Hello

Good Morning Monday...

err ummm I mean Tuesday!

No I didn't forget what day it was, really I didn't!

Ok So over the weekend I got to see my husband. This was a rare and wonderful treat since he is staying out of town for work and coming home on the weekends. It sure has cut down on our gas expenses though! We didn't do much for excitement other then enjoy some fun family meals together, do some grocery shopping together, and watch a few movies. All normal everyday things that we couldn't do during the week.

I also finished up the other sock to match the one I created the first time. I followed my own pattern and actually made another sock. This is a good sign as I hope to write the pattern and make it available for others to use. The socks have the same stitch on the Fingerless gloves on the top of the foot and around the ankle, but the bottom is just a tight even single crochet stitch. The whole thing is worked in the round so the top half of the round is done in the pattern and the bottom half is done with a simple stitch. I prefer ankle socks so my socks did not come up to far, however you can make them taller by simply continuing the pattern around to the desired height. These lovely little socks were done using sock weight yarn in a red colorway of dark burgundy shading out to a deep pink.

I am contemplating refinishing chairs today, They still have not been finished because first it was to hot to try painting them and now it has been raining so much that I cant possibly do it yet. I need to get them done before it really starts raining and I will have to wait until spring. I want to get them done. I have the fabric cut to refinish the seats, I have the staple gun loaded and ready,  I have the paint, the brushes, and the chairs lightly sanded. I just need a day when its not pouring rain or threatening to. :)

Later today I am getting a dresser that needs to be painted and put in my daughter The Bookworm's room. I got a steal of a deal, a real wood dresser (not that particle board crud) and they are delivering it for 20.00! It has a broken wooden handle but that is a fairly easy thing to fix, either with a new handle or a small piece of wood to replace it. That will have to be evaluated after we get it here.

I am considering board games for school today....

What lovely things did you do over the weekend?

Finger-less Gloves~ A Picture

So did my description from the other day do these justice? 

Here are a set of cell phone pictures... 

Shell detail at top of fingers

Inside of glove

You can see the scaling better

Here you can see the thumb detail

So what do you think? 

Crocheted finger-less Gloves~ A description

Since the suggestion was made that I attempt to describe these lovely finished gloves with words I am going to do my best.

I sure hope that the words do it justice and that you can get a glimpse of what they *might* look like.

I started this project with 'scrap' yarn. Acrylic yarn from my stash. *gasp!* she said acrylic! well yes I do find acrylic to be good for some projects and if worked properly can be quiet comfortable. I chose a lovely shade of deep red. There was a medium sized ball of yarn left over from another project that I did for a friend. I believe it was from the Simply Soft collection of Caron yarns. I believe the color is Garnet now, but I know thats not what it was called when I bought it. :)

Because I do a lot with my fingers I wanted to have the ability to have my fingers free and my wrists still covered when I work as it gets colder. So I started looking around at free patterns for fingerless gloves. There are some but none that had a thumb hole, more of just a slit in the side for the thumb to come out. That's what got me thinking "why not just create my own?"

I started at the top and worked my way down.
These gloves are done in a tight single crochet stitch so that there are not a lot of  'holes' in them. I went for warmth as well as beauty. I started at the top so that I could create the thumb hole and work down towards the wrists. I use a special decrease stitch that allows for a lacy pattern all the way around the glove. I think it looks a little like scales. The decrease stitch has a raised effect so that the stitches on either side of it lay flat giving a nice detail to the glove. I then finished the top of the gloves, only on the backsides not all the way around, with a shell pattern that provides a lovely decorated finish to the tops. The bottoms down by the forearm are just simply straight so that they can be worn under a coat if need be.

I may try to take pictures with the inadequate camera's at my disposal and post them tomorrow, then you can tell me how I did at describing them.

Crocheting

Over the weekend I pulled out a project I had started about 8 months ago. It is a pattern I picked up over on Ravelry (if you are a crocheter or knitter you really need to check out that website! They have tons of free patterns and groups for hookers and knitters alike.)

