Baby Buetal

IMG_9749, originally uploaded by candy_2.

This is my "Baby Buetal". These items are also known as Baby Cocoons. I made a few of them for newborn portrait props. It's my own design, and I will be making more. I may start selling them, I will see how well they are received.

Little Heroes Project

Christmas Wreath Ornament

Christmas Wreath Ornament, originally uploaded by candy_2.

Handmade Purse

Handmade Purse, originally uploaded by candy_2.

Handmade crochet cap

Handmade crochet cap, originally uploaded by candy_2.

The Single Parents Project ~ Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

http://single-parent-project.com/

25 of 365 Comfortghan

25 of 365 Comfortghan, originally uploaded by candy_2.

This an afghan that I put together for a fellow crocheter who is ill.

Mom's Christmas Shawl

This is the shawl I made my mom for Christmas using Lion Brand Chenille. It was a one-day project and turned out great! I have used this pattern previously for a swap only I used Navy Blue LB Chenille.

Happy Birthday E!!!

17 of 365 Happy Birthday E!!!, originally uploaded by candy_2.

This is a scarf I made for my friend for her birthday. I used Red Heart WW and a novelty yarn, crocheting double stranded.

Save Handmade Toys in the US!

'cause I don't feel good :-(

Hot tea & Udon soup......... it made me feel a little better

365 days of photos

I am starting a new blog..... I will still keep this one going too :-)

I will be posting a photo for every day of 2009.

Come check me out!

Collage Crochet Pink & Purple Scarf

I have become a BIG fan of "collage crochet". Collage crochet is when you use various colors and weights of fibers when crocheting a piece.

The scarf below was the first item that I collage crocheted. I did it in pinks and purples. I used various "yarns": acrylic, mohair, chenille, polyester, ribbon, fun fur, eyelash, and more! This scarf is currently for sale in my eBay store.

I am a big fan of using varying shades of the same color, and I am currently working on a blue toned afghan in collage crochet.

LeeAnn's Birthday Present :-)

My friend LeeAnn likes to brew loose tea and was saying awhile back that she need a new teapot that she can brew the loose tea in.  So I bought her a cheerful yellow teapot and made a doily/potholder out of cotton to go with it.

Happy Birthday LeeLee!!! HUGS!

Upcoming Giveaway!!!

I decided that I am going to start hosting giveaways of my crocheted items once in awhile.

The first giveaway will be coming up in the next couple of weeks so make sure you subscribe to my blog so that you know when to come back and enter for the giveaway!

Leave a comment on this post to let my know what type of crocheted items you might like to see!

I think this is going to be a lot of fun!

Thanksgiving Turkey

This won't be served for dinner though! Here is a potholder I made for one of my swap partner's.

Pineapple Scarf & Hat

This is the Pineapple Scarf & Hat that I made. I used Lion Brand Suede. As always, my daughter is modeling :-)

Halloween Swaps

Here are some of the things that I have made for my Halloween Themed Swaps.

Here is a "Spider Web" doily, two amigurumi candy corns, a pumpkin, and a candy cauldron.

Swap-bot Friendship Afghan Swap

I recently became ADDICTED to swap-bot !! The first swap that I signed up for was a series of swaps for 6" squares, that was running in 10 rounds. A couple of "catch up" rounds have been run for late joiners or those of us that just can't resist a crochet swap LOL.

I have loved the squares that I have received from my many swaps partners so far! I can't wait to make my "swap-bot friendship afghan"!

Here are some squares that I have received from my swap partners:

And here are some of the squares I made for my partners:

Crocheted Christmas Ornaments

I have been swapping like crazy this year. One of my favorite swaps that I have been running is a Christmas Ornament Swap in my group each month.

Here are some of the ornaments I have received...... thanks swap partners :-)

Below are some of the ornament I have made for my partners.

