Tag: one of a kind

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Have Yarn…Need Gifts?

Here are links to gifts you can make yourself out of yarn and a crochet hook! There are times when you want to create a special  Christmas gift. I have listed some of my favorites from the internet that have free patterns.

Here are some free pattern ideas from different blogs.

A super cute kids hat! from Revlie here:

http://revlie.typepad.com/revolution/2012/02/finally-the-rainbow-beany-for-free.html

 

A beautiful purse….

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/lizacorrea/29-210-44-striped-bag You can find the pattern at Ravelry!

Cute bows for hair clips and head bands or little bow ties for dogs, kids and packages.

http://abbyscrafts.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/crocheted-bow-tutorial.html

Sweet snowflakes for just about anything from jewelry, Christmas ornaments, and package ties.

http://www.seven-alive.com/2011/12/easy-crochet-snowflake-pattern.html

A gorgeous medallion scarf in any color or weight yarn would be a superb Christmas gift.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/medallion-motif-scarf

A sweet elephant toy for anyone!

http://jammadestudio.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/crochet_15.html

Super cute baby shoes…for the littlest one on the list.

http://www.holland-designs.com/product/sole-lovely-mary-janes-crochet-pattern-pdf/

A cute granny tea cozy…

http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/granny-tea-cozy-tutorial-hurray/

An heirloom look lace collar….

http://www.lululoves.co.uk/item/crochet-collar-pattern.html

There are lots of beautiful crochet ideas for Christmas. Send me your favorite free pattern and I will list it as well. These aren’t my designs but I have listed the link to the site where they were found. Please give credit where credit is due and thank the pattern designers for their hard work.

see you later,

Karen

 

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Roses are Red…

I have mentioned these pillow cases that I found at an estate sale. They are larger than usual and I think I will use them as pillow shams. They still have the directions on one of them. It called for several different colors but I am going to work these like Redwork and use only red embroidery floss. I won’t have to change colors that way and it will get done more quickly. I chose a garnet color that will work well with the items in our bedroom.

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It is stained but I hate to wash it yet. I am afraid that the blue stamped design will wash out before I get a chance to stitch it.

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I bought the embroidery thread at our neighborhood Michael’s store and also found these beautiful recipe cards at the same time.

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They fit together for this photo perfectly. I have a plan for the recipe cards so we will see how quickly I get that one together.

They will also need a pretty crocheted lace at the edges. I will have to dust off my tiny crochet hooks as I don’t often crochet with thread that dainty.

See you later,

Karen

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Diagonal Cotton stripe…COMPLETE!

Whew, I am so glad that I get to post this Ta dah! I loved the feel of the 100% cotton yarn.It was a fun custom order for my Etsy shop: ChocolateDogStudio and it has gorgeous colors in it. I can’t wait to ship it off this afternoon to it’s new home in Texas. Here are all the lovely photos. I am sure you remember it in its beginning stages.

I have not crocheted a 100% cotton blanket before. It was a bit of a challenge as cotton has that ability to grow or shrink depending on the humidity. Here it is:

It has the beautiful blue as a simple border to finish off the edges.

Completed and on it’s way home!

talk to you later!

Karen

 

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Baby Days….

I promised some new things today and I just have time to do a quick photo listing. It is Monday with a vengeance today. Here we go.

 

Ok, must run. See you all later,

Karen

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What has happened lately….

It has been a busy Holiday season. Things are moving so incredibly fast. The Chocolate Dog Studio shop has been over run with shoppers…which is GREAT, and I am very thankful.  Here are some photos of the crochet beauties that rounded out the shop this year.

This is a grand total of 10 full size crochet blankets and 5 baby blankets, two with baby hats. This isn’t counting the boot cuffs and Christmas ornaments. I have been fighting burnout on the crocheting end of things and I think a little break is what is called for. So, if I can I will take a rest. I have a couple of special orders lined up to finish now and a couple for after the holidays. I won’t turn down any special orders that come my way but I think I will sort through the yarn, roll it into little balls and maybe put it up.

Chocolate Dog Studio has tons of items 45% off at http://www.chocolatedogstudio.etsy.shop

Please stop by and say hi or just browse the shop. I uploaded a bunch of photos to my ravelry page. There are a few more details about the blankets there. You can find that here: http://www.ravelry.com/people/chocolatedogyarns .

thanks so much,

Karen

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November Already!

