Crochet Crazyness!!

Well, with the end of summer fast approaching all us crocheters around the world should be getting busy making items for Christmas! YAY!!! But I gotta say, my customers are keeping me hopping!!! I have not had ANY time to make items for my Christmas Craft shows!

So I have to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to all my amazing customers who have given me the great chance to stay home!! This business has now become a part-time job! It is GREAT!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

 I have had a few record braking days, one day I had 3 sales on Etsy!! It is so great! So many more customers on Facebook! I feel so blessed :) And I feel humbled at the same time, thinking that you guys actually like the things I create! 

With all this crochet I am working like a mad woman!!! Yarn is everywhere in my house! As I type this my computer desk is adorned with much yarn and facial tissue as I also have bad allergies and a sinus cold! 

What a great work space, hey? Complete with last nights caffeine fix (Coke of course!), and a lint roller, as a crocheter has to be careful to keep herself free of cat hair and the yarn clean, too!  As well you can see my used tissues! (Ewwww) But hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do when her nose is filled with yuck!

So there you have it, a glimpse into my "creative" workspace. I really wish I had a REAL workspace but, maybe when my creations are rich and famous I can buy my own studio! (Yeah right!!)

If you are not a fan of my Facebook Page, you should be! Becasue you are missing out on all my newest creations!!! Like this, very cute Cupcake Hat!!

So I guess the point to my random post today is....THANK YOU!!!! And once again THANK YOU!!!! I am so happy you like what I make :) Seriously, it really makes me smile!!! :)

Don't forget to check out my Facebook Page!! Now I have listed my Facebook Page twice so you have no excuse not to like it!! (Just kidding......well maybe not!!)

Meg

Nerdy Glasses and a Scarf?!?!

Aching arms and cramped up hands: the true mark of a real crocheter! Let me tell you, my arms are done by the end of my day! Between crocheting like a madwoman and picking up my heavy 3 yr old, I think I should have pipes! PIPES!!! Big ones like Arnold or that actor who played Thor! (Not up to date on my beefy Hollywood Hunks!) But alas, they are still flabby arms, albeit very nice darkly tanned, but still....flabby. The reason my arms are so tired is becasue of the INSANE amount of crochet I have been doing!!! I guess all that shouting "Buy my stuff, buy my stuff" and trailing yarn out my pants has finally paid off! :)  

Make no mistake I am certainly NOT complaining at all! Bring on the sales!! But I must say I am a little worried on getting REALLY behind in work! (Case in point, I should not be writing this blog entry!) Currently, I have about 10 orders on the go! Honestly, I really hope I get them all done in a timely manner. I must say ALL of my customer have been wonderfully patient and super understanding that I am a stay-at-home-mom, too. 

What about the title of this post, you say? How is jibber-jabber about arms and sales have anything to do with nerdy glasses and scarves?!?! It doesn't. 

But this does!! I have finished a famous Hello Kitty Hat with nerdy glasses!! Coolest thing ever, I must say! This is not my original idea, no siree! A wonderful customer from South Korea thought of this. To be perfectly honest, I have come across a few Hello Kitty Hats with nerdy glasses on Etsy, but I have not made one as I don't wish to intrude upon a fellow Etsian's business. But if you so choose to have nerdy glasses on your Hello Kitty Hat I will be more than happy to oblige! (For an extra $2) 

Isn't she cute?!?! I really LOVE how this turned out! I'm hoping my South Korean customer will love it as much as I do!

Now for the scarf bit! If you are a "fan" of my Facebook Page, (which you should become a fan of!) then you have already viewed the lovely scarf. I made this beautiful piece of crochet for a customer who wanted an elegant scarf for winter. I think it is just perfect!!! The color is great for elegance and if you want a bit more flare, why not hot pink?!?! I am about to make another one of these in just that color!! I did not think I would be making these lovely scarves becasue honestly, I have only made 5 or 6 in my years as a crocheter!

Thus has been my summer! Acting and crochet! My two favorite activities! It has been a wonderful summer overall and it is not over yet! (I wear my sandals until is snows!) Hope you are having a fabulous summer filled with nerdy glasses and scarves, too! Mine has also been full of dolls, lots and lots of dolls! Dolls out the wazoo! And ponies, curtsey of my daughter who now believes she is horse. :)

Meg

NEW LISTINGS!!!!

Hey all!!! I have made some new items! I wanted to make more but I got a bunch of orders right in the middle of a theatre festival I was performing in! I have made a FABULOUS hat for a customer locally, I can't WAIT to show you all but alas I don't have any pictures yet.....

Right now, I'm sure all you crocheters and crafters out there are getting ready for.....Christmas! Yes, Christmas! I know it is NOT what I want to be thinking about right now becasue summer in this province lasts for such a short time but I really want to get a head start on things! Anyone doing some Christmas craft shows? I hope to do a few this year. I did two shows this summer and they didn't work out too great but I know it is getting my product out there and people are starting to recognize who I am!!!

