Working on Christmas projects for this month of August

     I have been working on a few things this month with Christmas in mind.  I like to have my home made Christmas items done by now so I am a little behind schedule this year. 
     I found the cutest potholder and everyone is getting one this year.  It's a strawberry.  I believe it's a vintage pattern.  It's a good pattern to work with because there is no sewing involved to put it together.  It's crocheted in the round and then folded flat.  I hope I have enough yarn so that I get one too.  The free pattern for the Strawberry Potholder by momsloveofcrochet.com can be found here:  http://momsloveofcrochet.com/StrawberryPotholder.html

My daughter has a friend whose baby is due on December 25th.  She requested a striped elf hat.  I found several patterns for free but I decided to try this one.  I think it's adorable.  It will look really great in a photo shoot with the baby.

Long Tailed Baby Elf Hat - Tutorial and Pattern

The last item I have finished this month is the Henna Gloves by Brenda K. B. Anderson.  The pattern can be found in the Jul/Aug 2012 issue of Crochet Today!  So far I only have one pair done.  I have to make another pair before Christmas.  They will be for my nieces.  I had trouble with this pattern.  I don't know if it was the different hooks I tried or if it was the yarn.  The yarn is no. 1 weight and the crochet hook recommended was a B hook, which was smaller than what I have used before for sock yarn.  My problem was that the hook kept catching on the yarn when pulling through the puff stitches.  On my next set of gloves I am going to try a C hook and see how that works.  Hopefully the gauge will not be too far off.







I thought I had posted a picture of the latest bag I designed but I don't see the picture posted in by blog so I will post it now.  I finished it in July.  I am pretty happy with it.  It's felted in a striped pattern that happened to work out with the number of rows for the bag.  I still need to line it so it goes in the "to be done" pile and since lining bags is not my favorite thing to do it will probably stay there for awhile.

Another ongoing project I have been working on are Spiral Scrubbie by Judith Prindle.  I don't have any pictures for the scrubbies but I will try to get one posted before Christmas.  I have to have them all done before then.  It's a cute little scrubbie that's real popular to make right now.  The link will take you to ravelry.com.  You have to be a member to get on to the site but maybe there are other patterns out there for free that can be found if you can't get on the site.  Like I said, the scrubbie is very popular.

The big project I started in July is still undone but I am excited about it.  It is a Ripple afghan that my mother made about 20 years ago and I have envied it all this time and now I am finally making my own.  I love the colors I found for it but I do get bored while crocheting it because a lot of it is single crochet so I crochet it while I am watching TV.  After a couple of sc rows and I am bored and have to either quit or go on to one of my other projects.  No picures of it so far.  I will post one when I am done with it.  I am not sure if it's going to be mine or not.  I have someone in mind for it but still not sure.

I have one other item I have been working on.  It's a bath puff.  I will probably just keep those on hand to give out for presents during the year.  I will try to remember to take pictures of them the same time I take pictures of the scrubbies.  So that's about it.  It's been awhile since I have posted so thought I would do a little catching up today.  Have a great August, what's left of it! 

Link for the Day of the Dead Crochet Skull pattern

  

 For those of you looking for the Day of the Dead Crochet Skull the pattern can be found here:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/day-of-the-dead-crochet-skull

I am sorry the pattern is not free anymore.  Times have been tough.  I do have another pattern that is free.  It's The Allotrope Ciliated Bag in Crochet.  It's a diamond fringed bag.  Have fun trying it.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-allotrope-ciliated-bag-in-crochet

