Crocheting gifts and working on patterns!

I'm in progress with a new aspect of crochet--writing patterns. I've been amazed at how much harder it is to write down and explain a pattern than to just go go go and make something. I hope to have a Valentine's themed amigurumi up by next week, and then a cute spring critter after that. That Valentine's one is KILLING me though--I have three prototypes that are looking at me sadly from my crochet bag with wonky parts and pieces. But I'll keep trying, because I sketched it up and thought it was cute :)

Here are some projects I finished:

Another Toadette! My sister asked me to make her one for her birthday. I think it turned out alright, but now that I've seen Toad's Treasure Tracker, I wish I had made her in that cute khaki outfit! Her feet have been weighted so that she can stand on her own.

A friend of mine had a cute, chubby baby in the fall and I made him a hat and shoes. Unfortunately, I gave it so late I don't think he could wear it... Oh well, it's the thought that counts! I also used a "crab stitch" for the finish. I like it, but it took me forever to figure it out!

Alright, alright, those Valentine headbands DO come in traditional colors, too.
And I forgot to post this proof that Emmy WILL wear some things I crochet!! Don't mind that I'm holding her hand away from pulling it off. :)

Back to the drawing board.

Conversation Heart Headbands

My older brother is infamous for his love of conversation hearts. It has to be a certain brand and it has to be the small ones, but when he has a bag of them he will eat.them.all. He would eat them all year round if he could. This worked to my advantage on Valentine's day, as I would only eat the orange ones (they tasted the least like chalk?). So I had some tradeable goods for his fun dips and pixie sticks.

So when I think of Valentine's day, as much as I love red and hot pink, I love the pastel colors that remind me of my sugar filled childhood.

These headbands are simple, but cute. I like that they are a bit daintier than other headbands I've made. I can do them in any color, but these were the ones I liked the best. As for my favorite orange flavor--the color yarn for those would be too peachy, so I stuck with these.

Everything was pretty simple--I actually just chained a length of yarn, then applied shell edging around the whole thing, like I would on a blanket. It gives it a nice touch of stretch.

As for the hearts, can you tell I enjoyed making them? There are tons of resources online to make hearts, I hope to try some of the more complicated ones, but these are simply:
Magic circle (All About Ami's  magic circle tutorial)
Chain 3
3 triple crochet into circle,
3 double crochet into circle,
1 triple crochet into circle,
3 double crochet into circle,
3 triple crochet into circle,
chain three,
slip stitch into circle, fasten off.
Pull the original thread tight and knot it and VOILA you are a heart making MACHINE!

Have fun!
Email me at thecraftzilla@gmail.com or message me on The Craftzilla's facebook page to ask about having a headbands made for you! I'm hoping to get these on the Etsy store soon. :)