Category: Blog

First up, check out this panel of awesome ladies I get to join as a judge for The Crochet Awards! To be perfectly honest, and I get asked about this sometimes in interviews, I am kind of clueless about a lot of other crochet designers. Like, I have not been super active on Ravelry, and I have not really become internet-buddies with a  lot of other crochet designers, so this is such a neat and unique opportunity for me to get more in touch with the crochet world at large, and I’m so thankful to Salena from Design Wars for inviting me! As soon as I think of the word “judge,” I automatically think of Judge Dredd… which I know is weird… cuz I’m not the law in this case… and I don’t get to beat anyone up or arrest them or wear a cool helmet. (I know… crochet one…and don’t beat anyone up.) As I mentioned before, the awards are now occurring quarterly, with the first quarter being all about APPAREL. Here are the categories of crochet patterns for which we got to nominate our favorites: Best Coat/Jacket Best Dress Best Shrug/Bolero Best Skirt Best Beachwear (Swimwear, Coverups) Best Vest Best Shorts/Pants Best Sweater (Cardigan or Pullover) Best Tank/Sleeveless Tunic Top Best Shawl/Wrap Best Cowl/Snood Best Scarf Best Poncho/Capelet You guys, it was really hard!!! I would nominate a shrug and wonder if it was more of a mini sweater. I would nominate a bottom beach coverup and wonder if it was more of a pair of shorts. One of the things we noticed though was that swimwear or beachwear was kind of a seemingly avoided category in crochet patterns, so, WATCH OUT WORLD. I’m bringing you cupcake bikini tops galore for SS 2015!!! 😉 But anyway, YOU guys will still have an opportunity to nominate some wildcards, so start sorting through your favorite crochet apparel patterns from 2014. Stay tuned for more info on that!

Right before Christmas, I ordered some beautiful handmade ornaments from Jenny & Aaron at Everyday is a Holiday. I knew I wouldn’t get them in time for Christmas since I ordered them so late, but I wasn’t worried about it. I actually didn’t end up putting up my tree or decorating at all. Long story short, I went through big break-up and was hyper-focused on crocheting holiday orders, so I didn’t at all prioritize hanging ornaments or putting out knick knacks. But my cute little package arrived a little bit ago, and I am going to be so ready to pimp out my place with holiday cheer for 2015! I have a pink tree with lots of sweets and cupcake-themed ornaments, and I also wanted to only ever purchase vintage or handmade decorations for my tree, so these yummies will fit right in! Each ornament came beautifully packed in a clear sleeve along with some pink paper crinkles and gold star confetti! So cute! I got 3 soft serve ice cream cones, 2 donuts, and a stack of pancakes. While I was ordering, I was like, I think I’m going overboard, but I’ve followed Jenny and Aaron for a long time, and I love supporting artists when I can! Definitely check out the Everyday is a Holiday store, not only for ornaments, but also beautiful wood die cuts for your home, signs and plaques, stickers and art kits, and more! Jenny also maintains a blog which you should follow because she always posts a ton of eye candy. The only blog giveaway I’ve ever won was from their blog, and although I don’t think they host giveaways like that anymore, it’s still a great place to hang out for inspiration!

It’s the 15th of the month, so it’s time to launch a new blog sponsor giveaway! Thanks so much to my generous sponsors for offering us these wonderful goodies! We are starting 2015 with a huge bang and 12 prizes! ONE lucky winner will receive:

We’re so lucky to have another giveaway with Blippo.com, your one-stop shop for super cute stationery, phone accessories, jewelry, candy, magazines, and other fun stuff from Japan and Korea! One lucky winner will receive: A Purple Neko Plush Charm A Rilakkuma Rice Cracker Set which come with 4 packets of crackers. …. and a Fluffy Pastel Purse! You have until Wednesday, January 28th to enter! Please use the Rafflecopter widget below. This giveaway is open worldwide. Good luck! <3 (p.s. That’s some other Blippo stuff that they sent me, so you can see some more of their fun goodies!) a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sooooo I FINALLY was able to finish crocheting baby Groots for my giveaway winners from a few months ago. I am super sorry it took me FOREVERRRRRRR. Renegade Craft Fair and then the holidays really made my crocheting schedule crazy! So thanks so much for your patience Kristina, Katgumi, Lexi, Deanna, and Karen! Your baby Groots are boxed up and on the way! Remember, if you’d like to crochet a baby Groot of your own, my free pattern is here!

