Month: October 2013

Happy Halloween!! Come check out Too Yarn Cute eMagazine, bursting with articles and patterns for crocheting! They approached me and offered to let me talk about…. whatever I wanted! Crochet-related, of course. How could I say no? It was actually kind of hard for me to nail down what I wanted to write about, so we decided I’d talk about my year of working with Michaels.com and writing free patterns every month, and I also gave Too Yarn Cute readers a sneak peek at my November and December patterns for Michaels. Michaels already posted the November pattern early … but … you still get a sneak at December! 😉 (I will post more photos of the November pattern tomorrow.) Once you click on the TYC  link, scroll down a bit and hit up the Christmas issue! There are 18 patterns in this thing, which would normally add up to $74.42, and the eMag is only $4.99. It’s a pretty great deal!

Sushi Scarf! Here is Day 3 from the Yummy You! shoot with model Shannie Bee and photog Crazy Spork I Am! Sorry I posted these so late! We went to a haunted house tonight!

More from the Yummy You! shoot with model Shannie Bee and photog Crazy Spork I Am! These were all shot on the same day as the other looks, but I’m calling it “Day 2” because it’s Day 2 on the blog! 😛 Powell’s Sweet Shoppe was really nice about us shooting inside and outside their store. I bought some gummy candy for me and Hairy! Stay tuned for Look #3 tomorrow!

I’m so so so so excited to show you guys some photos from an amazing day with adorable model Shannie Bee and my buddy Marissa/Crazy Spork I Am who was the photog and stylist for the day. We’ll be releasing shots from a different outfit and location each day this week on the Yummy You! Facebook page (and here, too!). We combined Yummy You! items, my handmade items, Marissa’s handmade items (Pizzacato Kei), and pieces from Shannie’s and Marissa’s wardrobes. There were so many amazing shots from each outfit, but I did my best to pare them down to about 3 shots each, so as not to overwhelm you at first! I can’t wait to show you everything else! (p.s. the candy heart Yummy You necklace will be available in the Yummy You shop in the next few days!)      

YOU GUYS. YOU. GUYS. The Lazy Oaf x Looney Tunes collection is making my wallet laugh and cry at the same time. I think the pink Tweety dress HAS to be mine. AND THE BUGS BUNNY FURRY JACKET?! COME ON! OMG COME ON!!!!!!!!!!! No words. Just drool.  

  I just added the crochet pattern for the Candy Corn Kitty Hat to my Etsy shop, so I expect to see an army of candy corn kitties very shortly! I designed this hat to fit me, so keep in mind, this is not a pattern for the wee ones, but for a small adult or lady’s head. Don’t forget that finished Candy Corn Kitty Hats are also available here, and there’s also the Pumpkin/Jack o Lantern slouchy beret here, and also Jack o Lantern mitts here! I still have a few more Halloween surprises up my sleeve, even though the big day is coming up really quickly! I’m hoping to blog about the next one before Friday!

New in my shop! Candy Corn Kitty hats! I’m releasing 5 of them right now, since we are so close to Halloween already, but if I happen to have enough time and if these 5 sell out, I will try to release a few more. Oh yeah, here’s the sketch I drew to help me plan my design. I know y’all love when I show off my fine-arts drawing skills. Hmm oops. So, I guess I didn’t save the hat sketch. All I have is the scarflet sketch I started with and decided to chuck. Oh well, I guess that’s part of the process I went through, too! I was thinking about how I kinda wanted to make something candy-corn-themed, without being just plain candy corn (there’s a lot of that stuff out there already). Somehow, a kitty came into the equation for no real reason at all. That’s a really un-interesting story. Sorry! That’s how it is sometimes! P.S. I decided to also post the pattern for this hat in my Etsy shop, along with a template for the face-parts, if you are not so inclined to cut them free-hand. That may take me a few more days to get nice n pretty, but you can be expecting a post about that soon!        

I tried Yoplait’s “Boston Cream Pie” yogurt over the weekend…and it was unfortunately not a favorite. Too sweet for me, although I do love the idea of eating pie for breakfast! While rinsing out the yogurt cup, I took a few seconds to stop and think of a fun crochet project to save this cup from the recycling bin and give it an extra life in my house. In the spirit of the season, I whipped up a little ghost sweater for it! I think it could be a fun way to decorate a small table and store tiny trinkets or even candy corn or M&M’s! We took a ghost cozy to the pumpkin patch to make our little video, and a little girl ran up to it with extreme delight. I think this is a good sign.

