to craft a home – To Craft A Home

The Easy Peasy Basic Baby Blanket

With a baby on the way and multiple friends also pregnant alongside me, as a crocheter, I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me! Baby blankets are always a common request and truthfully, one I love to give as gifts at showers. Surprisingly to some though, blankets aren’t my strong suit, and I find it very hard to stay motivated and focused on each one. When it comes to making a blanket, I find the simpler, the better.

I love this pattern because it’s only really two stitches that you need to remember. No change each row, no huge pattern to memorize or take with you, no color changes, etc. Just two simple stitches and a couple of skeins of yarn! This is the perfect blanket to make while watching your favorite show or movie, or just sitting to pass the time.

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Cozy Bear Hat

Now that the cooler fall days are here I find myself wanting to use the heavier, warmer yarns and one of my favorites is always Bernat’s Blanket Yarn. I love this yarn because not only does it feel extra soft and cozy in my hands as I’m working it up, but also it makes for fast projects.

The Cozy Bear Hat came to life when I realized I had made everything with Bernat Blanket Yarn except for a hat. I know it’s not the most traditional type of yarn so a hat needed to have a little creativity to it and instantly I thought of a bear hat. With this yarn’s texture and warmth, it just works! The ears stick straight up and its form never collapses making it an ideal addition to any bear costume you might be dreaming up this Halloween! It’s also great for little ones who need to stay cozy in the cooler months. But I opted not to just limit it to babies and children because honestly it’s just so cute who wouldn’t want one for themselves?

Enjoy!
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Mini Velvet Pumpkins

August is the month that stands between summer and fall, my absolute favorite season. With the kids back in school (seriously, already!?) and the stores filling the aisles with fall and Halloween decorations, I can’t help but have it on my mind earlier and earlier each passing year. Did I also mention anywhere on this blog about my obsession with velvet yarn? Seriously, I can’t stop buying it! It’s so soft and luxurious! I decided to do something more with it than just hoard it though, and since fall was on my mind I couldn’t help but think that a velvet crocheted pumpkin would be the perfect pattern to create and take my mind off of this hot *not fall* weather and replace it with reminders that fall is on its way. Sooooooon.

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Rudy Reindeer

It’s Christmastime and I’m absolutely feeling the holiday upon us this year! Maybe it’s from the baked cookie scent in my house or the presents already wrapped under my tree… Or the fact that I just got done creating and sending out over 200 crocheted holiday orders from my Etsy . The holiday craft fairs, the holiday train rides, Christmas stockings, Christmas music… It’s all in the season and each year I fall in love with the holiday all over again.

Speaking of holiday craft fairs, I participated in a great big one in town a couple weeks ago and displayed quite a few of my finished products including this sweet little Rudy Reindeer, which was quite the hit! He ended up going home with a happy mom and child receiving hugs the entire time they walked around the fair. It definitely warmed my heart! And as I always say, the blanket yarn is always the best for hugging, as it makes each toy so soft and squishy! Since it’s Christmastime, enjoy making your own Rudy Reindeer with this totally free pattern! Continue reading Rudy Reindeer

The Jon Hat

Recently my husband started a new job in the city. Being in Chicago and right off the lake, I knew that he’d be needing something extra warm this fall and winter for the daily walking he does downtown. With this came the creation of the Jon Hat. Continue reading The Jon Hat

Dish Scrubbie (New Version)

It’s that time of year when craft fairs are popping up left and right. As posted in the past, I’ve mentioned my dish scrubbies and even offered a free pattern found here: Dish Scrubbies These dish scrubbies always go fast at any farmers market or craft fair I participate it. So many people tie memories to these scrubbies from their own past, often times citing older family members having had made them and long since past. They’re always delighted to see them pop up and often times I’ll find repeat customers! So this year, as craft fair season is upon us, I find myself busy working up many more dish scrubbies to sell at my booths. While the old version using tulle is fantastic and something I still highly recommend, I couldn’t help but fall in love with Yarn Bee’s Scrub-Ology Scrub It! yarn (found here:Yarn Bee Scrub-Ology Scrub It! ) the first time I saw it at Hobby Lobby a few weeks back. I’ve admittedly been avoiding the scrubbie yarns, as I feel that nylon tulle is the best texture for dish scrubbers and most are made of cotton and thinner in appearance. This yarn was way different than most you’ll find, however. The moment I saw this new yarn I just had to give it a try! The texture was perfect and even better, it was made of nylon. So I rushed home with a couple of skeins and tried my hand at it. My findings were quite pleasant and so great that I decided to rework my dish scrubbie pattern entirely!
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Face Scrubbies/Pads

Need a quick gift idea and want to keep it handmade? Face scrubbies are perfect! These work up so fast and are a great addition to any gift bag or basket. All it takes is a few minutes and 100% cotton yarn!

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The Super Soft Pumpkin

I am a sucker for Halloween. I’m that person who is obsessively scouring the store aisles in August, waiting for school supplies to vanish from the shelves and Halloween decor items to take their place. I’m yearning for pumpkin spice lattes in July, practically beating down Starbucks’s door come September when they finally roll out. Once even a hint of Halloween rolls up into town I am in constant ghoulish party mode!

Sadly though, it’s still only August and fall is a ways away. People around me are telling me to cool it and let summer live out its final days. I can’t seem to find my balance with waiting out those long, hot days when my mind is constantly playing Halloween tunes and my house is already giving off the scents of cinnamon and pumpkin though. So what to do? Well, make a pumpkin pattern, of course! Continue reading The Super Soft Pumpkin

Mermaid Doll

As a fellow crocheter I’m sure any one of you reading this can certainly relate to the dreaded yarn overflow problem. If you’re anything like me, you collect yarn compulsively. Currently I have at least five bins of yarn in my basement. I use yarn out of each bin, but always there’s that one dedicated bin for novelty yarns that I admittedly do not use as much as I should. I fall in love with a color/color combo of yarn, find endless amounts of clearance yarn, or am gifted yarn by someone else with good intentions. I swear to myself I’ll eventually get to using those beautiful yarns, but always they end up in the novelty yarn bin. As I was going through my yarn the other day I came across many types of yarns I oooohed and ahhhhhed over, swearing yet again that I would pick them up and find purpose for them. This project was meant to be exactly that. A purpose for at least one skein of the forgotten novelty yarn.

This beautiful rainbow yarn was meant to be mermaid hair. Am I wrong?

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Cactus Hat

For as long as I can remember I have always been terrible at plant upkeep. I love the idea of gardens and flowers blooming in my yard and I’m amazed at the beauty of houseplants, but such never came to be for my own home due to my lack of green thumb. Everything I touch seems to die despite countless research, advice, and plant enthusiasts in my corner. However, something finally changed this year. I’m not sure why this summer has been any different, but I’ve been able to keep cacti and succulents alive! Even in the past, despite being told how easy those two types of plants were to care for, I’d never get them past a season. Maybe there is a shade of green showing on this thumb of mine after all? Whatever the change may be, I’m just happy that I can finally have a little army of succulents and cacti on my window sill to happily greet me every day. So naturally, I’ve had cacti on my mind and to celebrate, why not make a hat? I couldn’t resist!

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