Patterns: Free or Purchased?

The Morning Work Table. Check out that basket of booties!

For the last few days I've been looking for small projects that crochet up quickly. How quickly? Say an hour or less.

Preferably easy projects that don't require a lot of thought. [i.e., that can be made while watching TV or a movie.] Twenty to thirty lines for the entire pattern.

With so many choices available it's hard to narrow the search enough to come up with viable results. I DO have a few "go to" sites. Google, Ravelry, Pinterest, Etsy and CrochetPatternCentral. Searching for free narrows the search results, but if you're like me you're likely to follow that rabbit down the hole. Sometimes it can take days of research to find a worthy project.

On the Assembly Line

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.

Guess I'm getting old 'cause I miss the kids trick-or-treating from door-to-door. Now-a-days most children go to events organized by local fire departments and schools. Perhaps it's for the best. I remember walking from house to house in the neighborhood freezing as the sleet/snow fell around us all. The loot we'd bring home was well worth it -- even if it was confiscated and doled out a little at a a time. I remember the joy of dumping a full shopping bag out on the floor and sorting through it for favorite stuff. The first night sister and I were always allowed to eat until we pretty much fell into a sugar coma. Great memories!


Several projects are underway at the Petunia Magpie factory in anticipation of the forthcoming holidays. For example, this trio of googlie-eyed ponies await final assembly. When completed they'll look very similar to the ones below.

Am trying to decide on a color for their mane and tails. Should I stick with the color of their bodies or mix it up a bit? Any suggestions?

These are child-safe. Crocheted by hand using Morning Glory fiberfill and Red Heart yarn (both products made in USA). Machine wash and dry.

Happy "Snow-vember"!

Googlie-Eyed Ponies

 Aren't these just the cutest little ponies? One of the reasons I like them so much is their hair/mane. Some would say that they're Punk Rockers. To me they're just silly. Guaranteed to make you smile.

Very easy to make too! I had one finished in just a couple hours.

It's amazing the free patterns you can find on the Internet. Of course, you have to sift through a lot of yucky ones to find the good. Plus you have to avoid getting distracted. lol


Here's a link to the crochet pattern if you like to do-it-yourself. The pattern calls for "stripe" yarn; shown here with variegated yarn. Amigurumi Ponies from Red Heart. Note: I didn't make the "eye-lids" shown in the pattern. The blue pony doesn't have the hoofs 'cause he's a wild pony and therefore unshod. Would love to see your rendition should you decide to make one.

Farm Animal Nursery Quilt - FINISHED!!!

Finally finished with the Farm Animal Nursery Quilt.

I'll be posting pictures of all the blocks on my Etsy site later today if you'd like to see them close-up.

The embroidery took longer than I anticipated. Not sure the exact amount of hours spent on this quilt from start to finish, but it's more than 40. Perhaps I'm just really s-l-o-w. lol

On Point Nine Patch

It's funny how a simple thing like a nine-patch quilt block when turned on it's point can look so very, very different.







As long as you find and cut according to the straight of grain, squares are so easy to work with. There's no worrying about stretching (like those dreaded triangles). No set-in seams to fiddle with. No curves to pin or sew along. Just simple, straightforward sewing.

I used the rotary cutting and strip piecing methods found in the Quilting Bible to put this quilt together. I found it to be a lot quicker than traditional methods. The finished size is 33" x 52" -- a good size for either a crib or lap quilt.

Turned out rather pretty.