One Monthly Goal for February - My First Linkup With OMG!

Since I'm determined to keep this blog fresh and moving along, I've been finding other blogs to follow and even link up with.  Patty at Elm Street Quilts hosts a monthly linkup where we share a goal that we want to complete by end of month, then link up again at the end of that month if we've met the goal.  The One Monthly Goal (OMG) looks like fun, and should help keep me moving forward.

I've been working on my first hand-pieced quilt top - this one that features an owl print with coordinating mish-mash of four patch blocks - and my goal for February 2019 is to finish it by end of month.

The last row in this pic is just pinned, so I need to sew that, piece together and add another row of yellow/blue polka dot sashing, one more row of blocks, and the final sashing below that.

I'm not sure if I'm going to put another border around it or not and even if I do, I might not be able to handle that here in the hotel (yes, I'm still displaced from Hurricane Florence over four months ago), so my goal is to finish cutting, marking, and hand piecing the main blocks and sashing by February 28.

Now that I look at it again, I think I will have to put another border on it, or re-do the yellow sashing on the outside, as putting the binding around that with the blue polka dot blocks mixed in might look a little strange without a row of something more solid around it first. Hmm, what to do,what to do.  I really didn't want this quilt to be much bigger, so I might have to rip out the outer yellow sashing (or at least the polka dots) after all.  Oh well, I have the full month (albeit a shorter one) to decide and get it done, so it should still be fine

Don't forget to come back to see if I met my goal for February!

~ Marie Anne

Block #2 Hand Pieced Quilt Along Link Up

The Hand Pieced QAL is in fully swing, and I finished this week's project, albeit with just a bit of a fuss.  Block #2 was a tad more difficult as it introduced half square triangles (HST) instead of basic squares.  Triangles test me because if you're off in your cutting even just a smidge, it's really difficult to line things up (and I suck at accurate cutting).  Hand piecing also (IMO)  requires another level of patience because you're not sewing through seams like you do with a sewing machine, and spinning the seams to help prevent too much bulk at intersections can be more challenging too.

But I persevered and got'r done!  Not perfect, but I'm ok with how it turned out.

I had originally given up on spinning the seams on this block, but went back to it later and tried again and was able to get it all to cooperate a little better.  I will not be sharing how the first try turned out.

Here's block #1 and #2 together.  I still have a couple of other fabrics from this layer cake to use in future blocks, and I'm anxious to see how it all pulls together.

Thanks again to Patty and Kristin for hosting this quilt along!  I'm waiting (not so) patiently for next week's block.

~ Marie Anne

Amazon Gift Card Giveaway Ended - And the Winner is ...

The contest for the $5 amazon gift card has ended, and the winner has been chosen.  Congratulations to Shawn Lealos for being chosen as the winner of the gift card!

Since this blog is craft stuff and mostly crochet, I don't have much of a male following here, so I think it's great that Shawn was the token male who entered and he was chosen as the winner.

The winner of the amazon.com gift card was chosen at random by rafflecopter from everyone that left a comment on the blog post, whether they were the closest to guessing the correct number of granny squares in the stacks pictured or not.  Since the contest was about guessing the number of squares, I've decided to give another $5 prize to the person who came closest, and that person is Kathleen Colegrove, who guessed that the stack contained 40 granny squares.

Even she wasn't very close, though.  I had made 54 granny squares up to the point where I started the contest, and that's how many were pictured in the photo.  Since then, I've crocheted several dozen more, and I've lost count!

There were a total of 54 granny squares stacked here

Shawn and Kathleen, I'll be contacting you privately about where to send your prizes.

Thanks, everyone, for taking part in this fun contest! I'll definitely be doing more giveaways in the future.

~ Marie Anne

The Challenge of the Baby Sunhat ... I Won!

Yesterday I posted about wanting to spread out and knit or crochet something outside of my comfort zone, so with a 6-month-old granddaughter who lives in NC, I decided on a baby sunhat.

The pattern was listed in sizes for infant and toddler, and Catie Alice is a big girl, so I went with the toddler size.  It's definitely too big, but I think it turned out ok for my first attempt.  I'm going to modify it to try to get between the infant and toddler sizes and see how that works out.  I also don't like the flower I chose, so will work on that a bit more too.