The Lucy Bag in Crochet Pattern

July 24th, 2012

I finished my latest pattern. It's for another bag.  This bag was one I had seen several years ago called the Lucy Bag and designed to be knit by Two Old Bags.  As I do not knit, I looked for this pattern in crochet and found two of them but I did not like the dimensions of the bags.  So I set out to write this pattern converting knit instructions into crochet.  After a couple of tries I got the bag in the dimensions I wanted it to be in.  So after about a year or so of getting the pattern tested and finalized I finally have the pattern published for sale on Ravelry.   It's a felted bag.  I love the look of felted bags.  The Lucy Bag has a classy uptown look to it.  When I first saw the Lucy Bag I fell in love.  The pattern is simply written but you can add stripes in different colors to your bag if you want. Depending on the colors chosen the bag looks really nice in stripes.  Other people have embellished their bags with a pin which really compliments the simplicity of the bag. I think that the bag would look really nice in a tapestry design.  I have not seen one made in tapestry yet.  I might try my hand at it.  I don't have very much experience with tapestry crochet.  From what I remember of the two projects I have done in tapestry crochet, it was not easy and I was only using two colors.  I have seen some tremendous tapestry crochet projects but none that were felted so I may be doing a little experimenting with some simple designs maybe with a Southwestern flavor to them. If any of you out there have done a tapestry crochet that was felted please let me know what you think about how the project turned out.

      I hope some of you will give it a try.  There is a button on the left that will lead you to the pattern page where it can be bought.  I have also added the link here.  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-lucy-bag-in-crochet

     I look forward to seeing your Lucy Bags.

     It's been awhile since I have posted anything.  My energy and creativity were very low for quite awhile so I have not crocheted much in the past couple of years. My energy has increased due to exercise and different medication but it's summer time and I am not feeling like staying inside to crochet. But I do have a couple of small projects that I can sit down and work on in the evenings or when I need a break or want to relax.  I was currently working on a batch of chemo caps that a friend mine was the inspiration for. She mainly does crochet for charity and she writes her owns patterns. She wrote several for chemo caps.  The organization Halo's of Hope was doing a drive this Spring for summer chemo caps.  They use a sport yarn instead of worsted weight. I was lagging behind and didn't get my hats done in time for the drive but the organization will still take the caps.  I finished my last one last night.  All that is left to do is weave in the tails and wash them and box them up and ship them off.  That will take awhile. I hate going to the post office. The other small project I am working on is scrubbies. They are cute and fun to work on. They only take 45min to an hour to finish. I feel like I have accomplished something if I finish one in a day and I don't have to spend all my time crocheting.
     The plan for this fall is to start an Aran afghan. I love them. They are also called Fishermen afghans. I started looking for Aran patterns about 4 years ago and picked one out last winter. I have the yarn needed. All I have to do is start it so I am saving that project for later. 
     I had some thoughts on the healing power of working with your hands but I will save that for later.

Honesty

How honest should a person be with friends, with strangers and on the internet? 

I have kept a private journal for about 20 years now.  There is nothing spectacular about it. It's just a place where I can put down my thoughts. After putting them down I rarely read them again but just the act of writing my thoughts out and seeing them in black and white helps me know where I am at in my life.  Most of the time if I am struggling with a question it is worked out when I post an entry to my journal.
Blogging kind of gives the same kind of feeling that journaling does.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is the internet and there are a lot of loonies out there that might take personal information and try to use it against you somehow. My mind does not work like that.  I don't understand people who do that kind of stuff.  I know that "what goes around, comes around" so I don't wish that on anyone.

I used to be a very open and honest person with the people that were in my life but I find that is not a prudent thing to do.  Most people are judgemental and when they see a weakness in a person's life they treat you like a leper. So I am learning how to be honest and wise.  What does the Bible say?  "Be wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove."  The scripture applies to more than what I want to talk about right now. It's talking about how to approach people.  There is another scripture where it says that Jesus did not put all his trust in man because He knew the "nature" of man.  If Jesus would not put all his faith and trust in people I sure am not going to do that either. So I guess with that being said I am just not as open with people as I used to be.

Someone told me once that I wore my "heart on my sleeve."  I don't think I fully understand what that means.  I think it has to do with "openess" and "vulnerability."  I spent the first 15 years of my adult life being "open" and "vulnerable".  Then my illness hit me and I was totally closed off to all people, even my closest friends.  That lasted about 10 years.  I have come a long ways and I am not ashamed of my illness anymore but I find it's not "prudent" (there's that word again) to share my illness with everyone I know.  But here I am on the internet talking about it.  I guess it's easier because I cannot see you face to face and you cannot see me either.  I could post a picture of myself and you may be able to read part of who and what I am but still there is a lot you would not know. I am ready to be "vulnerable" again but I don't think I wear my heart on my sleeve anymore.

