Bryn's Candy

Wednesday, April 16th, is my Bryn's 7th birthday. But it will be the second time we've had to celebrate without her. Last year, with LOTS of help, we put a flower garden on the fence of the Kindergarten she was supposed to go to.

It took me a lot longer to decide how to celebrate this year. I could never find the perfect project, and well honestly, I just ran out of energy to organize something huge. But with your help, we can still do something pretty cool.

I love you more than candy... that's what she said when I tucked her in at night. So this year, we're going to spread love and happiness through candy, and Bryn would have LOVED it!

I scoured Ravelry and  found two free candy crochet patterns on Ravelry that remind me of Bryn.

Here's what you do:

• Pinwheel Candy Pattern - http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pinwheel-candy
• Lollipop Pattern - http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/lollipop-brooch
• Make up as many or few as candies as you want.
• The brighter the colors the better!
• Write a note, or leave them bare. 
• Put them out as a yarn bomb... leave them in random candy dishes... hand them out to strangers... as long as it will make someone smile.
• Get a picture of the candies in action.
• On Wednesday, post your pictures to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtag #brynscandy.

Thank you for your help! I can't put into words how much it means to me that you're willing to help me celebrate my amazing daughter and keep her memory alive.

play hard ~ play hooky

Update: I did it! I actually finished making all the candies I had hoped to for her birthday tomorrow. If you want to leave a note with your ‪#‎brynscandy‬ tomorrow and aren't sure what to say, here's something I just wrote...

For Bryn, a girl who loved life, lived big, and shared smiles. Here's a handmade candy to celebrate and spread love on her birthday. She isn't here so we'll do it for her. I love you more than candy.

10,000 Fan Giveaway - Twinkie Chan

My 10,000 Fan Giveaway is down to the last two days! It's been an amazing ride so far! Want to see if you won yesterday's prizes?

Drumroll please....

CONGRATULATIONS to...

Lindsey J.! She gets to bring home her very own octopus (hook) from The Lemonade Shop!

Nikki A.! The Crochet Me Somethin' necklace will soon be around her neck!

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Twinkie Chan... what can I say about her except that I LURVE her! She's colorful, creative, and sticky sweet (in the best way!). Not only is she the best at designing food-related crochet awesomeness, but she's incredibly generous and thoughtful when it comes to giving business advice for aspiring crochet designers. And have you seen her ROCKING tats? Oh and she eats yucky stuff. Yup, it's official - she's amazeballs.

She's giving away one copy of her book "Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies". Mmmmmmm crochet goodies... nom nom nom

play hard ~ play hooky

Evolution of a Graph

I've had a lot of fun creating graphs to go along with the Graph Beanie Pattern! And thank you for all your suggestions and seeing hats you've made from the pattern - keep them coming! I definitely have more ideas than time to do all of them. I made the decision to test every graph I release, and for some reason, my new TMNT graph has given me a few problems along the way. BUT, this shows you why I take the extra time to test each and every graph. I want it to be the best it can be and sometimes that means going through several drafts to get to the final product! Some of the differences are subtle, but combined, they make a big difference from the first to the last versions. :)

1. Obviously not right - one eye is all wonky
2. The wonky eye is better, but I don't like that he's looking to the side. I also didn't like the overall shape of the eyes
3. So I started completely over with the graph design. I like the shape of the eyes, thought it was right until I took some pictures of the hat on my son. The eyes are too far apart and it looked more like a bug than a turtle
4. Moved the eyes closer, but forgot ad moved them an odd number of rows - the eye went wonky again.
5. YEAH! EUREKA!!

the "bug" TMNT

This is why it sometimes takes me a while to get it right, haha. But I'll either get it right or scrap the graph, so you always know you're getting a quality pattern!! 

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Over the weekend

I was starting to think that I wouldn't have enough flowers... and then this was waiting for me on Monday and it made me feel a lot better

Over the weekend:

- LOTS more flowers in the mail!

- My totes are filling up

- More international packages

- Thank you for the little "extra's" you've made and given our family!

I added a new flower to the mix today to have some medium-sized ones. I fell in love with it and made 14 of them this afternoon!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Bryn's Flowers - a Yarn Bomb

The Yarn Bomb that inspired me
by the Ladies Fancywork Society

This year would have been Bryn's kindergarten year at Longfellow Elementary. She was so excited about going to school and meeting all her new friends. When she talked about kindergarten, her eyes lit up, her smile got bigger, and her whole body shook with excitement.

Then we lost her. An experience that changed our lives forever. Even though she never got to walk through her Kindergarten door, meet her new teacher, or experience all the joys of a 'big girl school', we can help keep her presence there.
I've been working with the school administrators and teachers to plan a fun and cheerful way to remember her and bring a smile to the kids, faculty, and parents. We will yarn bomb the chain link fence with crocheted flowers and butterflies - two of Bryn's favorite things.

Some of you know that I created a yarn bomb in memory of my Bryn at the beginning of the school year. Now that Spring Break is coming up, along with her birthday in April, I want this BIGGER yarn bomb in her honor.

