Summer Cactus crochet pattern

Heatwave. It's official today. We're not used to this kind of weather. The houses are not made for it. So, I spent this Summer weekend outside and in the shadow most of the time. It felt like camping at home in our own garden. Crochet, read and writes. I even wrote my very first amigurumi crochet pattern, to share with you down below.

I love all the green in our garden en the pops of pink, blue and purple. I think my parents are so much better at keeping their garden alive and kicking. I have to admit, that my fingers aren't so keen on keeping the green. Green plastics are my best friends. Now I can add a crochet cactus to my options. 

There are more cactus patterns out there (any similarities are a coincidence), but I thought I'd design my own. Making it up as I went along. And I'd like to share it with you, so here's the pattern! I hope to design some new Cacti patterns in time. 

Summer Cactus

You need:

• Green yarn (I used acrylic)
• Brown yarn (I used cotton..)
• White yarn (I used acrylic, but for the pot you can use any colour you'd like).
• Small amount of another green shade colour yarn
• Small amout of pink yarn
• 3.5 mm or 4 mm crochet hook
• Needle to put your cactus together
• Stuffing ( I used polyfill and added some marbles for the weight)
• Stichmarker (I used a slightly bend paperclip)

Notes:

• The pattern is made in continuous rounds (unless otherwise stated)
• I used USA crochet terms:
  CH = Chain
  SC = Single Crochet
  HDC = Half Double Crochet
  DC = Double Crochet
  SS = Slip stitch
  ST = Stitch
  
  * = Repeat the part between the stars to the end of the round
  () = Amount of stitches per round

• This is my very first pattern and I probably do not use the correct terms all over. I try my best, but correct me if I'm wrong.
• You are free to use this pattern for personal use. But please don't sell or post as your own.
  You're free to use the items made from this pattern for commercial use. 

Starting with the Catctus (three parts in green yarn)

Part one (big cactus)

1. ch 2

2. 6sc in the second ch (6)

3. 2sc in each st (12)

4. *1sc in the next st, 2sc in next st* (18)

5. *1sc in the next 2st., 2 sc in next st.*  (24)

6. *1sc in the next 3st., 2 sc in next st.*  (30)

7-15. 1 sc in each st. (30)

16. *1 sc in the next 3 st., sc 2st. together*. (24)

17.  sc around (24)

Fasten off and leave a long thread for sewing.

Part two (small bun of the big cactus on which the flower is attatched).

1. ch 2

2. 6sc in the second ch (6)

3. 2sc in each st (12)

4. *1sc in the next st, 2sc in next st*  (18)

5-6. sc around (18)
7. *1sc in the next st., sc 2st. together* (12)

Fasten off and leave a long thread for sewing.

Fill up with stuffing and sew the bun to the big cactus.

Part 3 (small cactus)  

1. ch 2

2. 6sc in the second ch (6)

3. 2sc in each st (12)

4. *1sc in the next st, 2sc in next st* (18)

5. *1sc in the next 2st., 2 sc in next st.*  (24)

6-10. sc around (24)

11. *1sc in next 2 st, sc 2st together* (18)

12. sc around (18)

Fasten off and leave a long thread for sewing.

Now, you can cross stitch some X-s. I worked three rows, starting at the top, working down.

For the dirt circle (brown yarn)1. ch 2

2. 6sc in the second ch (6)

3. 2sc in each st (12)

4. *1sc in the next st, 2sc in next st* (18)

5. *1sc in the next 2st., 2 sc in next st.*  (24)

6. *1sc in the next 3st., 2 sc in next st.*  (30)

7. *1 sc in the next 4st., 2sc in next st.* (36)

8. *1 sc in the next 5st., 2 sc in next st.* (42)

9. * 1 sc in the next 6st., 2sc in next st.* (48)

10. *1 sc in the next 7st. 2sc in next st.* (54)

Fasten off and sew in the end.

Jar (white (or any colour you'd like (think about stripes!))

1. ch 2

2. 6sc in the second ch (6)

3. 2sc in each st (12)

4. *1sc in the next st, 2sc in next st* (18)

5. *1sc in the next 2st., 2 sc in next st.*  (24)

6. *1sc in the next 3st., 2 sc in next st.*  (30)

7. *1 sc in the next 4st., 2sc in next st.* (36)

8. *1 sc in the next 5st., 2 sc in next st.* (42)

9. * 1 sc in the next 6st., 2sc in next st.* (48)

10. *1 sc in the next 7st. 2sc in next st.* (54)

11. Sc around in the backloops (54)

12 -15. sc around (54)

16. ch dc around (this is just a round for fun and a tiny bit of texture. You could replace this round by two rounds of sc). (54)

17-20. sc around (54)

21.  Now, grab your dirt and join this round to the Jar. insert your hook into a stitch of the dirt circle PLUS a stitch from your jar, yarn over and pull through all loops on the hook.

Don't forget to fill your jar with stuffing and marbles along the way.

22. I added a fancy edge: *ch3, skip one st., 3sc,*

Join and fasten off.

Fill up the two Cacti and sew on your filled jar. Make sure you fill up the low part a little extra so that the stand pride and tall.

Flower (for a pop of colour!)

