Quilted Fabric Coasters

Pieced Quilted Fabric Coasters

With the two big cross country moves the past two years I misplaced my lovely fabric coasters. Oh, they are somewhere. Most likely they are in a box in the storage unit that ended up being used far longer than I anticipated. So it felt like quite the score when I found six front pieces and a dozen flannel pieces cut and ready to be made into coasters once I cut the backing pieces.

The finished coaster is about 4" square. These were a way of using up scrap fabric. They could also be made with whole 4" squares for front and back with some quilting done to them. That would actually be a great way of practicing free hand quilting.

This dresser is in front of the window and despite my putting a folded blanket on top, I see a lot of cat claw scratches in the wood. I can picture him sliding across the top as he leaps from the bed. Silly cat.

I really do like these fabric coasters though. They work really well to protect furniture from cold, sweating glasses of iced delight. They can be tossed in the washing machine if they get dirty or spilled on.

I used flannel for inside. It's got a nice weight and still wicks away the moisture. If the coasters are too thick they might wobble and make it easier for a glass to tip over.

Cut 4 1/2" squares of backing fabric and 4 1/2" squares of flannel. For the top cut 4 1/2" square of a fun fabric or piece together a fun design, trimming to 4 1/2" square. The design pictured is a log cabin style piece.

Place piece of flannel down, put pieced (or front) piece right side up (wrong side against flannel), and backing piece right side down. The two fabric pieces should be right sides together. Sew around all sides, leaving about 2-3" gap for turning. Trim corners. Turn (stick finger between two pieces of fabric to turn.) right side out. Close gap while topstitching around. Quilt as desired. With this pattern I just wander along the edges of the pieced parts.

My Biga Bread

Living in the Midwest for so many years I did not realize that there are so many foods regional to certain areas, after all, we live in the era of national brands. So I was bummed that I could no longer find my favorite artisan Portuguese bread. Or even any Portuguese style bread. So I had to learn how to make it.

This bread has a crispy crust (without need of a water reserve in oven) and a delicate, earthy, firm, and airy inside. It's the best!

It take some time with the biga forming and dough rising but hands on work is only about 10-15 minutes maximum. So I consider it an easy recipe. Since the biga takes 10-12 hours and there's 3 hours rising time plus another half hour rising time, it is not a candidate for a last minute thing.

First, you will need a stand mixer to make this dough. The dough is a bit too runny and sticky to knead by hand and it's the stickiness that makes it good bread.

After much trial and tribulation, I came up with a great bread and this recipe makes a bread that is consistent. It does turn out better in the summer than winter but if your house or apartment kitchen is a bit chilly it will still work if you set the bowl somewhere warm to rise or allow extra time for it to rise.

Proofing yeast is always a good idea. Better to give the yeast a few minutes to prove it's viable than to go through all the time and work and find out it's not. It usually starts getting bubbly within a minute or two and then you'll know it's good.

Biga
1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 c lukewarm water
3/4 c flour

The biga is a bit like sour dough starter but only needs 10-12 hours to ferment to the right product.

To make the biga, mix the ingredients the night before baking. I usually make it Friday or Saturday night before going to bed or when I think of it before bedtime, so around 9:00-9:30 at night. It can go over 12 hours if needed.

In a glass bowl, add 1/4 tsp yeast to 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Proof yeast and stir in 3/4 c flour. It will be a bit stiff, like a scone batter. Cover tightly with Saran wrap and set on the counter overnight.

For winter biga, you can use 1/2 cup lukewarm water in the biga but then account for that extra liquid in rest of process.

In the morning (or whenever 12 hours later is) when you lift the saran wrap the big should be bubbly, be more liquid than solid, and smell fermented. It reminds me of the smell of beer the most. If it has that fermented smell then it's ready to go. If it doesn't, give it a few more hours. In the nearly 100 times I've made this bread the biga only failed once. I didn't even have to smell it before knowing that it had failed because it was still almost a solid clump and it had no bubbles or fermented smell when I lifted the saran wrap.

