H is for hook

this is my most favoritest hook in my little crochet world...

i inherited this and a bunch of others from my grandma. she kept them in this old olive jar... [hubby surprised me by putting the daffodil in the jar on easter morning]

there's all sorts of colors, sizes, and types in that jar- plastic, steel, aluminum and size 12 through P. but whenever the pattern warrants a G, H, or I hook, i always reach for the bright blue aluminum 'H'. she's served me well and has been called up to service once again...

we'll be making squares as we hook along with Melissa @ Hooked on Handmade during her CAL



she's even selected 30 square patterns to use- one for each day. how much easier could it be?! if you're interested in joining us, click the image above to get all of the details...i just know it's going to be a whole lot of fun!

must do

ack! have you seen this? i reaaallly want to try to make one of these....

 

but i'm definitely NOT going to be crocheting the doilies myself- not if i want to get it done in this decade ;)

you can find the tutorial @ Dos Family [found via crafterholic] 

giveaway

psst...i'm having a super dee duper giveaway of goodies handmade by yours truly over at Wild Olive. 

and not only that, but there is a full day's worth of great tutorials and generous giveaways from Mollie's other sponsors. you really should check it all out!

happy easter!

mail

a couple of weeks back, Liane from enhabiten posted on her blog that she was selling bundles of joy- i mean vintage fabric- as part of her studio destash. and of course, i couldn't resist taking a look. i mean it all has to be fabulous, right?! just look at this beauty

source: enhabiten

and, of course, when i looked it was all fabulous and then i couldn't resist the big orange BUY button.

and this is what arrived in my mailbox... a box with a lovely typed note

on top of two bundles of fabrics in shades of blue

the top bundle is smaller cuts

with this one being my favorite out of the group

and the bottom bundle is larger pieces

with this vintage beauty being what drew me to the listing in the first place

i'm really hoping that Liane sent some of her creative vibes along with the fabric.

any suggestions on what i should make with the red, white and aqua piece?

swap

i joined a ravelry group in january called Dishcloths R Us and they have monthly swaps- just a dishcloth, knitted or crocheted, and a postcard from your area are to be sent... easy peasy and minimal time commitment. i have to say it's been a lot of fun!

in february, my swap partner was PaulaE, from the UK. her profile said she likes the colors purple and green so i hooked up and sent off this:

 and received in return this knitted beauty:

i signed up for march too and this time was paired up with Michele from Maine. this time i thought i would challenge myself to knitting a dishcloth in a pattern not written up by someone else. this is the result:

i have a pink sweater vest that has this knitted diamond pattern on it and used it as the basis. it was easier than i thought it would be to stitch it up, however i used needles twice as big as i should have so i ended up with a rectangle the size of a dishtowel. since the group was not named Dishtowels R Us, i decided to fold it in half, single crochet around the three sides and add a loop. i love the texture [and the color of course]! i have to say though, it took waaaayy longer to make than if i had crocheted one, but once the challenge has been made, there's no going back! [by the way, would anyone be interested in a tute for the diamond dishcloth?]

Michele sent me this fantastic dishcloth:

i just love the pattern and will have to see if i can find it on ravlery....you know, to add to all the other thousands of patterns in my favorites :)

granny egg tutorial

easter has snuck up on me with the stealth of a ninja and i figured i should get out a few decorations, but when i went through what i already had, i thought 'meh, i'm not really into so much pastel anymore'. so what to do, what to do... 

well, i had to go to hobby lobby for a few things for my son's school project and thought i would take a look to see what they had in their easter aisles. i came across ceramic eggs in a cream color and immediately thought 'i will grannify you eggs!' [yeah, i doubt grannify is a real word too]. i walked out with as eight eggs, paper grass and pipe cleaner chicks and ended up with these:

i made the up the granny eggs as i went and am excited to share the process with you guys. i know easter is less than one week away but these hook up really fast! you could even do this over plastic eggs you have laying around the house...

