Author: Karen Stewart

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The Giveaway You’ve Been Waiting For!

Time for a giveaway!

I have been thinking about having a giveaway for a long time. My biggest question is always: What should it be?

Yarn?

Patterns?

Supplies?

Finally, I ran across these little gems on Etsy — they are so perfect. They fit in beautifully with the fingerless glove patterns I have been writing recently.

Giveaway Teaser

https://youtu.be/aQauxFaYOUI

Aren’t they adorable?!

They remind me very much of Shaun the Sheep and the Wallace and Gromit videos that my children grew up with. They are handmade, simply cute, and fun! I asked the lovely Anita to convert them to lobster claw from rings so that they would work great with crochet. (We just need different tools with crochet.)

I have gone years without stitch markers but these take the cake.

I am offering you two sets of these lovely sheep stitch markers, one to keep and one to give to a friend. Or, you can give both of them away. They make fabulous Christmas gifts!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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The video above was created by T. Stewart and D. Stewart. They did a great job, don’t you think? It’s so fun to finally see it all come together for this giveaway!

Giveaway Dates

The giveaway runs from Nov. 18-25, 2016. Sign up for the email list, and follow me on social media for your entries. I can’t wait to discover who the winner is and share the name with you!

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Granny Square Scarf with Scalloped Border

Granny Square Scarf with Scalloped Border

The Granny Square Scarf is so flirty, feminine, and full of style. After creating it, I fell in love with the cute scallops around the outside edge–in fact, I love it so much I had to write up the pattern for you!

Crocheting the Granny Square Scarf

You can use any colors or yarn that you like to make this scarf. I think I made mine out of granny squares leftover from afghans. There always seems to be a whole row (almost) of squares that just didn’t quite fit in whatever afghan I’m currently working on. The blue scarf pictured here is crocheted using Vanna’s Choice, and the brown one below is made with Stylecraft Special DK.

Blue edged Granny Square Scarf

Versatile Colors

As you can see, the edging color can be whatever you need it to be, to match your coat or favorite outfit. I chose chocolate brown for this one’s border, and it really seems to make the pastels colors pop.

Brown-edged Granny Square Scarf

The pattern is very simple, but I’ve included three different corner detail options. Making scarves like this is one of my favorite things to do with leftover granny squares, especially when I don’t have enough for another afghan. You can find the pattern in my Etsy or Craftsy shops.

What I’ve Been Up To

watercolor leaves

It has been a lovely autumn week here. We watercolored leaves for our art class. Since we don’t have art every week, it is a nice change in our day when we do.

I am working hard to finish up some patterns to share with you. Hopefully, I will get them all posted in November. The home front has been pretty quiet, which I’m enjoying. I don’t know about you, but it seems like October and November hit at light speed, and we’re sliding downhill to Christmas rapidly.

Changes in Our Lives

The grandkids are settling in, and I am getting used to the idea that Hubs is now a Grandpa. It just cracks me up. The eyes with which I look out on the world feel about 16, but the rest of my body feels older. For about five months now, I have been working on some weight loss, and I’m finally starting to see some results. (Hopefully, those chocolate chips that keep calling my name aren’t going to make me gain it back!) I love dumping my “too big” clothes into the donation bag–quite a nice thing to have to do since I am not really working on losing weight as much as I should be right now. Real life is enough exercise for me; I can’t even seem to make time to go to the pool!

The other obstacle I’m fighting right now is being on time. It seems as though everything is working together to make me late to every single thing I have going on in my life. I’m not sure why either. For example, I drive my Mom and her friend to church every Sunday. After being told (repeatedly) that I am getting them there late, we finally sat down and figured out the right time. It turns out they are supposed to be there 15 minutes earlier than I was told.

I hope things are going better for all of you.

Oh, and I bought more yarn. Yes, I have repeatedly told myself that I have more than enough yarn, and I really do! I have enough of every color to last me awhile … except for that certain light yellow color which I really, really need!

Remember to always shop your stash first!

