Before there was sex, before there was the city, there was this adorable Afghan

Purchase the pattern for $1 here!

Years after the show aired, I finally jumped on the Sex and the City train and binge watched all 6 glorious seasons on dvd's my dear friend was kind enough to loan me. I flew through the series, feeling like one of the girls and considering "what would Carrie do?" in my own, far from the New York City life. Watching the show so quickly only lead to a hunger I could temporarily curve by watching the 2 films that followed. Until the day television saved my first world girl problems by bestowing upon us a dream come true! "The Carrie Diaries"!!!!!

As a lifelong crafter and daily crocheter, it's hard for me to watch anything without taking note of the afghans or purses or accessories our favorite characters possess. If I had the time and money, I would probably sit down and figure out how to crochet an afghan from every single show I watch. Maybe I'll add that to my bucket list that I have yet to create. For now, I present to the world my adaptation of a young Carrie Bradshaw's very own throw as seen on her bed in season 2.
 
Make one for yourself or gift it to your Sex and the City crazed friends!

I have the pattern posted for $1 on Ravelry, but you can purchase the pattern directly without making an account Here.

Thank you for viewing and I hope you enjoy creating your very own Carrie throw <3

My First Craft Table EVER....Christmas in Clawson Craft Show - 2013

My Review of Annalisa

Originally submitted at Bearpaw

Who says Bearpaw goes into hibernation after winter? These lightweight, knit boots are adorned with rosette details and offered in a selection of colors perfect for the warm-weather season. Pull them all the way up or scrunch them down for a more casual feel, they'll look adorable no matter how...

Annalisa

Decorative, yet functional!

By Christine the Boot Queen from Detroit, Michigan on 2/27/2013

 

5out of 5

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: Durable, Stylish, Comfortable

Best Uses: Going Out, Casual Wear

Describe Yourself: Trendy

View On Shoes: I'm Really Into Shoes

These boots offer the perfect splash of color to an otherwise rather plain outfit. They're a delightful shade of green with a beatifully intricate design that my co-workers have been swooning for! Love how sturdy they are, especially compared to other knit style boots I've owned in the past. I adore these!

(legalese)

Oddly placed coffee carafes and a touch of baby swag.

Friday evening I arrived home from work in a timely fashion and like most days, instinctively opened my fridge. Low and behold the red coffee carafe my parents have had sitting on the counter for nearly 100 years, or at least 5, was staring me in the face. Brightly lit by the strategically placed bulbs in this chilly food closet, it sat there between the spinach dip and heavy whipping cream that I am still questioning. What is that stuff for? Is it what came before whipped cream? Maybe it's the Stone Age version of the spray can whipped cream. Or for people who have a phobia of spraying things, here is the pourable version? Cartons do offer a distinctive taste when placed directly to your lips. I remember the adorable little milks they gave kids in elementary school. Back in the days when sitting Indian style was politically correct. Cross cross apple sauce, people? What does that even mean?!

So this carafe is in the fridge for 3 days until my mom gets home and asks me why is the coffee carafe in the fridge? I tell her I had nothing to do with this. It must have been dads doing. Now here I am a day later and what does mom do? She texts me from downstairs where she happens to be conversing with my dad. She says exactly "Dad says u put the carafe in fridge". The man has clearly lost his mind. But now I am thinking to myself, did I possibly misplace this thing? The truth is out there. We just have to find it.

Anyway, I have been making baby things for days. I'm in love with this neutral color baby hoodie! 3 bibs, 1 sweater and 1 more of each to go! Next on the list is the finishing touch to a hello kitty scarf. I have also finally crocheted my iPhone charger! Ohhh it's a beautiful thing!

Learned a new crochet stitch: loop stitch! It was difficult at first, but by golly I think I've got it.

Reflecting on Life, the Universe and Everything

9 days into the new year and I am already super pumped about 2013! Who wouldn't be, after surviving the chaotic mess that was 2012? Just kidding. It wasn't so bad. 2012 was a year of definite personal development and with that, I shall reflect on and be thankful for:

• My incredible boyfriend who I was lucky enough to celebrate our 2 year anniversary with in December.
• A pretty fantastic career that allowed me to work on some really amazing projects.
• Many different craft excursions...I learned to weave on an Inkle Loom, son!
• Bought my first brand spankin' new whip to cart myself around. 
• Took a handful of road trips to parts of Michigan I had never seen before.
• Visited a couple of new Zoos and was able to watch a turtle lay multiple eggs! Dream come true for me.
• Drank an abundance of craft beers from all over the world, resulting in a slight obsession with all brews containing coffee.
• Became the proud owner of a top notch bicycle and rode as much as possible along side my dear one.
• Developed an illness my boyfriend calls "Vera Aids" and accumulated an embarrassing amount of Vera Bradley products.
• Came up with a way to combine my love for crocheting+Harry Potter by making crochet hooks inspired by magic wands! Sold some on Etsy to some amazing people across the world.
• Taught myself a few chords on the Ukulele thanks to the YouTubes
• Welcomed a beautiful little niece into the world!