A gorgeous NEW headband!! OOAK ONLY $8!!

And I have MORE good news!!!!!! We are hoping and praying the Agency will give us the go ahead to adopt our daughter.......THIS MONTH!!!!! Crazy I know! It was like our social worker got a bug under her! Praise God! Sometimes I think I don't even have to physically pray for us to adopt her anymore becasue I think my heart beats that prayer every day.

I was day dreaming about what it would be like to finally call her our "real" daughter! How I was going to introduce her to all my friends abroad on Facebook, child dedication at church, having a "birth" announcement in our church bulletin, the list goes on and on and on! I can't wait to show you all how beautiful my little girl is! SO CLOSE!!!!

Thank you for praying with us! Thank you for all your amazing comments and well wishes! We are almost there!

Now I have to clean my house as I have neglected to give it a good cleaning for the past month!!! (What a bad housewife hey?!?! LOL) Dust bunnies....you are going down.......

Whilst I am cleaning you can take a look at some of my newer listings on Etsy if you want! You can find them at the bottom of the page!!

Baby Bobbie!! Check out the listing at the bottom of the page!! :)

Still a bad Blogger.....BUT a FREE PATTERN!!!!

So I have discovered I am still not a good blogger! LOL My BIG issue is.......What on EARTH do I blog about?!?!?!!? A big reason why I started this blog in the first place was to get some exposure for my shop. I'm not really sure if it is working but I gotta give it time. Sales don't happen overnight nor does one become a famous crocheter over night (one of my big goals in life.....no just kidding!)

As I sit here and write, I still have no idea what this blog post is about! So I think I will attempt to write out my pattern for a toddler size in the Froggy Hat. Would that suffice as a blog post? Yes, yes, I know it is summer and all but Superstore has their fall clothes out already, why not crochet a hat, too?

Let me know if it works out for you!!


Froggy Ear Flap Hat Toddler Size
Cap
With green worsted weight yarn and a size 5mm hook.
Start with 12hdc in a magic ring/magic circle/adjustable circle . (Don't know what this is? Check it out here.)
All rounds are joined with a slip stitch.
R2: 2hdc in each hdc (24)
R3: (hdc in next 2 hdc, 2hdc in next hdc) repeat around (32)
R4: (hdc in next 3hdc, 2hdc in next hdc) repeat around (40)
R5: (hdc in next 4hdc, 2hdc in next hdc) repeat around (48)
R6: (hdc in next 5hdc, 2hdc in next hdc) repeat around (52)
R7: (hdc in next 6hdc, 2hdc in next hdc) repeat around (60)
R8: (hdc in next 7hdc, 2hdc in next hdc) repeat around (68)
R9: hdc around (68)
Keep repeating round 9 until hat measures 7 inches. Fasten off. Here is a cool link to a different way to fasten off a hat.

Earflaps
With right side facing count 9 hdc from fasten off. Join with a sl st in 10th hdc.
R1: Hdc in next 15 hdc. Ch 1 turn (15)
R2: Hdc in next 15 hdc. Ch1 trun (15)
R3: Hdc2tog, hdc in next 11hdc, hdc2tog in last 2hdc. Ch1 turn (13)
R4: Hdc in each hdc. Ch 1 turn (13)
R5: Hdc2tgog, hdc in next 9hdc, hdc2tog in last 2hdc. Ch 1 turn (11)
R6: Hdc2tgog, hdc in next 7hdc, hdc2tog in last 2hdc. Ch 1 turn (9)
R7: Hdc2tgog, hdc in next 5hdc, hdc2tog in last 2hdc. Ch 1 turn (7)
R8: Hdc2tgog, hdc in next 3hdc, hdc2tog in last 2hdc. Ch 1 turn (5)
Fasten off.

With right side facing count 24hdc from fasten off spot on cap. Join with slip stitch. Repeat R1-8 from first earflap. Fasten off.

Edging
With right side facing,and black yarn, sc all the way around cap and earflaps. Fasten off with the technique used for the cap. Weave in all ends.

Eyes
There a few parts to the eyes, I will start with the black circle.
R1: In a magic ring, 6sc. Join with sl st. Fasten off. (make two) Leave a long tail for sewing.
Now for the white.
R1: In magic ring, 12dc. Join with sl st. Fasten off. (make two) Leave a long tail for sewing.
Sew black circle to the middle of the white circle
And finally for the green, googly eye part! This is worked in an amigurumi style. Do not join rounds rather use a marker.
R1: In magic ring, 5sc
R2: 2sc in each sc (10)
R3: (Sc in next sc, 2sc in next sc) repeat around (15)
R4: (Sc in next 2sc, 2sc in next sc) repeat around (20)
R5-8: Sc in each sc
R9: (Sc in next 2sc, sc2tog) repeat around (15)
R10: (Sc in next sc, sc2tog) repeat around (10)
Fasten off. Leave a long tail for sewing. Sew circles to eyes, positioning them how you like! Stuff and sew to the top of the hat.

