Tutorial: Bee in Love Mason Jar Cover

We love bees in our household! I have had a strong connection to bees my whole life (the name Melissa literally means honey bee) and found a man with just as strong interest in them. We have since passed on that love to our little boy, who has almost no fear of bees and eats honey every night for dessert.

Not only are bees beautiful interesting little creatures that can teach us humans many things they are also necessary for the survival of humans. Bees (and other critters) are responsible for the pollination of almost everything we eat and, in my humble opinions, should be loved and celebrated.

I also have way to many mason jars in my home. While playing around on Ravelry around the holiday's I found this wonderful mason jar cover tutorial on Nature Nut Notes Blog. I made on that evening and have been making my own versions of them ever since.

So here is my ode to bees and mason jars, a great stash buster, that is pretty and functional. I picture fresh picked flowers pouring out of the one we now have and hope this projects inspires you and brings us that much closer to spring!

What you will need: An old mason jar, small amount of yellow, white, black, pink (not shown) yarn and a size 4.5 mm crochet hook. Later you will also need a hot glue gun!

With black yarn, chain enough to wrap snugly around your mason jar.

Join with a slip stitch to form a loop, trying not to twist the chain. Chain 2. Make one double crochet in each chain space around. Join at the top of the chain with a slip stitch. Do no fasten off.

Chain 2 with the yellow yarn. Make one double crochet in each double crochet of last round.

At the end of the first yellow row, tie the ends from the yellow and black yarn tightly. Continue making 1 double crochet in each double crochet of the round before, alternating between yellow and black yarn, not cutting the yarn at the end of each row but drawing up the color needed.

Stop when you have reached the top of the jar, where the jar starts to curve inward or as close as you can to the top with the yellow yarn.

With the black yarn, work one row of single crochets. This row of single crochets will make the row tighter. Fasten off and weave in the ends. Your cover is now done!

If you turn the cover inside out, you should be able to see the yarn you drew up with each row. (For some reason I love how neat and organized this is!)

With the 4.5mm hook and the white yarn, chain 10. Make 2 double crochet (dc) in the 2nd chain from the hook.

Half double crochet (hdc) in each ch to the end. Make 3 hdc in the last chain.

Working along the other side of the ch, hdc to the end. (7 hdc)

Make 2 more dc in the same space as the other dc from the beginning of row. Slip Stitch to join.

Ch 2, 2 dc in the next dc, 1 dc. hdc in next 7, 2hd, 1hdc, 2 hdc. hdc in next 7 hdc along the other side. dc in first dc, 2 dc in next. Ss to join. Row 2 complete! Your wing will now start to curve...that's a good thing!

For row 3, ch 3. 2 dc in the next dc, twice. 1 dc. 8 hdc across. 2 hdc in each if the next 3 st. 8 hdc along other side. 1 dc in next dc, 2 dc in each of next 2 dc, ss to join.

Now make another one.....bees actually have 2 sets of wings but my son insisted that I only make 1 set!

This is a good time to make your heart! I make the medium sized heart by June over at PlanetJune. You can find the pattern here. I choose a bright pink but you can use what ever pink or red you have in your stash!

Now it is time to put this bee together! I folded my mason jar cover in half with the seam down the middle and facing the back. I then put a small piece of cardboard inside so the glue from the hot glue gun didn't sick to back of the cover.

Lay out the wings where you want them, I put mine in the middle but you could put them higher or lower.

Flip them over and put a small amount of hot glue on the smaller end (the end made up of hdc). I wanted my wings to flap, that's why I only put a small amount of glue. Do the same thing for the other wing, pushing down firmly!

Ta Da!

Cover the back of your heart with hot glue and place it on top of the wings in the center.

You are done!

You could also sew on your wings is you do not have a hot glue gun but I'm a little obsessed with mine right now so I wanted to use it!

Now fill your jar with flowers or pencils or, as ours is currently being used for, paint brushes and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Hope to see you again soon!

Also, check out the link to Robins Blog....I'm featured over there!

;

Yoga Sock Pattern!

I recently did a blog post to show off the Yoga Socks I've been making and promised to share the pattern with others, so here it is....

This pattern is really flexible and can be adjusted to fit many different size feet.
I have very small feet (a size 5) so you may want to chain more in the beginning but remember that the fabric will stretch when you wear it, so don't go crazy! I added only 3 chains for bigger ones which fit my moms foot (a size 8).

There is one thing I've learned after making several pairs of these socks and that is you don't want the socks to be too long. They should only just reach the balls of your feet so you can still grip the yoga mat while your working out.

This pattern is worked from the ankle down, using short rows to create the space for the heel.

