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

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!

Giveaway: Melody’s Makings

My wonderful friend Melody over at Melody’s Makings has put up another awesome Giveaway on her Facebook Fan Page!

You really need to head over there if you love making cute and adorable knit/crochet items for little ones!!! You Bet that I entered!! All you have to do is go to her Fan Page and look for the image above in her comments!

Melody’s Makings:
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings
Blog: http://melodys-makings.com

Pattern Test for Melody’s Makings – 02

I just recently finished one of the cutest little animal projects that I have ever done! Melody’s Makings – Rustic Raccoon Hooded Cowl! This is her first hooded cowl pattern and you can clearly see that she hit the ball out of the park with this one! Can’t you just imagine a whole family of Rustic Raccoon Hooded children (and adults) walking around?! If I lived in a colder climate I would definitely make one for each of my kids and myself since the pattern is sized to fit a newborn all the way to an adult.

I love how Melody used bulky yarn for this pattern because I had the perfect Bernat Alpaca yarn to use for one of the projects colors! I also feel that using a thicker yarn means the projects go faster. So, I can easily see making more then one of these at a time (which is good since I want one for each of us)!

Another thing that I love about this pattern, is that Melody offers it in both knit and crochet! As I am sure you can tell, I did the crochet version… I have only done one knitting project so I wouldn’t feel to confident to try the knit pattern right now. But I really hope to be able to feel more comfortable with knitting so that I can take advantage of both versions of her patterns. Most of her patterns are available in both versions too!

Want the info on where to get this pattern? I am sure you do!

Knit Version: Website / Ravelry

Crochet Version: Website / Ravelry

Don’t forget to head over to her Facebook page and show her some love! She puts up a lot of great content and giveaways!

Collection of Christmas Pattern Freebies!!

I have been floating around facebook, visiting some of my favorite pattern designers and have made a list of designers that are offering free pattern downloads today! Yay! I mean come on, who doesn’t like free right!?! So, here is the list of the designer’s Facebook pages. Feel free to head over and get the info on how to get their deal!

Click the image to go to her website for more info!

 

Click the image to go to her Ravelry shop.

Click the image to head to her facebook for the details!

Click the image to head to their Ravelry page!

Click the image above to head to their Ravelry shop.

 

Giveaway over at Melody’s Makings! 10 Free Patterns of Your Choice!!

Melody over at Melody’s Makings is having an awesome giveaway right now! It ends on Friday December 5th!

She is offering 10 Free Patterns of Your Choice! I mean who doesn’t need some more patterns right?! I don’t think I have ever heard a knitter/crocheter say that they had too many patterns and didn’t want anymore.

To enter all you have to do is click the image above to leave a comment on her post! Then for extra enteries head over to her facebook page and link some of your crafty friends who would love this deal as much as you do! Then if you win they will too! How awesome is that!!??

To get your extra entries follow this link!

https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings/photos/a.166904303368142.38508.164711616920744/812584068800159/?type=1&theater

 

Melody has also been doing some extra deals on her facebook page every day until Christmas. Today was $3 off one of her Ravelry patterns! There are 23 days left until Christmas so that offer was only good for the first 23 customers! Tomorrow’s deal will only be available to the first 22 customers and so on! So, be sure to keep checking her page! She is posting them at random times during the day so everyone has a chance to get in on the fun!

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 :

Pattern Test for Petal Knits – 01

Well, I am very happy to announce that I have tested a knitting pattern and it came out great! I have been working on teaching myself to knit for some time now and I just couldn’t get it figured out… I volunteered to do this pattern test so that I was forced to learn how to knit faster.

With the help of Melody’s Makings’ – How to Knit series, I was able to cast on, knit and purl. And let me tell you how much I love how she shows you how to cast on! Since she uses a crochet hook to cast on, I totally got that down the first time that I tried. The knit stitch was easy for me to get as well, but the purl stitch was a little bit of a pain. It took awhile to really get that one going. But I kept plugging at it and I figured it out.

I wont lie, it was challenging for me to hold two knitting needles instead of one crochet hook. That will probably take me awhile before I feel more fluid with holding and working with them. It’s part of the fun right?!