Bread
1 tsp yeast
water
1-2 tsp salt
3 c flour

Put 1/4 c lukewarm water in mixer bowl. Add 1 tsp yeast.
At this point you can proof the yeast by giving it 3-5 minutes to see if it starts activating. If it's viable and active it will start to bubble and move around a bit. By the time I prepare the biga to add it's usually long enough to see if it's viable.
Add 1/4 c water to biga and stir fairly well. (if you did the winter version with 1/2 c it will be runny enough not to need to add more water.)
Add biga to mixer bowl with 1/2 c water and 1-2 tsp salt
Add 2 c flour
Use paddle to mix. Start at low. Once flour is worked in, continue mixing on medium for 3-4 minutes.
The dough will look elasticy, long strands visible as the paddle moves through the dough.
Now switch to dough hook and add 1 c flour. Mix another 3-5 minutes. As the hook moves the dough it will grab the flour along the sides of the bowl. Once the sides are fairly free of flour and/or dough, it's done.
Coat a large bowl with some oil. I use olive oil but vegetable oil will due in a pinch. I use a big metal mixing bowl. Transfer dough into oil lined bowl, give it a flip so both sides are coated in oil. Use the Saran wrap from biga to cover dough. Let sit for about 3 hours until dough is tripled in size.
Start oven now. 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sprinkle some flour on baking sheet. Shape dough into loaf shape. Set on floured baking sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes. Oven should heat for that half hour so that it's hot when dough goes in.
Score top of loaf with knife. Two or three cuts across the top are good.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Bread will be golden brown and sound hollow when giving it a knuckle tap.
Let cool on rack.
It's tough to resist cutting into it too soon as it smells so good but wait at least an hour. It will still be warm enough to melt butter after an hour.

I have been meaning to share this recipe here for a long time and I always missed the whole loaf photo opportunity. So, here it is with half the loaf already eaten. :) Still looks good. It was another perfect loaf.

Adorable Owl Pattern Weight, Pin Cushion, or Door Stop Pattern Creation

This little owls are so adorable and so hard working in several roles. They are awesome pattern weights. They can be used as pin cushions. They make great door stops when sized up.

Let's start with creating the pattern for the pattern weight size owls. Any other size can easily be tweaked from this basic pattern with just a ruler.

The pattern pieces are simple to design yourself. You will need a 1/4th and a 1/12th piece of a 10" circle as well as two circles, one of 3" and one of about 1 1/2". That's all there is to it!

So, 1/4th of a circle has a 90 degree. That's a right angle. The 1/12th of a circle has a 30 degree. That's a little more complicated than 90 degrees but don't worry if you don't have a protractor handy, we can get there with some easy steps.

There are a couple ways to create the 1/4th and 1/12th of a circle pieces. Let's start with the one that requires little to no math and no figuring out angles.

Draw a 10" circle on an at least 12" square paper or card stock. I used a compass but you can use anything that is round with a 10" diameter. There's also the fail safe of tying a pen or pencil at one end of a piece of string or yarn and using that to draw a circle. It doesn't have to be exact, just close enough.

See the fold lines? Fold the paper in half. Unfold. Fold along the other half. This will give us our center point to put our compass or string/yarn at and will also provide cutting guides.

Use the fold lines as guides and cut out 4 quarters. Set aside one of the quarters. We now have the 1/4th circle pattern piece, which will be the owl's back and sides.

Now we need the piece that will be 1/12th of the circle. If we fold 1/4 in half we will have 1/8th of a circle. Fold the 1/8th size in half and we will have 1/16th of a circle, which is a step too far, since we want 12th. So will cut that small, last fold section off and we have 1/12th of a circle.

Now cut out a 1 1/2" circle and a 3" circle. These are the pattern pieces for the cardboard and the fabric that will wrap around the cardboard for the bottom of the owl.

You now have the 4 pieces necessary to make the owl pattern weights or a small pin cushion.

Mark down the center of the two body pattern pieces to note the fabric grain.

We can tweak the pattern a bit more.

You can fold the 1/4th of a circle in half again and cut along the fold line then mark one side as fold side and cut along folded fabric. This gives you a smaller pattern piece for storage and helps keep grain straight.

This will make small owls. Aren't they adorable? And so handy!

Other options using some math: use a protractor and make the sides as long as you want with a 90 degree center for the 1st pattern piece and 30 degree center for 2nd pattern piece. Use a compass or hand draw a circular edge between the two sides. So for the back owl piece, mark 5" up on the right side from the bottom right corner of a piece of paper and 5" to the left on the bottom of that same paper and draw an arc between the two. For the front owl piece, mark 5" up on the right side from the bottom right corner of a piece of paper and 5" 30 degrees to the left. If you don't want to do the math, don't worry about it, do it the easy way with some folding to get to where you want to go.

