The Shtick I Do

A couple weeks ago I linked some of my favorite patterns for the floor of your home. Now, I want to share a few things that you can do to turn your crochet into art!  (Pattern/tutorial links are shared with the image.) 1. Take most  any doily pattern and put the finished product into a frame. Voila! You have a beautiful piece of art to showcase your work (or the work of a vintage crocheter). Hang it in a prominent location for an instant conversation starter! Image from Crochet Nirvana   2. You can use your crochet in a nursery as art by making the baby's name out of a simple chain! In this image there's also a crochet bird hanging out back there. You could take this to the next level by making an entire wall of crochet art by using animals, birds, flowers, cars, trucks, planes, boats, trains, dinosaurs . . . and that list goes on and on! Image from Pinterest 3. Need something for the bedroom? How about a crochet dream catcher? This one is beau...

I love new patterns and when I see one, plus get several requests to make the item in the pattern, I'm off to the races, so to speak! The pattern I'm reviewing this week has both a written and video format. Baby Strap Flip Flops Written Pattern: 3 out of 5 stars Video Pattern: 4 out of 5 stars This adorable pattern made the rounds more than once after being posted and I can't tell you how many people tagged me or sent it to my personal Facebook page! I ended up making several pair.  Needless to say there was a chorus of "Ohhh's" and "Ahhhh's"! I liked it pretty well but I did have some issues with the PDF being unreadable. After reading the comments section on her page I discovered I wasn't the only one. A few other crafters had the same issue where the watermark was a solid black instead of gray, thus making the pattern illegible. Not to worry though since the pattern was perfectly fine as long as I was reading it straight f...

We make everything in our crochet projects. Items from pot holders and hot pads to warm and cozy sweaters. Not to mention a few weird and unusual things in between! Today I wanted to share some impressive patterns I've come across that are for our floors. Lets start with this beautiful Upcycled Crochet Rug . If you've got wood or laminate flooring and get up barefooted on a cold winter morning you know exactly what I mean when I say "BRRRRR"! These fantastic floor coverings are perfect for keeping tootsies toasty on that morning trek to the potty. Image from  www.kingsoleil.com Plain circles not your style? How about a Mandala Floor Rug done up in Zpagetti t-shirt yarn? It's softness can be seen in the images and I just want to make one for every room in my house! I have carpet but who cares, right? Image from  crafts.tutsplus.com Need something for the dining room or kitchen? How about some socks for the chair legs? Not because they're cold...

Are you tired of bookmarks yet? I'm not! Here's a project I made using a couple of free patterns available for the flower and the butterfly. I did make some modifications and I'll note those in the directions below!   Supplies: #10 Crochet Thread (cotton or acrylic) size 4/2.00MM hook scissors needle for weaving in the ends. I used the flower pattern found here . It's a video that shows how to make the flower and the written directions for the flower are also on the screen. It's pretty easy to follow along. The "Trail" pattern is quite easy: Chain (ch) Slip Stitch (sl st) Double Crochet (DC) Row 1 : Join yarn with a sl st to any ch 5 space on the back of the flower. Ch 3 (counts as 1st dc), 3 DC, ch 3, 4 DC all in the same ch 5 space as the join. Ch 4. Attachment of Trail to Flower Use the Chain 5 stitches on the back of the flower. Row 2 : [4 DC, ch 3, 4 DC] in the ch 3 space of the previous row. Ch 4. Row 2-?...

I've been on a bookmark binge here lately! I have no idea why since most of the books I've been reading are on my Kindle! Go figure. Here are some great bookmarks that you can make quickly and easily as gifts or just for you. Enjoy! Yo-Yo Bookmark by  Priscilla Hewitt Bookmark for Mom from Red Heart Yarns Gecko Bookmark from Lion Brand Yarns Flower Bookmark by Annemaries Haakblog (via Ravelry) Angel  Corner Bookmark by RDS Quick and easy patterns make those long intense patterns bearable! So whip up a few of these and then get back on that big blanket you're making for Christmas! Peace and blessings, ~~Karen~~

I was looking through my Pinterest board, Crochet , the other day and had a thought. (How original! lol) I thought to myself, "When am I going to find time to make  all this stuff? And where will I get the money to buy the yarn?" I don't normally think of myself as a hoarder. Not even when it comes to my yarn stash (hubby would disagree). But when I look at all the things I've collected on Pinterest I find I might have to revisit that assumption. All those pins I've accumulated, and will most likely never  get around to making, are hoarding of a sort. Is this a trend we have to look forward to in the electronic age in which we live? An age filled with bytes and IPS and downloads that monopolize our time when we could be out there doing something else? This is not  the first weird thing I've wondered. Believe me. The other night our air conditioning was busted and it was really hard to sleep. My wonderful husband and I were ...