Crochet Hook Case

I finally made myself a crochet hook case. I had one a long time ago that I had bought on etsy with ties to hold the roll together. I never would tie that thing, kind of annoying having to tie it each time I wanted to close it. Anyhow, lately my crochet hooks have been sort of hanging around on my desk, my nightstand, and my dresser when not hooked into a current project. I figured it was time to make them a new home.

Using fabric from my stash (it may look familiar, check out Kaitlyns tote bag a few posts below =D ), I drew out my design on a piece of paper, figured out my measurements, cut my fabric, sewed it together, found a nice big purple button and made my hook case!









The case is padded with cotton batting, and the pockets are lined with interfacing. I used grosgrain ribbon wrapped around the roll to hold closed with a button. I top stitched around the side and top edges, and then top stitched the flap down to make it easier to keep the flap in place which makes it easier to roll the case closed.

All in all it turned out really well and is the perfect size for my crochet hooks, scissors, and yarn needles. This case holds my D thru K and N hooks, I cant seem to find my K hook, which is what the empty pocket is for. Looks like Im going shopping! I might have to make a few and sell them on etsy =)

Many cases I found on etsy had pockets for knitting needles as well as hooks and were just too big for the simple crochet hook case that I wanted. I also noticed a lot of the cases showed the pocket sewing lines on the outside of the case which I dont care much for the look of either. Best to just make one of my own since I know exactly what I like!

Until next time, keep crafting!

On my hooks

As Im getting back into crocheting and knitting more, now that the girls afghans are finished, Im having fun looking at patterns and planning what I want to create next.

With the colder weather arriving, I've been looking at hats, gloves, and scarves. Currently using the leftover yarn from the girls afghans, here's what I've been working on...

Recently Completed

My husbands skull cap. No pattern, just worked in dc with a sc edging and fpdc accents.



On My Hook

The first glove of a pair of gloves. Fits snug not sure if I like that yet or not. Pattern from http://www.woolcrafting.com/crochet-gloves-pattern.html doing closed fingers, not fingerless.



On My Needles

I wanted to do a knit scarf and came across this really pretty design and very simple stitch to work for a newbie knitter like myself http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/scarfcameofaggotst.htm



Taking a trip to New Jersey next week and visiting New York City while we're there. This will be my first trip out there so Im excited! Will take lots of pics while there and post them when I return!

Until next time!

Jenna's Afghan

Jenna's afghan is finished! All that's left to do on these is weave in all the ends and then wrap them for Christmas!



She informed me the other day that her favorite color has changed, again. I was like oh no >.< and when I asked her what her new favorite color is, she said turquoise! I said "ahh, that's a pretty color!" but I was really thinking "phew!!". So, she should be happy with her turquoise and purple afghan I should think!




I've been doing some small projects on the side. We'll be heading to New Jersey in a couple of weeks for Thanksgiving, will be visiting some friends out there, and figured I should make myself some gloves and maybe a scarf - save money so I can spend it on things I find shopping in NYC >:D My husband has been mentioning that he wants me to crochet him a skull cap, so finally we went and got him some yarn. He kept looking at the bulky fuzzy yarns, and we finally settled on some Bernat Denim Style yarn. Here he is right before heading to work, I'll have to get a better picture of just the cap itself.



I did a basic double crochet style cap with a single crochet edging, and added a few front post dc's around it to give it a bit of style.

I will get a picture of the gloves Im doing as well for myself, and thought I would maybe knit myself a scarf instead of crocheting one.

Until next time!

Kaitlyn's Afghan

Kaitlyn, my oldest, turned 12 this year. Her favorite color for the longest time has been blue, blue, and blue haha. My favorite color is purple, so all 3 of my daughters have said they like purple to go with their favorite color, and I think adding a little bit of myself in with their colors gives them a little bit of myself to cuddle up with when they use their afghans.



Im now working on Jenna's afghan. Her favorite color changes a few times a year, which is expected. She's the youngest of the 3 and she likes to be like her older sisters. Over the summer she said her favorite colors were pink and yellow, and since then they have changed to blue and green with purple as her 3rd choice. Wanting to keep true to Kaitlyn and her blue and Alissa with her green, I am making Jenna's afghan mostly purple with a turquoise accent.