I have not completely answered the question to "how honest should a person be...?"  I will leave that up to yourself.  Of course, it's different for every person. I would love to hear your comments.  Please feel free to post one. I would love to know your thoughts.

It has been almost a year since my last post.  I reread the last post. I had forgotten that I had bared my soul on the internet.  Oh well, that's what blogs are for. 
I have not crocheted much of anything new except for some earrings and bookmarks.  I have started making things for my Christmas list.  I know it's early but as I have said before I never know if I am going to be well so I plan ahead.  I have made more skulls. They are very popular.  I am selling the pattern for them. They are super easy to make. I will try to add a link to Ravelry so you can buy the pattern from here. I will have to research it a little.  It's been a long time since I have tried to do much on the computer but surf the net.
I haven't attempted to make any bags this year.  I have been on the down side of my illness. "What goes up must come down."  Part of the reason for me having the blues is that my craft room is currently occupied.  As wonderful as it is having my daughter move back in with me, I really miss my craft room.  Our home is very small. It's about 1100 sq. ft.  I had the room stuffed with yarn and craft supplies. The sheds are full so I had to stack some boxes and project bags in my room and in the living room and I did leave some boxes of yarn in the closet of my former craft room. 
I am coming out of the depressive phase slowly.  The nice warm weather with lots of sun has helped me a great deal.  I tend to get SADS during the winter season.  The other reason why I am climbing out of the hole is because I am finally getting my meds stabilized. My attention span is better and I am able to concentrate and remember things better.  I have never had a great memory but the illness and the meds have made the short term memory worse.  I am not getting any younger either and I am sure that is a contributor but I like to blame everything on the meds. 
When I get some free time and my mind is clear I will try to add some pictures and the link to my Day of the Dead Skull pattern.

It has been too long since I last posted anything in my blog. 
Blame it on my illness.  Even though I have to admit that I have an illness to overcome I am not without faith.  My basic premise on faith concerning sickness and disease it simple. It goes like this:
          1)  Sickness and disease are not from God
           2)  It is not God's will that we be sick
           3)  Sickness and disease exist because of the Fall of Man
           4)  The New Testament claims that Jesus healed ALL  their diseases
            5) The new Testament also claims that the great Heroes of Faith did not always get everything they were promised while living on this earth. Case in point -- Abraham was promised that his "descendants would be as numerous as the stars".  That did not come true until many years after his death.
           6) We have nothing to lose even it all circumstances say we are going to die of illness and disease.
            7) God promised us "four score and 10" if we walked in obedience to the Lord.
            8) Many of the problems we have involving bad health are self induced. 

I just came back from a "bad episode".  I am bipolar or manic/depressive.  Bipolar is the new name.  There are two different categories for bipolar.  Rapid cycling and one that is not rapid cycling.  I have been diagnosed for 13 years with the latter.  

It has always been a real challenge to bounce back from an episode because they last anywhere from 3-6 months long and the after effects even longer, not to mention how devastating an episode can be for my family.  My illness prevents me from being able to make long term plans.  Shortly after an episode I cannot even make short term plans.

The doctors tell me that every episode is a little worse than the episode before it and having experienced first had, I believe it.  I didn't, at first, but now I do.  Most of the time a current episode will be worse that the episode before it but not in every case.

I want my life to reflect the faith I have in the Power of God to heal us.  It is so natural that are bodies, under normal circumstances, heal themselves and we take it for granted.  Our cells rejuvinate continually and we don't even have to think about it and we forget that all healing comes from God.  Even natural healing comes from God.  "Every good and perfect gift comes from God."  I don't want to forget to thank my Lord for helping me through the "thick and the thin" and I have been down this road before so what can I do now but thank my Lord for getting me out of a bad spell.  It takes very long most of the time even though I have experienced instantaneous healing before.  In my case, instantaneous healing has been the exception but not the norm.

