Wendy Does Crochet

Uptown Arm Warmers

2010-03-09T00:06:00.005-06:00

The inspiration for this exceptionally delightful pair of arm warmers came during the Rex parade at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Mardi Gras 2010 was the coldest Mardi Gras in recent memory and and we all froze our butts off. By the end of the parade, I was really wishing I had some sort of warmth, any kind of warmth, for my hands, that still allowed me to catch beads (because if you can't catch beads at Mardi Gras, then why bother?), and so the Uptown Arm Warmers were born. The name comes from the route the Rex parade takes through New Orleans.

This pattern is available for $5.00. It is worked with a G hook in a DK weight yarn.

Once the sale is complete, the pattern will be e-mailed in PDF form to the e-mail address you provide during the completion of your sale. You will need a PDF reading program in order to view the pattern.

This original design pattern is copyright 2010, Wendy C. Brown. Photographs copyright Christina Flores, 2010 and used with permission. All rights reserved. Reproducing or transmitting this pattern by any means for any purpose other than personal use constitutes a violation of copyright law. Finished product not to be used for resale or profit. Personal or charitable use only.

Eliza Kate Baby Blanket

2009-06-01T00:19:00.003-05:00

A beautiful blanket designed for a beautiful girl who just couldn't wait to get out into the world, not even for just 7 more weeks. This pattern is available for $5.00. It is worked with a K hook in a worsted weight yarn.

Once the sale is complete, the pattern will be e-mailed in PDF form to the e-mail address you provide me with during the completion of your sale. You will need a PDF reading program in order to view the pattern.

This original design pattern is copyright 2009, Wendy C. Brown. All rights reserved. Reproducing or transmitting this pattern by any means for any purpose other than personal use constitutes a violation of copyright law. Finished product not to be used for resale or profit. Personal or charitable use only.

A death in the family

2008-10-09T16:36:00.003-05:00

i've been thinking a lot today about family and friends and at which point the two begin to become one. my dad's stepmother Mae Jewel (who i called Maw Maw Jewel) died early this morning. she had a heart attack. we kind of expected this, but the finality of it is only beginning to sink in on me. all day today, just at the most unexpected times, ive found myself thinking "wow. maw maw jewel is gone. gone. just... gone."

i called my dad to see how he was doing. he said he was okay, just worried about his daddy. i told him i was worried for him too and before we could get much talking done, tallulah swallowed air and i had to get off the phone before she screamed.

i remember when we decided on a name for our baby. Tallulah Mae. my mom called maw maw jewel and papa boe and told them about the name. at that time, my due date was June 7, which was also maw maw jewel's birthday. she was tickled pink when she found out that, not only was my baby due on her birthday, but we were naming our baby after her as well. lol! we actually weren't but we never told them otherwise because it made them so happy. :)

but that said, i'm not very close to that side of my family. i never have been. i don't think its anyone's fault, its just that we always lived closer to one side of the family than the other so we had more opportunities to get to know one side more thoroughly. but even through that, there was always this thing in the back of my mind: maw maw jewel and papa boe are in alabama. they're there and they love us and they will always be there. i hadn't realized that i had these ideas and how much it really meant to me until today.

so i started thinking about it. my dad is not biologically my dad. he married my mom when i was 6 months old and adopted me a couple of months later. he changed my name and made me his own and he is the only father ive ever had or wanted to have. he is family that chose me and i chose to accept him as well.

my dad never had a good relationship with his mother. she's really never been a part of our lives (and when she was, it certainly was not welcomed), but many years ago, my papa boe married maw maw jewel. my dad chose to accept her as his step-mother and she chose to acknowledge me as my dad's daughter. for many years, i thought they didnt love me. i felt like an outsider, more or less, because i wasn't blood. it wasnt until the last couple of years or so that i realized that they *do* love me and they *do* care for me, perhaps moreso than they care for my brother and sister *because* i'm not blood, and yet they chose to accept me as part of their family. lesser people (my bio-dad's family, for example) would not have chosen to accept me, but maw maw jewel and papa boe did.

people say you cannot choose your family, but i can tell you for a fact that is not true. i chose michael and he chose me. my dad chose me and my mom. maw maw jewel and papa boe chose me, too. we have friends who have been around for so long, they are like family to us and we just wouldnt function the same without them. we're not a perfect family, but, for whatever reason, we've chosen each other, and we're all better for it.

Romantic Evening Scarf

2008-09-10T23:17:00.010-05:00

This light-weight cotton scarf is perfect for a casual or elegant fall or springtime evening out.

