Christmas Crochet for Hearth, Home & Tree - review & giveaway!

Today, I'm really excited to take part in a fun blog tour for a new Christmas crochet book, Christmas Crochet for Hearth, Home & Tree by Edie Eckmen! I was thrilled to be asked to take part because I love crocheting for Christmas and this book is full of great projects to crochet for the season.

I flipped through the book the minute I got my hands on it, it's put together so well, it's one I know I will flip through many more times. The patterns in this book are divided into three sections; for the Hearth, for the Home and for the Tree. Each pattern is written very clearly and there are easy to read charts as well for those who like to follow charts.

There are so many great projects to choose from in all skill levels, I think every crocheter would find something to crochet! You have stockings to fit in with every style, they're all easy to customize to your Christmas decor. There's also great ornaments to crochet and there are a lot of snowflake patterns, I think any of them would look great on the tree or even as gift toppers. There's even a fun advent garland with mini stockings and mittens, included is also a great guide to crochet many different styled stockings and mitts. You can see all the patterns on the ravelry page here.

I knew that I was going to crochet something from the book to show off and I had a hard time deciding what that project would be! I finally decided to crochet a stocking, I've been thinking of adding in a new stocking or two for a couple years now. There are 9 different patterns for stockings to choose from, I decided to go with the Mix-and-Match stockings. It was such a quick project to crochet and I'm so happy with the outcome, I still have a letter to add once I figure out who gets this one!


Want to win a copy of Christmas Crochet? Storey Publishing is offering up a copy to one of my readers! Just fill out the rafflecopter to be entered to win, the only manditory entry is to comment here on this blog post answering this question: What is your favorite thing to crochet at Christmas time? I've added a few extra ways to get entries as well, those are all optional! The giveaway is open to US & Canada and ends on November 17th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks for stopping by today, make sure to stop by and visit all the other blogs on the tour as well! You'll have more chances to win a copy of the book!

3-Nov Don't Eat the Paste
4-Nov Moogly Blog
5-Nov Liberty's Yarn
7-Nov Rambling Designs
10-Nov Plus 3 Crochet
11-Nov Crochet Dynamite
12-Nov Jenn Likes Yarn
13-Nov Crochet Nirvana
14-Nov Yarning4aSmile

Crochet Boutique winner!

Good morning! Time to announce the winner of the Crochet Boutique giveaway! Thanks to everyone for the comments on my project bag and the entries. I used random.org again to choose the winner and the winner is:

Alycia!
Congrats Alycia! I'll be emailing you shortly.

crochet boutique (& giveaway!)

I was recently given the opportunity by Lark Crafts to review a new crochet book. It's called Crochet Boutique: 30 Simple, Stylish Hats, Bags & Accessories written by Rachael Oglesby of Softspoken. Just from the cover, I knew it was one I wanted to check out and when I got it, I was right, it's full of projects I want to make!

This book is really well put together, I liked the photography and the way each pattern was set up. It's very pretty to even just flip through! Each pattern tells you the skill level, which most are either easy or beginner. I especially love the section on 'basic stitches & techniques', it has illustrations to show you how to do stitches. I don't really need those anymore but I love to look at them!

There's a great mix of patterns in here, you can see all the projects here on the ravelry page. This book is great for fall weather though, so many projects perfect for the season! I want to have a few finished soon since it's starting to cool down.

The first project from this book that I decided to try was the Bamboo Handle Bag. I unfortunately couldn't get my hands on an oval bamboo handle like the pattern calls for, so I settled on round plastic ones. I got them with my 50% off coupon at Michaels, so I'm not too upset. Next time though, I will order handles online!

I used Loops & Threads Charisma yarn in chocolate cupcake, I love the colors in this yarn! The pattern was easy to follow too, I only spent a couple hours on this one. I'm using it now as a project bag for a knitting project I'm working on (I haven't shared it yet but I will soon, it's getting so big already!).


Are you interested in this book? Want to win a copy? Lark Crafts was generous enough to offer a copy to giveaway to one of my readers! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post, be sure to include your email address so I can get in touch with you if you are the winner! This one is only open to those living in the US or Canada this time.

Which project would you start with if you win! (see them here)

I will announce the winner on Sunday, September 16th! Good luck!

giveaway winner!

I didn't mean to take so long to announce the winner of the giveaway but I haven't been able to sit down at the computer too much this past week. Anyway, I used random.org to find a winner and it came up with -

14
The 14th comment was winkieflash! Congrats Wink! She gets to choose one potholder from my shop.

Since I wasn't able to be at the computer, I didn't get my new blog layout up or even close to finished. Hopefully I'll start feeling better and get it finished soon! I did manage to get a potholder finished this week though, I'll share that soon and probably add it to the shop later in the week.

Have a great day!

giveaway!

So, I was in the middle of putting together a new look for the blog and I realized that the blog turned 2 earlier this month! I've decided to do a little giveaway to mark the 2 years, it's been quite awhile since I've done one!

I'm going to giveaway one potholder from my new shop, winners choice. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post, any comment, just make sure your email is attached to your comment so I have a way of contacting you if you win. One entry per person and this is open to anyone in the world.

I'll leave the giveaway open until September 1st and maybe by then I will have a new layout up here!

500 follower giveaway winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered to win my 500 follower giveaway! I gained a few more followers since starting the giveaway, welcome to all my new followers!

The winner of the giveaway according to random.org is #35... Kat! Congrats Kat! I will be emailing you shortly, if you don't hear from me though, send me an email!

halloween lovey winner

Time to pick a winner of the halloween lovey doll! According to random.org the winner is... Venus! Congrats! I'll get an email out to you shortly.

Thanks to everyone for entering, there's still time to enter the 500 follower giveaway.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

halloween lovey (& giveaway!)

I love fall and I love Halloween! It's my favorite season and holiday to decorate and craft for, so I will probably be sharing quite a few fall/Halloween projects this month.

As soon as I saw this Halloween Lovey Doll in the Sept/Oct issue of Crochet Today, I knew I was going to make it. The day I got the magazine, I pulled out a bunch of cotton and crocheted it!


He turned out pretty cute I think! I used a size 5 hook and these colors: hot orange, mod green, white, brown, black, tangerine. The only thing that I changed from the pattern is the feet, I thought they would look too funny, so I didn't bother making any.

The problem is, the only babies around here are newborn and won't get any use out of it this Halloween time. So, I'm going to do a quick giveaway for this cute lovey.

Anyone can enter to win, I'll ship anywhere. Just leave a comment letting me know you want it. You can share this giveaway for extra entries (twitter, facebook, pinterest, etc), leave another comment for each share. I'll randomly pick a winner on Saturday, October 8th.

Don't forget to enter my 500 follower giveaway as well!

500 follower giveaway!

Here it is, the 500 follower giveaway! I can't believe that I've even reached that number (and passed it now!), thank you to every one of you who visits and comments here, I enjoy reading every comment you leave.

But, on to the real reason you came here today, the goodies! Here's what I'm giving away to one lucky follower:


I made a flea market bag using this pattern, I used some pretty aqua yarn to make it, the pictures are showing it as more of a blue but it is so much prettier in person. In the bag, I've added a couple of pretty African Flower dishcloths and 3 skeins of some of my favorite cotton yarns; tangerine, mod green and off white (which I swear used to be called cream, I think they changed that with the label change). There might end up being a couple extra goodies not shown here, I've had a rough time finding certain things I wanted to add. But, for now this is what is up for grabs!


To win these goodies, you need to be a follower of my blog, leave me a comment letting me know that you are one. If you'd like an extra entry, leave me another comment letting me know how long you've been following my blog and how you found me.

The giveaway is open everywhere! I'll announce the winner on October 15th. Good luck everyone and thank you for visiting!!

mandala winner!

The winner as chosen by random.org is #40, that's Allison! Congrats! I'll be emailing you shortly.Thank you to everyone who entered and left really nice comments!

spring time mandala potholder (giveaway!)

** GIVEAWAY CLOSED **


It's been a long time coming but I finally have a giveaway for you! It's been quite some time since I've had one, probably well over a year. I've gotten a lot of new followers over the past year, it's been so great to chat with other crocheters and discover new blogs. I really like to read all the comments I get every time I post, I am really shocked every time someone new visits. So, finally I have a little thank you.

As you probably already know, if you've been visiting for awhile, I like (love) to make granny mandala potholders! I whipped one up to giveaway here on the blog.


I'm calling this one the 'spring time potholder', it feels very springy to me.

Want it? Leave me a comment on this post along with a way to get in touch with you if you win, no extra hoops to jump through. I'll randomly choose a winner on Monday, May 9th. This giveaway is open for anyone worldwide.