scrap blanket: FO

I don't crochet many toys anymore, I actually closed my shop at the beginning of the year and got rid of all the toys and blankets that I had left over. I'm not sure what exactly made me cut it out of my life so drastically but it has made me feel better not having any of it around anymore. I may go back to selling at some point though because I do still love to crocheting for other people. I do know that I want to crochet with yarn that is not acrylic, I've started to not enjoy the feeling of it and the fact that it will pill so quickly sometimes.

I decided that I wanted to get my acrylic stash out of here too. Even though I said I didn't want anymore blankets made out of acrylic yarn, I had no idea what else I could do with the amount of yarn I had in my stash. So, I started a blanket! Hah. My kids do love all the blankets that we have here though, so I know that it's going to get tons of use. I started this one in January and finished it last week.


I used a v-stitch pattern found on this blog for this big blanket. I crocheted strips of the pattern that I later crocheted together, I started with white stripes alternating with color. I ran really low on white after the first two strips, so for the last two, I just did all color. I am really happy with how it looks all joined up. The finished size of the blanket is 65X56", a good snuggling size.


The blanket used up over 2500 yards of yarn! I still had some yarn left after I finished it and it was probably enough yarn to crochet another strip but there there were only a few colors that had decent amounts for a row or two. It would have bored me too much to keep using the same colors over and over, so I decided to join what was left into a big magic ball. I joined all the yarn with the russian join method. I'm not sure what I will end up making with it, possibly a big toy.

I now have an empty drawer that used to be overflowing with yarn, it feels really great to have it all cleared out. Although now I just want to buy more yarn to fill it up again! That seems to always be the way it goes when it comes to yarn. I hope you're all having a great weekend and that you didn't get as much snow as we got here!

my week & WIPs

This last week was Spring Break for my kids, we ended up dealing with a lot of sickness unfortunately though. My son got it first and the worst, I ended up taking him into the hospital. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, they gave him medication that worked insanely fast. We walked in with him passing out constantly and crying in pain to walking out with him hyper and talking my ear off. I was definitely relieved after that visit, he was still pretty sick after the medicine wore off but he was still a lot better and after a couple days, he was back to normal. So while dealing with sick kids, I didn't get too much crochet or knitting done, just a bit here and there.


I crocheted a few rows into my v-stitch blanket. That basket used to be overflowing with yarn, it's now only half full, the other half is where the rest of the blanket is sitting. I'm so close to be through it all, it's exciting!


I've also been knitting on my sock a little bit, I have one tube done so far. I can't wait to get the heels on them and then wear them! I'm knitting with my Knit Picks sock needles, I wanted to try them out after using another pair of their needles in a larger size. They're now my favorite pair, I find my Knitter's Pride needles to be far too sharp for my liking now.


Thought I would pop a picture of my cat George in here too, I haven't shared anything about him in a very long time. I think he might be full size by now, he's huge! The spring weather has gotten to him, he runs wild around the house and spends a lot of time staring out the window at the birds. It's really entertaining to watch him be so crazy.

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

on hooks & needles: April

crochet:


I am determined to get this v-stitch stash busting crochet blanket finished. I alternated color with white in my first two sections and now I have very little of it left, so the next two sections are going to be all color. My stash has gotten very small, so I'm running out of a lot of colors but I'm still trying to keep the colors as random as I can, it's not so easy anymore. I'm crocheting the two last sections at the same time to try to keep the color spread around, if I didn't, I think the last section would probably be maybe two or three colors. I'm so excited that my yarn stash has reduced so much! A part of me didn't think I could actually ever get to the bottom of it.

After this is finished, I'm going to be joining the smaller bits of yarns that I still have into one big magic ball. Hopefully it will make a nice sized toy.


knit:


For my April socks, I decided not to choose a paper bag but instead knit a pair of socks that I've been itching to cast on. I'm using my left over Spun Right Round yarn in the So Over the Rainbow colorway and my Mellifera Yarns Merino Twist Sock in the Raven colorway. I've wanted to knit a pair like this since seeing this pair over on ravelry.