These little guys are easy enough to super-size.

Option 1: Create bigger circles to use as base for cutting the 1/4th and 1/12th of circle. (You only have to make 1/4th of a circle pieces with longer legs instead of a whole circle to save on paper.)

Option 2: Lay finished 1/4th and 1/12th of a circle pieces on larger paper or tissue paper and use ruler to extend sides to length desired. Just be sure that the legs are the same length and that the line connecting them is an arc.

Felted Knit Clog Style Slippers

So, I wanted to make some felted wool slippers and I struggled to find a pattern for something I liked. I did find a lovely pattern for a pair that was made pretty much like an oversized anklet sock but though they shrank lengthwise they were like 3 or 4” too big around. (The cat loves them and sleeps on them every day.) They have already gone through the felting process twice so I am not sure if they will shrink around much more.

The blue slipper is the size the gray pair started out at before being felted. They felted beautifully but are way too big around.

After making those and having such bad luck I came up with this clog version. Love them! They are quick and easy, worked flat, and make me happy.

Sorry about the photos. This new place has horrible lighting for photo taking and I have no room to set up a studio area. Despite the bad photos, I think you can see how cute and cozy these felted slippers turned out.

This is my pattern:

Clog Style Felted Knit Slippers

Size 11 knitting needles (I used 24” circulars but they should work on straight needles also.)

Worked flat

Gauge = 3 sts per 1” and 3 rows per 1” in stockinette

Patton’s Wool

You can make these with 1 skein each of the two colors for the single stranded version but for the two strand version I recommend having 2 skeins each of the two colors. It makes it so much easier to work with two strands at the same time from two different skeins.

CO 39

R1: Knit 39

R2: K1, KFB, K , KFB, Place Marker, K1, Place Marker, KFB, K , KFB, K1

R3: Knit (knit all odd rounds)

R4: K1, KFB, K to 1 st before M, KFB, K3, KFB, K to 2 st before end, KFB, K1

K6: K1, KFB, K to 2 st before M, KFB, K5, KFB, K to 2 st before end, KFB, K1

R8: K1, KFB, K to 3 st before M, KFB, K7, KFB, K to 2 st before end, KFB, K1

R10: K2, KFB, K to 4 st before M, KFB, K9, KFB, K to 3 st before end, KFB, K2

R12: K2, KFB, K to 5 st before M, KFB, K11, KFB, K to 3 st before end, KFB, K2

Sole should measure about 6” x 12-13” and be 59 st on needles.

If you want these to be bigger you can do another knit round and then repeat round 12 to have 63 sts on needles.

Change color

R13: Knit 59 st

R14: Purl 59 st

R15: Knit to 1 st past second marker, turn, sl 1, P4, turn, sl 1, K3, ssk, K1, turn, sl 1, K5, ssk, K1, turn, sl 1, P6, P2 tog, P1, turn, sl 1, K7, ssk, K1 continue working the short rows until you reach the ends.

Slipping 1 will bring yarn to working position and the decreases will close the gaps caused by turning. Just always knit or purl together the gaps as you encounter them and work one K or P st past the decrease and eventually you will reach the ends.

K16, 17: Knit a row and purl a row then bind off the 31 (35) sts.

Seam the back few rows. Felt!

There are many ways to felt but I find what works the best for me is top loading washer with a few items to be felted and an old pair of jeans washed on hot with a normal load sized amount of laundry soap.

I made a pair with single stranded yarn and also a pair with two strands of yarn. The single strand of yarn felted up nicely and was the right size after one round through the washer but is definitely a thinner fabric. The double stranded pair is nice and thick but one round through the washer was not enough to felt it down to the right size. I can wear them with my thick SmartWool socks but they could be a size smaller. Another round in the machine should do the trick.

I LOVE these slippers. They are so WARM and comfortable. And darling, adorable to look at.

I wear a size 7-8 1/2 depending on the shoe style but you can control (sort of) the sizing with the felting process. For an average size 8 make the sole the 59 sts and for size 9-10 do another row with increases for a total of 63 sts. For smaller sizes, 5-6 stop at 55 sts for the sole. The upper part will be worked the same because it's just short rows worked across what's available.

