Swappin' Doilies

I started making doilies last year just after they started the doily swap on Crochetville so I didn't get to take part but this year I was ready.

Here's what I made for my partner:








From 99 Little Doily Book by Patricia Kristoffersen I need to look
up which "numbers" I did.
All made with #10 Opera thread


Here's what she made for me:



I love both of the them but I just love the colors in the blue one the best. She also sent but not pictured: lollipops that the kids loved, a skein of Bernat Cool Crochet and a mini-thread teddy that I just couldn't get a non-blurry pic. Thanks so much.

coffee swap goodies

The awesome stuff I got from my partner


An over view of all the goodies and crafted goodies: an apron, coffee playdough for the kids, coffee, homemade mocha mix, instant chai mix too, two bookmarks, and a box filled with teas. She out did herself.




The apron is perfect for holding a small ball of yarn and I can walks around knitting or crocheting, might need to be carful arounf my house or might trip! You can see a close up of the drink goodies and my favorite is the Sweet Elixir of Life, and instant mocha mix, let just say there is nothing left. Thankfully she sent me the recipe so I can make more.

A wonder box to hold loose teas and filled with more tea than I can drink.



A close up of one of the bookmarks she sent. I also like the green paper one she sent that had this quote: "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." - CS Lewis


Here's what I made for my partner:



A crocheted coffee cup bookmark with needle felted centers and a amigurumi cup


coffee cozy to keep the coffee warm and your hands cool


sewn and embroidered head scarf

felted tea pot coasters -that pattern can be found in the March 2007 Crochet!



I got the revved up caffeine filled gummies from the swap organizer as a thank you for helping her out with the swap. That was sweet!

More sewing goodness ....

to support the hookin' habit. Every good hooker needs a tote or two or three to hold his or her many WIPs.




Lots of pockets to hold other hookin' tools like post it notes, pattern books, hooks etc. The tote it my own design and I kind of wing it when I make them.





A hook case to store the many hooks you have



All the above and a few other things went off to my crochet swap partner on craftster. I have a smaller but similar bag in the works for my Mom who's into knitting socks. I need to make me one next.

I made the following hook cases for me while I was working on stuff for my swap partner.



I found a tutorial to make the hookcases here I followed the instructions loosely.



I really like how this one turned out, 'cause it's my favorite color and because the hooks fit perfectly in it.


Here they are all rolled up.

It's an Apron(s)

I got this one this weekend as a part of a swap on craftster. I can't show you the one I made for my partner as I have not sent it off yet. Here's the springy one I got:



The colors are bit washed out but you can see more in my swaps collection.


This one is a bit more true to color.

I made one for me, or whoever wants to wear it.

Remember this work in progress made with thrifted fabric and fabric I dyed myself:



It became this:



The towel, I have hooked through the ties, my son helped me tie-dye. I like having a towel handy on my aprons, so I don't dirty up my aprons when my hands get dirty.

Here's a shot w/o the towel:


And a shot of the lining on the back also dyed, doing low water immersion dyeing. I used left over dye I had around for months! It didn't dye very true to color because of it but the colors turned out kinds of fun.



Do you think aprons might get more more excited to cook? I can only hope.

Swappin'

I've been hanging out on another craftin' board called Crafster. I just finished my first swap over there. The Teeny Tiny swap.

I sent this wee thread bear to my partner across the ocean. It's a crocheted Monique thread bear you can get the pattern here. I used #20 thread to crochet the bear shawl.





My partner sent me the little beaded coin purse which is now on my key chain and is perfect to hold some change when I need to pay for parking downtown.




I'm signed up and working on some things for a crochet swap. I'm making things to help make crocheting more fun to support the crochet habit so to speak:) So I've been doing less crocheting and more sewing. Since I've been having so much fun sewing lately I joined an apron swap so I'm going to make an apron for someone else and they are going to make one for me.

That's all for now. Thanks for looking.

