Beaded Fidget Turtles

This crochet Beaded Fidget Turtle, a paid pattern by Emily Nigro (aka Willow & Wild) is super cute and very quick and easy to make, and it requires just a small amount of yarn, 2 safety eyes, 16 pony beads, and a bit of stuffing. After you make one, you'll then want to make more in ALLLL the colors!! 😂

I crocheted it using a 4 mm hook and used a 2.5 mm hook for the bead stitches.

It even has a little tail!

This one is a gift for my physical therapist. Anyone can tell the moment they walk into my PT's office that she loves turtles, because turtle iconography is everywhere, and she even has a pair of live turtles in a tank in the waiting room. 🐢 The ambience is very calm and soothing, and it's fun to sit and watch the turtles swim or sun themselves on a rock.

BTW, my PT's name is Rey. It isn't every day that one gets to have a Jedi as one's physical therapist, eh?! She is excellent.

After I saw how adorable the first turtle for Rey turned out, I realized that I also had to make one for Rey's office manager, Hannah, and for Rey's student intern, Cheyenne. So I did. 😊 Now there are three widdle turtles for me to take to my next PT appointment, and each one is slightly different. 💜

I have also made the Beaded Hedgehog Fidget by Willow & Wild. Her patterns are always fun, well-written, easy to follow, and result in some really adorable critters. She has tons of amazing patterns to choose from, so you should definitely check them out. I'm sure I will be making more in the future!

Frost Guard Balaclava

I can tell already that this is going to be my new go-to winter accessory! The Frost Guard Balaclava by Marly Bird is one of those projects that provides ultimate comfort and versatility for the wearer while looking so stylish and cute. And because it's crocheted, it's very quick and easy to make. After you make one for yourself, you'll want to make one for all your loved ones too! 😊

Marly included so many thoughtful details in this design. It can be worn with the hood down as a cozy cowl. The ribbing is long enough to tuck inside the collar of your jacket, to keep those chilly drafts from getting to your neck. With the hood up, you get coverage to keep you protected from your neck to your ears to the top of your head, AND the hood is shaped to preserve your peripheral vision while you're wearing it. And for those extra-blustery days, there is a cord for cinching the hood down tight around your face. You can also opt to fold the ribbing up inside the hood to cover your nose and mouth like a scarf. And because it pulls over your head and sits around your neck, it won't slip off like a scarf does. This piece is just the perfect all-around cold-weather accessory. Marly shared a few quick videos demonstrating some of the fun ways to wear it: here, here, and here.

To me, one of the best features about this piece is that it keeps your head warm and protected without needing to fit snugly like a hat, so you can stay cozy without ending up with the dreaded HAT HAIR!!! 😂 Plus, since my typical daily hairstyle is wearing it up in a messy bun, this hood is sized to be large enough to fit over my hair without my having to have a hole in the back for my bun to poke out of, which is how I wear most of my regular hats. 

Marly designed this to be made with Caron Macchiato Cakes yarn, but I used a skein and a half of Lion Brand Scarfie in the Eggplant Taupe colorway, because it's a similar weight to the Macchiato yarn, and it's what I had on hand. I absolutely love this colorway and wish it hadn't been discontinued. 💜 

For the i-cord, I knitted that using my French knitter (the yellow tool seen in the above photo).

Kawaii ghost keycover

I needed a cover for my car's key fob/remote to help protect it while it was inside my purse. This adorable little ghost key cover is ready to go to work! 👻

I made this based on the Crochet Cute Ghost Key Cover design by Kukkacrochet by Putri on YouTube. I modified her design to fit over my car's key fob, and I didn't include the hat or bat topper portion.

For the face, I used these safety eyes (which I found on Amazon). After securing the backs to the eye posts, I used a lighter to carefully heat the eye posts and pressed them flat using the flat side of a hammer head. (You just need any heat-resistant flat surface to press down on the hot plastic, and a hammer head is what I had handy. I didn't actually "hammer" the eye posts to flatten them. 😂) This step usually requires a few separate times of heating the plastic and pressing it down until it's shaped the way you want it. The taller the eye posts, the more times you'll need to heat and press them. Don't try to do it all at once. Just take your time and work at it gradually, and eventually they will flatten out. You definitely want to be extra careful to NOT burn your yarn as you work!!

To secure the crochet chain to the split keychain loop, I added a pony bead. Any pony bead will do, but I happened to have a glittery purple heart-shaped bead in my stash, so of course I used that one. 😍  To slip the pony bead onto the chain, use a 2.5 mm hook. Place the bead on the hook, catch the crochet chain in the hook, and pull the chain loop through the bead.

I don't remember anymore where I got the colorful split keychain rings from (that was at least 10 years ago), but it might have been the craft section at Walmart. They came in a bag of about 100 (basically a lifetime supply for my craft room) in two different sizes in four different colors: purple, blue, green, and red. Naturally, I used a purple one for this project! 💜 Happy Halloweeeeeeen!!

My little keychain ghost also matches with my ghost wheelchair wheel covers! 😁👻💜
 

Tooth Fairy Pillow pocket lovey

This tooth fairy pillow is going to be a gift for my wonderful dental hygienist, Carra.

