Piece of Cake - A Self Imposed Deadline

Piece of Cake Potholder
Back on a November 2 blog post I challenged myself to a deadline of December 8th (today, he, he) to create a new design. I decided then that I wanted to make a new potholder, and at not quite the 11th hour, I've finished it :)



I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and I love that it is reversible and looks great on both sides. I will be sending out the pattern to be tested and I am working on getting a pdf file together.

Self imposed deadlines are a really great idea for me, and I was really inspired!

Stay tuned for the pattern listing announcement, and also a new challenge (self imposed of course!) Now I want to eat some cake - nom, nom, nom . . .

Pretty Petaled Placemat and Napkin Ring pdf Crochet Pattern - Perfect for Everyday or Holidays

Pretty Petaled Placemat and Napkin Ring pdf Pattern

I've finally finished up my latest pattern. This is an intermediate crochet pattern, but would be easy enough for anyone familiar with working in rounds. They work up quickly using medium weight yarn and a size I crochet hook. The placemats are designed to be used with 10.5 inch (26.6 cm) dinner plates, but you can easily adjust the pattern to any size. You could even make a tablecloth to match!



I gave a set as a gift to a friend of mine for her birthday and she really loves them. I have a set I use on my own table and I also made a larger size with sits beneath a soup tureen on my buffet table. I really love the way they look, very pretty, but practical for everyday use!

I also worked one up in a white yarn that has silver sparkly threads in it and it is really gorgeous and would be really beautiful for a holiday place setting.




Thanks for checking out my new pattern, and stay tuned for more!


You can purchase this pattern at these links:
My pattern shop - instant downloads
Etsy Listing
Ravelry Listing - also instant downloads, but you must have a Ravelry account and login
My eCrater shop

My Search to Be Square - Part 1

I love to cross stitch on crocheted fabric and I had made an afghan several years ago that featured our family name and a cabin graphic with some pine trees. So when I came across this free KG Chart for Cross Stitch program I got excited and downloaded it. In no time I was able to easily create graph patterns. It is a simple program to master. I drew out a "J" monogram by hand and scanned and imported it into the program. What's great is that this program will create a chart from any image and it is easily editable for stitch placement and color changes. You can also view the chart in "real view" and it looks like an actual cross stitched piece!

Having this program got me to thinking about the crocheted fabric that you cross stitch on and I remember having read somewhere about a "square" crochet stitch. Of course I can't remember where I read that, and searching online was no help. What I do remember from what I read is that using the seed stitch will give you a truer square. Single crochet is fine, but is not truly square being wider than tall. So I worked up a swatch in seed stitch (or the seed stitch as I know it to be). And while I was at it, I decided to work up a simple stitch chart for it using Inkscape which is also a free program.



Here is my swatch pattern:
With a size H (5.0 mm) crochet hook and worsted weight (medium) yarn.
Row 1 (RS): ch 24, sc in 2nd ch from hook, *ch 1, sk next, sc in next. Rep from * across. (23 sts)
Row 2: ch 1, turn, sc in next, sc in next ch1 sp, ch 1, sk next, sc in ch 1 sp. Rep from * across to last, sc in last sc.
Row 3: ch 1, turn, sc in next, *ch 1, sk next, sc in next ch 1 sp. Rep from * across.
Rep rows 2 and 3 alternately for pattern.

Abbreviations used in pattern:
RS - right side, or the side of the fabric you want to show (or face out)
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
sk - skip
sp - space
rep - repeat
My swatch is 23 rows high, and is square - Yay!






Now all I have to do is figure out where the cross stitches should go. To me it doesn't look there is a square pattern in the fabric. *sigh*
I will continue and stitch up some other swatches too; in single crochet, "square" single crochet, and also a Tunisian swatch.

So for now my search to be square continues . . .


Links - KG software - http://www.iktsoft.net/kgchart-en/kgchart/
Inskscape - http://www.inkscape.org/

Creative Challenges: Self Imposed Deadlines

So, my EtsyHookers team Creative Challenge ended today and it got me to thinking that maybe I should have my own personal creative challenges to keep me inspired. I don't enter the team Challenges because I host and set up the voting polls and blog, so maybe it's time to set some deadlines for myself. I do like to enter contests, especially crochet inspired ones, and both of my published patterns were the result of entering contests! Hmm, I think this could be a great idea for me :)

I am in the process of finishing up a new pattern that hopefully will be listed by next week, and I think for my next pattern I would like to design another potholder. The two that I have already completed, my fried egg and jam/jelly jar's, were obviously food inspired. I think I'll stick with that theme.

Okay, so my personal challenge theme is a food inspired potholder, and I'll set the deadline for December 8th. Now that it's "official" and written on my calendar, there are no excuses!

Audiobooks - A Crocheting Reader's Best Friend

There's nothing like having a few spare moments to relax and crochet. For a big reader like myself, I like to use this time to get some “reading” done too. While there is some controversy whether listening to audios is actually considered reading, I find it's a great companion for crochet, plus I get to listen to some really great books!

Having a library card gives me access to many great titles to choose from. My library also has several formats available; CD's to checkout, MP3, WMA and iPod compatible downloads, plus new Playaways.

So if you haven't yet had the pleasure of listening while you crochet, visit your local library and see what they have to offer. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

Holiday Weekend Crochet - yay!

With the Labor Day weekend gearing up I am hoping that I will have some time to work on new projects! I have a pretty placemat pattern I am working on and a cute Halloween project. I have quite a few books I want to read too.

Speaking of books, I have been looking at Robyn Chachula's Blueprint Crochet. What an awesome book! It is geared toward visual crocheters and has symbol crochet patterns for her lovely designs. I myself have designed a symbol pattern as a bonus to go along with my Star Wash Cloth and Face Scrubbie pdf, and I can honestly say that I haven't found an easy way to create these charts. Kudos to Chachula for her awesome and fresh designs! I think that symbol charts are making a comeback!

Fuzzy Duster - A New Pattern!

I really love the convenience of my Swiffer duster, but I really hate paying for refills. After creating the replacement covers for my floor mop (which can also be used with the floor duster), I decided to try my hand at the hand held duster covers. I really like the way they turned out! Fringed or fuzzy (I'm partial to fuzzy myself =) they work great! Plus I can feel good that they are reusable and eco friendly. Easy care, machine wash and dry too. Right now I just have the crochet pdf pattern listed in my shop, but I will be listing the actual dusters too.


It is a fun pattern to make - I know it's only a duster! But it's a great way to learn the loop stitch, and who doesn't love fluffy fuzzy goodness?
Click here for the floor cover pdf and I also sell the covers in this section of my shop.