The Great Bookmark Swap - My Survey

I'm ready to start swappin' in the Great Bookmark Exchange. If you are interested in participating just check out the Great Bookmark Exchange. You send a handmade bookmark and a gently used book to your partner and get on in return.

1. What genre of books do you enjoy most? (i.e. mystery, romance, horror, historical, biographies, autobiographies, fantasy, sci-fi, etc)

I read quite a bit of what it is called chick lit. I like fantasy novels and I venture into kid literature quite a bit too. I like books with strong women characters. I like books with a historical thread to them but not necessarily historical if that makes sense. I don't read horror or romance novels much any more.

2. What sort of bookmarks do you like best? (long, short, lacy/elegant, fun/cute, corner, tasselled, etc)

I like long ones. I'm open to the style such as lacy or fun.

3. What are your favorite colors?

purple and green, all jewel tones

4. Are there any colors you don't like?

orange and pastels

5. What sort of "theme'' would you like your bookmark to be?

I like flowers. I'm open to things whimsical or kitschy or bookmarks with a season or holiday theme to them.

6. Are there any "themes'' that you wouldn't like?

I'm not Christian so I'd rather not receive a cross bookmark.

7. Can you send internationally?

I can but I would like to keep that to a minimum throughout the year depending on how many swaps I do.

8. If your partner wants to send along extra goodies (like tea, candy, cocoa, etc), what do you enjoy? And is there anything you don't like/can't have??

First off, I do not have to have the xtras! I do like black licorice and dark chocolate. As far as coffee goes I like a good medium roast but no flavors with the exception of mocha. I like whole beans as I grind my coffee fresh when I brew a cuppa.

9. What crafts are you going to use to make your bookmarks?

I'll likely crochet mine with thread. I might venture into to some paper art as well.

Is there a particular craft type you would like to receive? (knitted bookmarks, plastic canvas, etc.)

I'm open to your crafting preference. I like getting new and different things. I get inspired by all kinds of crafting.

10. Do you have any allergies???

Nope

11. Do you smoke, have cats/dogs, or anything that other members might be allergic to??

I don't have any pets right now nor do I smoke.

Ornament Swap - Pinapples and Flakes - NaBloPoMo#25

I finished these a few weeks ago then packaged them up and sent them out to my swap partners on Crochetville.




I found this Beaded Pineapple Ornament pattern in an old Magic Crochet Magazine. My partner really like this as she loves red beads.



This one was in an old Herschners pattern book for the holidays and went to the other swap partner who likes snowflakes.

A Package from India - NaBloPoMo#21

I got a package yesterday all the way from India. What a great way to cheer up my stuffed up body and spirit. I got this package from a fellow crocheter when I answered her distress call for some cotton yarn she couldn't get in India, so she could finish up this baby blanket. I thought what fun. I send a package to India and I get a package from India. I love packages especially in the mail. Not to mention she has told me she will now love me forever. We all need some who will love us forever!



She sent some lovely teas that will warm me up this evening when the likely chills set in from the evil this awful cold, as well as a lovely cosmetic bag .



As I do not have a single bit of make up in my house. Honest! (Truly more money to by yarn, chocolate, and wine etc...) My plan is to use the bag to hold my Boye aluminum hooks and Clover Soft hooks. It has two zippered pockets and one deep pocket so I can even sort the hooks out. Since it's so pretty it can hang out on the coffee table in living room where I do most of my crocheting.

A belated blog thanks to my Autumn Secret Pal

Secret Pal Swap
Originally uploaded by sammimag.

I received a lovely package from my Secret Pal on Crochetville.

She sent me chocolate and licorice - Yum!
Paton's Kroy sock yarn and a sock pattern book. I'm new to making socks so this is perfect!

Cotton yarn for making dishcloths and a sweet little teddy that was a hint where she lives.

If you've been keeping track, I have already made a pair of socks from the book.

Thanks Pal :)

Tea Cozy and more! - Thank You!

Tea Cozy
Originally uploaded by sammimag.

A package in the mail yeah!

It was a lovely surprise after a long day exploring a Lewis and Clark celebration in Atchison, Ks.

