July Birthday (Sneak Peek)

My little boy turns

2

in July. 

No, not right around the corner (well...), but close enough

for me to be thinking about

Birthday Presents.

Especially those of the handmade variety.

The last couple of months the boy''s been completely obsessed with the color Blue. He points out all the blue things everywhere we go and he'll repeatedly say, "Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, Blue, BLUE, BLUE!!" until you acknowledge, "Yes, that car is blue!" He can now smile at you with his blinky little eyes that sweet little face and reply, "Mhmm" (because he can't yet say "yes"). 

I try as hard as I possibly can to be a birthday and Christmas minimalist, but I do feel compelled to make my kids something special during those times. My older son got a blanket last October when he turned 3 , and while I wanted Little Brother to open his own star blanket on his 3rd birthday, I realized today-- why? They're two very different boys, so they honestly don't need the same things just in different colors. And once that sunk in, I got to work.

I had leftover turquoise yarn from my still very secret Cooperative Press project and figured it'd be just perfect for my speedy-summery-seed-stitch blanket. I don't have enough blue to make the blanket the size I want, so I'm interspersing it with very random -and therefore, very delightful- stripes of whatever extra cotton I have lying around. Not very much, come to find out. Most of that is going to the Sunburst Granny.

I'm only one day into this blanket, and probably close to a 3rd of the way done. Assuming I have enough yarn to pull it off, it'll easily be done within a week. Very speedy, indeedy. And THEN I'll take some glorious, "Look, it's FINISHED!!" pictures and write out my little pattern to share with the world-wide-web. A free pattern, nothing quite as delightful!

In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek!

Have a LoVeLy DaY!

***
www.purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

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What's Going On (WIP)

I bought some more of that very local, very authentic, wow-this-feels-like-a-sheep wool today.

"Ooh, what are you going to make out of the yarn??" the friendly saleswoman asked.
"Mm, I think some flower garlands," I replied.

I want to make another one *exactly* like this one I've made before. But I don't have anymore of these bronze Bumblebee buttons. They're not available online. They're unfindable in my local JoAnn's (where I originally happened across them). This is distressing, indeed.

Changing the subject to something a touch more punchy and fun:
I made an Olivia Octopus last night for an upcoming baby shower that I actually won't be attending. Little Liv needs a hat, or a flower in her "hair" (...?) to be considered complete.

Maybe an embroidered mouth wouldn't hurt either. She needs to look a bit sweeter and less disturbed before she's declared Baby Ready.

Mmmhm, so that's what's going on. Thanks for stopping in!

Have a lovely day!
***

www.purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

www.facebook.com/PurpleChairCrochet

pinterest.com/PurpleChair

A One, A Two, A One-Two-Three-Four! (WIP)

It's growing!!

The Sunburst Granny Blankie is now

*4 Rows Deep*

!!!

=D

It's finally starting to look less scarf-like and more "hey, that's almost half a blanket!"-like, which is such a great moment. Much easier to photograph, too.

There are a couple new color additions in the form of this sage & lavender duo. They're a bit too sweet, but it offers a nice break from the punchy colors.

I'm making sure all the middle rows are especially beautiful. That's one of my blanket rules. My other blanket rule is that no exterior color may "touch" another exterior color (kind of like when you were coloring maps in geography... uh, did anyone else do that? I was home-schooled.... do public schools even teach geography?)

 SEE why I made the middle especially beautiful? So when you fold it it's ESPECIALLY beautiful.

 4 rows down! Yahoo! I have ends to weave in, but yuck. So I took pictures and wrote this blog post instead.

The above are some future squares. The two pastel ones are a bit to Easter-egg-y for my taste, so they'll be spaced waaay apart to not draw attention to that element. So, yeah, good thing I just pointed your attention to that element.

I'm too far to think about a border, but here's what I'm considering:

Image courtesy of: ellenbloom.blogspot.com
Found via: pinterest

It's visually appealing without stealing the starbursty goodness. I like it. And so does my cousin, who gets the final say in this, since it's her blanket. That's a tidbit of importance I can't overlook.

Hope you have a
LoVeLy DaY!

***

www.purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

www.facebook.com/PurpleChairCrochet

www.pinterest.com/PurpleChair

Pin It (New!)

 

Being a tad particular about my crochet, specifically crochet that I plan to sell, I ordered the above pins online.

I waited... and waited... and checked my front step for a box and waited some more.

(Dear Joann's, you have the slowest shipping ever.

 $5.95 for 7-10 business days on an item that could 

fit in an envelope and arrive via USPS in 2?

 But, I will resist complaining.) 

Finally, I looked out and saw it- the huge cardboard box. Within this huge box was plastic air filled packaging. Under that, 2 tiny, 50 piece baggies full of gold and silver pins. "2.25" Coil-less Safety Pins".

These coil-less pins are not found in stores -trust me on that. I had to order them online. And I did, because in the years I've been crocheting, every time I make a pin the same horrid thing happens: the yarn gets pinched in the coil. Pulled, frayed, stuck, it's in the Top 10 Crochet Pet Peeves list easily. Standard safety pins are not only un-removable, but will also damage, destroy, maim, harm, rip, tear, fray your beautiful crochet. No good.

But with *these* pins, well, they're remarkably gentle on the crochet and are easily removed (if you want to wear the pin in your hair, say, and need a bobby pin in place of a safety pin). 

Sold on the pins? Me too. And now, I present the latest addition to my Etsy shop:

P I N S
(or brooches)

 

Have a lovely day!!
***

www.purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

www.facebook.com/PurpleChairCrochet 

www.pinterest.com/purplechair

Give Love (Inspiration)

It's like a dance party over here today! I'm in love with this song.

For awhile now I've looked for opportunities to share God's love with others through crochet. It's quite the challenge to feel like you're making a direct impact on someone's life when all you're doing is crocheting a few baby hats or blankets. I'd love to somehow structure my Etsy shop around a charity, but even that feels detached. I don't want to just give money- I want to be involved! And so I continue to ponder and consider.

There's a story in the Bible about a woman named Tabitha. It says in the book of Acts she was "abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did". The story picks up with her death, which caused great distress with the local widows. They came to the apostle Peter and, weeping, showed him all the clothes she'd made and given them. Tabitha used her skill and talent for others and it made a direct impact on the lives of many. She was loved because she gave love in the way she knew how. You can read the rest of Tabitha's story by following the link. It's got a good ending. ;)

So, crafters of the internet, here's my question: how do you get directly involved? Tabitha didn't just give the works of her hands to her friends and family- she gave them directly to society's most needy. Leave your wisdom in the comments section. :)

***

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