Pumpkin Seed Recipe and Pumpkin Jar Cozy

October 26, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Fun Pumpkin Seed Recipe and Crochet Pattern for a Decorative Jar

Just in time for fall and Thanksgiving, make a decorative cozy for a jar filled with the spicy goodness of this Cajun Pumpkin Seed Recipe! Grab some seeds and your crochet hook because we’re getting crafty!

Let’s start with the recipe. Pumpkin seeds are known to have great health benefits (good source of zinc). Spicy foods are too (Cayenne Pepper is great as an anti-inflammatory and digestive aid). This is not necessarily a low fat food, but a tasty one for sure.

Let’s get the recipe in the oven so we can crochet while it’s cookin’.

CAJUN PUMPKIN SEED RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin seeds (medium size pumpkin)
1 Tablespoon butter (melted)
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
pinch red pepper flakes

Directions:
In melted butter, add Worcestershire sauce. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Pour the dry ingredients into butter mixture and stir until blended. Add pumpkin seeds and stir until evenly coated. Pour seeds onto baking sheet making them as flat as possible.Scoop pumpkin seeds from pumpkin. (An ice cream scoop works great for this). Rinse pumpkins seeds and pat dry with paper towel. Spread on a baking sheet to finish drying while mixing the other ingredients.

Bake at 300° for 45 to 60 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely. Sprinkle with salt. Fill jar or mug.

You will need two cups of seeds (approximately two medium to large size pumpkins) to fill a pint size canning jar. Do not overcrowd the baking pan. For best results, make two pans of seeds when you double this recipe.

Now the Pumpkin Seed Recipe is Done – Let’s Make a Cozy!

This festive jar cozy is great for decorating your home or office for the season. And it makes for a fun container when serving snacks (like the above pumpkin seeds recipe…just sayin’) at Thanksgiving. If you’re short on time, fill a pint sized jar with candy corn and jazz it up with this fun and quick jar cozy.

This project is a great stash buster, but we’ve used Vanna’s Choice. We love that it’s strong, durable and soft…not to mention that this line has got just the right colors for fall and Thanksgiving! In the picture, we’ve used three different shades of green…and they all look great!

Supplies:

1 pint size canning jar with lid
Vanna’s Choice Yarn: Medium Worsted Weight (4)
TERRACOTTA – remnant
Green of your choice: FERN, OLIVE, or KELLY GREEN – remnant
Crochet Hook: J

LID COVER INSTRUCTIONS

Green

Hook: J

Ch 5, join with a sl st to form a ring.

Rnd 1: Working around the ring not in the stitches, 6 sc. (6)

Rnd 2-3: Sc around. (6)

Rnd 4: *2 sc, sc inc* twice. (8)

Rnd 5: Sc around. (8)

Rnd 6: *3 sc, sc inc* twice. (10)

Rnd 7: *4 sc, sc inc* twice. (12)

Row 8: Ch 16, 2 sc in second ch from hook, 2 sc in each ch stitch. (30)

Sl st into the next st on Rnd 7. Finish off, weave in end.

Attach Orange to the same st as the sl st.

Rnd 9: *2 sc, inc* four times. (16)

Rnd 10: Lift up the Vine and connect the Rnd underneath. *Fphdc, 2 sc, sc inc* around. (20)

Rnd 11: *Fphdc, 3 sc, sc inc* around. (24)

Rnd 12: *Fphdc, 4 sc, sc inc* around. (28)

Rnd 13: *Fphdc, 5 sc, sc inc* around. (32)

Rnd 14: Work in back loops only. *Fphdc, 7 sc* around. (32)

Rnd 15-16: Work in both loops. *Fphdc, 7 sc* around. (32)

Sl st in next st. Finish off, weave in end.

JAR COZY INSTRUCTIONS

Orange

Hook: J

Ch 32, join with a sl st.

Rnd 1: Sc around. (32)

Rnd 2-9: *Fphdc, 7 sc* around. (32)

Sl st into the next st. Finish off, weave in end.

