Multi-Use Crochet Gift Holder

A personal touch is what makes a gift special. Many people -- myself included -- love to receive gift cards for birthdays or holidays. As I prepared to gather with my family yesterday to celebrate my daughter R's birthday and give Baby S her new scrapbuster afghan that I blogged about here,  I considered what I might add to make the gift card my daughter had requested a little more personal and special. What I came up with was my Multi-Use Crochet Gift Card Holder.

A Go Crochet Crazy Design

This Multi-Use Gift Card Holder is wide enough to hold a gift card and tall enough to hold an iPhone. A simple crochet floral embellishment gives it an extra special touch, and the drawstring closure makes it easy to open and close. By using a single crochet until the last row at the top, it's sturdy enough to be repurposed as a coin purse, small cosmetic bag, cellphone holder or decorative sachet. I used a half-double crochet for the last row to make it easier to thread the drawstring through. As you can see from my balls of leftover yarn, this was another scrapbuster project, such as the scrapbuster afghan and the scrapbuster cat toys.

And then off we went, through the frozen tundra, also known as rural Illinois. As bitter cold as it is, I love love love that I can still see wide open spaces, working farms and small town churches within minutes of my home. :) Seeing them as we drove by made me feel as peaceful and content as crocheting.

If you're planning to start a new crochet project soon, I invite you to stop by my Amazon store to pick up the supplies you need!

A Weekend of "Cozies" and Finishing the Scrapbuster Afghan

It seems it's been an odd winter everywhere this year. As I enjoy a long, working visit with my family in Arctic Illinois, my boyfriend M keeps sending me reports of how spring- and summer-like the weather is where we live together near Dusseldorf, Germany. This past Friday night, another snowstorm was forecast for our area. I could almost hear the collective groans from just about everyone living in the Chicago area.

But there's no point in groaning the whole weekend away, now is there? My glass is always half-full, and I find that life seems so much more cheerful and wonderful that way. With the impending snowstorm on its way, I decided to make this a weekend of "cozies". And, since I'll be visiting with the entire family this Sunday afternoon, I wanted to finish my "Flowers in Bloom" scrapbuster afghan to give to three-week-old Baby S. :)

From inside -- where it's warmer and cozier -- a fresh blanket of snow can look beautiful.  

Yesterday afternoon -- my mom's cat Buddy enjoying "his" garden as the snow begins to fall.

Last night outside The Little White School House to see my son acting in "Harvey".

This morning

The view outside my living room window.

As pretty as it all looks, the temperature is quite cold. Which means its a good day to stay inside where it's cozy, crochet the last few scallops on the edge of Baby S's Flowers in Bloom afghan, and make a yummy, fresh fruit salad (think warm summer days!) for our family gathering later today. But first, a few cozies to start the morning out right....

Warm blankets and the rice-filled tube daughter R made that warms me after a minute in the microwave.

Flannel PJ bottoms and fuzzy socks

A steaming cup of hot tea

"Thank you" to whomever invented electric fireplaces!

Crocheting and staying warm at the same time.

Even Alice wants to be cozy and warm this morning.

In wintertime, the lovely thing about crocheting an afghan is that it keeps you warm while you work. The finishing touches have been put on Baby S's afghan, and I can't wait to give it to her this afternoon (see the final picture below). In the meantime, the next crochet project beckons, as does another cup of tea, a snuggle with the cat and enjoying Nature's beauty from within the warmth of my home.

Ta-dah! Flowers in Bloom is ready for its new home!

Cream and Pastel Chunky Infinity Scarf

A few weeks ago, I started working on a new crochet project. It started out with a forest green chunky-stitch infinity scarf, which I blogged about here. After working on a few crochet square designs, I returned to my infinity scarf project to make a cream and pastel version of my chunky infinity scarf.

With my trusty wooden Q hook in hand, I stitched up this beauty, working on it in bits and snatches of time over the course of a few nights.

Made with Redheart acrylic yarn in Aran along with a variegated pastel brand from Germany, this infinity scarf will be one of two basic patterns in an upcoming infinity scarf pattern book. It's soft, has just the right amount of elasticity and the bits of pastel color woven through give a classic scarf an attractive look.

I think it's safe to say that I'm officially addicted to infinity scarves. My next scarf has already been planned, and it's a fun fun fun pattern designed for intermediate crocheters. I can't wait to share it here! Do you like or wear infinity scarves? What crochet project are you addicted to right now?

Mr. Monkey -- My First and Only Attempt (So Far!) at Amigurumi

Amigurumi is, as you may have guessed, a Japanese words that means crocheted or knitted stuffed animal or doll. "Ami" means to crochet or knit, and nuigurumi is Japanese for "stuffed doll". Put them together and you have something like this.

It was while perusing crochet pins on Pinterest that I was first introduced to amigurumi. I couldn't say it then, and I can barely say it now. Admittedly, I was intimidated by what I saw. After reading  few patterns I thought, "No, that's not for me!" Even though some of the crochet critters I saw were really adorable.

"Hoo, hoo, I'm cute!"

Nothing can make me change my mind like love and an adorable little almost-two-year-old who loves monkeys. My daughter R's toddler son D. is crazy about Curious George. When a friend introduced me to an amigurumi monkey pattern, I knew I had to make it for D. And, truth be told, the pattern wasn't all that difficult.

Crocheting the monkey required lots and lots of small rounds for very long arms and legs. Only for D would I have put forth such effort. Since then, I've said "no more!", but I'm weak when to comes to cuteness in small packages. Here's Mr. Monkey, who is now happily living with his best friend D.

Mr. Monkey -- my first amigurumi attempt.

Sitting comfortably on his crochet afghan after a long morning of play.

 "Never say never" is what I always say. While I'm not inclined to try amigurumi again soon, it's very possible a cute little face will look up at me, melt all my resolves and get me started on the next crochet critter.

Have you made any amurigumi, and what have been your amigurimi experiences?

Crochet Baby Cocoons & Matching Hats -- The New Way to Swaddle

Next week I'll be traveling back home to the Chicago area to spend time with my family (two babies should be making their arrivals next week) and to attend a training with the company where I work as a tour director during the summer and fall. All the cold weather I've been hearing about makes me wish I had an adult-sized crochet cocoon to keep myself warm for the next several weeks. But I can only imagine how long that would take to make!

While the Midwest has had an Arctic-like winter, we've had a really mild winter here in the Dusseldorf area. In fact, it's been so mild that nature seems to think it's almost spring. Today as I walked down to the recycling bins a couple blocks from our house, I saw these signs of spring:

A gorgeous, flowering tree with tiny, pink buds.

Forsythia bushes in bloom by the neighbor's house.

And tiny buds forming on the magnolia tree in our front yard.

I was going to post a picture of what the weather's been like in Chicago lately, but I decided I'd rather focus on spring-like weather while I have the chance.

Anyway, when I saw my daughters, S and R, this past Christmas, I gave them each a crochet baby cocoon with a matching hat for their babies who are now due any minute. I'd also made one for a friend last year, and everyone really liked them. The positive comments prompted me to do yet another thing I've wanted to do but have been too busy...publish my first crochet pattern!! May it be the first of many! Here are pictures of the baby cocoons made with my pattern.

Crochet Baby Cocoon with Redheart Pink Camo

Heather gray yarn with off-white and baby blue trim.

My baby cocoon and matching hat pattern is available on Amazon. They're popular for photography props, but I think they're great for swaddling. In fact, every baby in the Midwest should have a crochet cocoon and matching hat this winter!