Easter craft, 2011 - crochet eggs

My original thought for an Easter craft was the paint wooden eggs.  When I couldn't find a local source for any, I turned back to my hooks.

I ended up doing a variation of the Lion Brand egg cozie pattern (available for free, sign in required).  They have a number of variations that all use the same body shape.  In my variation, instead of stopping at round 15, I stuffed the egg at that point, then worked a couple more decrease rounds before using the finished end of the yarn to close up the opening.  Here's how they turned out.



I started off with the two pastel eggs at the top - one in pink and green, the other blue and white.  These were done using a 3.75mm hook and the same variegated handicrafters cotton.  The two on the bottom in the same yarn were done using a 4.25mm hook, with spiked sc thrown in for texture.

The read and purple ones were both done in tapestry crochet.  The purple is Paton's Brilliant and the red is Bernat Shimmer, and I used a 3.75mm hook.  The pink egg with teal stripes was also done using a 3.75mm hook.  The teal yarn is actually a very fuzzy yarn with textured bits in other colours, but all the fuzz and texture ended up on the inside.

The large one in the middle is also done in a 4.25mm hook, using a textured yarn we found in a bin at the Reuse Centre, so I have no idea what it is.  This egg was actually flipped inside out before stuffing, and the final reducing rounds were worked from the inside.  The front of the stitches were almost completely smooth.  I could have brushed it to get the fuzziness, but the colourful textured bits would still have been stuck on the other side.  The back looked a lot more interesting than the front.

These work up very quickly.  A plain egg with no colour changes or textured stitches, can be done in about half an hour.  I've got an unfinished one with cables waiting to be stuffed right now, and will probably do a couple more tonight, before I stop making them.  That will be it for any crafting I do for the next few days, I think.

Meanwhile, we've got bread dough rising and will be colouring eggs for our Easter basket today.  I'll also prep the little containers of butter and salt, and anything else that can be done ahead of time.  Preparing our Easter basket is our girls' favourite tradition - and mine, as well! :-)