There's a new free pattern in town

And it's the perfect summer project!

Get all the details and the story behind the design on the free pattern page at the top of the page.

ENJOY!!



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And the city says...

For #brynsflowers2017, I needed to ask permission from my town so that all our hard work isn't taken down the very next day! So..... We've gotten the official go ahead to install the yarn bomb!!!!! YAY!!!!! Bryn's birthday is this Sunday, but the planters we are yarn bombing won't be taken out of their storage spot and placed on the bridge until May. We still get snow in April and the city is concerned with snow removal so they have to keep the bridge clear until snow season is REALLY over. I'm pretty bummed that we can't do the installation for her birthday. BUT it's not that far off, and it gives me more time to sew all the pieces together. Thank you to everyone who worked hard to get the squares to me as quickly as you did!! I'll be posting update pictures as I sew, sew, sew. play hard ... play hooky

NatCroMo Blog Tour 2017

NatCroMo - almost sounds like it could be a blues singer - is National Crochet Month and it's happening NOW!

In the past there may have been a public stigma that crochet is something only little old ladies do in their doily-decorated houses. Well, we all know that's not always true - not to knock the doily ladies because I pretty much think they rock too with their teeny hooks and crochet thread. Mad props.

This generation has brought a new set of crochet enthusiasts and experts who are constantly pushing their skills, and creating new techniques and styles. There's LITERALLY something for everyone. If you doubt it I dare you to google "crochet for _insert anything_" and see what you find.

We've come a long way and we have our very own month to prove it. This year, I'm very happy to be a first-timer in the 5th annual NatCroMo blog tour by crochetville.com. So go check out my interview on their blog to learn a little more about my background, what's most important to me, and if I'm bistitchual. ;)

As a bonus, here's how you can celebrate NatCroMo, Playin' Hooky style.

• TODAY ONLY: A special exclusive for Blog Tour peeps - 50% off on Ravelry when you grab 2 or more patterns! Use the code NatCroMoBlog
• All month long: Take 10% off every pattern in my Ravelry or Etsy shop with the code NatCroMo
• Get some hooky swag with "Looky Looky I Got Hooky" tees, hoodies, and mugs.
• Check out my tips, tricks, and tutorials to help push yourself to the next level.
• Follow me on social media to stay up with promotions and NEW designs!

YAY CROCHET!!

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Looky Looky

Get knotty for National Crochet Month

If you've ever crocheted in public, you know that more often than not someone will ask you what you're knitting. (If you've never crocheted in public, you SHOULD!!) It can be a little irritating that everyone thinks that yarn=knitting. Let's change that!! For National Crochet Month, I'm offering an exclusive run of these Looky Looky I Got Hooky sweatshirt, tees, and coffee mugs to show your hooky pride.

And so that people stop comparing you to their great-great-grandmother who knits... just kidding, they still will, but at least you'll look UH-mazing. ;)

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NatCroMo begins NOW

March is National Crochet Month (#natcromo for short) and there is a LOT going on this month to celebrate.

ALL MONTH you can get 10% off every pattern in my Ravelry shop with the code NatCroMo - take advantage while you can!

I'm also participating in Crochetville.com's NatCroMo blog tour. When the time comes - you can read my extra-special interview (but I'm biased), have access to a free pattern, AND get your crochet gear on with an exclusive run on my Looky Looky I Got Hooky sweatshirts, tees, and coffee mugs! I can't wait!!!

Be sure you're a fan on my Facebook page, Instagram, or SnapChat to follow what I'll be doing all month long!

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Did Phil Feel Lucky?

Ok campers, rise and shine...it's GROUNDHOG DAY! The big question on everybody's lips... On their chapped lips... Did Phil see his shadow??

HE DID - I was RIGHT!! He saw his shadow, got scared, and put his cute little furry butt back in bed. Seriously though who can blame him though? That means we'll have 6 more weeks of beanie-wearing weather (yes, I know that it's technically 6 more weeks until the first day of Spring anyway, but let's just go with it). 

Head over to my Ravelry shop and pick your favorite, or two, or TEN because they're HALF OFF today to celebrate the fuzzy little prognosticator named Phil. Use the code GROUNDHOGDAY when you checkout.

2017 Furry Foreseer Day

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day It's the best holiday featuring a glorified rat and thousands of  revelers will brave the frozen noses in a small corner of Pennsylvania to see if Punxsutawney Phil will get us out of winter early.

"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."

Every year I take a guess at what Phil will do and then give you a sale if I'm right!! This year I'm a little torn. It's been warmer than usually all winter so far - so part of me wants to say that it'll be an early Spring. But Mother Nature likes to surprise us - keeping weathermen everywhere on their toes - so part of me thinks we may get a fierce cold snap later this month. Soooooooo my official guess for 2017 is that Phil WILL see his shadow, get scared, and hide his furry butt back in his bed, giving us 6 more weeks of winter.

So there it is. My prediction for tomorrow. Lets see if the prognosticator of prognosticators can pull it out for the win!