Stitch-n-Pitch

My family and I attended the 2008 Stitch-n-Pitch at Chase Field this past Sunday. We made it a mini-vaca in Phoenix, went up on Friday night, it’s about a 3 ½ hour drive from where we live. Friday night we went and ate at the Rainforest Café in the Arizona Mills mall, it was pretty good. It was loud, there were a lot of kids and they have a “storm” every 20 minutes or so. The food was a little on the pricey side, but it was yummy and the service was excellent. We went back to the hotel after dinner and let my DD do a little moonlight swimming.

Saturday morning we hit Hobby Lobby, didn’t buy anything (which I still can’t believe LOL) and then went over to Super Wal-Mart and got DD some pool toys. We were back at the hotel by 11am and DD and I hit the pool and stayed down there until a little after 4p.m. J I alternated between the pool and crocheting in the shade most of the day! What a wonderful day! After the pool, we went out to dinner at a wonderful dinner at Pasand Indian Cuisine on Baseline Road. The food was fab, the service was good. We had SO much food left over and we ate till we were stuffed, so we brought two boxes of leftovers back to the hotel with us. The prices were excellent, will definitely make by the next time we are in Phoenix.

They were giving out D-backs alarm clocks to the kids under 12 as we entered the ballpark, so DD was super excited about that. DD and I sat up in the SNP area and DH sat across the stadium near the bullpen. I crocheted the whole game, except of course when we were consuming our obligatory ballpark food. J Hotdogs, bratwurst, fries, ice cream, and cotton candy were our food choices. A wonderful little girl sang the national anthem, she looked like she was about 5 years old. Misty May-Treanor, Volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist, threw out the first pitch. She received a sounding applause! Senator (Presidential Hopeful) John McCain was also in attendance. We received our wonderful SNP/D-backs t-shirts. There were only 2 venders in the SNP, so I was a little disappointed about that. The D-backs lost to the Marlins, but we still had a wonderful time!

Summer's Over!

Here are two Amis that I made last month for swaps, and DD modeling a shawl I made for a shawl swap. The shawl is from my own pattern. Both amigurumi patterns are from Gourmet Crochet pattern books, and were pretty easy to make.

Summer is over for the kids here, school starts tomorrow. DD is going into the 7th grade and very much into her "Look". I think she tried on 30-40 pairs of blue jeans on Saturday when we went school shopping and only wound up with 2 pair of Jeans and one pair of jean capris!

I permed her hair yesterday. She's been begging me for 2 years. I finally broke down and did it for her LOL. It's really cute.

Lots of swaps this month, and I am beginning to host swaps on swap-bot. It's really nice there so far and I love the people there!

July Potholder Swap

In Yahoo! Group, Swapaholic Crocheters, we did a Potholder swap in the month of July. These two awesome potholders below are what I received from my partner. They are double thick and nice and big.

The potholder and matching dishcloth below is what I made for my partner. I used Peaches & Cream 100% Cotton in Daisy Ombre. For the potholder, I crocheted two stranded with white, and it is also double thickness, so it's super sturdy for HOT STUFF :-).

Another Create A Christmas Aghan Swap

I am hosting my first swap at swap-bot.com

I decided to run another Create A Christmas Afghan Swap since it's working out so well on my Yahoo! Swapaholic_Crocheters Group!

If you join the swap, you have a choice between Victorian or Traditional Color Schemes.

These are some of the Traditional square that I have made to send out.












Here are some of the Victorian squares I have received so far.








Traditional colors are:
Red (e.g. Red Heart Worsted Weight in Cherry Red)
Green (e.g. Red Heart Worsted Weight in Paddy Green)
White (e.g. Red Heart Worsted Weight in White)

Victorian colors are:
Dark Red/Brick Red (e.g. Red Heart Worsted Weight in Burgundy)
Dark Green (e.g. Red Heart Worsted Weight in Dark Sage)
Cream/Ivory (e.g. Red Heart Worsted Weight in Aran)

You DO NOT have to use Red Heart Worsted Weight.... these are just color examples. But please make sure you match the colors as close as possible.