I'm still knitting a patterned sock, this one is Diagonal Lace Sock, it's a free pattern. I think the pattern almost looks like rain falling, so it goes well with the rainbow toes. I'll be knitting an afterthought heel for this pair.


Some knitting on my Scrappy Hue Shift has been happening! This one can be very addicting and hard to put aside but I'm slowing down again because I will be running out of minis again. Last month, I won an etsy gift card from CraftyRie's blog, so I decided to spend it on new mini skeins. When I started this blanket, I bought a bunch of mini skeins from NikkiSlipp on etsy and I loved knitting with them, so I checked her shop first and she had some new colors that I hadn't used yet. Her yarns are so gorgeous, I really wish I could buy full skeins from her right now, like this one or this or this or this! Seriously, go check out her shop, she's really a great seller!

I'm really glad that DPN's come in a pack of 5 and that I enjoy the cheap brand!
swapping:

I'm also participating in a swap this month, I'm trying to be a lot more choosy with them this year after being burned a couple times last year. This one is a Spring Swap, it's being held in Liesl's Buckaloo View group on ravelry. I have no spoilery pictures to share right now, I'm kind of bad with giving stuff away I think, I don't know how much is too much to share without giving it away completely! I've had a lot of fun gathering and knitting or crocheting (not telling!) for my partner. I'll be sure to snap a picture of what I send her before I mail it out so that I can share it here!

Hope you're all having a lovely day!

owl wall hangings

You've probably noticed if you've been visiting this blog for awhile that I have been in a crochet slump this year, I have only crocheted a few times. Last week though, I had a real urge to just crochet something. A couple years ago, I crocheted an over-sized owl wall hanging that I just loved! After crocheting it, I really wanted to have a smaller one as well but never got around to making it. I decided that a small owl wall hanging would be a perfect quick project to satisfy my urge.


I used a size 3.75mm hook and some left over yarn from a pair of socks I knit last year, it's Spun Right Round in Graffiti. It's a super busy yarn, so you can't really see all the stitch definition but I still think it looks great. The eyes don't photograph very well, they don't really look right but in real life they look perfect. For the sticks, I trimmed down a couple of bamboo skewers. The finished size of the owl, including the fringe is 7.5 inches. Seriously cute!


There's quite the size difference between my first and second owl, I love it. My first owl's fringe is a lot more frayed than it was when I first made it. Our cat used to love jumping at it as a kitten, that thrill has worn off thankfully now though, he just stands up and reaches it easily, less fun.

The pattern I used can be found here on ravelry.

P.S. Happy first day of Spring!

recent FOs

For Valentine's Day, I crocheted these fun hearts for my kids. You can get the pattern free from FreshStitches here. I made the medium size and added googly eyes to make them more fun. I hadn't planned on crocheting any toys for the kids but my son woke up late the night before and asked me if I had crocheted them new toys for Valentine's Day, he was pretty upset thinking that I didn't. He 100% made me feel guilty! Ha. So, I stayed up far too late crocheting these cuties.


I also finished up this hot water bottle cover, just in time for it to be of use! I used a free pattern that you can find here. I held three strands of Loops & Threads Woolike yarn together, the colors are charcoal, cool grey and beige. I love the fabric the three yarns created!


Thanks for stopping by :) Have a great day!

right now on hooks & needles (& upcoming)

crochet

Sometime last year I figured out that I really don't enjoy the feel of acrylic blankets anymore. I don't hate them but they're just not so nice on my hands. My kids still love them and use them, so all the blankets I've crocheted in the past have nothing to fear! I'm also thinking of crocheting toys using something else soon too, so I have a big stash of acrylic just sitting in the closet that I need to do something about.


