-1 Degree...Time for a Headwrap!!!

So when I got in the car this morning and discovered the dashboard thermometer read -1 (yes folks, that's a MINUS) I figured it was a good time to finally put up this post about the knitted headwraps that I've discovered!  They are the cutest thing I've ever seen too keep your ears warm!

I was at Bergners shopping after Christmas, and I saw this cute lady who had on a darling scarf/headband thingy.  I asked here where she got it and she pointed me towards the new boutique in Peoria called Apricot Lane.  Me and the Hubs (bless his heart) hurried over there and bought me the cutest navy blue headwrap for $24.  I was pretty proud of myself considering I saw it on a random stranger and not 15 minutes later had one of my very own!  I set to work researching them online to of course find out if I could copy one.  I didn't have any luck coming up with a free pattern, but Etsy never lets me down, and I found a great pattern online that only cost me 5 bucks from this awesome online shop! 

Elisa, the shop owner e-mailed me the pattern really quickly, and I set to work trying to create my first headwrap.  Now keep in mind, I'm a novice knitter at best, but Elisa's pattern and instructions were easy to follow after a couple of quick read-throughs, AND she included a link to a video tutorial explaining a few of the tricky parts (increases and decreases) in the pattern.  I am SO impressed!  Now, instead of one, I have about 5 headwraps!  Love it!!!! 

(I will admit, throughout the process I found another store at Northwoods Mall that sold the exact same headwrap that I bought at Apricot Lane, but this store had them on sale for $14...if you want one but don't want to make one yourself you might give the mall a shot before going to Grand Prairie.  I ended up with a second purchased one because they had one in my favorite yellow) I have to give credit to Sonja for the tip about the mall store.

So, here's the yellow version I bought, along with the taupe/gray version that I've made.  I'm missing my crochet flower in these photos, but you get the idea enough to see that Elisa's version is spot on!  I love these!  They'll make great gifts for Christmas next year!  I'm glad I found them early enough that I'll get a good jump on getting them made!!!  Consider yourself forewarned if you're reading this! ;)

Yummy yellow with sequins...I'm in Heaven!

This is how they fit...I love that the back of your hair doesn't get squished down!

My taupe/gray version looks pretty good compared to the original!



I did make a few alterations after trying Elisa's pattern compared to the headwraps I bought.  I liked that the ones I bought were a little less tightly knitted as well as a little more floppy.  This allowed them to fit just a smidge better.  So, I increased my needle size by one or two sizes, decreased the total number of stitches at the widest part by a few, and used the thinest/softest worsted weight yarn I could find.  The taupe/gray one reflects the original pattern with a bit thicker yarn (Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand).  It looks perfect, but was just a bit too stiff for my tastes because it tends to work up a little thicker than a normal worsted weight.  So far, my favorite yarn for these projects has been the NaturallyCaron Country or the Caron Simply Soft.     

Craft Night #6

Hey everyone!

Here's a quick recap from Craft Night #6, which was last Tuesday.  I figure I'm doing pretty good by getting a review up the same week that we had it, right?!  Progress!

Anyways, it was a smaller group this week, but still tons of fun.  It's kind of nice when we can all relax a bit more and chat together as one group, rather than multiple little groups.  Sonja, Momma, Autumn, Renee, Kim, Danielle and myself all made it and got to enjoy a fabulous group-effort Taco Bar!  Y-U-M! (Note to self...have Taco Bar more often!)



Delish!


I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed creatively, so I decided to change things up a bit after reading a post from a fellow blogger about happiness.  She reviewed an article about improving your daily happiness from Real Simple magazine.  Her interpretation was to create a "happiness board" that reminded her at a quick glance what make her happy.  I loved the idea, so I ran out to Joann's and bought enough supplies to get me and my team members started on our happiness boards.  It turns out that they were a big hit!  I had a lot of fun searching through fabric samples for a cork board cover, and it was neat to see what fabrics everyone else chose....after all, each of us has a different reaction to colors and patterns.  We didn't get to complete our boards, but everyone got them to a point where they could be accessorized up with photos and such.  What do you think?  What would you put on your happiness board?...

Here's the link to the article in Real Simple...and here's the blog post that I got the idea from!