I cant wait to have these all finished, wrapped, and ready to send to the girls. I wish I could be there when they open these =)

Until next time, keep crafting!

Alissa's Afghan

Since I dont get to see my girls often throughout the school year, I thought about giving them something handmade from mom for Christmas this year. I needed an afghan pattern that would be quick and easy to make so I could get 3 done in 3 months. The granny square afghan was the perfect choice but I wanted more of a rectangle size than a square. I remembered an afghan I made for my stepson back in 2003? with left over yarn in a stripe pattern, creating more of a granny rectangle afghan, and knew it was an easy perfect choice for the girls this year.

I was going to pick up some Red Heart Super Saver from Hobby Lobby, since it washes well and is nice and soft after washing, when my husband saw a yarn called 'I love this yarn' which is so much softer to the touch, and I figured the yarn would be softer against my finger while crocheting. The price was only $1 more per skein than Red Heart Super Saver so I figured I would give it a try, and Im glad I did! I enjoyed the color choices for this yarn since I felt there was a bit more color shade variety compared to the other yarn choice.

These afghans took me about 3 weeks each to finish, although I do still need to weave in all the ends. I've completed 2 so far and am working on finishing up Jenna's afghan. I will post each completed 'ghan in separate blog posts as I think they each deserve their own spotlight haha.

My daughter Alissa turned 10 this last summer. She is a very bright bubbly girl, full of energy all of the time and likes to make people laugh. Her favorite color, lime green, goes along with her bright personality. So for her afghan I made the main color lime green (yarn color: limelight) with white, hyacinth, and grape color accents.





The girls dont know what Im sending them for christmas this year, they just know that mommy is making them something but cant tell them what it is. Along with these afghans, I will also be making them each a crochet doll with removable clothing. I will post more info on the dolls as I begin making them!

Until next time!

Craft Tote Bags

My girls live with their dad in Colorado during the school year, so we meet up half way (about 12 hours each way) to pick up and drop off the girls for summer vacation. Last summer I found this Art Caddy Tote bag sewing pattern on youcanmakethis.com and knew it would be a perfect traveling tote bag for the girls while spending many hours in the van driving from CO to GA and back at the end of the summer.

So I began with fabric I had from a few years ago which was going to be turned into a quilt for each of the girls that I never got around to doing, went to Hobby Lobby for the rest of the supplies and set to work!

Jenna's Tote





Alissa's Tote



Kaitlyn's Tote





For the trip I filled their bags with coloring books, traveling game books, crayons, colored pencils, notebooks, folders, and lots of snacks. We told them they could eat their snacks from their bags whenever they wanted but once the snacks were gone, that was it, no more snacks.

I plan on making one of these for a crochet bag for my WIP's. The side pockets would be perfect for crochet hooks, and if I extended the back pocket it would be good for printed crochet patterns.

Until next time, happy crafting!

New Beginning

So many things have changed in the last couple of years. I used to be an avid crocheter and designer, making crochet designs for my girls, designing patterns for magazines, and being contracted to crochet others designs for their books. Since then I have gotten divorced, moved to another state, only see my girls twice a year, and gotten remarried. Without being around my girls, I was not inspired much to crochet or design anything for my website.

I still sell my previous designs and often think back on those times when I would design something for them and go somewhere to take pictures. My girls enjoyed it when I would design something new that they got to wear and model for. My oldest daughter, now 12 years old, suggested to me the other day while talking to her on the phone that I put together a couple of new designs next summer when they come to visit. We talked about a few ideas, and it got me excited about designing again for them. I have thought of a couple of cute ideas and now that my oldest will be 13 next summer, I can work on designs for teens as well which will give more range in sizes on my website.

For all my crochet friends and customers, I thank you for your support over these last few years. I still receive emails about my designs, I still answer crochet questions anyone may have about my patterns or crocheting in general. Sometime soon I plan on putting together some videos on how to crochet some of my designs for beginner crocheters. I know for me, I am a visual learner, seeing how its done helps much more than reading how its done.

Until next time, keep crocheting!