I tried my hand at it this summer - selling my crochet that is.  Over-all, I don't think I was unreasonable with my prices.  Each week I went to the Thursday Flea Market in our area and set up a table.  I averaged $20 per week...

Here's a peek at what I was working on all summer and selling.  No, not everything I sold is pictured, as some sold right when I finished them and others I didn't have batteries for my camera before they sold...

I of course took my one afghan, knowing full well it wouldn't sell...  escpecially since I have $50 of yarn in it.  Even though that's all I asked, no one paid for it.  I'm kinda glad, because now it is destined for the fair!


I also took the one topsy-turvy doll I kept, just to see it if would sell...  I asked as low at $10 and was oddly thankful when they wouldn't pay it.  In fact, they kinda looked surprised I would want that much.  I'm sitting there thinking, I spent more than an entire week of my time on this, plus the cost of materials and coming up with the design myself...  and you don't think it's worth even $10?  Fine, I'm more than happy to keep it.  She's pretty on my coffee table!
   



Many towels were taken, with crochet tops so they can hang.  I asked $3.50 for the towel alone, $5 for the set with matching potholders and an oven mit.  The individual towels sold wonderfully, but I only sold two sets...  no biggie, I'll add dishcloths and what-not to them and gift them for the holidays/birthdays.  I even got so addicted to making these that I topped a few of my towels around home, just because I could.
Here are a few of my better ones (I think)
 
 
    



I also took some stuffed cuties for the kids...

My "Sad Bunny" didn't sell, nor has my lil' bunny, but by pumpkin did!  And I had a dog, chick and goldfish sell that I don' t have pictured...  the mini's sold for $0.50  I was asking between $5-6 for the "Sad Bunny"
  
 


And snoods galore have sold.  To be honest, I have fallen in love with wearing them myself.  I will post my many snoods later, as I do have many and my connection is acting a bit cranky right now...


I love summer and I love to crochet!  I've been amazingly busy and haven't updated much, but hopefully this will be a mini-sneak-peek into what I've been doing with myself.  And, to top it all off, I have two crochet students!  They are both women older than me, one probably only about 10-15 years, the other is closer to my parents age, but still...  I get to share the love of crochet!!!!

May God bless you in all you do.

Ta-ta!

So for the past few weeks (about 5) I've been taking my crocheting to the flea market in town and selling.  It's fun,  and I've been doing alright.  Once I take out the set-up cost, I average about $20 each week.  I've learned new things to make and have attempted the same stuff I've been making.  Unfortunately, at a flea market people only want a few things and won't pay the true value of the non-necessities. 

A.k.a. I sell topped towels for $3.50, snoods for $6 and dishcloths for between $1 and $1.50

My afghans, bigger stuffed animals, scarves, purses, etc don't sell.  All I'm asking is the material cost, not time.  *sigh*  Oh well.

Needless to say though, because I only can go back one more week before school restarts I'll have a lot of Christmas gifts to give!  LoL!

I do plan on posting pictures, but life has been so crazy recently, and I have to get everything together to teach a lesson in my apt tomorrow (which means cleaning!) so today isn't looking like the day.

Tata!

So, when I was in college and moved from a dorm to an apartment, I learned something... I had more yarn than clothes.  So, I had to stash-bust.  It was great and gave me something to do with my down-time when I was only taking 2 classes.  

I made this for a dear friend, just like an older brother to me, who was always there and housed my boyfriend/fiance whenever he came to visit,


Just made of typical granny squares of whatever yarn I had.  Camo, yellow, blues, tans, I think a few pinks and purples, whatever.  Lined in a simple border of black.  Yay!  He still has it, the picture he sent me was of it hanging over his couch.



This year, I decided to knock out as m uch of my homespun yarn as I possibly could.  I don't really use it much, mainly because I've learned that while it makes for insanely comfortable scarves, it doesn't wash well in the wash machine.  So...  I made an afghan from it! 

I followed a pattern from Crochet Today! for the squares/rectangles, but used "magic balls" of homspun to make it work, and attached as I went.  It worked up amazingly quick in my opinion and has become my "Spring afghan" on my couch.


*sigh*  Now I need a summer and fall one, as I have a Christmas/Winter one...