Anyway the pattern is for a pair of socks. They are the first pair of socks I have ever crocheted. I tried a different pattern once before but it just was not turning out the way it was supposed to. So I scrapped that first project and picked up this one. The pattern is called Origami Turkish Socks and the pattern is free on Ravelry.

My review of these socks:
They fit very nicely. I like how snug they are without feeling tight or pinched. I do not like that I have to sew them up at the end. I do however like that they are easy to custom fit because it is made in a flat pattern. The most complicated part of the whole thing is that you have to measure your foot there is no stitch count to get it right with.

I wish that I could share a picture of these cute socks right now but you all know about the picture issue I am having.

I also made a completely adorable Crocheted choker necklace. That one was my own creation and I will share pictures of it when I get the ability to do so.

Happy Monday to you all~
Have a fantastic;
Morning,
Afternoon,
Evening,
Day,
Night

Where ever you are!

The Scarf

I was going to post the pictures of the scarf in the blog from yesterday, but then I decided that it would be easier to just post the pictures here.

The pattern is my own creation and I am going to share it here. It is a simple pattern that I think even a beginner could do.

Here are the photos of the scarf.

 This is taken with just the natural light and you can see the little twist in the material

This is taken with the flash and you can see the actual color of the scarf, it turns out better with the flash. 

This was taken with me holding the scarf up against the blue of the wall. It is more for visual interest.

Crystal's Textured Scarf

J hook

Double Crochet = DC

Modified Crossed Double Crochet = MCDC

Chain 17 and DC in the 3rd chain from hook and across.

chain 2 (I find this makes the sides more even and tight) turn

DC in next 3 stitches, MCDC ( for a MCDC you skip one stitch DC chain one then go behind the DC already made back into the skipped stitch making a crossed stitch) DC in next 3 stitches MCDC, DC in remaining stitches including the top of the chain 2 space at the end. Chain 2 turn and repeat. 

including the first chain you will have a pattern that is 4 DC (chain2 counts as DC) a MCDC, 3 DC, CDC and 4 more DC.
I simply repeat the pattern until it is as long as I want the scarf to be.

I have also made this scarf and added fringe to the bottoms for more detail.  

*note* A traditional Crossed Double Crochet is done in the same manner only instead of going behind the first double crochet you go over it to create an X with the stitches. I have a lovely Scarf pattern that uses this stitch and then front posts to create a cabled look. That will be the one I work on next.

Feed back is always welcomed. My blog is set to allow anyone to comment so even if you are not a follower you can comment on my blog.

Enjoy and have a wonderful day!

A special gift

So yesterday I finished a scarf for my husband.

This isn't just any scarf! No its a lovely scarf made from natural fibers that I got last year on our special alone trip to Fort Bragg California.

I loved working with this fiber and it felt so luxurious to be working with natural fibers. I happen to be one of the rare few who are allergic to wool, or the things it is treated with. I have yet to be able to determine that exactly. I do have a reaction to whatever wool I touch, but I can pet a sheep with no reaction what-so-ever. So the question remains is it the wool or is it whatever people do to treat the wool?

Now my real problem is WHEN to give it to him. I had intended to have it finished before last winter but an injury to my hand didn't allow me to crochet at all for about 7 months and even now I can not do so for very long without severe pain. So I got this together and did it all over several days while he was at work. He is the easiest person for me to make things for now that he is working again. Trying to make things for my kids is rather difficult since they are all home all the time.  His birthday is already passed, as is our Anniversary. I don't want to wait until Christmas because I want him to be able to wear it when it gets cold at work.

I will take pictures of this lovely scarf and then post them to this blog. I can't take them now because hubby is still home and I don't want him to see the scarf yet. The pattern is completely my own. I created the pattern last fall and then replicated it for this scarf.

I am so excited with how it turned out and I want it to be a special gift but soon. Any thoughts?

Summer Random-ness

Well we are all fighting off a summer head cold in this house. Yet that is when my youngest two suddenly decided to grab work books that have been sitting on a shelf since we moved in.