Okay, I’m not a super hippie-dippie touchy-feely spiritual kinda lady, BUT, my best friend is, and sometimes, you read each other’s tarot cards all night and learn about Metatron cubes, and sometimes, you write letters to the Universe. We decided to take a moment to write down small letters to the Universe on pieces of paper. Manda said to write down our hopes, dreams, and wishes. I ended up writing a lot of promises to myself, with most of my short letters beginning with, “I will….” Initially, we had planned to do all of this outside on a hike, but we woke up too late to go on a hike, so we ended up performing our ritual in Manda’s apartment at night, with all the windows open, jackets zipped up, blankets on laps, occasionally fanning any smoke toward the windows. I know this was not the smartest idea, but it happened, and everything was fine! …except for the part where the smoke felt REALLY BURNY ON OUR EYEBALLZ. Otherwise, VERY SPIRITUAL. AND STUFF. I hope you are all able to execute your hopes, dreams and wishes this year! <3 (p.s.) How was your NYE? I don’t think I will write a lot about it…. in order to protect the guilty … but we went to our favorite divey club for 80s night, and the evening was no less than epic.

Do you love checking out other people’s creative spaces? ROOM TO CREATE is a brand new print magazine FILLED with colorful photos of crafty studios AND tutorials (including mine!). Learn lots of organizational tips and get inspired for 2015!!! I believe it can be found where most magazines are sold, such as Barnes and Noble! My craft space is currently a huge mess, so telling you guys about this magazine is definitely making me want to pick this place up …. 😛 I don’t currently have links or social media info for Room to Create (I just realized that and just emailed about it), but when I find out, I will let you know!

A few weeks ago, my friend Interro Bang came over to my house for some holiday crafting. She brought over 8 million pounds of goodies and drinks! We decided to make some cheezy holiday tree ornaments together. We also thought it might be funny to make a silly video tutorial… and I know it’s totally too late to make ornaments for Christmas, but, I could ALWAYS use more Christmas, so here is our crazy video anyway!!! I hope you all are having a great holiday season so far! P.S. If you have any requests for Valentine’s Day projects or videos, please let me know. I’ll try to plan ahead!

Sorry for the radio-silence on my blog and on YouTube and basically all my social media. I am still crocheting until the wee hours to overnight people’s Christmas orders that I thought I could handle, but I got a bit overwhelmed.  I am also feeling super spent in all ways that a human can feel spent due to various and sundry life-happenings, but all we can do is forge on. Speaking of human, I got this Murray Christmas baseball tee from LookHuman.com, cuz one of my Instagram friends had one, and I had to copy her! I will be going hobo-casual on Christmas Day.

Hi! It’s the 16th of the month, so it’s time to launch a new blog sponsor giveaway! (Sorry it wasn’t on the 15th this month …. it has been so crazy here since I’ve been working hard on your holiday orders!) Thanks so much to my generous sponsors for offering us these wonderful goodies! ONE lucky winner will receive:

Friends in LA, you should swing by iam8bit to check out their handmade ornaments show! It opens this Thursday, December 4th, 7pm – 10pm. I sent in 3 different kinds of ornaments, and judging from the names on this flyer, I am sure there is going to be TONS of cool stuff! If you go, you have to take lots of photos and send them to me!

Our Yummy You! sale is still going on! 20% off our entire shop with code BLACKFRIDAY until Monday at midnight!

