Christening Dress

 

Hi loves,

I have wonderful news, on December 22, 2020, I welcome the newest member of my family, a sweet little bundle of joy..... Princess Ari.  I'm not sure if you guys notice whenever I do anything for babies I'm always happy and inspiration is never far (hmm.... Is this my tell-tale sign of what my true calling is?  Who knows? guess we'll just have to wait and see).

Well as I said earlier inspiration is never far...  and therefore I decided she would need a christening dress and I would love to make it for her.  I went to Youtube, browsed around, and came upon a very cute and simple design by Majovel.  I watched the video (see attached video below) and then decided to start crocheting the dress.

Princess Ari was on the smaller size but due to the fact that I wouldn't be using the same yarn or the same size needle as in the video, I decided to do the largest size.  

Let's get started shall we - I did a chain of 62 using a size 2.75 mm crochet hook and Ice Yarns Natural Cotton in white.

After 2 rounds

 Round 3 completed

5 rounds completed

Making steady progress

Stitch markers in place, let's start the body of the dress.

Dress completed as per video (thread still attached, was deciding my next move) 

After completing the dress, I was left with the decision of what embellishment to use.  I thought ribbon, so I went and purchased a pretty neon pink (the choices sadly were either neon pink or really dark pink).  I wanted rose buds but the store had none. I came home to weave the ribbon through the neck, though pretty I felt something was missing.  

I consulted my daughter Sani and she too agreed it needed something else.  It wasn't until the headband was made the finishing touches came to life.  Now, there was no need for that ribbon I bought as I crochet the band needed as well as add a little colour to the sleeves and hem of the dress.  Presto my masterpiece was finito.

Too anxious to wait until the sun was out.

Doesn't she look cute

My camera does them both no justice

Thanks loves for taking a read.  Live, Love, Laugh... Please follow me on FB, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also purchase yarn to make your masterpieces here.

 

Single Crochet (sc)

Hi again loves, 

In this blog, I would like to tell you about single crochet.  The single crochet though being a basic stitch is by no means unsophisticated.  It can be done in rounds or rows and creates a very dense crochet pattern with hardly any gaps or holes.  It can be used for items like coasters, dish/washrags to name a few that need no draping, etc.  Making a few modifications to the way in which you do the single crochet can give you some amazing results.  

How to do the single crochet (sc)?  Follow along...

Do a chain of say 15...

Insert your hook into the second chain from the hook

yarn over and pull up a loop

Yarn over and pull through both loops on the hook... and just like that the single crochet is completed.  Quite easy don't you think.

Here are a few pics of a swatch being worked up...

Inserting the hook into the next stitch.

Yarn over (yo) and pull up a loop

yo and pull through both remaining loops.  

SC completed.

Here are a few things that you can use the single crochet for:

 

This crossbody bag was made using single crochet and the loop stitch (the base of the bag).

earring

Toys

bag

baby headband and slippers

bookmarks

keyrings

Thanks loves for taking a read.  Live, Love, Laugh... Please follow me on FB, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also purchase yarn to make your masterpieces here.

Understanding the Difference

Hi Loves,

Here's a bit of reading for you.  I was casually browsing the web (you guessed it a bit bored at work with no project in hand), and I came across a post from Craftsy.  It was explaining the difference between British vs American Crochet terms (you knew there was a difference, right?) and decided to share it.

For starters...

The chain and slip stitch mean the same for both, thank goodness!!!

Now, this is where things get weird if you are not aware there was a difference....  Imagine being gifted some vintage crochet patterns, you got very excited to try a very cute pattern.  You got the required yarn, needle and with the pattern in hand started your project, only at the end or even in the middle come to realize it is not looking like the pattern somehow.  

What could be the issue? Here's your answer;

• You are accustomed to British terminology and the pattern was written in American terminology
• Or the reverse... 

Not to worry I got your back, here are the differences;

American Crochet	British Crochet
Single crochet	Double crochet
Half double crochet	Half treble crochet
Double crochet	Treble crochet
Treble crochet	Double treble crochet
Double treble crochet	Triple treble crochet
Gauge	Tension
Skip	Miss

Now that we know the differences, how do we tell the origin of a pattern?

1. Check for the term single crochet (sc). This is an indication this was written using American terms.
2. Does the pattern ask you to check your tension? If it does, it's written using  British terms.
3. Another indicator is does the pattern ask you to miss or skip stitch?

Now my loves that you are armed with the information go forth and create those masterpieces.

