Grid and Bloom

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Karen Stewart

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!

There are cup cozies marked down.

Christmas ornaments are marked down.

Infinity scarves are marked down.

Ponchos are marked down. Â Crocheted blankets are even marked down 25%.

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

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Karen Stewart

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 theÂ Stash Challenge?

I am Â 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.

The one thing that I am going to do is to have another 100 things in 100 daysÂ or the Use Your StashÂ 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 100Â ideas-for-using-up-my-supplies/Â 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.

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

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Karen Stewart

Christmas is coming!

Wow, It has been almost a month since I have written anything for the blog. I have been incredibly busy and I am pretty sure that life is just going to speed up in the future.

We finally got our Christmas tree put up this past weekend.

You can’t see much about it and it looks department store pretty in this photo. The reality is that it is full of little kid made ornaments. Some from my childhood and some our kids made. Tons of glitter and glue were involved. Each year I try and make new ornaments for the tree but this year the ornament making is sparse. The kids are getting too big to create construction paper ornaments with glitter and glue. I have run out of time to sew, crochet or knit anything. Â I have been pulling Christmas ornaments off the tree every time one of the kids moves into their own home.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Karen Stewart

Washing Some Burlap

I have been procrastinating by washing some burlap bags. I have been trying to get the house cleaned up in preparation for the college kids that come to our house for Thanksgiving. It is a busy time but I love having them visit. We have spent 6 weeks or so cleaning out my Mom’s old house so she could move into a smaller place. I have tons of new (old) things that need to find a new home. So, I am unpacking and starting to think about putting them away in a more permanent home. Today, I am doing that by washing the burlap sacks that I picked up out of her garage. I am wanting to use them in some craft projects but they are dirty and smell like burlap!

My Mom and Dad used these on the farm to pick up pecans and haul things around. They are really useful but really dirty. They also got these from the feed store, ages ago and they have been lying around in the garage for years.One is a coffee sack with cool writing on it. I am getting ready wash them with bleach and then dry them, several times. I hope the bleach doesn’t take out the writing. My washer regularly washes dog beds so I am pretty sure that it can handle these with no problems.

So this is the first wash. We will see how it goes.
It is pretty linty. The lint trap was completely full and I stopped the cycle so I could wash it again.Â

It is pretty gross. Thankfully, I am going to use the lint to make some fire starters for the fire pit but the burlap really needs another wash cycle, or two.

it is starting to look better than it did and it IS softer. We will see what a total of three washing and drying will do for them. I am going to stop the dryer cycle half way through and clean out the lint trap. I am also going to shake them out outside and get rid of the little pills of lint before it goes in the dryer.

Ok there was even more dryer lint the second time Â but I think that third time is the charm! The burlap bags are much softer and smell less than they did with the first wash. I will show you how it comes out next time and also the cute projects I am wanting to try.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Karen Stewart

Fall

Autumn or Fall as we Okies tend to say is really upon us. The weather has gone from 70 degrees to 30 degrees overnight as the cold front comes in. Thankfully this kind of weather gives us some beautiful Fall color. Here is a photo of our back yard.

Aren’t they glorious. This is the view first thing in the morning as we get coffee and breakfast. Especially since we have the curtains shortened to keep the puppy from chewing on them. Â I had the good fortune of being in a craft fair last week and while it was fun I am reminded why I do them so infrequently. They sure take a bunch of work. Here is a photo of my booth and I know it needs improving.Â

I only had two days notice to participate in this one so I worked on my cup sleeve and boot cuff presentation and they sold much better.Â

Here you can see my final choice amidst the chaos of creativity!Â

Complete with my quick sketch of a boot with a boot cuff! I feel pretty good about these. Â It did seem to take all day long to get them just right! It was a great craft fair. I got to talk to some wonderful people and spend time with my Mom. My cousin stopped by Â and we visited for awhile. Fall is such a family time of year. It seems that I see more family during the next two seasons than I do the rest of the year. I imagine that this is why I love Fall.