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Easy Fingerless Gloves Pattern

fingerless gloves

These Fingerless gloves make a great gift. They keep your hands warm while you are texting or typing. The pattern is easy to follow with lots of photos to make it perfect for beginners. The pattern comes in two sizes, small and medium, allowing it to fit most women and men. Our pattern testers found that the small pattern fits from petite to large; the medium fits from XL to 2XL in women’s sizes.easy fingerless gloves pattern

I used the James C Brett Yarn, “Marble Chunky,” to create the fingerless gloves shown on this page. The yarn is color-changing, making it look striped in the finished gloves. You will simply love the look without all the tedious work of changing colors and weaving in ends.

(There are affiliate links in this post and I receive a small percentage of any purchase that you make.)

The chunky yarn crochets up quickly. You can personalize these gloves in any color you choose, whether it’s your favorite color or the color of your coat. Below are just a few of the colors this yarn comes in. I had so much fun creating this pattern for you!

color changing yarn

Easy Fingerless Gloves Pattern

You can find this pattern at my Etsy or Craftsy pattern shops. The yarn is available online at various retailers. You can also use any bulky yarn that you have left over in your stash. If you do crochet these gloves, send me a photo via Facebook– I would love to see your results!

fingerless gloves

What I’ve Been Up To

This past week has been spent writing up patterns; I’m working hard on preparing for the holiday season. The more work I get done now, the less I have to do then. The weather here has been crisp and beautiful. The yard is being mowed as I type, for the last time this season, I think. It will be nice to put the mower away and focus on other things.

I decorated a little bit for the season with some pumpkins, but I need to add some flowers for color. It is time to put some pansies and mums into the front flower beds. All I need to do is get out there and dig some holes.

I also had a chance recently to re-pot my succulents into a more permanent container. They have been hanging out in plastic containers all summer. (I am notorious for killing plants!) I was trying to see if they would live long enough to warrant a pretty pot. They have; I think I like them. It will be good to have some houseplants that don’t die if I don’t water them all the time. Even the Aloe Vera plant is still alive after about six months in my home! Maybe there’s hope for my green thumb yet– and for the succulents this winter!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Scalloped Afghan Pattern

Crocheted Scalloped Afghan

The beautiful Scalloped Afghan pattern is available in both the Etsy and Craftsy shops today. It is such a beautiful work of art that I know you will want to get started making your own right away.

The yarn for this scalloped afghan is simply dreamy. You can choose any of the long color-changing yarns when you make this blanket. It works up into the beautiful long stripes you see below. The tweedy-looking yarn in the photos is masculine and stylish all at the same time. The yarn is bulky (#5) and crochets up extremely quick.

scalloped afghan

Scalloped Afghan Up Close

Look at this lovely, little, scalloped border. I just love this blanket. Scalloped Afghan detail

A quick close up of how the colors blend together in this yarn. It makes such a lovely, textural afghan.

scalloped afghan

Here are some of the lovely yarns you can use to crochet this afghan. Aren’t these colors gorgeous?

colorful yarn

Be sure to stop by the shop of your choice (Etsy or Craftsy) and get your copy of the pattern right away. This will make a perfect, quick gift for that special someone in your life!

What’s On Your Hook?

I’d love to know what projects you’re working on! Leave a comment below to start a conversation. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter, so you are notified with each new post!

 

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New to Crochet: Picking Colors for a Project

Picking colors should not scare you.

Many beginning crocheters lack confidence about picking colors for their projects. The time-honored and traditional method that they often use: start with their favorite colors.

Picking Colors

What is an easy way to pick colors for an afghan? How can you know if the colors go well together? This video is a simple answer to these questions. and it will walk you through the process of picking colors for a project.

Color Theory

I hope this video helped you understand about which colors are more likely to go together. When you are new to crochet, it can be difficult to pick good color schemes. When you find a pattern you like but want to try different colors, you may need to crochet, take it out and pick new colors, crochet again, take it out and pick new colors, crochet and take it out again… until you reach something that resembles the color scheme you envisioned in the first place.