Single stranded version.

Two strand version.

I am walking on carpet so I have not had any issues with being slippery but if you have wood floors or maybe tile, you can sew some scrap leather on the bottom for traction or those glue dots for grip.

Wool felting shrinks more height-wise than it does width-wise. (Over rows vs over stitches.) A good formula I found:

Felting good dense fabric:

Stitches (desired size) x 1.2 = pre-felted size

Rows (desired size) x 1.42 = pre-felted size

Felting very dense fabric:

Stitches (desired size) x 1.43 = pre-felted size

Rows (desired size) x 1.78 = pre-felted size

Five Versions of Crocheted Snowflakes Plus the Russian Version

Crocheted Snowflakes

It’s that time of year! We’re thinking of festive holidays and snowy weekends curled on the sofa with hot chocolate or maybe a glass of wine and we’re looking around the room wondering what is missing in our holiday decor.  Snowflakes. You can never have too many snowflakes.

Many years ago when I worked at a bank on the West Coast I made paper snowflakes during downtime, sometimes others would pitch in creating our little 6-sided unique creations. Just fold the paper correctly and cut away, always being careful not to cut all the way through a folded side. No matter how hard you try, you can never get two exactly the same. That’s because snowflakes are unique!

Then I would hop up on the counters and hang the snowflakes with string and bent paperclips from the grating along the air vents, as well as cover the walls and bullet proof glass between us and our customers.

Sometimes it looked like a blizzard hit! That’s what people would say when they came in. They loved it though. All our customers looked forward to the paper snowflake blizzard for a few weeks out of the year.

I was in the mood to make some more permanent, crocheted snowflakes and came up with 5 different versions of some easy to crochet snowflakes that whip up super fast and easy once you get them down pat. These can be made with any yarn and appropriate sized crochet hook. I did the initial “let’s try this and see what it looks like” snowflakes with worsted weight yarn and then went back and did another one with Aunt Lydia’s metallic 10 crochet thread and a small crochet hook.

You can block them and stiffen them with a commercial stiffener, diluted white glue, or a sugar syrup solution or leave them soft and floppy.

Every snowflake version is unique, though with a pattern each snowflake of a version turns out the same. Try all 5 versions for a variety of unique snowflakes. I came across a video on YouTube in Russian and included the notes I made from that as well. The Russian version was a bit more work even though it’s still only 4 rounds but I included it because it’s a lovely, lovely snowflake and I will be making more.

A few notes:

Ch1 or ch2 at beginning of round is normally ignored in counts and ignored when joining. Slip into the first sc or dc of each round when joining.

After joining, slip stich your way up to the 3ch (or 5ch or 8ch) spaces that form the 6 snowflake points. All the work is done in those spaces that form the snowflake points.

Version 1.0

Ch 5, slip st to join

R1: 12 sc, slip in 1^st sc to join

R2: ch2, 2dc in same st, 3ch, skip a sc, *2 dc in same st, 3ch, skip a st, repeat from * sl st into 1^st dc to join and slip st to reach ch3 space

R3: ch2 (4dc, 3ch, 4dc) in each ch3 space, slip to join

R4: sl st to ch3 space, 2ch, *2dc, ch5, sc, ch 5 repeat from *

R5: *(1dc, 1trc) in same st, 3ch, sc in space, 3ch, sc, 3ch, repeat from *

Version 2.0

Ch5, slip st to join

R1: 12 sc, slip st in 1^st sc to join

R2: 2dc in 1 st, 3ch, skip 1 sc, *2dc in 1 st, ch3, skip 1 sc repeat from * slip st to join

R3: (3dc, 5ch, 3dc, ch1) repeat in each ch3 space

Version 3.0

5 ch, slip st to join

R1: 12 sc

R2: *2dc in 1 st, skip 1sc, ch3 repeat from * slip st into 1^st dc and slip st up to point

R3: 2dc, 1trc, 3ch, 1 trc, 2dc, 1ch in each ch3 space

R4: *2ch, 1 trc, 3ch, slip 1, 3ch, slip 1, 3ch, slip 1, 2ch, slip into base of trc, slip st to next point (ch3 space) and repeat from *