Thanks love for taking a read.  Live, Love, Laugh.. Please follow me on FB, Instagram, Twitter. You can also purchase yarn to make your masterpieces here.

I'm back......

 Hi my loves,

Wow! It's been ages..... I really missed you guys.  I missed writing, creating, and just doing what I really truly love.  Many of you may know being an entrepreneur have its ups and downs, mid 2019 - 2020 was a bit of a challenge for me where my business is concerned. It was with great sadness I went out and became gainfully employed to be able to take care of my family, as my little income from my new business was not making the cut.

It was easy at first to be able to do both, but then with the work hours and commute to and from work, it became harder.  I however still researched ways in which to make it work, but I honestly LOST MY MOJO....... I have been in a funk for a few months now.  I visit my blog, check my many draft but still, no willpower to write or create. I have unfinished projects on the mannequin, in bags, etc.

Then there is COVID-19 which further puts a dark cloud over my already gloomy mood... I need supplies but really don't want to go out in the public more than I really need to.  So with 2020 coming to a closing and Covid-19 seemingly a constant fixture, I have decided to give it another go.  This time dabbling in something I have been doing for a few months now and trying to find more creative ways to display my talent.

So my loves I would like your opinion on what I have so far..... Are you guys ready?

This is a jeans-like yarn from Ice Yarns.  

A simple choker.

My beautiful daughter modeling the choker above.

I really love making this stranded neckless.

excuse the shadow.. night crocheting

Thanks loves for taking a read.  Live, Love, Laugh.. Please follow me on FB, Instagram, twitter, shop

Airwool Glitz

Hi loves,

Hope you all are doing well in these troubled times.  Quarantine measures has most of us home, as such, we try to find ways to keep busy while praying we nor our loved ones get exposed to the coronavirus, #covid19.

Though not home very long I too have been trying to keep busy, that being said what better way than to do something one loves.

Over the past year I've made quite a few purchases from Iceyarn. One such purchase was the air wool glitz.  After purchasing, the yarn sat idle in my yarn stash.  Days, weeks, and months rolled by, still no clue what to make with this yarn.

Then comes the opportunity when a family member requested a cowl.   With the perfect pattern in mind, I set off to make her what she requested.

I honestly love using this yarn, it glides effortlessly over my needle and within hours a masterpiece was produced.

I'm not usually one to toot my own horn but I do believe I did well, what say you?

Thanks love for taking a read.  Live, Love, Laugh.. Please follow me on FB, Instagram, twitter, shop

High Notes

Hi Loves,

It's that time again when Petra Breakstone need test knitters for yet another one of her awesome designs.  Count me in, I said.

The name of this one is High Notes. This is such a comfy top to knit and wear.  It has a boat neckline, it's oversized, knitted in one piece with a beautiful lace border on the bottom edge of the body as well as the sleeves.  You can choose to make the lace border of the body longer or shorter.  You can also adjust the sleeve length.

I enjoy test knitting for Petra, and no it's not just the option of getting one of her many lovely pattern as a reward.  It's that I always learn something new and this pattern was no exception as I learnt the kitchener stitch.

The kitchener Stitch 

Here I am on Christmas Night enjoying my lovely top

I had so much fun completing my top that I did another one.  I followed the pattern until it's time to do the neck I decided to make some modifications and turn it into a tank top.

Front 

Back 

Thanks loves for taking a read.  Live, Love, Laugh.. Please follow me on FB, Instagram, Twitter, shop

Flirty

Hi loves,

I test knitted Petra Breakstone's Banks Skirt/Poncho and got the inspiration to make a skirt/top of my own design.

Banks was photographed as a poncho.

A little about me and gauge swatches, I hardly ever do 'em. Not because I can't but more because I either don't have the size needle or thread and still want to make the item.   So when I needed to figure out how many stitches to cast on I did a half swatch (how many stitches per inch 😂😂😂).

Measured my waist, work out my cast on, and cut the amount of elastic band I need... And that's how it all began.

I decided I would do the simple knit stitch to a length that would cover my bum... Then "pretty up" the tail of my skirt... The first attempt was a fail,😢😢😢😢 "bummer this doesn't look like it did in my head"🤔🤔🤔🤔

So ribbit 🐸🐸 ribbit  🐸🐸....... And guess what????

Not sorry I did, as the second attempt 😍😍😍😍.  Though it's just a basic design I am elated it actually looks like a skirt.

Thanks loves for taking a read.  Live, Love, Laugh... Please follow me on FB, Instagram, Twitter, and shop. Feel free to like, share and comment.