Tag: Etsy

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Introducing the Cotton Stripe Pillow

It’s about time for you to see the newest Chocolate Dog Studio crochet pattern: The Cotton Stripe Pillow. It finally took a respite time and incredible boredom for the next pattern to be born. No one said pattern writing was easy, but this is an incredibly easy pillow cover to crochet. There aren’t any fancy stitches or counting that you have to do after the foundation chain. Binge watch your favorite show and create this beautiful home accent.

Cotton Stripe Pillow
A beautiful home accent created with cotton yarn left from the cotton waves baby blanket.

The Cotton Stripe Pillow Pattern Release

The Cotton Stripe Pillow release happens today! Today is your day as I will refund the first five buyers of The Cotton Stripe Pillow pattern if you send me any Etsy message or leave the message at the end of the purchase receipt. This offer does have a time limit of the next five days, 9/16/2022 – 9/21/2022.

You can find the cotton stripe pillow in my Etsy shop. You can shop Here.

There is another new pattern coming out next week. The White Serape Stripe. I can’t wait it is a fun calmer version of The Serape Stripe which you can see here. It has taken even longer for this pattern to come to the shop.

Painting

Painting has been happening nearly every day. It is such a relaxing thing for me to do with no calls or preconceived ideas. I am just wandering where ever my brush takes me. Painting and crochet don’t seem to be good partners so it’s either one or the other these days.

The Cotton Stripe Pillow
Mixed media art flowers
The Cotton Stripe Pillow
watercolor branches and leaves

As you can see a wide variety of art projects from drawing to abstract painting with a little mixed media also. Mixed media seems to be the biggest area of art these days.

Life

If you don’t like reading about life and how things are going feel free to skip this part. We are working on what we call the kids bathroom. Others would call it the hall bath except we really don’t have a hall or at least it’s really short. It is reaching a logical stopping point. Which we did in this case. At least we need to call in someone that knows more to give us advice.

I was remembering back this week about a story from a friend’s social media post about weird things that have happened with animals. We have had a number of weird things but this one is funny to me even now.

We were living in a new house and the living room felt really empty as Hubs was working late and abnormally quiet and all four kids under 9 were in bed. I was alone after a really long day unpacking. Have you ever noticed how noisy a quiet house can be.

I was sitting and enjoying the quiet, listening to the night noises when I hear a thump on the back of the recliner. I could feel it too, I listened and didn’t hear anything else. Did I imagine it?

Just as my heart was returning to normal it happened again.

The thumps were un-nerving.

I wait and just as I decide it was my imagination when it happens twice this time, THUMP, Thump.

I gather my wits and courage, give myself a stern talking to about how the sound was just my imagination and I peek around the edge of the chair, because I am too scared stand up – there it is a little green tree frog.

Whew, I was so relieved….. Just a little frog. We did the catch and release into the back yard.

Why do our minds always run off to the scariest thing We can think of? Surely I am not the only one has weird things happen.

Talk to you later,

Karen Marie

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Organizing New Ideas for Future Crochet Projects

Organizing New Ideas

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Sometimes, when you get new ideas for future crochet projects, you aren’t ready to start working on them right away. You need time to think about them — to refine and perfect them — until you’re ready to begin the project. So, how do you keep those new ideas stored and organized until you are ready to start working on them? I have several things which I do that help me keep new ideas in mind.

(This post has Amazon affiliate links)

1. Take a Photo with My Phone

I will take pictures of things that  inspire me or trigger ideas in my mind. My phone is usually always with me and a photo is worth 1,000 words. The thin and thick stripes in this wrapping paper would make a great crochet blanket, scarf or sweater.

Inspirational stripes

And here’s an example of a striped fabric that caught my eye. I like the colors in this, although they do seem a bit dark. The widths of the various stripes and the color sequence would lend themselves easily to being repeated in an afghan.

Fabric inspires new ideas

This blanket was inspired by the yarns within it since they inspired me to see the Autumn landscape of Oklahoma: the browns of the plowed fields; the golds and rusts of the trees; the blue from the sky and lakes; and the green of the old dried grasses in the pastures.

