Crochet Throw Pillow

I've been excited to start personalizing our new house, even though we haven't even closed on it yet! I like natural colors, especially greens, so I want to add green accessories to our future living room. I decided to make a throw pillow, and I wanted something with a simple chevron stitch, which is the popular zig-zag pattern for many afghans. I couldn't find a pattern that seemed just right, so I based mine off of this cute (and free) "bacon and eggs" crochet pillow pattern on Moogly. Instead of doing random-sized stripes, I made each stripe two rows wide and then switched colors by bringing my yarn up the side. I chose Vanna's Choice yarn in colors dusty green and linen. I needed two balls of each.

The pattern calls for you to chain 82 stitches with an H hook for a 16" wide pillow. Mine was 14" wide, so I chained 76. It worked perfectly. I followed the pattern, alternating stripes every 2 rows, until I got close to enough length of my 14" tall pillow (the pattern works for any height. Theirs was 12" tall).

I folded the bottom of the pillow up about 6". I kept the right sides together because I didn't want the seam on the outside of my pillow. If you want the seems on the outside of your pillow (like the "bacon and eggs" pillow), then put the wrong-sides together and have the right-sides facing you. I don't like hand sewing very much, so I just did a single crochet stitch up both sides of the pillow for about 6 inches, like this:

Then, I flipped it right-sides out, so the edging was on the inside, almost invisible. If you want the edging visible, then don't flip it. As you can see, I tried to keep the stripes together, so a green stripe on one side matched with a green stripe on the other.

Here's what might looks like at this step without the pillow form in it:

From there, I folded over the top to see how much more length I needed for my pillow. As you can see, you just keep going until it's the right size. That's why this pattern works for any height.

Once my throw pillow cover was long enough, I stitched together the two sides for the top part of the pillow, exactly like I did the bottom two sides. I did a single crochet up the sides, right-sides together, and then flipped it right-sides out so the seam was on the inside (just as before). I hand-stitched the two halves together in a few places in the front and added some buttons.

Here's a picture of what it looks like in the back.

I'm happy! Now I want to make a floormat using these same colors!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 8: Pillow Pile

I was changing the sheets on the bed, and Oliver climbed up. He was getting in the way, so I started teasing him and tossed a pillow on him. He found it so funny. Pretty soon, I found myself tossing pillows on him and cheering him on as he crawled out from underneath. Oliver would proudly declare, "Out!" when he escaped. As soon as he was out, he'd lay down for me to toss more pillows on him.
An hour later, I took him back upstairs (this time with my camera) to play the game again. Oliver had just as much fun the second time! We had a good twenty minutes of giggles and fun. It was fun for me, too!

This activity gets an A+, without a doubt. There are certain things a parent has to be aware of while playing the game. For example, be aware of the edges of the bed at all times. Also, don't put too many pillows on your little one, especially not over their head. I tried to keep an air hole at all times, but Oliver got out of the pillows so quickly that it probably didn't matter. I never used more than three pillows, either. Really, though, it was a ton of fun, and I was glad to see him finally get so much enjoyment out of one of our activities! So much fun and completely free.... A+!

100 (Attempted) Ways to Entertain a Young Toddler, Day 4: Pillow Tower

Oliver woke up on the wrong side of the crib this morning. He was quite the crabby pants! I thought building a climbing area out of pillows would be a good way to tackle his baby blues. I'd read about this idea in a few of my toddler books, but I also had a couple people recommend it to me.

At first, it was a failure. We hauled all our couch cushions upstairs to his room, where there is carpeting, and Oliver just freaked out. He wanted nothing to do with it.

Fast forward to 1pm, after his nap, and Oliver still wasn't interested.

Then, at 3pm, I decided to try one more attempt. I scattered some of his toys over the cushions and encouraged him to try to climb to get them. He simply walked around the mountain of pillows and picked up his toys. Eventually, though, he started to step onto the pillows and cushions, and I gave him a lot of verbal encouragement. Soon, he was enjoying himself, climbing up to the top and being king of the mountain.Although he started to enjoy himself, Oliver never really acted like he was having that much fun. There wasn't a lot of laughter or diving into the pillows, as I'd imagined. He'd simply climb up a bit and then climb or roll off. I think it's good for him to practice climbing, though, because he doesn't climb much. In fact, he's only recently started to climb up onto our couch.It's clear from other parents that many young toddlers enjoy this activity. Oliver wasn't one of them. I liked that it was free, but being 20 weeks pregnant, I didn't like carrying all the cushions upstairs. I also don't like having all the pillows and cushions in the house out of place. I liked encouraging Oliver to be a little more physically active and independent, though, and I think he'd really grow to enjoy this activity if I kept it up regularly. I asked my husband what letter grade he'd give this activity, and he said a "B." I'm going to concur but give it a B-. It has potential, and I think it could be a lot of fun.

If you try this at home, be sure to keep the pillows away from sharp edges and corners. I protected the corner of Oliver's dresser with blankets, and that seemed to work well.