The Question was asked... The Challenge was issued... The BATTLE IS ON!

The Battle is ON
The Designers are set

Their Hooks came out swinging

Their yarn they did get

The focus - One Stitch

The Theme - Mother's Day

Hold on to your seats!

There's more on the way...

Battle of the Stitches Round 1 Game #1

The Battle of the Stitches has just begun
So Follow along and join in the fun
This is the first in our list of games
Can you list the Challengers Names?

Comment below with the Name of the person behind the business.  Comments are moderated and will not show up until I approve them to make it fair for everyone. Make sure to leave your name in the comment for me to contact you.

Ribbon Candy Scarf Pattern

Last week,  I posted my Ribbon Candy V Scarf pattern for everyone to try.  The response was AMAZING!
I love the V in the design and it makes it such a great pattern to have for men or women.  The Ribbon Candy Scarf is the same stitch work, but worked in a different direction than the other scarf gives the design a very different look. I love it! 

Ribbon Candy Scarf by Crafting Friends Designs

It reminds me of holding a roll of ribbon and letting it just unwind falling to the floor. 
This is the same design, only sized for American Girl dolls.

 

5k Fan Appreciation Giveaway

I want to let you all know how much I appreciate your support.  I am extremely thankful for the friendships I've made with many of you over the last few years.  It is so exciting to see my hobby grow and have so many people appreciate what I do.  What an awesome experience this has been!

To celebrate gaining 5,000 fans on Face Book,  I have a fantastic giveaway starting today.  Red Heart has generously donated a wonderful prize package valued at $125 - WOW!

This Retail Prize Package includes:
·         4 With Love
·         3 Anne Geddes
·         2 Boutique Magical
·         2 Reflective
·         2 Boutique Treasure
·         2 Boutique Sassy Fabric
·         1 Boutique Sashay
·         Red Heart Tote Bag
·         Susan Bates Knitting Needles Set
·         Susan Bates Crochet Hooks Set
·         Red Heart Tape Measure

New Pattern: Ribbon Candy V Scarf

Every now and then,  I like to offer patterns for free and this is one that I designed specifically with that in mind.

The Ribbon Candy V Scarf is really easy to work up and can be made in any size.  Instructions are given for an 18" doll sized scarf also to give girls a "mommy & Me" set. A photo is shown at the very bottom of this post as an example.
AND - if you keep going on the repeat rows, it would make an AWESOME afghan!

**Affiliate Link**

I hope you enjoy this pattern and I would love to see photos if you make something with it.  Feel free to post it on my  Facebook page. 
If you would like a PDF ready version, it's available for purchase here: http://www.craftingfriendsdesigns.com/store/p195/Pattern%3A_Ribbon_Candy_V_Scarf.html

Ribbon Candy V Scarf

Ribbon Candy V Scarf by Crafting Friends Designs

**This post contains affiliate links**

Red Heart Soft on Amazon

Size:  18” Doll (3’, 4’, 5’, 6’)                          

Gauge: 4 SC & 4 Rows = 1”                                              
Hook: Size H or size to match gauge                                   

Materials: Red Heart Soft 4ww
 5-8oz Main Color (A)
 2-6oz Striping Color (B)

Spring Sparkle Shawl Pattern Release

Spring Sparkle Shawl

Recently, I was able to try out some new yarn from Red Heart.  Have you ever heard of Boutique Swanky?
It's quite pretty!  It has a fun shine to the threads and Sequins are sporadically placed to give it that extra sparkle.  I have been asked many times to design a lacy shawl and when Red Heart sent me a skein of Boutique Swanky to try out, well,  I knew exactly what I wanted to use it for!

Review: Too Yarn Cute e-magazine

Subscriptions

Today I'm excited to share with you my thoughts on the Too Yarn Cute e-magazine.  Let's get this out of the way first - This is not a paid review.  I have not received anything to share my opinion other than the magazine itself to review.  This is my honest to goodness opinion.

Growing up, I watched my grandma and my mom crochet and mom taught me to crochet when I was 10.  Most of the things mom would crochet were just basic afghans using patterns found on the yarn wrappers.  She had a few small books from the store, but not many.  Grandma on the other hand subscribed to Hooked on Crochet and a couple of others from Annie's.  I have never actually subscribed to crochet magazines.  Grandma gave me her entire collection a year or so ago since she's not really using them anymore so between those and making my own designs,  I don't have a whole lot of time.  I do however like seeing the work of the many other amazing designers out there right now and follow them on different social sites. 

February WIP Challenge Results

I knew it, I knew it! ~ I knew I wasn't the only one who has a big WIP (work in progress) pile of projects.
Last week, I issued the challenge on my FaceBook page to post a photo of WIP's.  Everyone was given the weekend to complete as many of the projects in the photos as possible. 
This is what we accomplished from the challenge:

 This is the pile I began with on Friday.  10 projects and most have been in a box for at least a year.  The  Patriotic afghan has sat the longest, so I knew I wanted to tackle that for sure.  Then the White and blue Diamond Capelet was started when I was designing the pattern and I'm not sure why I didn't just finish it.  I had my 5yr old try it on and it was just the right length.  All I had to do was add the border and ties...WHY was that so hard???

Crafting Friends

Featured Crafter: Little Luvies Shop

Good Monday morning everyone.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

I'm happy to introduce you to another wonderful friend I have come to know through Crochet.  Jennifer  is the gal behind Little Luvies Shop and has been a tester for me since day. She has been a huge support through all my ups and downs.  Jennifer also designs on her own, so I hope you will take some time to visit some of her social sites and see what she is up to.

An unfinished project with one question in mind - Keep going or turn it into something else?

Isn't it funny how the mind works?  When the creative juices start flowing,  it's hard to focus on anything else but that next design that you are dieing to work up!  As I was looking for a crochet book to reference an afghan pattern to here on the blog,  I had to move a box of unfinished projects out of my way.  Uggghh!  The Guilt and the dread that I felt - well....It was sad :( 

I bet it's been close to 1 1/2 years ago that I started a small Red, White and Blue afghan.  Really,  it's like a baby sized afghan and it's still sitting in my pile - I know, I have issues.  I have always worked really small bubble style stitches and I thought it would be fun to try a larger popcorn type of a stitch. I had a good sized stash of Red Heart Super Saver Yarn  and I kept telling myself that I needed to use the stash up before I go out and buy any more.  In all seriousness,  do you know any hookers who clean out their stash of yarn before buying more?   I don't.  And don't let anyone fool you - they probably have some yarn hidden in the closet or under the bed. This pattern was fun at first.  I just made it all up as I went along my merry way.  Nothing spectacular, just some good ole simple, mindless stitches. Then....Creativity struck!!! Now, I don't know what it was that made me put the afghan aside, but I had to get those fingers moving on .