Coming soon...

Pretty new dishcloths!!! I know… total domestic freak right here. I couldn't decide which color I liked better so I picked up one of each. That would be Lily brand Sugar n' Cream in Moondance on the left and Hippie on the right. I like to make a simple seed stitch dish cloth. The other ones I made lasted over two years of near daily use. But they are nowhere near as pretty anymore. Time for some new ones.

So, people usually talk about what they are reading while working on their fiber art, but I just can't read and crochet at the same time. Maybe it's because I have to look at where I'm inserting my hook. I prefer to have something going in the background like a movie or a show. "Bonnet dramas" are my favorite because I love to listen to the wonderful language and beautiful music usually accompanying the action but anything will do. Just not something I need to focus on visually or mentally too much.

I was recently introduced by a dear friend to this version of Sense and Sensibility {affiliate link} and oh my… I think it just might be my new favorite! Yes, that means moving the Emma Thompson version down a peg. First of all, for all you Downton fans… Matthew Crawley as Edward! And for all you Harry Potter fans… Mr. Weasley as Sir John Middleton! And… any Doctor Who fans in the house? Jackson Lake!!! Ok, he might be a little obscure, but he does a fabulous job as Colonel Brandon, as good (maybe even better) than dear Alan Rickman. I can't believe I just typed that. I feel like such a traitor but I'm trying to be honest here.

***Word of caution… the opening scene is a rather intimate scene not written in the book but alluded to between Colonel Brandon's ward and Willoughby. I plan on skipping to about 1:08 minutes in when I show my girls. Not graphic, but just not appropriate for them.

So, how about you? Are you like me and prefer listening while leisurely crafting? What are you watching and working on right now? What are you whipping up and whistling too?

A Survey from Sunshine

My sweet Sunshine is working on a project for her math and would like some help. There is a question for knitters/crocheters and one for non-knitters/crocheters although if any knitters/crocheters wanted to answer both, please feel free!

1) If you are a knitter/crocheter, what fiber would you be most likely to create with?

a. Wool

b. Alpaca

c. Bamboo

d. Cashmere

e. Cotton

f. Silk 

2) If you were to purchase a hand knitted/crocheted item which product would you be most interested in:

a. Sweater or Cardigan

b. Hat

c. Baby Clothes

d. Socks

e. Shawl or Wrap

f. Mittens or gloves

g. Scarf

h. Bag

i. Pillow

j. Blanket

Just leave you comment in the combox. Anonymous comments are allowed. Thank you so much for your help!

Crochet Crush

Sunshine is in love! Yep, that's right. My dyed-in-the-wool knitting natural is ready to trade in her needles for a crochet hook after checking out this book from the library. OK, maybe not trade them in, but she's definitely interested in taking a sabbatical. She wants to play hookie for awhile. Do you blame her?

Austentatious Crochet: 36 Contemporary Designs from the World of Jane Austen

If only I had known it existed back in May!

 

Pattern Helper

Somewhere, on someone's blog, I think, I saw mention of a magnetic board that helped them keep track of their place in a knitting or crochet pattern. Obviously, the details didn't stick in my pregnant brain but the idea did. When I went looking for it again or something like it, I found this magnetic tabletop easel and thought it would serve my purposes. It has wonderfully!

I used a strip of magnetic tape and some pretty paper scraps to make some magnetic place markers. The reviews of the easel say that alphabet magnets don't stick very well to this board but I think that's due to the weakness of the magnets, not the fault of the board. The ones I made stick and stay in place just fine. It works much better than my old method of marking off sections with a pen!

Isn't she lovely?

Even if she's a bit lopsided right now. She needs another leg. I need more yarn! 

BTW... hair made her head much less creepy.

 

Yarn Along :: End of March

Ginny's Yarn Along is the perfect opportunity to show you a new crochet stitch I learned that I am absolutely in love with!!! 

