Category: Chocolatedogstudio information

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4 Blocks a Week – Week 3!

Here are this weeks 4 crochet granny squares for the 4 blocks a week crochet sampler blanket. I am enjoying picking out each block and trying something new.

Block 9

4 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3

Block 10

4 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3 Block 114 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3

 

Block 12

4 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3

I can’t wait to start putting them all together. I think that I will need to join them all at the end as they are all different sizes.

They look quite beautiful all together and so very intricate and lacy. The book I am using is 100 Colorful Granny Squares to Crochet. 

I have included  some affiliate links and I will receive a small percentage from any purchase that you make.

The weather this week promises to be frosty, a bit misty and possibly some snow. I am ready for to be snowed in for a couple of days. There is so much that I want to do. I am deeply into the Use Your Stash Challenge and I would dearly love a chance to sit and create. I have been working on it steadily and have finished a couple of projects already. One has been in the works since before Thanksgiving.

Our daughter is back a college and we are back into the routine of daily life. I am working on de-cluttering and cleaning. I have loads of laundry waiting to be completed and I already feel very productive this morning. Our son was up yesterday to take some photos of more of my Mom’s vintage stuff. I will be adding them to the shop after I write up descriptions and get them priced.

The dogs have been quiet today. They really do not want to get put out as it is a bit misty and cold. Daisy is getting pretty big and has passed up the leader of the pack, which is causing a struggle for power between the two. I am confident that they will work it out sooner or later. We really need to work on her training as I do not need the huge dog jumping up on people.

Here are the links if  you want to see week one and week two of the 4 blocks a week crochet sampler blanket.

See you later,

Karen

 

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My Use Your Stash Rules – 2015

Here it is the day the Use Your Stash Challenge officially starts. I have been thinking about the rules for this year. I have also talked them over with Hubs. I love his point of view. Here is what he said in a nutshell

  • This isn’t a contest
  • You can make this what you want and need
  • have fun
  • don’t stress about the rules
  • There are no Use Your Stash police checking to see if you follow the same rules as everyone else.
Use Your Stash Challenge
https://www.etsy.com/listing/193537851/start-where-you-are-use-what-you-have-do

So here are my rules for the Use Your Stash Challenge. I hope that you come up with your own rules.

  1. Works in Progress count because they are stash and they are sitting around half done and taking up space.
  2. If I come up with a really cool idea but lack 1 essential element to finish it off perfectly. I will shop and buy that 1 thing. I will also document what I buy on the blog. Also if I get a custom order that needs supplies I will create that item.
  3. While I will show all the items I create, the good, the bad and the ugly, I might not count them all towards the final number.
  4. I will create 200 items this year for the challenge. I have about 50 items cut and awaiting sewing so it isn’t out of the question and these items do count toward the total.
  5. I will try to create 200 items 200 days.
Use Your Stash Challenge
https://www.etsy.com/listing/167670767/quote-wall-decal-by-andy-warhol-craft

I have stocked up on thread. I have found all my buttons. I have separated the scraps from the bigger pieces of fabric. I have signed up for a quilt class.  I have ideas since I have searched far and wide via pinterest and google. Here is the pinterest board that I have been pining ideas on since last year.  I also have a huge Crochet board and then also a sewing board.  I will start the board for us to pin our completed items on when I get my first item completed, feel free to contact me to be added to the board.

Join me in a this De-stashing challenge and clean out your space. Find the freedom of finishing up your Works in Progress! set your creativity free with this challenge that will force you to think in totally different directions. Limits force us to think outside the box and encourage us to use what we have or as our Grandma’s said

“Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do or Do without!”

Are we ready? Do you have tons of stash waiting the perfect project? Do you have a time frame in mind or an item list?

If you do then let’s get started!

talk to you after I get something created!

 

Karen

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4 Blocks a Week – Week 2

Here are my four blocks for this week.

4 Blocks a Week

This one desperately needs blocking.

