Movie Night Outside Blanket Part 4


Now it's time to start decreasing, but only on ODD numbered rows!  Once again, I'd recommend checking out Repeat Crafter Me's video on how to create a C2C graphghan, and be sure to check out how to decrease.  Her video can be found HERE.  Since this will be a rectangle, make sure to only decrease on the odd numbered rows, and keep increasing on the even rows.

Don't forget:
b = black
w = white
g = gray
y = color of your choice (I used gold)
z = color of your choice (I used royal)

61. 3b, 5w, 4b, 2w, 8g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 3g, 2z, 12g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
62. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 13g, 2z, 2g, 2y, 2g, 1y, 1g, 2y, 7g, 2w, 5b, 4w, 3b
63. 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 4y, 2g, 2y, 2g, 1z, 1g, 3z, 2g, 1z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 5w, 4b
64. 5b, 4w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 1g, 3z, 4g, 2y, 3g, 3y, 7g, 2w, 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b
65. 3b, 1w, 2b, 3w, 3b, 2w, 13g, 2y, 3g, 1z, 1g, 4z, 8g, 2w, 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b
66. 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 1z, 1g, 3z, 1g, 1z, 3g, 2y, 1g, 1y, 11g, 2w, 3b, 4w, 5b
67. 4b, 5w, 3b, 2w, 8g, 1y, 1g, 2y, 1g, 2y, 2g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 1w, 2b, 3w, 3b
68. 3b, 4w, 5b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 2g, 4z, 3g, 4y, 1g, 2y, 7g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
69. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2y, 1g, 3y, 1g, 1y, 2g, 3z, 3g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 4b, 5w, 3b
70. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 4g, 2z, 2g, 2y, 1g, 2y, 1g, 2y, 7g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
71. 3b, 5w, 4b, 2w, 7g, 4y, 2g, 1y, 3g, 1z, 3g, 1z, 1g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
72. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 1g, 1z, 4g, 2y, 2g, 3y, 7g, 2w, 5b, 4w, 3b
73. 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2y, 3g, 1y, 4g, 2z, 1g, 4z, 8g, 2w, 3b, 5w, 4b
74. 5b, 4w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 1z, 1g, 3z, 1g, 2z, 2g, 1y, 1g, 4y, 1g, 1y, 7g, 2w, 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b
75. 3b, 1w, 3b, 3w, 3b, 2w, 9g, 3y, 1g, 2y, 2g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b
76. 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 8g, 2z, 1g, 4z, 3g, 4y, 1g, 1y, 8g, 2w, 3b, 4w, 5b
77. 4b, 5w, 3b, 2w, 8g, 1y, 1g, 3y, 4g, 3z, 1g, 3z, 8g, 2w, 3b, 1w, 2b, 3w, 3b
78. 3b, 4w, 5b, 2w, 9g, 3z, 1g, 2z, 5g, 2y, 1g, 2y, 7g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
79. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 4y, 6g, 1z, 1g, 4z, 1g, 1z, 7g, 2w, 4b, 5w, 3b
80. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 1g, 4z, 6g, 1y, 1g, 3y, 7g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b

Don't forget to weave your ends in now.  You'll thank yourself later.

Happy hooking!

Movie Night Outside Blanket Part 3

And the project continues!  Here's rows 41 through 60.  I like doing these in chunks of 20, so then I'm reminded to weave in my ends as I go.  If not, when the blanket's done, it'll be a hot mess of random pieces of yarn.

Anyway, in this group, you will still be increasing on every row, but this will be the last one.  Here's a little reminder on colors:
b = black
w = white
g = gray
y = color of your choice (mine is gold)
z = color of your choice (mine is royal blue)