Color theory can be extremely complicated; this is just a quick refresher course. When in doubt, ask a friend or even the sales clerk at the yarn store for their opinion on your color choices.

What I’ve Been Up To

Remember that argyle swatch I made a few weeks ago? I am determined to make it bigger. I’ve enlisted the math lover at our house to help with the figuring. Although I’m pretty good at eye-balling it, it helps to get some math involved. So, I’m off to crochet more color pooling swatches today!

What about you? I’d love to know what you’re up to today. Start a conversation by leaving a comment!

Talk to you later,

Karen

PS: The November Pattern Giveaway is coming up fast, so keep checking back! Better yet, sign up for our newsletter and get notified whenever new posts are up! (On a computer, scroll to the top of the left column to sign up. On a mobile device or tablet, scroll down to below the comments to sign up.)

 

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Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves

Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves

The pattern for these Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves is available in the Etsy and Craftsy shops. I’ve been working hard to get these up and ready for you, but life just keeps getting in the way. Have you ever had one of those weeks? Well, it was the best of times … and a pretty bad time, too, as we fought a terrible virus this past weekend. The “best of times” I referred to were some pretty cute little grandkids added to our family! There just isn’t anything better than snuggling up with a cuddly baby or a huggable toddler. We are all head-over-heels in love around here!

Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves

The fingerless gloves come in 4 pattern sizes. This is my first time writing a pattern with multiple sizes. These are simple enough to finish up before Halloween and yet neutral enough to wear into November.

Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves

They were fun to crochet and barely took any time at all to finish. The best part is they take hardly any yarn to complete them!

Quick and easy to crochet, these Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves whip up in a hurry!

While there is a little bit of shaping to be done to make it fit a little closer, there is no difference between the right and left hand–so there is no way to get confused about which glove you are crocheting. I used Red Heart worsted weight orange, white and yellow yarn for these Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves, but any worsted weight yarn will do the trick.

Treat yourself to a pair of Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves! The only trick is in the shaping, and that's minimal.

What I’ve Been Up To

I feel a bit behind on everything these days, but that feeling is normal. Quite often, I find myself falling a little behind. My focus is on getting the important things done first, and there’s nothing more important than family!

We had senior photos taken this past week for the last of our children. It is hard to believe how much she has grown and changed from the little bitty baby we adopted so many years ago. I feel incredibly blessed to be her mom. She is funny and loud, and extroverted to the extreme, and she’s exactly what this house of introverts needed!

Do you know a young lady who would love a pair of these Candy Corn Fingerless Gloves? Tell me about her in the comments! And don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter so you’ll know when new posts are up.

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. I have included affiliate links to Amazon for the yarn I used. I do receive a small percentage of your purchase from Amazon.

 

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So, You want to Crochet: Single Crochet

Single Crochet

Sometimes we have to go back to the basics. Do you know someone who would like to learn to crochet? The single crochet is one of the most basic stitches they will need to learn.

Recently, my daughter-in-law suggested that I create some videos which show basic crochet stitches. Here is the very first one. Since I used to teach art, the teacher in me just had to write on the whiteboard background so you could see the abbreviation used for the single crochet stitch.

I hope you enjoy the video, and I hope it helps you or a friend learn to crochet!

Single Crochet Stitch

Fall in Oklahoma

This is my favorite time of the year. I remember my first fall at Oklahoma State University. The school had these lovely trees planted down the middle of the main walkway through campus. It led past the Life Sciences building, down to the Student Union. That semester I took that pathway every day. The trees started turning when the weather became cool enough for a jacket in the morning. The leaves glowed with brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges. They were simply breathtaking!  The sun lit up the trees each morning, making them appear so alive. It moved me to tears (odd for a college kid, I know) the first time I saw them. Now every year at this time I remember how beautiful the trees were. There is a small area on 71st Street, here in Tulsa, that reminds me of campus. Unfortunately, I am usually driving and cannot take the time to slow down and enjoy the colors. Back in college, I was on crutches and moving really slow, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the fall colors.

Don’t Forget!

