Snowflakes for Sandy Hook Elementary School Students

My goal is to make 2 things each year that would bring a smile to somebody or help a good cause.  When I heard about making snowflakes for Sandy Hook Elementary Children, I decided to crochet a couple.  While I know Connecticut PTSA was overwhelmed with people's donation of snowflakes from around the world, this was also my way of saying "I'm thinking of all of you that left this world way too early, you are all in my heart as well as all those that were affected by the Sandy Hook tragedy."  

I wish all the best for all the students and teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary and I hope you can find peace.

Where I got these patterns?

• Snowflake #1 &2 - 101 Snowfalakes by Delsie Rhoades and Kathy Wesley
• Snowflake #3 - BURDA Special - Geschenke häkeln E 167 

9 Beautiful, unique crochet projects that will make you want to learn how to crochet or spice up your ToDo list

Because my crochet ToDo list is not long enough (yeah, right!), I had to find new things to keep my crochet hook busy and inspired (it gets bored making the same thing over and over again).  I always like to try new things and keep myself challenged.  

This list consists of crochet projects that are something different than usual hat, scarf, granny square or pot holder.  If you have never crochet before, I hope this will give you an inspiration to learn this great craft (it’s not as hard as it looks!)
If you’ve been crocheting for a while as I have been, I hope you find something new and unique and add it to your ToDo list.

I hope to post a new blog entry for each of the accomplished item on my ToDo list.  This may take a while :)
Leave feedback and let me know what you like best from this list and if you’re planning to make it or wish somebody made it for you :).

1. Basket
I’ve seen baskets or bowls crocheted with soft yarn and then shaped and stiffened to keep that shape.  However, this one is different.  It uses a rope and you crochet around it.  Great idea for many different projects too.
Crochet Hemp Basket by CraftPassion.com



2. Rope Rug
As soon as I saw it, I found a nylon rope I had laying around in my house, the biggest crochet hook I had and never used before and found a doily pattern I thought would work great..  Only to be stopped quite early on because I ran out of rope.  Since I bought that rope years ago, I have no clue where I can find more of it.  In any case, it’s not the best rope for a rug anyhow.  Instead, I just ordered 100% cotton rope and cannot wait for it to come in the mail so I can try a rope rug.  It will look great in my sunroom!
Mega Doily Rug by Ladies & Gentlemen

3. Butterfly Wall Hanging
So this one is already crossed off my ToDo list and the picture of the finish product is shown below.  I love it so much that I had to include it here.  It also makes me feel better to have something done on my ToDo list!  I made it for my daughter’s room and it goes great with the flower-butterfly curtains I made as well (see my earlier blog post).  If you search the internet for crochet butterfly, most hits you get are patterns of small butterflies or doily-like look which I’m not fond of.  This one is quite unique.  Check out other patterns on mypicot.com - great website.



4. Very cute Amigurumi
If you’re not familiar with amigurumi, it is a Japanese art of crocheting stuffed toys.  I’ve done some in the past and it’s always a fun project.  My kids love watching them emerge from the ball of yarn, though it’s never fast enough for them. There are lots of amigurumi patterns out there, but a lot are either very simplistic or the results are just not cute enough.  However, amigurumipatterns.net is one of the websites that has a great selection of very detailed oriented patterns.  Some you have to pay for, but once I get to this ToDo item, I will be willing to pay for a pattern like this.  Here are some examples.  I think the princesses definitely shine above the others (I might be slightly biased since my daughter loves princesses).

Sweet Pup

Graduation Owl

Armchair with 2 cushions and rug

Princesses

5. The smallest crocheted amigurumi ever

So the previous bullet gave you an idea what amigurumi is.  While detailed and may require some time to accomplish it, it is doable.  This one on the other hand will be one of the most challenging project yet for me.  I’m not even sure how to accomplish it because the smallest hook I have is .75 mm (and trust me, it’s very small) and it’s way too big to accomplish these creatures.  So tiny, and Su Ami still manages to make them very cute and very detailed.  Love it!

6. Clock - and it works!
This clock would be perfect for a little girl’s room.  I think my daughter’s room has enough crochet decoration, so I will have to think of a clock design that would fit a different room...  My head is already spinning with ideas...  This one is beautifully done by Natasja from UK.

7. Bag or purse from Italy
I’ve seen many crocheted bag patterns but none of them grab my attention as much as these ones done by La Catenella from Italy.  I wish they sold the patterns, but I guess I’ll have to try to figure it out on my own.  First thing is to find out what type of yarn or maybe fabric/trim is being used here...

8. Wire bowl
I’ve been thinking of making a centerpiece for my new sunroom.  One idea that came to my mind is a crocheted bowl but using wire instead of thread or yarn.  I actually never used wire for crocheting yet, so I’m looking forward to making that one.  I like the simplicity of this bowl made by CatsWire, but I may put my own twist on it...  I’ll know once I try using the wire and see how it works.



