Welcome 2014!

So it's been more than awhile since I have posted.  I have just been so very busy.  I'm a high-school Math teacher and the fall is just crazy.  I also have all my craft shows during that time, too.  But enough with the excuses!  I have time to post now, so here we go!

First, I see I did not update everyone on my participation in scrappyblanket.com.  I was able to work with the lovely Rachele (BabyLoveBrandKids - Now CypressTextiles) on a site devoted to scrap blankets.  Of course... we both got busy and...  We're putting it on hold for now.  However, we have quite a few things up, and it's still a neat site to see other's work.

Secondly, I was featured on another talented artist's blog:  Spincushions.  I've been following Shelley on Instagram, and when I saw she was doing a tutorial on joining, I had to let her know about my favorite one!  The tight join!  You can see that post here.  Stop by and say hello to Shelley!

Even though I have been absent from the blog, I have certainly been crocheting away!  I would love to show you all a few highlights of what I have been up to...

Let's first start with the Wooden Button hat.  I bought all my buttons from Pymatuning Crafts.  

Great customer service.  I highly recommend them.  

I used to workout with Mary and Jamie.
Since they (as well as Mary's family) are so beautiful, I asked them to show off their hats!

Of course I worked on many, many cowls.  I just have a few pictured here...

I made a cute little hedgehog for my coworker.  She is sewing me a bag in exchange!  

I can't wait to see it...and hopefully show all of you!

By the way, I nabbed that pattern from a great etsy seller:  oneandtwocompany

I've also been into tag-making, too.  I don't know why... but it's small and fun!  

Finally, I made quite a few blankets...  

I think there may be some I am missing since it's been so long since I have talked with all of you.. but here are a few:

This one was made for my friend Jamie.
You can find the pattern from Nittybits here.
You can learn the continuous join-as-you-go from Rachele here.

This was just a traditional granny square made of scraps for my friend's mother.
It was also my first time using the continuous join-as-you-go method.

Again, Nittybits came up with the pattern of this blanket.  You can find it here.
I learned the pom pom border from Robin at Once Upon a Pink Moon here.
And because I love it so much, this is also the continuous join-as-you-go method.

This green and blue blanket was purchased by my friend Carrie.
It's called the Gumball and the pattern can be purchased from BabyLoveBrandKids/CypressTextiles here.
I really enjoyed doing the reverse single crochet on this blanket!

This little baby blanket was made up of some of my leftover yellows... Doesn't it make you happy?
If you're interested in the pattern, you can again find it at BabyLoveBrandKids/CypressTextiles here.
The edging was simply a hdc around with a fpdc, bpdc for a few rows.

Well, it's probably up to negative 5 degrees outside now that it's almost 1 PM here...  Hello Polar Vortex of 2014.  So I should shove off and finish up all my tasks I want to get knocked out on this cold day that I have off from school.  I hope that wherever you are that it's much warmer there!

Until next time, enjoy this goofy picture of me.  My friend Andrea... her daughter found a way to use my yarn scraps.  She's such a clever kid!

YARN NERD!

Game Playing, Flowery Orders, and Blue Herons, Oh my!

On the last blog post I was so busy showing you how to make a hoop that I forgot to show you two recent purchases I was very happy with!  I went out to McHenry, IL with my friend, and we checked out two shops we've never been to before. 

The first was A Peek Into the Past Vintage.  The owner was super friendly, and this antique shop had tons of items in it!  I felt like I could have been there for hours and still not see everything.  The shop was immaculately clean, and everything was organized and displayed so nicely.  I'm thinking of going back before the holidays and getting my sister-in-law a few things, as she's been into vintage quite a bit lately.  Let me show you my great find...

An old cribbage board... with wooden pegs!  Only $8!  SCORE! (Do you like my bad pun?)

My husband loves cribbage, but dislikes the board I bought at some discount store years ago.  When I saw this, I knew I couldn't wait until November to give it to him.  We've already used it, and he was impressed with the fact it had wooden pegs.  So, if you're in McHenry, I really suggest stopping by A Peek Into The Past Vintage... it's a really neat store.  I can't wait to go back. 

While out and about, across the street was White River Junction.  What a neat shop.  Spacious, clean, organized!  There were tons of items I wanted to buy here.  Plenty of home decor and jewelry.  Local artists selling their handmade products, too - which is right up my alley.  My day of shopping in downtown McHenry closed with me purchasing this little guy from them shop:

He can hold a little business card or sign!

I haven't had much time to do any other shopping because this week I had some orders roll in... 
Let me share them with you!

