The Shtick I Do

I thought today I'd share some of the cute little crochet Christmas Elf patterns that I've come across in recent weeks! Here goes: 1. This pattern from Heart & Sew is done so well that he should last for years to come and maybe even be able to be handed down to the next shelf lounging Elf lovers out there! Photo by Heart & Sew 2. These gorgeous little guys from AmigurumiBB look like something from a childhood Christmas movie! Who wouldn't want one of these to play with? Photo by AmigurumiBB 3. This cute little elf (or gnome or ...) from Owlishly is perfect for practicing the art of amigurumi. And you can place them as ornaments on the tree! Photo by Owlishly 4. Although this pattern by  Anastasia Eisenberg   is available for purchase via Ravelry, I thought I'd include it because he's just too stinking cute! Those huge ears did it for me and I can't help but grin when I look at him. Photo by Anastasia Eisenberg 5. And f...

Who buys a car they don't like? No one! We go through the trouble of making sure the gas mileage is something we can afford, we check on front wheel drive verses rear wheel drive, we even make sure there are little pockets for our stuff, enough cup holders for the family, a glove box big enough to hold the instruction book plus a hairbrush plus a cable hookup so you can play your iPod through the radio plus a ton of napkins from assorted drive thru windows. Wait .... you don't have a ton of napkins in your glove box? I've had a metric crap-ton of them since I've had kids. The point is, no matter how much we look and shop and measure all the different car up against each other, there are things we'd like to add. I've got a list of some of the top items found in random searches! 1. Car Blanket by Lion Brand **knit pattern knit pattern knit pattern** This is especially helpful to have in the car if you live in an area where it gets below freezing. ...

Have I mentioned that there are a LOT of new babies coming into the world around me? Well, if not, now you know. I wanted to make something a bit different this time around. It's not THAT different I mean it's still a blanket, but instead of a square, I made the Super Star Afghan from Mikey and the guys over at The Crochet Crowd! Here's my score for the pattern overall: Written Pattern Score : 4.5 out of 5 due to a mistake in Row 3. Video Pattern Score : 5 out of 5 - This one is a home run! I used Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton yarn in White, Pink Sparkle and Cotton Candy. My thoughts: I went to The Crochet Crowd site and easily located the blanket pattern. I'm happy they revised their site to make finding the patterns easier. It works up quickly! Easy to understand. The pattern is easily followed from memory once you get past the first 3 or 4 Rows. Since I'm a fairly seasoned crocheter, I thought I'd just use the wri...

So I've finished one blanket for my soon-to-be-here grand-baby. A simple pattern that works up quick and looks great. I love the lacy feel and how delicate it looks, especially in the Baby Ombre color from Bernet . Here's a quick rundown of the pattern I used, I kinda made it up as I went so errors may be rampant! LoL Pattern: (using a size G/4.25mm hook) Row 1 : Chain 113, Single Crochet in second chain from hook and across. Chain 3 and turn. Row 2 : Double Crochet, chain 2, Double Crochet in the next stitch. (V-stitch). Skip 2 stitches, repeat V-stitch in next stitch. *Skip 2 stitches, repeat V-stitch in next stitch.* Repeat from * to * across, ending with Double Crochet in last stitch. Chain 3 and turn. Rows 4-? : Repeat Row 2 until blanket reaches desired length. Chain 1 and turn. Last Row : Single Crochet in each stitch across. Leave yarn attached for trim <OR> if you're changing colors, tie off and weave in ends. Trim (if using a different color...

I know, who in their right mind crochets a blanket in the summer? I have a confession to make: I have never claimed to be "right minded". There, now that that is out of the way, here is a pic of the blanket I finished a few days ago. (*gasp* it's not a dish cloth!) This is the one that I was working on with that HUGE crochet hook. I can't give you a size because it isn't stamped anywhere on the thing. But it's big. I used two strands of a worsted weight 4-ply yarn. One color that is carried throughout the piece is black, then the other colors alternate: green, purple, maroon. (I know it looks like it's red in the pic but I promise it's maroon) And the stripes are two different sizes, one is 5 rows wide (that's the slim row) and the other is 11 rows wide (that's the thick row). Pattern? Well I didn't follow a pattern and I'm not sure I can tell you one because of not knowing the hook size but I can tell you what I did and the s...