HATS!

Thanks to my friend Sue of McHats and McArt on etsy, I'm now offering hats for sale in my shop. Sue is a very talented milliner from Australia who drafted the patterns for these two hats you see here. She sells these patterns among many others in her shops.

The bucket hat is reversible (I dig reversible things!).

I just love kids in hats. Not only are they cute in them, but in summer they protect them from the sun and in winter from the cold. I cringe when I see babies out in winter with bare heads!

Stay tuned, more hats on their way!

Pincushions!

Since my dear old sewing machine (which is now considered vintage) is puttering and hiccuping, my Mom suggested we try out this pincushion challenge offered by AllPeopleQuilt.com. Grand prize is a new sewing machine! So, we gave it a whirl. You have to enter with a partner and since she taught me everything I know about sewing, who better to enter with than Mom herself.

The first round of judging is won by popular vote. I hope we have enough time to get enough hits!!















If you, wonderful reader, don't mind. Would you take a second to vote for our pincushions?
















edit: Voting is officially closed for the pincushion challenge. Thanks to all who voted! Fingers Crossed!

This is the link for my pincushion
and
this is the link for Mom's pincushion

We thank you in advance! -Jen

Tutorial - Recycled Plastic Bottle Bag

This tutorial will show you how you can make this simple carry-all from a recycled plastic bottle.

This basic pattern can be altered in so many ways such as different color applications and combinations of different crochet stitches to give you a different look or design. Here I've posted a basic pattern using single crochet, double crochet and triple crochet. There are many great websites that teach how to do these simple stitches.

To make a bag like the one shown here you will need:

-One empty and clean plastic bottle, such as vinegar, bleach, detergent, etc. (I used a 2 QT vinegar bottle.)

-Approximately 2-3 oz. yarn (I used worsted weight cotton yarn)

-crochet hook (I used H/5mm) Make sure your hook is small enough to fit through your holes punched in the bottle.

-Hole punch and scissors

1. Prep the plastic bottle by cutting the top off. If the top edge is sharp you may want to use fine sandpaper to smooth the edge. With your hole punch make an evenly spaced row of holes along the top edge. Be careful that the holes aren't too close to the edge.











2. Attach yarn to the bottle:
(round 1) Make a slip knot on your hook, insert hook through first hole in bottle and crochet a SC through hole. Continue to make one SC through each hole around. Join to beginning SC.










3. Crocheting the top:
(round 2) 1 SC in each SC across.
(round 3) *2SC in first SC, 1 SC in next 5SC*; repeat from * around
(round 4) *2SC in first SC, 1 SC in next 4SC*; repeat from * around
(round 5) *2SC in first SC, 1 SC in next 3SC*; repeat from * around
(round6-until desired height) 1SC in all sts around and around. (I did 6-24 rows)


*Bonus-you always have a place to store your yarn and hook when working on this project. :)





4. Once you've reached your desired height:
CH3, *skip 1 SC, TR, CH1*; repeat from * to * around, join to CH.
1SC in all stitches around

5. Scalloped edge:
*6 DC in first "space", SC in next "space"*; repeat from * around
Fasten off, weave in ends.

6. Make drawstring:
There are two applications you could use here. I've a CH st chain about 1 and a half times the length of the top edge. Then I wove my chain through the TR spaces.


An alternative to this would be to make two chains about 10 inches longer than the length of the top edge. Weave both chains through the TR spaces. Fasten each chain to itself to make two individual loops. Then pull each loop in opposite directions to cinch closed.

Viola!


Note-I chose to crochet in the round for a seamless look. Also--If you're number of holes punched is an odd number that doesn't exactly coordinate with the pattern-adjust to your needs. This pattern is very flexible and doesn't really need to be concise with increases and number of stitches.)

If you make a recycled bag using this tutorial I'd LOVE to see it. Please leave a link in the comment section of this post. If you'd like to share a link to this tutorial on another site that would be awesome, but please give me a heads up!

This tutorial is intended for personal use, please don't sell goods made from this pattern.

*I don't claim to be an expert at writing a crochet pattern, if you find the directions confusing or an error please let me know!

EtsyMom's Spring Charity Auction

The EtsyMom street team is organizing a spring promotion to raise money for charity. A basket of donated etsymom goods will be auctioned off at Mommy Auctions. You can visit the EtsyMom blog for details and information on how to win this basket of goodies! I've donated this Spring Chick Necklace for the basket:

Be Mine

My personal theory is that Valentine's Day has been strategically placed smack dab in the middle of winter blah. Something to get our mind off of the fact that I haven't felt the warmth of the sun on my skin in oh, I don't know 100 days or something ridiculous like that! A little red warm fuzzy to remind us that it's not that bad....somebody loves you.

I hope you have a warm fuzzy day.