Version 4.0

Form magic loop,

R1: work (2dc, 3ch) x6

Join with slip st, work slip st to 3ch space, including 3ch space

R2: (2 trc, 3ch, 2 trc, 1ch) in each ch3 space, slip st to join

R3: (1dc, 3ch, 1dc, 5ch, 1dc, 3ch, 1dc, 2ch) in each ch3 space

Version 5.0

Ch5, slip st to join

R1: 12sc, slip st in 1^st sc to join

R2: 2ch, 2dc in same st, 5ch, skip sc, *2dc in same st, 5ch, repeat from *

slip st in 1^st dc to join and slip st to get to ch3 space

R3: All in same ch5 space: *2sc, 2ch, 1dc, 2ch, 1sc,3ch, 1trc, 3ch, sc, 2ch, 1dc, 2ch, 2sc repeat from * in every ch5 space

Russian Video Version

Form magic loop

R1: (8ch, 1sc) x6 in magic loop

Slip st in 1^st sc to join and slip up to top of ch8

R2: 2ch, 2dc, 3ch, 3dc, *3dc, 3ch, 3dc* repeat between * 5x for a total of 6 points

R3: 2ch, 1dc, 3ch, 2dc, 5ch, 2dc, 3ch, 2dc repeat 5x

R4: *6sc, 2sc, 2ch, 1dc, 2ch, 1sc, 3ch, 1trc, 3ch, sc, 2ch, 1dc, 2ch, 2 sc, 6sc* x6

(the 6 sc are over ch3 space between points)

Also, for future reference, a crocheted star pattern that I received from a fellow crocheter.

R1: ch5, slip to join

R2: ch2, 1dc, ch2, (2dc, ch2)4x slip to join (there will be five points)
slip st your way to the ch2 space.

R3: ch2, 2dc, ch2, in ch2 space, (3dc, ch2)4x slip st to join
slip st your way to the ch2 space

R4: ch2, 3dc, ch2, in ch2 space, (4dc, ch2) 4x slip st to join
cut thread/yarn and weave in end at the center. Use remaining tail to create a loop for a hanger. You can stiffen these if you want.

Plain Jane Wrist Warmers: A Foundation Pattern

I found some lovely yarn, a Cascade metallic, that I wanted to be the highlight of a pair of wrist warmers so I came up with a very basic, Plain Jane, pattern so that the yarn would be the focus. It's a great pattern! Turns out that I like the Plain Jane wrist warmers pattern with any yarn.

Can be used for the foundation of many more options as well. The pair to the left is made with the Plain Jane pattern but with a cable worked every 4 rows on the back and thus the thumb gusset moved over to the left side of the palm for the second one made.

The tan pair to the right is made with Colorscape yarn. It's a little thicker than the standard worsted weight I usually use. It's not bulky but it's thicker than worsted. I get confused sometimes when trying to figure out yarn sizes. Sock yarn and fingerling weights are easy enough to figure out. Bulky and super bulky are easy enough to figure out. Then you get in that mid-weight yarn and it can vary quite a bit even with the same designation on the label.

The instructions are for the heavier weight worsted but can be used for any medium weight yarn. For some lighter yarns I worked 12 rows between the seed edge rows and starting the gusset instead of 10 rows in order to reach my knuckles.

Since they are the same all the way around there isn't really a left hand and right hand for this pattern. Both hands can be made the same. Once you start adding patterns or cables to the back of the wrist warmers you will need to work the thumb gusset on the other side of the palm for the left hand but for this pattern it doesn't matter. It's Plain Jane. Easy Peasy.

Plain Jane Wrist Warmers
Worsted weight yarn (you can get two pairs from one skein of Colorscape)
Size 6 needles. I used magic loop but you can use DPNs or the two circular needle floppy method.
Gage: in stockinette, 4 st/inch

CO 32, join.
Rounds 1-3: seed stitch
Rounds 4-13: knit
On 13th row place a stitch marker after first 2 sts in round and after the next 3 sts. This is for the thumb gusset.
Round 14: K2, M, K1, M1R, K1, M1L, M knit rest
Round 15: knit
Round 16: K2, M, K1, M1R, K3, M1L, M knit rest
Round 17: knit
Continue increasing every other round after first st inside markers and before last stitch between markers until you have 13 sts between the markers.
After reaching 13 sts between the markers knit the second row of all knits then move the 13 sts between the markers to a holder. If you don't have a stitch holder just use a darning needle to move stitches onto scrap yarn. CO 3 using the backwards e method (need to replace the 3 sts we lost to the thumb gusset) then knit the rest of the round.
Knit 5 rounds.
Work 5 rounds of seed stitch. Bind off in pattern.

