So I wrote a blog entry on the night of the 30th that I later thought was too much of a bummer. I have my moments when I like to be super honest on my blog, because, we’re all real people going through actual real things, and I think it’s good to talk about that sometimes, too, and not just post crochet things or cute stuff I want to buy. I’d seen something that made me sad, and I just got to thinking about the whole year and the new year and sort of threw it all up over my WordPress.

But I didn’t post it. I think maybe I just wrote it for me, and that’s ok, too.

2015 was kind of a weird year. I was single for the first time in a million years. My best friend moved in with me. I wrote a book. I thought about changing careers. Half the time I thought I was really brave in 2015, and half the time I thought I was in hiding. Hiding in my book especially, and making it my #1 excuse to not do anything else. I have to remind myself to be proud of the stuff that I accomplished, and not berate myself for the stuff I feel like I have yet to.

I hope that in 2016 I can be brave. That I can be open to new things and be okay with change. Fear is such a weird thing. Okay, this is gonna sound really lame, and I am not an inspo-graphic person, but this quote from “After Earth” always struck a chord with me:

I wrote a resume for the first time in 20 years. I sent it somewhere. We’ll see if anything happens. I took some out-of-character leaps to find my lobster (did you ever watch Friends?!), and we’ll see if anything happens there, too.

I don’t like making New Years Resolutions, cuz I mostly feel like they can be empty promises and kind of pointless, but I just always hope that I’m doing things that bring me joy and that hopefully also bring joy to the people around me. So let’s do that.

P.S. Here’s a silly photo so that this blog entry isn’t too heavy. I found a picture of a poodle and thought: I WANT TO BE THAT POODLE. So I made myself some hair danglies and called it a success. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen it, but if you don’t follow me there, here’s all my poodle glory.

Thank you for following me on my adventures. It means a lot to me, and I hope you all are healthy and happy :).

In the spirit of Christmas Eve, I’m posting my crochet pattern for my Christmas Pickles! I really wanted to do a YouTube video for these, but I just don’t have time to do it before Christmas. Like, I could shoot it and everything, but the editing process takes forever! If you guys still want a video after the holidays, I’ll add one!

There are a few different versions of the significance of the Christmas Pickle. Feel free to Wiki it. It appears people think the tradition came from Germany, but it really might be a mid-Western thing. The first child who finds the pickle in the tree on Christmas morning gets an extra present. OR, the first person to unpack the pickle while decorating the tree gets an extra present. OR, while we were in Seattle, someone told one more possibility, which I don’t remember. Pretty much: make up whatever you want, and create your own traditions!

I’m not a super-fast crocheter (I don’t like to feel like I’m in a rush … I like to enjoy the process!) and I can finish a pickle in 30-45 minutes.  I like using this sparkly green worsted weight yarn, but you can use whatever green yarn you like. The pickle is basically just a log with a curve in it. We create this curve by putting shorter stitches in one section of the pickle. The bumps are created by randomly swapping out a single crochet with a triple crochet. It’s really easy!

I think they look funny with eyes, but that is also entirely up to you. Let’s get started!

Continue reading →

My parents’ longtime friend Auntie Mary asked if I could make a cozy for her Kleenex hand towels. This was months ago, but I got really busy writing my book, among other things, and didn’t have much time to spare. I don’t know that I can complete her cozy by Christmas Day when I’m going to see her… but I at least decided to sketch out some colors tonight and thought I’d share that process.

Here’s what the hand towel box looks like:

It super obviously looks like a house to me. She has some prints in this bathroom that I believe are of flowers (although it’s been so long I can’t really remember now… doh!), and I remember some burgundy and green in her color scheme. I decided to go with sort of an English-cottage-theme with tiny flowers all over.

We’ll see how it plays out! (Sorry my sketching skills aren’t great. I pretty much just try to dash these off for shapes and colors and not to impress anyone with my artistic ability!)

Hullooo!!! It’s the last blog sponsor giveaway of 2015! Thanks so much to all my sponsors for offering such fun prizes, and thanks to all my readers for supporting these wonderful artists :). The giveaway is a bit late this month due to it being a SUPER BUSY time of year for all of us shop-owners. I’m extra grateful for the sponsors that were able to kick in this month, as we’re all working hard to ship all of our holiday cheer! Also this giveaway will run a bit longer than a week, until the day after Christmas.

ONE lucky winner will receive…

Continue reading →

AHH sorry it’s been a million years since I’ve blogged! I went to Seattle with Manda for Urban Craft Uprising, and then 2 days of manic work later, I went to Disneyland with my pal Courtney of Iggy Starpup.

Here’s a snap of my promo art on a billboard!! SO COOL RIGHT!??! I didn’t get to see the billboard in person, since we didn’t have time to drive around looking for it, so I’m glad I at least get to see this one snap from the UCU Instagram!

Seattle was pretty amazing. I got to see old friends and meet new ones. Manda and I flew in on Friday, picked up our rental car, and went straight to the venue to set up for preview night.   When I travel for shows, I try to keep all my show stuff in 2 suitcases, so my set-up is pretty basic. I didn’t have time to plan out what the table would look like or where everything would go. All I knew is that I would have my trusty risers, my cake stand, a lil Christmas tree, and a checkered cloth. Everything else just sort of fell into place.

Continue reading →