Create A Christmas Afghan - 12" Square Swap

Create A Christmas Afghan - 12" Square Swap At Yahoo!Swapaholic_Crocheters

Swapping 12" squares in Traditional or Victorian colors.

We will swap in July, August, September, and October. (November swap will be added if needed)

Four squares each month.

Then we will have a minimum of sixteen 12" squares to complete an afghan during the month of November, and then will have a GORGEOUS afghan to help decorate for the holidays!

I can't wait to get started!!!!!!!!

Crocheted Flip Flops

I made these crocheted flipflops for my secret pal today. I used a K-hook and slip stitched on and single crocheted 2-stranded around the flipflop strap. Scrunching up (technical term) the single crochets back towards the beginning to make sure the plastic strap was nicely padded. My daughter modeled them for the picture and now she wants a pair. I worked them up in like 20 minutes! What a great fast summer gift!

I got some really nice things from my Unknow Secret Pal over at the 'Ville yesterday. The purse is gorgeous!

15 Walmart Recipe Cards

A fabulous lined purse

1 skein Patons Divine - Richest Rose

2 skeins Yarn Bee - Cabana

2 skeins Bernat Bling Bling - Moulin Rouge

2 skeins Bernat Softee Chunky - Country Ombre

2 skeins Lily Naturalee - Caribbean Blue

2 skeins Patons Classic Wool Merino - Wedgewood

2 skeins Bernat Bamboo - Water

Matching washcloth & soapsaver

3 coffee samplers - Arabica House Blend, Vanilla Nut Cream, French Vanilla

Cocoa Reserve by Hershey's (hot cocoa)

Celestial Seasons Honey Vanilla Chamomille Tea

Interesting Blog

I came across an interesting blog while surfing this evening and I thought I would share. It fascinated me. Check it out.

Micro-Fiber Militia

I love it!!

Crochet Games of Ancient Greece at Crochetville

Crochet Games of Ancient Greece are coming up at Crochetville. Click on the button in my sidebar for more info.

I am participating............. just to decide what to make.

Gourmet Crochet Lisette? Drops Circle Jacket? There are a couple of Caron Tunics/sweaters I won't mind trying. HHHmmmmmmm Time to put the thinking cap on.

Today is Momma's birthday, so we will be heading over to celebrate here in a bit, that is if DD ever gets out of the shower. Sheesh..... she's not even a teenager yet and it's 30 minutes in the shower or more. That's can't be a good sign... maybe I should go flush the toilet or something.

Well, I'm off to fold laundry and contemplate what to make for the Games at the 'Ville.

I've been tagged!

My crochet friend, Gina @ Crochet Creations has tagged me....

Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


So, here ya go!

Seven random things about me:

1. I am totally addicted to LOST ..... I can't miss it.

2. I hate to thread crochet and am jealous of those that can LOL

3. I love cats

4. I love Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee

5. Gary Dourdan is HOT!!!

6. I miss being a SAHM

7. I want to start my own craft store some day


OK, now whom to tag back?

1. Kimberly

2. Amanda

3. Beth

4. Umme Yusuf

5. Sherri

6. Mermaiden

7. Jimbo

Secret Pals at the 'Ville

My Spring Secret Pal Kim aka happybunny was wonderful! She sent me all of these amazing things in these two pictures below. The shawl was stunning and made of Moonlight Mohair...AMAZING!!! The pattern books were fabulous!!! She even sent gifts for my daughter! She sent a pile of beautiful KnitPicks, that I think I am going to make myself a shawl out of. She also sent me two Gourmet Crochet pattern books for Amigurumi, which I used to make the Amis shown below, which my family quickly acquired LOL. I made the blue shawl for the Secret Pal that I was sending to JenC using the Easy Breezy Wraps book that Kim sent me! It's a great book! Kim was an amazing Secret Pal, and I was luck to have her! Thanks again Kim!!

