NatCroMo 2016

Hi Crocheters, Happy National Crochet Month!!

Welcome everyone, thank you so much for joining me on my blog post day for Crochetville's celebration of all things crochet.  There are so many wonderful crochet designers and local yarn shops involved this year, and the best way to keep up with all of the goings-on is through Crochetville's Facebook Page for NatCroMo.

I've been working on all sorts of projects lately, and those of you who know me know that I'm easily distracted by bright shiny objects.  But, I have focused long enough to bring you some fun things for the month of March:

1)  The Sunset Planner Portfolio

One really important project I've been working on for myself but that hopefully you will find helpful as well is a crochet bag in which to keep my daily paperwork organized.  The Sunset Planner Portfolio pattern is now available on Ravelry, and a kit with all of the needed ingredients will be available in my Etsy shop soon.  In celebration of NatCroMo 2016, the crochet pattern on Ravelry is 50% off and our kit on Etsy will be 20% off for the whole month of March with code NATCROMO2016.


At the beginning of every year, I struggle with finding, and utilizing, the "perfect" planner to keep track of all of my personal and business tasks, appointments, bills, ... everything!  This year, I think I'm a step closer to really having the tools and system I need to keep on top of everything, and I'm hoping my research into different methods of keeping track of items will be helpful to you too.

First, you might want to check out my previous post on being both organized AND creative and some steps to take in that direction.  Also, I've got another follow-up post coming up later this month with some great resources I've come across AND FREE PRINTABLES that I've been using in building my own paper organization system and crochet projects system.

2)  The Imminent Launch of "Global Crochet"

Like it's not hard enough to get organized and keep up with Many Creative Gifts, I've decided to launch a companion site, Global Crochet, that explores crochet styles and techniques from around the world!  We're going to be partnering with some amazing and creative people to offer some unique crochet projects and accessories and exploring exactly what the "crochet lifestyle" is all about.  For now, please visit us on Facebook, like our page, and get up-to-date information about the launch!  

And the best place to start is home -- the District of Columbia!  There's more than just politics going on in this town; we've got a very vibrant fiber arts and handmade movement here. Our new project bag celebrates DC and will be available for pre-order in our Etsy shop by March 14th, with delivery in about 3-4 weeks.

3)  Meet Clownie's Friends!

Here's my Clownie from last year's DCWBC Holiday Bazaar!  For those of you who already have made Clownie the Crochet Clown Doll come alive, many thanks from the bottom of my heart.  I know how special Clownie has become in a lot of families (he's the least scary clown you can imagine :-), but I've been worried about Clownie being a bit lonely ...  So, stay tuned to meet some new companions for Clownie and hear more about their adventures together!

Again, thank you so much for spending part of your NatCroMo celebration with me, and I hope to see you back here again and on Facebook later in the month for some updates, freebies, and surprises -- to get the latest, please sign up for blog post emails in the left column of this page, only one or two a week I promise, and connect with me through my Facebook page anytime :-).

Twas the Day After Christmas

and all through the house ... was a big fat mess! 

We've been enjoying the holiday season just a bit too much since Thanksgiving, and now the time to clean up has come!  I find that as my creativity (aka last-minute gift making) goes up, my time on the computer goes down.  But, hopefully you will forgive me, and I will try to get back on a more regular schedule come the new year.

But, here is the Long Clownie I made for a family out west to replace a long lost one ...

Here's hoping you and yours had a wonderful Christmas, and many happy wishes for the New Year!!

Send in the Clowns

Whoo hooo!  Clownie has made it into an Etsy Treasury.  http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c9536770e166d9157faea71/send-in-the-clowns?index=1  Take a look at the posting shop, LizzieJoeDesigns, she's got some clever items made of wine corks.

So, I am here in beautiful Rehoboth Beach, Delaware!  The weather has been so great, so I even got a chance to dip my toes into the warm (but very rough due to the latest hurricane!) waters of the Atlantic.  Must have walked at least 4 miles yesterday and hoping to keep that up.  And, I visited the relatively new LYS here -- Kitschy Stitch.  It's a wonderful spot, and I'll be posting so much more about it when I can upload the hopefully lovely photos I took!

Ok, off for another trip up and down the Boardwalk (2 miles!)

The Clownies Are Ready!!

The clownies are all finished!  I hope my friend likes her pink one, and the green one will be posted on Etsy pretty soon.  Once the finishing touches are on the pattern, it will be posted as well.  Whew!  Oh, and a big shout out to Margaret, the best pom pom maker I know :-)  Contact her at her shop, WinterCrochet, on Etsy for your own wonderful poms.

The Clownies Live!

Ok, so they are still without pom poms, but both have been put together.  The green clownie still needs his collar too, but I should be able to whip that up soon.  The pom poms though...

I'm realizing that I think I used a different yarn than Nana did for her clownie -- it's just not as soft, so apparently, that is the big difference between Red Heart's SuperSaver and Classic yarns.  I'm not the biggest fan of these yarns, considering there are so many other, more natural yarns out there that are reasonably priced as well, but I admit that this is a great yarn to use for making the clown doll because it does work up uniformly and keep the spiral shape pretty well.  Now I'm itching to make one using the Classic yarn, so I will report back on that.

Now, about those pom poms... 

It's Coming!

A beautiful new yarn store in Dupont Circle!  It's called Looped Yarn Works, and you can read all about it on their website at http://www.loopedyarnworks.com/.  I will start teaching there in the fall :-)

Clownie is also coming, but the pom poms are turning out to be very challenging.  Even got some gadgets to help in creating the pom poms (instead of having to resort to cardboard), but they are still not coming out round and fluffy :-(  Back to the drawing board tomorrow.