Sunday, December 30, 2012

New animal friends

One of my new orders is a request from a very sweet mom up in Maine. Her kids have a few of my blankets already, and she asked if I could work up some new hats. She requested a cat, a pig, an owl and an elephant. Here is the graphic "pattern" I came up with...stay tuned to see how I translate it into yarn!



Friday, December 28, 2012

Long time no blog


I can't believe it's already been a month since my last post! Having a four and five year-old really add to the already hectic holidays. We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you and yours did too.

I was able to finish up quite a few jobs as well as sneak in a new baby blanket (and another cable hat). This one really makes me yearn for spring. Especially after last week's snowfall. I can't really complain; it's been so mild up until now.




I saw this little fellow outside my window this morning.




He doesn't seem to mind the cold at all. Until next time, stay warm!


Monday, November 26, 2012

Having fun with edgings

Here are some photos of the finished edge of my purple patchwork afghan. Of course I can never follow anything without adjusting it in one way or another...the book calls for a dc base and I did hdc and the picots were ch5 and ch9 - I didn't like how loopy they were, so I trimmed them down to ch3 and ch5 picots. They are more nubby, but I like them that way.




Have a wonderful week!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Scrappy purple patchwork

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I've been so busy these days finishing up some large orders for Christmas, I haven't had much time to spend on new designs or posts to this little blog. I did however get Tillie's costume done for Halloween as well as finish up some works-in-progress including this one:





I started it this past summer! I used mainly end-of-skeins that I pack into little Zip Lock bags I always keep handy (I also use baggies for my snipped tails to stuff projects!) These poor little purple squares were sitting around for too long.

Instead of using my usual go-to edgings - sc/dc or scalloped edge - I've decided to use one of the lovely edges from a new book I purchased: Around the Corner Crochet Borders. Once again, Edie Eckman does not disappoint! I'm so pleased. I've got plenty of border books, but not many that address the corners!

There were so many to choose from, but here's the one I picked.




Stay tuned to see how it turns out...


Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Tillie the mermaid princess

Halloween has come and gone, but I'm finally getting around to posting a photo of Tillie's finished costume. I started a couple of months ago with a crocodile stitch skirt. I wanted her to be able to walk, so I only went to her knees with the pattern and then created a dc "tail" in the front and back - open at the sides. I thought it was cute enough (to be honest, I ran out of time, so I kept it simple!). I made a little bandeau top and was going to crochet some seashells, but ran out of time, so I put a simple flower on one side. The colors were all chosen by Tillie. I just tried to coordinate for a little consistency! She was so excited to wear it, and that's all that mattered.





Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Back from the beach

Tillie greeting the Atlantic...



I feel like I've been away forever, but it was only a week. We had a very nice trip out to the coast. The kids really enjoyed the beach. I always leave feeling renewed. How could you not after staring at water like this?



I can't tell where the sky ends and the water begins.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

EtsyMom Color Challenge 2012

I was so excited about this color challenge, that I stayed up to post pictures of my finished blanket. It's a simple granny square pattern using colors from the palette I selected. I also added some other shades of the same colors to give it a little depth and interest. Then I finished it off with a sc of the vibrant blue and a picot edge of the medium blue. I don't expect to win anything, but it was a nice diversion, and the challenge helped inspire me to try new color combinations.




I didn't want to leave the girls out, so I did one in pink as well (this one is not part of the challenge). I thought it came out with a "woodland-y" feel to it. I'm picturing little fairies, mushroom houses and woodland animals.

This was a lot of fun.




I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

EtsyMom Color Palette Challenge

I am on a team called EtsyMoms over at Etsy. They are having a challenge for anyone on the team to come up with a creation using one of the three color combinations below.



You must enter your product on October 8. I like all of these color palettes, however, I've decided to go with the first one - I really like the blue, chocolate and lime - and I think it would make a lovely granny blanket? I'll be sure to post my entry when I come up with something. What a fun idea!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Daisies and mermaids

I'm almost finished with my first daisies on purple afghan for my Etsy customer, Angela. I really like how the purples make the daisy pop. Two more rows of squares and then onto the edging...

(I used Caron One Pound lilac, lavender blue, jonquil, white and off white)



If you are new to the site, you can find the daisy pattern here.

My daughter, Tillie, said she would like to be a "princess mermaid" for Halloween. I had never done the "crocodile" stitch before, but I knew that I had to use it for her mermaid tail. I've decided to make a straight skirt with some kind of pleated fin (so she can walk!) I'm still working on mastering this stitch - so I'll figure out the fin when I get there...

I found this pattern at Bernat.com. You must sign up to gain access, but they have some really lovely free patterns at their site. The Mermaid Tears Purse was the exact size I needed for Tillie's skirt, so I did not need to figure out how to alter the pattern before beginning. 




By the way, this is a fun stitch to do. The only difficult part is manipulating your work for the first "5dc down..." It's such a great scaly looking pattern though!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Nice change

I'm very happy to work up all of these daisy afghans (although I'm looking forward to getting back to some smaller, kiddie-sized blankets), but it's a nice change to come up with a simple granny pattern for an Etsy customer.