41. 2b, 1w, 2g, 2y, 2g, 1y, 7g, 2z, 8g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
42. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 1z, 1g, 2z, 7g, 1y, 2g, 2y, 2g, 1w, 2b
43. 2b, 1w, 3g, 1y, 3g, 1y, 6g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 5w, 4b
44. 5b, 4w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 2g, 2z, 6g, 1y, 3g, 1y, 3g, 1w, 2b
45. 2b, 1w, 4g, 1y, 2g, 2y, 5g, 2z, 3g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b
46. 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 3z, 3g, 2z, 5g, 2y, 2g, 1y, 4g, 1w, 2b
47. 2b, 1w, 5g, 4y, 1g, 3y, 2g, 1z, 3g, 4z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 1w, 2b, 3w, 3b
48. 3b, 4w, 5b, 2w, 7g, 5z, 1g, 1z, 3g, 3y, 2g, 3y, 6g, 1w, 2b
49. 2b, 1w, 13g, 2y, 2g, 5z, 1g, 1z, 8g, 2w, 4b, 5w, 3b
50. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 1z, 3g, 4z, 3g, 1y, 3g, 1y, 9g, 2w, 2b
51. 3b, 2w, 9g, 1y, 3g, 1y, 3g, 3z, 3g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
52. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 8g, 2z, 3g, 2z, 4g, 1y, 3g, 1y, 8g, 2w, 4b
53. 5b, 2w, 8g, 1y, 3g, 1y, 4g, 2z, 2g, 2z, 9g, 2w, 3b, 5w, 4b
54. 5b, 4w, 3b, 2w, 10g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 5g, 1y, 1g, 3z, 2g, 1z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 1w, 2b
55. 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 4y, 1g, 3y, 2g, 1z, 1g, 3z, 2g, 1z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b
56. 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 1g, 4z, 3g, 4y, 1g, 3y, 7g, 2w, 3b, 3w, 2b
57. 2b, 4w, 3b, 2w, 11g, 1y, 1g, 2y, 2g, 2z, 1g, 4z, 8g, 2w, 3b, 1w 2b, 3w, 3b
58. 3b, 4w, 5b, 2w, 9g, 3z, 2g, 1z, 3g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 9g, 2w, 3b, 5w, 2b
59. 2b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 9g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 6g, 2z, 10g, 2w, 4b, 5w, 3b
60. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 11g, 2z, 6g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 1g, 1y, 8g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b

Weave in those ends!  You'll thank yourself later :-)

Can you tell what it says yet?

Don't forget, use hair clips to keep your yarn balls from rolling away!

Movie Night Outside Blanket Part 2

I was planning on writing this blog post yesterday, but I watched the last episodes of Orange is the New Black, and.... oh man, I needed time to get over that.

Anyway, here is part 2 of my blanket for outdoor movie nights. I'm only doing 20 rows at a time, so it's easier to follow. This section you will be using the two colors of your choosing, with the black, white and gray.  I'd recommend writing down which color is which.  One will be labeled "Y" and one "Z." In my blanket, I'm using Gold as Y and Royal as Z.

Once again, this section is ALL increasing, so don't worry about decreasing yet. Also, here are the colors I used again:
b = black
w = white
g = gray
y = color of your choosing
z = color of your choosing

21. 2b, 1w, 4g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
22. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 5g, 1w, 2b
23. 2b, 1w, 6g, 2w, 3b, 5w, 4b
24. 5b, 4w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 1w, 2b
25. 2b, 1w, 8g,  2w, 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b
26. 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 1z, 1g, 1w, 2b
27. 2b, 1w, 1g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 1w, 2b, 3w, 3b
28. 3b, 4w, 5b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 2g, 1w, 2b
29. 2b, 1w, 3g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 4b, 5w, 3b
30. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 4g, 1w, 2b
31. 2b, 1w, 3g, 1z, 1g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 6w, 3b
32. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 1g, 1z, 1g, 1w, 2b
33. 2b, 1w, 1g, 2z, 1g, 4z, 8g, 2w, 3b, 5w, 4b
34. 5b, 4w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 1z, 1g, 3z, 1g, 2z, 2g, 1w, 2b
35. 2b, 1w, 3g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 1g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b
36. 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 2g, 4z, 4g, 1w, 2b
37. 2b, 1w, 5g, 3z, 3g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 3b, 1w, 2b, 3w, 3b
38. 3b, 4w, 5b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 4g, 2z, 6g, 1w, 2b
39. 2b, 1w, 2g, 3y, 2g, 1z, 5g, 2z, 7g, 2w, 4b, 5w, 3b
40. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 7g, 2z, 8g, 4y, 2g, 1w, 2b

Here's my progress so far:
I'm already working on Part 3, so keep an eye out for that!

Movie Night Outside Blanket Part 1

Happy first day of summer!  Here in LA, it definitely feels like summer. It was over 80 degrees by 7AM!

Anyway, I'm working on another movie night blanket.  I have found that C2C graphghans (corner-to-corner crocheted blanket that can look like a graph) are perfect for our outdoor movie nights.  If you've never made one, Sarah from Repeat Crafter Me has a great video on how to start and do color changes right HERE. The only thing I do slightly different is I use a chain 5 instead of a chain 6, and a chain 2 instead of a chain 3. It makes the squares a bit closer together, but either way works perfectly fine. The ones I like to make are 80 by 60 squares, which makes a tiny blanket that's perfect for one person to sit on with a few drinks and snacks.

This one will have a bit of a film theme, which will be great for those of you who love watching movies outside.

The colors I used are all Red Heart Super Saver. Ideally, get the JUMBO rolls, and I'd say start with one apiece. Ball up your yarn in multiple tiny balls.
b = black
w = white
g = gray heather
There are two other colors, which I recommend you just picking your two favorite colors. In my blanket, You won't need them until Part 2, but if you're running to the yarn store, you might as well pick up a skein of each. I'm using these:
y = gold
z = royal

I'll be writing this out in 7 parts, each one with 20 rows. For this group it is ALL increasing, so don't worry about figuring out how to decrease yet. So here it is!