Talk to you later,

Karen Stewart

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Karen Stewart — 1 Comment

It is my Etsy Anniversary Sale month!

Hi all,

This month is the month of my Etsy Anniversary sale. The exact date is November 18 but I like to celebrate all month long! Â It has been 6 years since I opened the ChocolateDogStudio. What a lovely time it has been. I have met wonderful people, businesses and learned an incredible amount.

Etsy Anniversary Sale 20% off — https://www.etsy.com/listing/207854377/sale-crochet-blanketgiant-crochet

ChocolateDogStudio Etsy Anniversary Sale! — https://www.etsy.com/listing/205644134/sale-crochet-blanket-crochet-afghan

Etsy Anniversary Sale at ChocolateDogStudio! — https://www.etsy.com/listing/205276236/sale-crochet-blanket-afghan-autumn

The Etsy Anniversary Sale at ChocolateDogStudio — https://www.etsy.com/listing/206242819/sale-crochet-blanket-granny-square

.So, as it is also blanket weather here, cool, rainy and overcast. I am having a blanket sale. Lovely, perfect weather for cuddling up under a nice warm crocheted blanket. All of the blankets and ponchos are 20% off! They are only on sale two times a year, so shop while you have a chance! You can find them at www.ChocolateDogStudio.etsy.com. There aren’t very many and they are all one of a kinds!

Have a great week and celebrate this season of the year! We celebrated the beginning of the Thanksgiving season with a fire pit. It was great except for the smoke! :0) It was crisp and cold outside so we had warm bowls of soup and then roasted marshmallows for dessert It was a lovely time to just slow down and enjoy each other’s company. Our oldest son had helped to take down and dead tree in the yard. We had also had several branches downed in the storm last year so they were also removed. He is excited because he now has firewood for their small apartment fireplace. We are excited because the eye sore tree is now gone! It was a very spontaneous thing. Our yard needs some work and we need to fill holes in the yard as one of the dogs has gone wild with her digging.

talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on November 3, 2014 by admin

Gifts for friends

This is the time of year when we think about creatingÂ gifts for friends. (Other than their birthdays.) Here are the cute kitchen towels that I finished up yesterday for them. I have started several different projects and I am working on a custom order, but I wanted to do something a bit different from what I normally do.

There are both sets ready to be used.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Karen Stewart

The New Lab Puppy

It was a busy weekend here as I know it was busy at your house as well. Â We had a great time at my Mom’s. My brother was down visiting and we had an incredible time working together. My mom has recently moved to a smaller home in the area. She had tons of things that all needed to find a new home and we had a great big huge sale to help her get rid of them. Â We arrived on Friday afternoon and the garage was stacked with boxes of things. We all pitched in and by Saturday afternoon her garage was swept and empty. Simply an incredible afternoon was had by all. Here are a few action shots of the one thing we came home with. Kids can sure talk you into things that you were pretty sure you would never do again, like have another lab puppy in the house. They simply chew everything up for years and years. Our daughter put a collar on her before we decided she could come home with us. Her owners were ready to give her to a new home. She just wandered upÂ to the garage in the middle of the saleÂ and lay down on the dog bed that was for sale. She made herself at home and slept pretty much all day. She was tired after howling under our window most of the evening on Friday. After a bath and a visit to the vet, she is now named Daisy and seems much happier. She just needs some extra food for a little while and she should be doing great. She didn’t cry too much last night but seemed to settle down pretty quickly.So, we are adjusting to having Daisy at home, and while one of the other dogs is a bit jealous I think things will settle down pretty quickly. I am not getting much crochet done with a new furry baby in the house that seems to need constant attention. Here is a pretty picture of her face.Daisy is very content and so are we. I hope to get back into the swing of things later this week.

talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on October 20, 2014 by admin

Giant Crochet Blanket

I call it a giant crochet blanket but not because the blanket itself is huge but the hook and yarn are. Here is my newest ta dah! I love this blanket! It is huge, soft and dramatically striped in cream and black. The stripes run lengthwise and make a beautiful dramatic statement. It is a bit like the Â huge gigantic knit blankets that are now all over the internet and Etsy. I have been dying to crochet a huge one as well. It is a work out as the yarn is heavy, the hook is huge and the bigger the blanket gets the heavier everything is.