I'm selling the pattern to this scarf for $5. It is worked in a sport weight yarn with a size D hook. Click the image for a larger view. Once the sale is complete, the pattern will be e-mailed in PDF form to the e-mail address you provide me with during the completion of your sale. You will need a PDF reading program in order to view the pattern.

This original design pattern is copyright 2008, Wendy C. Brown. All rights reserved. Reproducing or transmitting this pattern by any means for any purpose other than personal use constitutes a violation of copyright law. Finished product not to be used for resale or profit. Personal or charitable use only.

Unisex Neck Sock

2008-09-10T00:28:00.005-05:00

It's free pattern day today.

I designed this "neck sock" so my husband would have something *super* warm to wear while on his motorcycle this winter. I made him a mobius but then I thought about it a little more and realized that I wanted something that didn't have any space for cold air to get into, which is why I designed this piece here. It's pretty much a OSFA kinda thing. It comfortably fits necks up to 18 inches in circumference. To size it down to a kids' size, reduce the number of base chains and rows -- it's as simple as that.

I'm not sure what yarn was used to make this. It was a gift from a friend and the tag had come off it so I can't tell you anything about this particular yarn. As long as you've got a sport weight yarn and your gauge is right on, you should be okay. :)

And now, without further ado, the free pattern.

Unisex Neck Sock

Materials:
430 yd sport weight yarn
G hook
yarn needle

Gauge: 22 rows of 18 sc worked in back loops only = 4"x4"

Finished Dimensions: 15"x5"

Note: Entire pattern is worked in back loops only.

Ch 25

Row 1 - sc in top loop of 2nd ch from hook and in each rem ch to end.

Row 2 - ch 1, sc in same st and in each sc to end. (24 st)

Rows 3 - 73 - rep row 2, leaving long tail at end of last row for joining.

Using yarn needle, join ends together using whipstitch. Weave in ends.

Copyright 2008, Wendy C. Brown. All rights reserved. Reproducing or transmitting this pattern by any means for any purpose other than personal use constitutes a violation of copyright law. Finished product not to be used for resale or profit. Personal or charitable use only.

Mobius Neck Cowl

2008-09-04T15:07:00.005-05:00

I love, love, *love* this design! The subtlety of the wave texture, the simplicity of design, the boldness of color... I have a crush on this pattern. ;)

I'm selling the pattern to this cowl for $5. It is worked in a worsted weight yarn with a size H hook. Click the image for a larger view. Once the sale is complete, the pattern will be e-mailed in PDF form to the e-mail address you provide me with during the completion of your sale. You will need a PDF reading program in order to view the pattern.

This original design pattern is copyright 2008, Wendy C. Brown. All rights reserved. Reproducing or transmitting this pattern by any means for any purpose other than personal use constitutes a violation of copyright law. Finished product not to be used for resale or profit. Personal or charitable use only.

Blooming Lotus Scarf Pattern

2008-08-17T10:49:00.004-05:00

bloominglotus1
Originally uploaded by elizaday418

I'm selling the pattern to this lovely gem of a scarf for $5. It is worked in a bulky weight yarn with a size N hook. Click the image at the left for a larger view. Once the sale is complete, the pattern will be e-mailed in PDF form to the e-mail address you provide me with during the completion of your sale. You will need a PDF reading program in order to view the pattern.

This original design pattern is copyright 2008, Wendy C. Brown. All rights reserved. Reproducing or transmitting this pattern by any means for any purpose other than personal use constitutes a violation of copyright law. Finished product not to be used for resale or profit. Personal or charitable use only.

Blessings of Mara Upon Ye

2008-02-28T13:58:00.000-06:00

okay, so that title totally made no sense to anyone who's not obsessed with Oblivion (as i am/was), but it makes sense to everyone who is. and even if you *are* obsessed with Oblivion, you're probably wondering how in the hell a RPG relates to crochet, but i'm getting to that.

first off, Oblivion is the fourth installation in the Elder Scrolls series. its a role playing game made by Bethesda for xbox 360 and its more or less pure awesome. in Oblivion there are some pretty awesomely named gods and goddesses and Mara is the goddess of benevolence. she gives her blessing to people who do good deeds, pray at her wayshrine (a little tiny uncharted place that you just have to stumble upon), etc etc, and her "blessing" is a pretty freakin sweet buff.

