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!!

play hard ... play hooky

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!
play hard ... play hooky

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.

play hard ... play hooky

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.

play hard ... play hooky

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!)

play hard ... play hooky

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.

play hard ... play hooky

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

play hard ... play hooky 

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

Unforgettable

My new Unforgettable Slouch is here. It's a quick, versatile pattern that will become your new staple accessory. I have big plans for the new year so I hope you'll agree that it's off to a good start.



Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/unforgettable-slouch
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/262914148/crochet-pattern-unforgettable-slouch
Craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/accessory/unforgettable-slouch/184343

play hard ... play hooky

It's coming

play hard ... play hooky

How my neighbor saved my PSL on National Coffee Day

Pumpkin Spice Latte

balancing you on my bike

please don't make me crash

If you don't like good stories with happy endings, you can scroll to the bottom for the sale. But if you need a laugh, hopefully this will deliver...

It's National Coffee Day. A fact I didn't know until after this morning's struggle to imbibe in the delicious brown liquid.

Believe it or not, I've never had a PSL. Until this weekend. I decided it was high time I jumped on the pumpkin-everything bandwagon and see what the hype was about.

And it was gooooood. I even hear Starbucks is using real pumpkin this year (kind of a scary thought that they hadn't been all along, but I'm overlooking that).

This morning, I got a craving for another one. You see how this could become a problem. So I deferred my morning caffeine fix until after taking my son to school when I could make a Starbucks run. 

I got all my kids (including my next door neighbor's daughter) out the door and on our bikes. We ride to school every day, so why should today be any different? That's the moment my story took a turn, but I wouldn't realize it for another 30 minutes or so.

We had a fun ride to school and played before the bell. I put my girls back in the bike trailer and rode to Safeway. As I stepped up to the Starbucks counter it slowly dawned on me that my sole means of getting home is bike. My BIKE. There are no cupholders on my bike.

Sure, at this point I could have admitted defeat and ridden back home empty handed. But I'm no quitter. You should also know that I'm not exactly an expert cyclist. Riding the half-mile back to my house with one hand on my handlebars and one hand grasping my PSL was a pretty daunting idea.

Ultimately, my need for coffee overrode any sense of impending personal injury from a crash, including hot coffee burns on my hand. I walked out of the store with my baby on my hip and my latte in my hand.

As I was buckling my girls back into the trailer, my neighbor (another one, he lives a few doors down) walked past, said "Good morning" and asked how we were.

Normally I wouldn't have mentioned my turbulent inner struggle, but it was pretty obvious that I was battling to balance everything. Here's how the conversation went:

"Oh hey Ryan, nice morning, huh? I'm just trying to figure out how to get my coffee back home in one piece. I probably should've skipped it this morning."

"Oh, that's NEVER the answer" (he gets me). "Here, take this. It's a little rough on the bumps, but it'll do the job."

He then went to his bike (can you tell we loves bikes in this town?), took off a metal ring that was innocuously attached to his handlebars, and clamped it down on mine. Perfection!!! My coffee has a place all its own.

He was right. It was a little rough on the bumps, but we all made it home. No crash. No burns. Just fall-flavored awesomeness. I gotta get me one of those metal things.

See how that works? When you choose coffee over almost-certain bodily harm, good things happen. Because... coffee.

Speaking of... let's celebrate National Coffee Day with more ways to keep the caffeine flowing. For the rest of the day only, all my Coffee Cozy patterns are only $0.99 in my Ravelry shop. (In fact, the one pictured in the middle is FREE)

play hard ... play hooky

Get it before it's GONE

After much thought, I've decided to remove any of my graph patterns that could be considered trademarked or licensed. They will be taken down from my shops on Monday, 5/11.

Before they're gone for good, I'm having a "Get it for the LAST time" S-A-L-E in my Ravelry shop. They are only $1.00 through Sunday. So seriously, go get them while you can!

Help me get the word out and share this post so your friends don't miss out before it's too late.

I'm so sorry that I can't offer these graphs any more, but I can't in good conscience continue to offer something that was inspired by someone else's design. I've debated with myself about this for a while now, which is why I have so few of them that could be called into question. In the end, I need to go with what feels right to me and I finally concluded that means removing them. Even though they are among my favorite graphs and I will miss them, haha.

I welcome all respectful comments and messages if you have questions or concerns.

http://www.ravelry.com/bundles/get-it-for-the-last-time

PS - You should still have access to your graphs in your Ravelry once they are removed on Monday.

play hard... play hooky

15,000 Facebook Fans

Yesterday I posted a picture... a Dobby-esque, crazy yarn lady type picture (and I unashamedly want to frame it). I made my deadline for 24 Colorado Beanies in one month. And that's pretty much what I looked like trying to get it all done. Tired and covered in blue yarn. But at least my hands and forearms were whipped into shape - I wonder if I burned enough calories to have that brownie?

Well this morning I checked in with my Facebook page and had a bit of a shock. I woke up to 15,000 Facebook fans! You know I like celebrating, so as a thank you check out my Ravelry shop and get 40% off your whole pattern order. 

Just use the code HOOKY15000 when you check out all day today (Nov 22).

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/liz-mcqueen

play hard... play hooky

(I'm still trying to figure out this mobile blogging thing. That's why my pics are suspiciously devoid of hyperlinks. My bad!)

Happy Birthday to ME!