Here's how you can be a part of this memorable and meaningful event:

• Join my group on Facebook (If you don't have a FB account, let me know and I'll make sure you can still participate)
• You can crochet items, help with set up or help with clean up, or send me zip ties
• Read the volunteer information to find the online sign-up sheet and all the details you will need to know as a volunteer
• Pick your favorite flower, pinwheel, butterfly, or rainbow color from the album in the group
• Sign up using the online sign-up sheet (the link is only available through the FB group)
• You may sign up for more than one item, but be aware that they need to be in the mail by March 18th to get to me in time

The flowers, pinwheels, butterflies, and bees we will use to decorate the fence

my Bryn

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Crochet Techniques: COLORWORK

Candy Cane Hooks from Twinkie Chan

The other day I had a random crochet lightening bolt. Usually I get inspired with a new design or color scheme, but this time it was a little different. I had an idea to do a blog series on different crochet techniques that I've learned or taught myself along the way. If you're new to crocheting, hopefully this will help advance your skills and give you the confidence to try new patterns that you may have been shying away from. If you've been crocheting for a while, I'll have advanced tips to push you even farther!

Keep in mind this is how I do things. I've developed my techniques over 5 years, but not every crocheter or designer does things the same way. Since I mostly make hats, that's what I'm going to focus on. Some of the techniques will be a little different when crocheting a flat piece. Today it's all about COLOR! It's one of my favorite things! 

Changing Colors at the end of a Round:
The first thing you should master is how to change colors at the end of a round. There are a few different ways I do this, depending on the pattern. The main goal is to conceal your seam, so you don't have an ugly line running up the back of your hat. 

For a simple beanie (using any st: sc, hdc, dc...) like the one above and most of my patterns: 

With "old" color work last stitch to the last two loops on your hook. YO with new color & pull through. JOIN with new color.

Several of my patterns follow different rules though, but I always let you know if it's different. It's SO important to read the notes in any pattern. A good designer will let you know how to get the best results possible.

Jogless Stripes Tutorial:

Next up, I want to let you know about NeedleNoodle's tutorial on Jogless Crochet Stripes. It's basically my favorite tutorial out there. She uses her method to make amigurumi (those cute little crochet animals) but I've used it in my sc hats, and Playin' Hooky Discs. So go check it out!

Color Charts:

The next trick to master is crocheting patterns or pictures using a graph. Most crochet (and knit) graphs are laid out on a square grid, like graph paper, and crocheted with sc's. But if you've ever crocheted anything completely in sc's, you'll notice that the sts don't line up directly on top of each other. They slant! I had a lot of trouble with this when I was attempting to make a Canadian Maple Leaf Beanie. I started out with this grid and got something that looked more like a spaceship with lobster claws.

  

Then a crochet friend of mine, Benjamin Krudwig clued me into a little trick. Why not use a hexagonal grid to lay out your design? Such a simple idea, but it really changed the way I thought about tapestry crochet! Here's what happened:

It actually looked like a maple leaf! I Googled "Hexagonal grid", printed one out and played with the design until I was happy with it. It's also what I use for my Old School Beanie. This is the exact same pattern using a square grid (left) and a hexagonal grid (right):

  

Remember, when working any type of complex colorwork, finish the last st of your "old" color to the last two loops on your hook. Then YO with your new color and pull through to finish the st. Continue working with your new color until you need to change again!

That's all for this time. There's always more to learn though so feel free to leave your tips or ideas in the comments for everyone to see!

You can try these tricks out with pretty much any of my patterns, so check out my store and get inspired!!!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Release the Hounds (part 2)

WOW!! I can't believe the response I got from my recent release of my newest pattern, Reversible Houndstooth Beanie.

Let me back up a little... I'm getting together all my new designs to send to my photographer. The plan was to have a 2012 new Design Preview Sale to show you what I've been working on, before I get the final proofs back. I listed 15 copies of my Houndstooth Beanie on Monday, but before I could even finish posting about it on my Facebook page, ALL 15 copies had SOLD!! I had several posts about how upset some people were because they missed it that I decided to leave the pattern permanently. All in all, I sold WAY more than the 15 copies I thought I would sell. I was overwhelmed and excited by the response!! I literally couldn't believe it!

Even though I still don't have the professional photography finished, I will continue to have the pattern listed on Etsy, Ravelry, my website, and coming soon to my Craftsy page!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Release the HOUNDS!

...Houndstooth that is. Please forgive my extreme cheesiness, haha. Today I am FINALLY releasing a new design. The Houndstooth Headband. I've been wanting to use the traditional Houndstooth pattern for a while and was finally able to do it now that I quit my day job!

Last Spring I started looking around for houndstooth patterns because I thought it'd be fun to make something for my mother-in-law. But, all I found were a LOT of knitting patterns, and some not-so-houndstoothy crochet patterns. So you know what that means. I made my own! Traditionally houndstooth uses black and white to show off the contrast of the pattern. But I think it'd be fun in most color combinations, as long as the 2 colors have contrast. I also wouldn't try it in a variegated yarn because it'd probably take away from the stitch pattern. But it's up to you to try different things!! Oh, and did I mention - IT'S REVERSIBLE!!