In recent years, I've developed awful sensitivity in my teeth from enamel damage incurred from grinding my teeth and/or clenching my jaw during sleep. I started wearing a mouth guard at night, but not until after the damage was already done.

Ever since my teeth were damaged, having dental cleanings done has been terribly painful, to the point where I even considered not going to the dentist at all anymore (yeah, of course, I know that skipping dental visits wouldn't have made my situation any better, obviously, but ugh). I even felt that I had to change dental practices because my previous dentist didn't seem to be sufficiently sympathetic to my pain and wasn't really working with me to follow a plan to manage it.

My new hygienist, Carra (and, really, the entire team at Dr. Shelton's), has been nothing short of AMAZING. Carra has been very sympathetic and gentle with me at every visit and always gives me and my teeth the most wonderful care.

I always try to profusely thank Carra each time I see her, to let her know how much I appreciate her wonderful "bedside manner," as it were, but in addition to saying thank you, I wanted to give her a small, tangible token to express my gratitude, and thus I went searching for a crochet tooth pattern that was both super adorable and also sort of representative of who she is in her career. To me, Carra is my personal tooth fairy angel! 👼

This free Tooth Fairy Pillow pattern by Heather Corinne Smith is just right in every way. (She also has a video tutorial you can follow.) The design makes a tooth softie/lovey of a nice size (mine is about 6 inches tall, not including the hanging loop, by 6 inches wide), and the kawaii embroidered facial features are just so cute. The pocket on the back (about 3.75 inches wide by 2.5 inches tall) is the perfect size for holding a Dutch Bros gift card and sticker to add an extra touch of sweetness to the gift. I finished mine by adding a bow made of a small scrap of hot pink ribbon (it was only about 8 inches long to start with, so it was barely long enough, but it worked!!) that I had in my stash and followed this quick tutorial on YouTube to tie it, then I carefully sewed it to the tooth using a needle and thread.

Back with pocket

This turned out so cute, and I think Carra is going to love it. So if you love your dental hygienist as much as I love mine, maybe you should make one of these for your hygienist, too!

Machine knit coin purse project

I love the designs by Nicola Allison of Three Magic Sheep Co.! I just came across a TikTok video tutorial she made showing how to make these sweet coin purses using a 40-pin knitting machine. Such a super cute project!

@threemagicsheepco For links to the clasp, beads, and other supplies check out my website! Link in bio Or you can head directly to my Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/threemagicsheepco #howto #circularknittingmachinetutorial #circularknittingmachine #sentroknittingmachine #tutorial #knittingmachinequeens #threemagicsheepco #sentro #knittingmachine ♬ Beautiful Life - Vin Music

Kawaii Pop Tart

Using my Addi King Size 46-needle knitting machine, I made this kawaii amigurumi Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tart toy.

I don't eat stuff like pop tarts anymore, but back in the day, the hot fudge sundae flavor was my favorite.

Recipe is 60 rows of crust/base color and 60 rows of frosting color. For a 48-needle machine, make it 65 rows of each. Since my pop tart is a Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tart, I used a dark brown yarn (Red Heart Super Saver in Coffee) for the crust color and a white yarn (Red Heart Super Saver in White) for the frosting layer. I recommend using waste yarn to cast on and cast off from the machine because it makes it easier to close the tubes later.

Crochet each end of the tube closed and remove the waste yarn. Then fold your tube in half, putting the crust color on one side and the frosting color on the other side. Using the crust color and a 5mm crochet hook, work half-double crochet stitches around the outside edge of the pop tart, first to join the ends of the tubes together (across the short side), then around the corner (placing at least 2 HDCs in each corner), then down one long side (joining the crust layer to the frosting layer), then around the next corner, then across the other short side (where the tube is folded), then around the third corner. At this point, lightly stuff the pop tart, just barely enough to give the center some loft (don't make it at all firm). After stuffing the center, continue crocheting around the last (long) side (again, joining the crust layer to the frosting layer) until you're back to where you started. Don't forget to work a couple extra stitches in that last corner. Then join to the first HDC stitch and fasten off.

I did 65 rows in my sample piece of a Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tart on my 46-needle machine, and the aspect ratio is a bit tall compared to what a real pop tart looks like, so I adjusted my recipe to be 60 rows of each color on the 46-needle machines, which should work better, and 65 rows of each color on the 48-needle machines.

For the eyes, I used a couple of 10mm eyes from this kit that I bought on Amazon. I embroidered the little mouth using a small length of Red Heart yarn in black.

For the colorful sprinkles, I found this skein of Ice Yarns Lorena Print in purple/pink/yellow/green/turquoise, which are the exact same colors as the sprinkles on the real Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tarts. And for the chocolatey swirls, I embroidered chain stitches using more of the Red Heart yarn in the Coffee (brown) colorway.

Inspo photo

Pokemon yarn-bombing

Here's a different twist on yarn-bombing: Leaving little crocheted Pokemon characters at Pokestops for the players to find. This clever idea was shared with me by my friend Joann.

Crochet spring wreath

My dear friend Pam shared this super cute crochet spring wreath idea by Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me. The instructions are in this post on her blog.