Show & Tell, Head Warmer

I love Show & Tell! Allie made a beautiful head warmer using my pattern and she was so kind to send pictures of the final piece.

Get the free head warmer pattern here. 

Have you made something from one of my patterns? I would love to see it, email me!

Show & Tell, Mermaid Tail

Melissa sent me a beautiful picture of her final mermaid tail! I love the colors she used. This seems to be a really popular pattern.

Do you want to make one for yourself or a loved one? Click here for the free pattern. 

Have you made something from one of my patterns? I would love to see it, email me!

Crochet Neck Warmers

I've been so busy with school (mine and the kids) lately that I haven't had time to update my blog. I was able to crochet some small projects. I have to keep my sanity somehow, right? My friend asked me to make a neck warmer for her and this is what I came up with.

She wanted a simple design that she can slip over her head in a neutral color that goes with pretty much anything. I found the pattern on ravelry.com called "Super Easy Textured Neck Warmer" by Paige Buffone. It really was super easy. I made mine a little shorter than the pattern because my friend did not want it to be too bulky. I had the yarn for a while, it is Caron Sheepish and the color is Gun Metal(ish). I think she'll be happy with it.

After seeing this pin while searching through some neck warmers on Pinterest, I also made this neck warmer.

I used a Red Heart Super Saver Yarn , Black that I had on hand. I crocheted a rectangle with a basket weave stitch, then sewed the end to the side of the other end to create the shape. I like how it turned out. It looks like you are wearing a sweater when worn with a jacket. This took a little longer than the first neck warmer, but still quick to work up.

I have one more neck warmer that I made sometime last year. I never got around to taking pictures or blogging about it. It was a free pattern that came to me in the mail. Unfortunately I don't have the pattern anymore but I think it was a Lion Brand pattern. It is a cowl and can be worn as a hood to keep you extra warm. It was a fairly simple pattern using mostly double crochet and chain stitches made in a rectangle then sewn together to make a circle. I believe the yarn was Spinrite Simply Soft Heather Yarn, Soft Grey.

Show & Tell Mermaid Tail

Here's another show and tell project. This one is made from my mermaid fin pattern. Donna sent me a picture of her beautiful finished mermaid tail. She added some wire so the fin will keep it's shape. Brilliant! I wish I could make the picture bigger to show off the details. Thank's for sending the pic, Donna!

Do you want to make one for yourself or a loved one? Click here for the free pattern. 

Have you made something from one of my patterns? I would love to see it, email me!

Show & Tell Classic Cloche

Check out Kimmy's lovely classic cloche! I love her braided adornment, it makes it unique. Very nice job! Thanks so much for sending the pics of your finished product. Do you want to make your own? Click here for the free pattern.

 Have you made a project using one of my free patterns? I would love to see it. Email me!

More American Girl Doll Clothes

  Here is the blue and silver dress I was working on. I wish it was this quick to make clothes for myself! This dress pattern can be found on ravelry.com. It is Classic Navy Girl Dress by Dash of Bella. The silver chain can be removed and a ribbon or something else can be added to give it a different look. 

  The headband is also by Dash of Bella and is a free ravelry download found at this link. I made a blue one and a silver one since they were so quick to work up. I also added some bling to the silver one to match the shoes. 

  For the shoes, I used part of Whistle & Ivy's free pattern called Little Dot Mary Janes. I used the newborn size. They can be found on the site here. They also have a ton of adorable baby shoe crochet patterns on that site. I've made some before in a previous post. 

Show & Tell Crochet Tie

Here is a lovely picture from Sue of a tie that was crocheted as a gift for Father's day! Very stylish! She made the bottom of the tie square instead of the triangular shape that the pattern makes. I know I've said it before, but that's what I love about crocheting - the versatility.

Get the free pattern here!

                  Have you made a project using one of my free patterns? I would love to see it. Email me!

American Girl Doll Clothes

  Recently I've been reminiscing about my doll playing days. If they were around when I was a kid, I would have wanted an American Girl Doll. It would've been one of those things I really wanted, but could never get because of the cost (kinda like that cabbage patch kid I never got).

  Anyway, I'm here to talk about the cute little outfits I made for my coworker's daughter. She just got an American Girl for her birthday. I told my coworker that I may be able to make something for her, so we looked at some patterns on Ravelry and he had his daughter pick some out. I didn't have a doll, so using a pattern would take all the guess work out of sizing.

  I still wanted a doll, so I could maybe practice my sewing skills sometime and have a little model for sizing. Luckily my neighbor found an 18" doll that's been in her daughter's daycare for a couple months. No one has claimed it, so they said she can have it. She knew I was looking for one so I can take pictures of my work. That worked out really well. Also, since her daughter isn't really into dolls, she parted with it quite easily.

  The pattern that was used for this adorable dress is found on Ravelry.com called American Girl Doll Summer Dress by Danielle Bonacquisti. The hat was inspired by a free pattern called Ice Queen Hat Pattern by Mango Tree Crafts and can be found here. I used the pattern for the base of the hat, then I made a floppy brim to finish it off. The shoes were made with a free pattern as well, but I cannot seem to find it. If I happen to find it again, I will update this post with the link.

  Isn't she adorable? More little clothes to come. I'm working on a blue and silver dress. 

Show & Tell Floppy Sun Hat

Check out this lovely Floppy Sun Hat created by Priscilla! Thanks so much for sending the picture!

Get the free pattern here.

                Have you made a project using one of my free patterns? I would love to see it. Email me! 

Crochet Baby Shoes

  I've been working on some really cute baby shoes lately. My cousin requested some faux Converse, then some baby boat shoes. Then I got another request for some girly baby shoes, so I made the little mary janes. They are all so cute! You can find links to the free patterns below.