So here it is! I have a photographer on stand-by, but I want to send her all my new designs at once. So for now, we'll have to make do with my not-so-professional photography, haha. But my kids are still cute!

Get your own pattern:

Playin' Hooky Designs

Etsy

Ravelry

 It's reversible!

SNEAK PEEK:

Coming up next - the reversible Houndstooth Beanie!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

All you need is friends

Only thanks to all my fabulous friends, online & off, I've made it through the last few weeks. Recently I've been working on a specific Canadian hat (I'll tell you why on another day...) and it has to be perfect. The hookers out there will tell you that color work looks cool in crochet, but is REALLY hard to get right when you make a letter or picture. I needed a Canadian maple leaf and was having a really hard time making the reference chart.  If you're not familiar with crochet, it takes a much smaller grid than knitting because the stitches are 'taller'. So all the charts out there are way too big to use for a crocheted hat. I had to make my own...

This is the best that I could come up with. I was never that happy with it. To me it looks like a space shuttle with lobster claws, but my online friends assured me that it did in fact look like a maple leaf. So I made the hat....

... and I hated how it turned out. Crochet stitches sit on a diagonal (see how the stem is slanted?) so the lobster space ship came out looking worse that I expected. But again, all my friends were very supportive, some liked it, others admitted it was slightly 'off'. One in particular, Ben Krudwig, let me in on his secret for crochet colorwork. I'll keep it secret since it's his technique, but let me tell you, it's BRILLIANT. I remade my grid and used it to redo the hat...

I'm still awed by how well his trick worked! The color lines up and now it's obviously a maple leaf. No guessing, no lobster jokes, just pure Canadian!

So I wanted to write this post to thank all the people who helped and supported me over the last few days. I really couldn't have done it without you, hookers & non-hookers alike!

HAPPY HOOKING!!

Varie-hated

Ok, maybe hate is too strong a word, but I'm talking about variegated yarn here. You know that familiar feeling when you walk into a yarn store - your hearts starts beating when you see all the amazing colors and different textures. Out of the corner of your eye, you see an amazing color combination and it's all contained in one skein! That's variegated yarn. But then you get home and start to use this perfect yarn with the perfect pattern, expecting to get a fabulous mix of colors. What you get instead is a finished product that has a distinct color pattern, exactly what you didn't want!

Well, maybe it's never happened to you, or maybe I'm just a yarn snob, but I tend to shy away from commercial variegated yarn. I'm not talking about the delicious hand-dyed stuff that's so good you should be required to get a prescription to buy it. Nope, I'm focused on the big name, usually crunchy-feeling 3-4 color yarn. Variegated yarn, by it's nature almost always gives you some pattern, just because the color repeats itself in fixed intervals. But knitted items made from this yarn usually turn out pretty cool looking. No one ever thinks of us hookers who want to achieve that same look.

 

(Neither one of these items were made by me, by the way. They're just examples of the color patterns)

Alas, I am working on a custom order right now for a kid's camo hat, I can pick the design, it just has to be camouflage colors. First of all, that's a pretty big range of color palettes, but I narrowed it down and and started searching the 3 places in my little town where I can buy yarn (Walmart, the high-end LYS, and a modest little craft store). Instead of buying 4 solid-colored skeins (most of which would not be used in the hat and I'd have a lot of yarn in colors I don't normally work with) I broke my rule.

I settled on a skein of surprisingly soft commercial yarn from the craft store (not Red Heart!!!!!) and got to work. I knew I couldn't bring myself to do a simple hdc or dc hat because I'd end up with exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Sometimes I like that variegated pattern, it's just not what I was looking for this time. I tried alternated rounds of hdc and sc. It was working for a while, but soon, a pattern started to emerge. It wasn't as obvious as the all-one-stitch hat would be, but I wasn't happy with it. Aside for the fact that I'm making this hat for my boss's kid, I knew I could create something much much better. The frogging began (frogging = ripping out your work. rip-it, rip-it, get it?).

I remembered an interesting stitch texture I saw once and thought, I could do that. It's called a 'basket weave stitch". basically it's a sc hat, but you work a ch between each sc and on the next round, work into the ch-space. Here's what resulted. There's still a pattern, but it's a little more subdue with a little more texture.In the end, I'm happy with it.

HAPPY HOOKING!

Inspiration Mondays: YARN PORN

You know what Mondays are - the day most people have to return to the rat race - so I decided to brighten up the drudge with a new blog series on what inspires me. Every Monday I'll let you into my funny little world and show you why I am a hooker. ;)

I wanted to kick things off with what started it all. But the question is, the yarn or the hook? I say the yarn. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I get all tingly when I walk into a good yarn store and see the rows of color. The brighter, the better as far as I'm concerned. When I look at a skein I try to picture what I could turn it in to and I usually get some of my better ideas and designs when I start with the yarn. In fact, I love yarn so much that I dream of starting my own yarn store where I can sell all the wool, acrylic, silk, and alpaca that inspires me.

So here it is, for your viewing pleasure - some of my favorite yarn porn.