Shelby Beanie by Loops of Love

I have finished up the "Jackson" Tuxedo pattern set and am just waiting for feedback and photos from my testers.  While I am waiting, I enjoy being able to test crochet patterns for other designers.  Last weeks pattern I tested was the Shelby Beanie by Lisa of Loops of Love.  It is such a cut pattern and very quick and easy to work up.  I have had these Lady Bug buttons for quite some time and really wanted to use one for a project.  This worked up perfectly and my girls LOVE it!
The hat pattern is available here: Shelby Beanie on Craftsy

This hat is made using Cotton yarn and is light and airy - perfect for spring and warmer days.  The flower is a combination of 2 patterns I have.  The red flower is the Croco Flower by Bonita Patterns.  The White flower is called the Large Gerbera found in this book 200 Crochet Flowers Embellishments &Trims.

If you like to crochet, Loops of Love has many other darling patterns to try out. 

Hope you are off to a good and warm week my friends!
Kate

Easter is on it's way

I've started seeing a bunch of Easter items out and about since the holiday will be in March this year.  I love seeing all the little girls dressed up in their new Easter dresses.  With prices of everything going up, I know there will be many who choose to make their own things this year - whether it's the candy/treats for Easter Egg hunts or the oufits their little ones will be dressed in for photos or church.

I have decided to have a sale on my Emerald City dress patterns and give people plenty of time to make 1 or 2.  My girls love their dresses I made them with this pattern and they receive so many compliments every time they wear them.  Now through Saturday (Feb 23rd) You can get this pattern on sale in my Craftsy store only.

Available sizes are Infant, Toddler and Child (newborn to child 12)  Individual patterns are only $3 and the Package including all sizes is only $8.  Links are posted under each photo below.

 Infant Dress on Craftsy

 Toddler Dress on Craftsy

Child Dress on Craftsy

Pattern Pack on Craftsy

I would LOVE to see photos of anything you make using my patterns!  If you are willing to share a photo, you can either email it to me at craftingfriends4you@yahoo.com or post it on my Face Book page Crafting Friends on FaceBook

Happy Wednesday - Hope you are having a fantastic week!

Baby Tuxedo Crochet Pattern

I am so excited to show you what I have been working on over the last week!  I have had a baby Tuxedo on my list to design for a while and decided it was time to get it done.  We have 3 daughters right now and are expecting our 4th child in April.  Since this will be our last baby, we have decided not to find out if it's a boy or girl.  Although it is driving everyone around us crazy, I think it will be fun to be surprised. 

My oldest daughters blessing dress was handmade by a wonderful friend of mine.  My middle daughter's dress was made by my mother in law and my youngest daughters dress was made by my mom.  I wanted each to have their own keepsake from their blessing day and each dress is beautiful.  I figure that it is my turn to make the blessing outfit for this baby and since I don't know how to sew, I will crochet an outfit.  Not knowing if it's a boy or girl, I will be making my Angelique dress for a girl and a tuxedo for a boy. 

Pattern available here: Angelique pattern on Craftsy

It will look much better with a dress shirt and bow tie - but I couldn't wait to share

I wasn't sure if a crocheted tuxedo would even look good.  I've only seen a pattern for 1 while searching the web and it wasn't exactly what I had in mind, so I HAD to come up with my own.  I'm actually quite pleased with the way it turned out.  It was a LOT of work, but I think it will be worth it.  This black one was specifically for design purposes and I will be making a white one for the baby.  I still have to design the pants to go with it, but compared to this - pants should be a piece of cake! 

I'm typing up the pattern over the next few days and will have it tested by the ladies in my testing group.  It should be ready to release with in the next week or 2 :)

What do you think?  Would you make or use a crocheted baby tuxedo?

Pattern Release: Boot Cuff Package

I'm thrilled to let you know that my Boot Cuff pattern package is now available.  The pattern includes directions for 5 different Boot Cuffs with 3-4 sizes each for $6.  They are quick and easy to work up and there are photos to help show stitch placement on the harder pattern (Loop the Loop - Shown top right) I also offer support on all of my patterns if needed.

Here is a link to buy the pattern now through Ravelry (you do not have to be a member to purchase):

 To celebrate my birthday this month, I also have set up a 37% Discount on all orders through my Ravelry Shop which will automatically be taken off at check out.  This discount will be available through the end of the month.  If you would like to take advantage of the discount and purchase any other patterns, you can do so through this link:  Crafting Friends on Ravelry

 I am so exited to be releasing patterns again and have already started my next project.  I would also love to hear any ideas for designs that you have and would like me to create :)

New Boot Cuff Patterns coming soon

Thank you to everyone who entered the 2 Super Bowl giveaways I held.  I appreciate all your support and Congrats to the winners - Darlene Fishback and Melissa Hottenstein!
Darlene won an adult Ravens hat and Melissa won a team hat of choice.

Now that the team hat sales are starting to slow down, I've had time to get back to some designing :)  My daughter asked me to make her some boot cuffs and I was able to come up with 5 different patterns in 3-4 sizes each.  They have been tested and will be released as a package this week (as soon as I get a few good photos)  Here is a sneak peak for you

Bubble Boot Cuff

Puff Boot Cuff Version 2

Shell Boot Cuff

Loop the Loop Boot Cuff

Super Bowl Team Hat Giveaway #2

a Rafflecopter giveaway I have decided to end the 1st giveaway early.  The entries had slowed down and I wanted to be able to do a 2nd giveaway specifically for the Teams playing.  I have an Adult Size Ravens hat ready and an Adult size 49ers hat almost ready to go.  The 49ers logo will be different than the one in the photo below.