 

 

4 Blocks a Week Here we go with number three. I am using a different book for the squares this week. Leonie Morgan does a great job showing the different rows in different colors. I hope they look great in one shade of yarn.4 Blocks a Week

4 Blocks a Week

 

4 Blocks a WeekThis one also needs blocking. I will have to steam block them and see if they improve.

The week is proving to be a challenge in many ways. I keep skipping around on different projects and it seems like my progress on one any of them is slow. I have a Minion hat to get out in the mail and then two or three projects that I seem to be working on more seriously than the others. I hope to get them finished pretty quickly as well.  I am also working on some organizing.I have been sorting through Christmas ornaments and decorations. It appears that we have a bunch that are old and not used. The cleaning and organizing progress in the studio has also slowed down as I am waiting on some parts for some shelving. The parts should come in the mail this week. Then I can get more work done. My studio is up under the eaves and I am putting up shelving so that I can stack my tubs on them. I think it will help me get to them more easily.

The quilting class that I am taking with friends is starting in March instead of this week. I am going to try to get the fabrics gathered together for that class this week. We are making a log cabin quilt and I hope to sew it entirely out of stash fabrics. I also start my Use My Stash Challenge next Monday. I have been thinking about different projects to start and WIPS that need to be finished up. These will all be part of the Use Your Stash Challenge. I am also thinking about my rules for the challenge.

Our daughter heads back to school this week and the rest of us will try to get into a schedule of sorts. I just feel really scattered in my thinking and that time to think is in extremely short supply.

Talk to you later,

karen

 

 

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Tuesday’s Project Progress – week one

It has been such a long time since I told you  my project progress and list of things to do for the week. I hope to keep this up over the year. It is so hard to do.
Here is my list of works in progress with photos whenever possible.

Yarny things:

Granny circle thing

Tuesday's Project Progress

Crochet shawl

Tuesday's Project Progress I love the colors in the scarf/shawl. It will be big enough to be a shawl  and yet small enough to wear with a coat. It matches my winter coat and most of my clothes so when I take off the coat I can still wear it.

Crochet shawl/scarf

I am making another one of these scarf/shawls. This one is out of sock yarn. I finally decided that I am never knitting socks. The double point needles keep slipping out of the yarn and I would drop stitches because of it. I have had the yarn for ages. It is a  lovely, grey, red, and blue self striping yarn. It is washable and will make a great scarf.

grey diagonal

Tuesday's Project Progress

I have had this in a partial state for at least a year. It is time to finish it but I just don’t like what it is turning into. So, I need to either frog it or finish it. What do you think?

blue and white Stripe

Tuesday's Project ProgressThis I will finish as it is for ChocolatesBabyShop. I love the combination of colors and it will make a beautiful baby blanket.

multicolor granny stripe

Tuesday's Project Progress

crochet hats of various kinds

Sewn things:

  • Various cup cozies
  • coffee press cozies
  • hot pads or pot holders
  • 2-3 aprons
  • a quilt that needs the machine quilting

I am also in the middle of cleaning/de-cluttering/ organizing the studio. (I am rearranging the furniture to make it more useable.)

That is a huge list and doesn’t include my home school mom duties, my housewife chores or just daily life. I am overwhelmed with everything that is on my plate right now. I need to take it one thing at a time. I know that I can get the important things done and the little things will melt away. I can also delegate some of the daily chores. Three things in my favor this week.

  1. I have a menu for the week.
  2. I have a calendar with appointments listed on them
  3. The post office will pick up from my mail box!

Well, I should let you go as I am needing to get on with my list for today.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

 

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Some New Crochet Square Circles

My newest yarn order was delivered in the midst of crocheting hats for Christmas orders. It sat unopened for a week. Which I know is the wrong thing to do, as I should have checked to see it it was all there. Then I  opened it and let it sit on the crocheting couch for a week. It didn’t even make it to a basket! I was wondering what it would be needing to be crocheted into. Then last week, I knew. It was the day or two before Christmas and a quiet moment of tv watching turned into this compulsive crochet-a-thon. I created these little beautiful crocheted square circles.

crochet square circle

You can tell that this photo is from before Christmas as there is a Christmas ball cap thing in the middle of the pretty crochet square circles. They remind me of this blanket that I crocheted a year or two ago. crochet square circleThen they morphed into the squared circles. Little small square circles that look like little jewels. These squares are about 4 inches square. I have about 100 of them crocheted now. I have only been crocheting them and it has been a compulsion as not one of them is like another. I have started the blocking process and it is coming along great. Except that I do not have 400 pins to block them with so this is going to take awhile.