Once I get the sizing figured out, I'm going to get really brave and try to write up my own crochet pattern for a baby sunhat.  You won't want to miss that!

(click photos to enlarge)

The photos aren't the best since it's cloudy again, but I cheated and added my own sunshine and pretended I was at Onslow Beach.

My model definitely needs to grow into this hat!

~ Marie Anne

Crocheting or Knitting Outside of Your Comfort Zone

If you knit or crochet, you probably have your favorite patterns that you turn to frequently, or like to make certain items, regardless of pattern.  I love to crochet baby blankets and sometimes start with one pattern, then adapt it some to make it my own.  Dishcloths are another favorite, and I've come up with a few simple crochet and knit patterns of my own.

I've made some lovely baby blankets and afghans, and friends love my dishcloths, but I'm in a rut and want to step out of my creative comfort zone.  I love to play with color and each blanket or afghan looks different, but I want to expand my horizons.  I want to learn to do amigurumi (that will be a tough task, for sure), and I also want to make hats, particularly baby hats.

The issue for me with hats is determining correct sizing.  I know there are charts and tutorials all over the internet, but I can't get past the sizing hurdle.  What if I make a hat and list it for sale as fitting X, when it's much too large or small and really would fit Z?  I have no little ones here to model anything.  My only grandchild is several states away, so she's not much help in the short term.

I've heard of people blowing up balloons to represent different sizes, but, while round, a balloon is still not the same shape as a child or baby's head.  I know, I know, I'm being anal about it, and I need to get over it and just DO it.

(click photo to enlarge)

Catie Alice needs a sunhat, don't you think?

Is there something that you'd love to learn how to make, but there's something holding you back?  Here's the challenge ... pick one thing that you've never done and do it.

I'm going to do a baby sunhat to send to my granddaughter.  I have plenty of cotton yarn here, and there are a bazillion free patterns out there, so no excuses.  Anyone with me?

~ Marie Anne

Free Yarn Contest from Red Heart and AllFreeKnitting on Pinterest

Red Heart is joining up with AllFreeKnitting and sponsoring a contest to give away a prize package full of yarn, knitting needles, tote bag, and a slew of other goodies.  To enter, create a board on Pinterest for free knit patterns from Red Heart, then repin at least 10 patterns that Red Heart has on their board, and fill out the short entry form on the contest page.

 One entry per person and must be at least 18 years old to enter.  Contest ends at midnight on May 8, 2013 so get your entry in, then share with all of your crafty friends.

Even if you don't win, you're bound to find some cool new patterns to try.  I saw several pretty knitted shawl  patterns, and while I don't knit as much as I crochet,  I might just have to break out the knitting needles and see what I can whip up.  

~ Marie Anne

Free Yarn and Scissors Giveaway

What fun colors for spring!  Lion Brand is giving away 5 skeins of Vanna's Choice Baby Yarn in great colors, and they're also throwing in two pair of Fiskars scissors -- one pair for the house, and one small folding scissor to put in your tote bag to take with you.  Good scissors are expensive, so this is a great prize, one that I'd like to win for sure.

Contest ends April 30, 2013, so head on over there now before you forget.  Must be 18 yrs or older to enter, and living in a country where Lion Brand will ship (list at the link above).

What would you make with the yarn if you won?  I'd make a colorful baby blanket, of course!

~ Marie Anne

Lion Brand Free Yarn Giveaway

The folks over at FaveCrafts have teamed up with Lion Brand for a cool yarn giveaway today to celebrate National Craft Month in March.  Head over to this post to share your favorite afghan pattern, 'like' the two pages on Facebook and be entered to win two skeins of every color of Lion Brand's kitchen cotton yarn.

I'd love to win this, as I'm currently on a dishcloth-making frenzy for a craft fair I have coming up next month, and most people I polled said they prefer the bright colors as opposed to neutrals.  Two skeins of every color they make would be an awesome prize to win!

While there, you can also download the free eBook they're offering with 25 favorite crafts.  Hurry, because this contest ends tonight, March 6, 2013!