I still need to take more pictures and discuss my crocheting adventures.  I dove into baby projects and have made a few adorable creations!  But first, to finish this kid scarf for Sunday....  What, a scarf in the summer?  I asked the parents what to make the boy half of these  twins for their birthday and that's what they told me - a hat and scarf.  *shrugs*  Oh well.

God bless!

Still alive and kicking, and crocheting.  The school year has come to an end (yes!) and while I have been crocheting like crazy the entire time, hopefully within the next few days I will be able to upload pictures and discuss the various hooking adventures I have embarked upon.  Most turned out wonderfully, a few better than I had planned.  However, my current project has turned from a baby onesie into a childs' jumper...  aurgh on checking gauge.  I never do that, but this is the first time it has actually come and bitten me right back in the butt.  Oh well.

So, more to come and I'm soooo glad to have my free time back!  Maybe my health will improve again...  ^_^

God bless!

I have been on a quest to get rid of yarn.  Yes!  Not by giving it away, nor selling it, but USING it!  GO figure!  I'm trying to make things w/out buying any new yarn.  DIfficult and I've started a few project and had to add some new to it to finish, but I have indeed lowered my stash some.
Pictures of that to come later.

But, I also had a great bit of time due to the snow that hit our area.  No, no pictures of the snow, but pictures of an experiment that came out of me being at school for 2 hours with nothing to do ( I was planned up for the entire week) and having only a bit of yarn and no crochet hook.

Finger crochet!

You can finger-knit, that's all over youtube.  But, can you finger crochet?  Yes indeed.  Here is an example of my finished experiment.
As the picture link in here isn't working, we're doing this the long way...
Red scarf  

How to complete the stitches is easy if you know how to make a chain and sc stitch. 
Photo guise to the instructions begin here.  Read the little print on the bottom left if you don't get it and click on next picture to move on.

Enjoy!  I am about to continue work on my magic ball stuffed animal (no idea what type of animal yet, but it's got colorful stripes!)

God bless!

You know, I love God.  He paid a debt He didn't owe, just for me.  Well, and every other individual as well, but what makes it even more amazing is He had every name in His mind when He did it.

Been sick for a week (going on more) but God is good.  
www.winningsideministries.org has helped me a lot this evening, as I'm not up to going out to church.  I hate missing church.  But, I gotto hear some sermons and music, so I thank God for it.

I pray God blesses you.

Many wonderous things have  happened.  We had scheduled a 3 day weekend, which Saturday and Sunday Matt and I spent at home, going no where but church and out to get him some more cold med.  Oh, and after church we went with a group of friends from church to El Paso...  I tell you, I loved it.  I haven't had such a relaxing weekend in I have no idea when.
THEN, Monday I ran some little 'errands', buying some crochet-related items, getting my hair cut (I have bangs again for the first time since middle school!) and crocheted more.  AND, it started snowing in the evening!  I adore snow!  It caused a 2 hour delay for my scheduled workday at school Tuesday, and yet I still got everything on my list completed.  After work I went with my SiL to the community college to gather information.  She graduates HS this year and wanted someone who had "been through it before" to go with her.

I have also, of course, been crocheting.  I needed a small and quick project, so I looked up patterns for Renaissance snoods. Then proceeded, over the past 3 days, to make three.  Ahhh!   Two are absolutely elegant and gorgeous, the other is cute.
Now, I rotated these on my computer before uploading them, yet they didn't stick for some reason...  *sigh*

First, elegant enough with beads placed as well on a soft worsted weight yarn.


Second one was an experiment with Red Heart super saver (usually rough and stiff yarn).  Didn't turn out bad, very casual.
 

And with thin chenile, this was made.
 

So excited!  Then, since i took half the day off work today, I printed off MANY of my crochet projects and started placing them into a photo album.

( Read more... )
Yep yep!  Now time to work more on another doll!  Yippee!!!!!!

I have been  having a busy time, yet a good time, since school let out for Christmas break about a week ago.  I've had Christmas gift exchanges, of which the Tweety and Grumpy mentioned in my last post were readily received, as were the hats and sweaters previously mentioned. 

I managed to finish the remaining gifts I was going to make, including...
Kitchen set for my grandmother

Table-top doll for Aunt B

Tobaggon for my bus-driving Uncle

And since I received a lovely yarn winder from my hubby, I've been organizing my massive amounts of yarn and messing with it.  Currently, I'm working on a bunch of motifs for a free-form something (hat, scarf, maybe set of the two...) and my long-forgotten Granny Ripple afghan...  Not that it matters to y'all.