1. Ch 4, join with a ss

2. Sc 12 in the loop you created

3. *Hdc, dc, hdc in next st, slide stitch*, (creacting 3 pedals)

I hope you like! Please send me a picture of your cactus if you make one. I would love to see your creativity!

Lots of sunshine and keep your cool!

Active and organized

Thanks to a day off today, it's been a beautiful long weekend. Using all that time to crochet, cook and picnic, writing and starting a big Pinterest clean up.

It was a great Summer day today! And I made good use of it. Going out for a long walk/bicycle ride with a friend of mine.
We walked along the Kromme Rijn between Odijk and Bunnik (although could have moved on further). Sat down to have a small but tasty picnic and went back cycling via Slot Zeist.

Besides all walking and cycling and enyoing the Summer, I've started a big declutter on a whole bunch of things trying to get organized (a little more).
At a recent phone photo clean-up I discovered that I close to 300 food pictures. Taken in a period of a year or so. Most of them involve one of the following elements: family, friends and or the making and baking proces. This Creamy Caprese Pasta by How sweet it is, is one of the recipes I tried and photographed. The first time I tried this, I served it for me and three friends in cute seperate oven pans. As a side dish, I made the beautiful sweet and fresh Pear Feta Walnut Salad by Angie McGowan via babble.com.

But yesterday I made a big pan for my family. Everyone loved it!

The only thing missing? A propper Italian dessert, like my home made tiramusu... Giving you that next time.

Then the other big(ger) project I put my hands on this weekend, the Pinterest Clean-up. Before my big blog-break I wrote about what I learned from being on Pinterest. There's been quite a built up of pins since then: over 2400 pins and 43 not so organized boards. Including descriptions that were not mine and not so charming (like google images, ouch!) or (even worse) dead links. Time for a clean up.
That means I'm going through my boards one by one, pin for pin. Yes, that is time consuming. And that's why I'm not anywhere near halfway through. I've done three boards by now. And I'm happy with the results:

• working links (or at least a note that there is no link).
• Proper credit (going back to the most original post I could find, instead of a home page or collection page (like tumblr or we heart it).
• boards I love (I only kept the pretty stuff)
• no doubles
• no (accidently) wrong board pins
• a bunch of new boards (splitting up the bigger ones).

I have no Idea when I'll be finished, but I'll give you a sign. Wouldn't it be great to do this all together? I mean, propper credit that's what all those lovely bloggers, writers, photographers, artistst out there deserve, right? So, I'd say spread the word! 

To keep myself in shape (for all the food I love to eat and away from my beloved laptop), I started running again. It's been six months since my last run, thanks to the bruised foot. So, it was a very, very modest run (1,5 - 2 - 4 - 2 - 1,5 - 0,5 mins with 1 minute walks before and in between). But it felt great after wanting and waiting to get my first after such a long time! Rewarding myself with an iced tea of my favorite flavor.

 

A Summer weekend

I feel like I've been on on a week long vacation, at least, while it was just the weekend really. Thanks to last moment actions and going with the flow. Or maybe the Summer weather is the real drive, and good food. Pretty much all week, makes me a happy person too.

Like this lunch I had with a friend of mine at Het Paradijs in Utrecht. A Chinese restaurant, serving some of the best Cantonese food to be found in the city, so far (just ignore the old school look, its about the food, remember?).

lunch last Wednesday at restaurant Het Paradijs

The weekend started Friday with a friend of mine asking me to join her to De Beschaving. A one-day Festival at the terrain of Utrecht University. To more specific, one of the best places to think of for a festival: the Botanical Gardens!

Loveley view of the rock garden at the Botanical Gardens

I thought it was beautiful! We enjoyed the sunny weather and had good talks laying in the grass feeding ourselves with great (mainly) biological foodies. Some foodies became an experience, like the tea from the Theefrabriek (Tea Factory, in the polaroid photograph below) and my friend grinded her own cup of coffee at Koffieleute.

All over the terrain we could hear nice music from artists like Goslink (who plays on instruments he has built with his own hands!), Laura Jansen (love how she's named her second album after the beautiful Italian island Elba. I have some great memories on a family holiday there!) , Andy Burrows and Sumera to name a few. Although, I have to say that the most impressive pieceof music was the classical The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins, performed by the Utrecht Students choir and orchestra. Combined with imagesa and footage of war of all ages (from the Middle ages to today's wars), it was not a happy watch, but it made clear why it's a privilige to live in peace, like we do. That did sound a little...well dramatic maybe, but I can't find another way to describe it.
The only thing we missed out on? The university talks. We were having such good conversations by ourselves on topics like 'when do you call somebody your friend?' and 'which places you want to travel to?' and family and friends talk.

Laura Jansen @ De Beschaving

Bottle post in 2013

Right, by now you might get into Summer mood too, I hope. I certainly did. But the summer feeling got in full swing when I went to the beach with my family today. It was Noordwijk, today (52.24°N 4.45°E). It was not even as busy as expected! Love swimming in the sea and reading a book (currently a book I picked up at the last Queensday market (since we went back having a king this year) on the history of Northern America).

Well, hope you had an awesome weekend too! I'm all loaded up for a fresh week at the office.