She not only sent a me a lovely tea cozy but some yummy coffees and raspberry flavored black tea, and some biscuits all the way from New York City. The raspberry tea came in the a little tin too. I just love little tins. She also made me a hot pad to rest my tea pot on too. This makes it perfect because I can brew up a pot of tea and keep it right next to me in the living room where I crochet and read.

Thanks swap partner. I love it all. Yesterday, I enjoyed a pot of Cinnamon Coffee. The weather has cooled off quite a bit so I plan on brewing up a pot of the raspberry tea today. I wish I could see New York City again someday. Last time I was there was when I was 19 years young.

Secret Pal Package - Thank You!

Secret Pal Pacakge
Originally uploaded by sammimag.

I got a great package in the mail today from my secret pal on crochetville.

I love it all. I have finished up a few projects recently and needed something new to do so this came just at the right time.

I got thread too! Lovely crocheted dishcloths in my favorite color, purple.

She sent a birthday card for my son who just turned eight.

Thank You Secret Pal you are the best!

Secret Pals and such

I decided to do the Secret Pals again for the Autumn round. I accidentally revealed myself to my secret pal. I think it was meant to be and so does my pal. We share so much in common. She homeschools, I homeschool my kids. Not only that she was excited to find out that I unschool my kids too and we've been talking about that. We also love yarn, crochet, spinning, making doilies, etc....

It doesn't mean the spoiling will stop. She still might need another PK doily book even though she has one already because you can never have too many doily books. She needs pretty vintage things because that's what she likes. You can read her blog here.

I have heard from my Secret pal a few times too. She asked me some questions to get to know me better which is cool. It's nice to get a happy e-card in my inbox too. I'm looking forward hearing more from her in the future.

I got an awesome tote

I got an awesome tote for my WIPS from my partner for the Use what you have swap this June. I just LOVE it. It's purple what's not to love about that! It's big so I have plenty of room for yarn, patterns etc.



The inside is even lined with a pocket that is a perfect to fit for the Altoid mint tins I use to hold stitch markers and the like (Yes, I do eat the mints before I add pins to them. Sometimes, I even wash them first;)



Thank You!

Secret Pal Swap

I got another package from my Secret Pal on Friday last week. I would have posted the photo of all the goodies she sent me sooner if I wasn't getting ready to go camping last weekend. (We had a blast camping too)

I got two different kinds of lotions, a few free patterns that look fun to give a try, a scrap afghan pattern book, a shawl pattern book, crystalite hooks (this was great because I have the larger one but not the smaller ones)

As you can see I have already put the yarn holder to use. I am making a washcloth with some Bernat Cotton Tots.

Thanks Secret Pal!

Use What You Have Monochrome Swap

I just participated in my first use what you have swap. I made my partner a tote, amigurumi kitty, a bookmark and a headband.

The tote was inspired by the blanket in the Spring Interweave Crochet. The headband is my own design and you can find the pattern for it here in my blog. I did adjust the pattern a bit because I used size 3 cotton rather than ww yarn. The bookmark is a free pattern but I altered it a bit. The kitty was from a pattern book.

I enjoyed the creativity that was part of this swap and tried things that I would not have tried. It was hard to only use what I had for a whole month. I did break down and buy some cotton yarn at the very end of the month because I wanted to make some facecloths and I didn't have the cotton yarn I wanted. I also purchased some patterns that I didn't want to wait for. In my defense (except for the cotton yarn) I only used yarn from my stash for the entire month. You can see those things in my flickr photo gallery.

I like the idea of a use what you have swap because it makes you think and get the creative juices going. I found even in my other projects I could find something to use that I already had rather than go buy something new to finish it. Yet, Telling myself I couldn't buy anything was like being on a diet I wanted it even more! (Because I am new to dishcloths and facecloths and I just wanted to do it!)

AND

Let's face it I'm addicted to yarn and proud of my stash!

AND

It will all be gifts for family and friends and for me too. So, it will all get used eventually.