We used inexpensive thumb tacks and loose beads/buttons/blingy-things to create fancy pins for our boards. 

   

Kim won the prize for creating the most happiness that evening! We were all busting a gut at her impromptu happiness board!  Kim, you're awesome!



This guy, especially, got to me!

Autumn's board reflected the cool aqua and brown tones that she loves!

 

Renee got a good start with her corral inspired board!



Danielle's board reflects the color of her wine-lover decor that she has!  Can't wait to see it finished!

 

I made a couple of quick flowers to represent my love of fabric.  Kim showed me how to make the yo-yo flowers, and I worked up the middle sinched flower.  We used rhinestone-topped tack pins to stick them to the board.  

 

My board wouldn't be complete without some kind of sparkly something!

  

The almost finished product..polka-dots, vintage spider web jewelry, curly girl designs, and quotes.  Just need some personal pictures and I'll be feeling real happy!



Momma and Sonja continued their efforts on their crochet projects.  I'm so proud of both of them!  Sonja's getting really good at branching out into other projects (her Scarfette interpretations are AWESOME) and Momma is making great progress on her V-stitch afghan.

 

Momma's getting there!  I LOVE these colors together (as evidenced by my happiness board...I am truly my mother's daughter)!!

  

Sonja gets my vote for best idea of the night!  She's found awesome vintage clip on earrings that she's using as buttons on her Scarfettes.  I will now be shopping antique stores for old jewelry!!! 

Whatcha Been Up To?....

Hey there blog friends....how's it been going?  My world has been CRAZY! (But what else is new!) I feel like my blog has been pretty neglected, and after a nice lunch with a friend late last week, I realize more people read this silly little thing that I thought!  So, I'm rededicating myself to updates about cool things I've found, what I've been working on, and all sorts of general rambling from my freaky little mind....aren't you excited?!!!  I should also say a big THANKS if you're reading this...it's a lot of fun to hear feedback from those that take the time to listen to what I have to say.  So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

In all honesty, it has been awhile since we've last chatted.  I've been busy working on all things crafty whenever time has allowed, but here's the deal...we've just been plain busy.  With what you ask....?....well, we're finally FINISHING OUR BASEMENT!!!!  For those in the know, you understand how big of a deal this is for more than one reason...but for those that don't...I'm going to have my VERY OWN CRAFT ROOM!!!!  Wohooo!!!  I'm so excited! (Can you tell?)

The hubbster has been awesome about understanding how much time, effort, and space my obsession dedication to crafting takes, and he's doing everything he can to make sure I have the place to hide put it all!  So in between cleaning out the basement and the wonderful help we've had from our friends and family, we're finally on our way.  We've got a great start framing and we're motivated to get this thing moving!

The second reason we're working so hard to get going is that I've been promised for over a year, that this March I would finally be able to buy my dream of dreams when it comes to my obsession hobby of quilting.  I'm going to get.....wait for it.....my very own quilting machine!  Can you believe it?!  I know I haven't had very many posts about quilts or quilting in general since starting this blog, but to be honest I just haven't had the heart to.  See, the thing is, I have an entire rubber tub full of half finished quilts that I've been working on for the past few years.  I've tried and tried to finish them, but I've never been happy with my quilting ability on my home sewing machine.  I've tried and cursed failed so many times that I just couldn't keep ruining my quilt tops that I've put so much effort into.  So, I packed them away vowing that one day they would be finished.  After all, if I was honest with you all, quilting is probably my FAVORITE craft of all time!  I love the history, the creativeness, and the pride that come from creating my own quilts.  And, let's face it, the OCD side of me delights in getting to be so precise with my piecing ability. 




Proof!


So, hopefully soon, the basement will house my own craft room, my own quilting machine, and some completed quilts that I adore!  It makes me smile just thinking about it!

In the spirit of quilting, I've started researching some new patterns/tools that might make good starter projects to work on while I wait and dream.  Check em out and let me know what you think!  Do you like to quilt?!

I've been drooling over this book since it was announced!  I love it!  You can get it here.  And if you hurry, she's having a book give away at her blog here.



Didn't I do good coordinating my fabric and her book cover!  OCD, I told ya!


