New Crochet Pattern

Wow!  It's been a whole year since I've updated.  I've done so much this does come as a surprise.  I upkeep another blog for my art HERE and that's been keeping me busy since the beginning of the year.

This has been irking me for a long while...I've been feigning for a crochet ampersand pillow.  No patterns existed for one and I just thought to myself, "I need to make one."  Well, that time arrived and here is the new pattern for my Crochet Ampersand Letter Pillow!

I love it to pieces.  I always choose this lavender to make prototypes...I also made some Times New Roman lowercase letters.  I didn't have the presence of mind to make the patterns and they sold before I even had the thought to do so at local events.  Once I get more time (I entered a master's program in this past year) I will definitely get the patterns for those.  Did I mention how much I love this?

$2.99 is going to be my price across the board for all patterns including hats but excluding my Soft Elegance earrings which will remain $1.50.

Hats, hats and more hats!

Okay I am back to posting! This is the Women's Elegant Cap and Neckwarmer set made from bamboo wool. I love the way the bamboo wool feels and I am going to make more wearable items from it.















This is the Red, White and Black Visor Slouch Cap.


















This is the Earth Tones Visor Cap.


















Jaimaican Rasta Visor Cap.


















Rasta and Tan Visor Cap.


















Black and camo Visor Tam and Earring Set.


















Red, White and Black Adjustable Slouch Cap and Red Queen Earrings.

















Warm Red, Tan and Brown Adjustable Tam.





I have many more but I will post them later.

New items going up in my artfire!

Reopening my artfire store!


Now the most difficult...well not difficult but definitely time consuming, part is done. I've taken pictures! This isn't everything but it is definitely a good start.
Around Town Royal Purple Crochet Hat. I don't know. I saw the purple and thought it would look nice. I've been ransacking the place looking for a silver pendant or button to complement it but so far no luck.














Camo plus red = hot! I like this combo a lot. Camo and Red Visor Slouch Tam and Earring Set.


Now I am tired...I've been sticking to my new year's resolution of getting more sleep so even though it is a little after 11 pm I am exhausted. I will finish this later :-).

Braided Beanie Brim Cap - New Pattern

I came up with a new pattern. This pattern is available for purchase now...just need to take some better pictures for the display image.

The best part about this pattern is how much the stitch stretches. It is snug but very comfortable.

The prototype. I like it, even the additional button I added. The pattern is going to be called the Braided Beanie Brim Cap. I always make slouch caps so making a beanie was a refreshing change.

I decided to do some things a little bit differently with the second one to have more options to add to the pattern. The pattern will come with helpful full color photos detailing the steps which is something I had not done with previous patterns.

This is one row shorter and the bottom is more refined. Brim is thicker on this one and can be flipped up for a different look.

This is a close up of the braided texture...This was two strands of a thin but luxurious merino wool blend yarn held together.

This is the back...I love the star-like pattern.

I would love to have some feedback on this design :-).

To buy this pattern-- $2.99

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!

Ongoing projects

It's been well over a month since I last posted.  I have been busy making hats, bags, scarves, and brushing up on my knitting.  My knitting and crochet classes have been going strong. I'm even getting into projects with the attendees.

I am going to have a host of new products to post soon in my artfire!  I've restructured the designs for the amigurumi puppies that I posted some time ago and here is what I came up with.

      Clemson and Carolina (USC) pups!  I ordered puppy noses rather than crocheted ones and they worked out great.  The Tigers (currently #8) and the Gamecocks (currently #13) have a big rivalry in these parts.

 This is a doll I did a few weeks back.  I have plenty of hats with new designs, some with knitting/crochet combined that I plan to roll out.  I have kept the sale prices in the artfire store until I upload the new items.

New Projects

It's been awhile since I posted. I've been drawing, painting, knitting, crocheting, knooking, reading, writing, and all other manners of creativity. Blogging didn't make the short list of things to do in the meantime. I've done several things.

First off I've done three shrugs. Two were done in a drop knit stitch and the third was done in a broomstick lace stitch. No pictures of two of them presently although I'll probably post them later. This is the last one that I made in the drop stitch. It is from an unknown fiber that has a lot of drape and is very soft.

I like the stitch a lot.  The stitches around the arm are done in a k1p1.  I found the pattern on craftster HERE. 

Africa Tote Bag.  My other tote with the African map sold on artfire so I went to work on another one in the same colors.  I spelled out AFRICA on one side with an African map on the other side.  I really like this bag a lot.  I also put a liner in the bottom and sewed it with my sewing machine.  I could stand to use a bit more practice with it but I was fairly successful.