I don’t blog nearly enough about all the cool crocheting happening out in the world, but I had to show you these amazing puppets that someone sent me on Facebook along with a wonderful note. Emily is an art teacher and drama director at the Heritage School District in Homer / Broadlands IL. Her drama club performed Little Shop of Horrors last weekend (and I’m so sorry I didn’t get this blog post up before then!). When she first decided to take on this project, the only thing that went through her brain was EVERYTHING MUST BE CROCHETED! So, all summer she crocheted and completed two of the puppets. The final puppet had to big enough for the actors to go through and get eaten! Not only did they crochet the plant puppets, but also vines, mini plant puppets for each actor, flowers for the flower shop and hundreds of leaves! Here is the big one! It is 5.5 feet tall! Feed me, Seymour! I’m just so impressed at all the work that went into these pieces, and I’m bummed I don’t live close enough to have seen them in action! Maybe if we are lucky, the Heritage Drama Club will make more crochet magic in the future! Thanks, Emily, for sharing your photos with me and for being an inspiration!

I polled you guys on Facebook to see what kind of Thanksgiving-themed crochet tutorial you’d like to see, and I got a lot of votes for a turkey drumstick as well as some form of pumpkin pie. The turkey drumstick would be easy, as the pattern already exists and I wouldn’t have to write anything, but hey, I like a fun(ny) new project and thought maybe you would, too! I decided to turn this little pumpkin pie brooch (or hair clip, for the adventurous) into a hiding place for some sheets of tissue, and the tissue also doubles as the whipped cream dollop for the pie! You know, this will come in super handy at your holiday feast, if someone randomly drops some stuffing on the floor, or if someone has some gravy on their face. YOU COULD BE THE THANKSGIVING HERO. YOU’RE WELCOME. (Pattern also includes the option of stuffing the brooch with Polyfill and not having any tissue come out of it…) There’s also a video tutorial on YouTube for ya.

I’m excited to bring you another KawaiiBox giveaway! KawaiiBox is the cutest monthly subscription box, filled with 10-12 hand-picked items from Japan and Korea for $18.90/month. Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win next month’s KawaiiBox! Let’s check out what’s in November’s!

I have a new free crochet pattern today for this Gingerbread Christmas Stocking over at Skip To My Lou for their huge Bake Craft Sew & Crochet Along! Don’t forget that Skip To My Lou is also running a giveaway for a $300 gift certificate at Michaels! I also plan to post a video tutorial for this in 2 weeks, so stay tuned!

Don’t forget that I have a free pattern for a Turkey Tissue Box cozy with cute lil veggies and a lettuce dish cloth! I’ll be filming a tutorial for the drumstick and posting it this week! Also for those of us less inclined to crochet any turkey-related accessories, we have our Turkey Hat available for sale over at Yummy You!

Today I’m over at Skip to My Lou as part of the Bake Craft Sew & Crochet Along. I am sharing a wonderful crochet pattern perfect for holiday gift giving. In fact, you won’t want to miss all the handmade gift ideas! I have joined over 100 bloggers to share some amazing homemade gift ideas……..AND I get to be part of an amazing giveaway too. Keep reading… You can enter to win a $300 Michaels gift card. Yes, you can buy yarn until your heart is content! Follow along with us and you can enter to win each day!   Just wait for the rafflecopter to load and get ready …… a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yesterday, I got a fun little surprise in the mail: HAPPY MAIL! It’s the new monthly stationery club from my fave gals Elsie & Emma from A Beautiful Mess (they also recently launched a new shop filled with tons of crafting supplies plus their new craft line, bee tee dubs!). You can tell that I’m kind of really into their mailer! Let’s check out what’s inside! I already started getting the happy feels upon opening my hand-written card! When I was little, I tried to get Manda to be my pen pal, but she never mailed me anything! Granted, she did GIVE me some letters when I saw her, BUT STILL. Anyway, I admit, that I am really bad at the lost art of letter-writing and card-sending. My friend Cuppy is like The Queen of Card-Sending, and I think it’s really lovely, and I wish I had my ish together enough to send some random mail-love to my favorite people. For $15/month, you get a$50 retail value of fun and colorful cards, tags, stickers, labels, notepads, and even a print! The gals put together a little video to show you everything you get. As a person who does not collect cards or stationery or very much paper goods, I’m kind of excited to have this little collection to play with! It’s giving me a push to send someone a surprise. Who would you send a fun card to?  

