Happy Birthday

January 28th, 2011 a very special baby came into this world.  He was born very premature, I was only at 22 weeks.  Since he arrived so early, I never got the chance to make him a blanket, even to this day I wish I would of had one to wrap him in when he was born, so for his first birthday I finally made him a special blanket.

Happy 1st Birthday Orlen,
hope your party in Heaven was filled with cake, balloons and love.



Merry Heart-mas!

Christmas is not over at my house.  In fact, in some ways it is in full swing.  No, there is not a Christmas tree in my living room or any decorations for that matter.  Even though I did not get presents, or cards in the mail in time for Christmas, I am still going to finish them and mail them for a new holiday I have created, Heart-mas Day!  After much agonizing over the fact that I was sick and couldn't get presents or cards out, my very dear friend suggested I send out Valentines presents instead, and that is just what I have decided to do. 

This past weekend, I finally finished my sisters Heart-mas present.  A beautiful shawl made out of Bamboo yarn in a rich plum color.  The pattern can be found HERE.

The pattern was easy to follow, it is a two row repeat pattern, so easy to memorize.  I opted for a different edging.  The Bamboo yarn was the best part of working on this project.  It was an absolute delight to crochet with it, soft and silky.  The final project has a wonderful drape and feels nice against the skin.

Edge Directions: 
Note:  I did not fasten off the yarn, instead started the edging at the end of my last row.

Starting in the corner, chain 5.
Sc in first dc from previous row, sc in tr, sc in next dc, ch 3, dc in ch 2 space, ch 3, repeat until you reach the top edge.  The top is edged with single crochet across, three in each "space" (dc and chain).

Now lets hope my sister doesn't read this blog before she gets her Merry Heart-mas present in the mail.

Failed Attempt

Since last Friday, I have been working on a tutorial for sea glass coasters.  Unfortunately, as of today, I still don't have any made and have gone through numerous batches of homemade "clay".  I have a great vision in my head and hopefully one day (soon), it will become something.

Other crafts???  Not really. 

Don't Throw Them Out

A favorite "hanging around the house" outfit of mine is men's ribbed tank tops and pajama pants.  The tank tops take a bit of abuse, cooking grease splatter, bleach spots from doing laundry and crafting, all take its toll on them.  At some point they they have to retire, but not before they get a makeover and a new leash on life.

At one time, these three tank tops were a solid red, blue and black.  The red was riddled with bacon grease stains all over the front of it, so much so I had stopped wearing it.  The blue and black tank tops had bleached out spots on them.  In an attempt to make them wearable again, I used a bleach tie dye bath.  I am not as happy with the blue and black tank tops as much as I am with the way the red turned out.

Do you want to give an old tank top some new life?  Here is how to make the stripped tank.

First, in a sink or small bucket pour about 1/4" layer of bleach.  If you would like, you can dilute the bleach with a little water.

Next, fold the tank in an accordion, starting from the bottom edge, see picture below.  Just like you fold a paper fan.

Then fold in half, see picture below. Using two rubber bands, wrap them around the folded tank top.  Do you notice the light pink stripes, that is where I wrapped the rubber bands.

Set the tank top in the bleach, do not submerge.  You want the tank to absorb the bleach at it's own speed.  Wait about 5 to 10 minutes, or until you have achieved your desired result.  (I did not time how long my tank was in the bleach.)  When you think it is done bleaching, rinse the bleach off the tank by spraying first with hot water, them cold water on the top.  Notice in the above picture, the tank is red on one side and light pink/purple on the other.  The red was the top and the pink/purple was the bottom.  I did not move the tank in the sink and to rinse, sprayed directly on the top.

Once fully rinsed, undo the rubber bands and wring as much water out of the tank as you can.  Dry and enjoy!

If you have any questions regarding this tutorial, please feel free to email me at hippiemissy@gmail.com



Still Christmas?

With the unfortunate sickness I have endured for the last three weeks, Christmas was kind of put on hold.  Anyone I send gifts and cards to, have been ignored.  The plan is to get greeting cards and stuff out by next week.

Almost three weeks ago, I started on my annual Holiday ornaments and only managed to make two of them.  It is my tradition to send a handmade ornament with each of my holiday cards.  This year, a Santa hat!  Although, I may choose something else to send next week as Christmas is over.

I looked everywhere on the Internet for a cute crochet Santa Hat pattern.  Nothing seemed to fit my criteria, easy and quick, so I made up my own pattern. 

Materials
Red yarn, any medium weight will do.  (I used Simply Soft by Caron.)
Lion Brand Fun Fur in White
H Crochet Hook
Yarn Needle
* Optional:  Small or Medium size craft Bell

Pattern
With Red
Ch 3, slst in 1st ch to create circle
Row 1:   Ch 2, 6dc in circle, slst in 1st dc (not the ch 2)
Row 2:   Ch 2, *1dc, 2dc* repeat around, slst in 1st dc (not the ch 2)
Row 3:   Ch 2, *1dc, 2dc* repeat around, slst in 1st dc (not the ch2)
Row 4:   Ch 2, dc around, slst in 1st dc (not the ch2)
Row 5:   Ch 2, dc around, slst in 1st dc (not the ch2)
Row 6:   Ch 2, dc around, slst in 1st dc (not the ch2)

With white.
Row 7:   Ch 2, dc around, slst in 1st dc (not the ch2)
Row 8:   Ch 2, dc around, slst in 1st dc (not the ch2)

Finishing
Fasten off.  Fold white rows up over the red.  Using the white tail and yarn needle, make a small stitch to fasten the white to the red.  With the red tail, create loop by tying the end inside the tip of the hat. 

Variations
Add bell to top of hat.
Using the White Fun Fur yarn, whip stitch a few times at the top of the hat to create a white "pom pom" looking top.
If you leave a long tail in the beginning, you can make a crochet chain loop to hang it.




* If you have any questions, or find any problems with this pattern, please let me know.