Oh, and a wax  seal kit!   I simply adore writing letters by hand to people, and now I can seal the envelopes with wax.   Lovely, I used it already once and am quite looking forward to other uses, yes indeed.

That's all I have time for, as I must get a few things done.  My hubby is taking me out to a niiiiiice restaurant for our anniversary tonight (even though it's not 'til tomorrow, we have ministry tapings on Tuesdays) and we leave for OHIO Wednesday!  Yee-haw!  School starts back up for me on Jan 5th.  

I get 2 weeks off work and still have no time. Amazing how that works out.

Love ya!  God bless!  I hope He blesses you as much as He has blessed me.  Life is hectic, but great.

So, I mentioned the hats for the kids at church...   Well, here they are, all completed and arranged to where they are visible.



And...  I also followed a pattern from a book bought I don't know how long ago, to create a Care Bear for my SIL.  The problem with it is this though, the pattern I believe is flawed, as I did it word-for-word head/body and the body is a bit too small for the right proportions...  I also had to tweak the 'details', as I didn't have thread nor felt like spending the money on it (cash is a bit tight right now).
See!?!?!?
and  


Let's see...  Scarf for my daddy's wife.  It's a pretty thing, free pattern I grabbed one day at ACMoore.  I chose a different color than printed, but I really like it.



Mini-stockings!  Mainly for the ladies I work with, but perhaps a few extra for anyone I need something small for...



And my last pride and joy to share at this moment is a true wonder.  Not perfect by far, I think the eye-lashes need some work, though what I'm not sure...  
My rendition of Tweety Bird!  I tried to find a pattern online, but all I found were graphs and was looking for a stuffed one. *sigh*  So I had to create one.  It's not too bad really, though not perfect.  What do you think?
and  



That's all folks!  I have only 1/2 day to work tomorrow, then it's Thanksgiving break.  After that, 2 solid weeks of middle schoolers before 2 whole weeks of Christmas Break!!!  Woo-hoo!

God bless y'all!

I tell you, school keeps me so busy.  Well, school, church, family, and Christmas presents.

I'm finished with...  church kids presents, mom's present, Jans present, 90% of SiL's present, and about 80% of work friends presents...  meaning I still have my two aunts, my grandma, and another 2 gift exchange gifts to complete.  Luckily, grandma and aunts can wait until just after Christmas, as I won't be visiting them until then.  My sister, Dad, and hubby I'm not making gifts for, but buying and that I'm not too concerned about.  I think that's it...  but then, I might remember more as time passes.  

In other news...  I spent over 4 hours on Veteran's Day with my dad (Vietnam vet) and it was wonderful.  If you had asked me a few years ago what I would do with 4 hours of time just me and him, I would have said "gone insane" but really, it was a blessing.  Yes, he rambled, but it was great and interesting to listen to.  We went to a few stores to pick up things for him, ate lunch out, etc.  Wonderful.  It reminds me of how important family really is.  (BTW: sis, if you're reading this I've been meaning to call you and haven't had the chance, sorry!  I missed you at the Ren Fest!!  *hugs*)

I ask for prayer.  I doubt it's anything serious, but for a few weeks I've been having some troubles.  We'll find out soon enough, so just mention me in your prayers if you remember please.  Much thanks.

Oh, and Chirstmas play at church!  Wonderful fun, when we get the chance to practice.  It's kinda crazy, as my character is married to a guy about 10 years older than me and my hubby is playing a character married to a lady old enough to be his mother (as she in real life has a son his age).  And I have a "son" who is older than me in real life. 
I'm thinking I might actually wear make-up during this play...
Pray for blessings in that area as well.

God is good, I must confess.  He's keeping me busy.  I teach, cook, clean and crochet.  That's my life.  Yay

I have finished 11 Christmas presents and have plans/a schedule to finish the others.  I'll post pictures when I have time later (ha, ha) of the hats for the kids, but one present must wait until after Christmas, as the person receiving it has access to this blog and it would be quite sad to ruin the surprise.

In other news, we went to the Carolina RenFest today (we being Momma, hubby and I) and I found something that thrilled me/made my day.  More on that some other time....  Needless to say I have messed with that all evening and am now at a forced stopping point.