They worked from about 9pm last night until about 10pm when my groggy snot filled head just couldn't focus any longer to help them. They both completed about 30 pages or so in that hours time and just flew through the books. We have not done any formal book work in well over a year. I do keep these types of things on hand for them. But they have had neither desire or drive to bother. This morning they both had "saved" their spots in the books they were working in and both of them continued to do work this morning. Each of them working at about the same pace and just cruising through the books. At one point Spitfire turned to me and asked "how many pages do we have to do?" I just chuckled and said "O as many as you want to do" they had both already done well more then what would normally be "required" if they were sitting and doing book work all day long.

Yesterday my Bookworm and I sat here watching Youtube videos and were completely amazed by this lady doing her LONG (like she sits on it kinda long) hair up in these fancy do's We want to give a couple a try so perhaps later today I will break out the ribbon and get to braiding and sewing our hair, or plating it as it was called in the days gone by.

I have had several people ask to about my shopping bags that I crochet. While out shopping at walmart the other day two ladies asked about them and one was amazed at how much stuff I had in them! Then when I told them that I made them she said I should sell them! I asked her how much she would pay for such an item and she looked at me straight faced and said "ME?!" Well yes lady YOU who seems to think that I could sell them, how much would you pay for them? ahh she never gave me a number but seemed to think others would certainly buy them. So that left me pondering. each bag if I sit and work on it consistently and don't get distracted or goof it up each bag takes about 2.5 hours, so one good movie. Each one takes about 1.5 skiens of cotton yarn depending on the price that is about $3.50 for the materials. IF my time was only worth 5.00 an hour that would bring us in at $12.50, add in the cost for materials and that brings each bag to $16.00 a bag. Would you pay $16.00 for a crocheted bag?

I must say that I am not sure where I would even begin to sell these at. Being new to the area makes it hard to find the little spots where you might find such niches.

On to other things... do any of you use a blog editor other then the one directly on blogger? Do you create your blogs somewhere else and then just simply upload them to blogger? Or are you like me and just create a lovely little blog spur of the moment right here on blogger and send it out into the world?

I think the cold is making me rather loopy as I am rambling a bit more then usual. So I will send this blog into the bloggosphere and let it be what it will.
Enjoy your today's for that is what your memories are made of. 

Crocheted kitchen scrubber

Another great recycle project born out of need.

I used Plarn to make kitchen scrubbers.

If you have never used Plarn its super simple. You can use a variety of items for plarn. One of my favorites is to just cut up plastic grocery bags. I have also used broken VCR tapes or Cassette tapes. These work well if you have something that you want to make that is larger then a small item like a kitchen scrubber.

So for this item I cut up plastic bags and then tied the ends together to make one long piece that i could crochet together. I left ends on so that I could stuff them inside of the scrubber for extra scrunch.

Making strips out of plastic bags:

Crocheting with cotton yarn and plastic held together.

Directions are simple:
Chain 3 Double crochet into first chain 3 space like this:

double crochet into that same space 10 times, Slip stitch into top of first chain.
looks like this:

Single crochet 2 times in the back loop of each double crochet around (20 stitches) Slip stitch into first SC.
like this:

Single crochet into next two single crochets, then 2 single crochets into next single, around.

3rd round is single crochets all the way around, finish off one of these rounds, you need two.

Finished off one:

The inside:

Second one not finished off:

with the wrong sides together (and all the plastic tails tucked inside) single crochet the two together like so:

Crocheting them together:

You now have a finished scrubber:

*sorry for some of the blurry pictures I had little ones sitting next to me and they can not sit still! *

Crocheted Grocery Bag

So after the trauma of my beloved Lakota's Death I needed some solitude. Nothing refocuses me like crocheting does. It calms me down and relaxes me. The most easily accessible yarn I had on hand was 1/4-1/2 balls of cotton yarn in bright vibrant colors. So I decided to crochet a Grocery bag.

I didn't follow a pattern at all, just made it up as I went. I can replicate it so of course I could write a pattern for it. I started out crocheting a big circle, just doubling as I went along until it got to be about the size I wanted to see. 

I made the sides all mesh.

Here is the finished bag hanging on the back of the ladder back chair that desperately needs to be painted.

Now to hit the farmers market with this lovely little bag and bring home some goodies.