Thumb gusset: Move the 13 sts back to knitting needles and pick up 4 st to close up the opening.
Knit 3 rows. Work 3 rows of seed st. Bind off in pattern.

Weave in tails and your first Plane Jane wrist warmer is done!

Now just make the second one and you are ready for these crisp fall days or brisk spring days.

I used the alternating long-tail cast on because it matches ribbing or seed stitch start well.

Making one leaning right, grab the strand between two stitches from the front with the left knitting needle and knit through the back loop.
Making one leaning left, grab the strand between two stitches from behind with the left knitting needle and knit.

K= knit
P= purl
M= marker
M1R= make one, leaning right
M1L= make one, leaning left
Bind off in pattern= for seed stitch bind off, purl into knit then knit into purl, pass stitch over, continue
Seed stitch= K1, P1 across, next row purl into knits and knit into purls, continue working each row by working a purl or knit into opposite.

Getting ready to start gusset by placing stitch markers around 3 sts. I work the 2 sts at the start of the row outside the thumb gusset because I don't want to work the thumb gusset right on the edge.

Here's the completed thumb gusset with 13 sts between the stitch markers. Getting ready to move those 13 sts to a stitch holder and wrap up the wrist warmers. Only 5 rows of knitting and then 5 rows of seed stitch and we are in the homestretch.

Putting Photos on Canvas with Modge Podge

The older girls got to wear masks for a school dance and I took a photo of the youngest wearing sunglasses to keep her in the theme. I decided to play in PS with the images using a displacement filter. I love how the displacement filter onto a fence background turned out, like they're painted and faded over time.

I wanted to do an image transfer onto canvas but decided to start with using Modge Podge to glue down the images. They turned out pretty well. Painting the edges and sides black made all the difference.

I really like how they turned out.

I printed the images on my home computer on regular copy paper then painted the canvas with Modge Podge then placed the images on the wet canvas. Once they dried I applied a coat of the Modge Podge over the images, being careful not to go over the edges because I planned to paint them. Once they were dry I painted the edges and sides with black paint. Once dry, I did a second layer on top. Very easy to do and they have a great impact.

Crocheted Baby Fox Trio Versions 1,2, and 3

A fellow crocheter found a picture of a crocheted baby fox but could not acquire a pattern even with contacting the designer, so this is my version of that image, from 3 attempts. Each version has its unique qualities that I find adorable but version 3 is the closest to what she was looking for.

This is just the copy of my notes as I created the pattern and has not been tested or reviewed so there might be a few errors. If it's just a stitch count, just increase or decrease as needed to get back to the right count. I made multiple tails, ears, and legs from the pattern for the 3 versions and it worked. Sorry about the quality of the pictures as I don't have a studio area set up for product photography right now.

Each time I've pulled out the foxes to show I am startled at seeing how the faces light up, eyes sparkle, and the hands reach out when people see them.

All 3 versions were done with a size F crochet hook.

Join: When joining at the end of a round slip stitch into 1st sc of previous round to join then ch1 but that ch1 is ignored, so don't use in counts and slip stitch into 1st sc instead of the ch1. Work first sc into same position as the ch1.

Decrease = To decrease 2 sc into 1 sc, insert hook into front loop of 1st sc, yo, insert hook into front loop of 2nd sc, yo, and pull yarn through all three loops.

Increase = 2 sc in 1 sc

When changing colors, start new color at second part of last stitch of working color. Example, pattern calls for 6 sc in Color A and then switch to Color B, so work 5 sc in A, start 6th st with A and finish stitch with B.