1. 1b
2. 2b
3. 3b
4. 4b
5. 5b
6. 3b, 1w, 2b
7. 2b, 2w, 3b
8. 3b, 3w, 2b
9. 2b, 4w, 3b
10. 3b, 5w, 2b
11. 2b, 6w, 3b
12. 3b, 6w, 3b
13. 4b, 5w, 4b
14. 5b, 4w, 5b
15. 2b, 1w, 3b, 3w, 2b, 1w, 3b
16. 3b, 2w, 2b, 2w, 3b, 2w, 2b
17. 2b, 3w, 3b, 1w, 2b, 2w, 2b
18. 3b, 4w, 5b, 2w, 1g, 1w, 2b
19. 2b, 1w, 2g, 2w, 4b, 5w, 3b
20. 3b, 6w, 3b, 2w, 3g, 1w, 2b

Here's a few photos of my blanket after finishing Part 1.  Also, I don't remember where I saw this, but someone put up photos their yarn balls with hair clips holding the yarn down.  When I was done crocheting for the day, this helped keep things organized.  It was seriously amazing!




Sight Word Games

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TomboyNanny?ref=l2-shopheader-name&section_id=19157398
Sight Word Games!


Teaching your child "sight words" - or simple words that are used the most often - is usually one of the first steps to teaching your child how to read.  The problem: it's not a lot of fun.

Now I've created four really fun games that will help your child learn these words, and they even work well with bigger words.  It's a digital download, so as soon as you purchase it you can print it up.  All you need is a pair of scissors.



Playing games like "Bring Home the Word Bacon" and "Syllable War" will help your child find reading fun.

Just go to the Tomboy Nanny Etsy Shop to purchase!

Movie Night Accessories

One of my favorite things about summer is outdoor movies.  My husband and I have become professionals, we've gone to so many.  Our favorites are Hitchcock films, but comedies are always fun, too.  It's even fun for kids, too! Well, as long as the movie is appropriate.

Most of the outdoor movie nights allow alcohol, and we've learned from experience that cans are preferable to bottles.  You want something lightweight, and easy to clean up. The only problem is bugs smell the sugar in your drink, and might try to sneak into it.  So I created film-themed can covers!  I can make them in pretty much any color, and they're made to look like a filmstrip.  One really great thing is if you go with a group, you can get one color for each person, so you don't forget which drink is which.  Order more than one for a discount.

Click here to get your own drink covers, in almost any color imaginable!

Outdoor Movie Night Can Cozies

 One of my favorite things about summer is outdoor movie nights.  Here in Los Angeles, there are tons of opportunities to pack a picnic, a few drinks, and a blanket and catch an old Hollywood film under the stars.  We always bring canned drinks, since they're easier to carry than glass, but the downside is mosquitoes and bees trying to get inside the drinks!  Blech, no thank you!

These are super simple to make, and it looks like a film strip is wrapped around it.
 Materials needed:
Worsted Weight Yarn in black, white, gray and one color of your choice (The yarn in these pictures are Red Heart Super Saver in Black, Bright White, and Gray Heather.  The accent colors are Gold, Royal and Pretty 'n' Pink)
Size H (5mm) Crochet Hook
Scissors
Tapestry Needle

Stitches Used:
Magic Ring (here's how to make one)
Single Crochet (sc)
Increase (2sc)
Crochet in Front Loops Only (FLO)
Crab Stitch (here's how to make this stitch)

Notes:
When changing colors mid-row, carry the unused color on the INSIDE of the cup. Don't worry about how the strands look on the inside.

Do NOT cut any of the yarns until noted.

I got the idea for this while checking a few things on Ravelry, and I found this pattern.  Mine is modified from this one, but I got the idea from her.

Pattern:
With your accent color, make a Magic Ring with 6 sc stitches in it.
1. 2sc around                                                             (12)
2. (2sc, sc) 6x                                                            (18)
3. (2sc, sc 2x) 6x                                                       (24)
4. (2sc, sc 3x) 6x                                                       (30)
5. BLO, sc around                                                     (30)
Change to Black.  Do NOT cut your accent color.  The rest of these rows are ALL sc around, until otherwise noted.
6. ALL in Black
7-8. 1 Black, (4 White, 2 Black) 5x, 1 Black
9. ALL in Black
10. - 16. ALL in Gray.  At the end of 16, cut gray yarn with enough to weave in later.
17. ALL in Black
18.-19. 1 Black, (4 White, 2 Black) 5x, 1 Black.  Cut the White yarn only, with enough yarn to weave in later.
20. ALL Black.  Cut Black yarn with enough yarn to weave in later.
21. ALL Accent color, Crab Stitch around.  Fasten off, and leave a long tail.