Remember to always shop your stash first! And take the time to enjoy the beautiful fall weather! I’d love to hear about the trees and beautiful colors in your area — share about them in the comments!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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30 Things to Improve Your Business

Time for a giveaway!

Being an online business owner has its ups and downs. Often, there are “slack times” when it isn’t quite time to release a new product, yet our creativity has taken a nosedive. Since your business won’t run itself, I’ve come up with 30 things you can do to improve your online business beyond making more items to sell.

(This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small percentage of the sale. Your cost is not affected by this, and I truly appreciate your business.)

The Top Ten

  1. Write a business plan; every business must have one of these.
  2. Create an ideal customer, so you always know your target audience.
  3. Rearrange your shop; get customers to look around a little more.
  4. Check item descriptions for grammar and misspellings; improve the wording.
  5. Rewrite your About Me pages to create a simple, quick glimpse of who you are.
  6. Check tags to make sure they are currently the best descriptions of your items.
  7. Put items on sale and get rid of those that aren’t in keeping with your current shop profile.
  8. Rewrite your profile pages and have a good photo taken for your headshot.
  9. Create posts for social media, and schedule them to go out at regular intervals.
  10. Back up your computer; your work is too precious to lose!

30 things - top 10

Photography

  1. Check your photos; make sure none are blurry.
  2. Update your photos to give your shop a cohesive look; customers should be able to tell they are your photos by their style.
  3. Watermark all photos used for your business.
  4. Crop photos to “portrait” layout for Pinterest pages.

Automate

  1. Do an Internet search to discover ways to streamline or automate more of your business.
  2. Consider using the Etsy Twitter-fu app to tweet for you every day, several times a day.
  3. Write up and schedule social media posts; check your Page Insights to figure out the best time to share posts, then schedule your posts accordingly.

Marketing

  1. Pin your shop items to Pinterest; make sure the graphics are pin-worthy.
  2. Rewrite your pin descriptions to include your shop address, website, and tags for the item.
  3. Clean up Pinterest boards; get rid of non-pin-worthy pins; sort your pins into new board categories to encourage your followers to look around a little more.
  4. Be social on social media; build business relationships. (They used to call it “networking.”)

Learning

  1. Read books and blogs about successful online businesses and how they succeed.
  2. Pick up a copy of Michael Hyatt’s book, Launch, for ideas on how to launch your items for sale.
  3. See what the competition is doing.
  4. Check your shop stats.
  5. Figure out what is selling, what isn’t, and why; be honest with yourself.

Clean – Organize – Edit

  1. Clean up and delete old document files; create folders for different topics so you can find your stuff easier.
  2. Clean up your studio and organize it.
  3. Delete all trash from your computer’s recycle bin.
  4. Edit all your online listings to have a cohesive look.

Total: 30 Things

There you have it: 30 things to improve your business! Do them during a down time, or, better yet, complete one item a day for a month. At the end of the month start over again. Add new items to the bottom of your list as you cross off completed items from the top. Keep your list constantly rotating as you work your business, and you’ll soon find your business is working for you.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Autumn and Creativity

It is raining here in Oklahoma, and the weather has been so warm–it is supposed to be Autumn. At least today the weather is cooperating (with the season) by being drearily wet. The temperatures lately are reminding us that, while it is late September, it still has the capacity to be in the eighties. While I would love to be out and doing things during the day, I have been fighting a nasty cold this past week. I have spent an inordinate amount of time crocheting and binge-watching Netflix.

Burnout Does Not Begin to Describe What I Feel

There is the all-too-common refrain of “too much to do and not enough energy” floating around in my head. My work-in-progress list is a mile long, and my to-do list is longer. So, I procrastinate and think of things I would do if it were January.

Maybe I can call it planning and drop some good ideas into the mix and see if I can indeed get something accomplished. But, there is a distinct lack of purpose and drive. Baking sounds fun–but it would mess up the whole kitchen. Cleaning would get me ahead for the week–but it doesn’t sound exciting. Even Pinterest has lost its glitter. I can’t even decorate the house for Autumn because there would need to be cleaning done first…{heavy sigh}.