Come back tomorrow to see if I was right and to get the coupon code for my annual Groundhog day sale!
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Thank you for supporting my dream

Small Business Saturday is to show support to the person behind the shop.

We run on pure passion (and caffeine). We give our whole selves to our work. We do it all for our families. And it wouldn't mean anything without you.<3 span="">

Thank you for supporting my dream. Please share, like, and comment to keep it going!

I'm giving you 50% off all my designs in my Ravelry shop today only. Use the code HOOKYBIZ when you check out.

Black Friday

❄️ The holidays are in full swing ❄️

That means you'd better get your hooks out! Get inspired in my Ravelry shop. Take 60% off your order of my original crochet patterns to make as gifts or keep for yourself! Use the code BLACKHOOKYFRIDAY when you check out.

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A Decade of Crochet

I learned to crochet 10 years ago this week. I was pregnant with my oldest, Bryn, and after Thanksgiving dinner my sister-in-law got out her yarn after recently learning to knit and crochet.

At first we tried knitting, but it just didn't take so we pretty quickly switched to crochet. The rest is history.

Later that night we went to a friend's house. I, of course, took my hook and my swatch. I worked on that swatch - all the while thinking that a sl st was actually a sc - until we left. It was the ugliest, wonkiest, little yellow swatch, but I was seriously proud of myself - it was the start of something amazing.

I started Playin' Hooky Designs a few years later, but suffice it to say, after that first swatch I never put my hooks down. Thank you for giving me these ten years with you!

I'm giving you a special discount in my Ravelry shop today to celebrate. It'll keep your mind off your crazy family this weekend ;) Use the code HOOKYTEN when you checkout in my Ravelry shop.

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#crochetcheat - messy colorwork

When you're changing colors... a LOT... who else hates getting tangled up in your yarn? The only thing worse is weaving in ends (but we won't go there).

So let me show you what I do. It keeps those yarn strands completely untangled, and once you get the hang of it, it's faster than dropping your unused yarn after every color change. Winning.

I only do it this way when I'm changing colors literally every stitch - like certain rounds of my Disc or Old School Beanie. It gets a little trickier if you try to make it work with longer color sections. But give it a try to see if you can work it.

Looky Looky...

I got hooky!!

Designed by Ms Hooky herself (that would be me) and exclusively online, my new tees and hoodies are just in time for Fall.

I'm not trying to become the next new tshirt designer, but when an idea comes to you, you just have to GO with it. And I couldn't hold this one in any longer.

Choose your style and your color, but they're only going to be available until September 2! Click on the picture to order!

Pin it for later with the button to the left. (But don't wait too long or they'll be gone!)

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I can't stop watching

Ever wonder what would happen if you took a blade to a cone of thread? This is the answer...

Check out this bit of everyday magic! Had to free some old cones from some yarn I couldn't use and this unexpected beauty occurred 😍 #stinelinnemannstudio

A video posted by Stine Linnemann Studio (@stinelinnemannstudio) on Jul 15, 2016 at 3:13am PDT

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9 Years of Playin' Hooky and a Surprise

Today marks 9 years since the beginning of Playin' Hooky. When I started it all, I had no idea how much my life would be affected by my little business. Your support helped (actually, is helping) me through the hardest time of my life. Your laughs make my days brighter. Your questions help fuel my own crochet knowledge. I feel like we've shared our lives together even though we really don't know each other... and that completely blows me away.

To celebrate, I'm going live on Facebook tonight (6ish mountain time) with some HUGE surprises that you won't want to miss. Like my page and join me live tonight!!

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Bryn's Butterflies at the Library

Some of my posts are sarcastic, others are funny, but some are serious too. This one is heartfelt. It's a post for my Bryn. She's my daughter who is now watching over me instead of living by my side. We lost her almost 4 years ago - just after her 5th birthday. Her 9th birthday is on Saturday and I've been going through periods of both avoidance and preparation.

I try to stay positive, upbeat, and excited for you, but sometimes it's hard. Even in the midst of everything my family has been through, I try to see the positive side. At least publicly. Privately it can be a little harder to always see the light, especially as we get closer to her birthday and the day that we lost her. So this post is me fighting with the two halves of my grief.

You may know that every year in April I orchestrate a yarn bomb for her birthday. I choose to celebrate her life and spread the joy that she had to others through those yarn bombs. In the past you've helped me create a flower garden on the fence at what would have been her elementary school, candy to hand out to anyone who needed a smile, and butterflies for the trees in the park.

It's the 4th year that we've had to celebrate without her and nothing about it is getting easier. Just the opposite. In my low moments I feel farther and farther away from her and even though her birthday didn't exactly sneak up on me (I tend to feel it very strongly as it approaches), it was hard to muster the energy to create something new this year. 

The response last year was SO overwhelming that I had enough butterflies to not only decorate the trees in the park, but also a tree in my town's Holiday Park and still have three bags of butterflies. They haven't been able to fly so instead of asking you to make something else, I wanted to give them their day in the sun. One of Bryn's favorite places was our local library - pushing the button that opens the door is pretty much the highlight of all my kids' day, not to mention story time, and the amazing children's librarian - so I teamed with them to create something that will spread smiles and joy.