More Cozies in Store

Love this pumpkin cozy? There are more seasonal, holiday and just for fun cozies in the store in our Crochet Cup Cozy eBook. We’ve created an entire collection with 28 designs one ebook.

Looking for the cup and mug version? They’re in the ebook.

Each design in the ebook has instructions to fit Mugs, Cups and Mason Jars. Every design has a delicious recipe or fun craft.

All 3 pumpkins pictured at the beginning of this post are in this ebook! AND the ebook includes 4 new designs – Dracula, Vampire, Mummy and Blue Jeans.

Crochet Star Trek Badge Cozy

October 21, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Crochet Star Trek Badge – A Coffee Cup Cozy

Love Star Trek? Love Coffee? This Star Trek Badge was made for a coffee cup cozy! (Or use the communicator badge as an appliqué on other projects.)

If you aren’t a Trekkie but are making a coffee cup cozy for one…please note that color matters! Here’s a quick guide to color selection (for the main cozy portion):

Yellow = Command (like Captain Kirk)

Blue = Science and Medical (like Spock and Dr. McCoy)

Red = Engineering and Security (like Scotty or crew members who die)

Crochet Star Trek Badge – The Pattern

The Star Trek Badge has a very distinctive shape. It changed slightly over the years…but always had the three pointed ends. This pattern uses the basic shape that was introduced in the original season.

This fits to-go cups, cans, bottles and pint size canning jars.

The PDF pattern has written directions, photos, gauge info, materials list, checkboxes to mark your progress and more.

Skill Level: Easy

Stitches Include: Chain, slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet

Techniques Include: Crochet in rows and rounds, decrease

This is a great gift idea.

It’s a fabulous Stash buster.

More Cozies in Store

Love this Star Trek cozy? There are more seasonal, holiday and just for fun cozies in the store in our Crochet Cup Cozy eBook. We’ve created an entire collection with 28 designs one ebook.

Each design in the ebook has instructions to fit Mugs, Cups and Mason Jars. Every design has a delicious recipe or fun craft.

The ebook includes 4 new designs – Dracula, Vampire, Mummy and Blue Jeans.

Crochet Cup Cozy Patterns

October 20, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Crochet Cup Cozy Patterns – Something for Everyone & Every Season

We decided to make a crochet cup cozy or two. But once we got started, we couldn’t stop! As you can see, we made animals, holidays and seasons, not to mention wild, crazy and elegant. There’s literally something here for everyone and something for most every season!

28 crochet cup cozy patterns with recipe or craft included!

Every design we came up has modifications to fit cups, mugs and mason jars….cause you never know when you want the design for tappered cups or mugs with handles.

As we were creating our designs we thought it would be fun to create cute gifts in mason jars. So, every other week for one year, we created a mason jar cozy gift. We’ve consolidated all the cozies, included all three sizes (mugs, cups and jars), added the gift idea (recipe or craft) and created an 80+ page ebook!

Includes 3 NEW patterns, too! We have a vampire, dracula and blue jeans cozy not seen in the Mason Jar Series.

The ebook is now available in the store:

Skill Level: Easy (with a few intermediate stitches)

Vanna’s Choice yarn – worsted weight (4) – was used for our cup cozies. We love the color options in this line. Most cozies were made using a H or J crochet hook, but we used hooks as small as a C and as large as L.

Crochet Cup Cozy Patterns – Animals

When you make one animal crochet cup cozy…more are sure to follow. That was true for us, anyway. These are fun for Easter, Bosses Day, Summer, Thinking of You and Just Because

Here are the designs and their recipe or craft:

OWL – Soap Dispenser
BUNNY – Robin Eggs Candy
DOG – Puppy Chow
BEAR – Chocolate Covered Graham
LADY BUG – Greek Salad Dressing

Crochet Cup Cozy Patterns – Holidays

Some holidays are super fun to crochet into a cozy. We’ll be decorating for several special occasions with these cozies. These are fun for traditional holidays like Christmas, Halloween, Birthday, 4th of July, Memorial Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving.

