FREE CROCHET PATTERN: Easy and FAST Toddler "Cotton Candy" Slipper Tutorial

These cute tootsies belong to my daughter, sporting her new Cotton Candy Slippers! I accidentally made the first pair too small, so ended up with sizing for toddler girls both 4/5 and 6/7.

Download a PDF to print from Ravelry HERE.

 

Holy Hooking Batman! New Crochet and Jewelry

Vintage glass and Swarovski Peacock inspired earrings

I have been a busy, busy bee. In the midst of ANOTHER surgery (port removal from my chest) and holiday madness I'm finding great comfort in crocheting and making jewelry, and decided some re-branding was in order for my shop, along with a slow going website overhaul.

My hands are also starting to function semi-well again! Yay for working hands! When already in a wheelchair, the thought of losing hand and arm function is pretty scary.

Anyhoooooo..........thought I'd share some pretty pics of new designs! If a pattern was used, I link to it. The others are my own, added to the long list of patterns I'm slowly compiling to publish, many of which will be FREE! I also am learning metal stamping, which makes jewelry creation that much cooler. Adding a favorite movie quote, initials, or verse to something is really fun!

Tutorial by Nastazia, chain Sashay infinity scarf (LOVE).

New Crochet Pattern! The "Fat Amy" Owl Giveaway

This cute chubby owl doubles as both a mason jar cover and a purse! It's also fits perfectly over an ugly plastic soap container to liven up your bathroom or kitchen.

We had a naming contest, and "Fat Amy" just seemed to fit perfectly. In case you were wondering, Fat Amy is a hilarious quirky character from the movie Pitch Perfect. Check her out below (adult language warning). Buy it now or enter the giveaway below for a chance to win THREE great prizes!

Small Business Saturday Sale & Giveaway!

Saturday, Nov 30 is Small Business Saturday (SBS)! 

Sales are now live! 25% off on Ravelry and Etsy! Runs through Cyber Monday!

Why does this matter? Because making just one purchase from a local small business, or online artisan, puts money back into your local economy, as well as supporting the thousands of people like myself who create things by hand from home!

Those people include single mom's and dad's, the disabled, hard working people who spend their extra hours outside a normal job creating things, and traditional small business owners who want a larger online presence.  

Why else is it extra cool to buy from artisan?

FREE CROCHET PATTERN: Marvelous Mini Stocking Ornament

I actually made these last year, and I'm really happy I kept the pattern because I'm making them again this year, they are great gifts you can make with scraps and are super fast (ninja crochet!). I even made a German colored one for my MIL!

 

 

 

 

Materials:

- Very little yarn, any weight
- Suggested hook size for yarn
- In the red stocking, I  used Lion Hometown Chunky yarn (with hook size 8), and RH Super Saver in White (hook size 5.5mm)
- Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Make your house stink good, aka Stove-Top Potpourri

It's fall! And I'm lazy! So here is the easiest way EVER to make your house smell nice and fall-ish for cheap, and all in about 3 minutes.




1. Get a shallow pot
2. Get some cheap cinnamon sticks, if they are not too stiff, break them up. I usually use 3.
3. Get some whole cloves. Toss some into said pot.
4. Slice EITHER apples or oranges and add them. Pick a single fruit, I tried them both togther thinking I'd be fancy, and it was gross smelling.
5. Fill with water until they are covered.
6. Bring to a boil, then simmer. I usually just set the stovetop to medium and then turn it back down to a low setting. Keep an eye on the water level, you may need to refill it, you want your fruity slices covered so they don't burn.

I'm assuming you don't need step by step pictures for something this easy. So enjoy! Make your house stink good in 3 minutes! Keep using on and off as needed for about a week, or until the fruit gets funky.

---Claire 

Bring the Magic, and Your Fairy Garden, Inside! (Tutorial)

It's getting to be that time......the weather is cooling, it's raining (snowing!) more, and soon it will be full fledged fall and winter. You may have a fairy garden outside that needs to come in, or want to create a new magical miniature garden to have indoors.



Here is a basic tutorial on how to create an indoor fairy garden. You can find loads of accessories for your garden in our Etsy store, The Purple Fairy Shoppe.

Materials:

• A planter, perferably 10" or wider, any height is fine
• At least 3 different house plants, and try to get plants that require the same watering and light
• River rocks (dollar store!), shells, glass gems, or any other materials to create paths 
• Spanish Moss
• Potting Soil
• Miniature Garden furniture and accessories

New Crochet Patterns and Stuff!