about.... ummmmmmm...... 6 weeks ago or so, i'm playing oblivion and michael says "honey, you have laundry to put away," cause my man is awesome like that and does laundry and just asks me to put my stuff away. i had the cord hooked up to my controller so it could charge and i put the foot of the recliner down and it grabs the cord and pulls the xbox off of the entertainment center. while my game is inside. and what do xbox 360 players know about what happens when this happens? 9 kinds of bad falls from the sky, directly onto your game. why? to save a little bit of money, microsoft decided they didnt want to put these little plastic/rubber footy things in the game tray to keep the disc safe if something like that happened. so michael comes in there and does his rescue 911 thing to try to save the disc. it was futile. *sigh*

well, i go to put away my laundry and then put on some warmer clothes and head off to the game shop where we got the game to see if they could fix it. i get there 15 minutes later and i walk in and tell the guy behind the counter (i'm pretty sure he's an assistant manager) "i really need you to be my hero today." he says "i'll try my best." so i show him my disc. he says "ive fixed worse." i said "oh, thank you. i'm so so so close to finishing this game and i'm pretty much obsessed with it so i cant lose it now." he said "you're not going to lose your game." :-D

so we stand there talking about the awesomeness that is oblivion (he has played the game 5 times and gotten his wife into it, too) and he's buffing, buffing, buffing, trying to get all the scratches out of the game. after about the 6th time buffing it, he goes to put it in the xbox to test it. nope. not working. tries to buff it 2 or 3 more times. nope. he asks the other guy (the store manager) "do we have any other copies of oblivion?" he said "no, not right now." the guy i'm talking to says "wait... i think someone traded one in today. i'm pretty sure they did. let me check." he returns about 3 minutes later with another copy of oblivion. yay! so i'm totally ready to whip out my wallet and buy this new (used) copy of oblivion and the takes it out of the case and puts it in my case and says "here you go. i remember when you came in and bought this. i helped you buy your 360. it wasnt that long ago." and it was true. he had helped us buy the 360 and it *wasnt* that long before... we bought it a couple of days before thanksgiving and this was in january. i thank him *profusely* and head home.

if you've ever played oblivion, you know about the monster-long load screens. if you've never played oblivion, i'm telling you now: the load screens are monster-long. if you're traveling from one city to another, you've got at least a 1 minute wait on your hands. are you walking through a door that goes from inside to outside (or vice-versa)? well just your luck, there's about 30 seconds there, if not more. so what did i do with my time spent sitting, waiting on load screens? i picked up a crochet hook and two strands of yarn: one in gray and one in cream.

yep. you got it. the model for the super-fast scarf was made for the guy at the game shop.

yesterday, we went to the game shop for our monthly free rental (another hook up from the same guy) and he was there. i finally got to give him his damn scarf. every time i went up there to give it to him, he wasnt there, but yesterday... finally! i told him "cause you were so super awesome and helped me out with my game and stuff, i made you something during the load screens." i showed it to him and he started laughing. i said "i know its almost too late to wear this now, but thats about 100 load screens worth of work, there." he said "oh, man, this is awesome." he started showing it to his co-workers and they were all pretty impressed. one guy said "dude, you should totally send that to Bethesda. they'd hang it on the wall or something!" he said "hell no! this is mine!" heh. awesome. :)

by that time, michael had picked out his free rental and we were ready to go. i told everyone in the shop goodbye and left. when we were driving away, i looked inside the shop and he still had the scarf thrown over his shoulder walking around with it. heh.

that made my day. probably made his, too. so that makes me wonder... who got mara's blessing yesterday? ;)

Super-fast Scarf

2008-02-26T23:47:00.000-06:00

whoo! yay for first posts! for my inaugural post, i shall post a crochet pattern!

Super-fast Scarf

this scarf can be worked up in about 45 minutes, if you are so inclined/skilled.

for this scarf, you will need at least 4 ounces of worsted weight yarn in 2 different colors (for a total of 8 ounces) and a Q hook. i prefer boye hooks, but what you pick is up to you. for the sample scarf, i used red heart acrylic yarns in gray and cream.

Instructions!

Note: entire scarf is worked with 2 strands of yarn held together.

Chain 11

Row 1: starting in second ch. from hook, sc 1 in each ch to end. ch 1, turn.

Row 2: sc 1 in each sc to end. ch 1, turn.

Rows 3-100: rpt row 2 until scarf is desired length and tie off.

seriously. thats it. you may want to do some light blocking on the ends to keep the corners from turning up, but otherwise, you're done. :) simple, huh?

ps. all these images are belonging to me, so if you don't want me in ur bases killin ur d00ds, don't take my images. kthxbai!