Gifts from the Postman

Look what the Postman brought me!!!

20 yummy colors of cord to make my purses with this year. I have seen some of these before but several of the colors are new, or new to me. So pretty! Crocheting with wonderful colors like these is half the joy of creating for me. If you have to spend hours staring at something, you want it to be pretty right? :-)

I can't wait to crochet with blue-violet, dark magenta, and the new lilac! It should keep me busy during these cold months of winter. I will post some pics when I have some purses made.

Anyhow, I think these colors will make lovely purses for my spring show, which is coming up soon! More info on that soon!

Happy Crocheting,
Lisa

Stocking Up

My Christmas sale went well and I was able to find homes for most of my remaining inventory of small purses, but that means I need to restock for next year's shows and events. My favorite thing to make is my coin purses and clutches. And is it any wonder? Look at all these yummy colors and textures I get to work with!

This pile of goodies has gone through step 1: Take a roll of nylon cord and crochet it into a purse. Step 2 is to make linings and set zippers into the purses.

I'm a "batch" worker. I like to crochet up a dozen or two, and then I set up what my husband and I jokingly refer to as the "Mills Sweat Shop."

I clear all the junk off the cutting table, pull out the sewing machine, the ironing board, and all my fabrics, zippers, and notions. I select a couple of favorite movies or a television series and pop it in the DVD player to entertain me while I work. Then I spend an entire day --- or a couple of days --- making linings and setting in zippers until I have a nice pile of finished little purses. Oh, and half-watching movies or tv shows during the process. :-)

The cat was very excited about sewing day and decided he might like to help me. He jumped up on my cutting table and walked over to this aqua purse and settled down to snuggle it. He is my husband's cat and very sweet but not a good sewing partner. He tries to lay on all the stuff you need most or just generally gets right between you and your work and insists on being pet. I yelled for backup. My husband came and got him and explained to him that he cannot help sew. To his credit, Sam the cat quickly learned that he was not to be tolerated on my cutting table and made do with walking around crying pitifully because he was being excluded.

Back to sewing ... It's usually 10 to 12 hours of work spread over a couple of days, but it's the easiest way to get a big batch of them done. Once I get into the groove of it, the process goes faster and gets easier with each one. And it is sooooo satisfying to see that pile of finished bags at the end of the day!

The next step is to make sure all the purses have a macrame wrist strap. I used to offer the strap as an option. Nearly everyone asks for a strap, so this year it's a standard feature.

Finally, I decide how and where to sell each item, price them, and put them up for adoption. Some of these pretties are headed off to a store that sells some of my products for me. Others will go online. And the rest will be set aside for my Mother's Day Gift Show this spring.

Time to start the next batch! If you'd like to try your hand at making one of these purses, all the patterns are for sale at my site.

Happy crocheting,

Lisa

Crochet Party!

Somehow I was blessed to find a good friend who loved to crochet as much as I did. We got together at one of our houses one weekend to sit and visit and crochet together (with snacks of course!) Another mutual friend wanted to learn to crochet so we invited her to come over too. Our friend (a leftie) picked up on the art quickly and our "Crochet Party" tradition was born.

Over the years, we have added other crochet addicts to the group. (To join us, you have to be able to cook too because tasty snacks and desserts at crochet night are very important fuel for our work.) This picture of ham and cheese sandwiches is just one of the many delicious dishes we ate that night.

We bring our yarn and usually get a little work done on our latest project, but mostly we talk, share about life, offer support and sometimes advice, and just relax and be real. Every woman needs a sisterhood, and we found ours through crocheting. Just one of the reasons I love this artform!

Happy Crocheting!

Going "Green" for Christmas

I am loving Pinterest for gathering great gift ideas! And what's even better, if your friends and family are on Pinterest too, you can troll through their latest pins and get ideas for what kinds of homemade, crafty items appeal to them. That's how I got the idea to make these reusable cotton face scrubbies for my sister.

 
Sis pinned a link from "My Sweet Somethings" blog which you can read here. Ashley Kaye, the author of this brilliant post, came up with an amazingly simple and terrifically useful pattern for reusable cotton pads that you can use to remove makeup, apply astringent, or cleanse your face. They are easy to make, and took me less than 5 minutes each to crochet, and they are washable and reusable--very green! I encourage you to visit her blog post and check it out!

When I had a batch of these scrubbies crocheted, I started looking for a way to present them in style. Hunting through my cupboards, I found a wide mouth pint canning jar that looked about the same diameter as the pads. A quick test and sure enough, I had found what I needed.

Stacking the black and white pads together gives a nice contrast and makes them look more interesting than they otherwise might. And the black and white will look much better with my sister's bathroom colors than mine, but I had to make do with my bathroom counter to get the pics before I mail the present. :-)

Next I needed a way to cap off the jar. I grabbed some black #10 crochet cotton thread from my stash and whipped up a mini doily. A pretty silver ribbon weaving through the stitches secures the doily to the rim of the jar. I think it adds a feminine touch.

Won't this look pretty sitting on her bathroom counter? I hope so. Either that or she'll tell me to quit stalking her on Pinterest. LOL. Maybe you are noticing the squeeze bottle beside the jar of makeup pads ... I can explain.

The perfect accompaniment to these cotton face scrubbies is a recipe for homemade makeup remover, made from all natural ingredients. DIY & Crafts shares a blog post about how to make your own makeup remover from just three easy ingredients. I am sensitive to scents and dyes and have been trying to cut unnecessary chemicals from my routine wherever possible. This recipe really appeals to me.

I am definitely trying this recipe myself, and sending a batch to my sister who is usually game to try a homemade potion. So that was my "green" Christmas gift. Did you make any of your gifts this year? Share and inspire us! I'm already planning for next year.

UPDATE: I made some cotton scrubbies for myself and also a batch of makeup remover. I love them both! The makeup remover works great. It takes my makeup right off and doesn't dry me out or irritate my skin. The cotton scrubbies are just the right size for the job. Recommend!

Peppermint Boots!

It's cold here in North America in the winter, and my tile floors are frigid enough to turn my toes into popsicles. Worse, if my feet are too cold for too long, I get toe cramps. Don't you just love it when that happens? Then I have to all kinds of weird dance moves and contortions, trying to bend my toes back toward my feet to get the cramp to release. While these crazy antics are usually mildly entertaining to my husband, I find it annoying. So, to combat cold feet I made these:

I found a free pattern online for these boots. I didn't have the yarn they recommended on hand, so I pulled what I did have out of my stash and experimented. I used a Redheart in a off white color and the red is I Love This Yarn brand.

I had to reduce the number of starting chains for the boot a bit because my yarn was heavier than the one they recommended, making my chain too long. That meant adjusting the pattern all the way through but the extra work was worth it. I love how they turned out.

They keep my toes snug and I can wear them into bed if I want, unlike my house slippers which are just too stiff and shoe-like to sleep in. And in red and white they remind me of peppermints and Christmas. :-) Feeling kinda festive in my latest crochet project!

What is your latest project? Share and inspire us!

Diamonds!

It took far longer than I expected, but I have finished the Raised Diamonds Cinched Tote Pattern. I could've thrown it online last March, but I wanted to test the pattern to be sure it was accurate and to make the tote in another yarn to see how it translated. I am loving how these totes function! The drawstring makes it so easy to grab and go because it is self-closing. No zipping or snapping. And it opens up to a nice wide circular opening, making it easy to see inside your purse and get to the items you want in there.

The pattern is available now on Etsy, Craftsy, Ravelry, and my website for $4.99.

This was my original bag made from Sinfonia in "Teal".

Sinfonia is mercerized cotton so it doesn't pill or fray. It's also washable making it a good choice for a handbag that will get a lot of use. Sinfonia comes in dozens of colors online so you can get it to match just about any outfit or to suit anyone's taste, from traditional to wild! Here it is again with one of my favorite blouses.

I decided to make the next one from Omega La Espiga size 18 nylon cord. This stuff is sturdy (think fishing nets) and is one of my favorite choices for purses. Getting used to crocheting with a stiffer cord like this takes some time. But once you adapt, you will love the results! And Omega La Espiga comes in over 80 colors.

Here is the Raised Diamonds Cinched Tote Pattern in Rose colored nylon cord.

 

I am thinking of putting this Rose bag up for sale on Etsy, since I already have the teal one in my closet. Hopefully it will find a good home and make someone very happy. :-)

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Lisa

Cabin Fever

Today marks Day 12 of my captivity.

Okay, so I'm not exactly a captive. Just cooped up. The weather pummeled us for nearly a week, making it extremely unpleasant, if not impossible, to go out most days. Then, just as the storms broke and the roads were finally clear, I come down with a respiratory thing, and I'm only comfortable next to the vaporizer with a box of tissues and a package of cough drops within reach. Going very far from home is not a serious option.

So I'm exploring my inner hermit this week and working on a few crochet projects. I've revamped most of my website pages ... just a few more to go. And I've started a new lapghan project from some rusty terra cotta colored yarn I had bought a few months ago. I'm using the moss stitch and loving how that looks. The moss stitch creates a nice tight weave, which means warm! And the stitch is reversible, so texture on both sides of the afghan. Here's a picture of the work in progress:

Also, I found some cute patterns for hood / cowl combinations on Etsy, and I'm trying one of those. It's about half done. I think it will come in handy if the weather keeps being ridiculous. Will post pics of that when I have it done. Hopefully by then, the end of my nose will no longer be bright red from blowing. :-)

Stay warm and happy crocheting!