I am loving the trend in crochet that is the "c2c" or corner to corner afghan. They are easy mindless blankets to work on once you get the increase down, and that only takes a row or two.
The first c2c afghan I made in pinks and a lavender. It is up for silent auction at my local Dairy Queen's Family Fun Night. The money for each item will go to Children's Miracle Network. This also means I get to cross two items off of my "crochet bucket list": donate items to charity and learn new stitch patterns (this one doesn't really get crossed off so to speak).
This is the 2nd c2c blanket I have started. It will be throw blanket size, so about 50"x50" once finished. This one is intended as a gift.
I'm kind of sad the colors aren't coming through as clear. The darker color is a really pretty navy blue and the yellow is a bit more muted in person. Fluorescent bulbs do not showcase the colors well.
*pattern/awesome video tutorial can be found on youtube with Mikey of The Crochet Crowd.
I'm really sorry I thought some really mean things about you every time you told me that my contraction wasn't very strong. It was a very stressful moment in my life, as I was in A LOT OF FREAKING PAIN. I thought some very not nice things about you, and I'm sure you're a very lovely person. I just ask in the future, please do not tell a girl who is about to give birth that her contractions aren't very strong. You do not know her pain threshold and maybe she had reached it already. Just because they don't register as very strong on your machine doesn't mean that what she's feeling is not the WORST PAIN OF HER FREAKING LIFE.
Thank You.
-Hailey
Also....
Dear Readers,
I'm very sorry I missed WIP Wednesday. So very sorry that this is a day late. (Well, to you... it's still Friday for me I have not gone to sleep yet.) I was trying to get a good start on homework and just missed that I was supposed to post. I didn't post anything on Wednesday because I hadn't worked on anything really all week. I know I should have, but I didn't. BUT I may or may not be working on a new pattern (because NOW I'm working on something) and that could be posted on here in the beginning of February. (It's a birthday gift for a friend who may or may not see this blog)
I made these finger-less mitts for a friend for Christmas. I forgot to get a picture of them so the only one I have is a cell phone picture, but I think it shows the mitten ok.
I had my friend take a picture of herself wearing them as proof that she has worn them, haha.
Pattern:
Wrist Length Fingerless Mitts:
Materials Needed: 1 Skein worsted weight yarn. I used Red
Heart with Love in Deep Blues.
Note: If you wanted to, you could probably use different
colors and stripe it and that would look cool too. This would be a great stash
busting project if you wanted to use up some of the left over bits of worsted
weight yarn. This pattern is highly customizable. If you want the ribbed wrist
longer – just make the beginning chain longer. If you need the mitt part bigger
just add in more sc
I used a 4.5mm hook
Extras:
Stitch Markers
Yarn Needle
Stitches you’ll need to know for this project:
SC
SC in BLO (Back Loop Only)
Sl St
Ch
You will also need to know how to work in rows and in the round.
------
The first part is the ribbed cuff. Each sc should be worked in back loop only
(blo). You will make two, but I suggest working the mitt together in one piece.
When you make your sl knot leave a chain long enough to sew the cuff together.
Foundation: Ch 11
Row 1: Sk first ch, sc in blo across. Ch 1, turn (10 sts)
Row 2: Sc across in blo. Ch 1, turn. (10 sts)
Rows 3 – 31: Sc across in blo. Ch 1, turn. (10 sts)
Here are a list of the rows so you can cross them off as you
go:
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10
11 12 13
14 15 16
17
18 19 20
21 22 23
24
25 26 27
28 29
30 31
Row 32: Sc across in blo. Join with sl st careful to not let it twist. From
here on out the pattern will be worked in the round. I used a stitch marker to mark
the first st, but you can use leftover bits of yarn, paper clips, whatever – as
long as you know where your first st is.
You can sew the cuff together now, or when your mitt is
done, whenever you feel like sewing it together.
--- For the mitt part the sc is worked as a normal sc.
Round 33: Ch 1, sc in same st as join.
Sc around in each st, join w sl st in ch 1. Should be 32 sts.
Round 34: Ch 1, sc in same st as join. Sc around in each st join with sl st in
ch 1. (32 sts)
Round 35 – 41: Ch 1, sc in same st as join. Sc around in each st, join with sli
st in ch 1. (32 sts)
Left Hand Thumb hole: Ch 1, sc in next 21 sts, ch 6, sk next
7, sc in the 8th st and remaining 4 sts. Join with slip st in ch 1.
Right Hand Thumb hole: Ch 1, sc in next 4 sts, ch 6, sk next 7, sc in the 8th
st and remaining 21 sts. Join with slip st in ch 1.
Round 43: Ch 1, sc around – work 5 sc in thumb hole ch, continuing
around in each sc. Join with slip st. (29 sts)
Round 44: Ch 1, sc in each sc around. (29 sts)
Round 45-47: Ch 1, sc in each sc around (29 sts)
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Customize:
-If you need the mitts bigger or smaller: either make the cuff bigger or
smaller to fit your hand. The stitches around should match how many rows the
ribbing is.
-If the thumbhole is too big or small place stitch markers on each side of your
thumb and skip that many stitches. Make the chain that brings the two together
at least two smaller. And the sc that goes into the ch at least 1 less. Sc
around the thumbhole 3 -4 rounds for a more glove like feel.
