Sunday, October 30, 2011

Happy Halloween!

As you might know, I love seeing pictures of what folks have made from my patterns! Here are a couple of Pineapple Pumpkin Lace pictures that were shared with me:
Deborah placed her pumpkin on a lovely doily.

Sweet little Molly Anna models with Mary's Pineapple Pumpkin Lace.

And here are a few pictures of some of my family. I love seeing them all dressed up!

Princess Lilly

Bumble Bee Kyleigh

Wolf Man Darren

Autumn with her face painted at her school's Harvest Carnival.

Cowboy William
Jasee and Autumn as pumpkin-headed princesses.
Sammy and his evil twin; we are not sure which is which!
Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Friday FaceBook Contest

I try to have a contest on my FaceBook page every Friday. You can enter here:
I usually give one person their choice of any of my pfd patterns available on bellacrochet.com.

It is easy to enter, you just have to leave a comment on the post.

I hope you will drop by and enter!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pineapple Pumpkin Lace: A Free Crochet Pattern For You

Lace covered pumpkins seem to be very popular this year. I have seen them on several blogs, so being the lover of all things crocheted that I am, I decided to design some crocheted lace to decorate my own pumpkins. I used a pineapple design, which is one of my favorites.
The nice thing about this design is that it doesn't scream "Halloween" (although it would certainly be a great decoration for Halloween), so it is good for those who don't decorate for Halloween, but still want to add a touch of Harvest or Autumn to their decor. It would be really pretty made in rust or burgundy thread for one of the white pumpkins, and would make a beautiful Thanksgiving decoration. It can also be used as a candle-mat doily, or stiffened and used as a wreath.
The pattern is the same for both the small and large sizes; you just use a larger hook and thread to make the larger size. The pattern calls for size 3 thread, but if you cannot find it, you can use 2 strands of size 10 thread held together as one, and you will get the same results.
The pattern starts with an Eyelet Foundation. If you are not familiar with this foundation, you can learn more about it here:
http://bellacrochet.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-make-crocheted-eyelet-foundation.html
I hope you will enjoy the pattern. Happy Fall, Y'all!

Pineapple Pumpkin Lace
By Elizabeth Ann White
for BellaCrochet
Skill Level: Intermediate
Materials:
For Small (about 10” across):
Size 10 Cotton thread
  150 yards black
1 yard 1/8” ribbon
Size 7 (1.65 mm) steel crochet hook
For Large (about 17” across):
Size 3 Cotton thread
  150 yards black
1 yard 1/8” ribbon
Size 00(3.50 mm) steel crochet hook

Special Stitches
For beginning shell (beg shell), (ch 3, dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in sp indicated
For shell, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in sp indicated
For beginning double shell, (ch 3, dc, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in sp indicated
For double shell, (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc) in sp indicated
For 3 dc cluster, Yo, insert hook in st or ch sp indicated, yo, pull lp through, yo, pull through 2 lps on hook, (yo, insert hook in same st or ch sp, yo, pull through, yo, pull through 2 lps on hook) 2 times, yo, pull through all 4 lps on hook

Pineapple Pumpkin Lace
Rnd 1: For Eyelet Foundation, (ch 3, dc in 3rd ch from hook) 32 times, join with sl st in first ch of first ch-3 to form a circle of 32 spaces; working into spaces by inserting hook between the dc and the ch-3 of each sp, sl st into first sp, beg shell (see Special Stitches) in first sp, ch 2, sc in next sp, ch 2, *shell (see Special Stitches) in next sp, ch 2, sc in next sp, ch 2; repeat from * around, join with sl st in top of ch-3 of beg shell. (16 shells, 16 sc, 32 ch-2 sps made)
Rnd 2: Sl st in next dc, (sl st, beg shell) in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 3, skip  ch-2, skip sc, skip ch-2,  7 dc in ch-2 sp of next shell, ch 3, skip ch-2, skip sc, skip ch-2, *shell in ch-2 sp of next shell, ch 3, skip ch-2, skip sc, skip ch-2, 7 dc in ch-2 sp of next shell, ch 3, skip ch-2, skip sc, skip ch-2; repeat from * around, join.
Rnd 3: Sl st in next dc, (sl st, beg shell) in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, dc in next dc, (ch 1, dc in next dc) 6 times, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, *shell in ch-2 sp of next shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, dc in next dc, (ch 1, dc in next dc) 6 times, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp; repeat from * around, join.
Rnd 4: Sl st in next dc, (sl st, beg shell) in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, skip next dc, (sc in next ch-1 sp, ch 3) 6 times, *shell in ch-2 sp of next shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, skip next dc, (sc in next ch-1 sp, ch 3) 6 times; repeat from * around, join.
Rnd 5: Sl st in next dc, beg double shell (see Special Stitches) in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 5 times, skip next ch-3 sp, *double shell (see Special Stitches) in ch-2 sp of next shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 5 times, skip next ch-3 sp; repeat from * around, join.
Row 6: Now working in Rows, for first Pineapple, sl st across to second ch-2 sp of first double shell, (sl st, beginning shell) in second ch-2 sp, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 4 times, skip next ch-3 sp, shell in first ch-2 sp of next double shell; leaving remaining stitches unworked, turn.
Row 7: Ch 3, shell in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 3 times, skip next ch-3 sp, shell in last shell, turn.
Row 8: Ch 3, shell in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 2 times, skip next ch-3 sp, shell in last shell, turn.
Row 9: Ch 3, shell in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, shell in last shell, turn.
Row 10: Ch 3, shell in ch-2 sp of first shell, skip next ch-3 sp, skip next sc, skip next ch-3 sp, shell in last shell, turn.
Row 11: Ch 3, 3 dc cluster (see Special Stitches) in ch-2 sp of first shell, ch 6, sl st in 6th ch from hook, ch 7, sl st in same ch last sl st was worked in, ch 5, sl st in same ch last sl st was worked in, 3 dc cluster in ch-2 sp of last shell, ch 3, sl st in top of last st on last shell. Fasten off.
Row 6: For Next Pineapple, join with sl st in next unworked ch-2 sp of last double  shell worked in, beg shell in same sp as joining, ch 3, skip next ch-3 sp, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 4 times, skip next ch-3 sp, shell in first ch-2 sp of next double shell; leaving any remaining stitches unworked, turn.
Rows 7-11: Work Rows 7-11 of First Pineapple.

Repeat Next Pineapple around for a total of 8 Pineapples.

Weave ribbon through spaces of Eyelet Foundation, tie ends in a bow. Trim ends of ribbon.


Special thanks go to E. J. Miller, Jolene Ortiz and Jewel Fernley for testing this pattern.

Copyright BellaCrochet 2011. All rights reserved. This pattern may not be copied (except for personal use in making the item), sold or shared in any form.

Update: If you would like to purchase an ad-free copy of this pattern for a small fee, please visit my Etsy shop:  Pumpkin Lace
I am offering a paid version of this pattern for the convenience of  my customers who prefer an easy to read, printable and ad-free PDF. You will be able to easily save the pattern to your Etsy account as well as your computer or other device.