i skipped last week's post...you may have noticed!  I've been busy, I didn't have much to report, blah blah blah.  I would say I probably still don't have much to report, but I have a few things in the hopper I can share!  First I did finish a project.  This was my "purse project"...I try to always keep something small going in my purse so I'm never without something to do!

I made this with Plymouth Yarn "Neon Now" and I am absolutely in love with it!  I just used a basic block stitch (modified granny stitch, sometimes its also called a brick or box stitch I think) and then when it came to the edging I came across the instructions for this adorable pom pom fringe!

Now as I mentioned I had finished up my "purse project" so I needed to start a new one!  I had picked up a skein from a local hand dyer at a maker market before the holidays that I had been dying to get started on, so I finally found a good project for it! 

Hopefully I have more fun stuff to show you next week, but I will definitely have a new pattern to throw your way in March!  That will likely be the last free pattern until fall unless I can think of something to make for the warm months, but the weather won't stop me from working on all kinds of stuff!!

Hello!  I hope your week is going well!  What have you done this week to spread love around you or to light your own light?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments or on my Facebook!  I have a maker market this weekend, the Valentine Gypsy Market, where I will be selling my little hearts (shown last week) with the proceeds going to charity!

And now, as I'm sure you've all been so eagerly awaiting...its time for my second pattern to be published!  Yay!!!  (Please imagine a gif of Kermit waving spastically here)

This is the companion piece to the Spectrum Slice Scarf that I showed you last month!  With 2 Caron Cakes you can get both of these pieces if your gauge is similar to mine.  Of course you could substitute any worsted weight yarn and still have a lovely outcome! I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

This pattern is not sponsored by Caron or Michaels, I just like the product!  You will see affiliate links below but an ad free PDF version is available in my Ravelry Store for $2.00!

Materials:
Hook Size: US J/ 10 (UK 4; 6.0mm)
Yarn: Caron Cakes Rainbow Sprinkles (1 Skein)
Notions: Tapestry needle
Stitches Used:

• sc
• dc
• fdc (foundation double crochet)
• sc2tog
• dc2tog
  

Gauge:

• Gauge is not crucial on this project but to achieve the size that is shown here make a swatch as follows:
  • 16fdc
  • Follow the pattern repeat below with no decreases (rows 1-4) twice
  • Swatch should be 5"x5"

Finished Piece Measurements:

• Approximately: 60" x 17" (at widest part)
  

Leave a tail at the start at least 12” long; 10 fdc; (or chain 12, dc in 3rd chain and across, 10dc); turn

Row 1: ch 2 (does not count as a dc), 2 dc in 1st st; 1 dc in each dc across; 2 dc in last st; turn
Row 2: ch 3,  sk 1st dc; dc in next dc; *ch 1, sk 1 dc, dc in next dc* across; turn
Row 3: ch 1 (does not count as a sc), 2 sc in 1st dc; sc in each ch1 and dc across; 2 sc in ch 3 spot; turn
Row 4: ch 3,  sk 1st sc; dc in next sc; *ch 1, sk 1 sc, dc* across; turn

Row 5-48: repeat rows 1-4 11 times
Row 49: ch 2 (does not count as a dc), 1 dc in 1st dc; 1 dc in each dc across; 1 dc in last dc; turn
Row 50: ch 3,  sk 1st dc; dc in next dc; *ch 1, sk 1 dc, dc* across; turn
Row 51: ch 1 (does not count as a sc), 1 sc in 1st dc; sc in each ch1 and dc across; 1 sc in last dc; turn
Row 52: ch 3,  sk 1st sc; dc in next sc; *ch 1, sk 1 sc, dc* across; turn
Row 53: ch 2 (does not count as a dc), dc2tog dc in 1st dc & 1st ch 1; 1 dc in each st across; dc2tog in last dc and ch1; turn
Row 54: ch 3,  sk 1st dc; dc in next dc; *ch 1, sk 1 dc, dc* across; turn
Row 55: ch 1 (does not count as a sc), sc2tog in 1st dc and ch1; sc in each ch1 and dc across; sc2tog in last ch1 and dc; turn
Row 56: ch 3,  sk 1st sc; dc in next sc; *ch 1, sk 1 sc, dc* across; turn

