What two Needles Can Do

I realized, today, that I had not caught anyone up on anything craft wise. I apologize for that. Last week was pretty busy. We had store inventory that lasted until 2am and I hadn't caught up on sleep because some puppy wants out at 7a.m. on the dot, every day. Although I still feel sleep deprived I have had a day of rest so I feel much better.

I worked on a knitted sampler scarf and finished it April 11th:

 You can't really see the designs that well, in the picture.I think it may be the color of yarn I used. There were six "blocks" on the scarf. The ends were more plain. The middle squares were a heart, paw print, music note and (my favorite) a snowflake. I really liked this pattern (free download), because it was written for fourth graders which really dumbed down some of the things that confused me. I do wish that she had explained a little bit more on how to fasten off but it wasn't anything that a bit of Youtube or a friend couldn't help with. The scarf is a little short, like I said it was designed for fourth graders so it was probably meant for their size. I have been thinking of making more (for the practice) and donating the lot to some of the elementary schools around here for kids who forget their scarf or don't have one. Recess is no fun when it is too cold.

The next project that I have been working on is kind of sleeping right now. It is the Fireside Wristlets, also a free download. I like how they are turning out. I only have the one done, and the second is slowly coming together. I take it to work, so I can knit on my lunch. For some reason, the red is really difficult to knit with. It was the last color so maybe I got used to knitting and was knitting tighter? I don't know.

I'm still having troubles with knitting on circular needles. I don't know what is up with that and if I can't figure it out, I will be posting with pictures so you can see and maybe tell me what I'm doing wrong or give me any advice. I have tried watching youtube videos for this. My problem seems to be in getting the dern stitches to slide from the cord to the needle. Maybe my cord is too long?

What projects are working on? Have you tried anything new, lately?
Let me know in the comments below! Also, check out some of my other posts! I always love hearing from you.

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

Gondor Scarf - Finished and New Pattern!

I finally finished both the pattern and the scarf! Whoo! There were only a couple things that I had to fix with the pattern which is a huge win for me.  The pattern is now avialable for download at $1.99 USD.

I am working on several other pattern designs, at the moment. I just started writing out the Lord of the Rings blanket design, and I'm waiting on the "TreeBeard" hook I ordered, so that I can start making the actual blanket. Hopefully, that means I will be able to start it on Monday. 

I'm sorry that my "Tapestry style" patterns do not have a graph. I haven't quite figured out how to manage graphs on my computer. 

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

Gondor Scarf (WIP)

Since the new year started, I have been able to draw out three new pattern designs. Two of them are blanket designs and one is a scarf. One of the blankets and the scarf are designs inspired by Lord of the Rings. Oh, yes, I'm going fan girl in some of my designs.

I was looking for Lord of the Rings patterns and there aren't very many out there. Most of what is out there, are knitting patterns. Trying to knit and not drop stitches frustrates the cookies out of me. So, I had this grand idea that I would come up with a few crochet designs for Lord of the Rings fans, or those who know someone who loves Tolkien's works.

I finished handwriting the pattern for the Gondor Scarf and now I'm testing it before it moves to a typed and published version. So far, this is where I am, and of course I had to use my Sauron hook for the project. I am hoping to have the scarf and pattern finished by Friday.

Just a heads up, this pattern will not be a free download.

Some people "geek out" over Star Wars, some over Dr. Who. Me? I geek out over Lord of the Rings.

What do you "geek out" over?

Feel free to leave a comment and check out my other posts! I always love hearing from you.

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

So...About those Elves...

I am so sorry that it has been a while since I last wrote. Things have gotten super busy the last couple weeks and our internet keeps cutting in and out, since the internet we shared with a neighbor was shut off. So, there will be a couple new posts.

I feel like I didn't acomplish much in the way of Christmas stuff but here is what I have:

Blankets:  1/2 are finished
Hats: 2/5 are finished
Earwarmers: 0/4 are finished
Shawls: 2/3 are finished
Scarves: 5/5 are finished (YAY!)
Potholders: 1/6 are finished
Washcloths: 0/6 are fnished

 

Here is the blanket that I finished. The lighting isn't that great, it has been super cloudy around here. The color is a frost green/light sage. I do love the pattern though. It was a quick work up, once I sat down and did it. I used a pattern from Crochet World Magazine April 2015 Issue

 

This is the other shawl that I finished. It is a dark purple, cascading shells pattern. I really like this one too. I was able to sit and visit with people and not have to worry about losing count or reading a pattern. 

 The last scarf I needed to make! I restarted this one I don't know how many times. I tried to come up with something new, but felt rushed so I tore it out. Then I was going to do the Turtle Shuffle but I couldn't decide how I wanted to stripe it. So, I went with this basic, double crochet striped scarf. I'm not sure if I'm going to add tassels on it or not. I'm not sure the recipient is a fan of tassels

.