When I was at the Quilt Corner I found this little kit that just screamed to come home with me!  So much for my resolution not to buy anything until I finish something else!  It's a great assortment of Amy Butler fabrics and will work up into an awesome little throw blanket.  The shop had one kit left when I was there a few days ago!  Hurry if you want one!

Finally, here's a few patterns that I've acquired over the past few months.  I can't wait to make Just Dandy, Sugar Dish, Kaleidoscope, and Houndstooth.  They are from two of my favorite bloggers/designers...be sure to check out the V&Co. blog and Cluck Cluck Sew, ASAP!

Well, that's all for now!  Enjoy!

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Don't forget...Craft Night is TOMORROW!!!!  Yay!!!!

Craft Night #5

Craft Night #5 has come and gone, and like this blog post...I was totally unprepared for it!  :)

The Christmas Season totally wiped me out, creatively, so when my lovely team members reminded me that it was in fact craft night on Tuesday, I didn't even know what I was going to work on.  Luckily, though, some new guests to our group totally saved the evening, and I had a blast! 

My good friend Kendra and my Sis-in-law Jen joined us for their very first experience crafting in the cornfields.  Not only was it good to see them, but it was nice to have a quiet evening catching up with these two ladies, as well as with Emmy, and the SF gals.  I think we all agreed that it was nice to have 12/25 past us and we were all looking forward to the new year. 

I worked on a scarf/wrap pattern from an old issue of Crochet magazine.  (I think the January 2010 edition)  This has been a work in progress for me for quite some time now, so it was nice to get back to it.  I'm now ready to finish it thanks to my progress at CN#5.  It's a simple pattern and works up quick.



Pattern is called Roses & Lace scarf.  The photo color is horrible, but I'm using a nice rich purple color.



Yay for an almost finished scarf and a sequined sweat shirt!


Kendra joined us and resumed work on her very first crochet project.  I love the colors she chose for her afghan...it's going to be GORGEOUS when it's done!

Jen worked on party decorations for my favorite nephew's 1st birthday party.  I can't believe that little squirt is going to be ONE!  Where does the time go...anyways...the party theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar (so cute) and this is the sign that will sit over the big boy's high chair while he digs into his cake!  She also made some quick/cute bug antenna head bands for the party guests to wear.  Love it!

I was glad to see Emmy this week too!  She's getting so creative with her jewelry making!  I love to see each person's individual style come out in the things they make!  Here's a beautiful necklace that Emmy whipped up!

Well, that's it for CN#5!  See you soon with some knit progress, and and cool new project!



Christmas Gifts...unwrapped

Wow...what a whirlwind Christmas was!  I didn't get quite as much accomplished as quickly as I had hoped, but nonetheless, everyone seemed to enjoy what I'd made them (and, I got it all DONE!).  I spent the wee hours of Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve crocheting my little heart out to get finished!  It was all worth it, though, to see everyone's faces when they opened their handmade gifts.  That's the most fun part about gift giving for me...I love seeing their reactions!

Here's a few random photos of some of the gifts that got given by me or by clever members of my family...




Renee, Diana, Autumn, & Kim all got sparkly bling bracelets at our office gift exchange

Bracelets originally featured...here!


Here's the 6 other bling bracelets that I made for my Mom-in-law, my Momma, my Grandma, Jen, AuntieGrandmaCheryl, and Katie.



My cousin-in-law Katie is so sweet...she tried her Scarfette on right away!! What a beautiful smile she has!  I have to give Katie a shout-out because she is the absolute queen of homemade Christmas gifts, which I think is so awesome!! In years past I've been lucky enough to receive a hand-painted cookie plate, homemade cookie jar mix, soup mix, and she's made awesome tied-fleece blankets for a few other cousins. 


 Scarfette pattern is here if you are looking for it!  Lately, though, I've been making them with a Q hook instead of the P like my original pattern said.  It only takes about 5 rows in addition to your chain with the Q hook, but just try and see what you think.


Grandma loved her bracelet, which I made in green fire polished Czech glass in honor of our Irish roots!



I know Momma loves her Scarfette, because the last few times I've seen her she's been wearing it! Awesome!



I have to rat myself out on this one...my poor sister-in-law has been promised this blanket since last Christmas.  I just couldn't get it done in time, so I gave her a half finished blanket last year!  I finally got it done this, year, though, and decided to wrap it up for her again!


