Blanket Sizes…

It’s the rainy season here in Southern California which means that it’s the perfect time to work on blankets. I mean, who doesn’t like snuggling up on the couch with a hot mug in your hand when it’s chilly? So, why not grab your crochet hook and start crocheting one!

The project is always on my lap when I am working on it, so it works as a way to keep me warm while I work on it. I mean, you have to make sure it serves it’s purpose right?! Like baking… you HAVE to taste test before you let other people try your baked goods!

I’ve made a few blankets in my time, but I never know how big to make them. I follow some patterns, which give you a finished size. But the ones that I just make up as I go, those I never know if I make the right size. Everyone that I have given one to always says that it’s perfect… but is it really? Or are they just being nice? This is the stuff that constantly runs through my head.

So, I did some searching on Pinterest and found an awesome diagram that Jennifer of A Crocheted Simplicity made, that lists all of the sizes that you would ever want to make! This is aw-mazing!! I have pinned it to my Crocheting Board so I can reference it every time!

I just had to share this fine with all of you! I hope you cherish it as much as I do! Thank you for this awesome piece of wisdom, Jennifer!

Make sure to go check out her site for other amazing crochet things!! https://www.acrochetedsimplicity.com

New Year… New Project!

I’m trying something new this year. I want to make it a habit to do something for me at least 20 minutes a day. I believe this will help with my stress and anxiety issues that I have been experiencing lately. So, to keep track of my progress I have been jotting my personal activities down in my day planner.

Yes, I do still keep a day planner. It helps me keep track of my many, many things that I have going on. Incase you are wondering, my favorite day planner is made by a company called Orange Circle Studio. They have 5 slots plus the main slot for each day and the whole week is payed out in front of you when you have it open. This calendar is perfect for my family since we have 5 members. Each one gets their own slot!

Anyways, back to my original topic! I’ve been working on a blanket but decided to put it down to work on something special for my Sister-in-Law and her Husband since they are expecting their first little one soon! I can’t tell you exactly what it is at this time because it’s a secret! But I can show you a little preview of the first two rows! No colors either because it could give it away!

Sneak Peak at a little gift that I am making for my Sister-in-Law and her Husband!

Pattern Test for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns – 07

The latest Pattern Test that I did for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns was the Plum Perfect Footed Leggings. These cute little things come in 11 different sizes! That’s right, I said 11! This means that everyone in your family can have a pair!
Infant/Toddler Sizes: 0-3 Month / 3-6 Month / 6-12 Month / 12-24 Month
Child Sizes: 3T-4T / 5-8 Years / 9-12 Years
Teen & Adult Sizes: Small / Medium / Large / X-Large

They also have the option of doing either a plain legging.

Or, you can add the attached foot part on it!

Wouldn’t this be perfect for dance class or just lounging around?!
Another fun thing about this project is made with a fun new stitch! I LOVED doing this stitch and it was totally faster then doing a straight up single crochet stitch.

You can get this pattern here: Ravelry | Etsy | Craftsy
Make sure you head over to her Fan page too! Sweet Potato 3 Patterns

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

Breaking in the New Year!

Hello everyone! I don’t know about you, but this year has started off pretty good for me so far! We had our 3rd little girl in August so everyday is awesome with her. It’s so fun getting to see her grow, learn new things, meet milestones and just do day to day things. So now we have Miss M, Miss S and another Miss S. But I will be referring to her as Baby S.

I agreed to be an Assistant Admin for Melody’s Makings Facebook Group. I am helping out with her Mystery Create-A-Longs. Her first one of the new year just started this past Tuesday. She has sent out the first segment and will be sending out the second one tomorrow. Everyone’s projects have been coming out very well! I love seeing everyone’s projects and seeing all of their guess as to what it is they are making.

Here is a link to her Facebook page so you can sign up for it and join a long if you want. She offers it in both a knit and crochet version. This months is free to join! She has gotten a lot of new people to sign up for it… and everyone seems to be having fun.

Melody’s Makings Facebook

I have a few projects that I am working on; two blankets, a dress and a pattern test for Sweet Potato 3. I will be sure to share them with you when I have everything finished. What a great start so far!

How has everyone else been doing so far to start?

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

Melody’s Makings has announced her Fall 2015 Mystery Create-a-long!

Photo Credit: From Melody’s Makings

My friend Melody over at Melody’s Makings has announce that she is doing another Mystery Create-a-Long and I could not be more excited!! I have done a couple of the Create-a-Longs that she has offered and they have all been super fun!

Your probably wondering why it’s a Create-a-Long instead of a Crochet or Knit a-Long. Well, that is because her Mystery projects are offered in BOTH Crochet and Knit! Isn’t that awesome?!

