First Post for the New Year!

While this is my first post for the new year, I have been busy crafting,drawing, writing, and some of everything else.  My oft abandoned blog is far more deserving of attention.

I got a new mannequin head...I think displaying my hats on this would be far more effective and true to form than the plain white heads.

Here she is modeling part of my luxury feel hats line---Bamboo wool Hat and neckwarmer.  I will take better pictures in the future as I wait for another sunny day.   I love working with bamboo wool...it feels soooooo good.

I am presently stash busting.  Somewhat.  I still gave in and bought some Sublime yarn at a new yarn shop I discovered last weekend and some yarn called In LineJava.  I've made a similar hat and neckwarmer set like this one and using the remaining yarn to make a pattern similar to the dashiki by Afya Ibomu in her book Get Your Crochet On! Fly Tops.  I did some of my own modifications of course.  I have eight skeins of this dark green beautiful yarn...I had no idea what it was.  The lady in the shop told me it was an acrylic/nylon/wool blend and felt/looked very similar to the Sublime yarn which it did. She gave me some very valuable information in regards to what yarns to use for the summer and she had a very surprising admission which I will blog about in the future.



In the meantime here is a photo array of what I have been doing:

I will have to take a picture in the future that gives this beautiful scarf some justice.  I made up a simple shell pattern that is relatively common.  The color gradations in the yarn worked perfectly.  It was about 80% complete here.  It is a little over five feet long and seven inches wide.  It is so nice I have been considering entering it into the state fair this year.  I attempted making some hats but it wasn't working out very well.  Some armwarmers or fingerless gloves perhaps?

This was completed right before Christmas as a commission through my artfire site.  She specifically requested a black and white drawstring cap and earrings with the cowrie shell.  She loved it!

I loved how the earrings came out.  I can see this in a number of colors.

Afro women leather pendants.  I did these some time ago but haven't painted them yet.  They are drawn in ballpoint ink.  Since the last one got so much attention at my last set up (and sold) I decided to do more. Oh for the time and space!

Camo and black slouch brim cap and earrings.  I did one like  this in red also.  I have made hats into the double digits so far that I need to take pictures of.  There's one more thing I ordered that I am waiting for before I take pictures and reopen my artfire store.   Hopefully it will be here soon so I can aim for a February 1st opening. 








I have many more items to post...once I get the pictures. Stay tuned!

I've been featured in an Artfire Collection!

Yay!  My Golden Nefertiti Crochet Earrings were featured in the Artfire Collection, Another Snow Day in the Forecast!

My work is getting noticed *smile*.

Visor Hat and Crochet Earrings

I completed this hat last night.  I wasn't sure how the colors would turn out on the hat; however, it came out pretty nicely.  I was debating on whether to make it a drawstring hat.  I still have a bit of the warm yellow left over so I will probably make a striped version of this with a drawstring later this week.

This is presently on sale in my artfire store!

I posted these crochet earrings when I was preparing for the Crafty Feast.  They are a beautiful set and finally gave me a use for the beautiful crochet thread that I had sitting around.  These are now for sale in my artfire store also.  I am definitely going to do a pair in pink.  My niece commandeered a similar pair in pink that had swarovski crystals dangling in the middle...they were really beautiful.

More Earrings

I have more earrings that I have created in preparation for the Crafty Feast Freedom Festival.

This set was made from speckled stone beads and wood beads that were once part of a bracelet.

Domino Earrings.  Ever tried poking a hole through hard plastic?  Three drill tips later I had success.

African dot printed beaded earrings

Crochet Rasta dangle earrings in large size and small size.   The small circles are dime sized and the larger circles are quarter sized.

A vintage style crochet pin I made some time ago.  It was one of my first thread crochet projects and I've been hooked ever since.  The stone came from a necklace I had bought at a local flea market (and taken apart).  It is a beautiful delicate piece with a nice dainty and vintage feel to it.

Soft Elegance in black earrings with African print beads.

I made these awhile back and was uncertain how I felt about the pair.  My niece really liked them.  She had commandeered the pink elegance earrings over the Memorial Day weekend and thought I was crazy for not even showing these during setups.  The thread is a beautiful copper tone with wooden beads.  See my niece wearing them here.

Pink elegance soft crochet earrings.

  I am going to devote the remainder of the week to larger projects such as the swirl cap and scarf set (one variation shown) and purselets.  It's been awhile since I made a swirl cap.  I have yet to make the scarf the same.  This was my first (and last) skinny scarf (I'm not a fan of skinny scarves).  I was limited on the scarf because I didn't have much yarn left.  This entire ensemble takes one skein of 6 oz Caron Simply Soft.  I made this cap in autumn red (caron simply soft) for the winter and got compliments everywhere I went.  It fits somewhere between a beret and a tam (mostly tam) so it accommodates long and short hair nicely.  It was inspired by this pattern.  I've made some changes from his original concerning stitches and overall design but not too terribly significant (just overlook the stitching pattern lines and lack of brim and use of different yarn and larger hook size). UPDATE: I do have an idea for a bag that I am going to make as soon as I can.  This will be an original pattern so if I'm not too excited I'll write down my steps and take pictures of my progress.  If I get carried away, I'll just post the results and a rough overview of what I did.  

Completed Projects

Red, yellow, black and green will abound among my projects.  I finished a crochet bag over a week ago using the pink ribbed pattern with these colors.  It is an eye catcher...I'm just debating on how long the strap should be.

I have been very busy making earrings this week.  My 3 main series have been my focus: the soft elegance, divinity, and queens.  I've made quite a few Mocha Queens and Red Queens and a host of soft elegance.  I'm debating how I feel about the Divinity series.  I need more feedback than my children's enthusiastic "I like it!" proclamations.

 I love the Red Divinity.  The beads are made from polymer clay that has been painted and glazed in red, copper, and gold tones.  This pair is very similar to the Red Queen earrings.  The face beads are signature in most of my crochet earrings pieces.  I'm seeing this series in a variety of colors and I'll more than likely stick with neutral tones for the center bead.  I am torn with the Blue Divinity.  I love the blue beads with their silver highlights combined with the royal blue and black.  I was aiming for something different and this does indeed fit the bill.  Paired with the right look, these have great potential.

My next piece in the Divinity series would be a pink and chocolate variation.

I've seen earrings similar to these online and wanted to try a pair for myself.  I had been wondering for the longest what to do with the beautiful turquoise crochet thread I had and this venture cried out for it.  I love the way they came out and can definitely see a pair in pink.

Soft Elegance in a beautiful yellow hue.  I can see these paired with a short and flirty summer dress and light sandals.  I've been contemplating color combinations for the soft elegance but will probably keep it at solid colors with bead embellishments.

These earrings are unique and an eye-catcher.  I made them some time ago and they always draw curious looks and laughs whenever I set up.  They were formerly keyrings that I remade into earrings.

I love the face pendants and beads, especially this set I made some time ago.  It resembles stone with soft gradations and I mistakenly glazed them...they were better unglazed.  It is a beautiful set.

Crochet Earrings, Soft Elegance Pattern

One thing I love to do is make crochet earrings. I taught myself how to crochet last November while recovering from having a tooth pulled. I had heard that crocheting helped with relaxation and heaven knows I needed it then. It was tough going. I'm a visual learner and books were not adequate in that respect. I eventually figured it out and became a crocheting mad woman.

Here are some crochet earrings I made. I wanted something simple and elegant. I made the blue ones for my mother and she loves them. They are lightweight and great for the summer.

I have completed earrings that could be customized for sale on my store here.

Buy this pattern $1.50