A new prize will be given away every day in March.  Click here to see what the current prize of the day is.

~ Marie Anne

Chasing the Blue Ribbon at the County Fair

Let's go to the fair!

Well, not yet.

The fair in my county is in August and although I've been living here almost 5 years, I've never been to the county fair.  I picked up the fair book that lists all of the requirements for the various categories that you can enter, and I'm thinking about entering something in crochet.

Photo compliments of
Billy Alexander

I've never done anything like this at all, and have no idea what I'm up against, but I think it will be a neat experience nonetheless.  Since I've never been to the county fair here, I don't know how many items are normally entered, nor how fancy and intricate they might be.  I'm sure I'll be up against a lot of talented ladies in Ross County, but it doesn't cost anything to throw my hat blanket in the ring, so why not?

Now ... what to make?  There are categories for baby blankets and full sized afghans, in granny, afghan stitch, shell, and ripple patterns.  I don't think I'd do the afghan stitch, but could pull off something in a granny square, shell or ripple easily enough.  No way am I going to work on a full sized afghan in this heat, so I'm going to go through my stash and see what I can find to start working on something baby-sized.


I think I'll get creative with use of color.  Who knows, maybe I'll enter all three categories!

Have you ever entered your county fair with your crochet, knit or other stitchery?

Etsy Contest - Vote for My Dishcloths!

My vibrantly colored dishcloths are featured in today's Etsy Contest!

Items of similar value are pitted against each other and readers vote for which item they like the best.  Scroll through the items in the Etsy Contest until you get to my neon knitted dishcloths and click to give them a vote!

Here's what you're looking for

Don't click the photo here .. click one of the links above to vote.  Look there to see how you can get an item from your Etsy shop featured too!

Oops!  Just found a link that will take you directly to my dishcloths to vote.  Silly me, I wish I had known that earlier this morning.

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Free Pattern Giveaway Winner

The contest for the free pattern giveaway ended last night and I just chose the winner using random.org.  Congratulations to Glory Lennon, who gets to pick two of her favorite patterns from Melissa's Etsy store.

Here's a picture of one of Melissa's patterns that I'm going to try.  Adorable!

Check out her store for more cute and fun patterns.

Thanks to Melissa for allowing me a part in her giveaway, and thanks to all of my readers who joined in.   Glory, enjoy your prize!

Knit Spa Cloths for the Bath Giveaway

I love the dishcloths that I knit and crochet and I have some that I use for the bath too.  I decided to do a plain garter stitch cloth in a bit larger size than I usually make my dishcloths and will making more to list in my Etsy store as spa cloths, for the face or bath/shower.

I finished one in pale yellow that I used the other day and oh my, I love the feel on my face.  So soft, yet still strong and sturdy if you want to do some scrubbing.  Before listing them for sale, I'm offering two cloths plus some hand blended natural soap and lotion from a friend as a Spa Giveaway.

Working on a Challenge - Care to Join Me?

I've not done much crocheting this week, just started another basic granny baby blanket similar to the one I did for a fellow writer.  Too early for pics, but you can see the other one in my Etsy Shop. I'm leaving out the yellow this time to see how it will look with just the honeydew, white and lavender.  So far so good!

Now about the challenge ... I ran across a blog a while back that told of the A-Z Blogging Challenge and was intrigued so signed up to give it a go.  The idea is if you post in your blog every day in April except Sunday, you will have blog posts for each of the 26 letters of the alphabet.  I knew I wouldn't be able to do that with just a blog about crochet, so I signed up all four of my blogs and am committed to posting on at least one of them each day.  I've started a list of topics and think it'll be a lot of fun (That's my real WIP this week!).

If you need motivation to keep your blog fresh by posting more frequently, this may be just the incentive to keep you going.  I've got over 50 of my freelance writer friends to sign up and I'm throwing down the gauntlet to the rest of you now.  You can join me on the challenge by signing up here, then leave me a comment that you've done so.  I'm going to start a blog roll of crocheting bloggers who are in on the challenge, so you can come back here each day and easily see who's posted so you can support them.

So, are you in?

