Crocheted Bead Necklace with Birds

Thank goodness, the last two days have been so much better... I got a migraine on Wednesday and it was ridiculous! But I have been feeling not-so-sick and in a better mood. I had to perpetuate the good-vibes by going sticker shopping on Ebay. Stickers make me happy. Learning new things also makes me happy! Today I made my first crocheted bead necklace.

The whole concept was much simpler than I originally thought. I have seen necklaces like this and have always thought, how the heck do you get a crochet hook through a bead?! How it's done: string on all of the beads FIRST and let them  chill out on your cord! (For this 24'' necklace, I strung on about 50 mixed beads and that was about right.) Then you just crochet the cord like you're chaining stitches at the beginning of a crochet project, slipping a bead in every 2 stitches (chain, chain, bead, chain, chain, bead, etc.). It's kind of awkward because you've got to keep letting go of your cord to slide a bead into your path. Maybe there's a tip for that. If there is, I don't know it yet.

Once I was done with these two strands, I tied on the clasp and added these little shell bird beads using some short headpins. I bought these at the gem & mineral show last year for probably too much money, but I can't resist birds sometimes. At least I finally used them for something.

I'll wear this necklace tomorrow, I think. If you want to take a crack at it, and my silly instructions weren't enough to create an "aha!" moment, here is a helpful youtube video: Bead Crochet Multi-Strand Necklace

I wanted to say thanks and give virtual hugs to everybody who left me such nice comments and words of encouragement earlier this week. They really meant a lot, kind words can really do so much to lift during struggly-times... I told my friend this, "I'm still a wreck, but I'm an optimistic wreck."

Still keep me in your prayers and thoughts, if you would, as Bobby and I keep riding this loco rollercoaster. Countdown to surgery has begun, countdown to finally having a baby or two should commence shortly thereafter :)

Knitting! It's a sizzler scarf... And a quick giveaway!

 Check out what I'm working on! I got this Morehouse Farm knit kit in the mail recently, and despite my being a sub par knitter, I'm making pretty quick progress and enjoying myself! The pattern is really easy, so I can knit while I watch/listen to TV. Hulu Plus just put season 2 of Downton Abbey up, so I've been knitting and watching and feeling fancy. This little scarf is going to turn out gorgeous, BTW, check out what the finished product should look like here. No guarantees mine is gonna look that awesome, but it there's a chance it might. It's been a long time since I've knit anything serious.

 The kit came with these delicious little raspberry bamboo knitting needles, which do add to my feeling of fanciness. The soft clicking these needles make is quiet, no metallic clickity clickity.

And oh, this merino yarn. Doesn't it look good? That's because it is. Lace-weight, cornflower blue, so pretty. I'll post a pic when my little scarf is all finished. I think I'm going to have to add some fancy beads or sequins to it. Did I mention the word fancy in this post at all? No? Fancy.

And hey! Morehouse Farm also sent me this super cute Critterknits knit kit!

I'll be giving it away to a lucky knitting reader :) Just be a follower and leave a comment on this post to be entered. Be sure there's some way to contact you if you win. I'll be picking a random winner on Wednesday July 18th 2012, sometime during the day. Here's more info on this Little Elephant Purse. This prize ships to US addresses only, though, sorry. I'll do an international one soon :) Good luck, friends!

Entries CLOSED! Congratulations to the winner, Miss Rose!

And thank you to Morehouse Farm!

Teeny Monster Ball

Now I remember why I NEVER crochet boucle yarn! Haha, I crocheted this little furry monster ball to make into an ornament for a swap. He turned out pretty cute, but truly, crocheting boucle yarn is a serious test of patience, and I won't be doing that again soon :)

I made his horns out of some corduroy material that prettyinpaisley sent me! It's delightfully fuzzy. Oh, speaking of fuzzy and delightful, Peanut has started squawking again. That sure didn't last very long! I knew that a quiet sun conure was too good to be true. Oh well, I love that bird, even if he is loud :) Have a great long weekend!

Crocheted Silly Bird

Today was seriously an amazingly beautiful day. I can't tell you enough how muc I love springtime!

I hadn't crocheted anything in a while and this is what materialized today! I couldn't bring myself to try to crochet wings, so I just made em from various flannel and felt, then added feathery accents.

The wings are a bit washed out in the other pics, so here's what they realllly look like! My sewing machine was zig-zagging wonky and I have no idea how to fix that.... Anybody know whats wrong?

Crocheted Kitty Cat Hat

Who doesn't love a little kitty cat hat?! I actually made this for my niece this summer and have actually sat on it and not blogged it for THIS LONG!

I almost can't believe I waited until after Christmas. I used caron simply soft yarn and fleece for the eyes....

Tada! Happy Sunday everyone.

My little Christmas Tree & Panda

Today I watched/listened to Elf today while I cleaned up my kitchen and took out some Christmas decorations! Do you like my mini Christmas tree? It's only about 2 feet tall, but it's cheery enough!

I made this little panda ball today and yesterday, too. The black part on the bottom is boucle yarn, and I'd never ever recommend using it for crochet.... It's a nightmare. Happy Thursday!

Fuzzy Pink Scarf

Here's the scarf I made yesterday! It was going to have a scalloped edge with the same regular pink yarn, but I ran out and heck if I'm going to buy another skein of pink yarn... So I used the fuzzy. It turned out pretty cute and soft.

TADA!

Sheepie head Hacky Sack

Here's a change: teeny tiny eyes! I crocheted this little bean bag guy pretty quick. It's just a baaaaaaaall with felt ears and nose. I filled him up with lentils, because who seriously prepares and eats lentils? (PS, get it? Baaaaaaall?)