I feel that this allows the participants to really learn from the project while they have fun with it. You can ask for help if you are not sure on how to work up one of the sections that she posted. If she isn’t available at the exact moment that the question is asked, you still have plenty of help from all of the people that are also working it up with you! How awesome is that? So, why not take advantage of this time and try to expand your skills as either a crocheter or a knitter.

She breaks down the project into very easy sections to complete in the time frame that she assigns to each section. But it’s okay if you fall behind, because it’s easy to catch up… just try not to peek at what everyone else is posting… Or you might find out what you are working up before you want to. It is a Mystery, so you wont know what the project is until you are finished!

She was nice enough to post some sneak peaks so, you can start your guessing right away!

Melody’s Makings – Crochet Mystery Create-A-Long Fall 2015

To go to the Crochet version of this Mystery Create-a-Long click here.

Melody’s Makings – Knit Mystery Create-A-Long Fall 2015

To go to the Knit version of this Mystery Create-a-Long click here.

You can find all of the information for this awesome event hosted by Melody’s Makings below!

Melody’s Makings
Facebook / Blog / Ravelry / Etsy / Craftsy

Pattern Test for Sweet Potato 3 Patterns – 06

Christine from Sweet Potato 3 Patterns, had asked me to do a pattern test for something that I haven’t really worked on before. This one required a bunch of buttons and involved doing a pretty cool stitch. When I told her that I would test this pattern for her it made me think of back home in Western New York. Because I feel that it is something that you would use for a little one in cold weather… certainly not in the weather that we have here in good ‘ole SoCal.

This little Hooded Cocoon was so fun to make. I loved the way that the rows looked as I was working on them. I made mine in pink with clear buttons (to be honest that was the only kind of buttons that I had on hand, in the quantity that I needed for the project).

The pattern was really easy to work up, you basically construct it in a rectangle (she gives you really good measurements for the project so no worries there). Then when you get to the correct size you sew the buttons on and one of the edges together to form the hood part of the cocoon.

So, if you know a little one that needs a snuggly place to take a nap please check out The Button Up Waves Hooded Cocoon!

Just look at the texture on this project! Super fun with all of the waves!

You can get this pattern on Ravelry here: Button Up Waves Hooded Cocoon
Make sure you head over to her Fan page too! Sweet Potato 3 Patterns

Giveaway: Melody’s Makings New August Pattern Release Giveaway!

Click image to go to Melody’s Makings Facebook page to enter the contest!

Melody’s Makings has put up a fun little giveaway! The winner will get a free copy of all of her newly released patterns for the rest of August!

All you have to do is click on the image about to be taken to her Facebook Fan page. Look for her post with the same image and make a comment! If you know anyone else that is a lover of yarn, make sure you tag them in separate posts on that same image! Each name you add will get an entry and if your friend wins, you will win also because you suggested them!

Happy Fourth of July: Project Ideas!

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I hope that you are all having fun with family and friends, while BBQing some yummy food and waiting for the fireworks to start!

What a better way to celebrate our wonderful Countries Birthday then with a pattern round up! I didn’t personally get to work on any Red, White and Blue items this year, but that doesn’t mean I can enjoy looking at some! I have scoped out the internet and found some of my favorite Fourth of July projects that I want to share with you!

While making this list, I wanted to find stuff that you could do, the kids could do/wear and stuff for the house. That is why I decided to share the projects that I have in the above picture with you.

1. Pin Wheel Hairclips – by Cutesy Crafts – Aren’t this little clips so cute! I can see them being used in my girls hair as well as for embellishments for other projects!
2. Patriotic Crocheted Stars – Repeat Crafter Me – These have to be the cutest stars that I have come across! They have some awesome detail and are so versatile! I could see these used as an embellishment, a hair clip or maybe even attach some rings to them for jewelry or wine glass charms!

Repeat Crafter Me

3. Patriotic String Lights – Jonathan Fong – I used to make these with my Mom was I was much younger. But instead of circular light decorations we made ours in the shape of eggs for Easter and hung them from the trees outside. They were always super fun to make! So, I think this would be an easy project for you to make with the kiddos!
Jonathan Fong

4. Fourth of July Firework Hand Prints – A Little’ Pinch of Perfect – Yes, I have kids. As I am sure you all know by now. So, I am a sucker for anything made with their hand or foot prints! I remember the first year after Miss S was born, I made hand print stuff with the girls for every holiday. And made four of each on so that I could send them to their Grandparents too! Because come on… what Grandparent doesn’t love seeing homemade gifts from their Grandbabies?!?

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Aren’t these little projects make you inspired to make some Red, White & Blue stuff? I know I will be making some of these but on a later date since I have run out of time to do them for this year.
Now you all have to share your Fourth of July projects with me! What is your favorite thing to make for this glorious holiday?!