So, for some reason, I've been on a shoe buying binge! I've always loved patent leather, and it seems to be very in right now, especially in many colors. Of course, I still bought black and beige, but it was fun toying with the idea of getting some pink or red ones too (Nine West has some really cute little flats in an array of colors). It got me thinking about exactly what is patent leather, so I did a little googling to see what I could find out. Wikipedia has a nice little article -- turns out that patent leather does start with real leather that's treated with a chemical compound to give it a high gloss finish. Linseed oil originally was used to put on a final coating, but now plastic tends to be used. And I also discovered that a shoe with the sides cut out, so that there's just the toe cover and the heel with nothing on the sides, is called a D'Orsay shoe (or D'Orsay flats in my case). I love the little ankle straps even though they are a pain in the neck early in the morning when you're running out the door! Anyway, I found a pair with the toes in black and the heels in beige (I warned you I was playing it safe with color selections :-).
Anyway, what does this have to do with crochet you ask?! Well, in my Facebook feed, I saw some patterns for crocheted shoe clips and embellishments as well as this post for crocheted booties and slippers, and off I went, shoe shopping!
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Crochet for Easter from Joyous Crafts
Last year I was fooling around with some Red Heart pink yarn and came up with my Crochet Bunny Peep pattern, available for free on Ravelry. I was contacted by Heather, an owner of Joyous Crafts, to become the exclusive maker and seller of the bunnies on Etsy! Aren't they wonderful?!
She hand crochets them from pure Peruvian Highland wool yarn and stuffs them with pure wool as well. Each little peep stands 2 1/4 inches tall and 1 1/4 inches wide at the widest point. Her Etsy listing is for a set of four little bunnies in light blue, pink, butter cream, and dusty purple. She's also got some in acrylic yarn as well. They are already made and ready to be shipped as soon as you buy them! She's got so many cute items in her shop, it's really worth checking out for her sweet crochet :-)
She hand crochets them from pure Peruvian Highland wool yarn and stuffs them with pure wool as well. Each little peep stands 2 1/4 inches tall and 1 1/4 inches wide at the widest point. Her Etsy listing is for a set of four little bunnies in light blue, pink, butter cream, and dusty purple. She's also got some in acrylic yarn as well. They are already made and ready to be shipped as soon as you buy them! She's got so many cute items in her shop, it's really worth checking out for her sweet crochet :-)
Monday, March 3, 2014
Crochetville 2014 National Crochet Month Blog Tour
It's National Crochet Month! It's hard to believe it's already March, and I am participating in Crochetville's blog tour again this year. Our theme is the "Spring Garden" and if you make it to the bottom of the post, there will be a free themed crochet pattern for you to try out!
But other important matters first. During this month, we are supporting Halos of Hope, a charity that has a simple mission -- to provide crocheted, knitted, or sewn hats to over 450 cancer centers around the country each month! I hope you'll check out the website and consider making a hat or monetary donation (100% goes to shipping expenses). Hats can be sent to:
Crochetville LLC
Attn: Amy Shelton
103 Scarlet Oak Circle
Harvest AL 35749
In honor of Crochet Month and Crochetville's Spring Garden theme, I've been working on a baby-sized version of Melissa Leapman's Flowers in a Row afghan, available on the Red Heart website at this link. I decided to make the cuddle blanket in a chunky weight yarn with a J hook:
I'm about to send off the finished project to the mother, but I guess she'll be getting a preview of it here ;-).
Also in celebration, I'm offering 20% off any pattern in my Ravelry store, just use the promotion code NatCro2014 (no minimum purchase required).
Here is a little taste of my style and how I write patterns. This free square pattern is actually the center part of a larger, more intricate square that I've worked up in a DK weight yarn and that should be available in my Ravelry shop in the next month or two. For this square, I used the leftover chunky yarn from the baby blanket, and it ended up measuring a healthy 6 inches across.
