Cool Glow, check 'em...yo

I wanted to throw on here that I've added a new affiliate.  I'm trying to keep this blog very low on the ad revenue end.  Mostly because I've never, ever made money one it...ever.  BUT one can hope. 

I still have Newegg, Lakeside Collection and Amazon but our newest affiliate is Cool Glow.  As with the others, I have this one for a reason.  I love things that glow. They not only keep the kids busy but they're a life saver when one is "scared of the dark, mommy".  I LOVE them at Halloween.  There are so many uses for them.  Putting them in balloons at evening parties, putting them in a votive rather than a candle and my favorite is simply safety.  We walk a lot on Halloween night to gather goodies and it helps to know where my kiddos are and for them to find me.  It's bright enough to spot them, or they can use them to see where they're going.  They can put them on their shoes, wear glow rings, bracelets or necklaces.  They wear them on Drive-In night also.  They're just good fun!

Cool Glow has a 10% off sale on the link to the right or use SAVE10 at checkout.  If you use one of my links to get there, I might get some change in return. :p 

Pinwheel Flower Wrap

I've called it HeadWrap, HairWrap, etc but none of them quite fit.  It's not a hat or a head band so I'm unsure what to call it.  What it mostly showcases, however, is the Pinwheel Flower.  I had a request for another one and after making a flower in red with white trim I realized it was more of a holiday looking flower.  I wanted to do another one a little more low-key. 

So I did these two.  The one on the right is just Red Heart Super Saver Yarn in Red with the Love This Yarn White Sparkle on the edges.  While the one above is done in Red Heart Super Saver in Buff Fleck with Red Heart Eco-Ways recycled blend yarn in Fern.

I didn't realize that it matched the button but it looks great together. :)  I'm very satisfied with that and delivered both yesterday.

Diary of the Ladybugs Part 2

As previously mentioned in Diary of the Ladybugs, I had planned on doing a ladybug hat for a friend of mine.  You may remember this friend, as I also did the Olivia Blanket for her first granddaughter.  She had requested a ladybug hat for Olivia's first birthday, as it's still a while away I had not begun the project.  Since she was going out of state to see them this weekend though I did go ahead and whip it up and take it to her.  Here is my finished project. :)

It's hard to tell, but the top of the antennae have curly q's.  I did not add very many dots and I did consider putting a black crocheted line down the middle, from the front between the eyes to the back, to aid visualization of two sides or wings.

For the rim of the hat I used standard black Red Heart Super Saver Yarn but for the dots, antennae and face I used Caron Super Soft in black.  I did this because it's a thinner yarn.  When making things to put on a hat it's easy to just slap things on there but when you look at it later you think there is fiber fill or something beneath it because it seems puffier than the rest.  I hate that.  This yarn I stitched on but it wasn't as thick and I feel good that it won't be very heavy.

At the last minute as I was choosing the eyes I decided on fancy buttons. I don't usually do that, however I thought, if I ever were that close to a ladybug it might have more detailed eyes than just a plain button or a yarn blob.  I think these are so adorable that I'll zoom in for ya. :D

Yep, those are awesome!  Hopefully the hat will be the correct size, as I generally go by the sizes found at Bev's Country Cottage when it comes to doing hats for children.  I have been told that they run a bit big but I suppose I'd rather have that than too small.

I had the ladybug hat, another flower for a second hair wrap and a baby hat to complete and mail.  It was super busy and I enjoyed it.  I think I'll do another post about the extra flowers.  Yes I shall do that now.

HeadWrap in all it's glory

I will detail what yarns I used in the "making of" but for now I'll start with this...

This is my new HeadWrap.  I had gotten a text message this summer from a friend who saw the pinwheel flower design and had to have it.  It is beautiful but I'd never seen any such thing and had no idea how to make it.  I set out to the Great Google Machine and found several free patterns.  None of which did I actually understand. 

I'm slow.  I get it. ;)  So I used ideas from doing crocheted leaves in previous projects and put them into making this.  I thought the edging needed to be something a bit more special and I once again hit the net.  This is the Crab Stitch edging.  I find that to be hilarious.  I've never heard of any such thing but learned to do it via Youtube and Teresa.  I don't know her but I do like her videos. 

I used very chunky yarn, the Super Bulky (6) Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA and this one is in Houston Cream.  I used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn (medium 4) for the flower itself because it's certainly easier to handle but it also keeps form a bit better.

I finished the project and surprise mailed it and two flowers to my friend.  She was only a week or two from giving birth to her son and taking leave from work so it was a nice surprise.  I make mine so the end there has at least two loops to go around the button I have on the other end.  This is to make it tighter or looser depending on who is wearing it.  Also, yarn stretches after a while and it may need to be pulled tighter at some point. 

The flowers also come off. :O WHA? YES! The flowers are interchangeable!  BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!  I'm selling the pattern on my @Home Ninja Etsy Shop!  MORE? YES!  It's only $5 for the pattern!  I'm going to try to set up the Visa section so it accepts it and not just paypal.  I really hope you guys enjoy it. :)