Crochet for Mom's Birthday

Since my mother has been admiring an incomplete crocheted pillow cover that has sat in my house for a few months now, I decided to make one especially for her (like she has been hinting) as a birthday present!



There she be!! :)

The pattern I used was the Flower Accents Throw from redheart.com (with a little tweaking of my own). I know what you are thinking, this is a pillow, not a throw. Well, the nice thing about this pattern is that the throw is built out of blocks!

I followed the pattern as instructed, made the flower squares, joined the squares and STARTED the border. I emphasize "started" because I ended it with something a little different than the pattern stated to accommodate the piece being a pillow cover and not a throw. This also made it easier to sew the two sides together.

The only change I made was to Round 3 of the blocks border as follows:

Round 3: Join A (or color of choice) in any corner ch-1 space. Ch-3 (counts as dc), dc in same ch-1 space. * Dc in next stitch (or next dc), dc in ch-1 space, dc in next stitch, dc in ch-1 space; continue to corner ch-1 space and work 2 dc in corner space*  continue * around and join with slip stitch at the top of beginning ch-3. Fasten off.

Now, to sew the two pieces together, I used a technique called the Horizontal Mattress Stitch found in The Chicks with Sticks 'Guide To Crochet' book that I purchased when I first started crocheting. I did the stitch backwards so it would give the pillow an "edging" (here is me tweaking patterns again!). The technique was pretty easy and kind of fun to do ;) 

Click HERE for a tutorial on the Horizontal Mattress Stitch!



Threading through the stitches.........





Now remember, I am sewing the pieces together OPPOSITE of what the link instructs you to do. In other words, if I worked the seam "correctly", the edge of the pillow would look flat like the picture above. Instead, I've created a crease like in the image below.

Pretty neat huh?? Of course my mother enjoyed it!! And I obviously enjoyed making it ;) It didn't take very long (to my surprise) and I did it in the midst of creating some baby shower invitations. Don't worry, I am creating a tutorial for that too!

Hope this helps you become inspired to create some soft and fluffy little creations of your own!

P.S. I'm spoiled and my other half is letting me get a subscription to Crochet Today! Plus, I splurged and picked up this gianormous magazine published in the UK, The Crochet Collection. I'm SUPER excited to try some of the MANY new patterns I have collected in just these two magazines!

Feeling Colorful

The flowers are going crazy now that the sun is out! And since I have a tendency to be unsuccessful with plants, the ones that survive, I am going to share :) Plus, there are babies and weddings in the air (did I mention we are engaged?!?! EXCITED!) and that makes everything a little more beautiful!







This one is my favorite :)





The ring!!!



Soooooo, with all that excitement, expect to see more baby crafts and an addition of wedding crafts/ideas!

DIY Tutorial: Seasonal Wreath

Here is a DIY craft that is super cute, super easy and super fast to put together.

I'm calling it "Seasonal" for a couple of reasons. The first one, is that the flowers are from the Clearance rack and contain Summer, Spring and Fall (I always LOVE a deal)!! The second one, is that I think it would look cute year round!

So let's get started!!!

Supplies:

• Twig Wreath 8" (or desired size)
• Floral Stems (of your choice)
• Wire Cutters
• Hot Glue Gun

To start, I laid out my floral stems and trimmed them using my wire cutters. For the larger flowers, I left about a 1-2" stem, but for the smaller ones, I trimmed them closer to the base of the flower. However, how you trim your flowers should be what works best for you.

Now that all your flowers are trimmed to satisfaction, it's time to start arranging! Play with the wreath and the flowers to create something that is eye catching to YOU!

After you come up with an arrangement that you like, you may begin attaching the flowers to the wreath using a hot glue gun.

Once you have attached all your flowers, stand back and enjoy your masterpiece!

As you can see, I only used about 1/3 of the wreath, but feel free to cover as much (or as little!) of the wreath as you want! I even thought of adding a butterfly embellishment, but we will see..... I am kind of enjoying it just as it is :)

Sewing: Centennial Block

Would you believe that I have not touched a sewing machine in about 10 years? I can hardly believe it myself! The last time I made ANYTHING using a sewing machine, was a quilt for my Grandparents when I graduated High School in 2001 (I'm showing my age here)!! I wish I had a picture to share with you, but that will most likely have to wait until my next trip to South Dakota.....

Anywhoo.... One of my Aunts was SUPER SWEET and donated one of her sewing machines to me! For some reason, I stared at it like I had never seen a sewing machine before. Thankfully, it's like riding a bike and once you get back to it, it's like you never left!

I started with something basic, a Centennial Block. I don't know why I assumed this was basic when the pattern CLEARLY stated "Intermediate", but it worked out fine for me. Granted, not everything matches up to perfection, but I'm satisfied. I am thinking of making many more blocks out of scraps from a future DIY tutorial (keep an eye out) and possibly combining them for a random quilt.

