Only 4 Days Left! Crochet Lounge Giveaway!

Have you entered this MASSIVE giveaway yet? If not - DO IT!!!!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win your choice of paid patterns from us, and a ton of other amazing prizes! 

PS - have been in the process of moving into my new home and setting up my new studio - will be back blogging and publishing the 32 (FREE and paid) patterns waiting to be formatted/finalized in the next few weeks! 

Happy hooking!

Claire

Gimpy Hooker with a Twist of Lyme

Cute "Lyme" pic from Neen Crochet

Just a quick update - we may have found what's causing (or at least exacerbating) my gimpy-ness. I'm putting this out there to both hopefully inform anyone who also struggles with a mystery disease, and account for any big lapses in posting.

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with both Lyme Disease and Bartonella (another tick born disease). This is after having my first POTS episode 11 years ago, and a slew of chronic syndrome diagnosis and no answers. I wrote about my current health situation and the diagnosis journey in detail on my other blog HERE for anyone that wants more detail.

It's going to be an interesting ride from here on out - and to cope, I'll only be selling things that are ready to ship, no more "made to order" crochet, jewelry, or stitch markers. Everything in my shops is ready to go and already made. I'll be focusing on patterns and creating things for fun while I start this long treatment process. I hope to post lots of pretty pictures of new crochet creations, and fun free (and paid) patterns.

Next pattern in the Que!

I urge anyone that has mystery illness stuff going on to get tested! I have been misdiagnosed and left to get progressively worse for over a decade, and I was bitten by my first tick (that we know of) at the age of 12 - so who really knows how long this has been going on?

Cheers and healthy well wishes!
---Claire



 

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 

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...!

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).

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!

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