Crocheting some Valentine's Rose Rings

I've decided to take a bit of a break from doing the Messy Bun Hats and concentrate on something I worked on a bit a couple of years ago.  Rose rings!

I'm a big ole softie.  It doesn't have to be a dozen roses or a box of chocolates but something from the heart or just something adorable.  This is a bit of all that ... except the chocolate.  Chocolate is always appreciated. Mmmm Chocolate.  Wait.  I'm getting off course here.




Here are just 4 of the rings I've finished.  From left to right I have the small red rose, large white, small white and larger red.  I say "larger" because it's not the biggest one but it's bigger than the other pictured.  All but the red on the end have alternating rings.  If there's a red flower, the band is white and if there's a white flower the ring is red.  Only the one on the end has a yellow band, just to show another option.

I plan on doing these in other colors.  I have an Orchid purple, Teal green, Mint green, Yellow, and Somewhere I have the variegated threads you see at Walmart and craft stores.  So if there's a color you want, I'll be able to make it.  You can have your choice of matching band or the standard white/black/red.

I'm also looking into doing other flowers like daisies or orchid type flowers.  I can also add a button or bead in the center. I'll be doing some photos of those later in this weekend/week if we ever get proper lighting.  All these photos were taken yesterday when we almost had sunshine.  Almost.

This is the small white flower with white band and the larger red with yellow band on my hand.


As with the Messy Bun Hats, I'm selling these and donating the profits toward my son and his class.  I'm not sure if I posted about it here but my son, 16, is in his high school's Advanced Choir and they are hoping to attend Festival Disney in April.  They've done a lot of fundraising and none of the appx 30 children are paid off enough to go.  It's almost February so we're making our last push before it's time to start selling furniture. LOL

SO, if anyone wants these I'll be putting them up on my Etsy page, today I hope, and they will be $6 each.  I'm paying shipping out of pocket and 100% of the sale goes to help Advanced Choir students make the trip.  (This does not include the state tax which I make Etsy add.) I'd love to see your comments or requests so hop on down there and add some. :D

OHHH! I also have a new facebook link for the shop!  So come Like it! :D

Boo-Ya 2017!

I know I'm about five days late but I'm still super excited for 2017.

Christmas 2016 brought with it a Messy Bun Hat invasion.  I've tried my hand at it as well.

A friend wanted one similar to one she saw in a photo.  The original poster had no idea where it was from so I did a little digging.  The hat I saw originated from Stacey Thorngren.  Stacey has never written a pattern before but the hat got such a following that she made one, posted it and was charging $5 for the pattern.  I generally will NOT purchase a $5 pattern for anything.  I made an exception for my friend.  Though it seemed simple enough to re-create, I wanted to use the original from the original creator.

Stacey uses a different yarn than I have but I found the colors from the Red Heart Unforgettable series are gorgeous and work very well so I used that.  I made four hats from this yarn before I realized that 1) It's really a thin yarn to make a warm hat from 2) I live in a small town so the only place to get yarn locally is Walmart.  Within a visit or two they were out of the color I use and didn't expect more in for a while.  I had a couple of orders come in after that so I switched to Lion Brand Landscapes. By far, the most popular colors so far are Desert Sunrise and Mountain Spring.

I (badly) blotted out my bright green hair tie. 

After purchasing the original pattern, I noticed many others for free.  I got a pattern specifically for Unforgettable yarn, which was pretty too and now is gone in the infinite internet... IE, I can't find it anywhere. Now I use a combination of both patterns.  I attempted to clean up the pattern for the originator and messaged her a copy of the one I'd done for her to help her out.  She has, a month later, still not responded but has updated about 6 times and to be honest... it's still not worth $5 for the pattern.  Sorry Stacey.  I liked how the free pattern gave me a better way to judge the length of the band before I work upward but I like the overall idea of how Stacey made the hat look.  Again, this is why I use a combination.  Also, still being honest, she's got a small head like I do so her idea of how to do the messy bun hat is only really for people with the noggin of a teenage girl ... about 19-20" circ.