Weave in all the ends EXCEPT the very last one of the accent color.  You'll need this to sew the cap on.

Cap:
With your accent color, make a Magic Ring with 6 sc stitches in it.
1. 2sc around                                                             (12)
2. (2sc, sc) 6x                                                            (18)
3. (2sc, sc 2x) 6x                                                       (24)
4. (2sc, sc 3x) 6x                                                       (30)
5. BLO, sc around                                                     (30)
6.-10. Sc around                                                        (30)
11. Crab Stitch around                                               (30)
Fasten off, with a decently long tail.

Using the tails, sew the lid to the body.  Only sew about a half inch around, so it can easily open and close.

Ta da!  It's as easy as that!



Superhero Mask Pattern

Every kid wants to be a superhero!  Now you can easily make one in any color scheme you please.  This pattern is perfect for a beginner, to almost intermediate crocheter.


Materials needed:
Two colors of worsted weight yarn.
Size J crochet hook.
Stitch marker (this is optional).
Scissors.
Tapestry needle (for weaving in loose ends).



Stitches used:
Magic Ring (MR)
Chain (ch)
Double Crochet (dc)
Double Crochet Increase (2dc or 3dc, depending on how many are needed in that stitch)
Single Crochet (sc)
Half Double Crochet (hdc)
Slip Stitch (sl st)
Decrease (sc2tog)

Items that are in parentheses should be repeated the number of times indicated, with an "x." At the end, there will be a number inside parentheses.  This is the number of stitches you should have.

Color A:
1. Make a MR with 4 sc in it.
2. Ch 3, 2dc, (3dc) 3x    (12)
3. Ch 3, 2dc around   (24)
4. Ch 3, (dc, 2dc) 12x   (36)
5. Ch 3, (dc 2x, 2dc) 12x    (48)
6. Ch 3, (dc 5x, 2dc) 8x    (56)
7. - 12. Dc around    (56)
13. Sl st 3x, sc 2x, hdc 2x, dc 2x, ch 10x.  Skip the next 5 stitches.  Dc 2x, ch 10x.  Skip the next 5 stitches.  Dc 2x, hdc 2x, sc 2x, sl st 3x.
Cut the yarn and fasten off.

You will now see the beginnings of the eye holes.  Still with Color A, make a sl st in the first sc from the previous row.

14. Sl st 2x, sc, hdc, dc, (sc 10x in the ch 10 from the previous row), sc2tog, (sc 10x in the ch 10 from the previous row), dc, hdc, sc, sl st 3x.
Cut the yarn and fasten off.

Switch to Color B:
Starting anywhere on the previous row, sc around.
Cut the yarn and fasten off.
Weave in your ends.

Good luck on fighting intergalactic crime with your new superhero mask!


Coffee Cup Sleeve Pattern

Reusable coffee sleeves are a great, simple item you can make in a jiffy.  It's a great place to start, if you're a beginner, and it's eco-friendly!
Materials needed:
Two contrasting colors of worsted weight yarn.  (Or one, if you prefer it without stripes.)
Size E crochet hook.
Stitch marker (This is optional.  You can also use a scrap of yarn as a stitch marker.)
Scissors
Tapestry needle (For weaving in loose ends.)

Stitches used:
Chain (ch)
Slip Stitch (sl st)
Single Crochet (sc)
Increase (2sc)

At the end, there will be a number inside parentheses.  This is the number of stitches you should have.


Color A: Ch 35 stitches. Be careful not to twist the chain, and make a sl st in the first chain.  Your work should now look like a circle.
1. Sc in all stitches (35)
2. Change to color B: 2sc, sc around (36)
3. Change to color A: Sc around (36)
4. Change to color B: 2sc, sc around (37)
5. Change to color A: Sc around (37)
6. Change to color B: 2sc, sc around (38)
7. Change to color A: Sc around (38)
8. Change to color B: 2sc, sc around (39)
9. Change to color A: Sc around (39)
10. Change to color B: 2sc, sc around (40)
11. Change to color A: Sc around (40)
Make a sl st, cut your yarns, and fasten off.  Weave your ends in with a tapestry needle on the inside of your sleeve.  

I'm now a pattern designer!

Happy Saturday!  And happy day before my birthday to me!

I have begun to publish my crochet patterns on both Etsy and Ravelry.  It's somewhat exciting, since I love making things, and helping others make fun things, too.

Right now, I have three dinosaurs and I'm working on a fourth.  I'm also going to be offering FREE patterns very soon.  I am also thinking of writing up a very basic "how to crochet," since a few friends have said they wished they knew.

So keep an eye out!  I'll hopefully be posting items very soon!