Finishing
For the big froggy smile I used some black yarn and a blunt needle with a back stitch.
Cut 8 lengths of black yarn long enough to fold in half and braid for the braids on the flaps.(These can be however long or short you want them!) Insert hook in the last row of the earflap. Fold the black yarn lengths in half, place on hook and pull up a loop. (It can be a little tricky to get all the yarn through but you can do it!!) Pull ends trough loop and pull into a tight knot. Braid however long you like and cut ends so they are even. Repeat for the other side!

I hope this works for you and I hope you like it!!! However, please do not sell this pattern. You may sell the finished products at local craft shows and the like, but please not on Etsy.

Also let me know if you see any flaws!! :)

Thanks!! Have a SUPER day! :)

Soaking up the Sales!

Hey there all!!!! Look at that I have 20 followers! How cool is that?!! Thanks :)

Today I would like to talk about my sales. They have been doing great! I am so shocked!! I thought I would be lazing around this summer (IF it ever arrives here in Manitoba!) sitting by my daughter's jungle pool soaking up the sun and getting toasty brown! Nope I am CROCHETING!! Can you believe it!?! Boy I am so blessed with such great customers and friends!

I listed this Captain America hat and SOLD it the same day!!! That has never happened to me before, so it was very exciting!!

Right now I am working on two custom dolls, one with strawberry blond hair, and I am very happy to report that I found the most PERFECT yarn color for strawberry blond hair!! Funny thing is the yarn color is called "Rodeo"....uh... I think they need new yarn namers. We came up with a new name, Falling Leaves! Totally good yarn name right? Right?

I have another new hat on it's way, this one is more of a summer one. You want to see an unedited picture you ask? Well, okay I guess you can :)

This one has inter-changeable flowers!! Cool, eh? And it's a bit more summery or springy. I sold one at a craft sale about a week ago in a 1 year size. I must admit my little nephew came over that day and I could just not resist so I put him in the hat! ADORABLE!!! I will ask my sister-in-law if she would be opposed to me posting a pic of him in it on here!

As for our adoption, nothing will happen until September. Pretty much what I figured as people seem to like to take the summer off here! :) We start our adoption class in Sept. and hopefully our case will go before the Committee and they will say YES!! THANK you for all of your prayers! So far, this has been a really good experience! We feel like God is just working like crazy!!! Soon, I will be posting some pictures of my darling girl so you can all see how GORGEOUS she is! :)

Happy summer guys! Be safe and have fun! :)

The Battle May Have Begun!

Today I am making good on my promise to let you all into my personal life a little bit.......and maybe a shameless plug asking for prayer!

As some of you may know we are currently foster parents to one beautiful little girl who recently turned 3! We have known for some time now that we love her like our own daughter, in fact she is our daughter and we do not view her as anything else! The title to this post suggests we have a battle on our hands, which may not be entirely true but mostly likely is. The battle is adoption.

Our little sweetie has lived with us since the tender age of 6 weeks! Needless to say we are her parents and she knows no different. The reason I suggest it may be a battle to adopt her is our Agency is not always willing to let it's children go. BUT we know with God all things are possible! I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 

Our family and friends have prayed and prayed us to this point, the yes or no from the agency to adopt our precious peep! I have felt a real mix of emotions since our CSW called to let us know she would like our daughter's case to go before the Committee who ultimately decides if we can adopt her. My heart has been happy becasue the time for decision is finally here yet very hesitant becasue we may be facing an up hill battle.

I flip-flop all day long between "YES God you are greater and you will work it all out!" to "Oh my they are gonna say no for sure!" It is a kind of torture that I do not wish to endure, but at the same time this endurance is what brings us closer to God, where we must place our trust in Him and listen for our next move.

Last night we spoke with an AMAZING couple who have adopted their daughter from the same agency. They were so helpful and knowledgeable I left feeling VERY positive. We left with a sense that God is doing something really amazing here in this area, He is calling people to care for the orphans like I have never witnessed before. Specifically calling people to foster care. This couple has spoken with MANY people since the adoption of their daughter two years ago. Look what God has done! He has used their heartache and struggle in adopting their daughter to the benefit of others who receive hope through their story! Hope and encouragement to keep at the course and keep praying and seeking God for His wisdom through these times.

Now for the shameless plug! Please pray for us. There is no way we are going to be able to accomplish this without prayer. The couple I mentioned above have enlisted their kids to pray for ours! It melts my heart so I am sure they melt God's!

I cannot wait for the day I can sit here and tell you all we finally did it! She is legally our daughter! Oh sometimes I think I will burst out of my skin thinking of that day!!!!

Thank you for your prayers and thank you for listening! :)