My first cotton harvest

I've collected a bunch of cotton from my 3 cotton bushes, which are about 4 feet tall. The bolls were a bit scrawny, I think I need to give them more feed. I've been feeding them worm tea and organic power-feed. I removed the cotton from the bolls, these still have the seeds inside. There's 46g in this first bunch. I guess when I collect a bit more I will separate the seeds and give it a spin. Yet another thing to learn!

my first cotton harvest

Pink Angel newborn hat

I've finished writing the rough drafts for my Princess Hats, just in time for my crafty friend Hazel to test a few more. She's already tested the premmie hat and we found a couple of errors which I was able to fix and update the pdf download on Ravelry.

this "Pink Angel" newborn hat is pink with white trim.

To be sure the newborn pattern was the best I could make it, I quickly did up this test hat. This one is a "Pink Angel", with pink as the main colour and white trim. I chose to make an Daisy-centered Irish Rose instead of the smaller flowers to see what it would look like. I think its turned out quite well, don't you?

the newborn hat as worn by a doll with a 12 inch head

5 Petal Simple Flower, free download

This flower is very similar to a simple flower, which is one of my most popular free patterns. I'm making this one available as a free download from Ravelry because I'm planning to include it in a set of hats I'm working on. The pdf file is easy to download and its free, you'll find it in my Ravelry store.

this 5 petal simple flower is very similar to the simple flower which has 6 petals

It's pretty simple, hence why it''s called a Simple Flower! This one has 5 petals instead of 6, so it has 10 stitches in the first round instead of 6.

Daisy-centered Irish Rose, free pattern

This tiny daisy is how I prefer to do the centre of an Irish Rose, which is traditionally a wheel of 6 spokes. I prefer this daisy in the centre, I just think it looks nicer!

An Irish Rose with a daisy centre in pink and purple

Tiny Daisy in 2 Rounds
1. 3 ch sl st to 1st ch to form loop, 1 ch 6 sc into loop, sl st to 1st sc
2. (3 ch sl st to next) repeated a total of 6 times (6 looped petals)

A blue Irish Rose with a white daisy centre

If you would like to turn this into an Irish Rose with a daisy centre, change colours and continue ontp this 3rd round.
3. attach new colour to any ch sp (2 ch 3dc into same 2 ch sl st into same, sl st into next ch sp) repeat for each ch sp (6 petals)
4. turn so you are working on the backside of the flower, (3 ch, sc around the next post of round 2) repeat for each post
5. turn so you are working again on the front side of the flower, (sl st into next ch sp, 3 ch 4 dc into same 3 ch sl st into same) repeat for each chain space, sl st into 1st ch sp and fasten off

Forest Princess premmie hat, free pattern

This is the first of a set of Princess hats I will be making available in 6 sizes, starting with this premmie sized hat. As the mum of a premmie baby, I don't feel I can sell the premmie hat so its available for free!

the premmie hat on a 12inch head

Summary -
There are 3 increasing rounds, plus 7 rounds of 12 granny clusters. This premmie hat fits heads from 10 inches to 12 inches in circumference. The picture is of the hat on a 12 inch head, so will appear larger on a smaller head. The hat is 4 inches high from crown to brim, or 5 inches stretched.

gauge - 1st 2 rounds measure 1.75 inches in diameter, 8 ply yarn with 4mm hook recommended
special stitch "Granny Cluster" - sk 2 3 dc into next, OR 3 dc into next ch sp
two colours are required, for "Forest Princess" green is the main colour, and pink is the contrast colour

