Knit Boot Cuffs!!

So yesterday you saw my W.I.P. and today....drum roll please...

The finished product!!

I should have these up in the Etsy store soon after I work up all my sizing options.  They are very stretchy and I will most likely feature them in TEEN, ADULT, & LARGE

Aren't they super cute & stylish??  I really love them =)

I'd love to know what you think!!







 As you see in the picture, they can be worn several different ways:

1. Over the tops of your boots...this works well for short top boots too!

2. Sticking out the top of your boots like very fashionable socks.

3. Folded over the top of your boots

4. Or just wear them like scrunchy leg warmers with any type of shoe!

Work in Progress...BOOT CUFFS!

I've decided to start posting some of my W.I.P. {Works In Progress} after being inspired by a fellow crochet blogger. So here it goes...

One of my new products to soon be released is a Cabled Boot Cuff

I have a very stylish cousin to thank for the inspiration.  These cute cuffs are the perfect Fall accessory to wear with your pretty boots.

Take a look at how they are coming along...

Craft Store-oholic: 3 steps for not going broke

So I think we all know where this is going, but I'll start with this...If I had all the money in the world, I would buy a JoAnn store fully stocked with all those wonderful craft items & employees to train me in all those crafts. But alas, I do not, quite the opposite actually since I've decided to stay home with our kids I'm trying to bring in some of that missed income by making money off the products I get at craft stores.
I figure most of you are in the same boat as well, if not please consider buying me a JoAnn's...I'll give you free products for life, so I'm going to share what I do when visiting these stores to try to stay in the black. Most of you are probably better at this than me, please share your tips in the comments!! But here are my little "tips"

Craft Store Tips

1.  Never go without a coupon! So almost all craft stores provide coupons. Get on the mailing list, look thru the sale papers, they are out there. JoAnn's almost always has an active coupon that I get in my email & print at home. Hobby Lobby has a 40% regular price item on their website permanently for you to print & use once a day I think. Michaels sends them in the mail & provides them online. Also when you make a purchase, your receipt often has a coupon on it for use on a future date.  I have literally gone with my coupons and bought 1 item at a time over a few weeks to get what I needed with coupons. If you have time to do this, the saving can really add up.
2. Shop Clearance!  All craft stores have a clearance section. You can find all sorts of things in these sections and it changes all the time! I love finding a good deal here. Be creative and let the items inspire you. I like to look through everything slowly & picture what I can do with the little treasures found here. It can be really fun!
3. Remnants,  Remnants, Remnants!!!  My favorite thing about JoAnn's is the remnant fabric section. I'm more of a knitter than a seamstress, but as my skills grow in this area the remnant bins have become my new favorite place to shop. As I've become more of a "professional" yarn artist, craft store yarns just don't do it for me anymore. All that acrylic is just boring to me now. I have come to LOVE natural fiber, quality yarns but I have to order those online. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on acrylic yarn. I use it frequently & there are lots of projects where it just makes sense to use acrylic, but it just doesn't excite me anymore. It's kind of like frozen pizza & my favorite sushi restaurant. I like frozen pizza especially after a day at the pool, but I don't get excited about it like I do when a special date night arises & we go out for sushi. So here I am off on a tangent now, back to the fabric. Remnants are always 50% off the regular price of the fabric AND if that fabric happens to be on sale on the bolt, you get 50% off the sale price. You might not know if the remnant you're holding is sale fabric or not, and that can be a GREAT surprise when you check out.  

         I made my monthly weekend trip to JoAnn's today while my little one was taking a nap, and I
saved more money than I spent just on my remnant shopping without using any of my coupons.  I will show you everything I got and how much I paid for it. If you are anything like me, you are going to LOVE this!!

So those are the 3 things I do to not go broke when I visit a craft store.  It is hard to stay in control sometimes when I want it all, but I love getting a get deal & I use that as my motivation.
Please share with everyone your favorite tips so we can all shop more!

Diapers for sale!

I'm selling some of our cloth diapers & thought I would offer them to my fans as well. I'm not sure what the shipping would be per diaper, But I'm guessing about $2 is the minimum.

 Happy Hempy Medium $10

 I made this small wool cover in Dark Purple $10 (I missed one stitch in the back and didn't notice at first, but one missed stitch does not cause any leaking =)

Large hand-knit 100% wool cover NEW $25

Medium hand-knit 100% wool cover $25 NEW

Crochet Top Dress

If you would like to make this dress it is very simple other than the hand sewing of the crochet top to the gathered fabric...lol

No really, there is no bias tape involved and by adding crochet straps to tie in a bow, you can't really mess up on the sizing either.

All I have done here is crocheted several rows of hdc in alternating color,s and I added a button hole every other row. This was way too many buttons!! Next time I will add a button hole every 4 rows at least.

Then cut your fabric an inch longer than your chest measurement and an inch longer than where you would like your garment to hang (decide if you would like a top or a dress)

I did a dress that is lower calf length on my little girl. You can always hem to your desired finished length.

The easiest method I know of to get great looking gathers is to run a straight stitch all the way across the top of your fabric front and back pieces. (do not backstitch to secure...you want to be able to pull these strings to gather the fabric)

Next, sew your side seams. Then,  find the front center of your crochet top and mark. (your back & sides of the top are obvious)Also, find the center and back of your fabric and mark. 

Now start pulling those loose strings we left earlier and gather your fabric as evenly as you can moving it around on the strings with your fingers. 

Next, you will pin, pin, PIN the top to the fabric making sure you line up the front, sides, and back of the two pieces. You need your crochet top to overlap the fabric on the "right" side by about 5/8''. As you are doing this monitor your gathering and try to make it as evenly spaced out amongst these 4 quadrants as possible. 

Finally, you are ready to hand sew the crochet top to your fabric. A running stitch works fine and make sure you grab every crochet stitch along the bottom.

Finishing touches included adding some cute buttons to the back and attaching 4 crochet chains to use as tie-on straps. The best way to do this is try the dress on the child and mark these placement of these straps before you start =)

Crochet Pattern Giveaway

Get pattern giveaway at crochet my love!!
Here is the link http://crochetmylove.blogspot.com/2012/05/rafflecopter-giveaway.html

Handpicked Children's Clothing Sale!

Richmond friends, come check out my items being featured at the exclusive Handpicked Clothing Sale! This is an invite only sale happening Thursday May 3rd and Saturday May 5th in the West End just of Broad St.