To play along on Work-in-Progress Wednesday, make your blog post for Wednesday be about something you're working on - some type of craft, renovation project, landscaping, even that novel you're writing. You can play along even if it’s not Wednesday; I leave each WIP up until the following week. Copy the code below Rosie's picture and paste it into your blog post so that others can follow too, and see the rest of the projects that are posted here.

<br /> <a href="http://macrochet.blogspot.com/" target="_top"> <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/Ldyjarhead/Crochet/WIPWed.jpg" /> </a>

Make sure to click 'You are next' below to add your link so my readers can follow it to your blog post.

What Would You Buy ...

... with a free $10 Amazon Gift Card?  A book of crochet patterns?  Crochet hooks?    The latest  best-seller?  Something for the kids?  Yarn?  (Yes, you can even buy yarn on Amazon.com).



Head on over to my other blog at Write, Wrong or Indifferent and you might be the lucky winner of a $10 Amazon.com gift card to purchase any of those things!  Lots of ways to enter the giveaway, but if you purchase Angie's ebooks by noon on Monday you get 25 bonus entries.

The contest ends Wed, so skedaddle on over there before you forget!

Ugliest Crochet Pattern Contest Winner!

Well I didn't have nearly the entries for the contest that I thought I would and realize now that I should have included a minimum number of entries before we'd vote on a winner, but fair is fair.

Congratulations go to Bev Matheson over at One Yarn After Another as the winner of the $5 amazon.com gift card!  You can see the horrendous crochet patterns she submitted at the bottom of the original contest blog post. Entries 1 and 2 were submitted by Bev. (Bev, please email me at Ldyjarhead at yahoo.com so I can email your prize).

As promised, the ugliest crochet pattern that I found (which was the inspiration for the contest) is Carnelian Pom-Poms Leg Fancies.  I was searching the Lion Brand website for hat patterns and decided to just browse through free crochet patterns in all categories for inspiration.  I found some really neat stuff, but the Leg Fancies I could have gone a lifetime without seeing.  Oh my goodness, that has to be the ugliest thing ever to come from crochet hook and yarn!

Reading the comments was even funnier.  Why would Lion Brand keep an ugly crochet pattern like that on their site with 37 negative comments, and not a single good thing to be said for it?  I wonder if when someone designs and submits a pattern to Lion Brand, if they have any control over it at that point?  I mean, if it were me, I wouldn't want to see that out there, even if no one else knew that I had designed it.  If Lion Brand paid for it (gosh ... that's even scarier), I suppose they control it and the designer is out of luck with trying to get it taken down.

Come on, Lion Brand, that image is etched into my brain now.  Please have mercy on us and make it go away!  In all honesty, I don't think they're even close to the, ahem, lovely swimsuits that Bev shared, but maybe they could be worn together.  What do you think?

Ugliest Crochet Pattern Contest Giveaway

Do you have a favorite ugly crochet pattern?  Share it for a chance to win a $5 Amazon Gift Card in the first annual Ugliest Crochet Pattern Contest!

The giveaway will last through the month and end at midnight on October 31st.  What better way to close out Halloween than with a contest about ugly?

All contest entries must be for a pattern available online.  It can be a free pattern or one that is available for a fee, as long as it is accessible for everyone to look at without cost.  Some sites require you to sign up to be able to view the patterns and that's fine, as long as there is no fee to do so.

So start looking then make a blog post with your link to the ugliest crochet pattern you can find and link to your blog by clicking on 'click here to enter' below (look at the other entries first so that you don't enter one that's already listed).  Make sure that your ugly crochet pattern blog post links back to this post on my blog so your readers will know to come back here and vote. You may enter more than once, but make a separate blog entry for each ugly pattern you wish to enter into the contest.

Sign up below to add the ugliest crochet pattern you can find to the contest.   Feel free to make comments as we go along, but I'll make a new blog post after the first of November for everyone to officially vote on.

NOTE:  This is for the ugliest pattern you can find online, not the ugliest thing you've actually crocheted.  I'll think of another contest for that later!

The winner will receive the code for a $5 gift card from amazon.com.  I love getting an extra $5 off the already low prices on books and accessories available at amazon.com, so I'm sharing one of my gift cards with you, my faithful readers.  Want to earn your own free gift cards?  Join me at Swagbucks!