Okay, here it is....and please let me know if you find any errors.

You will need a small amount of worsted weight yarn and a 5 mm hook.

Chain 32. (The chain should wrap comfortably around both your ankle and the base of your foot, if it doesn't, add more chains).

Slip stitch to join, being careful not to twist the chain.

Working the ankle:

Chain 2, half double crochet (hdc) in each space. Join with a slip stitch at the end of each row.

Repeat 5 times. (If you would like your socks to be longer, you can just add more rows)

Forming the heel opening:

Hdc in next 20 stitches. Chain 2. Turn leaving the rest of the stitches from the previous row unworked. (If you've added stitches to make your socks longer, be sure to leave at least 12 to 15 unworked stitches for the heel opening).

Hdc in 20 hdc of previous row. Chain 2. Turn.

Hdc in 20 hdc of prevous row. Chain 12 (or the number of stitches you avoided when forming the heel), join with a slip stitch to the first hdc of row. Chain 2.

Working the foot:

Hdc in each stitch around. Chain 2. Join with an slip stitch at the end of each row.

Repeat 8 more times or until your socks reach but do not cover the ball of your foot.

And you're done! Make another to match.

Then make some for everyone in your yoga class!

Play around with color...have fun with it!

If your planning to make this pattern, please check out pattern policy here.

Stash busting!

Howdy!
We are experiencing some lovely weather up here in Ontario and there is nothing like a good snow storm to get me in the crafting mood. That said, I wanted to let everyone know that there is some serious stash busting going on over in the land of The T-Shirt Diaries.

Robin is hosing a stash busting up-cycling event from March 22 to April 22, kinda like a Earth day slash spring cleaning for your craft corner (or corners for some of you out there).

So, if you haven't already done so, run (or maybe click...we are in the world of blogging) over there and sign up. I am planning to make many pairs of yoga socks and a few head start squares for the event I'm planning in May.

Here's the link:



Enjoy!

A Square a Day for the Month of May!

I've decided to make the this may a bit more interesting and instead of just finding things here and there to crochet up, I want to make one 12" granny square everyday for the month!

I've never done anything like this but I feel the need to make a fun big project that will hopefully aid in the busting of my stash!

I started thinking about all the fun squares I could make and looking forward to sharing them with others and then I started to realize that maybe other people would be interested in doing this too. With a little planning before hand, I could post a list of each square I plan to make and maybe others could make them too. And then, on the 31st we can all start attaching them! Doesn't that sound exciting?

So let the planning begin....Here's what I'm going to need to do...

1. Make a button for the event
2. Make a page on Facebook and Raverly
3. Make a list of the granny squares we will be making and provide links to them all on my blog
4. Figure out how to do a linking party, so we can link the squares we've made everyday

That is good enough for now!

Let's Stashbust together!

If your anything like anyone who crafts you have a stash somewhere in your home of craft supplies. I too have a stash, and while mine is pretty limited it is over flowing at the present!

So Robin over at The T-Shirt Diaries has challenged all to a spring stashbust. The rules are simple; try not to buy any craft supplies between the dates of March 22 - April 22, take "before" pictures of you stash and place her button on your blog. Lovin' it!

So here are my stash! This is the storage closet in our dinning room which is really just an extention of our living room because we dine in our kitchen. Each one of the drawers is over flowing with yarn and beside the dresser is more yarn and projects waiting to be done. It is overwhelming to say the least and I'm looking forward to busting it.



And here is where you can sign up to bust up your own stash!



I am also planning to do a granny square a day in May....I will be making 30 different granny squares and then sewing them together to make a blanket....yes, stashbusting!

The Weekend is Over.....

....and we had many adventures!

Kade had a wonderful time at the birthday party, I finished the tutorial I was working on (almost) and the socks are done! Thank goodness those socks are done...I took pictures but lost them. I will take new ones again soon!

While at my mother in laws last night she found freezer paper in her basement for me, which was super excited, and soon, very soon, I will start making stencils! I'm planning to make t-shirts as christmas gifts this year, so I want to practice!

Speaking of christmas (the stash busting time of year for me)I've decide to start making presents really early this year in a hope that my stash will be seriously busted! It is getting out of control again I've made a silent vow to stop buying yarn for the next few months.

I have also become very inspired by the lovely lady at Things To Make and Do, who has been making granny squares for months and is not attaching them all. I am thinking of doing a month of granny squares and then putting them together....That would be a great way to bust my stash.

Okay, I must head to work but wanted to share a plant update.
I took the first picture of our hyacinth 2 days ago and the second one just this morning....lovely right!