Tinkering with Wire

  Lately, I've been tinkering with some wire. It's been a long time since I've made any kind of jewelry accessories. There are lots of tutorials and videos out there for jewelry making and I've been taking advantage as well as coming up with my own designs. Here are some of my creations. Everything is made of brass, copper, or aluminum. I haven't made my way to the more expensive metals, since I'm still experimenting.

Ear Cuffs

Ear Cuffs

Love Ring

Bead Rings

Knot Rings

Treble Ring

Perfectly Imperfect

Silver Hearts

Lil' Tree Earrings

Funky Little Bag

   Ok, this was an accomplishment for me. I used a sewing pattern for the first time, and it wasn't a total disaster! I must have bought this pattern about 2 years ago and never got the nerve to actually do it. It's just a bag, so when I brought it home I thought, how hard can this be? I pulled everything out of the package, took one look and put it right back in. It sat in my drawer for all this time. Since I've been sewing more lately, I figured it was about time to give it a try. I took my time (it took all week) and stuck through the frustrating parts. I have to say I'm pleased with the outcome.

   I think I had the most trouble with the straps and figuring out the bottom corners of the bag. The straps were a problem because for some reason I can't sew completely straight. So you can clearly see my lack of sewing skills. I'm still happy with the final piece. All I need now is a liner and it is ready to hit the road. I think I will make the inside bright orange. Since it's an afterthought, it won't be as good as if I had sewn it in before, but it will make the inside look much better. Right now I have fraying ends and seams showing on the inside.
   I thought the zipper was going to give me problems, but it was surprisingly easy. I did watch a video on zipper foots before I sewed mine. That helped a lot.

   I love how the pockets go all the way around in different sections. If I make this again, I might do something different with the straps. Maybe make a long tube, so I don't have that middle (crooked) seam showing all the way through. 

Sparkle Cloche

  I made this sparkly crochet cloche using my free Classic Cloche pattern. The pictures really don't do it justice. It is quite stunning, yet so simple and classy. I haven't found the perfect adornment yet. I'm thinking something in deep red. Maybe a ribbon or a flower. To make this piece, I used Hobby Lobby's I Love this Yarn! Metallic. I added a couple extra rows, and in the last row I added an increase every 10th stitch to give it a little more flair.

Show & Tell

  I hope everyone had a great holiday and is refreshed for the new year. My first post of the year, will be a show & tell of projects that were done with my free patterns. I haven't done them in a long time and I have fallen way behind. Please forgive me if I said I will post your pictures and didn't get around to it. The link to my free patterns is at the top of the blog page. Feel free to do as you wish with your finished items. I would greatly appreciate a link back to my blog if you post or sell your items.

  First up is Alice's beanie hats. She used the Quick Easy Winter Beanie pattern for gifts and for donating to Emily's Hats for Hope Initiative.  Want to help donate? Check out her website to find out more about Emily and her project for helping the homeless and working poor.

  Next is Juliana's beautiful headwarmers. The Easy Headwarmer Pattern has a video tutorial to help you crochet along. I love her flowers and black and white theme. I'm not sure what pattern she used for the flowers, but they are lovely.

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

Jamrock Earrings

  As I was making my latest rasta tam, I started playing with the yarn to see if I could make the flag in different sizes for other accessories. I was trying to come up with a different way of making the "x" with the yellow yarn. On the hat I made it with a single crochet, stitching the two colors together with the yellow. This time I made a whip stitch using a needle. I used a size E crochet hook for the green and black. I came up with these cute earrings. They are a great accessory to go along with the tam.