 Get the pattern for this throw....here.  I used a Q hook in a bulky weight yarn.



I can't take credit for this one, but I thought it was such a cute idea that I had to show you all.  My dad actually came up with the idea of it! (Way to go Papa!)  He and my mom gave my Grandma this cute wreath decorated with gift cards from some of Grandma's favorite places!  What an easy but festive way to give gift cards!  I love it!

 
I also received some awesome gifts that I can't wait to use!!!  I think people have me figured out, because almost everything I got was crafty, vintage, or just good reading material!  Here's a quick rundown of some of my favorites that are craft-related!  You'll have to let me know what your favorite gift that you received was in the comments section...

First up, this awesome new book by Amy Barickman...it's called Vintage Notions, and I'm in love with it!  If you know me, I love anything vintage or fabric, so to get something about both...I'm in heaven!  But wait, that's not all!  This awesome book also has cooking, sewing, fashion and more...but all vintage!  I love love love this!!!  If you're interested, you can get the book here, or find it at the store where my particular copy came from here, or...if you want to know more about the woman behind Vintage Notions...check out her website here! 

Another gift I'm way excited about is my new Dremel tool!  I've always wanted a cute little Dremel tool of my own...I figure every serious crafter needs one, right?!  So the Hubster came through and surprised me with this little bad boy!  I can't wait to use it!  If you need one of your very own, here's where the Hubby says he got it.

One of my all-time favorite blogs out there is written by Camille of Thimble Blossoms fabric fame.  Her blog, Simplify is checked daily by me.  She's got awesome style, and her new Bliss fabric line from Moda is to DIE for!  I was lucky enough to get some Bliss for Christmas.  You can find it at a lot of your local quilt shops, but the Hubby got my charm packs from Etsy (yay Etsy!).  Isn't Bliss Gorgeous?!  Teal and red...my faves if you can't already tell from my blog ;)

I might have totally on purpose accidentally bought the Bliss Jelly Roll from this lovely Etsy sight as well!  Santa won't mind, right?!

I must have been awfully good this year, because I also got the two newest books from my favorite series...The Elm Creek Quilts novels...by Jennifer Chiaverini.  I spent all Christmas break reading them, and they, like all the others before them, were FABULOUS.  Check out Amazon if you're looking for them here and here.

And finally, the gift I've used the most so far!  I asked for a good desk lamp to use while beading, crocheting, etc.  I might only be 27 going on 65, but my eyes ain't what they used to be! (Daisy Mae Moses would be proud of that sentence!)  So this light has been awesome!  I especially LOVE that it has an outlet built into so I can plug my glue gun right into it, and it has these awesome little compartments that conveniently hold my jewelry making tools and crochet hooks.  Thanks Renee, Autumn, Kim & Diana! (Find the lamp here, you need one of these puppies!)



Phew....I'm pooped!  This was a long one, so thanks for bearing with me!  Hope everyone had as awesome of a Christmas as me! 

Photos from Craft Night #5 are coming up next!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Well, it's officially Christmas-time!!!!  Only three more days until the big day.  I'm really really looking forward to Christmas this year.  All of my gifts are purchased and/or made.  Now, all I have left to do is wrap them!  I think in keeping with my hubby and I's tradition, we're going to sit down tonight with a good old fashioned Christmas movie and wrap, wrap, wrap!

Last week we had our emergency craft night/cookie exchange and it was a huge hit!  I had never participated in a cookie exchange before, and I think it actually may have been the highlight of the craft night!  Not that we didn't all love having more time to work on our projects, but the cookie baking and sharing was a nice change of pace!  I also LOVED the fact that I didn't have to go to near as much work to get such an awesome (albeit peanut-buttery) variety of cookies!  I will definitely be doing more of this in the future! 

Here's just a few pictures of the baking extravaganza...there were a few pics of the projects we worked on, but many of us were working on gifts for the holidays, so I didn't want to post pictures and spoil any surprises.

I'm sure everyone will cherish the gifts that we've all put so much time,effort, and love into making!  After all, isn't that what the holidays are all about...love?

So, Merry Christmas to each an every one of you!  I hope your holiday is a crafty one!

