Of Snowflakes & Starch

I honestly cannot believe how long I've been offline. I do sincerely apologize for that! I would blame it on the sinus infection I had at the same time my daughter had pneumonia, and my husband was at the beginning stages of a sinus infection, buuuut . . . that only lasted one week, and the rest of the time, well, I've just been lazy.

My latest endeavor is to make a bunch of pretty ornaments to post in the Etsy shop. Crochet snowflakes are some of the prettiest ornaments; perhaps even some of my favorites ever. You know, "girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes," for you Julie Andrews fans out there. So far, I've made some granny stars, and a few pretty little snowflakes. I'm also making a couple pairs of tiny snowflake earrings. I'm stoked!

One of my bigger pet peeves in the crochet world is the amount of folks who just don't know about starch. It seems that every photo of a doily depicts one that is extra floppy. I'm not saying they should be super duper stiff, but it seems more evident in my snowflake ornament research that more folks know to starch the ornaments than others. It just makes sense that if an ornament has to be starched, then so does a doily. They're both made of crochet thread. They're both used in decorations around the home and need to stand up to some use. If you want them to stay pretty, they should have some help keeping their shape, right?

So, my ornaments/earrings (just like my doilies after I've made them) have been hanging out in a cup full of starch all day. This is what I had to do to keep my lovely family out of the little cup they were in:

After hanging out there, they were stretched out ("blocked") on a piece of cork "bulletin" board with push pins. (It's so evident these were taken at different times of the day, because both were taken in the same area. Eep.) Here's a photo of the ornaments:

Aren't they pretty? I'm so excited about these little darlings! I'm even more excited to getting around to making even more! They make perfect gifts for those folks y'all just don't know how to shop, or even make for.

For a lovely little size comparison, here's a photo of one of the doilies I made for the centerpieces at my wedding back in June:

The ornaments ALL fit on one little 12x12 board. For the doily, I had to kind of tape the four together and fit it in the middle.

The solution that I used for both the ornaments and the wedding doilies is about 1:1. I wanted the wedding centerpieces to be stiffer than your average doily, since I made them months in advance, thus needing them to be able to stand up to the move and storage. Some of them even went to homes in California and Maine, so they needed to additionally stand up to the travel post-wedding. For a normal doily, I would use a solution of 2:1, water:starch.

Look for more photos of "my favorite things" that will be added to the shop soon!

Happy Stitching! xo

Blog Feature no. 2!

Blue Cloud Crochet has yet again been part of a feature on the Middle Tennessee Crafts blog!
Check it out here!

GIVEAWAY!

This week, I'm having a giveaway over on my Facebook page. I'm giving away a FREE Bow Bracelet (s&h included)!

To enter all you have to do is:

1. Like the Facebook page.

2. Like the Bow Bracelet link.

3. Share the link.

4. Comment on the link.

Each participant will receive a 50% off coupon code at the end of the week to share with their friends and family. The winner will be announced on MONDAY 30 Sept. 2013.

Bueno suerte & happy stitching! xo

Bow Bracelet Pattern!

Hello, awesome you! Here is that new pattern I promised to you earlier this week.

 I wear bow ties now. Bow ties are cool.

The pattern is available to purchase here. Remember that 10% of all proceeds benefit the American Heart Association this month!

If you make this pattern, pretty please take pictures and send them to me! You could be featured in the blog!

Happy stitching! xo

Awareness Bracelet

Blue Cloud Crochet is proud to present to you a new pattern! This one is for purchase, instead of for free. Why? Because, as I mentioned in the previous post, a dear friend of mine has passed away. She suffered from a stroke. Other relatives have passed on in the same manner. My grandmother also has suffered from a stroke, and congestive heart failure. So has another dear teacher that taught both myself and my husband. The list of folks I care for who have suffered from heart complications goes on.

Even I have a heart murmur. (Yeah, it's kind of like Laman and Lemuel. Bad Mormon humor. I'm not sorry.) The murmur is minor, but my doctor still keeps a close eye on it because of my family history of heart disease.

The thing is, though, heart disease and stroke are definitely not just problems that affect my family. They run rampant everywhere. Be aware of your body. Go to the doctor for regular check-ups.

The pattern I've created is an awareness bracelet, in memory of my dear friend that recently passed (her name was L.A.). It's also in honor of my Nana, our relatives, our family, as well as our friends who have struggled with heart disease and stroke.

With every purchase of either a bracelet or the pattern for it, 10% will be donated to the American Heart & Stroke Association.

Here are some photos of the finished product:

You can purchase the pattern here, or the item itself here. Again 10% of all proceeds will be donated to the American Heart & Stroke Association. Thank you for your support!

Happy Stitching! xo

Pattern Review

While mulling around on what to do for my next project, I came across this.

Don't they just look warm, luxurious, and lovely? Well, I thought so, anyway. What I thought was neat was that there wasn't just one pattern there, but four. And they're all free! Awesome.

I just needed some cotton yarn. I suppose that you could make them with acrylic, but the thing about acrylic is that it does not absorb any water, so what's the point? I don't do stitch samplers. I needed some yarn to finish an afghan, anyway, so I went to the craft store. I ended up picking up some Lily Sugar 'n Cream. Well worth it, despite the price per ounce.

                                                    
    

Such pretty colors, don't you think? I couldn't resist. Those are the colors I bought.

I set to work on the first pattern; the Grit Stitch Washcloth. So fun!

I love how the stitch looks so complex, but it's actually very basic. A beginning crocheter could make this.

I added an edging to it, just to make it look more finished. All I did was work a bunch of single crochets all around. On the corners I did (sc, ch 1, sc). I think it worked out quite well. Here's the finished product:

Overall? Very easy pattern, very pretty product, and a very happy Sammich. I plan on making some of these for Mother's Day to sell in the shop, as well as to give to my Nana and future mother-in-law.

Before you ask, I DID try some of the other patterns. Or, rather, I started to. The thing is that I don't particularly like just making a ton of double crochets in a row, or really a lot of any of the same stitch in a row. I like diversity, even if it's a motif that's repeated. That's why the only one I actually made was the Grit Stitch Washcloth. But, if you like that sort of thing, or how the other patterns look, by all means, go for it. They are all incredibly simple.

Enjoy!

New Afghan!

This is my newest creation for the Etsy shop! The sunshine yellow just makes me happy. I used a vintage pattern and 100% acrylic yarn for it.

Here it is.

Blessings!