63 Square Afghan Finally Complete

So............. In March, I finally completed it! I gave it to my dear friend and coworker Bev, pictured below. It was a late Christmas/Birthday present. She is the one that I mentioned in a previous blog about this afghan.

I am very happy with the way this afghan turned out. The border is amazing, and hides the slightly uneven edge. I don't think I will ever attempt this afghan again though.

More Swapping Squares

Here are some of the squares I have made for RAOKs and Swaps so far this year. The pink ones are both 12" squares and the Monet and Purple/Varigated Purple are 8" squares. I love square swapping :-) All squares are done in RH WW and a J-hook.

I am super excited 'cause I am going to Vegas this weekend! YAY! Hopefully I will have TONS to share when I get back!

Finally getting well

Well everybody in our house has been sick this past month, and none of us at the same time. But we are all still trying to shake it. So needless to say, I haven't been doing much crocheting, just a little here and there. I am stalled on my 63 square again. Maybe now that I am feeling better I can finish putting it together. We just got assigned our swap partners at the 'Ville, so it's time to get busy making stuff to send to my Secret Pal. YAY!

I made this scarf for my mom this morning. I put a Spider Stitch on each end for decoration.
I made this poncho for myself a couple of weekends ago when I wasn't feeling well, but needed to get my crochet on. LOL It's a 2-strander and I used a Q hook, no pattern, I just started to crochet and this is what the result was, it's super cute on :-)

Quick and Quirky Q Hook Poncho Weekend

Well I broke my New Year's Resolution of not starting any new projects until I got the two afghans I have in the works finished. But I just couldn't resist this great pattern "Quick and Quirky Q Hook Poncho" at That Girl Crochet Blog. I made one last night while watching movies, and the other this morning. My daughter is modeling both ponchos :-) the orange one is mine and the purple one is hers.

The orange one was made using Patons Bohemian in Copper Chaos (single strand) and the purple one using Phentex Fashion Thirteen Chenille Purple (double stranded)

Starting my own swap group!

I have finally made the decision to start my own "Yahoo! Group" It is going to be a FUN FUN FUN crochet swap group! I have added the link button in this post. Come check it out! I can't wait to start swapping!


Click to join swapaholic_crocheters

63 update

I have finally completed the last squares :-) Now just have to finish joining them all together. I have about 6 more squares and then I can start the border. It feels great to have it almost finished after working on it for about 5 years LOL. Now I just have to decide what I am going to do with it. I could keep it for myself, but one of my girlfriends' birthday is this week, and she just loved the squares and colors when I showed her. She keeps telling me how much she would love to have it. We will see !
Below are a few more dishcloths and have been doing to keep from being bored.

Spiderman Round Ripple DONE!

I finally finished this Spiderman Round Ripple for my nephew last night. I used RH WW yarn & a j-hook. Thank you to AngelCrafts for the pattern. It was really easy!

The afghan that I am working on now is from "40 Favorite Ripple Afghans", it's called Aztec Sun. I am using RH WW in Soft White & Monet. It is working up pretty quickly. The pattern in the book called for three colors, but I decided to use what I had on hand and not buy more yarn...... I really like the way it is turning out.

2008?!?!

Finally, the holidays are over, and the kids are back to school. All of the company has returned to their own homes and I can get back to blogging & crocheting! :-)




I already have many projects in the works that I didn't finish before the end of the year. My New Year's Resolution is to complete the 63 square afghan that I just haven't been able to finish for the last 4 years (or 5.... I forget)

Here's a picture of my Grams with the Halfmoon Shawl (Red Heart Kooky Fuschia) that I made her for Christmas.

The giant granny below was a Christmas/Housewarming gift for a friend. Crochet with 2-strands of RH WW Cherry Chip & Brown.