- You can easily add more rows to make the glove longer and and be more glove
like. You can make the cuff longer by adding to the beginning chain.
You can sell what you make from these as long as you say that it's my pattern and link back to Hot Chocolate Weather.
If you have any questions go ahead and leave it in the comments and I'd be more than happy to answer.
Hey everybody, happy Friday! It's almost the weekend and I am so excited for the weekend. I hope you are too so we can share our excitement. As you know I've been partaking in the 30 Days of Blogging challenge and day 2 is:
20 Things About Me
1. I am a mom to a little boy who just turned one in the beginning of December. He keeps me pretty busy during the day.
2. I am a college student studying Sales and Marketing Management. I just finished my first semester back after graduating from high school in 2007.
3. I have been crocheting for about four years, knitting for about three months, and am about to get reacquainted with sewing. 4: I am currently obsessed with the song, Sweet Annie by Zac Brown Band. Here is a video of them performing it at Red Rocks (Wish I could have seen it live first hand!):
5. My favorite movie is a tie between Death to Smoochy and Benny & Joon. I know those are two wildly different types of movies, but I love them both.
6. I love to read and choosing a favorite book is like asking me to choose which one of my cats I like best.
7. I have two cats - Milo & Sparrow. We also have some fish, but only the giant sucker fish has a name, which is Leviathan.
8. I come from a crafty family. Both of my Grandmas crochet, sew, garden,and embroider. One weaves rugs and makes soap; and the other also knits and does cross stitch. My mom likes to paint porcelain houses, crochets, sews, embroiders, quilts, can make soap, and she likes to make decorations out of plastic canvas. I'm sure I'm missing stuff that they do, because they all do a lot of different types of crafts. Also, a good chunk of my aunts and cousins do crafty type stuff too.
9. I love organizing, but am really bad at staying organized. I'm really proud actually of my Hot Chocolate Weather Binder, because that has stayed pretty well organized so far. I've been shoving papers, mind maps and other brain storming things in it.
10. I have two brothers and a sister who are all older than me. I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew.
11. Any holiday that my family gets together to celebrate together is my favorite.
12. I have 1 tattoo and I want another one.
13. I have met Dia Frampton from the first season of the Voice (or Meg & Dia depending on where you know her from) twice. Once at Warped Tour in 2009 and when they were on tour again in 2011 for their EP It's Always Stormy in Tillamook.
14. I have a concert bucket list. I want to see these bands live before they kick the bucket and disband or retire from music. - Zac Brown Band - Lady Antebellum - Rascal Flatts - Imagine Dragons - Hunter Hayes - Carrie Underwood - Dia Frampton & many more
15. I adore cold weather drinks: Hot Apple Cider, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Tea... I drink these even in the summer when it's not so cold out.
16. I love making to do lists.
17. I drink way too much pop, but I'm trying to cut down on how much I drink.
18. I like the challenge of reverse engineering crochet items I see in stores (which isn't too often, crochet isn't often mass produced.) I look forward to the challenge of reverse engineering knitting when I get better at it. 19. I look up to Lucy from Attic24, Kristin Omdahl, Robyn Chachula - and a bunch more. These crochet designers are absolutely amazing. I love Lucy's (haha...) color choices, and Kristin's construction of a garment is absolutely amazing. You can't go wrong with any of Robyn Chachula's patterns or books. 20. It took me 3 hours to come up with this list because I couldn't think of stuff and had to walk around and do stuff while I thought about what to put on here.
Stay Tuned:
Next week I'm on vacation so I'm going to try to set up the queue. If for whatever reason it outsmarts me, then the Monday after will be Day 3 of the 30 days of blogging challenge and that Wednesday will feature a FREE(!!) pattern instead of/or with an update on my WIPs. Have a good friday!
I decided to do this 30 Days of Blogging challenge for two reasons.
So readers could to know me, and what I want to do.
So I could possibly figure out what I want to do.
I know, I know... The two statements contradict each other. Shouldn't I already have a clear picture in my mind how I want things to go? Yes, and no. I have a picture, an idea that is Hot Chocolate Weather. What I don't have is the idea refined crystal clear enough that I'm ready to open an actual store or go to craft events with it. I'm still working on the brand of what I want it to be. Do I want it to just be a segment of a hand crafted business, do I want to incorporate other types of crafting besides crochet and knitting? Would I be doing too much? It's all very muddled.
Which is where this blog comes in. I was hoping that by starting it early in Hot Chocolate Weather's infancy that I would be able to come up with a clear idea, with the help people reading, enjoying, and maybe even commenting about their own personal journeys about their scary, nerve-wracking foray into entrepreneurship. Whether it's an Ecommerce business or brick and mortar. It's all a gamble.
I wanted to be able to share this with you. I hope you enjoy and maybe, possibly, learn from my own mistakes, struggles, or even from my triumphs.
I'm not sure if this is necessarily the 'story of my blog,' but more, why I blog. Why now, before I even have a store or inventory. I am thankful I have a learning outlet for Hot Chocolate Weather, and even more thankful for any possible readers I may get from starting this blog.
Side Note: Day two will be posted Friday. Wednesday will be a Work In Progress blog which will feature a custom order I am working on. Also, stay tuned because in the coming week I will be featuring a free pattern for hand warmers!