Her daughter requested green and purple, so I worked up alternating rows with multi squares in between. Here's how it came out.

(I used Caron One Pound pale green, lilac and white.)




She asked for a scalloped edge, which I think added a very pretty touch. I hope she likes it.




Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Another daisy blanket inspiration

A very nice customer named Leslie recently contacted me about creating a new daisy blanket in aqua/turquoise. She sent a photo of some lovely bedding, and was hoping to use that as a reference.




I sent over two samples (the photos are a bit dark). One using a light aqua and dark aqua:




And one with a green sc row as an accent:




She chose the second option. I'm excited to see how it turns out when they are all together. Other good news: the weekend is almost here! Have a wonderful day.

UPDATE: I have one more option. There seems to be so much blue, I thought I would try an option with a light blue and the green/aqua...




I think I like this one best with her bedding. We'll see what Leslie thinks!



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

A tough day

A year ago today my Dad passed away. I miss him every day. It seems like it was just yesterday - not a year ago - that we lost him. It's such an indescribable pain; it's a hole in your heart.

My mission today is to think of happy times, and remember him there.



Sunday, September 2, 2012

A great book

Many people have asked about the pattern for the blanket below, and I just finished up a new one, so I thought I would dedicate a post to it. The pattern can be found in the book  "Beyond the Square: Crochet Motifs". 





It's a great book full of fun and unique squares and motifs. They also use amazing colors in the photos. The background of my square is slightly different as I used a simple granny square (3dc ch2 3 dc (corner) then 3dc in each space around). That's the only difference. I highly recommend the book. 

I took a few photos of the my latest, finished blanket. I also took a photo of the back in case anyone was interested in seeing what that looks like.






Have a relaxing Labor Day!

Monday, August 27, 2012

New daisy blanket

I've been quite busy with a steady stream of custom blankets over at tillie tulip. One request came in for a daisy afghan using purples, so here is the latest in the daisy granny square saga...




I hope my customer likes it!

Very grey and rainy around here today, but the precipitation is a refreshing change. Have a wonderful week!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Monkey business (updated)



About a year ago, I created this monkey applique for a custom blanket. During some file clean up, I came across it, so I thought I would share for all of you monkey lovers. (I typed this up from scribbles, so I apologize if there are any errors. I'm still a-work-in-progress when it comes to writing patterns.)

I used worsted weight yarn and a size I hook.


Monkey face (see chart below):

ch 4 join to form ring

round 1: ch 2, 13 dc into ring, join with slip st
round 2: ch 2, 2 dc into each dc around join with slip st
round 3: ch 1, skip 1, 7 dc into next st, skip 1, slip st in next st, sc into next dc, skip 1 dc, 7 dc into next st, skip 1, slip st in next 2 sts; 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 2 trc in same st, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc, 1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, 2 trc in same st; 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc, slip into beginning stitch 
round 4: 1 sc, 7 hdc, 1 sc, slip st, 1 sc, 7 hdc, 1 sc, slip st, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 2 hdc into next st, 8 hdc, 2 hdc into next st, 2 hdc, 1 sc, slip st to beg, leave long tail to attach

Dark brown head:


ch 4 join to form ring

round 1: ch 2, 13 dc in ring, join with slip st
round 2: ch 2, 2 dc into each dc around join with slip st
round 3: ch 2, *1 dc, 2 dc into next st * (repeat around from *)
round 4: ch 2, *2 dc, 2 dc into next st * (repeat around from *)

Ears (make 2):


ch 4 join to form ring

round 1: ch 2, 6 dc into ring (do not join) ch 1 turn, sc in each, leave long tail to attach

Eyes (make 2):


ch4 join to form ring

round 1: ch 1, 10 sc into ring, slip to join, leave long tail to attach








Sew eyes to face with tail. Embroider smile of your choice. Center (pin if you like) and sew face to head. Attach ears by sewing them with long tail to either side of head. (I also did another option with a pink ear. You can create this by using the ear pattern with a smaller hook)





Please do not sell, copy/paste or display this pattern as your own. You may sell appliques or items made from this pattern, but please link back to this page or make note that the pattern was designed by tillie tulip. Thank you!

Note: Reminder **If you would like to sell items you have made with my patterns, please do give credit to Tillie Tulip. Thank you.

UPDATE 1/2/16: After several years, I have finally gotten back to monkey and Round 3 issues. As I mentioned in my original post, this was from my chicken scratch notes. I apologize for any frustrations the added stitches may have caused, but it is free after all :) I wish I could devote more time to this blog, but family and work keep me busy!

I charted out the face below, removed the extra stitches and hopefully, it will be a better experience!

As always, thanks for stopping by!


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Brain overload

Some days I have to remind myself to stop and smell the...lavender?




My poor herbs did not do well this year, although I think it was a bad year all around with the hot weather we had. I love the smell of lavender. I have to find a good soap recipe to use some of these lovely, fragrant herbs in.