20 large pink crochet flowers!  Interested in some of your own?  Click HERE!

Every time I make these little booties, I smile.  So small and sweet!

A mouse hat made with peach!  You can get one of your own by clicking HERE!

Other than that, I've taken up the sport of long-distance cycling.  It's not very crafty, but I wanted to leave you in this blog post with a picture I took just yesterday on the trail.  Until next time...

Great Blue Heron on the Des Plaines River

White, Blue and Cold

Hello everyone!  I hope that any of you (who have power) on the east coast who are reading this are braving the storm and doing okay.  We were lucky to get just the perfect amount of snow to cover everything with a good, thick coat.  We didn't have much wind, so the trees were lined with snow for the better part of the week.  Driving to and from work everyday was amazing and beautiful.

One reason I love the winter is because I can wear all my crochet items.  I was able to piece together an outfit to highlight my Noro scarf I made from my yarn in Austin.  So comfy!

Speaking of winter, it always makes me think of the colors blue and white.  It totally inspired me to make a cowl and a matching hat with a pin that can be removed that matches both pieces. Check out the result!

 

This is the combo of both pieces.  There is only one flower, but you can put it on either piece.

A collage of the hat - with and without the flower.

 

A collage of the cowl with the flower.

What do you think?  It's made of soft acrylic and then a very light white mohair wool that is mixed with the smallest of sequins.  I wish the photos could pick up the slight glittery-look of the sequins.  If you go back and look at the close up of the flower, you can see them.  I'm totally in love with it!

So this week, I am going to try something new...

Item of the Week!

*50% off!*

The Blue Topaz Sequin Cowl and Hat with Detachable Pin!

Once it's gone, it's gone.  No custom orders for the sale price can be accepted, but I can take them for the regular price.

I'd love to hear what you think!  Your comments here and/or on facebook are always welcome!  The feedback helps me improve my service to you.  Thank you again for all your support!

Speaking of support, I received a message on etsy this week regarding the piggy hat from next week and the customer was so happy that it totally made my day.  It is reprinted with permission from SSpillie1215:

I CANT... EVEN TELL YOU... HOW MUCH... I LOVE THE HAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
OOOOOOHHHH MYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOODDDDDDD!!!!!!
IT IS AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
It will be a gift for my cousin's baby shower in a few weeks, and i can't WAIT for her to open it!!!!!! 

I am so beyond thrilled... THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Speaking of, I have to run off of here to finish up some more orders... including next week's item of the week!  Thank you again everyone.  Have a great week and until then... stay warm!

Valentine's Day... is a month away!

This week has flown by.  The first week back at work always does.  Even though it moved quickly, it ended up being a wonderful week.  I hope yours was the same!

Sadly, the only day I had to take pictures was today... and it was rather gloomy.  Luckily my friend Holly Briscoe is super talented and made sure my pictures weren't too terrible to put up.  (Thank you, Holly!)

First I wanted to share with you one of the gifts I am giving to my mother-in-law on her birthday in a few weeks.  Of course, the pattern is totally from Attic24.  I hope she likes it! 

A little flower pin!  What do you think?

I haven't just been making gifts for my mother in law; I had a few orders on etsy, too!

I had an order for a koala hat!

And an order of flowers!

...but what I have been wanting to show you the most is what I thought up for Valentine's Day.  Little coffee cozies!  I bought one at a shop in Grand Marais, Minnesota that sold handmade goods, but it's a little big.  I thought maybe I could crochet a little cotton one.  Then I remembered that I had bought some nice wool felt a bit back in a few colors.  A heart!  I could use my DMC floss and stich a little heart on my cotton cozy!  That would be too plain!  Oh!  I know what I could do...

Do you see the secret? 

It's a little pocket!  I made the wool heart so you can tuck a little note inside.  So many things you can say!  The possibilities are endless.  I could give it to a friend and tell her she's awesome...  I could give it to someone who is having a hard time and give them a word of encouragement...  I keep coming up with so many reasons to give it to someone. 

Anyway, if you're interested in purchasing any of them, you can right here.  I've made a few others, but I am going to wait to put them up, as I want to make a few more variations.

Next week, I promise to show you some of those blocks I said I would work on.  Remember one of my crafty resolutions?  One crochet block a week?  Well, I have made zero.  So I am going to get started on that right now. 

Please let me know your thoughts, suggestions, opinions in the comments below or on my linked post on facebook...  I love all your feedback.  Have a wonderful week!  Until next time...