Orange = O
White = W
Brown or Black = B

Ears for V 1,2, and 3:
Ch 9 with Orange, join, sc 8
R2: 8 sc
R3: 1 sc, increase 2x, 2 sc, increase 2x, 1 sc,  (12)
R4: 1 sc, increase, 2 sc, increase, 2 sc, increase, 2 sc, increase, 1 sc  (16)
switch to black or brown yarn
R5: 16 sc
R6: 1 sc, decr, 2 sc, decr, 2sc, decr, sc, decr, 1 sc   (12)
R 7: 1 sc, 2 decr, 2 sc, 2 decr, 1 sc, cut             (8)

Tail for V 1,2, and 3:
Start with brown or black
Magic loop, 6 sc
R2: increase 6x   (12)
R3: * 1sc, increase, repeat from *  (18)
R4: 18 sc
switch to orange
R5-6: 18 sc
R7: *3 sc, decr, repeat from * end with 1 sc, decr   (15)
R8: 15 sc
R9: *2 sc, decr, repeat from * end with 1 sc, decr   (11)
R10-12: 11 sc
add a bit of stuffing, cut yarn, leave 7-8" tail

Body for V 1:
Orange
Magic loop, 6 sc
R2: incr every stitch   (12)
R3: *1 sc, incr, repeat from *  (18)
R4: *2 sc, incr, repeat from *   (24)
R5: *3 sc, incr, repeat from *  (30)
R6-10: 30 sc
R11: *3 sc, decr, repeat from *  (24)
R12: *2 sc, decr, repeat from *  (18)
R13: *1 sc, decr, repeat from *  (12)
R14: *decr across                       (6)
cut yarn, leaving 7-9" tail, with darning needle, pick up every other stitch and tighten to close remaining hole.

Body for V2 and 3:
same as body for V1 except work 4 rounds of 30 sc instead of 5 rounds of 30 sc at R6-10.

Version 1 Head: 
Start with Orange
Magic Loop, 6 sc. join
R2: 2 sc into each sc  across      (12)
R3: 1 sc, 2 sc into 1 sc  across   (18)
R4: 2 sc, 2 sc into 1 sc, across   (24)
R5:  24 sc (work an extra sc at end of round)  (25)
R6: 6 sc with O, 6 sc with W, 6 sc with O, 6 sc with W, 1 sc O      (25)
R7: 5 sc O, 8 sc W, 4 sc O, 8 sc W,
R8: 4 sc O, 10 sc W, 2 sc O, 10 sc W
R9: 3 sc O, 22 sc W
R10: 2 sc O, *2 sc W, decrease, repeat from *
R11: all white now, *1 sc, decrease, repeat from *
add some stuffing
R12: decrease every stitch, join, cut yarn with 7-9" tail

Version 2 Head: 
Start with Orange
Magic Loop, 6 sc. join
R2: 2 sc into each sc  across      (12)
R3: *1 sc, increase, repeat from *  (18)
R4: *1 sc, increase, repeat from *   (27)
R5: *2 sc, increase, repeat from *   (36)
R6:  36 sc
R7: *5 sc, increase, repeat from * end with sc 1   (41)
R8: 6 sc with O, 6 sc with W, 10 sc with O, 6 sc with W, 4 sc O      (41)
R9: 5 sc with O, 8 sc with W, 8 sc with O, 8 sc with W, 3 sc O      (41)
R10: 4 sc with O, 10 sc with W, 6 sc with O, 10 sc with W, 2 sc O      (41)
R11: 3 sc with O, 12 sc with W, 4 sc with O, 12 sc with W, 1 sc O      (41)
R12: 2 sc with O, 14 sc with W, 2 sc with O,14 sc with W                   (41)
R13: 3 sc O, 22 sc W
add some stuffing
All white from here
R14: *1 sc, decr, repeat from * 
R15: * decr all across, join, cut yarn with 7-9" tail

Version 3 Head:
Start with Orange
Magic Loop, 6 sc. join
R2: 2 sc into each sc  across      (12)
R3: *1 sc, increase, repeat from *  (18)
R4: *1 sc, increase, repeat from *   (27)
R5: *2 sc, increase, repeat from *   (36)
R6: *5 sc, increase, repeat from * end with sc 1   (41)
R7: 6 sc with O, 6 sc with W, 8 sc with O, 6 sc with W, 15 sc O      (41)
R8: 5 sc with O, 8 sc with W, 6 sc with O, 8 sc with W, 14 sc O      (41)
R9: 4 sc with O, 10 sc with W, 4 sc with O, 10 sc with W, 13 sc O      (41)
R10-13: 3 sc with O, 12 sc with W, 2 sc with O, 12 sc with W, 12 sc O      (41)
R14: 3 sc with O, 26 sc with W, 12 sc O         (41)
R15: *2 sc, decr, repeat from * (work O and W as needed or just use W at this point)
add some stuffing
R16: *2 sc, decr, repeat from * 
R17: * decr all across, join, cut yarn with 7-9" tail