I Have No Less Than…

  • 4 full-size afghans started (1 needs blocking; 1 needs the ends woven in and then I need to figure out a way to make it square)
  • a pillow in the works
  • a wreath needing a pattern written
  • 5 pairs of fingerless mitts need patterns written (very quickly!)
  • 1 giveaway planned
  • several videos to edit prior to posting
  • multiple aprons, which I must decide whether to sew or not
  • plans for Winter and Spring to make
  • some yarny stuff to clean up
  • prototypes to put away
  • more color pooling crochet to do
  • several blog posts to write

I Guess I am Bored

Being bored correctly is an art form. It can be a cauldron that ferments creativity or simply a cement mixer that jostles out ideas every once in awhile. Some ideas are good, and some are bad. I will probably resort to cleaning up the studio which is a very, very good thing for me to do while bored. It results in new creative ideas which distract me, so I don’t have to finish cleaning!  It often also results in a clean studio. Or maybe I’ll just take a day off and mess around in my kitchen; take a vacation, of sorts.

I wrote that a couple of weeks ago at the beginning of Autumn, but once again it is a dreary rainy day.

The To-do List is Slightly Smaller…

Autumn and Creativity

  • 4 full-size afghans started. I still have four left, but I have finished four others, and one is so close to the end that it hurts to put it down every night.
  • 1 needs blocking.  I’m putting the border on this one but ran out of black yarn. I finished it!
  • 2 need the ends woven in and then I need to figure out a way to make 1 squarer. It only needs 9 more blocks! Yay!

2016-09-25-19-09-19

  • a pillow in the works
  • a wreath needing a pattern written Probably not happening this year!
  • 5 pairs of fingerless mitts need patterns written (very quickly) This is done but not released. This needs to happen this week.
  • 1 giveaway planned
  • several videos to edit prior to posting The editing is done. I just need to post them. Stay tuned to my YouTube channel as new videos are coming soon!
  • multiple aprons, which I must decide whether to sew or not I am not cutting out more aprons–I need to sew the ones I have cut out already!
  • plans for Winter and Spring to make This has happened by cleaning up the drafts in the blog. I had about 100 drafts until I deleted a bunch. I did end up with some good posts, though–they just need some cleaning up.
  • some yarny stuff to clean up
  • prototypes to put away
  • more color pooling crochet to do This is harder than it looks. I have too many irons in the fire to get them done quickly, but I am working on it.
  • several blog posts to write (See “plans for Winter and Spring to make” above.)

Life is Frustrating Today as I Write This

It’s probably just the Autumn rain; I can’t help but think of how little is getting done and how broken up my time is. I know, in a few short years, I will have huge unbroken blocks of time–and that thought, in itself, almost overwhelms me.Autumn project

Yesterday I was out and about. Do you know what I did? I bought more yarn….for another crocheted afghan! I must be crazy. My husband is pretty sure it is an illness of some kind. He just smiles now.

Remember to always shop your stash! Do as I say, not as I did today!

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Easy Ways to Plan a Crochet Afghan: Color Scheme

color schemes

People often ask me how I plan the color schemes in my crochet blankets. Previously, I wrote about four different methods designers use to plan their blankets.  In this YouTube video, I get a little more personal and tell you about two methods that I use frequently. (I  have wanted to share this method with you for months!) These are, quite frankly, two of the easiest ways I have found to plan the color scheme for any crochet blanket.

6

The Color of My World

Life seems to be moving at light speed around here. The early morning temperatures are getting cooler, and we have more pleasant weather coming this week. Here and there a few trees are starting to turn colors — and leaves have begun to fall. Family gathering plans are in the making for October, November, and Thanksgiving. But, the biggest news is that I am gearing up for an anniversary giveaway. My very first giveaway! Stay tuned for details — I am so excited about the great opportunities you will have to win. It’s going to be easy and fun to share this giveaway with your crocheting friends, and I hope you will!

Talk to you later,

Karen