I've seen some of the chunky versions of the hat go for as much as $40 on Etsy but I'm not that kind of gal.  I like to make my items accessible to everyone and keep it low enough in cost that folks come back. I sell mine for $15 each.  I currently have two in the Desert Sunrise/Mountain Spring combo and one that is a solid teal-like color called Peacock by I Love This Yarn brand.  I'm working on another.  I really liked the Metropolis (black/grey) colors but they're all so pretty.

I'm hoping that 2017 will be bigger and better!  For the summer time, I'll be doing loads more barefoot sandals.  Those were fun.  :D

If you have ideas for things I should try, let me know in the comments.
I hope your 2017 is truly blessed!

How about a little Pinkie Pie?

A couple dear friends of ours has a one year old daughter.  Well, she'll be one on the 10th.  She's adorable and so far she only really likes My Little Pony. With her birthday approaching and my pockets being filled only with lint, I decided to make the lil doll a Pinkie Pie hat!  I love Pinkie.  I love her energy and positive messages.

I searched high and low until I found a pattern I liked.  Generally, I do not purchase patterns that don't allow me to sell things I make.  I just don't.  Or, if by chance, I do like one and want to buy it, I'll not pay more than a couple of dollars.  I made an exception this time.  Things I will say before I post the link, however... The pattern is $4.25 USD.  You can not sell anything you make from this pattern. Bummer.

It is completely adorable.  I had absolutely no difficulty in reading or doing any of the pattern/stitches.  The only thing I wish she had added was the placement of the eyes, curls, etc.  I did this hat, again, for a one year old so I should have used a smaller hook than an E for the balloons, perhaps even stitched them on.  Otherwise, there was the perfect amount of curls and adorability. ;)

Pinkie Pie Crochet Hat Pattern Here


See, adorable!  

ooo de-la-li

Boy o boy have I been busy!

The last thing I posted was the barefoot sandals.  Those have kept me busy!  I've had orders for women and babies.  I did a white set of those below and I have an order for 6 more in Earth tones but those aren't due to go out for another year.  I did 3 sets of sandals for a newborn and two new hats, an owl and a fox.

Then the big one.  As you can see from my new banner, I also worked on a custom ordered Puu and Koenma from Yu Yu Hakusho.  These little cuties are at DragonCon in Atlanta this week!  They took a considerable amount of time.  Puu was easy peasie as I just redid the pattern for him but Koenma was a tough little cookie.  I chose to find a pattern for dolls similar.  Eventually I decided on Pocoyo Pattern by Upa! Mi Gurrumin, a paid pattern.  The final product measured about a foot tall!  The hat I made wider and though it appears shorter, it's not.  I folded it up and went that way with it to match Koenma.  Arms and legs were loosely tied on and through to the other side so they can be somewhat movable and sit on a shoulder.  I used black crochet thread for the lines, ears and red Caron Simply Soft for the sash.  Though I wish I had a little darker yarn for his flesh color, I think I really like the dark purple and lighter pink.  The hands and feet were adorable!

When everything was ready to be tied off I just fed the yarn down under the skirt and tied it off there to hide the seams!

The only things I would have done differently:

• It never said the face was done in the round and not ended, began again.  I do wish I'd have known that.
• I wish I'd had more time to do his eyes rather than just stitching simple lines.
• mayyyyybe I'd have made the hat bigger as well

All in all I was really proud of how it turned out.

Now I'm working on Shark Booties, also a paid pattern.  I'm not happy.  My hands are killing me from the tiny stitching.  The "mark" and "mark" there are confusing.  When you put it all together it doesn't connect exactly right and there are not enough images to show you how to do the heel.  The toe on mine doesn't go down and around like theirs does.  However, all that being said, it will still turn out to be a super cute set of booties.  If I don't get mad at them and throw them and their hook. :p  

My wonderful sister decided to send me vast amounts of Sashay yarn many moons ago so I'm trying to think up new ways to use them.  Perhaps in a bracelet?

Also I've updated My Shop to sell 2 more Dr Who Necklaces and one KeyRing.  Get them while they're hot. ;)