Inspired by nature

2. Pin It to My Secret Pinterest Inspiration Board

Yes, I do have several secret boards. (Doesn’t everyone?) If it is online, I will pin it to my secret inspiration board which no one else has access to. When you choose to create something based on what someone else has created, you need to be very careful about claiming too much of their work as your own. You can use it as a springboard to a new idea, but downright copying and passing it off as yours is piracy.  While I do have a secret Pinterest board, it isn’t filled with just other’s work — it has photos of color mood boards, stitches that I want to try, and other things that I think will make beautiful projects.

3. Go “Old School” (Paper and Pencil) and Write the New Ideas Down

(Affiliate links are included for the products I use. I will receive a small percentage of any item you purchase, but it will not affect your pricing.)

Often, I will draw out new ideas or write them down. I find this method increasingly hard to manage, though, as papers tend to get shuffled and lost. Here’s an example of a couple of my composition books (link) (which I love!) full of ideas and crochet patterns.

Storing new ideas

I also love the post-it note brand of tabs (link) and Post it note file folder labels (link).  I use them to mark the beginning of each pattern or idea that I put in the composition book. It helps keep the patterns organized and easy to find.

Another thing I use all the time is a legal pad  (Link) and clipboard  (link). I write the pattern and notes furiously and then flip the pages. You can even see the paper sometimes in the background of my photos. Nearly every pattern I write has its beginnings on paper in some form. I always try to date and take progress photos as I work. This helps me keep track of how I put it together as well as document my thought processes. This all translates to detailed patterns, with photos, for you!

Organizing New Ideas

4. Pin It to a Real Life Bulletin Board or Magnet Board

saving new ideas
Check out more cool bulletin boards here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/165564215

Sometimes I’ll see a photo in a magazine I own, or maybe the colors in fabric or yarn in my stash will catch my eye. When that happens, I will actually pin the photo or the materials to a bulletin board. I haven’t been doing this as often as I have been taping them into the composition book. The book is working better for me at this time, since I don’t have a dedicated working space. I often find myself in my chair, at the dining table…basically, working all over the house.

How Do You Save Your New Ideas?

Now that you’ve read about the methods that I am using right now, I’d love to know what you do to keep your ideas organized. Leave a comment below to start the conversation!
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Talk to you later,

Karen

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Crochet Projects

I am working on several different crochet projects this month. I have three in progress; a custom granny square and two new stripe afghans. There are also 3-4 projects in what I call the incubator.

The incubator is a blending of several things; a secret pinterest board of ideas, yarn in yarntopia, and visual ideas that persist in running through my mind over and over again. Sometimes the ideas make it to the sketchbook or a yarn order.

The flower blanket you have been seeing updates on through Instagram. It is just a huge project. I feel like I am eating an elephant, one little bite at a time. I know it will be completed soon but it feels like climbing up a mountain on a slippery ice. It just keeps dragging on and on with no end in sight. I really wish I was at the joining stage. Truthfully, I’m not. I was just setting them out to verify how many squares I really needed. Crochet Projects; ChocolateDogStudio, Granny square flowers

 

I have been continuing to read the books on my list. I have been completing the exercises as I go and I think I am making progress. Breaking Busy has been reminding me to not overcommit to activities. Frankly, it has been hard as my life is in a shift of priorities. It appears that we are shifting from parenting to coaching to support staff, and from being friends with parents to keeping an eye on things for them a little bit more. Mom calls it the sandwich generation. I know she is right as sometimes I feel pretty squashed.Today, I am tired, deeply exhausted that tends to go with the fibromyalgia has set in. The weekend was full of family, fun and plain hard work. The results are amazing and today’s exhaustion is worth it.

