STAY TUNED!

Stay tuned! I have something in the making!!!!

X-Stitch Infinity Scarf

I Love This Yarn (1 Scane) 
J Hook 
Tapestry Needle

Stitches Used: 
FHDC (Foundation Half Double Crochet) 
X-Stitch 
HDC

Let’s Begin!

Row 1: Leave a few inches of yarn before you start. 219 FHDC. Join the chain together with slip stitch. Make sure that the chain is not twisted when you are joining. It will look like there’s a little gap, but you will fix that at the end.

Row 2-10: Ch 3. This will be considered a DC. Skip the next stitch and DC into the following st. Now, you’re going to DC into the skipped st. This creates an X shape and is the X Stitch. Skip next st, DC into following stitch. DC into skipped stitch. Continue around. At the end of the row, slip st into the Ch3.

Row 11: Ch 2 (first hdc) HDC around, join. Cut and fasten off. 
Weave in your ends. Those few inches that you left in the beginning will join the FHDC that you started with.

PLEASE…if this doesn’t make any sense, contact me! I need to know when things don’t work out okay! Thanks!

Video

I have been discussing the idea of creating a video tutorial to add to the blog. I do believe that my husband has agreed to help me with this as he has agreed to help edit. I'm super excited about this and hope that you all can learn from the tutorials. Please let me know if you have suggestions or ideas for this. I don't know how many people are actually following this blog, but if you do, LET ME KNOW! Thanks!

Neglect

I have come to the conclusion that I have neglected this site. This is not acceptable. I have decided that I will be putting more craft ideas on here as I do them with my daughter. Some may be kid friendly...others will be for Mommy's or Daddy's to do for their children. Hopefully, this can be done while my 3 year old is watching Puss in Boots for the quadrillionth time. If you view my blog, thank you. I appreciate it. 

Thoughts on the craft.

Some tips for the trade.
There are many new to the crochet world and I just wanted to express the bond between a hooker (and I mean a crochet artist) and their yarn. If you enjoy the craft, you will become a "yaddict" as my father calls it. I fully confess that I have an addiction to yarn and an addiction to crocheting. Yarn is always out and about in my house. Before I really get off topic, I wanted to give some tips to the people who are relatively new to the glorious world of yarn.

For dealing with patterns, I can not express how much you need to trust that the pattern is correct. There are times that I feel like I'm almost "testing" the pattern and making myself believe that it is actually inaccurate. If something doesn't look right on paper or on my hook, I have tended to blame the pattern. However, this shouldn't be the case. Unless you do, rip apart and do over a few times, you can not be sure that it IS the pattern. I know making booties, that I haven't trusted the pattern, but, when I finally got down to it and really read every single line word for word, I realized--IT WAS ME! Me!?!?!?!?! The pattern was just something that I wasn't used to. With that said, I state again, trust the pattern! We crochet geeks know what we are talking about (most of the time)

Again with the whole pattern scene: read the pattern and see if you know how to do certain stitches. Most patterns will tell you what stitches are going to be used and if they are difficult ones, MOST of the time it's going to tell you how to do it. Also, you can look on youtube (wonderful invention, by the way) for directions and instruction that are easy to follow.

Second, more yarn is better than not enough. Honestly--it really is. Normally, if I think a blanket it going to take 5 skeins of yarn, I get two more additionally, just in case. Now, for a pattern, you don't really have to do this because people have tested it out. In this case, it would only be necessary if you were using a larger hook or if you were going to make the item bigger than the pattern has said. More yarn is better!!!

Next--when making items for babies from a pattern for a child or toddler (sometimes adult), if you want to make it smaller--use a smaller hook. For even smaller--use a smaller hook AND a different size yarn like sport yarn. The same goes for if you want to make something bigger-but in reverse. If you want to make something bigger, use a bigger hook and bigger sized yarn. It seriously is THAT simple. This is something I didn't know until I really got into crochet and started doing my own patterns.

For handling your hook. If you are brand new at this, you want to figure out how holding the hook is most comfortable for you. That goes for the yarn as well. People hold things differently. I knew someone who would hold the yarn over their pinky for more control. That gives me the creeps because I don't really like the inside of my pinky touched, but hey, it's YOUR position. Mine, I think people would think is weird, too.
Start out with easy yarn like 4 ply cotton. You don't want to confuse yourself with hard to use yarn like Homespun. Start simple--move up!