Row 57-100: repeat rows 53-56 11 times
Row 101: repeat row 53
Row 102: dc in each dc across (10 dc)

Break yarn and fasten off leaving a tail at least 12” long.  Fold ends in thirds and sew together (like a gather).  I do fold so that the end looks like a “W” or a Z-fold letter.  Weave in Ends

Finishing: Make 2 pom poms with remaining yarn and affix to each end.  The one shown used the Clover Pom Pom maker size Large (the blue one that makes 3 3/8” diameter); this meant going into a 2nd skein of Caron Cakes so if you want to keep to one skein you can make smaller poms or do tassels instead.  If you want the big pom poms, but don’t know what to do with the remaining yarn of the 2nd skein, please see my Spectrum Slice Scarf pattern, they are companion pieces to use a total of 2 skeins together!

If you are on Ravelry please give this new kid on the block a favorite and add it to your queue!  And if you make one I'd love to see photos!  I'd be so tickled to see one made in every colorway!

Here is my pattern testing variation in Bumbleberry!  The purples are so pretty!

If you don't feel like making your own scarves the samples shown here are up for sale now on my Facebook and at least one more colorway will go up for sale soon, be the first to know about these sample sales and all the other fun things I'm doing by signing up for my mailing list!  I will never send more than once a week and you'll like it I swear!

You guys, its crazy out there!!  I feel like every morning I look out my metaphorical window and see a new type of goblin army marching by!  It feels like there's not much that we can do to make a noticeable change, as you can't see a river slowly erode a mountain, but that doesn't mean that the love we put out in the world isn't working.  It is, it is small, and it is slow, but it is working and as long as we keep it up I believe we will see it.  Sometimes all we can do is brighten our own little corner and hope that our light leads someone else to turn on their light until there is more light than dark!

Fortunately my method of stress relief is also my way to brighten my corner...by turning yarn into pretty things!  I'm working out new ways for those things to help bring love to others, but until I get that all fleshed out, I'm just trying to keep moving.  As usual I'm working on like 100 different things, but one of the things I really wanted to accomplish in 2017 was to participate in a Crochet-A-Long.  For those that don't know what that is, its a hosted pattern that people from all over work on at the same time and compare what they have come up with.  Sometimes the patterns come out all at the beginning, sometimes its a mystery what the finished piece will be.  I have chosen one that is an afghan that will be made up of different squares, the patterns for those squares are released every 2 weeks all year long.  Here is the link to it, it is hosted by Moogly!

I have just caught up on the first 2 squares.  I was a bit behind as I was slow to order yarn.  I picked these colors because they will match my guest room perfectly!  I'm very excited about how they have turned out so far!  I have not yet blocked these, and I've not tucked in my ends on the one on the right obviously!

As I am me and I don't go halfway, I couldn't choose just one colorway and be done with it!  I also felt like I needed one made in colors inspired by Memphis Design pop art of the 80s.  I love how the first square has turned out (what looks black is actually navy blue) and the 2nd one is coming along nicely!

Something else I've been working on are these little hearts.  They are a Twinkie Chan pattern (of course) and I've been making them in Lion Brand Ice Cream baby yarn.  I love how they are coming out such fun color patterns!  I plan to sell these with proceeds going to charity at my next live sale which is right before Valentine's Day.  (You can find out more about that on my Where To Find Me page)

Please let me know in the comments or on my Facebook page how you are brightening your corner of the world!  We all need to fan the flames of good right now!

To keep up with all of my goings on and to find out where I will be live at craft shows, please subscribe to my mailing list!