  To enter, click on the giveaway box above.  You must be a fan of Crafting Friends on Facebook and you must leave your Name, Team choice and email address you can be contacted through if you are the winner in 1 comment on THIS POST ONLY.

All comments will be hidden from public view and will not be shared.  I will post a comment for each entrant with their name and team choice so that you know your entry has been accepted.  

I will have a seperate list  for each team and will choose a winner from the winning team list either Sunday evening  after the game or Monday.  The winner will be announced through Rafflecopter here on my blog and I will also email them, so make sure the email you list in the comments is one that you check.

Thank you for your support of Crafting Friends and Good Luck!
Kate

Super Bowl 2013 Giveaway

Good Morning to all my Friends and Happy New Year.  I hope you all had a fun and safe holiday season and that 2013 is off to a good start for you.

Last year, I held a giveaway for a team hat during the month leading up to the Super Bowl and it was a great success.  I have decided to do it again this year :)

Super Bowl 2013 Giveaway on Rafflecopter

All you have to do is click on the link above to enter.  You must be a fan of Crafting Friends on Facebook and can earn an extra entry for sharing the giveaway and posting a link for me to verify. 

The winner will be able to choose the size of the hat and their team (limited to available logos).  This is not limited to the 2 teams going to the SuperBowl.  Here are some of the teams I currently have available:

 

Good Luck to everyone and Thank you for supporting Crafting Friends.

New Store up and running

Happy Monday Everyone!!! I hope you made it through the weekend ok.  I have finally gotten my groove back :)  I struggled for a few weeks with many different things and hated how I felt.  I burnt a batch of Peanut Clusters (my daughter asked how that was even possible...lol) and then burnt a batch of homemade oldfashioned fudge.  The Cakepops that I worked all day on for some youth in my area - well - The dipping chocolate didn't work out for that either :(

It's a new week and I have chosen to focus on making myself a better person instead of focusing on everything that seems to keep going wrong.  Since doing this, things have quickly started to look up for me! 

While I still have my Etsy shop running, I'm not huge on paying a bunch of fees. It seems that in order for your items to actually be seen by a wide variety of potential customers you have to pay extra for your product to show up in search results and other things.  I came across Storenvy.com and have decided to give it a try.  It is completely free for me to use and is accessible through my FaceBook page for followers to view.  I'm excited to give this a try and hope for the best.

My NFL Mohawk hats are back up and very popular, so my focus has been on trying to get a bunch of them readily available for people to order instead of having a wait time for me to make them.  While I do have a few still ready to go, most have been going quickly - such a great feeling to know that others enjoy what I make :)
Here is a link to my shop: http://www.storenvy.com/CraftingFriends

Many of the dresses that are ready are priced at 50% off to try and make some room for more designs when I get time to get back into designing.
The photos shown are few of the Hats that are ready to ship.

December Thoughts

Happy December my Friends!  Can you believe that the year is almost over?  I have been truely blessed this year.  We have had our ups and downs like everyone else, but we have a roof over our heads and food in the cupboards and have no serious health problems...who could ask for more?

I met a sweet lady yesterday at the boutique in town where I sell some of my items.  She is having a rough time right now and my heart aches for her.  She recently had surgery and lost 2 nephews (brothers) all within a few weeks.  Her neighbors and church "friends" did not take the time to check on her and I am just floored!  Are we that busy with our lives that we don't notice?   There are so many posts being shared on FaceBook about giving and sharing and serving and remembering the true meaning of Christmas.  I hope that more people will be willing to actually put forth the effort to do those things and not just click a button to share and pretend that it means something. 

I was in a hurry last night and my 3 daughters were waiting in the car for me.  Though I listened to her trials and hugged her while she cried, I admit that I should have done more.  I am a complete stranger, and was there to comfort her - but I think that I will see if I can find out who she really is and where she lives and do something for her.  She seems familiar to me, but I failed to even ask her name...I myself need to be better and I will be putting more effort into serving others.

How well do you know your neighbors?

21 Days of Thankful Giveaway Day 21

Today, I am thankful for the many people in th past who were very strong willed to have traveled as far as they did from other countries and struggled as much as some of them did in order to come to a new land and give us the Amazing country that we have now. Tomorrow will be a day of reflecting on the things we have that we are thankful for and spending time with family. I Love the Thanksgiving Holiday and I truely appreciate all that I have been blessed with! I know that there are many out there who do not have the means to celebrate as many of us do at this time and my prayers are with them. My heart aches for those who are struggling right now and though I don't have much to help anyone out, I have done and will do what I can in my local area to try and lighten their burden.

For some reason, Rafflecopter is not working for me this morning. It is not allowing me to choose a winner for yesterdays giveaway (I will keep trying until it works) or load todays.

So, for todays giveaway of the Swirly Whirly Child's Sundress pattern, you will need to leave a comment on my Facebook day 21 post here: Crafting Friends on FB letting me know what your favorite part of Thanksgiving is.  I will give each entry a # and use Random.org to draw a winner tomorrow. 

Remember: Only 1 prize/winner and exchanges are not allowed. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and please travel safe!
Kate