:) Jack

P.S.  We will still be having craft night December 28, same time, same place!  The January evening is being moved due to a scheduling conflict.  Instead, we will meet a week earlier on Tuesday, January 18th.  Hope to see everyone there!
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Update....

Sonja attended our emergency craft night and got to finish a fabulous crochet blanket!  It was intended to be a Christmas present for her dear sister and we didn't want to spoil the surprise on the chance that her sister (hi Ash!) might be reading the blog!  So, here's Sonja's completed blanket in Texas A&M colors, no less! 

Scarfette...and (gulp) Knitting

So here's the deal...you all know enough about me by now to know that I just can't pass up trying to copy something to make it more affordable.  Well, surprise...I'm at it again!  When my Momma and I went out shopping after Thanksgiving, I came across this cute little...what shall I call it....Scarfette!  It wraps around your neck and is just so soft and cozy, but you don't have to mess with having all of this material draping around your coat.  For someone who doesn't even like to wear a coat, this is a great option for me to minimize my layers at winter!  But, like most times, I wanted to try making one myself...it's all about the challenge after all!  I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out!

The first photo is the original...it's by Fossil, and retail price was around $32.  I got it way on sale, so that's a bonus, but there's no way I could justify paying that much to give them as gifts.  I went to work trying to figure out how I could copy it...first off, it's knitted (yuck) so I knew I'd have to come up with a crocheted alternative.  I thought if I used a bulkier weight yarn (like a 5 or 6) and a larger hook size (like a P) that I could simulate the fluffy-ness of the scarfette and make it quick and easy to work up.  Joann's seemed to be the best option around me to find the large buttons to use.  The one on the original scarfette measures in at 2 inches!  Once I figured out my pattern and was satisfied with how it all looked, I worked one of my copy scarfettes up in only 30 minutes!  And that's start to finish!  Can you believe it! 

I love these little cuties and they'd make great gifts!!!!  Give them I try!  I'll post my really abbreviated instructions for guidance below the pictures!


original Scarfette by Fossil



Jackie's copy

 

comparing size, stitches, and button holes

 

Crocheted Scarfette Instructions

1 strand of 5 or 6 weight yarn, or 2 strands of worsted weight 4 yarn

Size P crochet hook

2 inch button

Thread for sewing button on

Chain 50 loosely
Row 1 - single crochet in each chain space (50 sch) - chain 1 & turn
Row 2 - single crochet in each space (50 sch) - chain 1 & turn
Row 3 - single crochet in each space (50 sch) - chain 1 & turn
Row 4 - work 6 single crochet in the first 6 spaces - chain 3 loosely - single crochet across starting in the 4th space from the last single crochet (6 sch, 3 ch, 41 sch) - chain 1 & turn
Row 5 - single crochet in each chain space (50 sch) - chain 1 & turn
Row 6 - single crochet in each chain space (50 sch) - chain 1 & turn
Row 7 - single crochet in each chain space (50 sch) - finish off
Sew button at the end about 5 inches up from the bottom. 


You'll notice that this post does not stop here...no, I decided that I loved my scarfette's, but wondered how hard it would be to try one of these little babies with my dusty/never-used/sticks-from-hell/knitting needles.  For those that know, I'm a crocheter through and through.  My good friend and fellow crafter, Hannah, tried her best to get me to knit.  She even got me these awesome little orange needles and gave me a full day's worth of lessons.  But try as I might, I could not get them to create anything like the gorgeous scarf she made me a few years ago for Christmas!  I had resigned myself to the fact that I would never be a knitter.  Well, fast forward to yesterday...after a little inspiration from the scarfettes, and a little assistance from YouTube...look what I have done!  I'm KNITTING!!!!!  I can't say it's my favorite thing to do, but so far, it's turning out lovely!  I've held on to this variegated blue and tan yarn for a long time now, and it's finally getting put to use.  I just love how it's coming together.  So, Hannah, you'd finally be proud of me! :) 

If you'd like to learn how to knit and don't have an awesome Hannah to teach you, check out these videos...they worked wonders for me!

How to Knit - the Basics (YouTube video)

How to Knit - the Purl Stitch (YouTube video)

 

Look at me, I'm knitting!

 

My stitches don't even look that bad!


 If you happen to try out the scarfette pattern or find the videos as helpful, let me know!