If you're Irish, flaunt it! :D

I have to show off my newest project! I'm so excited! I can't wait to wear it to work for St. Patrick's Day! I'm going to be a leprechaun for Halloween this year. Ha ha! The hat pattern is here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukC0Gmi55Cw 
I follow The Crochet Crowd on Facebook, and when he made it, all I could think of is a leprechaun hat! :D

 OH, and I finally have a new phone! My pictures come out much clearer, but I have to figure out why half the time they have a hint of purple. :D

No, it's me!

So I've been bouncing between projects again, and of course the first one I started in this round still isn't done... but I'm working on it.... slowly but surely. :D

The projects I'm posting today I'm really proud of! The first one I'm going to share is a gift that I crocheted for my dad. It's definitely received its fair share of laughter and also caused for some confusion.  Read this carefully- This is a picture of ME wearing my father's gift. I sent that as a message to a good friend of mine with the picture, but she looked at the message too quick and thought the hat looked good on my dad ;)

The beard has been a big hit! I found the pattern here-http://madmim.com/crochet-beard-free-pattern/. I will definitely be making many more of these!
Here is the pattern I found for the hat-http://agirlandheryarnfk.blogspot.com/2010/08/ribbed-winter-hat.html. I crocheted 68 rows. Clearly I have a giant noggin!

The other gift I made is for my boss because she loves Tweety. I'm reaaaaaaaally proud of this one! I think he came out so cute! Took me a while to find a way to make the eyes. I didn't have felt like the pattern called for, and honestly, I'd rather have them crocheted anyways.

This is a leisurearts.com pattern.

Easy as Pie! Or not.....

So I mentioned in my previous post that I had a project I didn't finish because I ran out of the color I needed. Well, unfortunately, I was unable to find the same color when I went to the store. I bought the color I wanted to use in the first place and just worked it in with what I did because I was too lazy to pull the whole thing apart and redo it. :)

This project was interesting. My mom is weird and wanted a cherry pie pillow for her birthday. We love food a little too much. ;) I got to learn how to do the popcorn stitch and the puff stitch making this! One side is a cherry pie and the other side is a blueberry pie.I haven't finished the lattice work on the blueberry side yet. I'll get to it eventually... maybe...

Motivational issues

I don't know why I often feel compelled to move from one project to another without finishing what I already started (and I don't mean just craft projects). I guess it's just another one of my many bad habits. I started a project a month ago and couldn't finish it because I ran out of the yarn color that I needed. While going through some stuff, I found some plastic canvas that I had purchased many moons ago and decided to start making something out of that. Well, while at the store one day, I found the yarn color I was looking for, so I purchased it and started working on my older project. However, even though it's almost done, and I could probably finish it in a couple of of hours, I had taken such a long break from it that I can't find the motivation to get back to it. I have another project that I started around the same time that I'm having the same issue with. I just put it down and don't know when I'll feel like picking it up again.

Well, while on the almighty Facebook the other day, I saw a neat wall hanging and decided I wanted to snag the phrase that was used and do something with it. So, I pulled my plastic canvas out again, even though I haven't finished any of my other projects yet, found a plastic canvas design program at http://www.plasticcanvassoftware.com/, and I made this-

Go figure. The first project I finished is the last one that I started. :D  Now I just need to find the motivation to get everything else done. Motivation is not one of my strengths. Unless I have a deadline, most of the time I just don't manage to get anything done! How do you get yourself motivated?

Here fishy fishy!

So I'm working with what I have for yarn. I'm not going out and buying any until I deplete my supply. I have quite a bit between what I've collected over the years and what I got from my Nana.

I don't remember why I picked up a bunch of this blue yarn, but I have it now, and it just so happens to not only match my parents' kitchen (like the birds my mommy adopted), but it also happens to match the color of my bathroom! (Thank you dear brother for actually being able to finish a painting project!)

So I was thinking of what I could make for the bathroom to make it look all purdy and stuff. Maybe if I'm proud of something I made for a room, I'll actually clean that room to show off my proud creation? For those of you that don't know me, I am the extreme opposite of a clean freak so I'm always trying to think of ways to motivate myself to clean and organize. So far, none of them have worked. Maybe this one might? That's for time to tell.

For my project, I decided to make a toilet paper cover. Pointless? Very much so, but I still think it came out cute. My bathroom is small and pretty boring. I don't have a fun shower curtain or rug, but now I can smile when I look at my toilet paper and say "I made that!!!" Then I can frown when I realize there's no toilet paper inside it because someone took it out and forgot to tell me! Because of the ripples, it's sturdy enough to hold its shape, so it really could happen!

As for giving me the motivation to clean, at least I got rid of all the dust on the back of the potty. That's a start, right? :D

Well, that was a hoot!

My own original pattern! I'm so proud! Every time I'm looking through crochet patterns, I see a lot of owls, so I decided to make my own using my mom's wood slices (http://www.etsy.com/shop/JUSTSLICES) for the eyes. Now I finally know how to do the crocodile stitch! :)

This pattern is now available through my Etsy store :D

I am IRON MAN!

I saw this online last night at http://www.louiesloops.com/2012/05/avengers-assemble.html, and I just had to make them!!! I wish I was creative like this!

