Big new design, little bit of madness

Sure you can skip ahead to the pictures, but I'm in a particularly verbose (word of the day) mood. If you have the time, this is the story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down... wait no. This is the first look at my new design, the Boulder Beanie, and just how trying being a designer can be sometimes, but in the end it's totally worth it.

I was awake at 3:30 the morning of my son's first day of kindergarten. It was a mixture of nerves for his first full day of school, mentally running through my to-do list, and my brain throwing me random 90s TV theme songs. Some of them are still stuck in my head.

Either way I got up at 5 motivated to get through my list before anyone else in the house was up. I folded laundry, cooked breakfast, cleaned the living room, packed my son's lunch, checked email... you get the idea. By 6:30 the sun was starting to light my backyard and it became the perfect place to take pictures.

I pulled out my tripod, attached my remote shutter, drug my wooden bench half-way across my yard, and started blindly shooting, and shooting, and shooting. Hoping that if I took enough pictures I'd get at least a few keepers.

Backing up a little... I'd first had the idea last winter, just not the time to work on it. So this Spring I finally attempted it. Fail. It was ok, but it wasn't what I saw in my head. I knew I could try to force the design, but instead I put it on the shelf and took a break over the summer. 

The break was exactly what I needed. I spent a lot of time playing with my kids, I read a little, and my house was actually clean on a regular basis. About a month ago inspiration finally hit. So I dusted off my hooks. That's when I found out just how many different ways there are NOT to make this design.

I changed everything, EVERYTHING about this design more than a few times. Yarn weight, hook size, colorwork, multiples, stitch counts, brim styles... it goes on. Welcome to my world.

Here're just a few of my failed attempts. I didn't take pictures of most of them. I just couldn't. Warning: bad phone pics and unfinished hats coming your way...

Yuck. I can't bare to make this picture any bigger.

It was only when my in-laws came to my house for the weekend that I finally had the best idea yet and the day to devote to it (a huge thanks to my awesome mother-in-law, Karen, for letting me work while she played with her grandkids). It came together seamlessly in the end, the way it was meant to. Not forced, just easy. So without any more rambling, I proudly give you my first design for Fall 2014...

the Boulder Beanie

This mah Abercrombie shot... now all I need are the half-naked guys.

It comes in a kids size too

I hope you liked my little preview and look into my sometimes crazy life. Let me know what you think of my new Boulder Beanie. It's coming out Monday, 8/25 so get ready!

play hard ... play hooky

Santa Beanie Pre-Sale & Photo Contest

I know, it's only September, but store aisles are already filling with blow up lawn decorations, wreaths, stockings, and ornaments, so I'm jumping in too. I'm having a Santa Beanie Pre-Sale so you can get a beanie at a discounted price and I won't be as overwhelmed during the holiday season. I also had a genius idea about what to do with your beanies once you get them... keep reading for details!

• Get a sale price for ordering early
• Order your beanie from 9/18 to 9/21
• It will ship to you on November 1st

Grab your cameras and bring out your footy pj's because in conjunction with the Santa Beanie Pre-Sale, I'm holding an Awkward Family Photo Contest! One winner will get a $25 gift certificate to my shop. It's the perfect last-minute gift for someone you love.

• Submit your photos from now until 12/15.
• Send me the pic through email or my FB page.
• All submitted photos will be posted here on my blog.
• Readers will vote on their favorite photo.
• The photo with the most votes WINS!
• Photos must feature at least one of my Santa Beanies (pictured, it can be made by me or made by you from my pattern) to be eligible.
• Only one photo per family is allowed.
• By sending me a picture you consent to allow me to use it on my blog, FB page, and other social media sites to advertise for the contest.
• You retains rights and credit for the photo.
• Watermarked photography is allowed.

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Bryn's Flowers

Last summer, I experienced the darkest moment of my life; I lost my 5 year old daughter, Bryn. My sassy, funny, and amazing daughter suffered a massive asthma attack one month after her 5^th birthday. She fought harder and survived longer than anyone thought possible, but after two days her little body ran out of strength. I kissed my baby girl for the last time as she quietly passed away in my arms. The slow walk to healing can take many forms. So far my journey has included crochet and yarn bombing.

Bryn left us just a few short days after her last day of preschool. She never went to her first day of Kindergarten; a day she talked about with such enthusiasm that her whole body shook with excitement. She never got to walk through her classroom door, meet her new teacher, or experience the joys of a 'big girl school' so I decided to create a yarn bomb to be there in her place. After months of planning, over 300 volunteer crocheters from 35 US states, 7 Canadian provinces, Puerto Rico, Germany, Italy, and Australia have come together for the biggest project I’ve ever attempted. Their outpouring of love and support helps me get through each day as the one year mark of her loss approaches.

Tuesday, April 16, would have been her 6th birthday. To celebrate and help give us strength, family, friends, a group of local volunteers, and even strangers walking past gathered on Saturday to install this epic project, showing just how many lives were touched by my sparkling girl.

This is a look back on the journey...

It begins...

My organizational skills are put to the test

Last minute preparations

People around the world showed their support by wearing Bryn's favorite color

 YARN BOMB!!