I was super happy with the pattern from Petal Knits. It was really easy for a green knitter like me to follow along and read through. She has a bunch of super cute patterns that I just can’t wait to buy and try out!

My Caleb Bonnet looks a little different then the one that she shows in her pattern. I had a hard time figuring out what stitch I left off with… she has you do a stockinette stitch which is a knit row followed by a purled row, then repeating until the end of your project. My mistakes are the ridges that you see down the side of the bonnet. I do have to say they are a happy mistake though… some how I managed to evenly space them out.

I totally did not mean to do that on purpose but it worked out very well.

I can’t wait until I can start my next knitted project!

You can find the pattern for the Caleb Bonnet by following these links!

Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/PETALKNITS

Craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com/user/pattern/store/173911

Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/tracie-taggart

 

Make sure to check her out on Facebook too!

 

Get Any One Pattern Free from Melody’s Makings!

My friend Melody is generously giving everyone One Free Pattern of their choice for the next 36-ish hours in her Ravelry shop! She has some adorable Knit and Crochet items in her shop too! I will tell you… it was hard for me to pick just one!

 

After flipping through her Ravelry shop a few times I finally decided to pick the Entrelac Basket Knitting Pattern. I mean who wouldn’t choose this pattern? It looks so fun/cute with that little baby on it! Belly Beautiful Portraits took the most perfect picture for this piece! Please be sure to check out their website as well (link below)!

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Melody’s Makings:

Website: http://melodys-makings.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings
Ravelry Shop: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/melody-rogers

Belly Beautiful Portraits:

Website: www.bellybeautifulportraits.com

 

Learning to knit one step at a time with Melody’s Makings

I have been crocheting since my Mom taught me at the age of 10. I wasn’t that great at it in the beginning but every time that I took it up again (took a few years off from it here and there) I just got better and better at. When I was first learning I was just making simple single and double crochet blankets. I have way surpassed that now.

I have thought about taking up how to knit numerous times over the past few years. But I just couldn’t seem to find a good teacher (book or video) that I was comfortable learning from and showed signs of progress. That has all changed since Melody but up her first How-to Video.

Let me give you a little back story on how I can across her wonderful patterns. Back when we first moved to California I didn’t really have much to do. All of our stuff was on a moving truck going across country. I was 8 months pregnant and had a 18 month old daughter chillin’ with me at our little temp apartment. One day I packed her up in the van and decided to get some supplies to make the baby a blanket to help pass the time. After that I moved onto many other things; hats, scarves, cowls, photo props… you name it I was making it! About a year later I joined a giveaway that had a bunch of pattern designers that were participating. So, I figured why not enter…. sure enough I won a pattern pack for  Melody’s Makings. When looking at her site I noticed that she had many more knitting patterns then crochet so I picked all of the crochet ones and then a couple of the easier knitting ones (just in case I learned). I then liked her fan page and followed her blog. Since then I have done a bunch of pattern tests for her and have chatted with her over the internet.

When she posted that she was going to be putting up a How-to-Knit series up on her site I was super excited! I just knew from working with her crochet patterns that I was going to like her tutorials. Boy, was I wrong… I LOVED them!

The first two videos that she posted: Beginning with the Basics & How to Cast On, had me hooked! Her method of casting on was so easy and related to me since I am originally a crocheter and she taught how to do it with a crochet hook! Awesome right?!

Well, I have recently passed her Tutorial on The Knit Stitch and lets just say that I have mastered that as well!

I tried to move onto her next Tutorial which was The Purl Stitch but for some reason that one seems to keep eluding me. I chatted with her a little bit about it tonight and she offered to help me with it over the phone! How awesome is that! She is going way beyond any of the How To Videos or Books that I have found in the past that’s for sure!

I really can’t wait to get past the hiccup that is the purl stitch so that I can get into making stuff with this new found knowledge! Oh and did I mention that she doesn’t just teach you how to do a scarf or a swatch? She teaches you how to make one of her patterns! So she has you putting your newly acquired skills to use right away. I find this a good way to keep it in your mind and keep you working with it!

She just started writing up some awesome business advice for anyone that is in the crafting field too! But that will be in another post!

Here is all of Melody’s information so please: Like, Share, Sign-up and Follow!

Melody’s Makings
Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings
Website: http://melodys-makings.com/