INSPIRING BLOGS OF 2009 [and beyond]: LOVE THOSE HOOKERS

Thank you Royal Sister for this tutorial!

AND by hookers I mean, CROCHET HOOKS!! {yes, cheese is one of my middle names}

One year ago I dislocated my shoulder (which was THE worst experience of my life so far) and taught myself to crochet because I go insane if too many days pass and I am not making or doing something, my main {left} arm was immobilized for some time and crocheting predominantly requires one's right arm--voila a new obsession....and since then I am ever so thankful that I filled a negative part of my life with a skill that keeps on giving!! That's right, I said SKILLZ!!

KARMA BUTTON'S 2009 TOP FIVE CROCHET BLOGS:

ATTIC 24

Attic24 you have made me obsessed with granny hexagons, taught me how to join as I work, and offered me so much inspiration to hook away!! {lol}

THE ROYAL SISTERS

OMG Royal Sisters you make me use abbreviations! Thank you for the awesome pictorial instructions and the star tutorial-- I sold about 15 for our 1st Holiday Fair {ALL proceeds went to our club-- I didn't even pay myself for supplies} Those stars kept my mind busy during some hard times this past month!

CREATIVE YARN

This is one of the sites that made me want to get good at crocheting!! I love her patterns and have made SO SO many variations! {some showable, some beginner's crud}

CROCHET SPOT

Great place for beginners and for so many user-friendly practical projects!

ROSEHIP

A very recent find with so much more creative inspiration than crochet! I love her style and personalization of an age-old craft!

There are really so many great crocheting resources on the internet. I attribute the computer to my own development--whether it was the latter blogs, the plethora of group sites, youtube for tutorials, or just random searches for a specific project. Hope anyone reading this gets a glimpse at why I love this newish {and overabundant} hobby! 

xoxo

CROCHETED GIFTS

Some things I have been making for presents:

PETITE SCARF

(I made my flower into a pin so that it is removable or could hold the scarf together more securely. I really love this and can't wait to post my pictures!)

TRIBBLE TRIVET

(I want to make a million of these!! A great tutorial too!)

GRANDMA TWINKLE

(After seeing so many beautiful star garlands I went on an insane webquest to finally find the perfect FREE tutorial!! Since I spent many many hours by my mom's side in the hospital, this was one of those great projects to tide the time in a beautiful way!! Love love love their other tutes as well!)

And for all of the crochet lovers out there, here is the MECCA of all crochet sites

(brace yourself!)

CROCHET POET'S PATTERN COLLECTION

xoxo

CROCHET FEVER....

I plan on working on the teepee village tomorrow night with Cyndy  of Heliotrope Tree House who may inspire me to break out my sewing machine for the "X Marks the Spot Blanket" (which I adore!)--but until then I am going to share my obsession that seems to actually be lasting and growing! Now, I adore functional craft so naturally I was extra proud of my headband/ear warmer today while walking in an insanely windy city today--but my pride is finally finished--the super long and soft scarf taken from "Stitch'n' Bitch:The Happy Hooker" (minus one row of scalloped edging since I realized I wouldn't have enough yarn!) --And please excuse my photobooth pics! (Next post will have nice photos!)

 

I used red chenille that I got for $1.29 per small skein at The Christmas Tree Shop!

The scarf ended up being nearly twice as long as I am!!! Now I have a much better idea of when to follow a pattern exactly or not! Notice the cute edging!!

This is me ever so happy with my lovely soft first ever complete scarf!!!

 

And these pics are of another Creative Yarn necklace that I embellished with some buttons:

I love versatility!!

And, to all of my new RVA friends--xoxo, so much more fun stuff to come!!

AND, to my Aunt B--thank you for your wonderful insight and support!!!

YOU ALL ROCK!

KARMIC GOODIES: CROCHET MADNESS

I've been gone awhile, trying to make sense of life...and in the meantime, my obsessions are still keeping me going! The latest...crochet! I struggled with knitting and was always curious about using only one needle (hook) and after hours and hours and hours of playing, here are a few things I am willing to show! (Mind the terrible pics from my Photobooth, eventually I will put batteries in my camera...) 

This project was an attempt to copy some of Creative Yarn's patterns...but this was one of my first attempts at anything crochet...so it came out kind of awful...but I improvised and made it a versatile headband!

This cute Irish inspired ruffle necklace is what I made after being frustrated by not being able to do any of the supposedly easy patterns on the super cool Creative Yarn site...this was taken from this awesome site via Burdastyle.

 And then there was even more....

As you can see I love how versatile my crochet accessories can be!! My inspiration was from Creative Yarn, but what I actually did was use the flower pattern from For the Love of Yarn and then I chained about 200 and made a little loop to slip the main tail in so I can wear this piece in many ways. (You will see essentially the same thing with the pink flower!)

My most recent project started as this headband pattern at Craft Leftovers , but I noticed my head is way too  big to have simply tied this, so I added two buttons in order to have another switcheroo garment!! 

Look, I'm a headband or a big head!

Now I am a headband for a messy big head!

Now I am a sophisticated neck cuff.

And now I am a stylish neck cuff!

Some other crochet favorites I've found: 

1. Midnight Knitter   

2.  Woman's Day Top 20 Crochet Sites 

3. Make Granny Squares (because they are so much fun!)

4. My Picot 

5. Cut out and Keep (which simply rocks!)

Certainly more to come!! Lots of love, today and every day!