Better Crocheter Than Blogger...Work in Progress

I have found that I am a much better crocheter than I am a blogger...however, I'm not going to let that stop me!!  I have several projects that I've been working on but many are either gifts that I have to wait until after Christmas to post....or I just haven't gotten around to photographing, something else I could be better at.  So I have a pile system...much to my husbands dismay, and it kinda goes like this:

Pile of yarn waiting it's turn to be woven into something magical and unique.
Pile of patterns I just LOVE...at least I did when I initially found them.
Pile of started projects that include...afghans, animal body parts, granny squares, circles, flowers, gloves missing cuffs, scarves missing fringe, shawls just not quite finished.
Pile of completed items...YEAH, but not photographed...BOO
Pile of items that need to be put on the website.

Entirely too many piles...one pile is too many in his opinion.  But I can see his point.  I am a pile girl and I have just as many, if not more, in each category of my life.  So the piles do "pile" up and things get cluttered and then we can't find the remote, or the cat.  I am really going to try to work on at least one pile a day.  If I look at all the piles and think of all I have to do to eliminate them all it will never get done...one pile a day seems manageable.

This afternoon I worked on photographing some of my finished items.  I even got a couple put up on the website for sale...WOOHOO!!

Midnight in Sedona - available now!

X's & O's for Baby - available now!

One of my Scarves for Special Olympics...just loving this pattern, I'm sure you'll see it again!

On your feet...crochet project becomes bed...she only wants the ones I'm working on, go figure.



I don't know what this is for but it is sooo cute!  If you have an idea for it let me know!



Retro Ruffle Scarf - FREE PATTERN

Getting My Retro On!

This is the first pattern I've ever written down!  Whew...glad that's over!  I enjoy creating new things but not real sure I like the writing down part of it.  I'm sure there's some sort of trick or technique to creating and writing a pattern at the same time...if you know of one please share!

If you think the colors look familiar then you might have seen them at Scarves for Special Olympics.  I had mentioned this in one of my earlier posts.  These are the official colors this year and I thought I'd not only get creative but actually try and write it down in case I ever wanted to do it again.  Actually I find myself being one of those people that will do a pattern once and not have any desire to do it again.  Of course if you really want one in specific colors my arm can be twisted!

I hope you enjoy...and if you find an error (if you don't I'd be surprised) please let me know!!!

Color A - Red Heart Super Saver 886 Blue

Color B - Red Heart Super Saver 512 Turqua

Large Circle - make 8

Begin with Color A

ch 2

Rw1 - 6 sc in second ch from hook, slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (6 sc)
Rw2 - 2 sc in each sc around, changing to Color B slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (12 sc)
Rw3 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next sc* repeat around, slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (18 sc)
Rw4 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 2 sc* repeat around, slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (24 sc)
Rw5 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 3 sc* repeat around, changing to Color A slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (30 sc)
Rw6 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 4 sc* repeat around, chainging to Color B slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (36 sc)
Rw7 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 5 sc* repeat around, slst in first sc to join, fasten off (42 sc)

Small Circle - make 9
Begin with Color B
ch 2
Rw1 - 6 sc in second ch from hook, slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (6 sc)
Rw2 - 2 sc in each sc around, slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not surn (12 sc)

Rw3 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 ch in next sc* repeat around, changing to Color A slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (18 sc)

Rw4 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 2 sc* repeat around, changing to Color B slst in first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn (24 sc)

Rw5 - *2 sc in first sc, 1 sc in next 3 sc* repeat around, slst in first sc to join, fasten off (30 sc)

Connect alternating circles end to end using Color B to sew through 3 stiches on each end.

Close up of "valley" where two circles meet.

Edging

Rw1 - With Color B sc all the way around the edge of the scarf.  On each end do 2 sc in the same st. changing to Color A slst in the first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn.

Rw2 - sc all the way around the edge of the scarf.  At each valley where the circles join, sctog in the last sc from one circle and the first sc on the next circle from the previous row.  On each end circle do 2 sc in the same st at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock position. Slst in the first sc to join, ch 1 do not turn.

Rw3 - 2 sc in each stitch all the way around, skipping the sctog at each valley from previous row.

Fasten off and weave in all ends.

Retro Ruffles!

A Favorite Blog AND Pattern Give-a-way!

Who doesn't love a give-a-way!  If you've not visited The Sunroom you've got to see her patterns...I love her retro color choices and the designs have just the right amount of modern chic!  The Sunroom is also doing a GREAT give-a-way...check out this post for more details!

If you'd like to buy any of her patterns go to her Etsy store...here's the link to my personal favorite!

ENJOY!

Crochet A Good Cause

One of my goals in my blog is to talk about what I'm currently working on.  But...since my current creation is a gift I have to wait until I give it away before I talk about it....don't worry, I'm taking pictures as I go!  So since I can't talk about that...I've chosen to talk about crocheting for a cause.  As many of you know my birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  Joe and I spent the day by the beach and when I got home I had this beautiful bag along with some hand picked flowers from some of the neighborhood kids.