Here are the designs and their recipe or craft:

HEARTS – Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
LEPRECHAUN – Sweet / Sour Grapes
AMERICAN FLAG – Apple Pie
CUPCAKE – Turtle Cake
PUMPKIN – Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
MUMMY – Mummy Pretzel
SANTA – Peppermint Bark
TUXEDO – Chocolate Covered Almonds

Crochet Cup Cozy Patterns –Seasons & More Holidays

It’s fun to get into the spirit of the seasons, even sports seasons. With these cozies we’re celebrating Spring, Mother’s Day, Earth Day, Football (Baseball and Basketball) Season, I {heart} Yarn Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Chinese New Year and more!

Here are the designs and their recipe or craft:

DAISY – Planter
BASKETBALL –Caramel Corn
FOOTBALL – Party Mix
PLUM BLOSSOM – Fortune Cookie
FLOWER – Bath Salts
HEART – Yarn Ball Bowl
CAUSE RIBBON – Potato Soup

Crochet Cup Cozy Patterns – Wacky and Crazy

We had so much fun creating cozies that we couldn’t resist making some quirky designs as well. Some of these designs are season and just for fun like Halloween, Talk Like a Pirate Day, Father’s Day, Casual Friday’s and Just Because.

Here are the designs and their recipe or craft:

SMILE – Sugar Cookies
MUSTACHE – Beef Rub
JEANS / PANTS – Smores
PIRATE – Strawberry Lemonade
VAMPIRE – Red Velvet Truffle
DRACULA – Goulish Popcorn

Crochet Cup Cozy Patterns –Available in the Store

This crochet cup cozy ebook is now available in the store. All the patterns mentioned above are included plus Fall Leaf (dirt and worms) and Radioactive (spiced tea) cozies not pictured! What a screaming deal!

The mason jar versions of these patterns are highlight free on this blog in our Mason Jar Series (except Dracula, Vampire, Mummy and blue jeans which are only available in the ebook). You can get your copy of the ebook in the store.

Ebook includes 28 Designs.

includes Cup cozy directions
includes Mug cozy directions
includes Mason Jar cozy directions
includes a delicious recipe or fun craft for each design
3 New designs not seen in Mason Jar Series – Dracula, Vampire and blue jeans
80+ pages in ebook with step-by-step instructions

Filed Under: Adult, Animals, Boy, Child, Christmas, Crochet, Cup Cozies, Flowers, Football, Girl, Great as Gifts, Halloween, Mason Jar Series, Patterns for Sale, Thanksgiving, Yarn, Yarnitect, Yarnovator Tagged With: animal, bear, bottle, cable, can, caution, christmas, coffee, cozy, cup, cupcake, dog, fall, flag, football, Halloween, heart, holiday, jar, jeans, ladybug, leaf, leaves, mummy, owl, pants, patriotic, pumpkin, radioactive, santa, season, seasons, snowflake, sports, spring, summer, thanksgiving, valentine

Crochet Monkey Baby Blanket and Toy Set

October 18, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Crochet Monkey Baby Blanket and Toy Set

Welcome new baby with this fun crochet monkey baby blanket and toy set. This pattern comes with the baby blanket, security blanket and three crochet block designs.

Perfect for newborns and little tykes, these three Lil Monkey accessories will get lots of use for years to come. Mix and match the colors to coordinate with baby’s nursery.

Crochet Monkey Baby Blanket and Toy Set – The Pattern

The crochet monkey set comes with three accessories: baby blanket, security blanket and toy blocks.

Skill Level: Easy

1. CROCHET MONKEY BABY BLANKET

Perfect for baby to sleep on or to be wrapped in to keep warm.

This simple blanket is crocheted in Rows with a simple single crochet ch-1 pattern. It’s dressed up with a crochet monkey face in one corner and mini hands in another.

Measures: 37” x 29”

2. CROCHET MONKEY SECURITY BLANKET

Perfect for giving sweet little kisses to baby. And great as a security blanket for when the little tyke gets a bit older. This Lil Monkey can be carried by the arm, head or blanket. The satin edge makes it fun to rub between baby’s fingers. It’s the perfect bedtime buddy!

The stitch on the security blanket matches the larger baby blanket. The head and arms are crocheted in the round.