I have not be blogging much - but I HAVE been crocheting and designing, I swear! Just to prove it, and be able to pin the pictures to pimp my goods, here is a quick round up of patterns that are being finalized and tested, a few paid, and a few free (yay!).

1. The "Bears and Bows" hat, sized Preemie through Adult! More pics coming...!

FREE CROCHET PATTERN! "Canyon Sunrise" One Skein Adjustable Cowl

It's that time again..... 
A FREE CROCHET PATTERN!

This is a design for an adjustable cowl, perfect for cooler weather and looks lovely with any color changing bulky yarn - I used Lion Brand Homespun in "Painted Desert". The colors reminded me more of a sunrise over a canyon though, hence the name.

This took me almost exactly one skein! FOR THE WIN!!!

It also has an adjustable tie, and with the stitch variation, sits nicely around the neck and off the shoulders. And the color change almost works out per row, which was totally by accident, but we can pretend I'm a yarn and crochet mathematical genius and planned it! Anyway, on to the good stuff...

Baby Bear Cocoon Crochet Pattern is here!

Things have been quiet around here while I recovered from a minor surgery (had a port placed in my chest to receive IV fluids and meds) and a ton of doctors appointments, blood clots on the new port, and more hospital stays. 





 BUT THIS GIMPY HOOKER WON'T BE STOPPED!

"never give up, never surrender!"
(Galaxy Quest)

All theatrics aside, I have a ton of patterns I am trying to get organized, tested by my wonderful group of hookers, into a pretty PDF's with pictures and links, and uploaded. It's slow going, but it's going!

The Gabriella Blanket Crochet Pattern (Launch Giveaway!)

This blanket was a labor of love - the first blanket I have created/designed, and made especially for my daughter's two year birthday.

It's a fairly basic granny square adapted to fuzzy bulky yarn, which made it super quick to work up, and didn't take nearly as much yarn as I thought it would. The squares are large! I love how the colors turned out as well, very vintage chic.

It's also very easy to customize, and make as large or as small as you want. I include pointers for using this type of yarn, and ideas for different borders. The pictured blanket is about 60" square.

You can purchase it for only $1.99!!! 
Find it in my Ravelry or Etsy Shops.

Become a Facebook Fan and WIN this pattern! Enter the 2 day contest blitz below starting at midnight!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

on a King sized bed...

On a toddler bed (with cute toddler tootsies!)

ENJOY! Be sure to follow on Facebook, as I'm creating a coordinating stuffed animal with my yarn left overs to make this a complete gift set, perfect for any little one. I may even make an adult colored version of this, its so soft and snuggly and works up so fast!

--Claire

LAST DAY TO ENTER, free crochet pattern!

Last day to enter the contest for a free copy of the Extra Icing Cupcake Hat!

If you can't wait, it's LIVE on Ravelry and Etsy!

And because I love you all so much, there is a 15% off coupon through Sept - use code HDLaunchParty !!




Enter below (takes a minute to load), and GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Awareness Ribbon CAL - Part 2

If you have questions about this CAL, the format, or what the heck a CAL is, please check out PART 1 for details.

When we left off, we had just completed the first portion of this cute little pattern from Little Orphan Skein.

Ch 31, and Row 1.

Onto Row 2:

1. The first part is "Row 2: ch 1. sc in first 12 st."  So this means after completing Row 1, you chain (ch) 1, and turn your work. If you are unsure how to do this, here is a great video. ***Some patterns will tell you this at the end of a row, some at the beginning. It's the same technique either way.

After you chain (ch) 1 and turn, you are going to single crochet (sc) in the first 12 stitches (st).

GIVEAWAY!!!! Cupcake Hat, Extra Icing Pattern - FIVE baby/toddler sizes!

It's here! The new "Extra Icing Cupcake Hat" pattern, in FIVE sizes, newborn - 2 year old!

Featuring loads of pictures in two color schemes, step by step written pattern instructions, and links to special stitch instructions. I always include "tips" and extras on how to customize patterns to make them your own. It uses worsted weight yarn (under a skein), a 5mm hook, and it fairly quick to make. 

Includes sizing and how to customize measurements for 0-3 mo, 3-6 mo, 6-12 mo, 12-18 mo, and 24 mo. By the way - this pattern has been tested by half a dozen people! Overkill, maybe, but I want to make sure it's the best it can be!