 

Again, I apologize for the awful quality of my pictures, but you get the point :)

Crochet Flower Wood Slice Button

Ok, I'm really proud of myself!!! I finally came up with something that is somewhat original! My mom is selling wood slices on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/JUSTSLICES), and she gave me some to play with. I am by no means a creative person, but I have thought of a couple things to do with these wood slices, and I just put one of those ideas into action. What do you think? :D

I want to make some without the button holes and add magnets to the back and decorate my fridge.
So now I'm on a mission to find ways to combine wood slices and crochet. :D

No, dear, it's not bacon!

So, for my next project, I wanted to make something to put on Etsy. With the 4th of July coming, I thought I'd go with something patriotic. I liked the the crochet drawstring bag I made before, so I decided to make another one, but with a patriotic look.

"Why did you mention bacon?"

When I got part way through this project, my wonderful child came in and told me that it looked like I was crocheting bacon. I guess it really did!

While not amazing as bacon, we both really like the finished product.

I already posted the bag pattern on a previous post. The stars came from this page- http://wildaboutcolor.blogspot.com/2011/09/free-star-pattern.html

Lady Bug

My cute little lady bug, another crochet project from lionbrand.com.

 For Vintage Crochet Patterns, Click Here!

Momma and Baby Birds in a Nest

So for my next project, and I believe for my next few projects I'll be doing the same, I used a lionbrand.com pattern. I was going to try to make stuff to sell on Etsy, and I thought this would be a great first project.

I finished it on Mother's Day, and I thought "Well, it matches my mom's kitchen... and she does have three kids." Needless to say, after bringing the finished craft to my parent's to show them, it never made it home. I even had to have them take the pictures! Oops! :D

Complete Wedding Gift

So I completed the second part of my friend's wedding gift yesterday- an hour and a half before the wedding. Procraftination at it's best, I tell ya. I really hope she liked it. I enjoyed making it, and it's probably the one thing I'm going to be the proudest of making.

I already posted the bear, but the bag pattern came from- http://www.moms-crochet.com/crochet-purse.html

 

Wedding Bear

So I hate gift giving. I never know what to give anybody. I'm going to a friend's wedding this weekend, and I had no idea what to get! I decided instead of going to the store and walking around for a few hours, still not having a clue what to get, I'd crochet something! So I thought of a bunch of different ideas, and finally found one to go with. Here is the completed project.

I know it's a bit dark, but my phone takes awful pictures.

I'm so proud of myself! I got the bear pattern from here- http://www.favecrafts.com/Dolls-and-Teddy-Bears/Teddy-Bear-Crochet-Pattern

The heart pattern comes from here- http://owlishly.typepad.com/owlishly/2009/02/corazoncitos-free-amigurumi-heart-pattern-in-3-sizes.html

Heart Magnet

So here's a heart magnet I made using the pattern found at this web site here- http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/01/28/crochet-heart-garland/

I hot glued a magnet to the back. I want to cover my whole fridge with them! :D

Procrasticrafts Beginnings

I've never done a blog before, but I figured that if my 9 year old son could have a classmate set one up for him, dag nabbit, I can have one, too! Twisted logic, isn't it? ;)
  
Do you ever notice that there's so many crafts out there that you want to do, yet you just never get around to doing them? I have a whole bunch, thanks to the internet, especially Pinterest! I can't count the unfinished projects that I've started since I was a kid. I don't know what I'm ever going to do with a blanket that is 5 feet wide, but only a foot long that was started as a baby blanket for my son. (mind you, he is now 9) Oh how time just escapes on you.
The catch seems to be, that if you're doing as your own project, you see that you have plenty of time in the world. However, if you're going to do it for someone else, it's a completely different story and you spend all you're time making sure that they get what they want as soon as possible. Isn't it funny how that works? If someone else asks me to do dishes to help them out, I'm all for it, just don't ask me how high my own dishes are piled :)
 
I've learned that apparently I have far more crocheting skills than I realized. While I can't create my own pattern just yet, I can definitely follow one and make my own alterations where needed. I can make something just by playing around, but ask me to transcribe the pattern for future use and forget about it!. Just a few examples, and forgive my photo quality. Someday I'll get a more modern phone.

This was a combined pattern from http://crochet.about.com/od/easy-crochet-patterns/a/simple-crochet-beanie-hat-pattern.htm for the hat and then http://www.craftown.com/Angry-Bird-Hat--h--Black-Bird.html for the angry bird pieces. My boy LOVES this hat!

And then I made this one one night-

This pattern came from http://mrsmelodyadams.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-making-of-spiderman-crochet-hat.html
Now I'm working on a different project that is going to take a bit more time than a hat, but I absolutely love it!- http://donnascrochetdesigns.com/more/toy-organizer-free-crochet-pattern.html

The people that come up with these are amazing! I hope to some day be able to create my own patterns and ideas

As where it stands right now, I was thinking that maybe I could start a business for all the procraftinators out there that have a love of homemade crafts, but lack the time to complete them and are just sitting out there in procraftination status.  Find me a pattern, and I'll complete it for you, for a minimal fee. Or if you have an idea that you just don't have the time to figure out how to put it into process. Any suggestions out there as to whether or not this seems like a good idea? I'm a single mom to a son with aspergers with a fairly amount of free time, so I'm looking for something to do with him while my seasonal job is over. I'm selling Scentsy, too to try to do something where he can help, have some fun, and maybe help understand how the business world works.

I think I'm following proper etiquette by posting to the other people's pages to see where the original patterns come from to give credit where credit is do, so please correct me where I'm wrong!