Purple Chair Crochet: 2012

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Holly's Infinity Scarf

This is the infinity scarf I made for my friend, Holly. I found some inspiration that I shared with her, then we had a little conversation about colors, then I went to Knit Picks and drooled a ~~little~~ lot (and qualified for free shipping, but who doesn't?), THEN the postman delivered a box full of yarn (one of my favorite things!). And I got to work. Zoomzoomzoom, it was a done scarf. I timed it- 6 hours (not including the weaving in of ends, another 1.5 hrs. Oye, ends!). The stripes and the color changes were completely addicting, and I want to make one for myself. Maybe next year. =D

Her color choices are very woodsy and earth-inspired. I have a little bit of each color left and I'm having frequent conversations with myself about what to make of it. Hmm...

The sky was murky on the day of picture taking. Certainly makes this scarf all drama. A dramatic woodland themed scarf.

Every couple of months (or maybe it's about twice a year... seems to be spring and autumn) we send each other a present package because of the joy of it. It's fun to make things for others just because - not because it's a holiday or a birthday or someone is paying you for it. Just for the joy of making and giving. There's the joy of receiving, too... anyway, I recommend YOU send someone a random care package of joy, just because.

I really fancy those Rudolph stickers. =D

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Honeycomb Hexagons (Free!)

Lately I've...
...been on a bee kick (watching documentaries, reading books on bee keeping, buying local honey and consuming measurable quantities daily with my yogurt or on toast).
...been obsessed with the color yellow.
...been hoarding yellow cotton yarn for a blanket.
...been procrastinating in fulfilling my 'to do' list.

Here's the result: a honeycomb for my table top! (Don't worry, I'll tell you how!)

Initially I wanted to turn these 12 honey colored hexagons into a blanket. But. Wow. Hexagons are fatiguing! I take my hat off to anyone who has made a full sized hexagon blanket, and bailed out deciding that, as bee-utiful (see what I did there?) as a honeycomb blanket would be, something for the table seemed more appropriate. And shorter.

I joined the hexagons in a single night, weaved in those innumerable ends (I was not about to count them!) and voila! an asymmetrical tabletop centerpiece.

These hexagons are incredibly easy to make. The "difficult" part is joining them all together, and that isn't even difficult. Just tedious. So one day I'll make a full out blanket for myself, but today is not that day.

Wanna make some? There are endless possibilities right? Anything you'd use a hexagon or a motif for, you could simply adjust the colors and show off your love of bees (I can't be the only one!).

Honeycomb Hexagon!

Supplies List:
MC (honey colored- so light browns, any shade of yellow, etc)
CC (a color lighter or darker than the honey color- ecru white or dark brown)
5.5mm crochet hook
scissors
yarn needle

Honeycomb Hexagon:
With MC, ch 4. Join with sl st to first ch to form a ring.
Rnd 1: Ch2, dc into ring, ch1. *2dctog, ch 1 * 5 times around. Join with sl st to first dc. (6 dc clusters formed)
Rnd 2: Sl st into ch sp of previous row. ch2, dc into sp, ch 1. 2dctog, ch1 in same space. In each ch 1 space around work *2dctog, ch1, 2dctog, ch1 *. Join with sl st to first dc. (12 dc clusters)
Rnd 3: Sl st into ch sp of previous row. Ch2, work 2 dc in ch sp. *in next ch sp work 3dc, ch 2, 3dc (corner). In next ch sp work 3dc * repeating around until you've formed 6 corners. Join with sl st to first dc. Fasten off.
Rnd 4: Join CC. Sc in each st around, working *sc, ch2, sc * into corner space. Join with a sl st to first sc. Fasten off.

To join hexagons together, you can use the traditional method (right sides face each other, slip stitch them together in the back loops only) ~or~ you can check out this awesome tutorial for single-crochet-join-as-you-go. (You do need a ravelry account to download the pattern, but that's not a bad thing!)

Enjoy!!

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
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Oh Baby! (Charity)

Check out this lovely hat and blanket set I made for a friend's niece. Crocheting for charity is immensely rewarding (and beautiful)!

The blanket was made with 2 strands of incredibly soft "baby yarn", worked together, and the flowers are "Irish Roses" made with silk & bamboo blends- incredibly soft and beautiful. It's not the traditional baby-blanket look, which is good because babies grow up. :)

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
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Vintage Vibe

Recently my friend Greg emailed me looking for a round piece of crochet to display in a vintage frame for his wife's birthday. Could this be done? Of course! Greg, being a gifted artist (he designed the Purple Chair Crochet logo. Oh yeah!), sent me his color palette in neat little square picture files, and I put my best yarn hunting attempt into finding the color match.

Here's the result. I told my husband I love it SO much that I secretly hope Greg hates it so I can keep it for myself. Charming Husband pointed out that I can just make myself another one...? Oh...yeah....

Tah-dah!

Brings in a vintage vibe. I love it.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Slouch Hat Love (Coming Soon!)

This is my slouch hat. I love it!
This pattern is *coming soon* to Purple Chair Crochet's etsy shop.

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
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Image courtesy: Still Life Images

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Lessons Learned from the (First!) Bazaar

Image courtesy: Still Life Images

1) I can last a long time on a Grande Peppermint Mocha and a couple servings of cashews.

2) I have AWESOME, supportive, wonderful friends!

3) Sometimes people buy things. Sometimes they don't.

4) The people who loved my booth the most were teenage hipster-types and crocheters.

5) I don't count success by dollars.

6) All the kids (literal and at-heart) loved Olivia Octopus.

7) I'm not as socially awkward as I thought, at least when I'm talking about crochet.

8) When going on an adventure, it's best to go with a friend. =)

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Here's My Card

Other titles considered for this post:
"It's Business Time"
"Moo Delivered"
"OH MY GOSH! THESE THINGS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!"

The tiny little One Dollar easels at the craft store were my pick for business card display for my booth. Add a bit of yarn bombing (and the cards) and they're ready for the big day!

So here's my business card review of Moo.com
~If you're looking for high quality and gorgeous- go with them.
~If you want your logo to upload... uh, maybe try it out and see if it works. Mine just wouldn't work for their template. Bummer. Maybe for the next batch?
~If you want something inexpensive, shop around. I ordered a pack of 100 for $50, but that doesn't include the $7 shipping. It's not cheap, but they're not cheap either. I don't feel dissatisfied with the price for the product that I got from it.

Saturday's the day!! Also, Thanksgiving is next week. How did it creep up on me like this? Ridiculous. I'm supposedly hosting people too. This could be a disaster. :)

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
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