I know that many issues between me and my Lord have been settled because I no longer ask why.  That's one of the questions I will ask my Lord when I get to heaven. Why.  I also know that God has been healing me in spite of my last episode because I have my joy back and it comes from deep inside my soul.  Gratefulness comes natural to me as it once used to be.  It is true what the Bible says.  "The joy of the Lord is my strength" and I get to experience that strengthening day by day.  That is not to say that I am patient about it.  I am still human and have my faults but my journaling today is not to point them out to you.  Maybe on another day but not today I will share my weaknesses with you.

The final thing I wanted to say was that I can finally experience the feeling of joy and happiness without feeling guilty.  A small part of me wants to go there but I will not anymore.  Being able to experience peace and joy is very valuable to me.  Today is a happy day for me. Tomorrow may be a different story.  Maybe I will have a bad day tomorrow but I am not expecting to receive bad luck anymore.  And if I do I know that all I have to do is wait a little while and the problem will be resolved.  As I walk in obedience there is a reward -  joy and peace in my life and healing too!

Entering another season

I have been crocheting less and listening to music more.  Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  I tend to get into the music and the lyrics.  The lyrics from this Fleetwood Mac song written by Stevie Nicks seem to really hit home these days

http://www.songlyrics.com/fleetwood-mac/landslide-lyrics/

--can the child within my heart rise above?

--can i sail thru the changin' ocean tides?

--can I handle the seasons of my life?

i don't know.....

A Light Read

I wanted to mention a new book that was just released a few months ago.  Every crocheter has to have one.  It's an easy read and they call it an "essay collection. . .specifically for crocheters."  Filled with humor and sarcasm. 

It's called Hooked for Life, Adventures of a Crochet Zealot by Mary Beth Temple.She is an author, designer and the host of the Getting Loopy podcast. She has requested when buying the book to click on the Amazon link at her website.  I  am a third of the way through the book and my favorite essay so far is "Greetings from Mount Yarn."  If you have a "mount yarn" you have to read the book.

The Allotrope Ciliated Bag in Crochet

As mentioned earlier, I wrote a pattern.  And then I wrote another one.  The new pattern will be available on Ravelry in a few days.  I have a wonderful group of internet friends who have volunteered to test the pattern for me. (I can't mention their names because I don't have their permission) It's good to have a few pair of eyes to catch the mistakes and give you feedback.  
This pattern is for a bag which is super simple to make.  It's a good design for a beginner and I want the pattern to be easily understood. 
There is a story behind the name of the bag. If you are curious go to your online dictionary and look it up. The Free Pattern for the Allotrope Ciliated Bag in Crochet can be found here. You have to be a member of Rav to get to it.   

Day of the Dead Crochet Skull Pattern

This is my first pattern. I've added a link to my blog today. It's a free download on Ravelry. I made my first skull for my son. After he saw it he wanted a whole set in different colors to use as coasters in his new home. A friend of mine suggested a Day of the Dead set. My other son wants it appliqued on the back of his jacket. Then there are totes and sweatshirts and biker jackets it can be appliqued on. Someone else I know wants to frame her skull and hang it as a piece of art on her wall.

Enjoy! I would love to hear your ideas.

Pulling Out My Hair

I don't consider myself a designer. I'm more of an improviseur but nevertheless I have converted a couple of knit designs into crochet designs. They are simple designs and if they were not simple I wouldn't have been able to convert them because I do not know knittenese. And if there were more felted bag patterns offered in crochet I wouldn't have had to do it in the first place.
I have been asked to write patterns for several of my designs (do I dare say the word) to share with my fellow crocheters. I never wanted to write a pattern. I enjoy the time crocheting much more but after being asked several times I decided to write a pattern. First pattern was just a coaster pattern. Maybe 5 rounds. O.K. This takes some time but I can do it. The second pattern was a bag. Wow! The competition is fierce and I'm offering these patterns for free. Is it worth the time and the hassel? I don't know.

The picture above was provided by Dorothy Ada, a long time friend who has a great sense of humor.  She was one of my pattern testers and decided to embellish her skull. I thought the picture fitting for the title.