Attaching parts. Use photos for reference. These are notes I made while working up the first version on placements I used. Place where you like.
Hold body with end of magic loop facing you and place head with front edge on 3rd ring from starting center, attach to the body by sewing with the tail.
Tail, back of tail on/at center of end of body's ball facing back of head. Attach to the body by sewing with yarn tail.
Front legs, line up inner corners with 2nd rung from center.
Back legs, line up with front legs and tail bottom.
Sew on buttons for eyes or embroider eyes if needed for younger children's toy. Embroider satin stitch for nose.

Hands Down the Best Trivet/Potholder Ever

This crocheted trivet/pot holder is my go-to favorite. You can never have too many on hand.

Be warned: once you give one or a set as a gift you will be petitioned for more.

They are handy and multiple sizes make for great uses for multiple tasks. I like the small ones for the 1-quart pans, medium for 2-quart pans, and large for large pans or hot dinner plates, soup bowls, etc.

We are a society of eating on the couch while we enjoy our favorite shows and these make great plate trivets so you can hold your plate of microwaved leftovers in comfort. They can be used for pot holders, too, of course, microwave or oven, or even for those large pans whose handles or lids get too hot to handle. I actually bought a beautiful Dutch oven pan recently and was surprised to find that the handles were way too hot to handle once the chili had been cooking for a few hours.

A former co-worker told me how to do these almost thirty years ago and I have made an abundance of them over the years. They hold up really well. I am pretty sure I still have some of the original ones.

You will need cotton yarn. I like the Peaches N Cream cotton yarn for these (as well as dish clothes) and one skein is usually enough to make my favorite size trivet/pot holder. I use up the rest of the skein with the next trivet and then use another color to finish as needed. I like the stripes. Plus it makes them unique then.

Okay, a skein of cotton yarn is the first step. It can't be acrylic or it will melt. Wool is sort of an option, I guess, for those wool lovers. But these will be attacked by the food fairies so must be washable. I guess you can wash wool, by hand, or toss a wool trivet in the wash if you don't mind it felting. That's sort of a whole other project though. So if you want consistent, workable, no hassle or questions results, get yourself some cotton yarn. No matter how much you try to avoid it, food will find a way onto your trivet/pot holder.

Crochet hook: For these I used a size H. I often use size G also but could not find my G when I sat down to make these so H it was and that worked fine.

The green trivet is chain 20 +1
The cyan trivet with yellow stripe is 25 +1
The yellow trivet with gray stripe is 30 +1
The gray trivet is 40 +1

The most common sizes I make are with a 30+1 chain and with a 35+1 chain.

So with your size G or H hook, chain 35 +1, sc into first chain from hook, sc 34 (total 35 sc)
When you get to the end of the first row, do a second sc into the first ch then continue working sc on bottom side of initial chain.

When you reach the end of the bottomside row, sc into first sc of first row. (Don't slip stitch to join. This whole thing is worked in a spiral, no stepping up.) Then continue working sc around and around.

You will see a boat shape forming.

Periodically check to see if you've reached enough height to form a square. Just press the front and back of the boat down.

Once you have reached the height where if you push the sides down and the top edges touch, cut yarn, leaving a tail about 2-3 x the length of the area needing to be seamed. (Don't worry if the edges curve out a bit when checking. Once the majority of the edge reaches to touch each other, sc to the top or bottom (middle side of the boat) and cut tail. It will flatten fine even if it doesn't match exactly.) You can turn it to either side that you wish. When I do stripes with a different color I turn it so that the yarn tail that I crocheted over is inside instead of outside to keep it out of sight.

Do a running stitch with a darning needle to close up seam. You could also slip stitch it closed but I like the running stitch with a darning needle. The running stitch leaves a nice, flat seam.

If desired, you can chain a small loop and attach to the corner for hanging.

If you give these as gifts, be prepared to have people asking for more!

Gray trivet: 40+1 chain
Yellow trivet: 30+1 chain
Cyan trivet: 25+1 chain
Green trivet: 20+1 chain