I spent ALLLLLL morning cleaning my craft room, and it's not even done. I haven't even vaccumed yet. It's looking pretty good, though. I think the next little organizing projects will be to organize my paper ephemera boxes and maybe put some of them into albums for easy access. Yikes, big undertaking. It won't get done till AFTER Christmas, I don't think. I've too many other projects to finish before I take off for home. I hate crafting under pressure! Oh well, once it's done, I'll feel soooo accomplished :)

Another Cherry Blossom Crocheted Cowl Scarf!

Here's another crocheted cowl scarf I made for Christia! She was sooo sweet as to knit me an awesome headband/hat thingie that I absolutely love, so I made her this!

The cherry blossoms on this one are of a little bit different style that I think turned out pretty cute. I was thinking maybe I would make a bracelet or belt made out of a ton of these flowers... It would look really cool, but it would take FOREVER. I guess we'll see if it materializes someday.

I also made this one a bit longer than the original, and I think it wears a little better.

Sugar Skull Plush Bear

Brrrr... My house is freezing. Socks just aren't enough today. I need to make myself some slippers.

So now that he's been received by my swap partner, I can post my little sugar skull felt bear! (It's not of my own design, but is inspired by this, which was inspired by something else, so I have no idea where the original idea came from). He took quite a few hours to make, but the end result turned out pretty awesome!

The thing that took the longest was all the embroidery and handstitching the bones. The little scarf didn't take very long to crochet, though. That was nice.

Here he is w/o the scarf on. The tricky part with the bones was that I had to stitch them on before sewing the bear's body... So it was a little bit tough to get the placement just right. Luckily, my new sewing machine is loads more maneuverable than my old one, so it didn't give me a ton of trouble like that angora jellyfish I made a while back.

Here he is pre-bones and pre-assembly. Happy Monday, everyone :)

Yeti Amigurumi

Aw, it makes me miss Disney World Expedition Everest... I know he looks much different, but it's the same. I can hardly remember whata the yeti on that ride looked like. Much scarier, I think.

His face is lined with super fuzzy feathers and he has sad little button eyes. I actually thought about placing the face up-side-down, so he looked happy, but decided on the sad face.

I feel kinda icky today...I hope my stuffy nose doesn't turn into a full-blown cold or sinus infection. I don't do well with antibiotics... I hate them and they kill me. On the bright side: another weekend :D

Little Dinosaur Baby Hat

Blarrgghh!!! I've been working on this all evening... A friend of mine just had a baby boy and her shower is tomorrow morning! For some reason, I thought I had more time to make this. What was I thinking?! Anyways, it's done now (thank goodness).
It seemed like it took longer than usual to handstitch the eyes and mouth and I was sorely tempted to just hot-glue them on. I'm glad I didn't, though. Quality counts :)
Now I just hope it fits!!! I don't have much experience with infant heads, so I could be way off. *crossing my fingers*

Ah, now it's time to relax.


EDIT: Oh crap! This is my 200th blogpost!!! I know was planning on doing a giveaway, but unfortunately it's not going to happen quite yet. Sorry, guys. The holidays are a crazy time! I promise I'll have another giveaway in the future.... Until then:

hooray for 200 blogposts, me!

2nd EDIT: Audio let me know these pics weren't showing up, soooo now they should be!

Cherry Blossom Crocheted Cowl

I crocheted this cowl scarf after much frustration trying to knit one on a circular needle... I tried to follow a pattern, but it was just NOT turning out right and was taking FOREVER. I actually started out as a knitter, doing simple things and I loved it, but once I tried crochet and realized I could do bigger stuff way faster, I was "hooked" (hahaha).

It looks really cute on [a human], but I didn't feel like taking pictures of myself this morning, so my dog, Tink had to suffice.

Here it is, in all its glory. I thiiink the brand I used was Caron Spa Yarn, which is 75%, acrylic 25% bamboo. I still have a decent sized ball of the stuff left after this project... I didn't even use a whole skein. It's really slinky and soft, and I'd definitely use it again for wearable stuff!

I made a little cuff to match, though I'm not sure how much I like it on. It only took about 1.5 hours to make, though, applique and beading included, so oh well if it doesn't wear. Maybe I can use it someday for a tiny puppy cowl.

For the cherry blossoms, I cut out 5-petaled flowers from cream colored felt. I stitched and beaded the centers with salmon emroidery floss and salmon seed beads. Then I used the same floss and attached each flower to the scarf with a running stich. Voila!

Amigurumi Cat!

Gotta post quick!!! I'm leeching someone's wireless signal :)

Being out of town this weekend, I wasn't sure if i was going to be able to continue my posting streak (I haven't missed a day since I started this blog) but that little voice in the back of my head said, "BLOG BLOG BLOG!!!!" So I had to obey.

This is a amigurumi cat I crocheted from acrylic yarn a while back. Enjoy its fatness and have a beautiful Labor Day Weekend!

Fuzzies

I made a set of these birdies a few months ago, and gave them to a friend for her baby shower recently. There were a lot of other babies at the shower, and they were a huge hit with the babies.... Naturally, someone else wanted a pair. I agreed to make another set!

So, I'm farther from wanting to mass-produce these than I was even when I had only made the original set. So hopefully no one else wants me to make more! I mean, I'm flattered and grateful, but I think it may just go against my artistic value system to blast the one-of-a-kind factor of my pieces... Or maybe it's just because I'm lazy. If I do end up getting more requests from folks at church, I'm going to have to figure out a way to sew a similar version instead of crocheting. Bah, I'm happy today.