a felting needle (you can sew or glue if you don’t have a felting needle)
Cut a small triangle of felt for the beak and attach in the same way between the eyes.

That’s you mini owl finished  happy crocheting 



In kitten news they are all doing wonderfully. Last time around I had trouble getting them onto solid food and toilet training but this lot have done it all with no bother at all. My little fave was very taken with my little owls
 Mummy checking up on the situation.

Not quite like the poem I'm afraid my pussycat killed the owl :)

Its my favourite time of week, its handmade monday time again. I'm gonna have a cuppa and catch up on the lovely crafters blogs why not join me :)

14 comments:

  1. Lovely cute owls and even cuter kittens! Overdose of cute!! The magazine article sounds exciting - well done x

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  2. Such lovely photos of the owls, and mostly your kitten. Big awwwwwhhh ....

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  3. AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW (deep breath) AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

    Ok you get the idea!

    Now for the owl (another deep breath) AWW (lol kidding). Seriously need to get my head around this crochet thing.

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  4. lovely little owl pattern! so cute! Really want to learn to crochet! Will look out for your article in Let's Knit Magazine. x

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  5. Goodness me, you couldn't get much sweeter than those two. I like mummy coming and checking them both over to make sure they are behaving! Well done on having an article in the magazine.

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  6. Awww! Owls + kitten = cute overload!

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  7. Congratulations on the magazine - very exciting. I so love the owls and your kittens are lovely too.

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  8. Wonderful news about the magazine, well done. Such cute pictures, it must be a number 10 on the cuteness scale. :)

    Jan x

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  9. hello!! i just finished the owl is soo cute thank you for the pattern
    tell me please can i add it to Ravelry?
    hugs

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    1. http://www.ravelry.com/people/lizduttons that me on ravelry :) Give me a few hours and I'll add the pattern onto my rav account so you can tag the project to the pattern. Can't wait to see it :)

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  10. Yay!!!! Thank you again for lovely owl :)

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  11. OOh Liz I love your owl pattern..as you might have gathered from my blog post! It was easy to follow and I just love the shape - in fact I enjoyed spending time just gazing at and squidging the sphere before the details were added!
    So cool of you to leave a comment too - thanks!
    Looking forward to seeing lots more of your creations - in cyberland and in print!
    Ali

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  12. You could just faint from such cuteness! :-D

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