 It's called a Solomon's Knot, also a Lover's Knot. Isn't it so pretty and lacey looking? 

I learned it by watching this video on YouTube. The yarn is Caron's Country in Spruce. It was on clearance at Michaels and such a pretty color I couldn't pass it up. Sadly, after I took this picture, I realized I had made my shrug way too long and ended up frogging the whole thing! That's OK. I am enjoying this stitch so much, I don't mind starting over and it works up really quickly once you get going.

Reading wise... I'm not reading much because I can't seem to keep my eyes open long enough to make it through a page. No matter when I sit down to read, I start to get drowsy and want to take a nap. We are listening to the Truth and Life Audio Bible this Lent and that will have to count for now.

Speaking of yarn and great books...don't forget that today is the last day to enter Jenn's raffle!

Homemade Yarntainers

Homemade what?

Yarn-Tainers.

If you aren't a crocheter/knitter, you can skip this post...

Sunshine loves to work with yarn. I guess I should have nicknamed her Kitten. She is never so happy as when she is knitting away. She loves to make baby hats and dishcloths. She also has a bad habit of starting a new project without finishing the old one. Wonder where she gets that from? Tee hee!

Anyway, we gave her one of these fabulous little containers for Christmas and quickly realized that we would have to invest quite a bit in too many of these to satisfy her many inspirations. What was that? Tell her she can't start a new project until she finishes an old one? Yeah. That'd be the pot calling the kettle black.

So I came up with this idea. Some pretty paper, tape and glue turned an old oatmeal container into a homemade yarntainer.

They aren't see-through, but they do the job. My only tip would be to cut the hole in your paper smaller than the hole in the oatmeal top. Then place some tape to help the paper insert stick to the top until the glue dries. And if your paper doesn't fit the top perfectly, fill in the gap with some glitter glue.

This little piggy wants to play!

What do you say to a sweet girl who's dearest wish is to spend her birthday playing with her BFF cousins? You say, "Let's PARTY!"

This little piggy was crocheted especially for the birthday girl. She loves piggies and we are happy to indulge her.

We are also bringing decorations to make piggy cupcakes once we get there. This is a mock up that I made on the bottom of a coffee cup. The ears were made by cutting a strawberry marshmallow on the diagonal and dipping the cut end into pink colored sugar. The snouts were made by cutting a marshmallow in half and the nostrils were mini chocolate chips. Those have a tendency to melt really fast so they didn't work for the kids. Erin used some gel frosting instead but mini M&M's could also work. And in honor of Hatchick's birthday, we will leave you with some porcine humor because these little piggies gotta fly!

What do you call a laundromat for pigs?
- The Hogwash!

Why did the three little pigs fall asleep every time Grandpa told stories?
- Because he was a boar.

How did the farmer know the fox was stealing eggs?
- The pig squealed on him.

Why doesn't anyone want to play on Peg Pig's football team?
- Because she hogs the ball!

What is Peter Pig's favorite position on his baseball team?
- Shortslop.

What did the sow put on her piglet's sore snout?
- Oinkment.

What do piglets do after school?
- Hamwork!

What did Farmer Joe give Farmer Jill for her birthday?
- Hogs and kisses!

What kind of party were Mr and Mrs Pig invited to?
- A swine and cheese party.

What did the pig say when the mean old farmer grabbed him by the tail?
- This is the end of me!

What do you call an over anxious television reporter?
- Media hog!

What do you call a pig who competes in the Olympics?
- An Olym-pig.

What do you get when you cross an actor with a pig?
- A Real Ham

What do you think?

Young lady or...

...old lady?

Shortcake's Easter dress is sleeveless and since I prefer for the girls to have their shoulders covered in church, I told her I would crochet a little shrug to go with it in a pretty color. She chose Aqua. I made a second one just for fun with a ruffle and when she saw it, well...hers had to have a ruffle too! One of the reasons I find it hard to sew or crochet clothing for my children is that I still see the raw materials and it colors my opinion of the finished garment. So... what do you think? Does this look like something a pretty little girl should be wearing or a sweet little octogenarian? She has already decided to wear it. She says it makes her feel like an elegant lady going to a ball.
She knows how to melt a mama's heart, that's for sure!