Yeah.  I am extremely tired.  I also have a beautiful ring my dear hubby bought for me.  I love it.

*sigh*  Perhaps in time I will find time to post more often.  I still crochet like crazy, but between teaching, church, cleaning up the apartment, keeping up with friends, and breathing, the internet tends to take a back seat.

So, I took Tuesday off work last week, ended up spending the entire day crocheting and cleaning (it was wonderful!!!)

I finished Dalton's hoodie, the pattern of which I found here and adjusted to my own personal likings (and for a boy).  I didn't do the separate hat for it, however.

This is the finished product.
 


Then, this weekend, I whiped up five (yes, five) little crochet hats for the young boys at my church.  I currently have one pictured on my camera to share...

 

So, my goal is getting closer to being met.  I have decided to make the girls hats as well, only more...  girly looking.  
I'm experimenting with squares for thick dainty borders. 


In other news, pray for my family please.
Thanks!

So, I just finished present number one!!!

And upon holding the baby boy, I figure it will still fit him by Christmas-time.  It took a long time to complete, as I have no stitch markers and there was much counting to be done to make sure the cables were in the right place and uniform.

 

Made for a new baby who will be around 18 months old when he gets it, it's that size and may be a bit big on the little bugger. 
The colors are just two shades of blue, Caron Soft, and I hope it's loved.

The cables were a pain, as was working the colors together.  A challenge, but well worth it (I hope). I shall wash it to see if it hold up, then package it and put it in the corner for December!

God bless!

I have received my wonderful gifts from my Crochetville swap partner. 

Slippers that look so much more adorable than this picture shows.

These are mega comfy and soft, I totally love them.

  I can so wear these to work, and will.  She took normal socks and made a pretty crochet edge.  I love that idea and must copy it in the future.  Wonderful!!!

  Other goodies.  The softest looking/feeling yarn I've seen in a w hile, a little funny sock pattern book (which I might just use for Christmas presents), two types of tea, certs and gum, slipper socks for when my others are dirty, and a journal.  As many of you may know, or will learn, though I do journal here, I also love to hand-write stuff.  I journal a lot and  have a habit of writing letters for snail-mail.  I think it's just fabulous to have a place to write things down and not have to go blind looking at a computer screen.  hehehe.

So, if you happen to read this, THANKS AGAIN!!!!  I was blessed to have a talented swap partner and have decided to join in other swaps as time passes.



In other news, I must get off the computer.  My husband and I haven't been feeling the greatest lately, so we're gonna crash and watch a movie.  I will finish my one crochet project and get moving to my next.  This one has been stretching my abilities.  It's found here, from last years Crochet Today! magazine.  I'm on the last section, so let's pray it looks good when finished.

I wrote out a timeline for all the Christmas presents I intend to make.  One a week until Christmas, and a few weeks have multiple projects in them...  Aye mi, pray I get it all done please.

God bless!

I realize how much of a ditz I am, as I've posted some pics already and don't need to repeat...  So...

Let's see, the fair! 
The Hickory fair ended last week and I entered 7 things.  Well, I did pretty well, receiving prizes with all but two tings I entered.
See!
Mo the horse!

Zig-zag Haekelbeutel bag!

Christmas Tree Skirt!

Shell Scarf!

Jack!


I also managed to finish the socks/slippers for the Toasty Tootsies swap in the 'Ville.  I'm so excited! 
I finished three things, two were sock attempts but might end up being used as slippers, the other is meant as a light slipper.  Cute, huh?

 
 





Now, I'm taking a break from gifts and working on something I started 2 years ago and haven't worked on since.  It's going to be made of granny squares, but differently, a ripple-style pattern.  I showed my husband the plan and he was impressed.  Perhaps it'll be ready for the fair next year.

I do have gifts to make, one that I need to get finished by Sunday...  and many for Christmas.  I just needed a break from required crochet to get back in the mode.  I lost the desire for a few days, it was depressing.  I think that, after a few more squares, I'll be ready to go back to toys, sweaters, dolls...

As for life, I tell you, school keeps a person busy.  Gun threats, missing people...  I had a kid steal a book from me today!  Goodness gracious, what's coming of kids these days?  But, I have those ones that are adorable and wonderful, so really I can't complain.  The hard to deal with ones make it fun and a challenge.

