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