 

 I also made a knit hat in two colors.  I consider this to be a success considering my limited experience (and patience) with knitting.  I loved the stitch and I love the way this hat fits.  Now my next challenge is blocking.

More cute Amigurumi Puppies

I completed these two little guys in the past couple of days.  First the Dalmatian, then the Carolina Blue and White Pup.

I have an idea for my new pups (and coming soon friends)!  I am working on the website now and some design overhauls.  These will remain the pioneers...they are so darn cute!  Carolina Blue here belongs to my hubby as I made it for him.  The Dalmatian is well-liked and I've already had a few offers!

Like I said I have plans for these guys and I will post real soon about them.

Do you knook?  I am working on various techniques.  There is relatively little out there to help out us burgeoning knook lovers so I am constantly at work developing ways to do it.  I am working on a market bag pattern right now.  Is it easy?  Not really....it's just figuring it all out for the time being.  I'll post really soon!

Cute Amigurumi Puppies

Aren't they cute?  I made these based on a puppy pattern I found on Ravelry.com  I'm going to make quite a few of these little guys.  The next one will be a Dalmatian.

I am presently working on a tablerunner for my great aunt.  I wish I had started on it sooner...working in thread is slow going.  I have 12 days left to complete it and I am working on it every day.  It is a simple pattern with a simple mesh/lace motif.  I have to make it at least three feet long so consistency is key.  It is now 6 inches.

To update:  No one has turned in our camera yet.

Freedom Festival July 4, 2011

I wish I could report a great time as I did last year; however, unfortunately I cannot.  The day started out fine.  As we were on our way (a good 45 minute drive) we noticed a haze in the air, an indicator of a high pollutant day.  I was also suffering from a headache/eye-ache that I was hoping would go away as the day progressed.  WE get there and have issues getting into the main area.  I stopped some workers who were hesitant but ultimately let us through.  So we go to set up.  No issues.  Our position gets moved to the front of the row which pretty much put the final nail in our coffin before we even began.  Why?  There was a breeze in the air and not a moderate one.  A fairly strong intermittent breeze.

The festival was a bust! Great vendors, great music, great food...NO PEOPLE.

I spent most of the day retrieving my styrofoam heads and jewelry that kept flying because of the wind.  We got the brunt of all of the wind. We had ample weights but not enough to withstand the strong wind that was coming through.  No one else got it as they were shielded by the buildings.  My husband went to Home Depot to retrieve bricks to help us balance but to no avail.  One of my large heavy frames was blown right off of an easel and the glass shattered.  When the wind died down the air was so still and stifling you could hardly breathe.  I made a few sales but nothing to really call home about. Then it got hotter.  My headache got worse.  I made a few sales but the crowds were very minimal.  Hardly anyone was really making any sales.  By four last year the streets were so congested you couldn't even see the other side.  It was not the case this year.  During my 10 am - 5 pm stay, there was never a rush of people.  Two ladies were sharing next to me.  One lady left around 3 or so, disappointed in the crowds.  The other lady packed up when she saw my hubby and me packing up.  She had really awesome tile decoupaged pendants.  Another vendor had these leather bracelets, rings, and earrings that were just heavenly...it really was a shame that we didn't have the crowds to show off all of our hard work.

A disappointment. The organizer came through when we were packing up and she seemed disappointed. The kicker? My stepdaughter lost my trusty FujiFinepix. I have pictures over two years old of my kids on that and naturally of course no one turned it into the lost and found yet (and I doubt they ever will). The least they could do is lie and say they found the memory card and return that.

That was it for me. I was angry, hot and suffering from a migraine. I didn't care to make any more sales...I wanted out.

Perhaps it was because it was a Monday.  I don't know.  There wasn't as much advertising for it this year as there was last year...maybe people just weren't aware.  The heat and the wind were the worse parts for me but at least I did make some sales.




The only picture (from my camera phone) that I managed to get. This was up in the day and the two people in the back are indicative of the meager crowds that we had trickling through. The picture on top of the easel was the one that had flown off in a particularly powerful gust and broke the glass. At least I made up the money I spent in gas but overall I lost profits...I didn't even make up the cost of the booth. I probably could have if I had remained the last four hours...who knows folks might have shown up for the fireworks but the wind was progressively getting worse. If the lady beside me had left before I did I would have moved over to her spot. I talked to her briefly and she was very disappointed and honestly I think that was the overall feel for folks at least on our row.