crochet square circle

Here are the beautiful edges of the square circles and you can see the beauty of them. Some have bright centers and some don’t. I love the randomness of each square. The yarn is a soft lightweight wool/nylon blend.  I haven’t decided whether to crochet a blanket or not.  100 squares at 4 inches is only a 40 inch blanket unless I put an edging around it and I am not sure if I want to do that.

crochet square circleAnyway, this is what I have been doing besides crocheting Tardis hats or Dr. Who inspired scarves. I am keeping really busy, when I’m not cleaning and organizing. I have to admit that the organizing bug has hit pretty seriously. I am determined to get things a little more orderly before I start my Use Your Stash Challenge on January 12! I haven’t even been thinking of the rules yet!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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4 Blocks a Week – Week 1

I am starting a new project this year. I am going to crochet 4 blocks a week from some Granny square books that I have here at home. I will need at least 200 blocks to create a useable sized blanket. I want this blanket to a sampler blanket. All the squares will be crocheted in a cream yarn and at the end of the program I will put them all together and have a nice sampler blanket.

Here is block number one!

3 Blocks A Week: The Crochet Sampler Blanket

Block number 2

2014-09-22 16.56.15

Block number 3

2014-09-22 15.46.56

I left off the picot edge on this block above as I want to join them all together with relatively flat edges.

Block number 4

2014-09-22 14.58.35

These are all taken from the same book 100 Colorful Granny Squares to Crochet and are crocheted out of Stylecraft DK yarn. The color is cream. Joining them all might take some fancy stitch work but I think it will all work out. I really want a blanket that shows off the stitches in each square. The texture should be simply gorgeous! This is also a step out in a different direction for me as it will require me to do two things. Stretch out my work over a long period of time and work in one color. As you can tell I prefer to work with a wide variety of colors and to stick to one color is sometimes just a bit boring. These squares are all un-blocked as you can tell by the curvy edges. I will block them and see if that improves. These blocks are from the book Beyond the Square. I found mine on Amazon.com.

I have included affiliate links to Amazon. I will receive a small percentage from each purchase.

This project might fit in the Use Your Stash challenge as I am using yarn that I already have on hand. The yarn stash seems endless right now. I think this is going to be a great project and I can’t wait to keep it going. Join in with your own Beyond the Square book.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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The Shop is on Sale!

sale right sizeEverything in the shop is 30% off. I really want to start the year off with a clean slate in the shop! WooHoo! So, my desire to start with a clean slate is your opportunity and when opportunity knocks you really should answer! All this to say…shop to your hearts content!

Everything, absolutely everything in the shop, including aprons, hats, scarves, infinity scarves, blankets, cozies, ornaments, and crystal, is all 30% off! It will never ALL be this low again. I may put bits and pieces of the shop on sale but not ALL of it.

I did some organizing and cleaning yesterday and I will do more today in preparation for the new year. I can’t wait to get started on the Use Your Stash Challenge. It starts pretty soon… so figure out the rules for your challenge. It can be a short and sweet WIPS challenge or a giant 300 items in 300 days Challenge. It can be make 20 items in 50 days or you can simply finish that One thing that is driving you nuts. I am gathering my items together and planning out how it is all going to happen! This is why I am having the huge sale. I do so want to add new things to the shop this Spring! We are not going to start on January 1st. I am giving myself some time off. I have my daughter home from college and I want to enjoy her visit. I have some cleaning to do in the studio. I also need to get youngest  daughter started with her schooling before I jump in with both feet to create anything new. The anticipation is growing and I can hardly wait to get started.

The Use Your Stash challenge is the 12 of January. You can read more about my rules for my Challenge last year here: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/01/17/1-thing-for-100-days-challenge/  You can see most of the completed items here: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/04/14/100-items-in-100-days/

Thanks,
Karen

 

 

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Looking Back at 2014 and Looking Forward to The New Year

I get a little introspective as the New Year approaches. I have just spent the last twelve months zooming through the days to this day.