The weather is gloomy and chilly today, which makes me want to snuggle under a blanket with a cup of coffee. I just need a  day of quiet, crochet and dinner in the crock pot. So, I am off to get dinner started so I can sit and crochet the rest of the day guilt free. The laundry is going so I feel pretty productive even if I am not working very hard.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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Work in Progress this week 2/12/2016

There has been so much going on this week that I decided to show you my work in progress. The days seem to run together without slowing down. I have been working on so many different projects this week. I have been painting, framing, crocheting, pattern writing, cleaning, donating and trashing! It has been good but I am also tired tonight. Here are a few  of the highlights.

I have been framing a couple of needlework projects. This one is a cross stitch I finished a couple of years ago. I love the curly frame on this one.

Work in Progress

This fantastic needlework is my Aunt’s. She gave it to my mom, and Mom gave it to me. I love it. It is going to hang in my living room as it has all the colors I love in it.

Work in Progress

I have been crocheting on tons of tiny circles for a new afghan. There isn’t much done yet and no beautiful photos of them for you to see.

I have also been crocheting on this afghan. It doesn’t look like much does it. This is what 120+ flower centers look like.

Work in Progress

I have been writing a pattern for a scarf and it is about ready to go out in the world. It is a beauty and fairly easy for beginners.

Work in Progress

This is part of it. It will stretch you a bit as the border is a bit more complicated than most beginner projects. This pattern will be released on Wednesday to both the craftsy shop and the Etsy shop.

FYI: I’m also an affiliate to various different craft shops and if you click to their shops from this page I get a small percentage.  This is a new step for me and I am trying it on for size. It shouldn’t affect anything I say or do here but I believe in being upfront about such things.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Autumn blanket pattern

I have just finished writing the Autumn blanket pattern. It is now listed for sale on Etsy. It seemed to take ages to write the pattern but I kept finding more little details that I needed to add to the pattern.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

This is the Autumn blanket. The one that reminds me of Oklahoma in the winter. I love the colors in this blanket and the yarn is wonderfully soft.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

The pattern has step by step photo instructions.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

I have included the beautiful scalloped border in the pattern. You need to know several stitches to crochet this blanket; double crochet, half double crochet, single crochet and slip stitch. The  blanket is generously sized with none of the holes that granny square blankets have.  This is afghan makes a  wonderful gift for the special people in your life.

Autumn Blanket Pattern

 

Autumn Blanket Pattern

You can find this pattern on Etsy at ChocolateDogStudio. I will be adding it to craftsy as well.

It has been a busy week. My Mom is recovering nicely from her knee replacement surgery and hopes to get to her home soon.  It has been nice to spend so much time with her, I just wish she felt much better. She is walking all the time and the therapists are extremely happy with her recovery.

Our daughter is back and college and settled in for the final semester. Everyone else is doing well. There is a bit of remodeling going on in the kitchen. It should be finished fairly quickly and isn’t interfering with the cooking, much at all. I will be making Lemon meringue pies for my Father in law this week. We can’t wait to see him.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Tips for the Ombre or Temperature blanket

The temperature blanket has had great interest since Repeat Crafter Me on Facebook posted a photo of my blanket. I have had numerous questions as people have needed a few pointers and or had general questions that needed to be answered. Here are a few Q and A’s on the Ombre, Temperature or granny Stripe blanket.

Question: How do I turn from row 2 to row 3 in the temperature blanket, ombre blanket or granny stripe blanket?

A:
I just do the one dc into the turning stitch. Then chain two and turn. I would then follow with two dc into the gap between the 1 dc and the next group of three dc.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

Here you are getting ready to turn to row three. You have just completed the last group of 3 dc.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

Do the dc in the top of the last stitch of the last group of 3 dc from the previous row.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

Chain two and turn. You are now ready for row three!

 

Question: Do the stripes run from side to side or from top to bottom?

A: The stripes run from top to bottom.

 

Question: How do I crochet the granny stripe border?

A: The long sides are simply the granny stripe as you would have crocheted the rest of the blanket.
In the corners
dc three times chain one dc three times in the same stitch.

On the short ends. You crochet the three dc in the chain five space at the end of each row of colors.

Q:  I was wondering if you would be able to tell me the heights of the rows for the two blankets in the subject.

