best wishes

Happy New Year

Turkey Seed Bead Chart

Made with size 11 seed beads

Card Tablet Weaving the begining

I love making bags.. but knit and crochet straps not so much.. takes forever to get a nice thickness that doesn't stretch and is strong enough..

 last year I started to inkle weave bands, while I haven't made one in since last summer, in those few months I fell in love with them..
wasn't able to get back to weaving until yesterday .. I decided to give tablet/card weaving a try..

I used my inkle loom as I don't have an area where backstrap could be easily done ..
 my work area is about 1 3/4 by 4 yards .. including my rocking chair and desk.. my beads mostly fit under my desk/table , yarn is being stored in hallway leaving very little walk way lol ..thankfully it is temporary :) ..
even trying to set up the warped cards was a bit of a challenge, used 9 four hole cards, in each hole about five feet of older than my adult sons acrylic yard .. was gifted to me not long ago, great way to try this out without a big cost, total of about 60 yards.. I didn't warp up much yardage both due to having no clue if I was even going to be able to pull it off and space issues.... using this yarn did add an extra level of difficulty as it was almost felting with so much movement, even with that it went pretty fast.. 

as far as other costs I got a new deck of cards ( cut to 2 1/2 inches ) and a hole punch.. about two bucks together.. I by chance saw a video on how to use barrel swivels for fishing line to attach your yarn together if you are planning on doing a pattern that goes mostly in one direction.. great tip highly agreed after only one go at it .. those were about $3.. for 35 ( sz 5 ) plenty of extras ... had a key ring already although I will be using more than one next time.. to tie the yarn to one side and the swivels with the other end of the warp yarn hooked up to..  the simple pattern I picked is only two colors and forward turning.. had I not added the swivels it would have been a whole different story ..

I got 1 inch wide by about 22 inches long band.. I stopped a few inches short of what I could have worked up thinking it would be long enough for a hat band.. it's super dense.. flat out love it.. this is going to add a fun and hopefully pretty strong and element to my bags..
total cost of $5. ( without yarn or the supplies I already had, loom, beater and shed stick ) the cards can be used again as the swivels.. paper punch is a much needed replacement.. not bad for trying out a new craft :)

Ground Owl Seed Bead Chart

As a life long fan of owls, I was delighted to find ground owls living near by..

I plan on stitching it on to a fabric to creat a charm or key chain that will hold up a bit better.. they can easily be made into earrings by adding a beaded hoop to the top of the head or metal ring.

 

  used round size 11/0 seed beads and nymo beading thread

Lady Bugs Loom Bracelet

 This is another item to check off my list of things I have wanted to make for ages now..
 I have loved Lady bugs for as long as I can recall..


very simple chart, works up fast.. braided closure so super easy on that score as well ..

I use round ( size 11/0 ) beads, so the chart looks a little squared off.. 

I made the chart using a free download of Bead Tool 4.. I don't use the same colors as they have listed so I only use the color chart, not the number or names .. pick your favorite brand/type of beads and go for it.. 

Paw Print Earring Bead Chart

11/0 seed beads

Loom Beading Bone Heart Paw

.Pulled out my beading loom.. been really missing weaving but have no were I can set up my table top loom right now, besides I've gone and pulled out all of my beads over the last few weeks.. only thing I could do was start bead weaving lol

I had only made a couple of bead loom weavings in the past.. I jumped into straight stitch and brick stitch right away..  it offers a freedom that looming doesn't in exchange for speed.. I adore free form works.. yet I love working up charts.. easy answer made my own :)

I am relearning bead weaving skills as it had been close to a decade.. my charts will progress as I do.. I do plan on jumping around between crochet beading, crochet, knit and weaving.. playing it by ear each day.. so stay tuned to see what's next ;)

here is the chart .. I don't have counts of each color yet after I get all of that together I will offer a pdf on Esty..
made with size 11/0 seed beads of iffy quality as I am just getting restarted I thought I might as well use up some of my lesser beads until my skill warrants higher cost beads lol 

Earring Bead Charts

 Brick Stitch


size 11/0 seed beads
Haven't had the time to get counts on the beads yet, but here are a couple of charts I've been playing with

just add 6 beads to the top to form a loop for you ear hook
used nymo beading thread ans size 12 needle I believe

Earring Time

 Seed bead earring time .. a few of the earrings I am getting ready to add to my Etsy shop.. so many I want to still make
. so many other projects I want to do.. nothing to do but jump back and forth among the crafts... sure fire way not to get bored lol

Green and Gold Crochet Rope Chart

Evil Eye Crochet Rope Chart

Thrifty thread

Been in search of a good deal on thread I could use for crochet rope jewelry..

