A Few Christmas Patterns I Love...

It's 38 degrees here this morning and now I am getting into the Christmas spirit and looking for fun and easy Christmas patterns. Below are a few I've found around the web...

First we have little Christmas stocking ornaments. I love these! How quick and easy and fun to embellish with your own ribbons, buttons, etc. The pattern is on Ravelry by Zoom Yummy

There are so many easy and cute patterns at Red Heart. This Christmas Tree is so pretty in the sparkle yarn. I think I'll make this one for the office...

These Peppermint Coasters are so festive. They will make great gifts for the girls at work...

Enjoy your weekend and...

Happy Crocheting!

Tunisian Crochet and a HUGE Tah Dah!!

I am so excited to let you all know what I've been up to lately...

It's been crazy busy with the holiday weekend and all but...I managed to squeeze in some time to try Tunisian Crochet and I have to say I absolutely LOVE it!!

It is so quick and easy and Kim Guzman's videos and her book, The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Tunisian Crochet is fantastic! I'm so confident now that I am going to make the Hoodie Sweater Vest that is on the cover right after I finish the scarf and hat shown below.

I am using Lion Brand's Wool-Ease white/multi color that has just enough sparkle to add a little pizzaz to my project. 

I am using just the Tunisian Knit Stitch, (TKS) that looks just like the Stockinette Knit Stitch. I cannot believe how easy this is! I haven't given up on learning to Knit just yet but for next few projects...it's gong to be Tunisian Crochet all the way!!



Now for the HUGE Tah Dah...

Most of you know my struggles with this ABC Baby Blanket but I managed to get it finished! I can't say its perfect but its done. I never want to see Navy Blue Yarn again! It was all worth it though when my daughter saw it and and laid Little Man down on it. It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling all over so I'm happy I did it because it made her so happy!

That's all for now...I hope you all have a great week and...

Happy Crocheting!!

Crochet Baby ABC Blanket Almost Done!

I am so excited that my ABC Blanket is almost done and I'm loving it!! I am so glad I frogged the whole thing and started over. It looks so much better this time. It helps to use the same size hook throught the entire project! (Ha! Ha!) Just one more section and then bobbles all around and it will be finished!! What will I do next...?

Happy Crocheting!!

Knitting or Tunisian Crochet?

I tried my hand at Knitting. It was a very interesting experiment. I have never tried before or even had a desire to learn but I thought "why not?" So, I went to Hobby Lobby and spent $5 for a pair of bamboo knitting needles, size 7 was needed for my Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn. I watched a you tube video on how to "cast on" and couldn't quite get the hang of it so I watched another video and yet another video and finally found one I was comfortable with. Who knew there were so many ways to "cast on"?

Once I learned that step, it was pretty easy to pick up the "knit" stitch. I only did a little swatch at first, 10 stitches and 10 rows. It was pretty simple and I thought I should have tried this sooner! Then I had to watch another video on how to "cast off". It was a little tricky but not bad so I decided to make a dish cloth.

Well, everything was going fine but my arms were getting really tired. I was watching TV so I made some mistakes and didn't know how to fix them, (you know, like in crochet when you make a mistake you just rip out a few stitches and do them again), with Knitting you can't do that because you are transferring stitches from one needle to the other. Anyway, below is a picture of my dish cloth. Please don't laugh...oh go ahead and laugh...it is pretty funny!

I think I must have dropped a few... several stitches along the way and maybe picked up one or two!!

Oh well, I gave it a try. This is all I got done in two days!! So, in conclusion, I picked up my ABC blanket and was so happy and relaxed with it I decided that Knitting may not be my thing. 

I watched a couple of videos yesterday on Tunisian crochet and I absolutely LOVE it!! It was easy to do and I learned several of the different stitches in a short amount of time. So...I will make another dish cloth with the Tunisian crochet technique and let you know how it goes. So...stay tuned...

Happy Crocheting!

Keeping Busy with My Latest Projects...

My ABC Baby Blanket and Bohemian Oasis Afghan are certainly keeping me busy lately. I am on the next to the last section of the baby blanket, (D,E,F,G) but it has been difficult to work on this past week because our air conditioner was not working. Of course in Kansas we have been having above normal high temperatures lately and the baby blanket is very dense, (single crochet) so it is hot on my lap and the yarn is sticking between my fingers so it has been doubly difficult to work on it.

I have persevered though because I am determined to finish it as soon as possible because I have so many other projects running around in my mind that I want to get started on. As I said, this blanket has been a challenge for me. I was almost finished with it and realized I had started out with a G hook and somewhere along the line I switched to an F hook. It's kind of funny now but it wasn't when I had to frog the whole thing. I had some minor mistakes on it at the start so I just ripped out the entire blanket.