I am still not finished with my Spiderman RR......... but hopefully this weekend. :-) Now over to Crochetville to catch up on everything..... I've been absent from posting for awhile :-(

Victor's birthday

I finished this blanket late last night. It is for my nephew's birthday, which is today! Talk about cutting it close. Used 2 yards of Tony Stewart Polar Fleece and RH WW Orange & Black. I think I used a J hook. Fleece is cut into 10" squares.

2 down......... lots more to go!

I finished this baby blanket for a family friend. They had a baby boy the day before I finished, so it worked out perfectly. This is my first none pattern project. I just started crocheting and this is how it turned out, I must say that I am pretty happy with the results!


This wonderfully colorful blanket is for my "nephew" (my best friends son). He was admiring an afghan I was making one day and asked if he could have it when I finished it. I told him he couldn't have that one, but that I would make him one, and asked him what colors. He said he wanted something colorful............ so that's what I gave him :-)
I watched a freeform crochet class on "Uncommon Threads" yesterday Prudence Mapstone was the guest. I am now inspired to try my first freeform purse, I plan on getting the stuff for it today!

Catching up

I've been busy trying to get gifts completed for Christmas and working on swaps. I wanted to thank my C'ville Secret Pal for the lovely packages that she sent. She really did her research.

The little Webkinz black cat in the front has been adopted by DD.

I absolutely love the Tea Spot cup and loose leaf tea she sent me. I loved EVERYTHING she sent! Thanks Paula/OzRebel!!!!

This is the 12" square I made for my swap partner on Yahoo! Swappin_Squares. It's RHWW shaded purples. I used a Sunburst Square Pattern from Heartmade Blessings.

And this is one of my WIPs. It's for my best friends little boy for Christmas. I am using a pattern from Bella Dia - Vintage Vertical Stripe Crocheted Blanket Pattern. It's turning out great, and it's super easy to work.

More swappin'

I received my 12" square from Betty (Yahoo! Swappin_Squares)

Thank you Betty! I am hoping to eventually make my daughter an afghan using 12" squares in shades of pink and purple from my swaps. This is the first one I have received, isn't it great? :-)

These are the two scarves I made for my Crochetville Scarf Swap Partner :-)

and these are the scarves I received from my swap partner (thanks again afswife!)

This is the contents from the packages that my Crochetville Secret Pal has sent me so far. Isn't this stuff great! My nephew fell in love with the cat :-)

Candy Apple Shrug Pictures

So I can FINALLY posts pictures :-) Here is the shrug with my daughter modeling. This is a free pattern from the Lion Brand website.

Pink Multi Round Ripple

Well, another christmas present down!! YAY! I used Mainstays worsted weight in Pink Multi and a K hook. It's 66 inches from point to point. A good "drag around" size for a kid :-) I finished this in a couple of nights. I finally used up most of this I had laying around, I have just enough to do a motif or two for my Motif Scrapghan that I have been working on. I bought myself the Stitch n Bitch Crochet Happy Hooker book, so I think I will look through that and see if anything inspires me. I am also going to attempt making a shawl using the Delta Crochet technique. I will let you know how that is going as soon as I find the right yarn.

Crochet Candy Apple Shrug

I finally finished the shrug I have been working on for my daughter. I was actually a very easy pattern, other stuff just kept getting in the way.

There will be a slight delay in posting pictures of this........ I keep getting error messages.

You can also check out the Candy Apple Shrug CAL and the Clothing Show and Tell on Crochetville in the meantime.

Sorry :-(

WOOT?!?! My Ravely invite!! WOOHOO!!!

I got it! Yeah baby it got! Now I'm off to explore Ravlery.com!!!!

Haha! I went to ravelry this morning to check my status, and it said they sent me my invite yesterday! I really should check my e-mail more often. hehe ....oops

My username on ravelry is "candy".

Too many WIPs, not enough time!