Got one at a thrift store.. only catch is I have to unwind them... at least a dozen thin, mixed colors and fibers, threads along with a thicker cord rolled in to a ball.. no clue what the original plan might have been.. but got me some embroidery floss cardboard cutout holders and some Bobbie pins.. going to attempt to unwind without cutting.. 

These two are smaller without the cord.. might have to make some tassel earrings out of some of this . loving the colors

Cherry Bossom Crochet Rope Bracelet

My first try at more detailed pattern.. I wanted to make one that didn't repeat the same thing over and over.. I went with cherry blossoms as they are in bloom all over town right now.. and one of my favorites for making everything from bracelets to fingerless gloves lol

I used size 11 seed beads for the white and pinks but switched to 12 for the black.. I knew the black would be over powering as it was going to be next to soft pinks so down sizing them would back it down a bit but it would also create more texture that would add to the over all look I was going for...

I love beads that are wonky.. different from each other.. I love the feel of them worked up..  makes each item truly one of a kind even when following a chart...

Used crochet thread size 20 and a 1.10mm hook

Got a chart maker.. still need to figure out how print or screen shot one, but in the meantime I will be happy with snapping a photo with my phone lol... 

Never stop learning

 I set my yarn aside and pulled out my beads.. been far too long.. in the process checked a item off of my ''I want to learn" list.. crochet ropes have been on that list since before I could crochet lol.. starting to get the hang of it.. so many patterns/charts are just calling to be made.. 

 Tried two colors.. in both small and large beads..

Before setting the yarn down.. 

 I checked another item off that list with trying a Waffle Stitch Shawl...

Just before that shawl...

 With this one I checked off a few.. star shawl, overlay to out line a color change and color controled cake yarns..

 

 I have been playing with crochet charts for awhile now .. while making a pair of pineapple earrings it dawned on me I had not made a knit shawl using a chart.. well I am in the middle of fixing that.. as well as another C2C shawl.. will get back to them soon.. but first a few crochet rope charts need to happen.. 

Birthday SALE

 My birthday falls on Easter this year.. SALE time .. 53% off all patterns and charts .. good until 4/21/19 midnight mt. time

ravelry store

Scrubbies in stock

Back by popular demand.. 
                Scrubbies now in stock in my Etsy shop
                    ( click link on side of posts )

 I have bee asked so many times to make more scrubbies
Friends and family are hooked.. so much so they started to gift them as gifts...

I will admit I love them myself.. after years of using the same ones mine died.. ok the puppies getting into the laundry basket may have had something to do with that..

my bath pouf was a casualty in a separate incident.. time had finally come to set aside all other projects and make another batch of scrubbies..

a few changes have been made to make them even better than before...

Now each one has a worsted weight soft cotton side. The opposite side is still made from vintage acrylic.. but I was lucky enough to get my hands on some of the most coarse yarn that I have come across...  more than a dozen skeins.. not a pleasure to work with but as far as scrubbing goes well worth it.. I would not want to do a big item out of these however lol
I added the cotton to all of them.. in the past I only made a few here and there, as hubby kept stealing mine and taking them out to his shop to wash tires and such, I saw no since in it.. around here..
After my poor bath pouf was lost I kept forgetting to grab another one.. I had just made a larger scrubbie to use up the last bit of cotton in that color way.. I thought why not..
 IT WAS PERFECT..
a bit of body soap on the cotton side.. only needed to put soap on it once.. the scrubbie side was just enough to exfoliate comfortably...  hence the next change.. they are bigger now..

right now I have sets of three on my shop, will be adding other choices soon..