So, of course, I started a blanket! It was really the only thing I could think of to quickly use the stash up, although it doesn't seem like it's made a huge dent yet. I'm crocheting a V-Stitch blanket, using Le Monde De Sucrette's pattern. I'm crocheting different width sections and will be joining them up, either while crocheting or after... I haven't gotten that far yet. I have lots of white and off white yarn, so I'm alternating rows with those colors. So far, I'm liking the look of it. I've finished one section, it's going to be a big blanket, it measures from my feet to my shoulders.

knit

I'm knitting a cover for a hot water bottle, something I've wanted to have for quite a long time. I'm knitting it using some Woolike yarn I had bought last year, I'm holding three strands of yarn. It's making a really nice fabric. The pattern I'm using is free and can be found here. Since I don't have a lot of needles yet, I'm only using one needle size, so I upped the stitch count a little.


Not too long ago, I added to my Scrappy Hue Shift blanket. I still see this as a very long term project, I'm out of sock yarn to use again. I think I'll let it sit for a couple months, so I can get at least more than 2 squares added before stashing it again.


upcoming

I gathered up supplies to cross stitch this design from Satsuma Street. I'm hoping to find some time to start soon, it's been on my list for quite some time!


Besides the cross stitch, I have my February socks to get started on next week. I'm surprised I made it all the way to now without just ripping a brown bag open to knit some socks, I've been craving some sock knitting. Over the weekend, I'll be picking my bag out.

I hope you have a great weekend!

all the Christmas crochet...

Christmas is over! How was yours, I hope you all had a great holiday with your families. Ours was good, loud and fun, as it always is. I'm happy to be done with the chaos for another year though. I thought I would finally get a post up about what I crocheted this season, since I seem to have completely forgotten to get it done before!


I crocheted a fun Christmas Nelson Owl. I've been using a G hook for my amigurumi lately and I'm finding everything turns out so much more adorable! Maybe it's the tighter fabric or the smaller size of it but I love it, I think I may be sticking with the G hook from now on! This cutie stayed perched on our Christmas tree.



I loved the big owl so much that I decided I would make tiny Christmas Nel's for my kid's yearly ornaments. I finished crocheting all the pieces with plently of time to get them done before Christmas Eve when I give out the new ornaments every year, but I didn't actually sew them together until that day. I am a major procrastinator! I finished them with just enough time to get them wrapped up for the kids to open before we went out to look at Christmas lights. These are probably my favorite ornaments that I have ever given to the kids!


Another project I crocheted for Christmas is this adorable snowflake! It's a new FreshStitches pattern called Sally the Snowflake. I loved making this piece! She'll be up for the duration of winter, I love her so much!

That's all I have in pictures this year. I didn't crochet any gifts this year, I thought I would make toys for the kids but I never sat down to make real plans, so it never happene. I did knit a coffee cozy but forgot to get a picture of it. I really loved knitting it, so I'll probably knit a few more eventually! That's all I've got for today, I'll probably be back soon, probably before the new year, to share my December socks! I know I wasn't going to knit any this month, but the itch got the better of me!

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

hat season!

We had snow fall the other night! It didn't stick around but I love that it's almost here! It's been hat season for a few weeks now, mornings have been cool enough for them (mitts too!).


My oldest has been asking for a hat since I crocheted a pink one last year and a full year later, I finally crocheted one! I used the Natalie Super Slouch pattern. My daughter really likes blue, so I made hers with blue, white and grey stripes.


Hats are such fun, quick projects. There will be more hats made soon, possibly even a knit one!

Monster Tooth Fairy Pillow

My son has started loosing teeth, so far just one but he has another ready to come out soon! It's crazy to think he's gotten old enough for that, I supposed most parents feel that way about their kids, especially the youngest ones. He turned six last month... again, crazy!

With the first tooth, he used his sister's tooth fairy pillow but I wanted him to have one of his own. I planned on crocheting a pillow like his sisters have (here & here) but I wanted something a bit different for him. I decided to crochet a monster instead.


I am really happy with how he turned out! I was a bit worried in the beginning because he was looking a bit like cookie monster but after I added the horns and wings, he became his own monster!