It's my birthday and I'm in the mood to celebrate!

play hard ... play hooky

I have a little secret, but it's getting bigger

I've been a little quiet lately. It has a lot to do with incoming orders, chores, and the beginning of the holidays. But there's another, little... tiny in fact... reason.

And it's a GIRL!!

Along with trying to answer messages, getting orders done, posting on FB, and keeping up with my kids, I'm also growing a tiny human. So needless to say. I'm tired. Exhausted really. I also have a major case of pregnancy brain. Please forgive me if it takes me longer than usual to get back to you, or post new tutorials and patterns. 

I'm 23 weeks along already (that's me at 20 weeks in the pic), and our baby girl is due March 1st. I was actually pretty surprised when the ultrasound tech said "I don't see any boy parts". I had myself convinced it was a boy. But I think maybe Bryn was smirking down at my shocked expression - she knew all along. 

To celebrate the announcement, I'm having a one-day sale in my Ravelry shop. Use the coupon ITSAGIRL today only for a special discount on your total pattern order.

It's about to get crazy around here.

play hard ... play hooky

Playin' Hookyversary!!

WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!

I'm celebrating 5 years of Hooky and to round out my week of games and giveaways, I have an epic surprise for you. Something I've never done before, so get ready to be happy!!

That's right! I'm giving you one free pattern of your choice in my Ravelry shop only.

Go to my shop, pick your favorite pattern, and use the code PLAYINHOOKYVERSARY5 - that's it.

It's good for the rest of the day today (Sunday, 8/3) so get it quick.

play hard ... play hooky

Don't be a Naked Hooker

Tee & Hoodie sales are now closed... until next time!

It's Playin' Hooky Tee and Hoodie Week!

If you've been with me for a while, you know that I hold sales of my tees & hoodies every few months. And it's TIME!! They're available through Saturday, 6/14 exclusively in my Etsy shop. - https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlayinHookyDesigns

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"Why don't you have them available all the time?"... I have my reasons, a few of them!

The tees and hoodies are in my shop for a limited time. Then I take your orders to my local screen printer (yes, he's a real guy that I talk to face-to-face!).

We custom order and hand print each item making sure each design is done right, printed on high quality fabric.

Doing things this way also lets you pick your favorite color and style without having to worry if it's out of stock and you don't have to be stuck with the color I choose!

Finally, each order is packaged and hand delivered to the post office by me to make sure your order is right and up to my standards. If there is still something not quite right with your order, I'll make it right.

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BONUS I've added a giveaway where you could win a free fitted or unisex tee! One lucky winner will get to pick their favorite color & style for an all expenses paid tee! Friday the 13th will be lucky for one winner... the winner will be announced on Friday, 6/13, so go ahead and order your shirt. If you win and have already bought a shirt, you can choose to either add the free shirt to your order OR get a refund. Use the Rafflecopter widget below or on my FB page to enter. Mobile-friendly link: http://tinyurl.com/molea3m
Come back everyday for more entries!

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Show off your hooky love

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

play hard ... play hooky

Friends don't let friends crochet naked

You might need a hoodie... or maybe a tee, but wherever you live, PLAYIN' HOOKY you'll be!

Ok, so I wrote that before I had any coffee this morning. I'm sorry. BUT hopefully it grabbed your attention because, get ready... it's Playin' Hooky Tee and Hoodie Week!!

Get your gear with short sleeves or long sleeves, zipper or pocket, in all sizes for one week only. The listings will be available through Saturday. Each item is hand screen-printed by a local artist on high quality Gildan fabric. Check each listing for more sizing and product details.

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BONUS I've added a giveaway where you could win a free fitted or unisex tee! One lucky winner will get to pick their favorite color & style for an all expenses paid tee! The winner will be announced on Friday, 2/28, so go ahead and order your shirt. If you win and have already bought a shirt, you can choose to either add the free shirt to your order OR get a refund. Use the Rafflecopter widget to the right to enter.
Come back everyday for more entries!

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Get your shirt now!

Spot the tee at tea (possibly one of my favorite sightings ever!)

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Zaggy Beanie Relaunch

I took a break from updating my patterns during the holiday season, but I'm back to it! This week it's all about the Zaggy, the what? The ZAGGY! (sorry for the nerd alert).

I picked the Zaggy as my next update simply because I had an order for it so I could easily change the format, check the gauge, add more detailed pattern instructions and tutorials. Plus, it's REALLY fun to make!

If you don't already have the pattern, you can get it in any of my shops. BUT if you check it out on Ravelry use the code HOOKYZAGGY for a special discount through noon on Tuesday (2/18).

Here's what's new:
- Detailed materials required, including yarn amounts
- Corrected gauge measurements
- Updated Photo tutorials
- Added area for you to write notes

 (PS - I made the purple hat, photographed it, and edited pics this morning all in under TWO hours! Whew!)

These hats were all made by my awesome testers! They make my patterns look good!

Where to buy:

• Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zaggy-beanie---kids or http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/zaggy-beanie---adults
• Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PlayinHookyDesigns
• Craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com/user/176644/pattern-store
• Website: http://www.playinhookydesigns.com/#!product/prd1/194516911/zaggy-beanie---crochet-pattern

* If you already have the pattern, you get the update for free! Past Ravelry & Craftsy buyers should receive an update automatically. Past Etsy & website buyers, please pm or email me your order number so I can send you your update.

PLAY HARD ... PLAY HOOKY