Apple Keychain - free crochet pattern

Small crocheted fruits can be used for keychains or charms. A cute and easy project to use up leftover yarns.
It started with the apple keychain, then I was inspired to make a kiat kiat orange, and a lemon too :)

Apple keychain
by Mimi S. Alelis

Materials:
Red Heart acrylic yarns: small amount of red, green and brown,
size 4mm and 5mm crochet hook,
polyester fiberfill,
key ring attachment,
craft pliers,
tapestry needle for finishing
Abbreviations
st = stitch ch = chain sl st = slip stitch sc = single crochet
Special Stitch: sc tog = single crochet two stitches together - (insert hook in next st and draw up loop) twice, YO and draw through 3 loops on hook
Gauge: not important


Instructions (Note: do not join rounds, work continuously in a spiral)
Apple
Rnd 1: With red yarn and 4mm hook, ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd ch from hook. (6 sc)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each sc around. (12 sc)
Rnd 3: (sc in next sc, 2 sc in next) repeat around (18 sc)
Rnd 4: sc in each sc around. (18 sc)
Rnd 5: repeat rnd 4.
Rnd 6: (sc in next 7 sc, sc tog next two sc) twice (16 sc)
Rnd 7: (sc tog next two sc) repeat around (8 sc)
Fasten off leaving 8 inches for sewing. Stuff with fiberfill and sew the opening to close.
Leaf
Use green yarn and 5mm hook. Leave 8 inches tail, ch 5, sl st on 2nd ch from hook. Sc in next 2 ch, 4 sc on next ch. On the opposite side of starting ch, sc on next two sts. Sl st on next st. Fasten off and weave in end. Use the tail end to sew leaf to apple.
Stem
Use brown yarn and 4mm hook. Ch 5, sl st on 2nd ch from hook, and on the next 3 chs. Fasten off, leaving 8 inches for sewing.
Finishing: sew the stem in the center top of apple. Sew the leaf on its side. Attach the key ring near the stem.

These can also made even smaller to use as cell phone charms by using cotton threads and following the same pattern.


You can view project details on Ravelry: apple charm, lemon charm

I have all three fruit keychain patterns in one pdf, available for sale on Ravelry.

Other popular designs:
Basic Slippers
Chic Cell Phone Purses
Stylish Crochet Mesh Bags
Stylish Makeup Purse
Shell Halter Top
Shells and Flowers Shrug
Cute Tawashi Designs
Stylish Sack Bag

All my designs in one page - thanks to Ravelry!

Yummy Yacon and delightful Kiat kiat...

Not really related, these two foods are the subject of this post since both are on my dining table now ;) I only recently discovered the yacon...and as for the kiat kiat, I have grown to like it since it is more affordable, sweeter and easier to eat than regular oranges.

This is the yacon, my latest health food discovery. I found it recently among the local vegetables from Baguio City, being sold at Shoppersville supermarket. I thought it was a sweet potato, and would have boiled it had not someone told me that its like singkamas (jicama). Its also eaten raw - its crunchy, sweet, and tastier than the singkamas. So I googled to find out more about this wonderful food.
"Fresh Yacon tubers are crisp and juicy with a delicate flavor reminiscent of apple or melon and a surprising sweetness that increases in storage...While satisfyingly sweet and flavorful, Yacon remains low in calories. This is due to the fact that the sugar contains high levels of oligofructose (inulin), a form of sugar that is not metabolized readily by the human body. For this reason, Yacon shows much promise as a food for diabetics and as a base for a low calorie sweetener..." (from http://www.seedsofchange.com/enewsletter/issue_40/yacon.asp)
I don't think I'm prone to have diabetes, but I have some digestive system problems. Eating sugary foods can also cause many other illnesses - I'm just so glad I found another alternative for sweet treats!


These are real kiat kiat oranges posing with my apple keychain ;)
They're abundant during the holidays, and a popular symbol of prosperity especially during the New Year celebrations.

Apple keychain and mini mittens

Time to blog some finished projects, since its nearing the end of January (already!)...
My sister's knitted scarf is almost done, but its taking me so long - seems harder to pick up needles :p But I have finished and mailed to her the crochet slippers she requested:



Other than that I have three little FOs to show you now.

These mini mittens were based from a Japanese design. I haven't written the pattern yet, but will get to it. I'd just have to figure out the thumb part all over again...



While browsing on Ravelry, I found a lot of patterns for booties, some are free. So I picked this pattern and here's what I made:



I will be trying out other patterns and maybe I could make another one for my grandniece. Incidentally, here she is the latest addition to our clan, born on Jan. 12:


The other little item is this apple keychain. I have a pattern for this and it will be posted soon. This will also come out as a free pattern leaflet from Coats Manila Bay :)

2008 finished projects and designs (part 1)

Breezy Shrug

Another breezy shrug:




Little Cotton Shrug


Cotton Baby Booties



Shawl designed by Milobo

More cotton booties!

A baby newsboy cap (which I haven't finalized the pattern yet :p )

Felted hook case

Flower accessory

Ivory Shawl tutorial

Gray cropped pullover for my sis

Bolero/shrug (Portuguese design)

Little flowers with leaves (free pattern)

Bolero/Shrug (japanese design)

Chic Cell phone purses

Next: 2008 finished projects and designs (part 2)

2008 Finished Projects and Designs (part 2)

Flower Tawashi


Cute Tawashi Designs

"Handy" Coasters

Stylish Hobo Bag, Makeup purse and Cell phone purse

A crocheted scarf that got frogged...

Stylish Makeup Purse


Cabled Glass Cozy

Striped Headband

Birthday Cake

Basic Slippers



Beaded Doilies

And, all these bags and drawstring purses:










Previous: 2008 Finished Projects and Designs (part 1)

First post, 2009

Happy New Year to everyone! I'm back to blogging, reading blogs, crocheting, and knitting. I will try to catch up with your blogs soon...

This year I hope I can show you more FOs and interest you with more new designs.

For this post I would like to showcase my popular designs for 2008.
Thank you to all who bought my patterns this past year. I'm also so glad to get feedback and appreciation of my designs. Thanks again to all whom I've encountered on Ravelry, Etsy, my blog and website. I hope to be able to offer more crochet patterns this year.
Here's a look at some of the recent projects made from my patterns. Thanks to all those who shared pics!

The following projects were made from my Cute Tawashi designs -

Chie's Tawashis

Christina's Tawashis

Pearlin's Tawashis

Yasmin's tawashis

The following 5 projects were made from my Basic Slippers pattern -

Daisy's slippers for her niece

Riohnna's House slippers

Riohnna's Toddler slippers

Gene's Basic Slippers

MiniBooger's Basic Slippers

Tina's Poinsettia Doily and Coaster

Tok's Stylish Sack bag

Tok's cell phone purses

Bheng's Stylish Make-up purse

Donna's Shells and Flowers shrug for her daughter

Tawni's bridesmaid shrug

Piggycrochet's Shells and Flowers shrug

Sorry if I missed a project you want to share, please let me know so I can add it here.