UPDATE: The basic pattern I used was this one although somehow, my rows always ended up being Row 3's instead of alternating 2's and 3's. Not sure why but it looks fine. I made mine bigger of course since Shortcake is 8 1/2, not 5. I added the ruffle without a pattern just using double crochets along the edge (about 5 per space).

Go. Now!

And look at Kimberlee's amazing idea to help her little ones pick a bouquet of roses to lay at the feet of Our Lady! What a truly beautiful devotion those girls are cultivating with crocheted roses from their mother's hands.

More Hats (for a good cause)

Hi. My name is Charlotte and I'm a crochet junkie...

But if you are interested in helping a family in need and you want a hat for your own (or for someone else), you can purchase one of these five hats over at Hillside Education and know that all of the proceeds will go help a family in need. You can see all of them on the Handmade page (plus all of the other fabulous items already donated). And be sure to check out the other pages too! Right now, Margot is collecting donations for the Quigley family in Lancaster, PA who have 2 children recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Please help out anyway you can!

****Updated: Margot tells me that all of the hats are gone. Please check out all of the other items for sale and see if anything strikes your fancy. Remember, it's for a good cause!

Thoroughly Modern Muriels

Not quite sure how I found this website, but I have been having way too much fun crocheting these thoroughly modern flapper hats. These two are the Muriel pattern. My girls adore them and have requested one in every color yarn I have available and then some. Plus, they want interchangeable flower pins to wear with them. I used this picot flower pattern and just pinned them on with a safety pin. I haven't finished perusing the whole website and haven't decided what to try next. Oh my gosh, don't let them see these or my fingers will never be still again!

I am off to try to recover from "project mode".

Inspiration and Celebration

**UPDATED for Lydia**

Kimberlee's blog and her family are one of the many places I find inspiration out here on this world wide web. They are so full of joy, hope and tons of creativity! Recently she showed us some of her crocheted creations, but little did she know that I had already been inspired by her daughters who create little critters and fuzzy yummies just like their mom, also without use of any pattern, straight from their own imagination! Kimberlee mentioned to me the need for instant gratification from her craft making; being a busy mom of seven means not much time for long term projects but these little delights take minimal time commitment and get maximum results.

Since I only saw my grandma crochet blankets, that is what I crocheted. She was known to make doll dresses and hats too but that was before I came along. So needing a quick crochet fix, I tried my hand at some of these delicious projects. Here are the things I have been working on although I made use of the many online patterns available to more visually dependent people like me. I started with a simple fried egg and was hooked.
This breakfast set is going to accompany the quiltie I made for my godson. I used the cotton that Kimberlee mentions so that he wouldn't get a mouth full of fuzz should he try to take a bite out of anything. Can you tell what they are? How about a piece of toast, a fried egg, 2 pieces of bacon and a chocolate chip muffin. Sounds good to me!
This was actually my first attempt at anything fancy. It was supposed to be a strawberry shortcake, but my strawberry morphed into a giant cherry so I am calling it a cream puff. I also made a cupcake which is MIA right now.
Well, once I had made a few things following a pattern, I kind of got the hang of it and ventured out on my own. What do you think? Can you tell what this is? Put your mouse on the picture and it will be revealed.
But in the interest of full disclosure, let me introduce you to my first attempt without a net before it is swept away to the Island of Misfit Toys. The kids said it looked like broccoli which would have been great if I had been trying to make broccoli. I was shooting for some lettuce, maybe romaine. Not broccoli.

***Note to Kimberlee: Lydia is right!

Last, but not least, to my dearest friend who is celebrating a birthday today... this one is for you!

I hope you have a great day!