26.5.12

My Bella Ruffle Bag

Hello!

I'm just popping in real quick to show you my ruffle bag! It's made from the pattern I featured a few days ago. Isn't it pretty?!


I love this bag! I can make it into so many different looks by just adding a different color flower (I didn't attach my flower permanently, I just used a pin to secure it).
I highly suggest making this! There's no way you can go wrong with ruffles!

♥Grace Ann♥

22.5.12

bella ruffle bag


I haven't featured anyone in a while, and as soon as I saw this, I knew that I had to!! Isn't it gorgeous!? I need to go make one right. now.
Like, seriously, I'm clicking "Publish" and then grabbing my hook!
If you want to make one too, head on over to Crochet Dreamz right over here!

14.5.12

Look what I got!!

I'm on vacation all this week and boy am I enjoying every single minute. Between the sun, the bike riding to the pool, and just the plain feel of being on vacation is absolute joy.

Of course, before traveling, I looked up local yarn stores around our destination. I found two stores within two miles of each other really close to where we were staying. Yay!

So today I got around to visiting both of those stores.

I walked into the first one and the first thing I saw was embroidery thread. Huh? Well I guess "needlepoint" in the shop title should have clued me in. But as I got farther into the very tiny store, yarn was everywhere. Mostly Novelty, which I'm not entirely in to, but the colors! Oh the colors were totally gorgeous! They also had some other solid worsteds that interested me, but I had no idea what to make with them. And at a whopping $12 per 122 yards, they didn't quite have me sold.

Another thing that astounded me were the fibers and how incrediblely soft they were! As a girl that's used to AcMoore and Michaels yarns, a.k.a. Acrylic, I was shocked at how lovely the depth of color was. There is something to say about real fibers. Infact, the only negative about visiting these stores is that I don't think I can use Red Heart ever again! Bye-bye cheap-o yarn.... you were appreciated. Emphasis on "were".

So I walked out of that store empty handed. And walking out of a yarn store empty handed isn't the best feeling in the world I can tell you.

So, after visiting some other cute-sy boutique ($500 for a blouse?! What?!) shops, I was off to the next store. Hoping, of course, there would be pretty yarns at pretty good prices.

1.3 miles later, I'm walking into the next shop. The very first thing that catches my eye is a beautiful stack of bright varigated yarn with wonderful texture and a slight sheen. Vibrant colors with a hint of subtle-ty as to not overwhelm you. Could it be? Was I really looking at? Noro? Sure enough, I picked up a skein, turned it over and in gold letters my suspitions were confirmed. This was the incredibly famous Noro. The Noro I had wanted to try for ages was now in my hands. Only one thing was left between me and this gorgeous dream. The price. And that price was rather high for someone that's used to finding $2.77 on the label. This yarn was about 7 times as much. Oh dear.

But I just had to have it. And had it I did. This is vacation after all. Why not?

But then I was informed that if I bought $25 worth of yarn or patterns, I'd get 15% off! And well, $18.25 just simply wasn't enough to get that wonderful discount. So there was only one solution. I just had to get more yarn.

So I looked around and found a wonderful, squishy wool in the prettiest colors. A varigated pink,, orange and purple. My kind of colors. But they weren't 'too much' if you know what I mean. Bright and sort of 'out there' but not in your face and annoyingly 'neon'. I'm starting to see the light. And the advantages of real fibers must be mentioned again. It just does something to the vibrancy yet subtle-ness of the tones.

So now I think it's time for pictures. Enough of my rambling! Here's some eye candy for ya:


I must mention that the above photo may just be the best pic I've taken in my life. This blogging thing has definitely improved my photography skills!






 But buying yarn is the easy part! Deciding what to make is much, much, MUCH, harder. I think I may try the Queen Anne's Lace scarf in the Noro. And as for the pretty wool? No thoughts.
Any suggestions you guys? I'm open to anything that takes 244 yards of worsted weight yarn. Something simple, yet breathtaking. Something I can accesorize with, but not make too much of a statement. Something really.... cool.
Ya know?

Thanks for reading my crazy rambly post! And if you did only scan the pics, I hope you enjoyed them!

You guys are the best!
♥Grace Ann♥







8.5.12

my W.I.P.s

Hey everyone! I wanted to take some time to snap some pics of my current works in progress. I must say that I am enjoying them to the fullest... switching back and forth between rounds and motifs--in the most gorgeous colors. Who says acrylic can't be pretty?

My first project is a japanese flower *something*. I honestly have no idea whether this is going to become something huge, or stay as a shawl/wrap as Lucy of Attic24 created. But I am so enjoying these flowers! They are so quick and so easy that it's rather silly.





I found these colors of Red Heart Super Saver when I was in Walmart last and they screamed my name. Surprisingly, they are very soft. But I find that with Red Heart sometimes--some colors are more rough than sandpaper, and others feel like they shouldn't be labeled acrylic. All four of these colors are wonderfully soft and squishy.











WIP #2

 Pretty..... yes--my next WIP is the Wool-Eater blanket. Not sure I'm adoring these colors though. It kind of started as a test swatch but then just grew. I think with a few more round I may like this one better. What do you think?




I must admit I never like the Triple Crochet stitch. It just 'took too long' and 'was too boring'. But that doesn't even apply with this pattern. It seems to be very quick and simple and grows very quickly. Has great texture and weight and it's pretty mindless once you get the hang of it...





Okay, so that's all I have for now! I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!
♥Grace Ann♥

2.5.12

Japanese Flower Motif--FREE pattern!!

Hey everyone!

I've been loving the Japanese flowers I've seen lately, but I just couldn't find a pattern. I'd find one, click on it, and the page had 'expired' or 'been taken offline' or been written in 'French'. Weird, right?
Anywho, there were enough pictures on Ravelry for me to at least sort of figure out my own version. I think I may just be pretty close!
Please note: I have no idea if this pattern is copyright to someone or not. I've seen it in quite a few places, so I don't think it's wrong of me to make my own version. I did NOT copy this pattern from somewhere, I just used various pics to formulate my own plan.
Okay, here ya go!!


Any yarn, with any hook can be used here :)

PATTERN:

Make a magic ring

Round 1: Ch4, dc in ring, ch1, *dc in ring, ch 1* 10 times. Join into first ch4 space. (12 ch1 spaces)
Round 2: Ch 4, dc in next ch1 space, ch 1, *Dc in next chain 1 space, ch 1* Around, join in initial ch4 space.
Round 3: Ch3, dc in first ch1 space (which is part of your ch4 from rnd 2), ch4, 2dc in same space. *2dc in next ch1 space, ch4, 2dc in same space* around. Join to top of ch3.
Round 4: Ch1, sc in same st. 8dc in ch4 space. *Sc in between 2nd and 3rd dc (from round 3) away from hook, 8dc in ch4 space* around join with top of sc.


Find the video tutorial (by the lovely StitchinStacy) right here! She does an excellent job of explaining the pattern, so if you need some extra help, be sure to watch the video!
Crochet Japanese Flower Video Tutorial



So go make a ton of 'em! Super quick, super easy, and super cute!

Enjoy my lovelies!
♥Grace Ann♥