Finaly, a pot holder that I finished yesterday. It is supposed to be a diamond overlay but my diamonds look weird. I'm not exactly sure what went wrong but I still like it. Again, the lighting does not do the color justice. This one is a Frost Green color. I got this pattern from Crochet World Magazine August 2010 Issue.

Please remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

The Turtle Shuffle

I just finished the Turtle Shuffle Scarf design and the scarf itself. The design is a free download from my store in Ravelry and I intend to keep it a free download. I call it the Turtle Shuffle because if you look at the stitches you can kind of see little turtles shuffling along to keep you or your loved one warm in the winter months. The single crochet acts as the head or tail of the turtle and the double crochets act as the shell. I can also see little feet under the shells.

I came up with the name one my walk to work. I remembered, for some strange reason, a movie that my husband and I watched a while back, when we first started dating. I don't remember which movie it was but it had kids and there was this one boy that the others wouldn't let in past the front gate unless he did the "Truffle Shuffle". I feel so bad for the boy.

Anyhow, I was going through a list of words because I didn't like the way "Turtle Scarf" sounded and "Turtle Neck" is already taken and I don't know many people who like the suffocating feeling of the constrictive shirts. When this scene popped into my head I laughed and said "Turtle Shuffle". I thought of a few other titles that I can't remember now because this one just seemed to stick.

So, there you have it. A free crochet pattern design and a finished Christmas gift. Now,  I have three scarf gifts finished. I have seven more to go but I think that I'm going to start on some hats. To be honest, I'm getting bored of scarves and I have just as many hats and earwarmers to complete.

I am still working on one of the three shawls. I actually like how it is coming along. I will write a post about it, later.

Both of my blankets are actually on pause for the moment. I thought I had enough yarn for the afghan swap one but I'm about ten rows short of an afghan. So, another trip to the yarn aisle and I should be set on that one, but we shall see if I can get that yarn on Thursday. The other blanket's design is sitting in our friend's vehicle. I accidentally left that and the unfinished swap blanket when we went for a drive to pick up a really cool, antique sewing machine desk...thing.

Feel free to check out some of my other blog posts and leave a comment below. I always enjoy hearing from you.

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

To Make A Hole, You Must Start Digging

After a couple of slight panic attacks over Christmas, which isn't for another couple of months, and writing a list of gifts to make (which can be found in my earlier post, Dear Santa, May I Borrow Some Elves?) I have begun to make somewhat of a dent.

So far I have made 2/10 Scarves. I am in the middle of designing a third.

I used a basic Double Crochet stitch for one scarf:

and I used the "Strawberry Wine Cable Scarf" Pattern for the second:

I also made a couple of colorful headbands with some yarn gifted to me by Nina:

The yarn is 50% Soy Silk and 50% wool. South West Trading Company, Karaoke-299
 I also used the Double Shell Headband Pattern, which is a free pattern, for these two.
I absolutely loved the yarn for this and I'm going to look into getting more yarn. The Soy Silk tones down the wool's scratchiness. Wool doesn't usually make me itch but some wools do seem a little rough. This one is so soft and smooth, I wish you could feel it through the screen!

I am about 40 rows away from being finished with a blanket that I have been working on for a while. My goal is to have that finished by the end of this month. To do that, I want to try to crochet at least 5 rows a day (starting tomorrow because I work all day today). If I kept to this, I should have it finished by the 25th of September. Then I could concentrate on finishing the design for the hubby's blanket and the rest of the smaller projects.

The scarves will only take me a couple hours each, if I use patterns that I already have, and stop designing new ones. The shawls will take a little longer. Which, I started on one shawl and I'm really loving the pattern. I will make a new post about that, since this one is already stuffed with pictures. 

So, right now, I am working on  a new scarf design, a shawl, and a blanket. I want to finish this scarf and another scarf before I switch over to hats. 

Please remember that you are beautiful and well loved. 

Strawberry Wine Cable Scarf

I have been wanting so badly to figure out how these cable things work. No thanks to Youtube and google, I managed to figure out (I think) the basics of this kind of design. I couldn't find a pattern for exactly what was in my head, so...I made one. I wanted to make this a bit more intricate and give it a different name with different colors but we see how that worked out.

This pattern is currently being tested, but can be found here for $1.00 USD. You can use this code: 25SAVORS      to take 25% off of the pattern making it only $.75.

I am currently working on three project designs now:
I have promised to expand the Country Squares market bag and I'm hoping to have that finished and updated by this weekend. This week is a little crazy with all the kids coming back to college and me being needed more at the store, but I will find time to get it done.

I am also working on an earwarmer design.