Here is it in its beginnings. The giant hook lying next to my sewing shears.

Here is a photo to give you an idea of the scale of the crochet and the hook!

This blanket is crocheted out of acrylic yarn and not wool roving like so many of the giant blankets. It is crocheted and not knitted. This is the first wooden hook I have ever used and I am starting to like the feeling of it. The wood warms up in your hands. The thing I didn’t like is that it is thicker than a broom handle and felt clumsy in my hand. I chose a simple pattern since I wasn’t used to working with such large scale yarn or hook. Each stripe is about 1 skein of yarn. The yarn is super soft and not itchy since it is crocheted out of any acrylic. The yarn was a bit slippery and wanted to slip off the hook. Here is the blanket in all of its glory.

I love this giant crochet blanket! It was fun to crochet and I love trying something new. It will be for sale in the Etsy shop, soon. I am offering the ability to crochet this blanket in a variety of colors and sizes for a wonderful custom gift. It all depends on the availability of the yarn. I did have to pry this blanket out of the hands of my family as they thought it wonderful and soft.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on October 17, 2014 by admin

I’m Hyper – Procrastinating This Morning.

Today: quite frankly I am procrastinating, I am hyper – procrastinating! I’m not even sure if that is a word. According to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary this is the definition of Hyper

Full Definition of HYPER

1Â :Â high-strung, excitable; also :Â highly excited

2Â :Â extremely active

and this is the definition of Procrastinating.

proÂ·crasÂ·tiÂ·nate

verb \prÉ™-Ëˆkras-tÉ™-ËŒnÄt, prÅ-\

: to be slow or late about doing something that should be done : to delay doing something until a later time because you do not want to do it, because you are lazy,

Ouch, that hurt! It is how I feel though. I am intentionally lazing around and resting. The weeks have been filled with RUN..Run… Do this and do that! I need down time, my body craves it like I used to crave quiet (when I had four little people in the house.) I have done some of the chores that were screaming for attention yesterday; laundry and some picking up. I have some unpacking to do and some dishes to do. I have yarn I bought yesterday that I can’t wait to get my hands on. I have a bunch of photography for the Etsy shops and then some Christmas gift creating to do.

I have tons of things that have to be done, some errands and so forth but I am being a procrastinator on purpose. I’m not thinking or planning or scheduling. I am not considering the clutter in my house. Well, yes I am but I am ignoring it willfully. I am doing something incredibly difficult for me to do; sitting. I know that I will have to jump up and go and do before long. Chores, errands, Â sewing, crochet and life calls, but for this little while I am going to sit and rest. I am adding white space or margin to my life. I have not had a chance to do this since our vacation in August, or at least it feels that long ago. Do you remember when I talked about margin? I have had two cups of coffee in bed and then some poking about on the internet with no specific purpose, a little thinking about this or that, and I ordered a music book for my daughter.

I have been taking stock of my life. Looking at what is truly important and while I haven’t reached any conclusions I do have some renewed purpose. I think I am back on track and headed several degrees into a better direction. You remember geometry class where you learned that a degree off of the right direction would put you miles away from your destination. Life is like that as well. So I am puttering into the right direction again. The photos are from our vacation this past summer. The last time I got to sit and just be. I am ready for a bit more of that time off.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Â Well, if you want to read what I wrote about Margin you can find it here:Â http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/02/04/margin/

PS. It is now Friday and I wrote this on Thursday. I am still procrastinating. I guess rest is what I need to do right now in between life as wife, daughter, mom and chauffeur.