A. The dc rows are about 3/4 of an inch high. She, could of course use a shorter stitch like a sc or hdc stitch instead.

Q: How many different colors does this take?

A. It uses about 12 + colors of yarn. The exact number and a list of colors used are in the pattern.

Q:   What weight of wool do you recommended for the temperature blanket and how large of a skein?

A: The instructions tell what exactly brand of yarn and how much yarn you need to complete the afghan.From that starting point you can figure out how much yarn it will take.

Most afghans take on average 8 -10 skeins of  aran weight yarn. This one uses more colors so that increases the number of skeins you need. It is a DK yarn which is skinnier than aran wool or a yarn like Vanna’s choice from Lion Brand but a bit bigger around than baby yarn. It is a number 4 yarn and takes about a g-h hook

****************************************************************

I apologize for being late on posting this. I have been at the hospital this week with my Mom for a knee replacement. This is the first chance I have had to sit down and write. She is doing much better. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I have so much to do today.

The weather is cooperating and making me want to stay in cozy and warm with a crochet hook or sewing machine. I need to do both and can’t wait to sit down and spend some creative time.

Tips and Tricks to the Ombre or Temperature blanket

I have started an email newsletter which will come out at the end of each month. Please sign up as the first free pattern will be a pillow to accompany your temperature blanket!

Thanks,

Karen

You can read about all the great craziness that happened with this pattern here:

http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2016/01/02/the-temperature-blanket/

 

You can read about the email newsletter here:

 

http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2016/01/03/email-newsletter/

 

 

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The Temperature Blanket

My etsy shop has been blowing up this week due to a little share about the Temperature blanket. I discovered this while I was on the phone with my Mom on New Years eve first thing in the morning. I receive the Etsy cha-ching on my phone when I sell something on Etsy. The phone cha-chingd three times in the space of one 20 minute conversation. That’s odd I thought. Well, it went on all day and then I started receiving requests to make a blanket that I had already sold. (I hardly ever go back and make the same blanket twice.) The blanket patterns kept selling all day long, and all day the next day. My views were off the charts. I have had 27,000 views in the last seven days. Yesterday my views were 12,323. I am blown away. It is a beautiful thing. I searched all through my analytics to figure out where the traffic was coming from with no luck. Finally, I questioned a customer and found where all the traffic was coming from. Here is the photo that was posted on Facebook

The Temperature Blanket

I quickly wrote the pattern for this blanket and posted it. It is doing quite well for pattern sales. I was wanting to sell more crochet patterns and less finished items. It fits better with my life goals and family needs right now. I have found a friend that will be glad to crochet this blanket for you. She is my Etsy friend Christie at Luvncrafts. I am going to stay out of the middle of those negotiations.

All because RepeatCrafterMe shared my blanket photo with the thermometer attached to it. It is such a lovely thing to happen.

The blanket above is not a thermometer blanket. It is just a blanket using the same lovely colors as are pictured in the thermometer. I really appreciate the shout out by Sarah. I know it will be a roller coaster ride that will end pretty soon but it sure is exciting right now.

Thank you Sarah. You have made my day and quite possibly my year.

Thank you to all the lovely people that are buying my blanket pattern. I hope you make a wonderful thermometer blanket that keeps you and your families warm.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

Here are the links to the two patterns that will work well for this blanket.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/168162461/50-off-blanket-hand-crochet-blanket

https://www.etsy.com/listing/262182198/50-off-crochet-blanket-pattern-ombre

 

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A New Sign

This weekend I am working on packaging. It is the little things that count. Packaging, finishing work and tagging all speak for about the quality of your work. All the work that you put into your items should speak through your packaging and style of your booth. So, my booth has been getting an overhaul, I used to have green and white polka dot table covers and a fabric banner for the shop sign. So, it was time for a change. This is a much better sign than the one I had before, though it was good. It is easier to read from a distance and will stand out in a crowded marketplace.