If you like this pattern and would like to try it out for yourself, check it out here!

Getting Involved!!

I am SUPER excited to announce that I am going to be participating in my FIRST donation/contribution program using my crochet skills!! When I first started crocheting, I browsed MANY yarn sites for pattern ideas, but I also came across a large amount of organizations that work with crocheters/knitters for contributions to their causes. I look forward to creating a personal goal of donating something to EVERY cause.

Sooooo, I guess you are wondering what is going to be first on my list? Well, I shall tell you! I picked the Special Olympics of Washington 2012.

Photo credit

Red Heart was always a brand of yarn that I remember seeing when I was younger, so naturally it was the yarn of choice I turned to when I first started learning to crochet. While browsing their site, I discovered they are a sponsor of the Special Olympics across the country and work with them to create scarves for all participants associated with the Special Olympics, whether it be an athlete, family member or volunteer. 

For more information on the Special Olympics and how to contribute, click on the photo credit link above!!

I am starting on my first scarf tonight to take a break from another project and shall keep you updated with my progress! 

Busy Bee....

I feel like I am being a bad blogger with my weekly updates, but you would tire of me if I was around all the time, right?? Anywhooooo...... My excuse is that I have been a busy bee buzzing about from project to project. I just so happen to have photos as proof ;)



Soooo many motifs! But I am absolutely in LOVE with this African Flower pattern!

  
 This weekend brought about a baby shower for one of my two friends that are expecting this year! (Soooo excited!) A baby shower is apparently a GREAT reason to be creative! When I was pregnant, I adored those diaper cakes, but never got/made one. Well, that just means I must live through my friends!!



Tah-dah!

Not too bad, if I may say so myself! For the flowers, I found the tutorial through craftgawker and it linked me to Whimsical World of Laura Bird's blogspot. The tutorial for the paper flowers is here. I loved how they turned out and her directions were easy to follow. How about that bow? That was my first EVER attempt at making my own bow! I found the directions in Joanns while I was roaming around. You know, those little project idea sheets they have hanging off the shelves?? Anywhooo.....they have them online as well. Click HERE for the exact same directions online!
Now for the teeny tiny shoes. I LOVE them! I found the pattern through Ravelry and was linked to Crafty Witch's blogspot (all these new crafty blogs to follow!) and her pattern for these baby Mary Janes. I know, I know, Mary Janes aren't for boys.....but seriously, I don't think it looks girly! Do you??

And let's not let that diaper box go to waste! I came up with this idea at the last minute, so I think I could do better, but for a trial run I think it's still cute :) I filled the buggy full of all the gifts!!

I also have to share my "parting"(?) "thank you for attending" gift! It was SUPER CUTE!!



A wee mitt? Seriously, who thought of that?! CUTE!!



Adventures, Music, Food & Family All In One Weekend!

 Myself, and my little family, had quite an adventure this holiday weekend. Enjoy the ride!

Saturday 7/2/2011

It started with a friend and I heading south to the Portland, Oregon area where we explored the land, tasted the food, drank the brew, lathered in the sun and scenery and listened to some amazing music from one of our favorite bands, Modest Mouse!

Our first stop was to find Voodoo Doughnuts! Once that was accomplished, we sort of got sidetracked.....with the Saturday Market! SCORE! The market was HUGE and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the local art in every form. I failed to take pictures.... Bad me! After our leisurely stroll through the market, we decided lunch was in order before we stood in line at Voodoo (these lines are loooong) and ate at a pub down the block. I had the sandwich (hence the picture) and it was delicious!

Now for the line.....it was long, hot and entertaining to say the least! (Many interesting characters roam the streets of Portland I shall say!) After about 45 minutes in line, we had some choices to make. All yummy and visually stunning!



An inventive way to stay cool while in line!

Our next stop was at Powell's Books. One word for this place: OVERWHELMING! If you ever need a place to get lost in for a few days, this is where you need to be! I am definitely going to have to come back on a day where I don't have anything else to do. In the mean time, I got a couple stickers :) I LOVE STICKERS!!

Photo Credit



Note: The bottom sticker is from Voodoo, in case you didn't catch that ;)



Finally, we were off to Troutdale (down the freeway about 15 minutes) to McMenamins Edgefield 100th Birthday Celebration. If you have never been to McMenamins, I recommend going. There is a brewery, winery, spa, art at every turn and a beautiful garden. There was even a family with their own little glass blowing hut and a cute little pottery cottage. While taking in the scenery before the show, we explored the garden and tasted a "Ruby", a delicious concoction of hops and berries. Another YUMMY for the day!



Drinking my Ruby!



I should have taken more pictures, hopefully you get the point of how beautiful it is here!!

And now......*drum roll please*........TIME FOR SOME MUSIC!



Isaac Brock is AMAZING!




Along with the entire Modest Mouse crew!