Hi Gang!!! I’m going to launch monthly giveaways here, starting on the 15th of each month, from some of my fabulous new blog sponsors! *applause* Somebody is gonna get really lucky!! Check out the generous prizes! 1. Registration to Home Ec e-Course! Learn to Sew from Your Own Home! The Home Ec eCourse will increase your confidence behind the machine with usable techniques & step by step visual instructions, 28 rad projects and progressive learning! Home Ec is only $50 (registration here), access does not expire, and students can take the eCourse at their own pace! But you’ll have the chance to register for absolutely free! 2. Super cute handmade Fox Pillow by Clairey Lou Creations! Her shop is filled with all sorts of happy and adorable felt friends! 3. A 20 euro (about $27 USD) gift certificate from Petits Pixels to her Etsy shop! I’m particularly in love with her milk drop dolls that come in different flavors! 4. Gorgeous neon yellow cowl by Quiet Tiger! 5. $10 gift certificate and this beautimous Ms. Bianca Bunny postcard/print Pink Milk & Cookies. Here’s her shop! 6. Print of your choice from Angel’s Artsy Shop. Here are a few of my favorites! 7. Bride of Frankenstein Brooch hand drawn by Ahoy Miss! 8. Check out how lucky we are! Scrawny Girl Shop is offering 30% off in her Etsy shop to ALL OF US!! Dang! Take a peek at her handmade dolls and use code TWINKIE30 when you check out! That’s a lotta loot! Follow the Rafflecopter widget! Good luck! You have until next Tuesday, October 22nd at midnight/11:59pm to enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway

On Sunday, Manda and I visited a pumpkin patch together in Portola Valley and test drove our Halloween-themed hats! I’m wearing the trusty Pumpkin Slouchy Beret, and Manda is in a brand new sample of a Candy Corn Kitty Hat that I sketched out and crocheted on Saturday night. (Not listed on Etsy yet. I need to shoot product photos!) We made a little video, and here are some fun moments!   Watch the video to find out why Manda was so mad at the skeleton guy that she slapped him upside the head with her purse.   I will be posting a free pattern for this little ghost on my blog later in the week (I hope! I’m also in Elysse’s wedding this week!).  What is it? Watch the video!       As long as I’ve known her, she has been addicted to sugar. She is chugging candy corns out of a Candy Bar Clutch! These crazy giant gourd things look like kettlebells.   Really hard core squash-lifting. Okay, here’s the video! While we were at the patch, one of the guys working there asked where we got our hats. Manda said I made them. He asked if I could put a name on a hat, and I told him it depended on how intricate the name was. He pointed to a name on his own hat in some olde english-y font. I’m good, BUT NOT THAT GOOD! How about a pumpkin hat, buddy? Here’s our video from last year! Do you guys already have Halloween plans for this year? I don’t think we have any yet. No costumes planned. Today I joked that I could be Dora the Explorer and Manda could be my monkey-friend, and she asked me to make her a monkey hat … but … You don’t REALLY want to be a MONKEY for Halloween do you!? 😛

The neat thing about the German edition is that it’s my first hardcover! You can get it here at www.Amazon.de. A Finnish edition also came out in 2011, but I’m not really sure what the major Finnish book retailers are, or if the book is still available. If you have any idea, let me know! 🙂