Measures: 9” x 9” when open

3. CROCHET MONKEY TOY BLOCKS

Babies will love batting these around. And as they get older, they will love stacking them up and knocking them down.

Mix and match the panels to make a wide variety of blocks. Included are stripes, solids, numbers, letters and a crochet monkey face and tail.

Measures: 4” x 4” x 4”

Crochet Monkey Baby Blanket and Toy Set – Available in the Store

All three of these crochet monkey accessories are available in the Lil Monkey Accessories Set in the store.

Lil Monkey Accessories Set pattern on Etsy.

This set is great for making gifts for baby showers. Make one or all three, the new mom is going to love them all.

This set includes: baby blanket, security blank and toy blocks.

More Monkey Stuff in Store

Want more monkey stuff? Theses blankets and blocks have a matching hat set!

This hat set includes preemie and newborn size hats and diaper cover. It also has newborn booties and mitts.

Learn more about the Lil Monkey Baby Hat Set.

Lil Monkey Baby Hat Set pattern on Etsy.

Not enough? There are is more monkey stuff in the store!

Filed Under: Afghan, Animals, Baby, Crochet, Great as Gifts, Patterns for Sale, Yarn, Yarnitect Tagged With: baby, blanket, blanky, blocks, lovey, monkey, security blanket, softee, toys

Featured Crochet Patterns

August 27, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Newborn Baseball Set

Hat, Baseball Mitt,
Catcher’s Mitt and Bib!

For more info:
Blog: Baseball Set
Store: Baseball Set

Aviator Hat

Hat, Goggles & Scarf
Sizes for whole family!

For more info:
Blog: Aviator Hat Set
Store: Bomber Set

Football Fan

Newborn outfit.
Hats for whole family!

For more info:
Blog: Football Fan
Store: Football Fan

Filed Under: Crochet Tagged With: crochet, featured, pattern

Hard Hat Photo Shoot

August 20, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

This hard hat photo shoot was a lot of fun. The crochet mining set is a great way to capture young people in fun photos. Caves, mining museums or themed playgrounds provide great backdrops to the crochet mining set. We took some friends to Whit’s End in Colorado Springs for some fun and photos.

Hard Hat Photo Shoot – Playtime Unfolds

Let’s watch their playtime in action.

Here the guys are pointing out their next site to be hit with dynamite.

The twins are discussing the plan the boys have come up with.

As they travel through the tunnels to setup, the boys are thankful for the lights on their hard hats.

Cover your ears, it’s time to blast the dynamite!

We’re happy to report that there were no injuries during the mining excursion. Everyone had a blast.

Hard Hat Photo Shoot – The Ensemble

The crochet pattern for the Hard Hat and Mining Set is available in the store. It comes with directions to make the hard hat, blasting box, dynamite and dynamite storage box (not pictured).

Hard Hat and Mining Set pattern on Etsy.

The shirts the kids were wearing are available on Etsy at Chic Couture Boutique. Check out the Chevron tie t-shirt for the guys and the heart t-shirt for the girls.

Thanks Chic couture Boutique for joining us on this explosively fun adventure.

Filed Under: Child, Crochet, Girl, Hat Tagged With: dynamite, hard hat, mine, miner, mining, photo shoot

Crochet Monkey, Banana and Palm Tree Pattern

August 6, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Create your own jungle with this fun crochet monkey, banana, and palm tree pattern.

Perfect for a jungle themed nursery, a Hawaiian luau party, a tropical paradise or a desert oasis. Kids will enjoy feeding the monkey bananas while adults will be impressed with the your large scale crochet project, the palm tree(s).

Crochet monkey, banana and palm tree

Mix and match the parts and pieces and colors to best meet your needs. Whether you’re looking only for a furry monkey, a sweet snack or a tall bit of shade, this pattern has it all.

Skill Level: Intermediate

Crochet Techniques: Crochet in the round, crochet in front and back loop, crochet increase and decrease, loop stitch, crocodile stitch

Crochet Monkey, Banana and Palm Tree Pattern: THE MONKEY

banana in foot Our crochet monkey was crocheted with copper Fun Fur which resembles an orangutan (tailless) or Golden Langur (with tail). Mix and match the colors to create your favorite monkey.