There are probably dozens of other mentionable instances that will come to me after I publish this entry, but for now this will suffice. I live a pretty spectacular life and hopefully I will remember and enjoy it even more this year.


 
<3

Swish and Flick

Here it is, folks! The perfect combination of craft and magic. Assuming there is a difference between these two fav worlds of mine. Harry Potter Wand Inspired Crochet Hooks! This idea was first executed late some Friday night in June, as a gift for my dear friends Birthday. Deliriously I slaved over a forest of melting plastic, pouring my intense love for Harry Potter into each hand crafted piece.

...ok, maybe that description is a BIT over the top. In all honesty, these were absurdly fun to make. Especially after seeing the reactions of my friends and family who saw the finished products. Encouraging bunch, they are! Instead of keeping these lovely tools of magic to myself, I've decided to post them on Etsy for the world to try. I made myself a set and use them on the regular to ensure they are not only decorative, but functional, too!

Each wand/hook is uniquely crafted from plastic and coated in acrylic shades that I mix to reflect the colors of wood you might see in the hands of actual witches and wizards. To really give the owner a sense of authentic companionship, as portrayed by the Harry Potter movies and books, I include a personal message describing the origins from which the wand/hook is made. Recently I sent out a note that described the purchasers hook as Alder wood with a phoenix hair core. So much fun!

The crochet hooks are available individually, or in a full set of 6. They made a perfect Birthday gift for my fellow Potter fan and crafter!

Who knows, maybe like the Orchideous spell that conjures a bunch of flowers...there is some sort of Crochetulous spell that conjures all the yarn fairies to help you crochet in double time! Clearly these are the only hooks that could possibly make that happen.

Check out my Etsy shop!



Hungry Charms for Hunger Games

In honor of the highly anticipated film release of The Hunger Games, I decided to make necklaces for my friends and I to wear at the show. My first idea was to gather charms relevant to the story. Sounded simple enough, until it came down to actually looking for these charms. I wanted a bird or a wing to represent the Mockingjay, but sadly never found such a piece. I was also on the hunt for charms to represent District 12, and never found anything cool enough! After weeks of searching, I was on the verge of giving up completely on my idea. That is until I came across the cutest little silver frame charms ever!

With these fabulous finds, I was able to print out little pictures to fit between the clear pieces in the frame and then push the silver exterior back in place around them. 1 side has a Mockingjay design like the cover of the first book, and the other side has the District 12 logo. I made 9 of them, hung them on some black chord and passed them out to friends.

You can purchase these pretty much anywhere it seems. I picked up my packages of 3 for fairly cheap at Walmart if the idea tickles your fancy. Here they are!

These necklaces turned out pretty adorable. I would most certainly use this same technique again for future charm making endeavors.

All Day I Dream About Crafting

Use Your Wand, Harry!

In honor of the golden snitch around my neck today, I think it's time I re-blog something Harry Potter related! I am in the middle of so many craft projects right now, yet all I want to do is drop everything and make myself a wand after reading this! Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own Magic Wand!

It seems fairly simple, however most things I get excited about seem that way...then I manage to spend all sorts of time and money working on said thing, and it turns out to be horrific! Hopefully my wand isn't a failure. I would hate to end up with a busted up piece of wood like Ron Weasley sports after breaking his Unicorn Hair infused first wand.



My Final Choice



My crafting this weekend will revolve around 2 purse orders (my personal long strap pattern), and crochet flowers by the dozen!!! It took me hours to find the right crochet flower pattern to make into a cute little spring style pin. Here is the site that I used to locate such a pattern: FLOWERS!

Next time I blog, I'll upload some pics of my latest craft excursions.

Can I Get A....

 What? What? (<-in Jay Z voice)

It's all happening! Finally, I got my cute boyfriend to help me snap pics of my crochet projects. As a result, I was able to actually post them in my new etsy shop! Feast your eyes by clicking the link below!
 
