Lil' Apple Pot

It is mid-August, the time of year the mommies and daddies are thinking back-to-school thoughts while the kiddies are treasuring the precious few days they have left of summer vacation. I admit that the seeds of school-y thoughts have indeed drifted down and found purchase in my mind and I can practically smell the chalk and erasers from the classrooms of my youth (does the same nostalgia come from dry erase boards?). I can nearly feel the weight of a backpack full of books and my new supplies up on my shoulders and almost taste the crisp morning air as I wait for the big yellow school bus. As I these thoughts continue to grow roots I find my eyes are drawn towards all things with primary colors: folders in glossy red, rulers painted yellow, and notebooks in brilliant blue! What a great time of year!

It is in this vein that I post my adaptation of Ana Paula's Amigurumi Apple Pattern.
 I call it: Lil' Apple Pot...

A fun little pot for rainbows of coloring crayons! 

Also, a perfect home for our Lil' Garden Friend...

I think Lil' Caterpillar and Lil' Apple Pot might just sneak her way into a backpack 

on the first day of school ^_^

Apples & Teacher Appreciation Banner

I am in charge of our teacher/staff appreciation Potato Bar Lunch at my kiddos' elementary school this week. I thought I'd decorate the teacher's lounge with a cute banner of some sort. Looking for inspiration, I stumbled upon this adorable website How Does She? with free printables for special occasions such as....teacher appreciation! I printed and trimmed up the banner letters and lay them out...

After a few moments of staring at the mini banner (they are sitting on a 12x12 piece of paper for size comparison) inspiration did, in fact, hit: I needed to string them together with yarn and punctuate it with crocheted apple slices!

So after a bit more searching I found a pattern for the type of apple slices I wanted and adapted it to fit my mini banner. You can locate the original pattern from lion brand yarn here. Below are my modifications:

G hook
White, Red, Black & Green WW yarns

Worked in the round

Apple Slices (using White)

Magic Circle (6)
Rnd 1: 2 sc around (12)
Rnd 2: *sc, 2 sc in next st* around (18)
Rnd 3: *sc 2, 2 sc in next st* around (24)
Rnd 4: *sc 3, 2 sc in next st* around (30)
Rnd 5: *sc 4, 2 sc in next st* around (36)
Change to Red
Rnd 6: *sc 5, 2 sc in next st* around (42)
F.O. and weave in ends

Embroider black seeds and fold in half and whip stitch together with red yarn.
The rest of the pattern is according to the lion brand website.




I really wanted to crochet into the paper banner and after a trial run I used this method:



Using a small hole punch, punch 2 holes in each banner letter (or banner apple).

Using an E sized hook, I inserted the hook into the left hole front to back and gently pulled through a loop.

yo and sl st

Ch 4

With yarn on hook, insert hook into right hole front to back.

yo and sl st

Ch 5

Take next banner letter and repeat this process, gently using the sl st to pull the yarn through each hole, chain 4 while on the banner and chain 5 when connecting banner letters.
















I chained an equal amount on either side of the banner and attached the apples. The end result made me smile! I can't wait to see it all hung up in the teacher's lounge, adorably proclaiming our appreciation of Walnut Grove Elementary's awesome staff!