The Shtick I Do

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...

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-?...

This project is perfect for pretty weather. Why? Because when you go to the beach, pool, park or walking trail you can easily keep up with your keys!  I personally hate trying to keep up with all the things you need to keep up with when you go outside to enjoy pretty weather. Think about it. Depending on if you're alone or with a significant other will depend on how much you can carry. Throw kids into that mix and the list grows enormously. Water, bug repellant, sunglasses, towels, keys, purse, etcetera, etcetera.  Well this past week, in and amongst making more of this motif, I made two items that will help with packing things for an afternoon outdoors.   First; a quick and easy lanyard for keeping keys handy. Materials: (I used the swivel hook) Small amount of cotton yarn, color of your choice Size G crochet hook scissors embroidery needle lanyard swivel hook or keychain split ring Stitches used : Single Crochet (SC) Chain (Ch) Make a slip...

I like keeping warm. Even in the summer months you can get cold in certain places; movie theaters, malls, church . . . even home. Now a summer scarf can keep your neck warm and cozy but your arms and shoulders are left out in the cold. A jacket or sweater might be too much, making you hot and sweaty not to mention look silly (*looks side to side as she realizes she's looked silly a few too many times*). But a shrug . . . now that's the thing for summer time chills. It covers the arms and shoulders while leaving your back and front open. Here's the one I made from yarn scraps that were around the house. (Modeled by my lovely daughter Katrina!) Yes, it does look like something from a Mexican Day of the Dead party but when you're using scraps, you get what you get. LoL! Enjoy and have a safe post-holiday weekend!