I'm forever grateful that I live in such a supportive community and also for my extended crochet family who've been there through thick and thin. Words can't explain how much it has uplifted me when I needed it the most. 

So now that I've cried a little, I want you to step into Bryn's Butterflies...

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She grabbed her rocking chair and did THIS!

My 3 year old daughter, Tara, grabbed her rocking chair and took it to a corner of the kitchen. She didn't want to see what she was doing, but when I rounded the corner I stumbled on maybe the cutest thing ever. I stumbled over myself to grab my phone fast enough to take a video before she stopped (sorry about the dryer noise in the background #reallife).

That's my girl!

 

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Bunny Slope Teether for Babies - Free Crochet Pattern

Here's the story of my latest free crochet pattern. Scroll down to the Print Friendly button for the pattern.

My neighbor had a baby 6 months ago - just about 6 months after I had my baby girl. Even before he was born, I started thinking about what I could make for him.

Everyone loves babies. Well even more so if you are good with a hook, chances are you love crocheting for babies. That means the internet is chock full of ideas... some good, some, well, you know what I mean. I found myself cruising patterns for hats, diaper covers, photo props, loveys, Amish puzzle balls, booties, blankets (but let's face it, we all know I have too much hooky ADD to finish a blanket), rattles, mobiles... you name it and someone has probably tried to crochet it.

I eventually settled on a crocheted ring rattle-type thing. I planned to make the ring around a set of gorgeous customized wooden rings I found on Cake in the Morn on Etsy (I'll wait while you go check out her shop... seriously go... I'll be here when you get back). I even had the baby's name burned into a ring to make it even more special. 

All that was left was to make the ring. Here's how that went down: I'm so excited about giving them this gift!... He's still to little to use it though... Ugh, I still need to make that ring... I don't feel like making the ring today... I'll try to make it now, but I have so many orders... Ok, the holidays are over and the baby is getting big enough to play with it so I need to sit here until it's done... Sitting here trying to make it... I don't like this... It's twisting weird... Why is my colorwork shifting so bad?.. This will never hold the weight of those wooden rings... I give up.

So there my pretty little wooden rings sat, alone and naked - they looked so sad and kept reminding me of my shame. By this point I felt like a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad neighbor for never giving them a present to celebrate their baby boy. (This is the same neighbor who saved my coffee that day so you can imagine how guilty I felt.)

And then it happened. True inspiration struck. I had it. I'm going to make a ribbon teether! It's perfect. It's removable, washable, quick to make, and baby safe. YAAASSSSS!! I was so excited that I had three made by the end of the next day.

My fans on Facebook asked if I would write the pattern, and of course I agreed. Needless to say I couldn't repeat that whole agonizing process the next time one of my friends had a baby so I knew I needed to write it out anyway. I gave it the name Bunny Slope because I think it looks like cute little bunny ears and I had to give a nod to my local ski culture.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "This is a small project and it's a free pattern. It can't be that good." Well, you're wrong. Just WRONG. This isn't your average free pattern... you know what I'm talking about. This is a meticulously written pattern with every detail including a full page of new photo tutorials, specific materials needed, stitch explanations... everything you've come to expect from my patterns. Just because it's free doesn't mean I skimped on you.

So scroll down and click the print-friendly page to access this fun pattern. You can also find it on my Ravelry page! You'll want to make several so you can wash one when it gets dirty. As always, send me an email if you have any questions or problems. And don't forget to add yours to the Ravelry projects page so we can all revel in the cuteness.

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BRONCOS WIN!

My home team won Super Bowl 50!! Help me celebrate Peyton Manning's record breaking 200th win (or maybe this will take the pain away if you're a Panthers fan). Click the picture to go to my Ravelry shop and use the code below.

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Phil Saw No Shadow!

That means an early Spring for us and a S-A-L-E for you!!

Use this coupon in my Ravelry shop to get 35% off your patterns for the rest of the day only! Hurry, Phil says there's not much winter left so make some beanies while you can still wear them.

Happy Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow – an early spring is his forecast!
Posted by Fox News on Tuesday, February 2, 2016

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Groundhog Day 2016

It's that time of year again! It's Bill Murray's least favorite holiday with a glorified rat and yet thousands will flock to a small corner of Pennsylvania to see if Punxsutawney Phil will get us out of winter early.

"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."

 Every year I take a guess at what Phil will do and then give you a sale if I'm right!! This year I'm a little torn. I think the weather is going to keep him from actually seeing his shadow, but I also don't think we're going to get out of a longer winter - especially because it's DUMPING at my house right now. SO I'm torn... But my OCD-centric brain wants to say that he will NOT see his shadow bc of the clouds.

So there it is. My prediction for tomorrow. Lets see if the prognosticator of prognosticators can pull it out for the win!

Come back tomorrow to see if I was right and to get the coupon code for my annual Groundhog day sale!

play hard ... play hooky