Costa Rican Messenger Bag

Well I could immediately tell that this bag had been crocheted.  But out of what?  It was pretty stiff and felt almost plastic.  Upon further research I found out that it was indeed plastic, recycled grocery bags to be exact...AND a portion of it's purchase price went to help a Leatherback Conservation Project in Costa Rica.


Ain't he cute?



Not only did it help the leatherback but it also helped the Sea Turtles at Sea Turtle, Inc. right here in South Padre Island, TX!  According to their website these bags are created with approximately 80 plastic grocery bags.  Finding a use for these bags keep them out of our oceans and landfills thus helping to keep them away from wildlife where they can accidently harm themselves.  The women of Costa Rica crochet these bags, and are paid a fair wage thus helping not only the turtles but their family as well.

There are so may ways that we can use the craft of crochet to help our world.  Here are just a few I found:

Virginia Beach SPCA Wildlife Program Baby Nests

Hugs for Homeless Animals Snuggles Project

Scarves for Special Olympics - You will see another post from me when I finish my contributions!

You can upcycle and recycle just about anything you can put your mind to...find something that you are passionate about and let your creativity be your guide.  God gave us our gifts to share...I can't think of a better way than to help others...can you?

Some more birthday shots for you...

My new tire cover...Life IS Good!!

Toes in the sand...just like we like 'em!

T-Shirt No Braiding - Braided Rug

I have finally forced myself to finish my t-shirt rug I started last February. I really have no excuse as to why I just stopped but I did. Threw it along with the balls of t-shirt fabric under the couch and forgot about it...until yesterday. I was unpacking from our recent move to south Texas and found this long forgotten project under my couch. (If you are unfamiliar with RVs, I have a futon-like couch that allows me storage space underneath...not a lot of storage and not easy to get in or out of but works perfect to stuff yarn and other craft project inside...thus also working to store some of my wall hangings in the softness of the yarn while traveling.)

I taught a class on making rugs out of strips of fabric, I just chose to use my husbands old T-shirts. At the rate he goes through them I could probably make one for every RV in the park! This particular rug has 6 shirts in it. When I started this rug I wasn't blogging and didn't even thing about taking pictures and explaining how to strip a shirt so that it is all one piece and not a bunch of strips you'd then have to sew together....oh well, maybe next time!

There are so many ways to make a "braided" rug. For a traditional braid you would make thin strips then braid them together. Once you have sufficient braid you would just start to roll it into the shape you want, tacking it together with needle and thread as you go. That seemed like more work to me so I choose to crochet mine. I used the largest hook I could find, mine is a Q, and began chaining. The more chains you do the longer and skinner your rug will be, the less the shorter and fatter it will be...with the same amount of material of course. If you want it round just chain two and work an even number of single crochet (sc) into the 2nd chain from hook. Once I had my chain, I did a slip stitch (ss) into the back loop only all the way down both sides with 3 in each end for increasing purposes. And I just kept going around and around. If your work begins to curl just add a couple extra ss evenly around the piece of work and it will lay down.

Don't ever be afraid to rip something out. Yes I know you put a lot of work into it but if it's not right, and it is obvious, then it needs to be fixed! With practice you will find yourself ripping out much less often. And if you don't rip it out and fix it, every time you look at your piece all you will see is that flaw and not the beauty you created with your own two hands. Enjoy!

Blogging My Craft

So I've been reading a few blogs once in a great while but after reading the book "The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and Online", I realized that just reading blogs was not the only thing that would benefit this crochet sales endeavor. My main dilemma with selling my crafts has been keeping enough inventory to do a booth.

So you now would like to know why that is an issue. Well my husband and I started the great adventure of living in our RV full-time in 2007 and it is because of this great adventure I have the time to crochet but it is also because of this adventure that I have limited space for not only supplies but for my limited inventory. There are days that I feel I've shoved yarn in every conceivable nook and cranny I can find and am just waiting for my husband to open his sock drawer and I hear across the 32' travel trailer..."Uh...honey..." then I know I'm in trouble. AKA...time to sell some stuff! He always tells me that if something comes in the front door...somethings gotta go out the back.

OK, so back to the booth thing...not so much fun sitting in a booth all day by yourself. And to have a really GREAT booth you need GREAT props and table decorations and signs and nick knack stuff, and, and, and....did I mention the RV storage thing? So you see my dilemma. I have learned a lot from this book and one of them was that "to blog is to be"...that is if you wanna be noticed online.

I don't have a lot of items because crochet work takes time. Not all of the items I crochet are my own pattern either. If you happen to find something on my site that is your design and I have mistakenly left our your credit, it is truely that, a mistake. Believe me, I don't want to make a thousand of whatever it is you created...I traditionally make it once, maybe twice, then move on to something else. My love of crochet forces me to sell not for mere profit but for lack of space.

If you are not a crocheter but would like to commission someone to crochet something for you please contact me. If I know it is heading right out the door once I'm finished the happier I make the hubby!

I will give this blogging a try and hopefully if the stars align just right and God deems it fit this will be the start of a whole new season for Fabulously Flawed Crochet Creations!