Lastly, don't get discouraged. We all make mistakes. I am constantly ripping my work apart because I don't like the shape, I missed a stitch, I counted wrong, etc. It happens!

Have fun hookin' everyone!

<3 Sillygoose!

Easy Magic circle flower

Hi all! I've been designing away and I made these booties with this pretty little flower on them. It's a very easy flower pattern and it works perfect on these booties!



Create a magic circle MC.
*ch3, yo, insert hook into the mc. yo pull up, yo pull through two loops. yo, insert hook into mc. yo pull up, yo, pull through two loops. yo again and pull through all three loops on hook. ch 3, slst on magic circle.*



first petal created



do in between ** 5 more times. pull on the ends tight to make the flower. fasten off and weave in the ends. :)

Booties with a Bow!

Booties with a bow!

Materials:

-          D crochet hook

-          G crochet hook (for bow)

-          3 ounces of cotton Yarn (I used “I love this Cotton” from Hobby Lobby)

-          Small amount of elastic

-          Small amount of thread

-          Sewing needle

-          Tapestry needle.

Stitches Used:

-          FHDC -  Foundation half double crochet

§   Ch2, YO (yarn over) insert hook into second ch from hook. YO and pull through the stitch. YO, pull through one loop on hook. YO pull through all of the  loops on the hook. To continue, YO, insert hook into stitch just made, YO and pull through the stitch. YO, pull through one loop on the hook. YO pull through the rest of the loops on the hook. Continue until you get the desired amount. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEBR6SCt8IA

-          DC2tog- Double Crochet Decrease

§   [Yarn over, insert hook in next stitch, yarn over and pull up loop, yarn over, draw through 2 loops] 2 times, yarn over, draw through all loops on hook—1 stitch decreased.

-          HDC- Half double crochet

-          Tr Cl- Treble Cluster

•   Yo twice on hook. Insert hook into the center of the circle. YO and pull through circle. YO, pull through 2 loops on hook. YO, pull through next 2 loops. * Repeat from * 3 more times. YO, pull yarn through all 5 loops on hook.

-          Slst- Slip stitch

SOLE

Round 1: Start with 9FDHC. Crochet 4HDC in the last stitch that you made. 1HDC in each of the next 7 stitches. 2HDC in the last stitch. Join with Slst in the top of the first HDC in foundation round.

Round 2: *Ch2, HDC* in same stitch as the join. 1HDC in the next 7 stitches. 2 HDC in the next 5 stitches. 1HDC in the next 7 stitches. 2HDc in the next 2 stitches. Join into top of ch2 at the beginning of round.

Round 3: *Ch2, HDC* in the same stitch as the join. 1 HDC in the next 12 stitches. 2 HDC in the next 3 stitches. 1 HDC in the next 12 stitches. 2 HDC in the next 2 stitches.

SIDES

Round 4 and 5: Ch 2 (counts as stitch) HDC in the next 35 stitches for 36 st total. Join at the top of ch2.

Round 6: Ch2. HDC in the next 12stitches. DC2tog 6 times (12 stitches should be used) HDC in next 12 stitches. Join into top of ch2.

Round 7: Ch2. HDC in next 11 stitches. DC2tog 4 times. HDC in next 11 stitches. Join. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

BOW:

Ch 5. Join with first ch to make a circle.

Ch4. TrCl into circle: *Yo twice on hook. Insert hook into the center of the circle. YO and pull through circle. YO, pull through 2 loops on hook. YO, pull through next 2 loops. * Repeat from * 3 more times. YO, pull yarn through all 5 loops on hook.

Ch4. Slst into circle.

Ch4. TrCl into circle: *Yo twice on hook. Insert hook into the center of the circle. YO and pull through circle. YO, pull through 2 loops on hook. YO, pull through next 2 loops. * Repeat from * 3 more times. YO, pull yarn through all 5 loops on hook.

Ch4. Sl st into circle. Fasten off. Leave a long tail (10-12 inches).

After you have cut the 10-12in tail, take that tail and wrap it around the middle. You want to wrap it evenly and tight enough so that the bow “petals” stay in place. Weave in the ends in the middle of the bow in the back.

Take your elastic and with the thread and needle, sew the bow onto the middle of the elastic. After you do this, sew the elastic part to the sides of the bootie. I turned the bootie inside out to make sure that you couldn’t see the elastic.

ADMIRE! J
And then make the second one.