I added yellow pointy teeth to the pocket to hold the lost tooth and money of course. I didn't write down the pattern as I crocheted him but I'm going to attempt it again, I think my girls might like a monster tooth fairy pillow also!

Thanks for stopping by today, hope you all have a great weekend! Stop by and check out my shop on big cartel, It's Crochet. I'm just testing it out for a bit, so there are only five listings up right now. I do like how it looks better than etsy so far but there's a thing or two I need to figure out with it still. But, do check it out!

recent customer orders & BIG weekend coupon code!

One of my recent orders wasn't a toy! I was a little hesitant to accept this one, just because I'm just so used to toy orders but the pattern is too adorable to pass up. It's called the Baylie Bear Cowl by the Velvet Acorn. There are so many gorgeous knit and crochet patterns to find there!


I crocheted this out of Loops & Threads Cozy Wool in the mushroom colorway, the yarn is incredibly soft and nice to work with. I decided to try out a crocheted button instead of sewing a wooden one to the cowl, it ended up cuter than I imagined!


Another order I finished up recently was for these two sweet dolls. I used the Daphne Doll pattern but modify it slightly for the dolls to wear dresses.



If you're interested in anything in my shop, this weekend is a good weekend to buy! I've decided to offer free shipping (to anywhere!) for this weekend! You just need to type in 'FREESHIP' when you get to the checkout! This code won't come around too often because of such high shipping costs, so take advantage!

That's all I've got for today, hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Halloween banners

I decided to crochet and try to sell a few Halloween banners, another way to help save up for surgery. I have a little update on that, I finally have a consultation date in November and then I can find out the surgery date. Thankfully the pain has subsided quite a bit, so I'm not feeling near as miserable as I was!

Anyway, I crocheted some pretty cute banners for Halloween. Each banner has it's own spooky cutie on it! The pattern for the bats is Igor the Tiny Bat by FreshStitches. For the ghost and spider, I constructed them pretty much like the bats, I think they both turned out adorable! The letters are a pattern by Jenny Brown.

They're all listed on my instagram page for purchase right now, as of this very moment, they are all still available. Later today, I will probably add them to the It's Crochet etsy shop. If you don't want to go through either of those ways to purchase, just send me an email (itscrochet@gmail.com)!







Thanks for stopping by today!

Tackling WIPs update

I thought I would give a little update on my WIP progress today! I think I'm doing pretty well, I've only cast on one project during this KAL/CAL I'm participating in (happening in the My Sister's Knitter rav group). I've even finished that project, I'll share that soon :)

I finished up my crocheted cowl that I was working on. I really love this, I'll be working on getting the pattern written up soon. I used Loops & Threads Woolike to make this, it's a fingering weight acrylic, it's incredibly soft! I'll be making more projects using the yarn soon.


I also finished up my first pair of self striping socks! I used yarn called The Slutty Pumpkin by Nomadic Yarns on etsy. I absolutely love this color-way, it's so fun! This is the fourth pair of socks I've knit since I learned this year. I did an afterthought heel to keep the stripes even. I am in love with this heel now, it fits perfectly, so I will definitely be using it more!


The next WIP I hope to get finished is my Camp Out Mitts, my daughter is asking daily if they're done yet. Gotta get working on them!

Tackling WIPs KAL/CAL

There's another KAL/CAL happening in the My Sister's Knitter ravelry group. We're tackling our WIPs this time around! I'm actually not working on all that I have, I still have two long term projects, my Scrappy Hue Shift and Colour Punch. I have no clue when I will ever finish those! And I don't want to pressure myself to get those done within a time frame. Other WIPs not included are projects that probably won't ever see the light of day again. Sad. I've got a nice mix of crochet and knit projects to work on.

My crochet projects are:

* My Hexie Color Pop blanket that I started last month.
* A cowl in a really pretty gold color, I'm working on writing the pattern out and getting some good pictures, so I can release a pattern for it soon.
* The grey strip is for the Angela cardigan, I don't even remember when I started it anymore! I just hope that I get it done in this KAL/CAL!