Somewhere I read to use toilet paper rolls to wrap your yarn when you have to frog something so I tried it and it worked beautifully! I highly recommend this method. I still ended up with some tangles but managed to salvage most of the yarn. At one point I was going to throw all of it away and go buy new yarn because it was so frustrating but I muddled through and I'm glad I did. If my daughter didn't love it so much I would have said "forget it", but she won out and now it's almost done and I think I finally have the hang of it.

I'm looking forward to joining my beautiful squares together on the Oasis Afghan. I have the black Fabel yarn by Drops and I think it is going to be a really pretty afghan when I get it done. This one is just for me. It will be so lovely on my bed and the colors of all the squares made from the Drops Delight yarn are so yummy.

You may have noticed from my recent posts that I am anxious to try Tunisian Crochet. It looks like knitting and gives you a tighter fabric than crocheting does. Kim Guzman is the Queen of Tunisian Crochet, (see the new Spring Issue of Crochet Savvy magazine here. Kim is on the cover!) I have had my Denise hooks for a couple of years now and haven't made one thing with them. I also have Kim's book, Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Tunisian Crochet.



I can't wait to try some of the neat patterns she has in it. Kim has put up lots of videos on YouTube as well so I should, (hopefully) be able to learn how to do it! I'll keep you posted on how its going.

Well, that's all for now. I hope you all have a great week! Oh...by the way...the air conditioner got fixed yesterday so everything is "cool" now!! :)

Happy Crocheting!

Honey Sweet Baby Blanket: Free Pattern

 

Another challenging blanket I want to make after I finish my never ending, (frogged many times) ABC Baby Blanket!!

New free crochet pattern from CrochetKim with video tutorials: Honey Sweet Baby Blanket!

 

Honey Sweet Baby Blanket
Tunisian Crochet Honeycomb Cable

designed by Kim Guzman © May 2014

Tunisian Crochet: Front and Back Post Stitches Left Handed

Getting into Tunisian Crochet? This video from Kim Guzman is a must see...


 

Happy Crocheting!
 

Cro-Knitting: The New Art of Worsted Work (1914)

Cro-Knitting: The New Art of Worsted Work (1914). In the public domain. Read now or download pdf. I love the pictures in this...

Happy Crocheting!

How to Add & Sell a Pattern on Craftsy!

 How to Add & Sell a Pattern on Craftsy!

(This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links.)

In addition to wonderful online courses and craft supplies, Craftsy also has an independent online pattern store that lets anyone upload and sell downloadable e-patterns with no fee!

How do you add a pattern to Craftsy and start your pattern store? It’s easy!

1. Make sure you have a Paypal account. All pattern transactions happen through Paypal, and Craftsy requires that you have a Student, Premier, or Business account in order to sell patterns.

2. Put your pattern in .pdf format. You can’t upload any patterns to the online pattern store unless they’re a .pdf file format, so if they’re currently saved as a Word doc, .jpg, or other file format, you must convert it to a .pdf before you upload it to Craftsy.

3. Include a photo. All patterns must have at least one photo to accompany them, but you can add up to five photos. Colorful, interesting photos tend to work the best for catching our members’ eyes!

4. Fill out the pattern description. We will ask you some basic questions around your pattern making it easier for Craftsy folk to find your pattern and know what your pattern is for. Make sure you have info about your pattern handy for this step.

For more information on how to sell a pattern through Craftsy, or to get started, visit Craftsy today!

Happy Crocheting!

Little Eme: Sweet Little Baby Moccasins Pattern and Tutorial

Here is a link to the cutest little baby moccasins pattern and tutorial. I just had to share...

Little Eme: Sweet Little Baby Moccasins Pattern and Tutorial 




Happy Crocheting!
 

Monday's Crochet Showcase: Corner-to-Corner Throw

This week's showcase item is for the Intermediate Crocheter! This is another free pattern from Red Heart.

This throw would be perfect in any size or any yarn. A nice cotton yarn would be perfect to take to the beach this summer. You could make a smaller size for a new baby gift! It looks like fun and a little bit of a challenge which I like so I don't get bored when crocheting.


This beautiful pattern is available here!

Happy Crocheting!

WIP Wednesday: Crocheted Bohemian Oasis Afghan

WIP Wednesday: My Crocheted Bohemian Oasis Afghan

I have almost all of the Granny Squares completed and am loving these colors. I can't wait to join them with the Drops Fabel Black yarn! I am making squares whenever I get a few minutes, on my lunch mostly. I am still working on my ABC blanket for Killian and am on the last section, (the ABC section)!:) No picture yet...so my WIPs are coming along.