Bryn, I love you more than candy

#BrynsFlowers from the last few weeks

If you've just started following this huge project to honor my daughter, you can find more about it by following the link below and by clicking on the #brynsflowers tag to the right.

http://playinhookydesigns.blogspot.com/2013/03/bryns-flowers-yarn-bomb.html

March 22

March 25-26

March 26-April 2

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

The hunt is over...

Thank you for playing with my yesterday! I had a lot of fun and I hope you did too. If you found hearts and unlocked your coupon code, you have all day today to use it. 

Here's the breakdown of how many hearts were found (for all you number nerds like me):

No one found less than 5 hearts!
5 hearts found - 4.2%
6 hearts found - 16.7%
7 hearts found - 16.7%
8 hearts found - 8.3%
9 hearts found - 29.2%
all 10 hearts found - 25%

If you found all 10 hearts that's AWESOME! But if you didn't it's probably killing you where that last heart (or 2) was hiding. So I'm going to show you in no particular order (the hearts are no longer on the pics in my shop):

CROCHET PATTERN - Waffle Headband

Big Waffle Ski Beanie - Kids Custom Crochet Hat

CROCHET HAT PATTERN - Kids Ziggy Beanie

Playin' Hooky Disc - Crocheted Cotton Flying Disc

CROCHET HAT PATTERN - Kid's & Baby's Gingham Beanie

CROCHET HAT PATTERNS - Houndstooth Beanie - Adults & Kids Sizes

Avalanche Beanie - Adults Custom Crochet Hat

Ridgeline Beanie - Adult's Custom Crochet Hat

CROCHET HAT PATTERN - Shockwave Beanie - Kids Size

CROCHET HAT PATTERN - Twisted Beanie - Kid's Size

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

2nd Annual Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt!

While you're at work today, play a little hooky and go on a  Valentine's scavenger hunt! I've hidden 10 hearts (look for the picture to the left) in my Etsy Shop. Each one is hidden in a different picture. It could be on any picture, anywhere, any direction! To find them, hunt through all my hats & patterns until you come across one and you'll get up to 20% off!

My Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PlayinHookyDesigns

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Email me or send me a FB message with all the links to the listings you find to unlock your coupon code
2. Your discount amount depends on how many hearts you find: 1 heart = 2% off... 2 hearts = 4% off, 3 hearts = 6% off... 10 hearts = 20% off!
3. DO NOT GIVE AWAY ANY LISTINGS AS A COMMENT HERE OR ON FB. If you do, you will automatically be disqualified from any discount. Let's let everyone have fun!
4. The hunt is on all day! 
5. Your discount will be good all day today and through tomorrow

On the right is the exact heart you will find in each correct picture. If it's not that heart, it doesn't count. On the left is an example of how it may be hidden.

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Playin' Hooky Sighting Winner - Week 2

This week's prize goes to.....

Carol G from Pennsylvania. She didn't even have time to weave in all her ends on her Along Came a Spider Beanie before grabbing the camera to capture her grandson's smirk. And I couldn't resist it!

Carol's prize is this Yay!Yarn! magnet from Yay!Life!

Keep your eyes peeled for a Playin' Hooky Sighting near you for a chance to win next week's prize!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

1st Weekly Playin' Hooky Sighting Winner

Last Monday I started a new contest for you and the first week of Playin' Hooky Sightings was a lot of fun. You used Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to submit some great pictures. In fact, I couldn't decide on just one. So we have two winners this week!

Congratulations to MELANIE for her pic of her daughter playing with her Playin' Hooky Disc and RENEE for her pic of her husband and his pit crew wearing their Houndstooth Beanies on their way to Sault Ste. Marie Michigan for the I-500 snowmobile race! 

Melanie & Renee won a skull and cross hooks button!

I'll choose another winner next Monday so keep your eyes peeled and submit your pictures!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

A photo tutorial is worth a thousand questions

It's here! It's here! The updated Brain Waves Beanie pattern is finally here! I've offered my Brain Waves Beanie pattern as a free download from my website and Ravelry for over a year now and I've seen SO many great finished beanies with creative color combos made by you! But I've also had lots of questions by confused hookers. Trying to explain detailed crochet technique and which-stitch-goes-where without pictures has been taking up a lot of time lately. And the last thing I want to do is create confusion and frustration for my awesome fans!

So I decided to take a couple of days and create a new photo tutorial to accompany both the Kids and Adults versions!!! I really hope it helps! I focused mostly on the beginning and ends of the rounds as that seems to be the sore spot. I also included several pictures to help you check if your stitches are lining up like mine do. As always, if you're still having trouble with it, please send me an email and we can work through it!

Child's tutorial: beginning of a rnd

Adult's tutorial: end of a rnd

How to line up stitches

My new updates are also just in time for this pattern to be featured in a local mom's magazine, Momaha, from Omaha, NE (even though I live in CO)!! Check out the article below and the magazine's website! 

Thanks Momaha!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Facebook Ad

Ok everyone. I'm thinking about trying a Facebook ad. BUT I'm having trouble deciding what picture to use! It's going to be fairly small so the pic needs to be simple, eye-catching, and give people who've never heard of me an idea of what I do. I've picked out a few that I like and I'd LOVE it if you'd vote for your favorite!!

#1 - Girl Frisbee

#2 - Guy Frisbee

#3 - Little Waffle

#4 - Logo

#5 - Ridgeline Beanie

#6 - Strata Beanie

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY