etsy shop Archives - Page 3 of 13

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Karen Stewart

4 Blocks a Week – Week 2

Here are my four blocks for this week.

This one desperately needs blocking.

Â 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.

This 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. Â 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

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Karen Stewart

The Shop is on Sale!

Everything 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 Â 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:Â http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/01/17/1-thing-for-100-days-challenge/Â You can see most of the completed items here:Â http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/04/14/100-items-in-100-days/

Thanks,
Karen

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 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 14, 2014 by admin

Crochet Ribbon Blanket

Here it is, the Crochet Ribbon blanket. It is a true scrap blanket. I started this blanket over a year ago. I just wasnâ€™t sure if it was turning out right or if I wanted even to make a ribbon blanket. So I put it on hold when it was just a long string of crochet. It sat there there glaring at me. Every time I reached into the yarn basket it was there taunting me. Reminding me that I had failed to finish it or frog it. Finally, in August I started to work on it in earnest. Here it is in all its glory!

This crochet ribbon blanket contains bits of yarn too short to save and too long to throw away. The colors rise and fall through the whole color spectrum, from bright yellow-golds, through red, pink, green, blue and variegated bits of yarn to small stripes of white and black. It is glorious and bright in all its lovely ribbon stripes. I did my best to repeat colors from the beginning to the end so that it doesnâ€™t get dull and boring at one end. The crochet ribbon blanket is available for purchase at the Chocolate Dog Studio shop on Etsy. It is beautiful and bright which makes it perfect for so many people. Use it at the end of the bed to add a bright touch of color. Throw it over the back of a couch or sofa to be handy on cold winter nights.

I have been helping a family member get their house ready for moving, so I have been in and out quickly the past several weeks. I hope to be here more in the future as today is the actual moving day. So, I must run as I get to let the movers into the new apartment and tell them where to put everything!

talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on October 9, 2014 by admin

Dashing in and dashing out

These days it seems that I am just dashing in and dashing out. The days are overwhelmingly filled until the time I fall exhausted into bed. It is just for a short time and then life will sort itself out again into a more respectable and livable rhythm. I apologize for short and non existent blog postings. I have great peace and I am so thankful that it is NOT health matters, or personal tragedies that fill my time and life. So, all is well at our house and home. I leave you with these photos of some bibs that I had a chance to sew on this past Monday.

My happy Autumn crocheted pumpkins.

Some color inspiration for a blanket for the future. Such a beautiful aqua and orange and this would make a wonderful blanket.

Some lovely warm infinity scarves that I crocheted the past few nights. What are you working on these days?

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on September 26, 2014 by admin

Works in Progress: Crochet Blankets

The works in progress list of crochet blankets is getting smaller. I was waiting on several yarn orders before I could finish the crochet afghans I had started the past month. Here is the current list of projects in progress.

So I have finished the three granny square blankets in the past four days. I just needed to have a moment to figure out the size and then add the border. I did get to crochet for a long time yesterday on the purple and aqua baby blanket. I managed to get the border on and some sweet little flower embellishments. I think this needs a little beanie or baby bonnet to go with it. Â I am exceedingly close on the ribbon stripe and the Autumn stripe. Currently, I am working on the Autumn stripe as the photographer is scheduled to come by this weekend.
There is sewing that is needing to be done today. So, I will work on it this morning and hopefully finish the large stack of sewing I have all piled up. There are bibs, and press cozies waiting on the sewing.
There are also some new projects I have in mind and I just need to make time to prototype the new ideas.

I have been having issues with the blog and I needed some help to get it all straightened out. I apologize for that.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on September 16, 2014 by admin

New Crochet Throw

This new crochet throw has hadÂ a rough start. I frogged it several times right at the start. I tried two different greens before I settled on this one. This is new throw is a beautiful deep mossy green. It will be a beautiful throw when I get finished with the border. It will be a perfect size for a lap blanket.

I have struggled to find time to crochet this week. The only time I have found to work on this new crochet throw was at night and it was difficult to match colors then. Â It has been several years since I have made a throw sized blanket. Here are the last two I made.Â http://www.ravelry.com/projects/chocolatedogyarns/granny-square-53

Â http://www.ravelry.com/projects/chocolatedogyarns/granny-square-53-4

I have been out and about this week. I got to spend some good time with my Mom. We had a great visit. We spent time laughing and remembering my Dad. He was a good man and a great father.

Talk to you later,

Karen

You can join me on Facebook @
https://www.facebook.com/Chocolatedogstudio
and instagram @
http://instagram.com/chocodogstudio
for special sales and new items.

Posted on September 12, 2014 by admin

New crochet blanket

Crocheting blankets have filled my mind lately. Â I found these beautiful yarns at the store and just had to put them into a new crochet blanket. Aren’t they beautiful?

I can ‘t decide what blanket pattern to use for them. It will be stripey, I think.

I love this one by Black Sheep Wools.Â It is simply a gorgeous granny stripe blanket!

It would also look beautiful as a granny square blanket made up of solid squares like this one.

I love this blanket from Littletinbird. It makes me so happy!

I love this pattern by Laurence Meriat. It is found on Ravelry. There are incredible options for crochet blankets and I can spend hours exploring each one.

talk to you later,.

Karen

Posted on September 8, 2014 by admin

True Confessions

True confessions: It appears that I have started so many new things that I am totally overwhelmed. The new school year has called for a complete change in routine. I seem to be the spending a Â large amount of timeÂ waiting. I tend to take small projects with me until they get too big to travel well. I started several projects last week. When we were cleaning up the house this past weekend, I noticed that I have these 4 bags, just from last week!

So these are my works in progress or WIPS. You could also call them PIGS (projects in grocery bags!) Here are some up close photos of the actual projects started.

I am not sure what I think about three of these. The granny square, star stitch and the baby bonnet. So, I am letting them rest while I think it over and see what I think. I really don’t like the Granny square so I will probably unravel all the limeyÂ green Â and start over. I’m not sure I like the grey blanket. I started the star stitch to learn a new stitch and I’m afraid that it isn’t comfortable toÂ crochet as I have to keep counting.

This doesn’t even include the scrap blanket that is too big to travel.

The weather is supposed to cool off at the end of the week. Hopefully, I will find time to work on/under this blanket on the weekend. What are you working on? Do you start more than one project at a time?

Karen

Update:

I never finished the baby bonnets. They were too fussy for me and I don’t have a baby to model them for me. Â They are still in the bag and it is over 2 years since I wrote this. Wow, usually I am really good at finishing what I start. I did finish the baby blanket with lavender and green. It is beautiful and sold super quick.

The scrap blanket is finished and sold! Here is the reveal post for it.