Happy Crocheting!

I am hooking up at the Moogly Link Party!

Tuesday's Video Tutorial: How to Crochet the Foundation Double Crochet Stitch

Here is the link to Moogly's Video on how to crochet the fdc:

Video Tutorial: How to Crochet the Foundation Double Crochet Stitch

This stitch will save you tons of time! You will have a stretchier beginning to your blankets and it is so much easier to count nice big stitches instead of tiny chains. 

Be sure and check out other video's from Moogly!

Happy Crocheting! 

Monday's Crochet Showcase: Free Cute Log Cabin Dishcloth Pattern

This darling Simple Square Log Cabin Dishcloth is by Deborah Ellis of Neatly Tangled!

She is a crochet designer and has several free patterns on her web site and on Ravelry!

I picked this pattern to showcase today because of the bright colors and simple design. Use up those little scraps of cotton you have left over from other projects and make up some cute dishcloths to have on hand for gifts or keep them for yourself. I love crochet dishcloths because it makes the cleaning jobs just a little easier!






I hope you enjoy this weeks showcase and you can find the pattern here.


Happy Crocheting!

Finally Finished Crocheted Rainbow Blanket

I did it! Yay! Yippee!

The Rainbow Blanket I started making for my daughter a couple of years ago! This is just a striped crocheted granny blanket
I actually finished it in 2011 but...I had some ends to work in and I didn't give it to her until this last weekend. It only took me thirty minutes to work in those few ends! Can you believe that? Why didn't I do that years ago? I have several blankets like that. They are so close to being done but they need some ends worked in. I'm such a terrible procrastinator! Maybe this year I can finish all of my blankets! I would feel great if I did that. No more guilt for starting another new blanket.

I used Plymouth yarn and I love it! It's so lightweight and washed up beautifully! She was so happy to finally get it. My grand daughter Emma, just loves it. I think the bright primary colors are perfect for a toddler to learn her colors.

I hope you all are having a great week and Happy Crocheting!!

I am hooking up at the Moogly Link Party!

Bohemian Oasis Afghan...A Crochet Treat

My latest project is the Bohemian Oasis Afghan with Drops Delight! Of course this is a free pattern from Garnstudio. I have had it in my queue on Ravelry forever. 

It is such beautiful yarn and I have made many more squares but haven't take a picture. This yarn is a dream to work with. The color changes are so beautiful and each square is fun to make just watching the colors coming to life on my hook.

The pattern is really easy and a no brainer while watching TV or March Madness. I can't seem to work on my ABC baby blanket while watching basketball. It takes too much concentration!

I hope you  all have a wonder week and  Happy Crochet Month!!

A New Crochet Baby Blanket (Its a challenge for me!)

A girl at work (that I didn't know crocheted), was making this darling baby blanket with Red Heart Love yarn in Navy of all the colors for a baby boy she was making a Navy colored baby blanket. But...it was so perfect for the pattern she was using I just had to copy her! I am using a different yarn but I'm using the same Navy color in I Love This Yarn Super Soft. Are you excited yet? Okay, I'll end the suspense and show you my picture...

What do you think? I'm half way through with it and I absolutely love it. You can tell my bobble rows aren't perfect but I'm getting better as I go, (Ha! Ha!). Of course I am making this for Killian so he is family and I think the crooked rows add character!When he grows up he will know it was handmade with love by his Grammy!

So, the crooked rows are only part of the challenges in this pattern. I consider myself an intermediate crocheter so the bobbles aren't a problem, most stitches I have mastered. This pattern is nothing but counting. Ugggh! I hate counting! With my ADHD it's really tough for me to focus on counting while watching TV, pinning stuff on Pinterest, and texting! So I never would have picked this pattern. It is done with a graph and little tiny squares that I have to count too. But when I saw my friend making this I thought the pattern was done with granny squares stitched together but nooooo, it is all one piece. I really like that about it. Not a lot of ends to work in.  I had to print the graph on a clear transparency and turn it over because I do the bobbles from the back side. I don't know if this is making any sense to you. Maybe I should do a tutorial on it!!?? Let me know if you are interested in a picture or video tutorial of the pattern. Maybe we could do a crochet-a-long!

The Pattern is copyright by Caron International. It is posted with permission at Crochet 'N' More.




The pattern is also on Ravelry.

Happy Crocheting!

Owl Hat for My New Grandson

Yes...another Owl Hat but my daughter and son-in-law absolutely love them!! So funny...I've really become quite good at making them...Ha! Ha!

 


The pattern is here from Repeat Crafter Me

We welcomed Killian James into the world on January 11, 2014.

I am hooking up at the Moogly Link Party!