Yes, it is November already…am I ready?  NO! There is so much I want to finish before the end of the year. It has been a hard year and I won’t be sad to put it behind me and start with a fresh clean slate. It has been a year of changes.

  • We have moved: packed everything we own and moved it 7 hours South and unpacked it yet again…plus unpacked the boxes we hadn’t unpacked yet the first time. No, we aren’t done yet and there are still boxes left.
  • Put one kid in college (and then drove off and left her five hours away from home)! Don’t laugh that has been one of the hardest things to do and also one of great joy. She is doing fantastic, even when she thinks she isn’t…she is!
  • welcomed a son back home until the wedding so he can save money…That has also been hard and continues to be hard simply because I forget he is an adult, but he has been an incredible help and I have so enjoyed this time.
  • preparing to have a wedding….no they haven’t picked a date or have a minister yet…but there is the Dress, so things are moving forward.

Well, that is a small list but there has been some good news. I found my camera last weekend. So, I will once again be able to show off some bad photos of things I have finished unlike these that my live in photographer took last weekend.

I added up the things I have done lately and here is my list. November Already

This is the stack of afghans I have finished this year that haven’t been shipped off. That is a huge stack of crocheted blankets. It doesn’t include the two granny square blankets that I shipped last week or the custom baby blankets I have been crocheting lately. The pretty one second from the bottom is headed out tomorrow after I get a box. We did braces today and then some comforting and hanging out. I would love for all of these blankets to find a home. Some crocheting is so repetitive that I find myself praying for the person that will receive them. That it will comfort and warm them when they need it most. I have also made tons of Christmas ornaments and I am just going to share one photo of them.ÂNovember Already

I love these star ornaments. I was trying to come up with a way to use small bits of yarn and ended up crocheting  too many of these stars. Then last week, I had a great idea…so these happened. Spontaneously, and now I have about eight pairs and could easily make tons more.

November Already

Boot Cuffs! Aren’t they cute? I don’t usually wear boots. I love these cuffs. I have so many different colors now. So, that is some of what I have done. I am also in the painting mode. I am in the process of finishing a house project that has been in the unfinished stage for more years than I would care to count. I have done the prep and just need to get the motivation to finish. You know, it is painting a bathroom cabinet. The downstairs bathroom cabinet and I keep putting it off as I know that I WILL get paint all over me when I forget that I painted in there.

See you later,

Karen

P.S. You can crochet your own boot cuffs from this pattern here on Etsy and here in the Chocolate Dog Studio shop.

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Granny Stripe Ta Dah……

I know this sounds like so many other Ta dahs that you read about in the crochet blogging world. Actually, there is no other way to celebrate a wonderful finished project, aside from a party, but who goes to a finished project party?

Here you go the newly finished Granny Stripe!

I love the chocolately richness of the zig zaggy border.

This was created with soft new yarns from England. Yes, I actually ordered in enough yarn to finish this crocheted blanket. The yarn is so incredibly soft that it puts our American yarns to shame and the colors are bright and cheerful.

I love the way the granny stripes vary from one section to the next, always with the same  seven colors bordered with the chocolate brown stripe. It is big, twin bed sized.

It is 72 inches long and 45 inches wide. A perfect size for a throw at the end of the bed or couch. The yarn is 100% washable on gentle and low temps with a low temp dry. Yes, it is for sale in the Chocolate Dog Studio shop. https://www.etsy.com/listing/108330486/crochet-blanket-crochet-afghan-granny

See you later,

Karen

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Future plans

Ok, so here is where I tell you all my great and wonderful future plans….

I am going to make at least one large size afghan like this one.

I am going to finish this diagonal afghan. The brown one in the middle.

I know that the above picture leaves a lot to be desired but the afghan is so incredibly soft and beautiful. I will have better pictures soon. I am also going to make some more football team cup sleeves. Like this one only different teams than what I already have…

https://www.etsy.com/listing/89660331/coffee-cup-cozycoffee-cup-sleeve-coffee
https://www.etsy.com/listing/82106339/cup-sleeve-cup-cozy-green-bay-packer-cup

I am going to clean out the studio…well, unpack it better and set it up. I am going to get ready for the Christmas buying season by creating more Christmas ornaments and cozies. All of this planning is making me hungry and tired at the same time. So I best get to work.

talk to you later,

Karen