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!

We’re having a sale over at Yummy You! Use code SWEETTREAT at checkout for 20% off your order until Wednesday night at midnight! xo

Fun news!!! I’ve been asked to be a judge for the 2015 Crochet Awards, formerly known as The Flamies!! How cool is that!?

Created by Founder and Fearless Leader of the Crochet Liberation Front, Laurie Wheeler, the Crochet Awards are a celebration of the best of what the crochet universe has to offer. These coveted awards are a collective voice to show appreciation to the makers, designers, publishers, and suppliers of crochet tools and yarn.  They are voted on by the passionate crochet community to show their pride and celebrate excellence.

And new for 2015: the Crochet Awards will now occur quarterly, in order to really focus on all the amazing contributions to the crochet community! This quarter, we will be focusing on Crochet Patterns in Apparel!

To follow along and stay on top of all the Crochet Awards news, hit up their Facebook page! I gotta go now and keep working on my nomination list :). Stay tuned…. I think you guys will also be getting an opportunity to do some nominating, too!

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!

You’re invited to host a Big Comic Relief Crafternoon: a crafty get-together for you and your friends, family or as many makers as you can cram into the kitchen/diner to raise funds for Comic Relief and Red Nose Day (March 13). For this very purpose, there is a special edition of Mollie Makes magazine called “The Big Comic Relief Crafternoon,” sponsored by Create & Craft, and contains 50 projects inside that can be worn to raise awareness or sold to raise money for Comic Relief.

“The Big Comic Relief Crafternoon” is the brainchild of jewellery designer Emma Mitchell (@silverpebble on Twitter) who approached Jane Toft (@JaneToft on Twitter), former editor of Mollie Makes, to help her make it happen! They are joint editors, and Jane also did the design and production of the mag. They both gave their time for free to raise as much money as possible for this brilliant charity.

It is on sale in Sainsbury’s (in the UK) and iTunes/Google Play RIGHT NOW as of Thursday 29th Jan. Each issue is £7.99 and 5 whole quid of this goes to Comic Relief to support their wonderful projects in the UK and Africa.

There are OODLES of exclusive new tutorials inside from crafters such as Deadly Knitshade, Tif Fussell, Attic24, Jodie Carleton, Lynda Lewis from the Great British Sewing Bee, Mr X Stitch, PLUS favourite Mollie Makes designs from the likes of Gretel Parker, Marna Lunt, Messyla and Zoe Larkins. My crochet patterns for my toast scarf and bacon & egg mitts are also in there!

As the theme this year is “Make Your Face Funny for Money,” they’ve included stupendous patterns and tutorials including knitted beards, crochet red noses, and a Liberty print moustache.

There’s also a guide to running your own craft fair, so readers can make an entire troupe of felt guinea pigs/nursery full of Spring posy brooches/forest of moustaches and sell them to make more crafty cash for Comic Relief.

To connect with The Big Comic Relief Crafternoon and get more info, check out The Big Comic Relief Crafternoon Facebook page and also their Twitter account @CRCrafts.

So grab your hooks, pull out the fabrics and have a wonderful Red Nose Day #crafternoon!