R2-D2 Hat

This weekend, Vincent was invited to a birthday party for one of his preschool friends. It was a Star Wars-themed birthday party. Since we don't own any Star Wars stuff, I thought I'd make Vincent a hat to wear to the party. There are lots of Star Wars patterns out there, but Vincent and I decided on this cute R2-D2 hat pattern. I adapted it to suit DK (8-ply) yarn (the most widely available yarn here in Australia) and changed a few of the elements of the pattern (like the vertical white lines). It is just a basic crochet bucket hat with a few embellishments, but it it resembles R2-D2. And,  I figured that if we ended up not being that "into" Star Wars, it would at least look like a robot hat.

He was the only R2-D2 at the party. There were four Darth Vaders, a couple of Luke Skywalkers, one Princess Leia, and a Spiderman.

Then, of course, there was the matter of a gift for Vincent's friend. I tend to make birthday gifts, so Vincent and I decided I would make a R2-D2 hat for his friend as well.

And, of course, Desmond didn't want to be left out. So I made one for him too!

Three R2-D2 hats in less than a week - I think that might be some sort of record!


Until the invite came, Star Wars hadn't hit our house yet. But in the last week, Vincent has become much more interested in it. Yesterday, he drew this picture of Star Wars characters and ships.

1st row (L-R): Storm Trooper, Darth Vader, R2-D2, C3P0
2nd row (L-R): Death Star, Millennium Falcon, and two different spaceships/fighter jets 

I think this is just the start of the next "big thing" for the boys. (And I'm just waiting until Vincent realises that there are Star Wars Legos!)

I would be happy to make and sell these hats (or other hats/toys/accessories/sweaters/etc) to order. Please send me a message if you are interested and we can work out the details.

Temperature Blanket Pattern

Some of my knitting/crocheting/fiber arts friends have asked me for the pattern for the Sydney-Decorah Temperature Blanket. (For posts about how this blanket as come to be, see here, here and here.) It is basically a bunch of mitered squares that are knit-together-as-you-go. I got the idea for this type of pattern from this website, and I made a few modifications to so that the squares would work for my project.

Today, I had some time to type up the pattern. It has not been tested. But I thought I might as well put it out there. So, if you find any errors, please let me know.

As I am just over halfway through the blanket, I have not yet worked out how I will do the border around the outside of the blanket (thus incorporating the temperatures of the last five days of the year). As I decide the border, I will update the pattern.

In the meanwhile, here is the pattern. If you do make this blanket, I'd love it if you would share a photo of it with me. And all the standard "rules" apply - please treat this pattern and the associated pictures as you would want your own to be treated...in other words, please don't sell the pattern as your own and don't use my photos without permission. However, you may sell any finished items. Happy Knitting!