Supplies [chick not required]:

*i used creme de la creme yarn and an 'F' hook OR cotton crochet thread and a 'D' hook, but this can vary depending on the size of your egg

Stitches [US terms]:
magic ring= great tutorial here [use through step 3]
sl st = slip stitch
sp = space
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
granny stitch = 3dc, ch1 [i doubt this stitch is in any book, it's just what i call it :) ]
granny increase = ch3, 1dc in same space, ch1, 2dc in same space, ch1


Pattern:
Round 1: in magic ring, ch3, 2dc, ch1, 4 granny stitches, sl st in top of ch3; before pulling yarn end tight to close the hole, feed it through hole to the right side


Round 2: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, granny increase, *granny stitch in next ch1 sp* four times, sl st in top of ch3


Round 3: sl st in next dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 2dc in same sp, ch1, *granny in next ch1 sp* five times, sl st in top of ch3

Round 4: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 2dc in same sp, ch1, *granny in next ch1 sp* five times, sl st in top of ch3

Round 5: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 2dc in same sp, *3dc in next ch1 sp* five times, insert egg into cup you've created, sl st in top of ch3; from this point you are working in the round with the egg inserted

Round 6: repeat Round 5, minus the egg insertion

Round 7: sl st in next 2dc and ch1 sp, ch3, 1dc in same sp, ch1, *2dc, ch1 in next ch1 sp* five times, sl st in top of ch3

Round 8: sl st in next dc and ch1 space, ch1, sc in same space, sc in next ch1 sp 5 times pulling yarn tight around the small end of the egg, sl st in first sc of round; fasten off; weave in ends

the pattern as written above is for the thicker yarn and bigger hook [fuschia and yellow eggs in picture above]. the white, red and pink eggs made with the crochet thread required an extra granny increase row in the beginning and an extra row of 3dc w/o ch1 in between [like Round 5 above]. the pattern is truly customizable to your egg, yarn and personal preferences. 

another feature you could add would be a chain loop to hang your egg with, like this one:

please let me know if you have any questions or find any errors... enjoy!

m.i.a

well, it appears i've been away for longer than i thought! my daytime job has been kicking my a+double dollar signs...i should call it my day, night, and weekend time job. but, there is light at the end of the tunnel and the craziness should be over by the first week in may. and it cannot come soon enough! i miss writing, crafting, surfing [the web kind, of course] and spending time with my family.

but i have found some time today to touch base and write up some posts to share what i have been able to do with any spare seconds from the last couple of weeks or when i just needed a sanity check!

like this, for example:

i was looking through my adhesive bin for glue for my son the other day and came across a bottle fabric stiffener that has been in there i don't know how long. i thought 'i want to make a doily bowl' and so, i did! 

i crocheted the minty green doily, put the stiffener in a plastic container with water, dunked and soaked the doily and molded it around a pyrex mixing bowl. and when i got up this morning, voila, it was a pretty bowl. just stiff enough but not too hard or crunchy. i was worried that with sitting and age, the stiffener might have lost it's effectiveness but i'm really pleased with the results!

these are super simple and fun to make! i think i might make some up in other non-traditional colors and various sizes to use in displays and sell at Market Day [which is another reason i can't wait to be done with this big project at work...i need to get ready for the first show of the season on May 28th!].

i would love to hear what you all have been up to in the last two weeks!

**update: found 'Crowns Surround' pattern by Cille Heckenbach on Ravelry but i did not stitch the last round in the pattern

love

i just cannot get away from aqua! first it was orange and aqua- now red and aqua. here's some of my recent etsy items...

1. Kitchen-Mid Century Modern Print by handz
2. Vintage General Electric Hand Mixer by AlexisBrookeLane
3. Upcycled Girls Dress by SewnNatural [if i only had a girl]
4. Lovebirds Print by Geninne

have a great weekend everyone!