A New Sign

It feels like things are starting to come together. There is a ton of work to do.  I still need to make table covers for the show and they need to look good. I have been searching out ideas via Pinterest and have quite a few ideas for good table covers. There are several with pockets on the back for calculators and small things. That is the style I am thinking about but I’m just not sure what I will end up with.

The trees here are lovely in their orange and red leaves. The oak tree in the yard is dropping all its acorns. The squirrels are trying to evade the dogs in the yard. They seize the minutes when the dogs are in the house to scrounge as many as they can. There is a nip in the air that promises colder weather in the future. Winter seems to have held off longer than normal this year. Friends and family were still getting harvest from their gardens this weekend, but the end is in sight. My rose bush is still blooming and I need to trim it back and harvest the sage and basil. We are busy on fall home improvement projects like caulking and getting the house ready for the winter. I hope that you are enjoying glorious autumn weather at your house.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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14 days left and two full weekends!

It is Friday and I have 14 days left and two full weekends. I am spending one day with my family, one day at Church and taking a date night as well. I was getting worried about getting everything done until I completed my inventory. I do have my back up help lined up for the show so that is a great thing.

I still have tons to do and today my focus is on boot cuffs and getting supplies for packaging. The image of what we buy is so much wrapped up in the packaging and styling. Things that look average somehow change their image with labels, tags and packaging. How can you tell the difference between a scarf, boot cuff, and infinity scarf when they are all set out on a table? This is what I am trying to solve.

14 days left and two full weekends!These are a couple of pairs of boot cuffs in process.

Sitting here in my living room and looking at the trees outside my windows. There are about 20 trees out there but what do I see the red, yellow and orange trees. That is what I want for my products a chance to stand out from the crowd. Tags and labels help but packaging can also make a huge difference. I have been to craft shows where all the knit stuff blends in together. It is hard to figure out what each piece is. Packaging and labelling is the way for me to solve that issue. It will also keep everything from look messy.

Talk to you later,

Karen

You can find my items on Etsy here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateDogStudio

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolatesBabyShop

on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/handmade/chocolate-dog-studio

and at The Affair of the Heart in Tulsa on November 20-22

I am also found on Instagram  here https://instagram.com/chocodogstudio/

but right now you can find me at home churning out lovely items for you and your family!

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The Craft Show Countdown

The To Do list for November is big, huge, and overwhelming as I am in the middle of the craft show countdown. I have very few creating days left before the big show and I am writing things on my list as fast as I can and I can and trying to mark them off just as quickly. I can’t keep up with this list too. It is just happening too fast. Throw in homeschooling, home maker duties, parenting and spending time with Dale, the kids and my Mom and life is WAY to busy. I wouldn’t have it any other way and I am sleeping all night long (read that as worn completely out!)

The Craft Show Countdown

Here is the studio a week or so ago. I actually have cleaned it up last week and it looks pretty similar to this again. As soon as items are finished and tagged it moves upstairs. I do have about 40 projects in different states of completion that I need to just finish up.

The Craft Show Countdown

I am working on scrap ornaments and quilted bibs in the photo above and it tends to get really messy when I am working with little bits of fabric.

You can tell that I am sewing and working diligently. The list was at this point at 2 pm yesterday when I stopped to run to Lowe’s for home repair items. I got back to it later and was able to mark a few more things off my list.

The Craft Show Countdown

 

Yarntopia is also getting much slimmer these days. So, I can tell that I am making progress on using my supplies. I do wonder if it is actually smaller or does it just look that way since some of the yarn is in different project bags.

It is 16 days to the craft show and I am in officially freak out mode. I would also call it a creative frenzy, I think hubs would call it chaos. Today I paint the displays to make sure that everything looks fresh and clean!

The Craft Show Countdown

I’m almost finished but the paint is still wet and it looks like it might rain. It seems I take three steps forward and then two steps back.

Everyday has several jobs and life keeps happening so for today I am going to work on doing the important not the urgent. Taking time out for family and life is so much more important than prepping for a craft show. I keep reminding myself… over and over… again… Family comes first, family comes first, family comes first.

Talk to you later,

Karen