Pray for our youth of today.  They really need it.

Alright, so what's going on in the world today?

*sigh*  Well, as you know, I got Gold in the Crochetville Olympics with my Christmas Tree Skirt, but LJ won't let me post pictures today for some reason...

I also finished the Bathroom set I was making!

So, I started on a baby sweater for Christmas from the Crochet Today magazine of last winter, along with sock from the most recent edition for the Toasty Tootsies Swap I'm participating in.

All in all, busy.  Just nor much to talk about without pictures, so...  I'm off to finish the socks and hopefully start up some more awesome stuff!

I love ya, tomorrow!  You're only a day away!


So, start school with students tomorrow!  Yay!  So, as you can see this blog has already been pushed slightly down on my list of things to keep up with, and I apologize to the few of you that may frequent here.

In crochet news today - I finished the Olympic project Friday evening, around 6:00.  I had a marvelous time, though last weekend I had to take a days break on the injured list, as mentioned in my last post.  I did, however, start again and limited myself to how much I did at one time.  I was thrilled to have finished it!  Th e ladies at church love it, as I finished it at the beginning of our "slumber party" that night.

Here's some pics.  The pattern is a very simple variation of any traditional round ripple.

The entire thing, spread out on the back of my couch.  You can't really see it, but it does have a white border all the way around it.  The slip is visible because it too is bordered in white.

A close up of the variation I created.  I love the icicle look it gives.

The center and slit, to show how the thing got started.

I'm thrilled with it, and actually have to go get the supplies to make a second, as a lady at church wants one for next year.  I told her I'd do my best.  ^_^


That same night I started a birthday gift I am about a month behind on...  And now all I have to do is the final mini-squares of the towel, fold it all up together and put a nice bow around it.  IT's this pattern I found at AC Moore, only not the same yarn.  I'm using a Peaches N Creme variegated yarn.  Here's the link to the pattern.

Well, ta-ta for now!  I must finish that and figure out what to make an adorable baby boy who's first birthday party is this coming Saturday!

I have been quite busy, as I started preparing for my little 'angels' this week.  I have orientation tomorrow and they all come in this Monday.

As for my crocheting, well, that now unfortunately takes a back seat.  But, I have been working on my Olympic project. 

I've completed more than I have pictured, but here are the first 4 days worth of shots...

      

       

It's a basic RR, without the holes in the valleys/peaks, and a slit down the middle.  I also added "icecicles" for each color change, which makes it a bit more elegant. 
If you add a full section of green and white, along with 2 rows of red, to the last picture, that's what I have now, meaning 2 more rows of red and a wonderful white border that I have yet to plan out.

I was on the injured list for a bit, my hand cramped up so horrible I could barely hold my fork at dinner last Thursday.  I took an entire day off and have been limiting my crocheting to only 2 rows a day the past few days, then one row starting yesterday as the rounds get bigger and bigger.

Still, I am absolutely loving it and am thrilled to have a Christmas Tree Skirt this year, as last year I was without.  Besides, the ones in the store are either ugly or too expensive.

I'm loving being back at work as well.  I've got a lot to do before classes start, but am looking forward to the challenge.

God bless!

As we all know, the Olympics has started, which also (for me) marked the start of the Crochet Olympics.  I Have many rows done, and have only worked on it two days.  Not bad, really.

Went up to Ohio for the weekend to visit my mom (hence why I've only worked on my project 2 days, when we traveled).  Had a blast!!  Kings Island Saturday, the Downtown Cincinnati and the Ohio River Sunday.  It was a wonderful and draining weekend.  I had a marvelous time, probably one of the best times I have had in a while, but am also glad to be back home where I can take care of a few things before rushing back into the school year.

My apartment stinks.  Literally.  I really need to clean today.

Pictures of the 'daily' progress of my olympic project to come at a later time, when time becomes available.

I have until tomorrow to start the Crochet Olympic Games!  Oh what to do?  Well, my first goal was to finish a bag and...

I finally finished the Haekelbeutel Bag I was making for a  yarn tote!  I loooooove it!

   
So, to keep myself busy and not start a new large project before the tree skirt, I decided to pull out scrap yarn and work on cute little amigurumi figures.


I'm working on another one (or few) for the next few hours I have.  I love to crochet and am sooooo excited about visiting Mom this weekend!!!!