Craft purchasing etiquette

If you are someone who loves to purchase hand made crafts because you yourself are not crafty but can appreciate someone who is you should know a few things.

1. A crafters time is worth the money they charge for their items.

2. Just because you can find similar items cheaper at a box store does not mean they are worth less money.

3. Placing an "order" with someone you know who crafts, be it knit, crochet, sew, beading etc is not a polite way of asking if the person would be willing to make something for you.

4. Gushing profusely is completely appropriate.

5. Yes a handmade blanket REALLY costs THAT much! (see rule 1 for proof)

6. Unless a crafter has a booth, an online store, or other venue do not assume that they are willing to make and sell their crafted items.

7. Do not assume that a crafter is willing to create special items with your favorite color choices.

8. Compliment the crafter on their hard work, abilities, and color schemes.

9. Always tell people who the crafter is that created the item you love so much, when possible hand out extra business cards. If rule number 6 applies!

10. Share these rules with everyone you know so that we can all support one another.

* yes I am a crafter! I love to crochet, make jewelery, and sew. I however have gotten away from selling my items OR making them for people who do not appreciate them. To many people seem to think since they can buy a knit cap from a box store that my lovely crocheted items should be less expensive. The yarn alone costs between $5-10.00 and the hours it takes me to sit and make an item are still worth being paid a wage per hour. I am an expert in my field of crochet, which means I do very advanced patterns and my items are sturdy. They last a long time and are well put together. Yes you could probably find an item that would "work" just as well as my lovely handmade items, however they will be just like everyone else's. They also are machine made and took a fraction of the time to complete.

Finished... kind of

well I posted a few weeks ago and asked yall to help me decide what to make for myself out of this wonderful luxurious Alpaca yarn, you may remember it but if not you can refresh your memory here. I really struggled with choosing just the right pattern and I had to really think hard about how to decide what was best for the yarn, and for me.

I finally choose this pattern here called the Pineapple Shawl. It was not in the original mix of shawls but I found that it fit best into what I needed and wanted in a shawl.

I finished it a few days ago but was reluctant to post pictures or a blog because really it needs to be blocked to show off its true beauty! The biggest problem is that we have had one cold day after the next and blocking is a wet process and will require me to pin the finished product to my bed. This means I will need a fairly warm day void of rain to be able to leave the bedroom door open and the fan blowing on high in order to vacate the room of the smell that I am told will come from my beautiful project.

If you want to learn more about blocking please check out this blog. It is filled with wonderful tips and tricks on blocking projects.

now for the few pictures I took. I was not very good at taking pictures as I was working the shawl. It really didn't take me long to complete it. I calculated it took about 6 hours total, and only 4 days. that was working on it a bit here or there in those 4 days time.

The first picture I took was the first night and it was only an hour of work.

I used no flash, but I wanted you to see the depth of black

The flash washed out the black a bit in this picture, but you can see the stitches a little better. The edges are curled up slightly which makes viewing the true splendor of this shawl a bit difficult until its blocked. Once its blocked I will have to post a new blog to show you all the wonderful splendor of it completely finished. 

I am in love with my pineapple shawl. It lays perfectly and is warm enough when I just need that something light over my shoulders. I love how pretty it is and how elegant it looks if I use my Great Grandmothers Cameo to pin it shut. Please let me know what you think. 

O and if your so inclined to ask  "Will you make me one?"  or any variation of said question...

The answer is  YES for a price! I charge $10.00 an hour for my labor plus the cost of materials. The cost of Materials is to be paid up front and you are welcome to choose any materials you want. I also charge actual shipping costs, so if you live somewhere in a distant land you will be charged the cost of whatever shipping agent I can find is the cheapest to ship the finished product to you. I am allergic to wool so I do not ever work with it. I however am not allergic to Alpaca, Cotton, or any acrylic yarn. 

The final decision

I made my choice on the shawl I wanted to start. It ended up not being any of the ones that I had posted pictures of. Go figure!

