A Crochet Owl

I've been doing some more crochet practice this week and made this cute little owl!

I used this great tutorial from Bunny Mummy.  It used only stitches that I've already learned, and what I loved most about the tutorial was that it had both pictures and written steps.

I think I did pretty well, other than miscounting the ear part at the top of one part. Can you see it looks a bit wonky on the left side?

Still, overall I'm very pleased with my owl. 

I'm going to call him Barry!

So far it's a motley collection of bits and pieces I've made.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all these things yet, but I shall keep everything I make over the year and hopefully can see my progress as the weeks and months go by!

Single, Double, Half-Double and Triple Crochet - more learning

After my success last week feeling like I'd mastered Granny Squares, I wanted to keep learning and try something different this week.

I browsed through my Crochet Pinterest board - which is full of so many amazing things that I hopefully will one day be able to make!

First I tried this pattern to make a simple daisy (the yellow flower in the picture above). Then I tried a star using this pin (the link won't work but the pictures on the pin are pretty clear). Finally I tried a heart using this pattern.

I think they all turned out ok. I had to look up triple crochet and half-double crochet, but I understand them all now. They all seem to be basically the same basic 'stitch' but different number of times to yarn over and pull through a different number of loops depending on the length and size of finished 'stitch' you want.

So far the biggest problem I have is knowing where to put my hook into to start each stitch. If anyone has any hints or tips for learning this I'd much appreciate it!

I get it! Granny Squares decoded - and a Pentagon made.

So this year (2016) I've decided to really learn how to crochet.

I've made a start with Granny Squares and decided that I was doing ok with those after making a few, each one a little neater than the one before.

Next I decided to try something new. I'd found this tutorial via Pinterest for making Granny Triangles so thought I'd give that a try.

After a first failed attempt when I'd been confused by the instructions talking about treble crochet. 

I thought treble crochet was a new stitch until I realised (and read the pattern properly) that the pattern was a UK pattern and that UK treble crochet is the same as US double crochet, which is what I'd just learned!

Once I'd got that sorted, the pattern was easy to follow and my new Granny Triangle worked out just fine!

Once I'd made this triangle, I realised that it really wasn't anything new, but simple the same principle and instructions as for a Granny Square, but just 3 corners instead of 4! 

It was a real 'light bulb' moment.

The next day I got up and just had to put my theory to the test, and decided to try making one of these with not 3, not 4, but 5 corners...yes a Granny Pentagon!

I didn't use a pattern, just working from my new knowledge of how to make a Granny Square, but added and extra point and....voila.

Now to those of you who are expert crocheters, this may not seem very exciting, but to me it was! I really have learned something new here - I haven't just learned how to follow the pattern to make a basic Granny square - I understand the pattern and could see how to adapt it to make something new!

Now that I feel like I understand Granny Squares - I thought it was time to get a little creative. So I got a thin crochet hook and some embroidery thread and made myself a pair of earrings!

I feel like I've made a good start to my learn to crochet quest. Time to keep moving forwards onto something other than the Grannies now I think! Any suggestions?