I've got my entry ready to go and will share it at contest end if someone else doesn't list it first!  Ready?  Set? Go!

$115 Crochet Kit Giveaway Sweepstakes Contest

Enter to win a kit worth $115 worth of patterns and yarn!

One person will win the crochet kit which includes supplies and patterns to make a hat, mittens and a soak bottle.  The sweepstakes started on Fri and ends September 19th and is open to legal residents of the U.S. or Canada who are 13 yrs and older.

Creative Juices Crochet Giveaway

Since I've already entered, I'm not sure the link I've provided is correct. Can someone check it and see if it brings you to the correct page to enter the contest?

WIP Wednesday - Crochet Olympics Update

Since I finished my baby sweater early in the Crochet Games of Ancient Greece that some of us at Crochetville are competing in, I decided to crochet a baby blanket to go along with the sweater.

The sleeves and body of the sweater are done in a shell stitch, so I decided to do the blanket in a simple shell stitch as well, alternating rows of white and the same yellow as the sweater.


If I get this done in time, I may try a pair of booties too. If I can pull that off, it will truly be a feat of olympic proportions.

To play along on Work-in-Progress Wednesday, make your blog post for Wednesday be about something you're working on - some type of craft, renovation project, landscaping, even that novel you're writing. Copy the code below Rosie's picture and paste it into your blog post so that others can follow too, and see the rest of the projects that are posted here.

<br /><a href="http://macrochet.blogspot.com/" target="_top"> <img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/Ldyjarhead/Crochet/WIPWed.jpg" /> </a>

Make sure to click 'You are next' below to add your name so others can follow it to your blog post.

** Note ** Several of you are signing up at the bottom but you’re not putting the WIP Wednesday link on your own blog. If you don’t, your readers won’t be lead back here to see what others are doing and hear what WIP Wednesday is all about. It’s not hard, just copy the code beneath the photo above and paste it into your blog post. If you’re having trouble, please let me know and I’ll try to walk you through it.

Completed Hurdle in Crochet Olympics

With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver well underway, it's time for an update on my own crochet project for the Crochet Games of Ancient Greece.

As posted earlier, I don't do well with anything that isn't a plain square or rectangle, so a challenge for me is a crochet project that includes the increasing, decreasing, and arms of a baby sweater.

The first day I was a winner all the way around, as I got the whole body of the baby sweater completed with little trouble. It was almost too easy, and I was ashamed to post that I was doing so well when the Olympics had only just started.

I spoke too soon.

I started in on the arms of the sweater and it looked like I had a few extra stitches somewhere. I counted again and again and up to that point all of my stitches were the exact count that each pattern row mentioned, so I couldn't figure out where the miscalculation could be. I tried both sleeves with the same results, and frogged and started over several times.


I put it away for the night and started in again fresh yesterday. I tried one more thing and it seemed to work out ok, so I finished the sleeve and prayed that I could duplicate the effort with the second sleeve.


Thankfully, it worked out and both sides of the sweater are identical (so even if I did something wrong, at least it looks the same)



The collar was the last hurdle and I sailed over that easily for a nice finish to my first Olympic Games.



Here's the original photo with Dot Matthews' pattern:


I think mine looks pretty close, so I'm happy with it.

I still feel badly that I completed my Crochet Olympics project so early in the Games, so I'm going to add a baby blanket to the mix. I'll probably post about that one on WIP Wednesday.

Crochet Olympics

It's time for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, which means it's also time for the Crochet Games of Ancient Greece.


A number of fellow crocheters at Crochetville will be participating in our own version of the Olympic Games by working on a crochet project that is outside of our comfort zone. We can't start on the piece until the Games begin, and must push to get it done by the time the Olympic Torch is extinguished.

I've chosen to crochet a baby sweater and that's definitely a challenge for me as I've never completed a piece of clothing before. I have a tough time with anything that isn't square or rectangular, so to crochet something with arms and a collar is well beyond my comfort level of blankets and afghans.

I'll be attempting Dot Matthews' Lil Darlin' Baby Sweater shown below, but I'll be doing mine in a pale yellow color.



Let the Games begin!