1. (in main colour) 3 ch (counts as 1st st) sl st into 1st ch to form loop, 11 dc into loop, sl st into 3rd ch (12 st)
2. sc into next 2 ch (counts as 1st dc throughout), dc into same (2 dc into next) repeat to end, sl st into 2nd ch (24 st)
3. sc into next 2 ch, dc into same (dc into next, 2 dc into next) repeated to end, dc into last, sl st into 2nd ch (36 st)
4. sc into next 2 ch, dc into same (sk 2, 3 dc into next, counts as granny cluster throughout), repeat for 11 granny clusters, sk 2 dc into same as 1st sc (counts as 12th granny cluster throughout), sl st into 2nd ch (12 granny clusters)
5-10. sc into next ch sp 2 ch, dc into same (3 dc into next ch sp) repeated for every ch sp, dc into same ch sp as 1st sc, sl st into 2nd ch (12 granny clusters) fasten off
11. (change to contrast colour) attach to any ch sp (sk 1 2 hdc into 2nd dc of granny cluster, dc into same, 2 hdc into same, sl st into next ch sp) repeat for each granny cluster, fasten off
12. in contrast colour, make a tiny one round flower, free pattern at Flushed with Rosy Colour, and attach securely to round 7, weave in all ends

the Forest Princess hat is green with pink trim

Heather's Rose pattern

I've finally been able to finish the Heather's Rose pattern enough to get it onto Ravelry. I've been working on this pattern for nearly 12 months, when I first posted about it here on this blog back in July. The finished PDF has 6 photos, and two actual patterns, so a lot of work for one small flower!

Heather's Rose can have optional stamen, like these white ones

Its a special flower I've named after my mum, who was my first crochet teacher. Hopefully the photos show how pretty this flower is and some people decide they'd like to make some!

the internal petals can sit up like this

the internal petals can curl down flat like this

a red and pink Heather's Rose with yellow stamen

a variegated yarn can show the interesting way the internal petals furl

Tiniest One Round Flower, free pattern

This is how I do a very small flower in just one round, I most recently made one for a premmie hat I will post about soon. I realised I hadn't shared this pattern yet so here it is now.

this is how I do a tiny one round flower

One Round Flower
gauge is not important, the size of the flower will be determined by the size of the hook and the thickness of the yarn, this requires a very small amount of yarn, great for using up small scraps
1. 3 ch sl st into 1st ch to form loop, rest of round worked into the loop, (2 ch dc 2 ch sl st) repeated for 5 petals

Blue Easter Basket, free pattern

I just quickly made up an Easter basket this morning using some acrylic yarn. It's basically the same idea from a couple of years ago when I made some little red Easter baskets.

this basket holds more than half a dozen chicken-sized eggs

the handle can be pinched into shape so it stands up

This time I used two strands of textured blue yarn, and a 4mm hook. The thickness of the yarn helps hold the basket upright. I finished off with some fluffy craft yarn along the top edge. The finished basket measures 11cm across the bottom, and is 7 cm high. The handle can stand up or it can be folded down along half the edge. The handle is simply a chain with a row of sc around it, this gives the handle a little substance.

Easter Basket pattern by Teena Sutton Murphy
gauge not necessary, the yarn and hook you use will determine the final size of the basket
I used two strands of thin textured acrylic yarn and a 4mm hook
1. 3 ch, sl st to form loop, 6 sc into loop, sl st into 1st sc
2. 1 ch, 2 sc into each st around (12 st), sl st into 1st sc
3. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next) repeated around (18 st), sl st into 1st sc
4. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 2) repeated around (24 st), sl st into 1st sc
5. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 3) repeated around (30 st), sl st into 1st sc
6. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 4) repeated around (36 st), sl st into 1st sc
7. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 5) repeated around (42 st), sl st into 1st sc
8. 1 ch (2 sc, sc into next 6) repeated around (48 st), sl st into 1st sc
9. 1 ch, sc into back loop of every st (48 st), sl st into 1st sc
10-21. 1 ch, sc into every st around (48 st), sl st into 1st sc
22. 24 ch, skip 24, sl st, sl st into next, 24 sc around ch back to start of round 22, sl st, fasten off
23. in fluffy yarn, sc into every st around the edge, fasten off

detail of the inside of the basket