Hello!  I hope you all are enjoying last week's free pattern!  If you didn't see it pop on over and give it a look!  Next month I will release the companion pattern to this one, I'm so excited for you to see it!  In the meantime I thought I'd update you on some personal projects I've been knocking out!  If you remember back when I took a trip to the knitting and crochet conference I came away with quite a yarn haul! My favorite was a skein I bought from the StevenBe booth that was a Beach Bum hand dyed beauty!  The color way was Weeping Angel, which is a Dr Who reference I believe (not my particular nerd-dom) and it was beautiful!  I started working with it right away crocheting a granny shawl, but when I got home I decided it deserved a much nicer pattern!

As it turned out, after finishing that pattern I still had a good amount of yarn left!  Those hand-dyeds aren't cheap and I didn't want to let it go to waste!  I took a guess at how much was left and found this lovely pattern called Feathers of Pharaohs by 10 Hours or Less.  In the end I had a very stressful game of yarn chicken and just barely had enough to finish this pattern!

For next week I'm hoping to have a pile of one-of-a-kind items up for sale!  These will be things I've either made to try out fun yarn, or made to test patterns and a person can only wear so many scarves so I need to clear some things out!  I'm not going to put them on my Etsy since they aren't really part of my line, instead they will likely be in a photo album on my Facebook (so make sure you "like" me!) that you can comment on to buy, first come first serve!  I will also make these available early to my mailing list, so if you aren't signed up, do so now!

Its time!  Its finally time!  I have a pattern ready for your consumption!  My first written out and published pattern ready to move your hands in loopy motions!  But first, just a touch of back story!

Have you guys heard of Caron Cakes?  They came out of nowhere as a Michael's store exclusive and everyone lost their damn minds.  I wanted to be cool about it and not fall in love, but honestly, a big cake shaped mass of yarn with color changes...no one is that strong!  Its soft too, so that helps!  Right after the holidays Michael's had it on sale for $5 per cake and I knew it was a good time to stock up, I went in looking for the cream of the crop colorway: Rainbow Sprinkles!  Turns out I was the only one at my local Michael's with that goal in mind because whoa, it was pretty much all they had left!  I checked my impulses at 4...I have regrets.

The pattern that follows uses just shy of 1 of these bad boys, but save what's left because I made a companion pattern (going up in February) that will gladly take up the scraps left from this one!  And now, ladies and gentlemen...

This pattern is not sponsored by Caron or Michaels, I just like the product!  You will see unrelated ads below but an ad free PDF version is available in my Ravelry Store for $2.00!

Materials:
Hook Size: US J/ 10 (UK 4; 6.0mm)
Yarn: Caron Cakes Rainbow Sprinkles (1 Skein)
Notions: Tapestry needle
Stitches Used:

• sc
• dc
• fdc (foundation double crochet)
• sc2tog
• dc2tog

Gauge:

• Gauge is not crucial on this project but to achieve the size that is shown here make a swatch as follows:
  • 16fdc
  • Follow the pattern repeat below with no decreases (rows 1-4) twice
  • Swatch should be 5"x5"

Finished Piece Measurements:

• Approximately: 60" x 18" (at widest part)

Instructions:
59 fdc (or chain 61, dc in 3rd chain and across, 59dc); turn

Row 1: ch 2 (does not count as a dc), dc2tog 1st & 2nd sts; 1 dc in each st across; turn

Row 2: ch 3,  sk 1st dc; dc in next dc; *ch 1, sk 1 dc, dc in next dc* across; turn

Row 3: ch 1 (does not count as a sc), sc2tog in 1st dc and ch1; sc in each dc and ch1 across ending in ch3 space; turn

Row 4: ch 2, dc in 1st sc; *ch 1, sk 1 sc, dc* across; turn

Row 5-112: repeat rows 1-4 27 times

Row 113: repeat Row 1

Row 114: ch 2, dc in each dc across (2 sts)

Break yarn and fasten off.  Weave in ends.

If you are on Ravelry please give this new kid on the block a favorite and add it to your queue!  And if you make one I'd love to see photos!  I'd be so tickled to see one made in every colorway!

Also in pattern testing I made it in Bumbleberry and its so lovely!!