Enter to win the pattern today (9/4) through Saturday (9/7) below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The pattern will be live for sale on Etsy and Ravelry Friday!

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERS! <3
--Claire 

Launch Party! Crochet Pattern Discount Through September

The Aurora Shawl, pattern coming soon!

To celebrate the launch of my pattern sales, I will be offering a 15% discount to you fine folks through Sept. It is good in my Ravelry Shop only, and with any pattern!

I have been publishing free patterns for a while now, and a few are in E-books and various sites such as AllFreeCrochet, but it's time to get down to business. I like to design. I LOVE to crochet, but coming up with new designs is my true passion in this industry.

I look forward to sharing them with you! My debut launch pattern set is the Winter Princess Newborn Set, which you can buy together, or the booties and hat individually. 

My amazing testers are working hard, and I am continuously finishing and starting new patterns, and will be rolling out a few more this next month. Did I mention that you can use the discount code as many times as you want?

Stay up to date when new patterns launch by joining my blog (to the right), following on Facebook, and linking up on Ravely. 

Oh, you may need that code! Use HDLaunchParty when checking out on Ravelry :)

Happy Hooking!!!! 
-Claire  
PS--not doing this on Etsy because there is no way to only apply the code to the patterns. You can, however, get a 10% off code just for liking our Facebook page HERE that you can use on Etsy.

Our First CAL (crochet-a-long): Crochet Awareness Ribbon, Part 1

Awareness Ribbon CAL

By Claire

Goal to complete: 1 week (Aug 27 - Sept 3, 2013)
Learning Goals: Reading Patterns, Basic stitches and technique, create a cool awareness item we can build on!

Materials/Notes:

• medium, worsted weight yarn (if you are a beginner, get some Red Heart of Bernat Super Saver Yarn, it's cheap and easy to work with)
• Size 5mm, 5.5mm, or 6mm hook
• This pattern uses the chain (ch), slip stitch (ss), and single crochet (sc)
• Tapestry needle to sew yarn and secure ribbon

For our first crochet a long, we are going to create an awareness ribbon in our favorite "cause" color!

Recipe Review: Banana Chips, Gluten Free (Gone Wrong!)

Well, I tried. 

I had a sudden burst of unusual upright energy and thought I would try to make a snack. I have serious issues with finding snacks - I do better when eating "smaller meals through the day"....which is fancy health food guru code for SNACKS.

I am not allergic to bananas, thank you Dear Lord, and we had a new bunch, so I headed over to handy Pinterest to check out what was going on in the world of bananas.

BUT! After walking to the computer to check Pinterest, my burst of energy had ended and my heart rate was about 140, so I decided to lower my expectations from fancy modified banana bread, and go with "cook this crap as fast as I can and hope I stay conscious".

I found this lovely and easy looking recipe:

Sweet and Salty Banana Chips

Picture courtesy of A Beautiful Mess

Doesn't that look good? And seem easy? How CAN ANYONE SCREW THIS UP?????

Wellllllp, here's how I screwed it up.The recipe calls for salt, pepper, and brown sugar. That's it! Easy! For anyone else.


 

EASY AS HELL

Calling Gimpy Hookers!

Are you disabled? Do you crochet? Want to learn? We started a GIMPY HOOKER group on FB!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Sharing resources, posting our creations, and whatever else (that is not spam or adult content), and networking if you have a crochet business.

Join us! Gimpy Hooker unite!!!! :)
---Claire

Contest Time! Happy Birthday to The Crochet Lounge!

As a way to celebrate the awesomeness that is The Crochet Lounge we are giving away the brand spankin new WINTER PRINCESS NEWBORN SET PATTERN! The winner will also receive a set of 3 of our new Erasable Stitch Markers! Win prizes from Moogly as well!

The Winter Princess Newborn Set Pattern comes in size 0-3 months. You get the pattern with lots of pictures and easy to read instructions for BOTH the hat and booties - which are adjustable and super easy to customize!

This giveaway will celebrate the first official pattern for sale in our shop (many, many more to come!), and the launch of our stitch marker line.

Enter today in the form below! And stay tuned for special discount codes for both the pattern and stitch markers after the contest is over! Be sure to register for blog post updates and stay in touch on Facebook!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*New* The Winter Princess Newborn Set Crochet Pattern

It's finished! 
The Winter Princess Newborn Set Pattern!!!