A New Adventure

I am selling online now. Starting out slow. Considering doing some of those marketing things that most people do when promoting their handmade crafts. You can find me at:

http://www.crochetenthusiast.artfire.com

Current Crochet Challenge

I have attempted to crochet clothing. Something other than hats and scarves. (still loving hats and scarves) One success and one failure, so far. Not only is the crochet technique a challenge to learn but finding the right pattern and learning how to fit it to a larger woman's size. And then there is the right kind of yarn to pick. Texture, color, weight. And the washing and the blocking and how is it going to turn out when I'm done. I'm not giving up yet. I'm determined I will get the mesh crochet pullover I have always coveted and it will fit. We will see.

In the meantime, bags are still my #1 love.

Currrent Reading List

I finished reading The Friday Night Knitting Club. It's a "feel good" kinda book and not the type I normally read but I am glad that I did. I have decided that the "sweater left unfinished" that she talks about is going to stay unfinished. It's going to become "unraveled" to become something else.

I am currently reading Outlier's. It's non-fiction and very interesting. I am about halfway through it. I plan on reading Hooked on Murder by Betty Hechtman soon. Probably another "cute" novel but I can't resist. And then there is always an inspirational book by Joyce Meyer that I could read. I haven't decided which one of hers will be next.

My Favorite Projects to Crochet

My favorite projects to crochet are handbags, totes, purses, bags, whatever you want to call them, so I have added a few pictures to my blog. To my internet friends who have gotten to know me they are nothing new. They are the same pictures I have on Flickr and Ravelry. One of these days I will get creative with some pictures but photography is not my forte. Some of the patterns are free and some were purchased. If anyone is interested in the free pattern links send me an email or leave a comment and I will get back to you.

What we have known all along

A friend shared this video with a group I am in and I had to share it with you. It's called Knitting For Your Health and it's done by CBS. It shares a lot of good stuff which we have known or suspected for a very long time, like "Everything old is new again" and "sewing mends the soul." They also share a scientific study done by the Mayo Clinic which proves that memory loss is decreased by 30-50% in people who involve themselves in activities like quilting, knitting, crochet and other sewing activities.

I know for myself that I picked up the hobby a few years ago to improve my mental health. My memory loss was getting so bad. It's still not great but it has improved a great deal in the past 3 years. The repetition of crochet has always been soothing to me and working with the different colors of yarn gives me a creative outlet I really enjoy.

When I found crochet sites on the internet that's when the hobby exploded for me. I am constantly amazed and inspired by all the things I see others have created with the yarns we have available today.

Thumbing thru my podcasts today

I was thumbing through my podcasts today and happened to find one by Yarn Thing: Crochet and Knitting Podcast that has an interview with Kate Jacobs. It is titled Kate Jacobs: Friday Night Knitting Club & Knit Two. I learned about the book through a group of friends on the internet and had to listen to the interview. I thought it was a very good. Marly had some really good questions for her. The original air date was 4/21/09.

Marly is a designer and I came across her name from a Ravelry group I joined called Interweave Crochet. Marley is the Administrator and the Moderator of the group. I just recently learned she is one of IC's designer's when I received my first issue of IC last month. I plan on attempting her Tremendous Tote when I get some WIP's done.
On her radio show she has some very interesting topics as well as interviews with Robyn Chachula, another designer for IC, and Marcy Smith, the editor of IC. So it looks like I have some catching up to do.

A quote from The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

I ran across this quote the other day while reading this book. It was so appropriate to where I am at on several levels. I am not a knitter but the wisdom of this book still applies.

starting again

Every knitter has a sweater left unfinished; the bags of bits and pieces stashed away and never picked up again. And why? A change in fashion? A change in season? If that was so, you'd just pull out the stitches and use the yarn for something new. No, there's a secret hope that makes you hold on, to dream that you'll get it right someday, that you'll go back and take it up again and it will finally come out right. That this time all the pieces will fit. The mistake is waiting until you feel renewed enough to give it another try. You simply have to pick up the needles and keep at it anyway.