Then there are the many photos of our yard and landscape. We had snow and ice, beautiful daffodils, tulips and irises all in succession.

Then the beautiful summer flowers in the front flower bed, from gladiolus to Russian sage to Purple coneflowers and daisies.The many pictures of yarn and projects in process including the craft fair.

There are many photos of family and trips to museums and lovely memories to share but I will not bore you with all of these photos. I have been graced with a very full year. We moved one person twice and three people once, if that makes any sense. We moved our daughter home from college at the beginning of the summer. Our son and his wife moved into their new apartment. We moved two of our kids back to college and finally we moved my mom to her new apartment. So those were huge moves and took time and attention. I just cleared out the last box of sewing materials from my Mom, yesterday. I am working on cleaning up in the studio after all of the busy time this Christmas season.

Things I am looking forward to this year include the Use Your Stash Challenge, doing a craft fair or two, some time spent fluffing the inside of the house. Here is my list for the future.

  • Prepping for a craft fair this June
  • Creating some new products for both shops
  • De-cluttering my house and studio
  • Finishing up about ten works in progress
  • Finishing up the tree skirt. I want to add some trim to the edging and possibly a decoration or two.
  • Clean out Christmas decorations that we haven’t used in years
  • Do some dog training. We have four in the back yard right now as we are watching my brother’s dog.
  • Make a menu and grocery list every week
  • Our oldest daughter is scheduled to graduate from college this next school year. So while it she officially doesn’t graduate until 2016. I know the year will be full of getting her prepared.

This is fairly busy list. I know that we will be driving  our daughter back to college, and also bringing her home. She has a wedding this summer to go to and we might take a vacation. I would like to work in the yard and get some things cleared up. All of this in addition to living life and home schooling our youngest. The days and years just seem to get shorter and time seems to be a more precious commodity.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

It is the end of year Clearance sale in the shop. It is my time to clean some things up and you get a huge savings. I do not price the blankets much lower than this, ever! So stock up on cup cozies as awesome teacher gifts. Buy some blankets for the wedding season coming up and they also make great housewarming gifts! Be sure to buy it when you see it as the items in this clearance sale will go fast!

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

There are cup cozies marked down.

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Christmas ornaments are marked down.Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Infinity scarves are marked down.

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Ponchos are marked down.Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Crocheted blankets are even marked down 25%.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateDogStudio Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Pretty much everything is 25% off in this clearance sale!

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. Here is the link to my shop! www.etsy.com/shop/chocolatedogstudio

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Will you join me in the New and Improved Use The Stash Challenge?

It is almost Christmas. I have done a little bit of shopping. We have put up the Christmas tree and the Christmas stockings. I have just shipped all the orders so far. I have two crochet hats left to make for family and friends.I can’t tell you how stressed the holidays have been and at the same time super fun and exciting. When I spend the month of December buying things, I also start thinking about spending a month using up my stash of supplies. Are you ready for another Use the Stash Challenge?

Stars from the Use your Stash Challenge

I am  also thinking about next year and trying to decide if I am going to change things in my Etsy shop. This is always the time of year when I do that. I am considering some huge changes in how I do things. I have had more pulls on my time this year and those pulls are not going to go away. My supplies and scraps have been building up all year long and it is time to whip them back into shape or simply get rid of them. The Use The Stash Challenge helps me to clear out a ton of bits and pieces while pushing the envelope on my creativity.

Grey heart ornaments from the Use Your Stash Challenge

The one thing that I am going to do is to have another 100 things in 100 days or the Use Your Stash challenge. I am thinking about making it bigger in some way. I made so many different things during the challenge and I got out of my comfort zone. There are so many different things on Pinterest that I want to sew or make. You can see them all on 100 ideas-for-using-up-my-supplies/ pin board. So please let me know what you would like and would you join me?

I am off to crochet two more hats and to watch some tv while I get it all done.

Ninja turtle hats for a friend

 

I also have two Minion hats to crochet for some close friends, so I have plenty on my plate and two Dr Who scarves to crochet for the family!

Talk to you later,

Karen