***Update! You can now purchase this pattern on both Ravelry and Etsy! Get a fan coupon for both site on our Facebook page (in teh tabs up top!)

This pattern features easy instructions, lots of pictures in TWO STYLES, and many customizable options for both the hat and booties!

Just in time for winter - your friends, family, and customers will LOVE this set, it's very glamorous and practical! Not just a photo prop, these both can be worn daily.

Shopbevel Decadant Drops Earrings Contest!

This week begins the Shopbevel "Decadent Drops" earrings contest I was invited to participate in.

Here is the design they chose, you can click to take you to my profile to vote! If chosen, I will work with the Shopbevel team, and they will be mass produced at a discounted rate. I will earn royalties and be able to participate in the whole process. It's a great opportunity to partner with a large company and get my designs out there!

So please take a few minutes to vote! Thanks!

If you'd like to stay up to date on the contest, I created an event through my Horizontal Designs Facebook page.

FREE CROCHET PATTERN: Plum Twist Headband! Super fast.

PLUM TWIST HEADBAND / HAIR WRAP

This was an on the fly, super fast creation when I needed a hair accessory NOW. Isn't it nice to be able to make the things you need last minute?

This is a very easy, customizable, and quick pattern I wanted to share, so here it is!


Materials/Notes:
* Worsted Weight Yarn, 1/8 skein, scraps, very little (you get the point!), I used Caron Simply Soft in Plum
* 8 mm hook
* This pattern uses the lattice stitch (one of my fav's!), which has a basic pattern of *dc-ch 1-sk 1* while dc-ing into the ch space. 
* You could easily add rows to this to make it thicker/wider, and play with the hook size. I wanted   mine to be lacy looking, and using a larger hook with WW yarn creates that effect. Try a smaller hook for a "tighter" look. If you do this, you may want to increase your foundation chain.
* To wrap this around your head for this look, hold it at the base of your neck with an even length to each side of you (behind your head). Then wrap over your head, twist twice, and pull back down to the base of your neck. Tie off.

The HD Crochet Pattern Shop Is Coming!

They are almost ready! I am putting finishing touches on my first few official crochet patterns that will be for sale, and the testers are hard at work (or will be) double checking my designs. 

I have been publishing free patterns for a bit now, the single stitch and simple designs, and I plan to continue to do so. But a gal's gotta eat! So I'm excited to launch this portion of my business, as I love the design aspect of crochet.

Patterns will cost between $0.99 and $3.99, and once enough are ready we will have a big launch sale, with two for one deals!!! I also plan to do discounted coordinating sets of patterns.

Here is a sneak peak of some of my original crochet designs that will be available, and baby/kids designs will come in multiple sizes for the same price/pattern:

The Sunrise Slouchy Beanie

FREE CROCHET PATTERN: Bohemian Baby Hat

I've had a lot of requests for this hat pattern to match the Bohemian Baby Bib, so here it is!

You can make this set, both the bib and hat, with under one skein of worsted weight yarn easily (and the mittens!).

This pattern is for a Newborn-3 month hat, with finished measurements based on THIS chart, which I use as my hat measurement go-to resource from Slugs on the Refrigerator, which is a great site if you have not checked it out.

This is a really easy, kind of "standard" increasing hat pattern using double crochet's. If you find any issues please let me know!

GIMPY RECIPE: Sweet Potato & Zucchini Cakes, Gluten Free

GF Sweet Potato & 
Zucchini Cakes with Cucumber Sauce

Please check out tips and prep made a little easier for cooking while gimpy HERE.

Original recipe: Summer Vegetable Pancakes with Basil Chive Cream 

Difficulty rating: Kinda hard

Worth Trying? YES. Very yummy.

Did my family ingest it? YES. Even the 2 year old!

Gimpy Prep Time: 1 hour

These are my new fav's. I am so proud of how they turned out -  they are my first blog post recipe ever! *the crowd goes wild*

They were originally made with zucchini and carrots - and no carrots for me if I like that whole breathing thing, so I decided to try them with sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are damn fine food to eat in my opinion. This recipe also called for flour, which I sub'd with brown rice flour, and I made up my own cucumber sauce to go with it. Here goes:

The Gimpy Allergic To Everything Chef - An Intro

If you are looking for recipes with anal retentive measurements and exact methods, stop now.

If you have a bit of a sense of humor and like to wing it a bit, proceed and enjoy.