MY ETSY SHOP! <3

More items will be posted throughout the week so keep checking folks.

“I'm thinking balls are to men what purses are to women."

Out of the night, when the full moon is bright....rides the pursestress known as ME! **pursestress is a made up term, used to express that one is a maker of purses. A seamstress of purses, if you will.**


Busy, busy, busy! That's what I have been lately. Last minute Christmas gift crafting is common in my world of procrastination and unpredictable hours, but this year has been especially crazy. So many things to crochet/sew/design/glue/whatever else! Not to mention, these gifts need to be WRAPPED. As it turns out, my level of crafting expertise really does not influence my ability(or lack there of) to wrap...anything. Who knew that wrapping is a craft unto its damn self.

I spent a good hour ruining Christmas the other day by somehow making my once adorable penguin paper, ugly and horrible looking. Honestly, I now completely agree with those stands at the mall filled with people who fancy themselves professional gift wrappers. I wish I could say I've never mocked this service, but that would certainly be a lie. My most sincere apologies for not recognizing the skill behind tactfully wrapping a present.  

Now that I've successfully insulted and applauded gift wrapping in one blog entry (I'm a confusing individual, it seems) I would like to share with all who take interest,  a few pictures of a recently finished purse. Although this resembles a yellow purse from my blog entry months ago, it is in fact GREEN! Can you believe it? Vanna's Choice Olive to be precise. I would love to start slangin' these bad boys places other than over my own shoulder right after the holidays. The contrasting liners combined with a fun/unique yarn color really please me. Can't wait to make more!

Hobo Baggins

Thanks to Ravelry, I was able to track down a pattern for an adorable hobo bag! I added my own little twist to the pattern by weaving ribbon through the front side and tying the ends into a bow at the top. This particular purse shown is going to be a gift, so I chose a purple liner that was sewn into the purse and the strap. Finally, I added a snap closure so it doesn't have to be just an open bag. So much fun to make and a nice alternative to the longer strap styles I've been making.

Looking out the window with a blue hat on

Last winter I was on a slouchy hat kick for months. I probably lost sleep and friends during this bit. There were quite a few different styles that turned out pretty well, but my favorite of all is this bubbly looking stitch. These are extremely fun and fairly simple to make. I made a few of these bad boys for friends, who seem to enjoy them greatly.

I am hoping to post these in my (sadly/currently empty) Etsy shop very soon. I just need to get through my holiday gift projects before I can focus on promoting the slouchyness.

The yarn I use is Vanna's Choice, and the color of this blue hat shown is using Sapphire. (LOVE!)



So tell your friends, tell your kids, tell your wife...a whole new world of slouch will be available soon. I am willing to provide these hats to anyone and everyone who chooses the color and hooks me up with $25.(get it, 'hooks' me up...because I crochet them, with a hook..)

My goal is to crochet a few randomly colored hats to have in stock to post/sell, but also give customers the option of choosing their own specific color.

I will post more pics in various shades at a later date. Perhaps plop one on my own head to give a better idea of how one should look on a person! In the mean time, do me a solid and spread the word! Uniquely and custom made hats for your head wearing pleasure, sold by yours truly!

So many hats and only one head!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/brain-waves-beanie

Brain Waves Beanie

by Liz McQueen

I crochet hats constantly. I could probably end up on some sort of hoarding show with the amount of crocheted hats I have accumulating in my bedroom. Slouchy hats, beanies, flapper style, brimmed...you name it, I've crocheted it! 

 Luckily, I have a supportive boyfriend who appreciates my crafting habit and has no problem sporting one of my hand crafted man-caps. This particular hat had me totally geeked from the moment I saw the FREE pattern on Ravelry. After some doubt and hesitance, I took my bf to Joanne's to pick out colors for his very own Brain Waves Beanie. Whenever I see a project that requires a lot of color switching, I tend to shy away from the entire thing. Overwhelming for an easily distracted person, with a tendency to spazz, like me.

This beanie shown is white, navy and grey...I ended up making him another just like it, only instead of navy I used a deep purple. I had a blast making these hats and highly recommend trying out this pattern to any fellow crocheter who finds this as fun as I do!

Papas Got a Brand New Bag!

So, here is my first attempt at crocheting a purse with a sewn in liner...I first got the idea off a friend who was going off a picture idea she found on Ravelry. Which is, in case you haven't noticed, the greatest pattern site out there! Hers was a bit different in style, but the crochet stitches are very similar! Here is where the idea came from...

http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/BeachBabyMom/8168868/img_2405_medium2.jpg

This pattern features a strap that is shorter than mine, and continues around the sides and bottom of the bag. Mine I chose

I have yet to sew on the strap, because after speaking with my fabulous mother, she suggested I use the zebra fabric underneath the strap as well...so once that's finished I'll post again! To paint a picture, the strap is long enough to go over my head/shoulder so it will be the perfect bag to take to concerts and on vacations this summer! WOOP! I will be testing it out this Sunday at a Deftones concert...can't wait!

It's been super difficult to focus my attention on just one project lately. I've got so many great ideas just waiting to be executed! These purses are fairly easy and quick to throw together, so I plan on making a variety of colors and styles soon. Who knows, maybe I will even post some on Etsy.

Well, back to the real world I go. Holla.

Color Me Lime

This eyeshadow by Lime Crime has got me completely giddy today! I'm a huge fan of Hayley Williams from Paramore...her blog is both inspirational and addicting! She apparently received some cosmetics from this vegan make up company, blogged about it, and filled my life with joy! I plan on ordering this shade of eyeshadow and maybe a few others...unless I can find something like it in stores over the weekend. I think this color will do wonders for blue eyes, if it's description is legit!


http://www.limecrimemakeup.com/


On another note, I've been crocheting purses, a blanket, and designing my personal resume this week. Hoping to post pics asap.

I have also been slowly piecing together my Hermione costume for the Harry Potter 7 Part 2 midnight show I plan on attending this July. So far I have a black pleated school girl skirt, mary jane flats, and a gray button up, v-neck sweater. Still missing gray knee highs, a white blouse, and a Gryffindor tie. I know July will be here before I know it so I'm trying to get this stuff asap!


Lots to look forward to in days to come! Crafts, movies, and fun with good people!

Pattern Rant

Check out this awesome way to create your own amigurumi patterns! I have a really difficult time writing patterns and crocheting without patterns, personally. I think this neat idea may come in handy for future pattern ideas that I will certainly refuse to pay for! So, without further ado, I offer you a Crochet Amigurumi Pattern Generator!


Which, by the way, brings me to a tricky topic. I cannot stand when people charge for patterns...I completely understand charging for the finished product. What I do not understand, is why I would pay $5 for an online, handwritten, likely to have errors pattern from a complete stranger, from who knows where! If you have created a fabulous pattern, why not be a doll and share it with fellow crafters for free, or a dollar or something?! It's full profit, assuming it cost you nothing to write the pattern! Ugh. If I had the skill and time to write patterns from scratch, I would spread them all over for the world to grip up for free, and charge only for the product if requested!

Am I alone in this argument? I can't get over it. I can get a crochet pattern book for $12 full of neat stuff...so why would I pay $5 for ONE pattern?! Rude. I really wonder how many people actually pay for such things.

Holler if you feel me.

Awkward Bird

So, the other day I came across a fabulous crochet pattern for Angry Birds and decided to try my luck at whipping one up for my super cool bf. It turned out pretty good, and got some awesome feedback from friends, so I started making the 'Bomb Bird' as well. That way the cardinal won't be so alone! I really hope I can figure out the pig pattern on my own sometime soon!


 Here's how my Angry Bird Cardinal turned out...

Click Here for the Pattern!

That entire blog is fantastic and filled with a superb blend of amigurumi patterns! I can't wait to go through and see what else I can make!

Todays project may consist of melting childhood plastic toys together to form bowls and other various decorative holders I can think of, or maybe I will continue working on the Bomb Bird..decisions, decisions.

Dinosaur Necklaces!

The time has come for me to try my luck in the infamous world of Etsy. Yesterday, I took it upon myself to create my very own Etsy shop. In this shop sits a dinosaur necklace, handcrafted by yours truly. Not to brag or anything but whattup....84 viewers in 24 hours?! I'll take it! If only one of said viewers felt so inclined to buy this dainty dino necklace for the low, low price of...$8.50!!! Which, I might add, is a fantastic deal as opposed to it's competitors that are going for double that and then some!


Here is what the dino's look in progress..pretty slick, if ya ask me!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71431395/gold-dino-necklace

So, with all of ^that^ in mind, it's no wonder I decided to blog about it! Today is a good day, and I can't wait to paint more dinosaurs.

Feel free to do me a solid and tell your friends about my latest craft. I'll be sure to post future craft projects as often as I can, for those who share my obsessions with yarn, duct tape, and toys. <3



Word.