So, I hope you have a wonderful March and get in lots of crochet! I hope to be back on a more regular blogging schedule soon -- thanks to all the well wishes you've sent regarding my mom's recovery. She's had a set back or two, but slowly, she is doing better and better :-)
But other important matters first. During this month, we are supporting Halos of Hope, a charity that has a simple mission -- to provide crocheted, knitted, or sewn hats to over 450 cancer centers around the country each month! I hope you'll check out the website and consider making a hat or monetary donation (100% goes to shipping expenses). Hats can be sent to:
Crochetville LLC
Attn: Amy Shelton
103 Scarlet Oak Circle
Harvest AL 35749
You may send your hats to:
Crochetville LLC
ATTN: Amy Shelton
103 Scarlet Oak Circle
Harvest, AL 35749
- See more at: http://crochetville.com/national-crochet-month-2014-designer-blog-tour/#sthash.sEHToQ8l.dpuf
You may send your hats to:
Crochetville LLC
ATTN: Amy Shelton
103 Scarlet Oak Circle
Harvest, AL 35749
- See more at: http://crochetville.com/national-crochet-month-2014-designer-blog-tour/#sthash.sEHToQ8l.dpuf
You may send your hats to:
Crochetville LLC
ATTN: Amy Shelton
103 Scarlet Oak Circle
Harvest, AL 35749
- See more at: http://crochetville.com/national-crochet-month-2014-designer-blog-tour/#sthash.sEHToQ8l.dpuf
You may send your hats to:
Crochetville LLC
ATTN: Amy Shelton
103 Scarlet Oak Circle
Harvest, AL 35749
- See more at: http://crochetville.com/national-crochet-month-2014-designer-blog-tour/#sthash.sEHToQ8l.dpufIn honor of Crochet Month and Crochetville's Spring Garden theme, I've been working on a baby-sized version of Melissa Leapman's Flowers in a Row afghan, available on the Red Heart website at this link. I decided to make the cuddle blanket in a chunky weight yarn with a J hook:
I'm about to send off the finished project to the mother, but I guess she'll be getting a preview of it here ;-).
Also in celebration, I'm offering 20% off any pattern in my Ravelry store, just use the promotion code NatCro2014 (no minimum purchase required).
Here is a little taste of my style and how I write patterns. This free square pattern is actually the center part of a larger, more intricate square that I've worked up in a DK weight yarn and that should be available in my Ravelry shop in the next month or two. For this square, I used the leftover chunky yarn from the baby blanket, and it ended up measuring a healthy 6 inches across.
Materials Needed
• Blue Sky Worsted Cotton:
Hyacinth (Color A) and Pickle (Color B) (150 yd/100 g)
• Crochet hook size I/9/5.50 mm
Abbreviations
beg = beginning
ch = chain
dc = double crochet
hdc = half double crochet
RS = right side
sc = single crochet
sl st = slip stitch
st = stitch
ROUND 1 • (RS): With Color A, ch 8, join; ch 2, 24 dcs in
circle, sl st to top of first dc.
ROUND 2 • Ch 1, 1 sc in same st, [ch 5, skip 2 sts, 1 sc in
next st] 7 times, ch 5, sl st to top of first sc.
ROUND 3 • [Sl st into next loop, ch 2, 5 dcs into loops, ch
2, sl st into loop] 8 times, sl st to first petal, fasten off.
ROUND 4 • With Color B, join yarn in center st of a petal,
ch 1, 1 sc in same st and next st, ch 3, 1 sc in first st of next petal, 1 hdc
in next st, 3 dcs in next st, 1 hdc in next st, 1 sc in next st (corner
created), ch 3, 1 sc in second st of next petal, 1 sc in next 2 sts (center 3
sts of petal) (side created); continue around, creating 3 more corners and sides, sl st
to top of first sc.
ROUND 5 • Ch 2, 1 dc in same st, *1 dc in next st, 3 dcs in
ch-3 space below, 1 dc in next 3 sts until corner, (1 dc, ch 2, 1 dc) in next
st, (should be center st of corner 3 dcs), 1 dc in next 3 sts, 3 dcs in ch-3
below, repeat from * around, 1 dc in last st, sl st to top of first dc.
ROUND 6 • Ch 2, 1 dc in same st, [ch 1, skip next st, 1 dc
in next st] 4 times, (ch1, 1 dc, ch 3, 1 dc, ch 1) in corner, 1 dc in next st,
[ch 1, skip next st, 1 dc in next st] 8 times, repeat around, sl st to first
dc.
ROUND 7 • Ch 1, ch 1, 1 sc in same st, [1 sc in ch-1 below,
1 sc in next st] until corner, [1 sc in ch-1 sp below, 3 scs in corner st, 1 sc
in ch-1 space], 1 sc in next st, 1 sc in ch-1 space around, sl st to top of
first sc, fasten off.
~~~~~~~
So, I hope you have a wonderful March and get in lots of crochet! I hope to be back on a more regular blogging schedule soon -- thanks to all the well wishes you've sent regarding my mom's recovery. She's had a set back or two, but slowly, she is doing better and better :-)
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