I took into consideration all the votes and I almost started the vintage pattern. I likely will still do the vintage one but just not in the black alpaca that I so desperately wanted to get my hands on! I love the vintage style and I agree with those that said it was so much like me. However it did not have quite the elegant style I wanted. I love the shape of the vintage style one. I wanted one that was round around the back, and had that flow to it. I wanted something that I didn't have to piece together later, which is the one thing that I hate about any square that you make. The pieces are a pain and it feels tedious! So while I loved the elegant shawl I posted I just could not imagine having to put all those squares together after having made them all.

So onto the style I did choose...

This is called a Pineapple shawl because the pattern resembles the pineapple in the center. I love how simple and lacy it looks and I think its elegant but could easily be worn with jeans and t-shirt. I started it night before last and have already come a good way. I only have worked on it for about an hour and a half so far, but here is a picture of the progress. 

The pattern is free, and can be found by going here. It is supposed to be an intermediate pattern but so far I do not feel it is all that complex. If you know how to triple crochet then it is fairly simple. I will post pictures and blog about the progress and the final process once the project is completed so please check back often to find out how it turned out.

To many choices, help me decide!

With the start of fall I am raring to get my hands on my yarn and start creating! I LOVE this time of year. I have spent hours upon hours already trying desperately to decide what my next project should be. I have an idea of what I am looking for but just can not seem to settle on one style yet. Over the years I have crocheted many beautiful things for many beautiful people but rarely do I make things for myself. The reason I taught myself to crochet is because I wanted to make beautiful things for ME. I wanted hand made sweaters and beautiful blankets to cuddle under. I wanted all these things and instead I taught myself to crochet and made beautiful things for everyone around me. most babies who have been born in the last 15 years in my family, or near and dear friends got a hand made baby blanket as a gift. I have created blankets for each of the children, although my little ones need new ones not baby blankets. The first time I made something for myself was last year when I created the Wool Eater

Now I am ready to create new things for myself. My husband bought me some wonderful alpaca yarn back in February when we went to Fort Bragg California, in a little shop in Mendocino called 

The Mendocino Yarn shop

I loved that little shop, we spent some great time in there touching all the different yarn, except I avoided the wool since I am so ultra sensitive to it! This is where I learned that I am not sensitive to alpaca, and as a gift my wonderful hubby bought me some beautiful stuff, one large black skien, and then 3 smaller skien's in blues. I originally thought I would do this wonderful shall in all the colors but have since changed my mind. 

So now I am trying to decide what I am going to do, I will eventually choose I am sure but for now the choices seem like there are just to many! I have decided that I will put it out there and share some of the patterns I am looking at and ask the public for an opinion. I want something that is versatile enough to be dressed up or down. I want it to be open in the front not closed. But I can't seem to decide if I want it to be rounded at the bottom or pointed into a V shape. I have so many choices to make! Each of these patterns are free patterns and I will likely modify one to be something I want but here are the styles I am looking at. 

All Shall

Vintage style

Cozy shawl

Caplet, closed and I want it open, but I love this style

I think this is elegant and beautiful

this is just a rectangle shawl, but can be wrapped beautifully

Seraphina shall, this was the original inspiration

hand made clasp

back of shawl, I made for a friend

front of shawl, I created this myself

So these are the choices. please tell me what do you think? Which of these lovely shawls should I choose? I am so torn! They are all beautiful and lovely! I just cant decide which I love the most. Post a reply on this blog and let me know what you think. 

The shawl that I made for a friend is not what I am looking for but mostly just a sampling of one that I have done. I do think it was beautiful and I will be creating my own clasp to close the shawl with, but I do not want a shawl that is exactly like this one. This was done for a dainty little person and I am not that person. :) 

Place your vote! 

Dream Big

As the mother and teacher to my 4 growing kids I am always telling them to dream big. Nothing is to big for you to accomplish. This is not something they always believe when I tell them, its hard to believe when your a child that you really can accomplish anything if you put your mind, and passion to it.

That is what I am doing with my dreams, dreaming big! I want one day to own & run a B&B. Maybe it that does not seem like a grand thing to many people but for me it sounds like so much fun. I love the quaintness of a B&B for relaxing in, I have visited many over the years. Some are rather close to home, because as the mother of 4 children we don't like to go to far when they are to young. The first B&B we ever stayed in was in the town I live in, when my oldest two were 4 & 2, my husband and I needed some time alone and this provided a great place to just relax! The Harkey House has great local history and was so much fun to hear stories about the first sheriff of this town we live in. Since then we have stayed at several other B&B's usually for our anniversary. We make it a point to go away together at least once a year, it is so important to keeping a relationship healthy, getting time alone. Our latest trip was a fantastic voyage to Fort Bragg California. We went for 3 nights and enjoyed so much of our time together! We stayed in a lovely victorian home that was modified to a wonderful B&B blocks from the ocean, called Glass Beach Inn. Over the years we have stayed at The Grateful bed, The Riverside B&B in oroville, that seems to be closed now, as well as a wonderful one tucked into a wonderful little town known as Placerville called The Glen Morey house. Each of these visits has only taken my dreams to new heights.

 I want to put my personal touches on things and use my creative talents to allow others a peaceful place to relax in. I love to cook, bake and create. When I am doing those things I find that is when I am my most authentic self. I am Happy in the kitchen, I am happy having a place to create wonderful dishes that please other people. I love seeing people smile when my food hits their pallet and they are enticed by my creative spice choices. I love decorating the home, if I had the finances I would have different fabrics and patterns for each season in my home personally. So taking all these things I love and combining them into one big thing seems like the most logical thing in the world to me.

I dream at night that my B&B is just on the outskirts of some town, where I have a flower garden, and a food garden. I dream that my home will be a relaxing environment to come to and that I can add my homemade touches of crocheted afghans, baked breads, cookies, and cakes, and where there is a wonderful reading library for those who want to to sit and enjoy a good book snuggled under one of those crocheted afghans.

Here are a few of the pictures that I have taken over the years that have inspired me in my love of a B&B...

a flower bed 

 scrabble tiles that included our names

If you have never enjoyed the accommodations of a B&B I would like to encourage you to give it a shot. If you figure in the cost of a hotel room + your breakfast you really are not spending anymore for a cozy more home like feel. In fact I have found you are likely spending less. A good B&B offers week day rates that are less then weekend rates and if you can take advantage of that by getting a Thursday- Saturday stay or a Sunday-Tuesday stay you will spend less and get great service. You also will have a pleasant personal experience then a cold impersonal hotel room. One other thing to remember about B&B's is that they are all locally owned, when you support a local business over a large chain you help out your local economy, or the local economy of the location the B&B is located in. Supporting small businesses is so very important in this economy, but that is a blog for another day...

So remember to Dream BIG!

Fall

I love the fall.

I love the crisp air and the anticipation of cooler weather.

I love the smell of rain on the earth.

I long for days spent quietly with a good book.

I am a crafter and I long for a craft room where I can lock the door behind me and just create.

inside of the diaper bag I made for my cousin.

                            The outside of the diaper bag.

A post stitch crocheted baby blanket for my cousins baby. Booties to match. 

The most colorful star ripple blanket made for a dear dear friend. I have made a couple of baby blankets that have the same pattern but I love this one with all the vibrant colors. 

Relaxation masks filled with a blend of lavender & rice. They make wonderful soothers for headaches and are good either hot or cold. 

I love to create wearable fun jewelery too

My favorite thing that I have made was made for myself for the first time in over 15 years. It is called the Wool Eater and I love this blanket. it reminds me of fall. It is lap blanket size and had I not run out of yarn I would have made it larger, but it is perfect for sitting under with that afore mentioned good book. 

I think the time has come for me to break out my crafting skills again, they always seem to take a back seat in the summer as I am usually busy doing so many other things. The fall is when the crafting bug starts to hit and I have miles of yarn that need to be used, yards of fabric that are calling for me, piles of beads that are screaming to be made into something beautiful to wear and lets not forget all the creations in the kitchen I am longing for. Apple pie, pear torts, fresh baked breads and soups and stews. I love to cook too... perhaps tomorrows blog will delve into that subject. Today I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into things I love & have created.