Ten Years, a Coincidence, and a Testimony

WOW!

Ten years?? To the day no less! 

There have been a lot of changes in my life situation since I fell away from the blogging and crochet designing arenas. I'll talk more about that in a future post. But I just want to say I've missed this! I've missed the community. I've missed the creativity. And I've mostly missed the friendships and comaraderie that I was a part of at one time. 

I've thought so much about that part of my life recently that I was led to peruse the "old blog" yesterday afternoon to have a little peek to see how it was doing. Almost immediately my eye was drawn to the date of my last post; Nov 18, 2014. 

Wow! TEN years!

Honestly, I've looked at the blog many times over these several years and thought about attempting a reboot, but it has never seemed to be a good time. Life, and all that... But it's life that's gotten me to where I am now. Not in a bad way. Things happen that are all part of God's providence and His will for our lives. Sometimes things that appear to be a major setback are actually placing us in a position to shine His light outward through us. I firmly believe this is where I stand at this moment in time. 

Transitions are a time for growth and new adventures. Over the coming days, weeks, months I will be exploring new avenues of sharing my talents and wares. The blog is not going anywhere, although you may have already noticed some slight changes in its appearance. I do have some plans for expanding my commercial brand (Crochet Amore) and perhaps engaging in a new platform or two. More details on that as I work out the logistics.

The crafting world has drastically changed from what it once was. I have much to learn and far to go. If you are still with me, whether an old friend or a new colleague, I hope you'll join me on this journey.

I couldn't "not" post a crochet pic for you, so here is a little eye candy. It's an afghan I made for a close friend a couple of years ago. (Yes, she LOVES plants! LOL) The flower square is Bev's Soft Flower Square and the connecting rows are a basic granny ripple.

If you'd like to see more of what I've been doing with my hook and yarn check out my project page over on Ravelry. There's not a whole lot of new stuff there, no new patterns, but I've been a little more busy lately with making things for the classroom as you'll see.

 for your consideration...  2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”
made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the
 knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. NIV

Spring Fling Revisited

The snow is falling and the wind is howling here in Ohio but I'm thinking Spring! I actually finished this one a few months ago, but I'm still in love with the colors and am having a hard time dealing with the fact that I'll be letting it go soon. I may just have to make another one. :)

If you'd like to make one too, the free pattern is available as a PDF on Ravelry, or on my blog here.

My colors in Red Heart Super Saver:  Lemon, Pumpkin, Delft, Lavender, Orchid, Carrot, Royal, Aruba Sea, Cherry Red, Medium Purple, Turqua, Shocking Pink, Perfect Pink, Tea Leaf, Med Thyme, Dk Sage

Linking up here: Hookin On Hump Day

Stash Busting Progress

I know there are lots of you out there who can relate to the need for stash busting. Yes we can never have too much yarn, but at some point we must admit to ourselves that we need to use at least as much as we buy, mustn't we?

Well I don't know about all that, but I did silently make a resolution to my self, and my pocketbook, this year that I would try not purchase any new yarn until I've used up the majority of my "peripheral" stash.

Flower Power washcloths, pattern can be found here.

I do like to maintain a "core" stash of my most used yarns, specifically Red Heart Super Saver, and Sugar'n Cream/Peaches 'n Creme/Handicrafter cotton. It pains me to know I won't be shopping for yarn for a good long while, but I think of all the money I'll save and it seems like it might be worth it in the end... maybe...

Doll Dresses, pattern can be found here

This is the remainder of my Cotton Tots Stash. Only a few yards of each left. I'll use it to make a few more flowers and maybe some little bows to add as embellishments. Can't waste a single inch!

Next is my stash of I Love This Cotton. Some more doll dresses. Some doll bibs. Maybe some more washcloths... Has anyone ever used it for a wearable? Was thinking of maybe making a sweater for Ben with the blue and neutral colors of ILTC I have on hand?

EDIT: added links for the patterns above. As an extra note, the little dresses I made smaller for baby dolls by using an H hook for the starting chain and first row, then use an I hook for the rest. I also only worked a total of 12 rnds.

Oh well...

A little over a week ago I asked for help in tracking down the pattern for this wreath. A friend was able to track down the blog that was related to a Flickr account where the picture is posted. I attempted to contact the blog owner but haven't heard anything. I'm disappointed, but I will just have to use this as motivation to come up with something else on my own. :)

Thank you to everyone who helped in the search!

Clearance

Although the season is in full swing, it's the end of the summer shopping season. Back to school shopping is just around the corner and stores are making room for the over abundance of pencils, paper, backpacks, and all the other paraphernalia the kiddies will need for the new school year. This means it's prime time for the bargain hunters like me to find a good deal. I do love those little red and white clearance stickers!

This is my recent score from Walmart. An inspiration (cork) board for $3, an awesome stocking stuffer for Ben for $1, and 8 packs of scrapbooking paper for 10 cents each! Yes, 10 cents! I kept 2 and gave the rest to Cyndi for her classroom. The candle was not on clearance, but at $3.50 was still a bargain.

They did have yarn on sale too, but I showed great restraint and did not buy any. Not one skein. I've actually been making progress with my stash busting efforts and would like to keep it that way. :)

Someone had asked about where to find the wire for the Daisy Plant Poke. I found mine at Dollar Tree a few years ago. I was just in there the other day and they do still have it. I've also seen it at my local Walmart, and I'm sure you could find something similar at the craft store as well. It is called floral wire and is usually found in the floral department.

Looking for a Wreath Pattern

I love Pinterest, probably a little too much. I sit down for what feels like 10 minutes looking through all the eye candy and crochet/crafty/DIY inspiration, only to look at the clock and realize it's been 2 hours. I know you can relate. :)

I've gained too much inspiration for my home and family to to call it a waste of time. I've tried new recipes, found some great organization tips, and heck, I even made a pair of socks with the help of a couple video tutorials I found via Pinterest. The only "bad" thing I've found is the more than occasional lack of proper sourcing information.

Case in point:

 

I thought I recognized this as a Sugar'n Cream design, but I can't find it on Ravelry or on the Lily website. Every link I've tried dead ends or just fizzles out. I know there are other similar wreaths out there, but this is the one that "spoke" to me. So I'm just wondering if anyone recognizes it and knows the pattern source?

New Pattern!

You may have seen my post yesterday about Doni Speigle's flower ring decorations. While trying to figure out how to add the "poke" to my plant poke, I kept coming back to the idea of wire. So I went with it and this is what I came up with...

I used this floral wire that I picked up at Dollar Tree a while back. I've also seen it at in the craft section Walmart.

I first tried to make the loop at the top of the stem freehand, but quickly learned it's difficult to make a nice smooth circle this way. A 2oz paint bottle works much better. :)

And this is the stem before crocheting. I think it could also make a cute fairy wand if you add some beads (or something soft) to cover the cut ends of the wire. But that will have to wait for another time.

And here is the finished flower. I'm quite happy with it.You can download the pdf in my Ravelry store.

ENJOY! :)