Monkeys have many different characteristics. Some have more hair than others. Some have tails. This pattern includes instructions for these optional features.

This crochet pattern includes hands and feet that grip. That’s right. We’ve crocheted pipe-cleaners (fuzzy sticks) into the hands which allows them to grab hold of things…like a banana. Super fun! (Edges of fuzzy sticks can be sharp – do not use in toys for babies or small children).

The monkey has knee and elbow joints, too, making it more fun to play.

Measures: 14″ tall x 4.5″ wide x 4.75″ thick.

Crochet Monkey, Banana and Palm Tree Pattern: THE BANANA

Yum. Crochet bananas for your furry little monkey and make playtime deliciously fun. They are easy and quick to make, so why not crochet a bunch?

The edible portion is crocheted in the round, but the peel is crocheted back and forth to simulate the ridges that bananas have.

These fit perfectly into the hands and feet of the crocheted monkey.

Measures: 4″ long x 3.5″ around.

Crochet Monkey, Banana and Palm Tree Pattern: THE PALM TREE

Crochet Palm Tree

Let your monkey swing from the trees with this larger than life crochet project. The palm tree is perfect for decorating the corner of a room or on the patio for a theme’d party.

It’s the details in the crochet that make this palm tree so adorable. The loop stitch grass, crocodile stitch top and fun yarn make this very realistic. And the pieces that help it all take shape (drain pipe, christmas tree stand and floral foam) are easy to find.

Measures: 8.5′ tall x 4′ wide. Can be made shorter or taller as needed.

Crochet Monkey, Banana and Palm Tree Pattern: Now Available

It’s a Jungle crochet pattern is now available!

It’s a Jungle crochet pattern on Etsy.

Create your own oasis. Buy It’s a Jungle today in the store.

Filed Under: Animals, Baby, Crochet, Patterns for Sale, Toys Tagged With: banana, crochet, desert, jungle, luau, monkey, palm tree, pattern

Baseball Crochet Hat, Mitts and Bib for Newborn

July 5, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Newborns can “get in the game” with this adorable little baseball crochet hat, mitts and bib outfit! They’re never too young to show team spirit. It’s perfect for little boys and little girls. All baseball fans are going to want to add this to their child’s collection.

Whether you’re seeing the game live or going to a party, your little one is sure to steal the show sporting these accessories.

Skill Level: Easy
Crochet Techniques: Crochet in the round, crochet in the front and back loop, front and back post crochet.
Size: Newborn (Make items smaller or larger by changing the hook size.)

Baseball Crochet Hat

With ears tucked in or untucked, this crochet baseball hat will make your newborn look super cute. Swap out the colors to match your teams colors. We went patriotic with blue and red.

Our cap says “Baby”, but you can personalize your cap by stitching your baby’s name or team chant.

Measured flat: 7 1/4″ x 5. Add brim which measures 1 3/4 x 5.

Baseball Crochet Mitts

Wrap those little hands in some fun crochet baseball mitts. No game is complete without a baseball and catcher’s mitt! With these, your newborn is ready to play ball, too. These mitts fit both right handed and left handed players!

The cuffs are designed to stretch. And, with the elastic sewn inside, they stay snuggly in place no matter how wiggly your newborn is.

Measured flat: Baseball – 2 3/4″ x 3 1/2″
Measured flat: Catcher’s Mitt – 3 1/2″ x 4″

Baseball Diamond Crochet Bib

Your little one can run the bases on this crochet baseball diamond bib. It’s a great accessory for meal time or game time.

The baseball diamond is crocheted separately and sewn to the bib (as is the baseball appliqué). The bib is adjustable with a sewn on button and crocheted button holes.

Measures: 6 1/2″ x 3 1/2″

Get your newborn in the game. Order this “Li’l Slugger” Outfit today.

Li’l Slugger Outfit pattern on Etsy.