Maybe these purple flowers were subliminally part of my inspiration for the new scrappy blanket I started.




I like to save my end of skeins, in the same color family, and put them all together in a little patchwork afghan. Yet another one of my unfinished projects on the "to do" list.

I headed this entry "Brain overload", because I've been feeling a little all-over-the-place. I think it has a lot to do with the kids starting up school in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping that things will work into a nice groove when we all get settled, until then, my little lost projects will have to wait...

Hope everyone has a lovely (and peaceful) rest of their day!

Friday, August 10, 2012

A bright blanket for a grey day

We've finally been getting some much needed rain around here. I just realized I have photos of the tree outside my window in winter and spring, so here's one for summer...




I have a feeling fall will be here in no time.

I've been busy working on a few more custom orders. One being a new bright pink, orange and yellow blanket. You can see my inspiration for my first blanket here.

I've finished all of the squares and have begun working them together. Here's a photo of the squares laid out, waiting to become a new blanket. Each square is different and each blanket is unique. I like that they are never exactly the same. Different is good.





Saturday, August 4, 2012

Join-as-you-go (part II)

Below is the second half of my join-as-you-go method of connecting granny squares. (To view part I, click here).

I like using a slip stitch because I feel like it's a tighter firmer join. I also like doing the corners this way, because I personally like how the join looks - not messy, similar to the other "holes", and did I mention I feel it's a sturdy join? This is important when I think about longevity of the blanket.

Without further adieu...







Monday, July 30, 2012

Pink (shasta) daisy blanket is finished!

I completed Lynette's afghan this morning. She let me decide how to edge it, so I chose a hdc of white and a sc of the pink. Subtle. I like subtle, even though the blanket screams pink sunshine!




It's a true pleasure to create these blankets for such nice people. I can't say enough about all of the very nice customers I've been fortunate enough to meet.

On a side note, I've obviously been a little tied up with work, family and tillie tulip, but I will get part II of my join-as-you-go tutorial up as soon as I can! 


Friday, July 27, 2012

A visitor in the garden



I didn't get much planted in the garden this year: some tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and flowers. It's been so hot and dry, that I'm almost glad I didn't put too much effort into it this summer. I wish I would've gotten the green beans in for my son Harry who loves to pick and eat straight off the plant! Is it too late to plant green beans??

I'll try to upload my join-as-you-go part II today. Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

My join-as-you-go (part I)

Thank you so much for all of the lovely comments on my last post! I'm waiting to hear back about how Lynette would like the edge to be done. For most blankets, I've been using a round of sc and then a round of dc for a simple border or a scalloped edge for a little something sweet. As promised, below is how I put all of those squares together.

There are many different methods of joining granny squares - weaving, slip and single crochet, etc - but my favorite is to join as you go. Once again, my instructions may be slightly different than others you've seen, this is just how I do it and what works best for me!

Hopefully, I can relay this well, and it won't seem too confusing. Like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

If your squares are all different: arrange your completed squares how you would like them to appear, then create a pile for each row. I start from the top down, and stack from the righthand side on top. (Note: If all of your squares are the same: disregard these first two steps. Pile them up and work however many across.)











I hope that made sense. Keep connecting the squares in the row, and I'll post some more photos of how I work the connecting corners tomorrow! (To view part II, click here).

Note: If you would like to sell items you have made with my patterns, please do give credit to Tillie Tulip. Thank you.





Wednesday, July 25, 2012

New pink daisy blanket almost complete...

I'm almost finished with Lynette's pink daisy afghan. I really like how it's turning out. Hopefully, she will too!



I did get some images taken of the join-as-you-go method I use. I'll post those up later today or tomorrow for anyone interested (SnuggleBunny!). Hope everyone has a sunny day.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

I'm back and finishing up some blankets!

Had a very nice break with my hubby and children, and I was able to get a lot done during that time:

Finished up the Citrine blanket:




 and almost done with a new "pink sunshine" (that's the best way to describe it) blanket:




I hope my customer is happy with them both!

I was also able to take some photos of my join-as-you-go method of putting all the squares together, so I'll try to post that soon for anyone interested!



Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Taking a break

I received another request from a very sweet lady down in Texas named Kelley. She would like a granny square blanket in the colors similar to her daughter's bedding. The fabric line is called "Citrine" and it's by Joel Dewberry. The palate is beautiful. Clean, colorful and modern.


So here's what I came up with:




I think the colors compliment the fabric nicely, and I'm excited to pull it all together.

I'll be taking a short break from the shop and blog to catch up on all these blankets, but I'll post some final photos of everything when I return.

Have a wonderful week and weekend!



Monday, June 25, 2012

Shasta daisy for a Shasta trailer

I was out watering flowers and plants in the garden and around the house yesterday when I came across my shasta daisies and realized that they have the same name as the Shasta trailer my Etsy customer is restoring. I wonder if that's why she picked this particular granny square blanket?

Here's a picture of my daisies and my daisies.




Lynette chose the white border, so away we go...