This is me. I swear!

I have recently started cooking a little bit as I'm able again, and have had to laugh at how ridiculous it's become! I am the laziest, most non-recipe following, short-cutting-est chef ever. I'd like to blame it all on being disabled and chronically ill, but my artsy-fartsy improvisational side has never been good with recipes, even back in the healthier days.

Can you call that being a chef? Probably not! But I make a mess of Pinterest recipes, am allergic to everything, and usually am cooking with a heart rate in the 130-175 range while seated in my wheelchair. It's quite entertaining. So I started taking some pics and will be blogging about it.

FREE CROCHET PATTERN: Vintage Style 12" Baby Doll Dress

I had been scouring the internet for free baby doll patterns, and was not finding much that didn't look old fashioned and drab. My daughter has the Melissa and Doug 12"doll, and her outfit was just atrocious! That doll deserves to look fabulous!

So... I had a late night crochet on the fly session and came up with what I think is a fairly snazzy (and easy!) vintage inspired doll dress. 

I have only made this once, if you find any issues with the pattern please let me know!


Due to multiple requests, I made a printable PDF for this pattern! You can find the link at The Yarnheads Project HERE. Please take a look around while there and consider making a hat or scarf for a homeless man, woman, or child!

The YarnHeads Project!!! A New Charity For Crocheters and Knitters!

I have not blogged in a while, because behind the scenes have been super busy coordinating a new charity org for yarn lovers of all types called........

The Yarnheads Project! 

Our Facebook Page is live, and the website is up!

Here's a quick breakdown of what it is, and how you can get involved:


CREATING FOR A CAUSE.

Mission: Our mission is simple - to unite the crochet and knitting community to bring as many donated items to those in need as possible, and to provide a verified database of legitimate organizations to donate these items to.
  
Goals/Plan:

Goop! A Toddler and Pre-school Activity

I wanted to share this, because it was so darn easy and just as fun for me as it was my son.

I have mentioned on here that I am disabled, and basically home bound. So I don't get to go to the park or do "normal" out of house activities with my kids. So I am always looking for new fun stuff we can do at home.

My daughter (20 months old) brought some artwork home from daycare one day, and her school had created "goop" and the kids painted with it. I tried to re-create it with my 5 year old son, who had a blast getting his hands dirty and making goopy pictures. It has since become a hit in our house and is a great rainy (or not feeling well) day activity.

The Dude Scarf pattern is in a new E-book!

I'm very excited and honored that All Free Crochet featured my pattern for the Dude Scarf in their latest E-Book:

Man Crafts: 10 Free Patterns to Crochet for Men

The scarf is even on the cover :)

This book has great gifts to make for Father's Day or next Christmas, I'll be using a few myself. I'm vowing to not wait until November to start hookin for my family and friends! 

Enjoy!

-Claire

How To Build A Container Fairy Garden

Not sure where to start? Here is a step by step tutorial with a few extra tips for creating a unique, beautiful, and affordable miniature garden!

Step 1: Find A Location

Choose where you want to display your fairy garden. In a container, directly in your garden, or against a tree? Inside or outside location? Make sure you have enough room for the plants, miniatures, and room to grow if you want expand. Some examples:

• Wine Barrels, or any other unique rustic planter
• Low dish style planters that are wide, around 12"-16". You can even use the base of a tall planter only, and they only cost between $5-$10!
• The base of a tree
• An area up against a shed or fence
• A spot in your garden near a stream or water feature
• A rock garden area
• Really though, any container will do - as long as you choose the right plants and miniatures to decorate with!

For this tutorial we will focus on container planting. For making little landscapes to display our newer products, I chose a 14" terra cotta planting dish.

The Purple Fairy Shoppe is open!

This has been a pet project of mine for a while now, and I'm so excited to see it come to fruition! I have been mildly obsessed with fairies, fantasy type fae stuff, and artwork, jewelry, and cool creation inspired by it.

I decided to open a second Etsy Store, to separate out all the rustic & boho type jewelry, and feature a new line of pressed flower resin. I also started making fairy garden kits - which have been SO FUN!

So, my love of purple and faires comes to a head with the grand opening of The Purple Fairy Shoppe! I will not be creating a new blog, website, or social media for this - just a new tab and you'll see it mixed in with my items and pictures.

Here is a preview! Look for tutorials on DIY building of miniature gardens coming soon!

Fairy Garden Kits: