Fall Mystery Create-a-long

This project has been done for awhile now but I still had to share the process with everyone!

For this project I use Vanna’s Choice… it’s a yarn that I have never used before but Melody said that she recommended it. So, I just had to give it a try.

I loved the colors that they have available and it was actually hard to decided on what two colors that I wanted to use. I ended up picking a nice neutral earthy color called Linen and I paired it with a deep Burgundy color. These two colors totally made me think of fall.

Aren’t they just beautiful?!

The first Segment that was sent out was a rather quick one. A simple little flower. Hmm what could it be for?

I chose to do it in the burgundy color. This will be used for all of the accent parts of the project. So, that means I will be using the linen color for the bulk of the project.

The 3rd segment added the main color to the flower. Yup! I can say that I like this color combination.

Back to the accent color for the 3rd segment. This is looking pretty cute! I just love the added border. Still not sure what we might be making, what do you think?

Segment 4 she had us go back to the main color. This was a little tricky since we were working behind the “border” that we created in the last segment.

I bet you guessed what segment 5 was… had to add the trapezoid shape to the other side of the piece. It kind of reminds me of the top of a bib maybe….

With Segment 6 we added the “body” part. Now it’s starting to look like something. It’s definitely something that a little girl wears around their chest area!

Wonder what we will be adding for Segment 7…

Looks like the start of a little skirt!

The rest of the segment just had you add more length to the piece. I had decided to change it up a little and added in some color. For the bottom row, Melody had us add the same border that we added to the flower piece at the start of the Mystery Create-a-long.

Here is the picture of my finished piece! I just love how it looks as I am sure you can tell by the strings.

You can buy this dress pattern in either crochet or knit by clicking the links below!

Autumn Lovin’ Dress – Crochet | Knit

You can check out all that Melody has to offer here:
Facebook | Ravelry | Blog | Etsy

Sweet Potato 3: Cancer Challenge

Image provided by Sweet Potato 3

Christine over at Sweet Potato 3 Patterns has announced that she is doing her Cancer Challenge again this year! This awesome challenge with a really great cause will be going on during the whole month of October!

She had some awesome designers taking part in the challenge last year and I am sure this year will be no different! All you have to do is commit to making the patterns that the designers have so graciously donated to this cause and donate them to cancer patients in need. (I know her pattern is one you wont want to miss, I was lucky enough to test it for her! So, look for that post coming as well.)

This is something that you will not want to miss out on! So, be sure to check back here and on Christine’s fan page below to get in on the fun!

Fan Page | Blog

Pattern Test for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns – 04

This little pattern test was for the larger sizes of Christine’s NICU Challenge premie pattern. This hat is just so adorable and perfect for the holiday season! It’s a very quick one to work up since you work it as a flat piece and then stitch it together to make the hat. She gives you two different ways to do the top part of the hat too! Love when hats come with options!

 

Little Miss S actually wanted to model this one for me! I was pleasantly shocked…. I should have know there was a catch though. She had to have her tongue out! Ha!

You can get this super fun hat using the following links!

Ravelry / Craftsy / Etsy

Be sure to follow Sweet Potato 3 Patterns on Facebook too!

Dollar Bin Challenge – Christmas Edition

I have been a member of a blogger group for a couple of months now, they have been doing a monthly challenge between the people that belong to the group. I usually didn’t sign up to do it… until this month! Their dollar bin pick was Target’s $3 Mini Christmas Tree! I looked at this tree for awhile trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Then it hit me… make it into a crochet tree! The bottom of the tree was just screaming for a crocheted cover. I didn’t think that anyone would have a pattern for something like this. So, I decided to design my own! Yup, that’s right… I wrote my first pattern (which I will be sharing with all of you, for free)!

The first thing you need to do is pick yourself up a Mini Christmas Tree. We got ours from Target in their $3 bin.

Once I got it home I fluffed it up and took off the burlap wrap on the bottom of it. I was a little surprised to just find a a cylinder shape piece of concrete there to stabilize the tree. To be honest I didn’t know what to expect under there… but I didn’t think that.

After I took it off I dived into making my own pattern for a cover. It’s pretty cute if I might say so myself. You can make it striped like mine or one solid color. I didn’t specify my color changes in the pattern so that it’s completely up to you!

Mini Christmas Tree Base Pattern

This pattern will work with a 16.5 inch mini tree with a 3 inch wide x 2.5 inch tall cylinder base.

Materials:
Worsted Weight Yarn
H Hook

Gauge: 6 sc sts and 7 rows = 2 inches

Abbreviations:
Ch – Chain
Sc – Single Crochet
Slst – Slip Stitch
Flsc – Front Loop Single Crochet

Row 1: Ch 4, Slst into 1st Ch.

Row 2: Ch 1, Sc 8 in loop. Slst into 1st stitch. (8)

Row 3: Ch 1, 2Sc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (16)

Row 4: Ch 1, *2Sc, Sc* Repeat from * until the end. Slst into 1st stitch. (24)

Row 5: Ch 1, *2Sc, Sc in next two stitches* Repeat from * until the end. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

Row 6: Ch 1, Flsc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

Row 7-12: Ch 1, Sc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

Row 13: Ch 1, *Sc in next 3 stitches, Ch 1 Skip 1 stitch* Repeat from * until the end. Slst into 1st stitch. (32) (This row creates the holes for the tie)

Row 14: Ch 1, Sc in each stitch around. Slst into 1st stitch. (32)

You can end there or repeat Row 14 until you reach the height that you want. I would suggest trying it on to see how you like it. I ended mine with Row 16.

For the tie, I just braided the three colors of yarn together and cut them to the length that I wanted. You can use whatever you want: yarn, ribbon or twine to name a few!

Tree Decorations: I made little balls of yarn and stars to decorate my tree and I used a small string of LED lights.

Yarn Balls: For the balls I just rolled up the colors that I wanted. Then when I was happy with the size of the ball I glued the loose part of the yarn down to keep it held together. I took toothpicks and made crochet hooks and knitting needles to stick into the balls.

Stars: It took awhile to find a good start pattern that I liked, but I found one on Ravelry. The little stars from Amination where the perfect size and super easy to make! You can find them here: http://aminationblog.tumblr.com/post/44573037824/reach-for-the-moon-and-stars Once I had them made I just glued little buttons to the centers. For the tree top I made two and sewed them together, Leaving the bottom open so that I could slide it over the top of the tree.

All you have to do is make a bunch of these until you are happy with how full your tree is. I did three yarn balls and three stars per color (red, green and white).

And here is my finished tree!

 

Now that you have seen my entry for the  $3 Mini Tree Challenge, be sure to check out the other bloggers that participated! You will surely get some great ideas on how to decorate your Mini Christmas Tree!!

: DIY Inspired : Life With Lovebugs : Zoo Cutie Printables :
: Simply Creative Ways : Pandora’s Craft Box :

4th Annual NICU Charity Challenge

Sunset Crochet has announce the 4th Annual NICO Charity Challenge! This is a challenge that I took part in last year and I have signed up this year as well!

12 Hats. 12 Days. Are you ready?

They are challenging you to make 12 hats for the sweet little NICU patients during the 12 days of Christmas. I personally haven’t had a baby in the NICU, but my youngest received a knitted hat from a stranger when we were leaving the hospital. I can still remember how I felt that day (almost 3 years ago now) getting something so sweet for my little baby. Knowing that a perfect stranger took the time to make the hats for little people that she would probably never meet. It brought me such joy and happiness. I can only imagine how much more a family feels those emotions knowing that a complete stranger put the time into something for their littlest family member.

So, please sign up for this great challenge and spread some Holiday cheer this season! 20 different designers have come together to design different preemie hats for this years challenge. When signing up for the challenge you will receive these patterns through your email. You can use all of the patterns, one of the patterns or maybe a combination of a couple of them. That is totally up to you! When you are done with your hats please make sure that you share a photo of them with Sunset Crochet (either by email: bonnie@sunsetcrochet.com or by facebook) before you drop them off at your local NICU.  She will post them to her blog as well as her facebook page for everyone to see.

Please click the image below to take you to her page so you can get more info about the challenge, see the beautiful hat designs and most importantly sign up!

 

 

My Sweet Potato 3: Cancer Challenge and Free Pattern Code!

My friend Christine of My Sweet Potato 3 has created a Cancer Challenge for everyone that crochets/knits! She just recently lost her Uncle to cancer and wants to honor his memory by spreading some love to other cancer patients out there. She has offered a coupon code for her Ravelry site for one free pattern. All she asks is that you make a minimum of one hat for a Cancer patient. If you can’t make one yourself you can always sponsor a hat that she will make for you.

Please check out her blog post to get more info about the challenge as well as the coupon code for your free pattern.

My Sweet Potato 3 Blog – Cancer Challenge

The Crochet Crowd’s Summer Stitch-cation Challenge!

This is an awesome and fun summer project that The Crochet Crowd has recently put up on their blog! This fun project begins on July 1st and was designed to refresh or expand your crochet skills by using 10 different stitch combinations for this project! They are requiring everyone who does this challenge to use a minimum of 8 colors and you have to be able to change colors effectively without the use of horrible knots. You can put the required squares together any way that you want and you must have a border element (which is totally up to your choosing) to tie it all together.

They not only have the directions and videos for the project on their blog but they also have it available as a downloadable workbook! This is super awesome to me because it makes it easier to take it along everywhere you go!

Now comes the fun part! This awesome challenge ends on Labor Day, September 1st so make sure your afghan is submitted before then to qualify to win 1 fo 3 Red Heart Loaded Yarn Bags with Crochet Crowd Gifts! Yes, you read correct! They will be giving away THREE prizes for this challenge!!! The 3 winners will be randomly drawn so everyone has an equal opportunity to win one of these awesome prize bags!

Be sure to check out the link to enter the Challenge and check out the other awesome things that they have on their blog! http://thecrochetcrowd.com/stitch-cation/