Filed Under: Baby, Baseball, Boy, Crochet, Hat, Sports Tagged With: baby, baseball, bib, cap, hat, mitts, newborn

Baby Announcement in Crochet

July 3, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

We’re happy to announce the newest member to the Yarnovations family, crochet style! Yarnovator (and husband) welcomed the arrival of their baby boy in May 2012. Naturally, no big event like this would be complete without a little bit of crochet.

What better way to announce the arrival of a baby or share some big news with your neighborhood than with crocheted pillar cozies! You can custom make cozies to fit any pillar size and announce most any occasion in letters or appliqués.

Utilizing the two pillars in front of her house, Yarnovator used classic colors and large bold letters. These cozies vividly proclaim the arrival of Yarnovator’s newborn son. Here’s how she did it.

The “It’s a” cozy was done in short rows alternating single, half double, and double crochet. The letters were crocheted separately and sewn on.

The “Boy” balloons were crocheted separately in the round using half double crochets. To help the balloons hold their shape, the circles were sewn onto plastic canvas. Like the “It’s a” cozy, the letters were crocheted separately and sewn on. Because the balloons do not wrap around the pillar, separate short cozies were crocheted that match the pillar color. The balloons were then sewn to the cozies at the desired height.

All told, this is a fun, simple and informative project.

Congratulations, Yarnovator. Welcome, baby!

PS: Newborn Baseball Set coming soon!

Filed Under: Baby, Crochet, Yarnovator Tagged With: announcement, baby, cozy, pillar

Pig Crochet Pattern

January 27, 2012 By Yarnitect (Dana)

Pig Crochet Pattern – Affectionally named “Pork Chop”

We have affectionately named the pig in our Pig Crochet Pattern, “Pork Chop”. He is deliciously fun and easy to crochet! He’s super cute when crocheted in a couple shades of pinks. Have you seen the little extra details this crocheted pig includes? There are dew claws on the feet, puffy checks and a curly tail, just to name a few.

For the hunters in our lives, we’ve modified “Pork Chop” and mounted his head! Yep, this pattern includes instructions on how to make a Mounted Boar’s Head! It’s a little crazy, but it’s so real looking when crocheted in Brown Angel Hair and with the addition of tusks. This would be perfect in a man’s office, study or library. Since it’s crocheted, it would even be fun in your craft room! Be sure to name him!

This pig crochet pattern includes the following instructions:

“Pork Chop” as the stuffed animal.
The head of “Pork Chop” mounted.
Mounted Boar’s Head.
Boar as a stuffed animal.

Pig Crochet Pattern – “Pork Chop” as a Famous Pig

This Pig Crochet Pattern can be modified and used to represent a number of famous pigs. As is, “Pork Chop” is a great farm animal. But with a few tweaks, he can be a book character or famous movie star. Here’s a short list of famous pigs:

Maxwell, the Geico Pig – give him a pinwheel and watch him squeal “weeeeee” all the way home.
Napoleon from Animal Farm – have him stand on his hind feet and give him some clothes.
Piglet from Winnie the Pooh – dress him in a striped pink shirt and have him stand on his hind feet.
Porky Pig from Looney Tunes – dress him in a blue shirt and red tie and have him stand on his hind feet.
Tusk, the Arkansas Razorbacks mascot – crochet him in red with a black sweater.
Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web – give him an award winning collar.

Pig Crochet Patter – The Details

Like our other patterns, this Pig Crochet Pattern includes lots of photos, detailed written instructions, checkboxes to mark your progress, materials list, gauge info and more.

Skill Level: Easy

“Pork Chop” measures 10″ in length x 5 1/2″ tall x 3 3/4″ wide.

Pork Chop Pig pattern available on Etsy.

Pig Crochet Pattern – Available in the Store

The Pig Crochet Pattern is available now in the store. Purchase your pattern today and you can be making a pig tonight! Weeeeee….what fun!

FREE accessories and modifications are available in the store as well!

Filed Under: Animals, Boy, Child, Crochet, Girl, Toys Tagged With: animal farm, boar, charlotte's web, crochet, geico, maxwell, pattern, pig, piglet, porky pig, razorback, tusk, wilbur, wild boar