Finally, I am trying to design that, more intricate, cable scarf that I was wanting to do in the first place. It will be in two colors with a nice border and probably some tassel as well. Who doesn't love tassels? Answer: Me when I have a Freddy cat who likes to play with my yarn. But, this new scarf design will have tassels because that is what the picture in my head looks like. First, I will have to sketch out the design which is where I went wrong with this scarf.  But I do love this scarf.

I called it "Strawberry Wine Cable Scarf" because at the time that I was trying to come up with a name I was listening to Country music and the name of the color is "Mixed Berries". One of my favorite Country songs as a kid was, "Strawberry Wine" by Deana Carter.

What inspires some of the titles of your designs/projects?

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.

A Challenge of My Own Design

Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good challenge. In fact, I often try to prove people wrong, within reason. I feel sorry for my doctors who tell me that I will never be able to sprint again because I didn't get the surgery to repair my knee. I graduated high school when everyone was telling me that I wouldn't make it. Never mind the fact, that I nearly dropped out to work, but thanks to some incredible teachers and my boss, I stayed. I was also told that I wouldn't make it through my freshman year of college and even though it took me six years and a few changes in my major, I graduated!

Granted, I'm still working on the whole running part but I'll be darned if I let anyone tell me that I can't do something without trying. Sadly, there are some parts where I got hurt in the process. For instance, when I was seven, we had this swing set with monkey bars (oh, yeah, it's that kind of story). My brother and I were always challenging each other. He would tell me that I couldn't do something, in that older brother kind of way, and I would try to prove him wrong. Most of the time it worked, but this time...he was right (don't tell him I said that...reputations and all). Anyhow, he told me that I couldn't skip two bars on the monkey bars and proceeded to show me that he could. My arms were a little too short and I couldn't even skip one. I knew this but, tried anyway because I've never let a challenge go without a fight. I got up to the top of the ladder, reached up, grabbed one bar and swung myself to reach past the two ahead of me. I ended up somehow flipping and landing on my wrist; breaking it. One challenge that I didn't quite meet. BUT I am proud to say that I can, now, skip two bars...maybe even three.

Long story to introduce a challenge of my own, that isn't so dangerous. I work at a clothing store and we get new shipments in, every day. I see most of the clothes before they hit the shelves and we have been getting a lot of yarny crochet/knit clothes in for the fall. This has me super excited! Some of the clothes has inspired me to try my hand at making similar pattern styles for crochet. I am working on one now that I have one side nearly finished. I'm just trying to figure out how to increase for the neck but it is going to be fun! So far, this is what it looks like:

Now, this is my first clothing design. I find it a little ambitious, even of myself, because I have only ever made one poncho and one shrug. I messed up, big time, on the poncho, and had a million questions with the shrug. I don't quite have the hang of closed necklines so this is going to be one interesting, yet harmless, challenge. No broken bones involved. So far, I like how it is turning out. I probably won't get to work on it until Sunday night or Monday. This next step is going to take a bit of thinking and playing with yarn.

Also, this is my finished Baktus! I frogged it (sorry Adrienne) because I didn't follow directions the first time. I will continue, with different yarn, with the way I was doing it before. Adrienne said that it would probably turn into a triangular shawl. I love triangle shawls!

And the little blond blob,is Sasha:

 

She is being an old lady today. She is around 8 years old and most days acts like she is still a puppy. I think the rain is making her sleepy. 

Feel free to check out my other blog posts and see what projects I have completed!

What inspires you to crochet/knit/design/craft?

Remember that you are beautiful and well loved!

New Adventures with Yarn

Alright, I am so super excited to be able to share with you, the finished product of the CAL (Crochet A Long) shawl that we were working on. It was so much fun to work with these beautiful ladies on the same project. They helped me when I had questions and we chatted while waiting for the next clue. I love a good mystery and this project kept me anxious for the day when the next clue would be released.

Here is the finished product:

The border has sweet little butterflies! I tried to capture some in the picture above, but I'm not sure if you can see it. I did not block this (mostly because I don't know how and I don't have the room, right now. This pattern also called for beads, which I did not use because my local craft store didn't have the beads I was looking for and I'm not patient when it comes to creating something for someone. Haha!

I gave this shawl to one of my co-workers who was not having a good week. I hope that it helped to brighten her day. She likes to bow hunt and the colors reminded me of the pink camouflage shoes that we sell, which reminded me of her hunting hobby.

I am excited to start a new CAL! I am looking for one right now, so if you know a good one, let me know in the comments below!

Also, I decided to teach myself how to knit and after 15 minutes of trying to figure out how to cast on, I am getting the hang of it. Here is a scarf that I'm making. I'm not very far.

As always, have a blessed day.
Remember that you are beautiful and well loved.