My knit projects are:

* My Slutty Pumpkin socks. Still loving the stripes!
* I cast on Camp Out Fingerless Mitts the night before the KAL/CAL started. I'm using my Crazy Zauberball for them. Sadly, they won't fit me. I need to adjust my tension or needle size for the next pair. My daughter loves them and they fit her perfectly, so I'm not ripping them out, she gets them.

I really think that I can manage to finish all these projects! Usually, I feel a tad bit overwhelmed when thinking about WIPs but I don't feel that way at all looking at what I've got. Hopefully that feeling continues!

on hooks & needles

I've been keeping myself very busy with crochet and knitting lately! I seem to have startitis. I am totally fine with it, I love seeing my ideas finally come out! I thought I'd pop in and share a few of projects I'm working on.


I started crocheting a new blanket, I'm calling it Hexie Color Pop. So far, I'm only using stash yarn for it, I love that! I'm trying to keep it mostly bright colors. This will probably be a Christmas or birthday present for my oldest when it's finished. I'm using the hexagon pattern from Attic 24. I started one of these blankets years ago for my oldest and never finished it, so I'm excited to finally get one done for her!


I'm also working on a cowl. I crocheted one months ago but I'm not sure I shared it here. I'm working on a pattern for it, hopefully I will have that finished in the next month. It's crocheted in fingering weight yarn, I never thought I would crochet with that weight but I love the fabric that is made with it!


And I'm knitting socks again! I'm using yarn from Nomadic Yarns, it's called The Slutty Pumpkin. The colors are so fun, I'm loving knitting this!

shop update

I finally did an update in my shop with some toys I had leftover after my Insta-Toy sale. It was kind of a bust, no one from instagram actually bought anything from the sale. I honestly prepared myself for that before I even set it up, I just wanted to try out something new! I had family members buy things from me though, my cousin actually picked up 3 toys! I love that I've got family members wanting to give handmade toys now. These are the toys I have in the shop now, you can click each picture and it will take you to product page!

I have 2 of these available!



I have been working on some new ideas for toys and other things to try adding to the shop soon! Once my kids are back in school, I'm hoping to update the shop with something new every week.

Insta-Toy Sale!

I meant to pop in to share this a lot sooner than now. I'm moving next month and I want to clear out my in stock toys, send them off to new loving homes. I'm also planning on doing some new crochet, I have had an idea but I haven't gotten to it because of crocheting these toys all the time. After these cuties are gone, I will be crocheting them less often. So, if you've been wanting one of my cuties, be sure to check out the sale.

I'm holding it on my new instagram account @itscrochetshop tomorrow at 5:00pm CST. Be sure to follow the account so you don't miss it! You can also share that image and get a chance to win a toy of your choice!

Thanks for reading, I hope to "see" you guys over on instagram!

still crocheting!

I've really fallen in love with knitting lately and have been doing a lot of it lately but I am still crocheting! It's so satisfying to finish a toy, I don't think I'll ever get over my love of crocheting toys. I also still love crocheting the FreshStitches toys, they're always adorable! I thought I'd share some of my more recent finished toys using FreshStitches patterns.


I crocheted this dinosaur as a test for Stacey. It was so fun to crochet him, I especially love those buggy eyes! I took him with me to my craft sale, he didn't sell but my son was more than happy about that, he chose him as soon as I was home. You can get the pattern for Spikey the Stegosaurus here.


After my sale, I had a few custom orders to fill. This dragon was one of them. This pattern is a lot of fun, it was another that I tested for Stacey a couple years ago now. There are a lot of different dragons you can end up with using this pattern. You can get the Dragon pattern here.


This is the most recent toy that I've crocheted. Nelson the Owl was the first FreshStitches pattern that I ever crocheted, I still love it today! I made this owl for my cousin's newest baby, I was told that she was hoping I would make one for her, so of course I had to! I crocheted her a blue owl a couple years ago when she had her first baby. I'm excited to get this to her and meet that baby this weekend!

Have you crocheted any of the FreshStitches designs? Which are your favorites?