I drink tea all day long. My favorite non-caffeinated version is Almond Coconut Macaron Rooibos Tea from the Republic of Tea, and I probably average 3 bags a day. For a sweeter and more caffeinated kick, I’m all about PG Tips and French vanilla creamer. This all means that I use coasters A LOT. We have had a lot of cute coaster sets, but the ones we’ve had lately are either plastic or laminated or cork, and sometimes they stick to the bottom of my cups and then come clattering off at some annoying point in time. I then started hunting for felt coasters. I know I KNOW. I could just crochet myself some coasters, but sometimes I just feel like shopping and supporting other handmade artists, too! That’s how I found Dandyrions and her adorable bear coasters. They come on all colors, and some have accessories, like eyeglasses, or, a fish in the mouth. I can’t wait for my set to come in and cuddle all my tea mugs! Here are some other coasters that I liked as well on Etsy. I very nearly bought this set of bally coasters before finding the bears. These are by NomiMakes. I also liked the colors and funky shapes of these guys from BeansAndThreads. And finally, you can’t go wrong with some crocheted coasters in this house. These cheery fruits are from Portuli. OOOOOH I just thought of a cute pattern for coasters involving sparkle yarn…. stay tuned!

The ladies at Skip To My Lou have put together a ginormous Holiday Bake Craft Sew Crochet Along for the month of November (so there are already a ton of projects up on their blog!). They asked if I would guest-post a little later in the month, so stay tuned for a holiday-themed crochet pattern from yours truly! In the meantime, check out all the other recipes and projects from a ton of other creatives! (p.s. If you have requests for a simple tree ornament, let me know! I have an idea of what I will guest-post, but I’m still open to meeting any of your wishes!)

Hi! It’s the 15th of the month, so it’s time to launch a new blog sponsor giveaway! Thanks so much to my generous sponsors for offering us these wonderful goodies! We have eleven awesome prizes for November, and I will be drawing THREE winners. The FIRST winner can choose his/her favorite 5 prizes. The SECOND winner can choose his/her favorite 3 prizes. And the THIRD winner will win the remaining 3 prizes.

A few weekends ago, my buddy Candace and I went to Hello Kitty Con 2014 in L.A.! This was the first ever Hello Kitty Con and also the first time ever Candace and I traveled together! She keeps weird hours, likes to knit until 6 am, and has a suitcase full of snacks. Um, PERFECT TRAVEL COMPANION FOR ME. I arrived at the hotel first, took some video for Instagram, and then instructed Candace to not look on Insta, because I wanted her to be surprised when she walked in. We stayed at the LINE Hotel in Korea Town, which was the official hotel for the con. We kinda hemmed and hawed about staying there and actually had a  cheaper, back-up reservation somewhere else, but we decided to GO FOR IT. (Photos are mostly mine, with some of Candace’s thrown in, and others noted when borrowed from someone else!)

Sorry for the total radio-silence here! As you know, I was prepping for Renegade, and then my brain melted for the past two days. I think I’m back, though!!! 🙂 Stay tuned for an Etsy shop update with my craft-show leftovers, more video tutorials, our November giveaway, and finally  my closet-cleanout with yarn and other craft bits!!!! If there are particular holiday-themed patterns/tutorials you’d like to see, just holler! I was thinking: turkey drumstick plush, the Christmas Pickle, and maybe a gingerbread-house tissue cozy!