Christmas is coming!

Last year, I crocheted a snowman to send as a swap gift and I really wanted one for my own home but I never seemed to find time to crochet it. This year, I have one! I finished my own extra early and I'm so happy with him! The pattern is by FreshStitches, it's a build your own snowman pattern, so you can custom crochet him to your liking. It's a great pattern!


For his scarf, I thought it would be fun to knit it since I am much more comfortable with knitting now. I also knit the band around his top hat. All the yarn I used is Loops & Threads Impeccable, my go to for amigurumi! He stands at 11 inches with his top hat on.


I put up a listing for a Made to Order Snowman in my etsy shop, so I crocheted a toque to show as another option. I love a top hat on a snowman, so that's what I sewed onto mine!

Now that I have this cutie finished up, I am in a Christmas mood! All I want to crochet is Christmas fun! Too early??

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!

shop & other news!

I've been battling a lot of tooth pain for the last month, maybe even more than that, the pain kind of has days blurring together since I'm not sleeping a lot. I finally got into the dentist and was told I need to see an oral surgeon to have a tooth removed, it's not a tooth my regular dentist can get out unfortunately :( It's not any of my wisdom teeth but an extra tooth that is trying to push it's way in and crushing other teeth in the process. So, I'm waiting on the phone call from the surgeon. I'm hoping it comes soon, the pain is pretty excrutiating, so I'm barely sleeping or eating, it's been making me not a very happy person.

I was thinking of trying to have a sale next month sometime for Christmas toys and ornaments, to help pay for the oral surgery. Yes, I know it seems crazy early since Halloween hasn't even happened yet! Most of the customers I've had are all out of the country, so I want to get these things out before the huge mail rush! I'm just trying to see if there's any interest in it right now, so I don't make a ton of things that will just sit around! I think the sale will be held on my instagram page but I'm not entirely sure about specifics yet.

Before I do that, I decided to offer up a coupon code in my etsy shop, I'm also lowering a few prices. The code is 'SURGERY', just enter that before you order and you will get 15% off! I'll leave it active until September 30th!


In other news, I started a facebook page for my shop, It's Crochet. If you've been around for awhile, you know that I did have a page for my blog quite awhile ago but I deleted it because I just didn't have any interaction, so it seemed pretty pointless having it. A lot of people locally have been asking if I have a page for my shop, so I decided to open it up. I already got a few orders the day I published it, that was pretty exciting! I'm going to really try to post shop news there as often as possible. The only thing that still bothers me is the fact that they want you to pay to have your posts seen, it's pretty frustrating to say the least! But, hopefully it won't always be an annoying problem. Pop on over and like my page, there's very few right now! If you're not interested in placing orders through etsy, you can always message me there. Or of course by email ;)

Thanks for popping by this weekend! Hope your weekend is sunny and bright!

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!

craft sale & new socks!

Last weekend was my craft sale. I ended up being sick that weekend but somehow made it through the entire day without it affecting me too much other than dizziness, right after the show was a different story though! It was not a pretty sight. The sale was decent, not great though, there were a lot of garage sale tables and people mostly came for that. I didn't do horribly but I won't be having a table at the next show, it wasn't really worth it. I got my name out there though, got a few custom orders and got an invite to a craft sale happening later in the year.


After the sale, I let my kids pick out a toy from all the leftovers. It always makes me happy that my kids want the toys that I crochet.


On Monday, I decided I wanted to do some knitting, so I cast on a pair of vanilla socks. I used my yarn from Spun Right Round in the graffiti colorway. I cast on the toes with the turkish cast on and I used the fish lips kiss heel which I love, it fits perfectly! I loved knitting these socks and I knit them so fast, it shocked me how quickly they flew off the needles! If I had more sock yarn, I'd be knitting more right now.


I have a shop update coming soon with some very adorable new toys, I'm aiming for Thursday this week. Make sure to follow me on instagram, I'll post there when it's live. Have a great week!

hello!

Well, I really can't believe I let two months go by without posting here! I'm not sure I'm going to get much better about posting too soon, summer holidays are coming up fast (3 weeks!) and I have a lot of family trips I want to do. I don't want to stop blogging at all, it's going to be sporadic for a little while though, hopefully you'll stick with me! I post a lot on instagram still, follow me there if you don't already, my username is @caseyplusthree. Here's some things I've been up to lately.


I'm still loving socks, I started a pair of stitch surfers! I've been moving super slow because of some crcoheting that I have to get done but I still love these and hopefully I will have a pair before the end of the month. I'm using a kit from Must Stash yarn in the Elsa & Anna colors, the yarn is so great to knit with.


I'm doing my second local sale on June 21st, so I've been crocheting toys for that! This time, I'm sticking to having just toys on my table plus a few baby blankets. I'm really nervous about this upcoming sale, it's supposed to be much larger than my first sale. These are just a few of the toys, I have 26 finished right now, I'm not sure exactly how many I need, I'm just not sure what people are going to want to see or buy. Hopefully I sell a few things!

I hope everyone is having a great day and that you're having nice weather. Be back soon!

happy weekend!

This weekend, I plan on finishing up my lacy hexagon blanket. I've joined all the hexagons into what I think will be the finished size, I'm having a hard time just making a decision! It will be finished this weekend though.


I had planned on doing a craft show at the end of this month, so I was crocheting new toys, some still aren't finished. I ended up having to back out, so there are new toys up in the shop! They feel very spring like to me! You can find my shop here.


Hope you all have a great weekend!

latest happenings

Happy March! At the beginning of every month I wonder how it's gotten here so quickly, days fly by so quickly now that I'm older. I swear they didn't move this fast ten years ago! Anyway, I've got a bunch of random things to share today. Hope you're having a nice weekend!


After I crocheted the first flower doll, my daughter wanted me to make another so she could give it as a birthday present this weekend. I used different shades of green and pink with this one, I think she turned out as cute as the first. I think it's really awesome that my kids want to give my toys as gifts to their friends, it makes me so happy!


Speaking of birthday presents, my mom's birthday was this week and I crocheted her a pair of fingerless Tardis gloves. She's a Doctor Who fan, so I thought she'd like them. The pattern makes a much longer pair than what I made, I left out a few rows.


I had a really great mail day this week! I bought myself a sock bag from Chubby Cloud, the fabric was just too cute to pass up! Both sides are so cute. I also bought a little triangle bag, I'm planning on using it more in the summer for quick trips to the park with the kids, I don't always want to lug a big bag with me.


I also bought some yarn from SpunRightRound after Amanda posted a link in the My Sister's Knitter KAL/CAL group on ravelry. I couldn't resist it, it was screaming at me to buy it! The colorway is called Graffiti, I can't wait to knit up another pair of socks with this yarn!


And speaking of socks, I finished my first pair!! They are not even close to perfect but I love them and don't care! I'll share a big post next week with links to everything I used to make these. After knitting this pair, I really feel like I could be on the verge of sock knitting addiction. A slow moving sock knitting addiction but that's okay! Maybe by the end of the year I can have a few pairs knit.

little flower doll

This is the custom order I was crocheting over the weekend. It's a little flower girl. I searched for patterns and I did find one but I wasn't really happy with its look, so I decided to crochet her on my own. She stands at about 13" tall, that's to the top of her petals, so she's a decent size.


I gave her some girly eyelashes that I just love! And she's sporting adorable pigtail braids. This was a fun doll to crochet, I'm so happy with how she turned out.

this crafty weekend

My first sock is off the needles! I'm so happy with it, small mistakes and all! It felt like it took so long to finish just one sock, it look a little over 2 weeks but I got sidetracked by custom orders, so I don't expect the second to take as long. I hope not anyway, I really want to be wearing these socks soon! I hope to be casting on the second sock today!

Now that I know I can knit socks, I've been eyeing up lots of sock yarns. Not that I wasn't before but now I have an actual reason to buy some of it! I just treated myself to a skein of Spun Right Round yarn, I can't wait to get this amazingness in my hands!


Before I cast on my second sock, I have an order to fill using those colors up there. I'm pretty excited to see this one come together, I started last night and already it's adorable! I'll be sharing what is is next week.

Have a great weekend!

crocheting doubles

I have been crocheting some doubles of previous projects this week!


Turns out the Backson is a really popular character! I finished up my second Backson for a customer recently and as soon as I finished, another order came in, so I'm working on a third. I did write out the pattern while I made the first Backson but I somehow didn't write out the pattern for his head. It wasn't too hard to figure out luckily, I think I got it looking the same. I remembered to write it out this time though, so this third guy shouldn't take too long.


My sister had a birthday this week and she gave me a small list of things she'd want me to make for her. I decided to crochet another big hanging owl for her, she has mentioned more than once that she likes mine, so I decided to finally make one for her. The pattern for this owl is called Macramé Style Hanging Owl. To make it bigger, I used the Navajo plying method.

first amigurumi & custom order of 2014

I finished my first amigurumi and first custom order of the year this week! The request was for a pink cat. I searched through patterns and thought I had found a few I might use but I ended up making it up as I went. I'm really happy with how the cat turned out. I really like crocheting as I go without patterns now, it's fun to see an idea come to life!

If you're interested in ordering any custom toys, you can send me a message through my etsy shop, It's Crochet. Most of the orders I get are for custom toys, I definitely don't mind, I've gotten some really fun orders! At some point, I hope to have a portfolio page up too, I get questions all the time about what kind of toys I have made in the past, it would be nice to have a page to send them to.

Hope you're having a great Saturday!

custom order elephants (& last chance to order!)

I recently finished a couple custom orders from my shop. I've decided that I won't be taking any more custom orders for toys in the month of December. So many things happen here in December with us, besides Christmas, we've got four family birthdays, two belonging to my daughters. If you really want to order a custom cutie, you need to request it before December 1st! I'll start taking custom orders again in January. You will still be able to buy my ready made items in December though. You can also get 25% off using coupon code 'CHRISTMAS' at the checkout.


This first custom order was for an elephant with modifications to look like a wooly mammoth. The elephant pattern can be found here. I had to use the fur yarn again with this guy, I think I'm getting more used using the yarn. I love the hair on the top of his head! His tail also has the fur on it, I used the loop stitch for it. I also lengthened his tusks and curved them to help him look more like a wooly mammoth.


After posting the picture of my first elephant on instagram, I received an order for an identical elephant but with baby safe eyes. I love baby safe eyes and think he may even look a bit cuter with them!

I really love getting these orders for toys that I probably never would have thought up myself! It's so fun to crochet something different!

a few random things & garlands!

It got quiet on the blog again, didn't mean for that to happen, things are a little off for me right now. I did get the tutorial posted for the patchwork dog pillow, you can find that here. I also posted a pattern for the solid mini squares that I used for the pillow, find that here.

Lately, I've been wanting to get rid of some of my in stock crocheted toys, there's too many in here, they're really taking over space! So, I'm selling them for 50% off right now! Just use the coupon code 'HALFOFF' at the checkout. Coupon is good for anything in the shop, not just the toys. Head on over to my shop to grab a toy for someone special! Christmas is coming up fast, so now would be a great time to order one (& save money too!). Coupon is good until October 31st.

I deleted the facebook page for the blog a couple weeks ago. There wasn't a lot of activity over there, so I'm sure it won't be missed. I don't miss it anyway. Since deleting that, I've decided to start using my twitter feed more often. I'm still trying to get more active there. Follow me @caseyplusthree if you aren't already. And of course, I'm posting pictures on instagram often, you can see a lot of projects that I'm working on before it shows up here on the blog.

Speaking of instagram, I recently participated in a garland swap to help raise funds for an adoption for It's Just Emmy. I made two garlands, one for my partner and one for Emmy to sell in an insta-auction (@itsjustemmy).

For my partner, I made a fall lace garland using this pattern. It screams fall to me, it was a hard one to give up, I really liked it!



For Emmy, I made a butterfly garland (pattern for butterflies). I used Lion's Brand bon bons in cotton to make them all. Those bon bons are so cute and fun, I'm so glad my store started carrying them! I have a lot of the yarn left after making this garlnd, so I'm eventually going to make more and maybe add them to my shop.


The blog shouldn't be too quiet for awhile, I've got quite a few finished projects to share! Thanks for visiting today!

sweet teddy hugs

I finished the girl version of the teddy bear! I think she's very sweet. I used Bernat Waverly yarns again to make her, she's really soft. The pattern for the teddy bears can be found here.


She's up in my shop now and like the boy version, I'd be happy to make customs!

Have a great day!

I see a purple elephant

I made a purple elephant to take part in a CAL in a ravelry group. The pattern is from Adriana Aguirre, another designer met through the FreshStiches ravelry group. It's a really great pattern, you can get it here.


This elephant is now up for grabs in my shop, the first one I made is there too, find him here. You can use coupon code 'JULY2013' at the checkout to get 10% off, not just on the elephants but on anything in the shop!

Have a great Friday!

big shop update!

I updated the It's Crochet shop on Monday with quite a few new toys! I also made up a listing for custom unicorns, since it has been my most popular toy. I'm only planning on doing 3 of them through the summer, so grab one now while I'm offering! I'm attempting to take a mini break from the toy making this summer to continue my stash busting. Although, a toy may end up coming from the stash busting.


I did a giveaway for $10 off at the shop on my instagram feed yesterday that went very quickly! Three people were super speedy and won. If you follow me there, keep an eye out because I'm going to be doing another one on Friday! There might be something to win here too, so make sure to check both places.

mr. donkey

I used FreshStitches' unicorn pattern to make another cutie, this time a donkey! I am way over the moon excited about this guy! I added small details that just make him super adorable.


I gave him some eyebrows. I think they just make him ooze with personality!


I also braided his tail and added a little bow. I had some trouble getting his mane just right, I didn't want it to be too long but it's hard to make yarn hair look spikey. I think I made it short enough though.

I have him listed in the shop right now! Snatch him up here.