Sourpuss Clothing strikes again! They sent me their super adorable “Mary Lu” dress, which comes in this pretty teal as well as all black. I love how it is a little bit dressy but still really fun. It fits like a dream and is surprisingly comfortable. There is a side zipper for easy in and out, but there’s also a lot of stretch in the material. The black mesh/lace overlay is not at all itchy, and the whole dress basically feels like you’re wearing pajamas (that’s a good thing!). I tweeted once about having a vintage phone purse, and this seemed like the perfect moment to whip it out! It actually works. There’s a phone cord inside! I used to use it to test the landlines whenever I moved to a new apartment if the real phones hadn’t been unpacked yet. There’s not a lot of room inside, so I don’t actually wear it out as a purse, but it’s just one of those treasures that you can never get rid of! The necklace is by Art School Dropout. I told Jessee that I liked how this necklace looked a bit more “grown up” than most of my jewelry! Haha. It’s really pretty, and I love the little iridescent flecks and glitters all over. I bought the shoes for a wedding that’s coming up next week. I have really wide feet in the front but a narrow heel. I have a duck feet, y’all. So I think I need to buy some kind of insert for the heel so it doesn’t swim around so much! Obligatory twirlyskirt photo! The shot on the right really shows off how the shape and paneling of the dress flatter your waist! There are actually a LOT of dresses on Sourpuss right now that I would love to grab, even some neat Halloweeny ones! Dress: c/o Sourpuss Clothing, Shoes: Seychelles, Necklace: c/o Art School Dropout, Socks: Topshop  

Plush You! 2013 is opening tonight, Friday, October 13th, from 5 pm – 9m, at Schmancy in Seattle, Washington. The show features over 55 artists from all over the world! I submitted three pieces last year  and had so much fun checking out all the other plushies. I realized that I never compiled all the little video snippets I took from 2012, so I did that just now in order to prompt you to check out the show this year if you are in the area. If you go, let me know how it is!  

Knitsy  Issue 4 (for iPad and iPhone and soon Google Android) is out, and guess who is on the cover? I had no idea. It was a big  surprise! This time, instead of an interview like I had in Issue 3, we are offering a crochet pattern for my cupcake scarf. If you already have my book, this pattern will be old news, but if you’ve been jonesing for the cupcake scarf and the cupcake scarf only, here’s your chance to check it out for free! The one thing I totally forgot to add in the pattern is that Lion Brand Homespun in Cotton Candy Pink has been discontinued since my book was published. There are other Homespun colors, but the substitute I have been using myself is Cascade 128 Merino Superwash because it is a similar weight and comes in a yummy array of colors. It is, however, a bit spendy, running on average at $12.50 per hank. It’s a great option for people who like nice yarn and who like wool without the wool being itchy. I recently picked up a ball of Red Heart Snuggle Bunny in Kitten, but I haven’t worked with it yet. I just grabbed it because of the color and because if its boucle-ness! There’s TONS of other fun fibery goodness in Knitsy, so check it out!

  Let’s try something new! I decided to try offering sponsorship spots on my blog, to help promote your blog or indie business. I’m new to this whole thing, so if there are any glitches, please let me know! Click on the new button on my right side-bar to reach my advertising info page, or click right here!

Hey, San Francisco! Next Friday, October 11th, is “I love yarn day,” and the Craft Yarn Council is organizing a flash mob for fiber-lovers at noon sharp in Union Square Park. I’ve never really been a social crocheter (i.e. attending craft nights or stitch n bitch type events), but I am gonna show up at noon and check this out! Come say hi! Bring the project you’re working on! Let’s get yarny!

  I have a new interview up on the Red Heart Yarn blog! Janice and I hung out outside JapanLA back in June and chatted about crocheting. She was super sweet and also SUPER prepared with a huge list of questions to ask me and a tape recorder! I may not be as eloquent verbally as I am in writing……. but I remember having a lot of fun, and it’s cool now to re-live that night!

My new free crochet pattern for Michaels.com is now up: Candy Bar Clutches! They are just really simple zipper pouches with a touch of candy bar goodness. There is some sewing involved (which I am generally not a fan of myself), but I think it’s well worth the work! It’s really easy to interpret your favorite candy bar with a few simple colors and some fun felt fonts. My three samples are inspired by Snickers, Twix, and Reese’s peanut butter cups! I still want to make a Nestle Crunch, a Kit Kat, and maybe a Whatchamacallit! Do you guys have a favorite candy bar? Also, for those less crochet-inclined, I am working on a batch of finished candy bar clutches to put on Etsy. I just gotta finish writing the pattern for my December Michaels.com pattern ;).

Both of my crocheted weiner dogs were adopted and shipped off to their new homes! I really appreciate the support for Tiffany‘s real life weiner dog Pistol! She also just added some “Get Well Pistol” cotton tote bags to her Etsy shop. And speaking of Etsy, I just added the weiner dog crochet pattern to my Etsy shop.