I have been crocheting away on dishclothes, here are the completed ones. I also just completed a 12" granny for my September Square Swap.

I am working on a few more things for my Autumn Secret Pal Swap and Winter Scarf Swap, which I intend on completing and sending packages out before I leave for Hawaii in a couple of weeks. I will post pics of that stuff after I come back from vacation :-) don't want to spoil the surprise for my fellow swappers !

I went camping at Rock Hound State Park, near Deming, NM over Labor Day weekend. Did hiking/rockhounding with my parents. It was beautiful and a lot of fun, here are a few pics I took while experimenting with my new camera.

Anywho................better get back to crocheting for my Secret Pals while my 63 squares mock me from the corner of my bedroom, while I ever complete that darn thing? Only time will tell LOL!

63 stalled again...

Well, I am about a row or two into the last square and stalled again. I thought I would finish it last week, but got "out of the mood" to work on it again. Maybe next month LOL!



In the mean time, I've been working on dishclothes and this cotton tote that my daughter is modeling :-) (as you can see, I haven't figured out how to change the date on my new camera yet)

It's been entirely too HOT here to work on anything larger or heavier. I can't wait for it to cool off a bit.

So bought more polar fleece for my next fleece/yarn 'ghan. It's going to be for my nephew for his birthday, I got Tony Stewart fleece, it's his fav NASCAR driver.

Progress?

Well.........I finally picked up my 63 square afghan again. Only 5 more square to go, maybe I can finish it up in the next week or so. I've been working on this thing for over 2 years, I lost interest in it so many times I can't count. BUT NOW............there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I went and bought a new camera today, getting ready for my trip to Hawaii in October. I can't wait :-) Just me, my mom, and my daughter (she's 11). Just the girls............a special trip I know my daughter will someday tell her daughter about.

I checked my ravelry.com status today :-(

"You signed up on July 21, 2007
You are #19312 on the list.
10462 people are ahead of you in line.
5789 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far "

UGH....

DD's Shocking Pink Ripple

Well, after several weeks of hounding and pleading, I finally finished DDs ripple afghan last night!
And boy is it a bright one.......she picked these lovely colors out on her own!

Trail of Blossoms Scarf

I just finished this scarf the other night. It's been my "mobile" project for a week or so, as most of my other projects (aghans) have gotten to big to lug around. I used a free pattern from the Lion Brand website called Trail of Blossoms scarf. It was pretty easy, and turned out nicely :-) So that's another Christmas present marked off the list YAY!!

On a roll!

Finished another potholder and the dishliquid dress tonight. I guess I will get to work on the daughter's Ripple.......it's gonna be a bright one. I took her to Wal-mart and let her pick out the yarn :-)

What I did this weekend............

After I finished my box stitch afghan and between watching movies and doing laundry, I tried to stash bust a little :-)

I completed 5 potholders (1 of them for a skillet handle). I have one more I didn't complete yet, and a dishsoap liquid bottle cover that looks like a dress that I am still working on. Plus some work on my Scrap Motif Afghan. I really got a lot of hookin' done this weekend.....YAY me!!!!

Sage Box Stitch Afghan

I just finished this afghan and took pictures.

I used the pattern on the link below using a j hook and RH WW yarn

I think I chained 150 to start, the pattern says 100, but I wanted it to cover the top of a queen bed, so I made it a little bigger.
http://www.citiusa.com/boxstitch.html

My first post

I am sooooo excited to start my blog! DD is gone for the weekend. So it's a great time for me to get started, as she won't be hovering asking me how long before I am finished with the computer.
Here are a few of the projects I have completed recently.

Baby bibs and bottle cover

A Dale Earnhardt Sr. fleece/crochet afghan for my dad (birthday present).

Queen plus Granny Afghan

The size of this one kind of got out of control one me :-)










Baby cradle purses. I started making these because my grandma made one for me when I was a little girl, and it is one of my fondest memories of her.