9. Wire necklace
I love making jewelry using thread (that’s what I sell in my Etsy store) and I love to try new techniques.  So my next venture that would hopefully end up in my Etsy store is crochet wire jewelry.  Here’s the piece  by CatsWire which I really like and it gives me some ideas for what I would like to do.  

Bonus. Playground
So to make it clear, this is NOT on my ToDo list.   I’m just so impressed with the idea and the sheer size of this project, that I had to include it as a bonus.  I can’t even imagine how long it took to make a whole playground!  It was designed by Japanese artist Toshiko Horiuchi-MacAdam.  My hat off to her.  I wish I could go there to play on it :)

Crochet your own baby room window treatment or curtains

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was getting a room ready for her.  The walls were painted blue not that long ago, so I really did not want to go through the hassle of re-painting them.  I figured I’ll just add things to make it girly.  I bought blue-purple butterfly wall decals and I fell in love with them right away.  However, I could not find right curtains for the windows.  I decided to sew them myself.  I’m not an expert in sewing, that’s for sure, but I’ve tackled curtains before, so I felt I could do this.  I got pink flowery fabric, got it all done (4 panels for 2 windows), hung it and... I hated it.  What was I thinking choosing such a pink dominant fabric when I don’t even care for color pink!  This girly thing must have gotten into my head..  So for the next couple of weeks, I was trying to figure out what to do and then I got it..  I already did a large crochet butterfly as a wall hanging for the room so why not make colorful crochet flowers and saw them to plain white curtains?

I ended up making flowers and little butterflies.  When I was done, I realized that it was missing something..  Once I added stems and leaves, I was satisfied.  I also made some extra flowers and butterflies and glued them to a white nightstand lamp shade I bought.
It took me awhile to accomplish this task (finished it after my baby girl was already here), but it was worth it. I love it.  

I used quite a few patterns I found online.  Some of them are no longer available, but for those I can still find, I’m passing the links here.

Everything, including stems were made using Royale Fashion Crochet Thread Size #3.

Bold Bloom and Sunny Flower are from "Crochet Embellishments" by Jean Leinhauser.

I made the stems using a basic chain stitch.  You can find a tutorial on Sarah's Hand Embrioidery Tutorials website.  

These orchid flowers were designed by Josi Hannon Madera

I cannot find the original website where I got this butterfly from, but similar pattern is all over the internet.  Here's one place where I found it with video tutorials.  For the body, I made a chain and wrapped it around the middle and tied it at the top using the ends as the antennas.

I did not capture all the flowers, but a few of them including this rose were made using patterns from a great website MyPicot.com 

I hope this gives you ideas to create crochet curtains in your home!

Have a colorful day!

My Online Shop is open - Twisted Thread and Hook

 I did it!  I finally opened my own shop on Etsy - Twisted Thread And Hook!  For the first time, I’m going to try to sell my crocheting creations.  I wanted it to do it for a few years now, but for a couple of reasons, it did not happen until now.

Firstly and mainly, I just didn’t think there will be a market for it..  The truth is, it takes a lot of time to hand-make things, so when at the end you put a price on it, it often sounds crazy to some people.

The second problem was and still is time.  I’m a mom to two wonderful kids and a wife to a great husband (who’s amazingly supportive of my crazy idea that is already taking a lot of my time).  Spending time as a family cannot ever be beat (though it could be enhanced if it involves some crocheting as well!).  In addition, I work full time.  I’m a software engineer for a major company and spend a lot of time in front of a computer.  I think that kind of pushed me to do more of the things that don’t require the logical side of the brain.  So in the end, there is not much time left for my hobby, but it is what I love to do and decided I need to find the time to do it.

So I decided to start small, but at the same time do something unique, eye-drawing and detailed, detailed, detailed.  I always drive myself crazy with details.  It takes me a while to come up with a final design because I’m very critical of what I make and I always think how can I make it better.  In the end, what I decided to do is jewelry and accessories made with fine thread.  Here’s a little preview of what I did.  For more, visit my Etsy store Twisted Thread And Hook.

It took me some time, but I found 2 threads I fell in love with.  One is very thin and has a slight shine to it which makes it perfect for making jewelry.  Here’s my favorite piece so far, a necklace using hairpin lace crocheting technique which I call “Broken wheel necklace”:

Mother-child heart necklace (inspired by my children) with matching earrings.  


The pieces that follow are made from a little thicker thread though still quite thin.  It has even more shine than the other one.  I really like the color blends this thread offers.  Here’s a necklace I made inspired by a vintage doily pattern published in a Polish crocheting magazine:



And a few hair pins that are perfect for little girls yet sophisticated enough for grown up women to wear as well.  They are inspired by my daughter and her love for butterflies.

I’m looking forward to the feedback I get on all you see here in my 1st blog(!) and my Etsy store.  

Thank you for visiting!