  The Converse shoes were a little intimidating, and being that I haven't had a little one in a while, I forgot how big a 6 month old foot would be. The first pair that I made were way too big. They were most likely a 1 year old size. I used a pattern that I found on Ravelry. The yarn I used was bigger than what the pattern called for and so was my hook. Since it was my first try, they weren't so cute either. I guess they were cute enough that my neighbor wanted to take them home, so now they are gone. On my second try I found another free download on Ravelry. This time the sneakers may be a little on the small side, but at least they will stretch a little. The first pic is unfinished (missing the stripe) but it shows how tiny they are in my hand.

  Next up are the baby boat shoes. My cousin decided that she also wanted some of these little cuties for her little one. The pattern is from Whistle and Ivy. It is an awesome blog well worth checking out. I used the size for a 6-9 month old baby. They are a little bigger than the sneakers, but not much so either I crochet too tight, or they are just right. I guess we'll find out. These shoes took a little assembling, but overall not very difficult. The blog also has links to her videos to go along with her patterns for the visual learners.

  Last by certainly not least are the baby mary janes. The pattern is from the same website as the boat shoes so the sole is made similar but this shoe is worked in the round. They were really quick to work up too. I guess the only thing that slowed me down was finding buttons small enough. My mom requested these for someone's baby. These are also made with the size 6-9  month instructions.

Polymer Clay Lace Necklace

Here is one of the clay projects that I made. I found a video tutorial online for making clay lace. It looks more complicated than it really is. I don't have images of making it, but basically you take a tube of clay and wrap a flat piece of another color around it. Then you take that tube, cut it into smaller pieces and roll them together to form a larger tube. For a visual explanation, check out this video. It's not the one I learned with, but it's the same concept and I think I like it better.

For the actual pendant, I used slices from my clay lace cane and put them together side by side to make the size I wanted. I cut smaller pieces to fill the holes because since they were circles, they didn't fit together. I did it on top of another piece of clay so it would have a black backing. I cut everything out with a small round cookie cutter and baked it on a ceramic tile. Next time I'll try to remember to take more pictures.

The beads are also clay that I just moulded into oval shapes. I like the marble effect, but I'm not sure if they really blend well together with the lace pattern.

Have you experimented with polymer clay? I got my clay at Walmart for less than a dollar per color. You can also get color samples online. If you didn't know, Amazon is my favorite store!

Zipper Pouch

  Lately I've been playing with clay and practicing sewing with a few projects. I found this video by Melly Sews for creating a lined zipper pouch. She does a great job explaining everything. I made this pouch to hold all my new clay tools. I don't have that many, but I wanted to keep them all together. It would do no good to add more mess to my messy craft room, so a sewing project and a bit of organizing is great for me. I'll show off some of my clay creations in another post.

   I used one of those Single Fat Quarter cotton pieces that you can get at Walmart or you can get them in bulk online at Amazon. The one I used was 18 by 21 inches, and was more than enough fabric. For the lining, I used a piece of cotton from an old bed sheet. The corners next to the zipper are a little weird, but it looks like it was done on purpose, so no biggie.

   Speaking of that old bed sheet... It was a king sized sheet and gave me lots of fabric to practice on. I made a few of these aprons, and I still have more to play with. I used the scraps from my Fat Quarter to make a small pocket. The sheet was going to end up in the trash since it had a huge hole in it, so why not upcycle?

Refashioned Beach Dress

  Do you ever go to the beach and end up buying stuff you'll never use? ..or is that just me? Well, if you haven't guessed, I bought this dress on a beach trip. I don't even remember which beach. Everything seems to look better at the beach. Maybe if you live on a beach you wouldn't think so, but I don't and in fact, it is snowing here, right now.

  I love the fabric, but I didn't really like the top part of this dress. I'm not so busty and can't pull it off, so I decided to turn it into a maxi skirt.

  First, I held the dress against me to the length I wanted it. I folded the top and cut at that point.  It came out to be 3 inches shy of what I would cut a maxi skirt for myself at, but I'm going to use part of the top as a waistband.

  After cutting, I had to make my lines a little straighter and cut one seam so I can make it smaller.

  I made it to be 4 inches smaller than my waist because the material is really stretchy. Then I sewed the band closed again to make a circle and folded in half lengthwise with right side out. I tried to hand baste a loose straight stitch, but ended up taking it out because it didn't allow the material to stretch enough to pin it to the skirt.

  I think this is the hardest part for me - putting these two pieces together. I placed the band on the outside of the skirt and evenly pinned the two together. Sewing was a pain because I had to stretch the band as I went to match up with the skirt. I guess I need more practice with that because I had a couple holes. I had to go back over to get it right.

   I think I got it right, and I'm diggin' my new skirt! I don't know what I'm gonna do with the top part. I'm past the days when I would wear it like that! Maybe I'll make some type of headpiece.

Sweater Refashion

   I realize that to get better at sewing, I'm going to have to practice. I refashioned one of my husband's old sweaters into a skirt. I didn't take enough pictures to make a tutorial, but click here for a link to one with really cute skirts. I should've put elastic in the wasteband, but other than that, I think it looks cute!

   Next was my weekend project. I wanted a cowl neck hoodie. I used a couple sweatshirts that I had as a pattern. I am very happy with how it turned out. Not so bad for a beginner, and it's something that I would actually wear in public! I must say that fleece is very forgiving.

Show & Tell Crochet Tie

  This picture was sent to me this week. She made it her own with slight width variations. I love the colors she used and how they blend together. Check it out! Get the pattern here.

Have you made a project using one of my free patterns? I would love to see it. Email me!