I Crocheted My House (Finished!)

I'm a sucker for cutesy amigurumi, and I'm a sucker for cutesy housey thingies. So when I saw these adorable crocheted houses, well, of course I would make a version of my own house!

It helps that I live in a "Cape Cod" style house- it's already cutesy all on its own.

Azaleas in the front...

...and a forsythia bush in the back. Yay, homey goodness!

Initially I wanted it to be pillow-sized, but as I got into the foundation and halfway up the house I realized how unreasonable that is. Frogged it and began anew- and now this little guy is a sweet "miniature". I stuffed it with poly-fil, but I'd recommend that you weight it with some beans in the bottom, because mine tends to topple.

So are you going to crochet your house? Check out the link that follows for some inspiration and instructions to get you going! Crafty Queens: Crocheted House

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess

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purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

facebook.com/PurpleChairCrochet

pinterest.com/purplechair

A Wee Bit Ugly (Inspiration)

I dedicate this blog post to my mom (Hi, Mom!), who wanted to see pictures of my new old couch.

I recently bought a couch. An ugly couch. That's okay- that's the point. It's ugly. And it's mine. It all started when my charming husband and I happened across this beautiful ugly chair in an antique shop about....6 years ago.

We christened it, "The Ugly Chair" and toted it with us from duplex, to rented house, to apartment complex to, finally, our home.

Then a few months ago, we came across another beauty ugly...

This one is soooooo cozy! So so SO cozy. I can't even.... it swivels, and it rocks. It's perfectly proportioned for shorties like me (5'2"). It's amazing. Whoops, I'm gushing. More here.

Our mantel. Joy. :)
I don't know why this picture is involved...
Where was I again?
OH, but here it is.... the gorgeous new old ugly sofa!!

We found it on Craig's list where it was listed for sale at a new-to-us thrift store, which also happened to be the cleanest thrift store I've ever walked into. Immaculate.

And since this is a "Saturday at Home" post, I started wandering around with the camera in hand, snapping pictures of things that caught my fancy. African Violet, anyone?

My "octagon" bathmat.... it ended up more circular than I was going for. 

A close up, complete with foot crumbs (it is a bathmat, after all). 

Window plants silhouettes.... the leeks are going for it, but the sweet potatoes.... not so much. The basil is in the empty pot (bottom left) and I just saw the tiniest little sprout poking through today. Welcome to the world, little Basil!

As promised, my "genie slippers". They're actually the Granny Square Slippers via the purl bee and they're comfy and snug and a wee bit ugly (I'm okay with that, remember?).

Oh, and have a look at this.... a newly started flower pot. There's actually a bit of Big News revolving around this one. But you're just going to have to stay tuned, because I'm no where near ready to get into the details.

Hope you all had a beautiful/ugly day!

Have a Lovely Day!
~Jess
***

purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

facebook.com/PurpleChairCrochet

pinterest.com/purplechair

Weekending

And now, for your enjoyment: 

a tidbit of domestic goodness!

A colander-turned-light-fixture for our hallway, found at a thrift store for a whopping $1. The charming one is installing it now.

Surprise! My charming husband brought me home some mums (and we all know how much I love mums!). They remind me of fireworks- so gorgeous!

So, in our house we have "the ugly chair", "the purple chair" (which you're familiar with) and now: "the cozy chair". Another thrift store find ($35!). It rocks slightly and swivels all around too, making it an absolute delight to curl up and crochet in. I did pause for a moment at the ruffled skirt, but then I decided that the chair was just trying to be a bit fancy and forgave it's lack of fashion sense. I escorted the purple chair up the stairs into my craft room so I can, once again, snuggle up in it while I intensely crochet. This cozy chair is just for leisurely, social crochet. You know the difference, I'm sure.

Mm, yum, pattern and color love!

Leisurely crochet in the form of a soft grey bathmat for our bathroom. One day it'll be made over and beautiful like I dream, with soft greys and white paneling and subway tile and pedestal sinks. But not anytime soon. So, I dream and crochet the bathmat for the future bathroom that kinda-sorta matches our current room of horror (mauvey pink tile from 1953).

Eventually this pattern will work out to reveal an octagon shape. You can already see it forming a bit, thanks to the consistent placement of the increases.

Thrift stores always have a ton of cookie tins, and this funky beauty (another $1 purchase) was destined for my kitchen!

Yep. :)

Have a Lovely Day!

~Jess
***

purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

facebook.com/PurpleChairCrochet

pinterest.com/purplechair

Shapes, Colors, Patterns (Inspiration)

I have some ideas in my head for new designs, but one never knows if these things will actually work or not. So, while I pondered (I've quit attempting to write patterns while the boys are awake), I took a tour of my house and took pictures of shapes, colors, and patterns that I found inspiring.

Enjoy!

Hope you're all having a lovely Monday!

A Tale of Two Floor Mats (W.I.P.)

Once upon a time, there was a store-bought floor mat. 

There was nothing particularly impressive about this floor mat. It's colors were dull, it's style was lacking, and it's overall construction was basic. Nevertheless, it did it's duty and acted as the first defense against dirt in the home and therefore, was in no need of reassignment.

One day, the floor mat met with a substance that required more than a shaking out and a good vacuuming. That substance was.... poop. Who could have done such a thing?? Who would befoul an innocent, albeit unimpressive, door mat?

....

The lady of the house had cleaned such a substance before. After all, with 2 small boys, a dog, 2 chickens, and a kitten, it was a part of her daily routine. Needless to say, she did not faint or shudder at her obligation to cleanse this floor mat. So once a surface cleanse of the offensive substance was completed the lady consulted the final authority to see how she might carry on sterilizing this particular floor mat. She lifted the tag and read the ominous words:

"Not Machine Washable. Dyes May Run"

Oh dear. 

This $8 floor mat had the misfortune of being, of all things, High Maintenance. The lady could not in good conscious trust that the offensive substance was thoroughly sterilized. She could not wash the rug in her  machine for fear of dye running amok. It saddened her that her trusty, cheap floor mat came with such a serious and unexpected flaw. Especially for a floor mat. 

But the lady, being an avid crocheter, knew just what to do. She hastened to her local yarn shop and retrieved beautiful, cotton, washable yarn from the shelves and set to work with her own two hands making a replacement floor mat.

Something useful.

Something sturdy.

Something beautiful.

Something trendy.

Something machine washable.

The lady was so smitten with this Chevron style floor mat and the beautiful colors, she began to take notice of other places her floors needed covering. The area by the front door could perhaps benefit from some grey and magenta. The hallway's absence of a runner in white, grey and black was suddenly a crisis. The lady tried to put these other projects from her head, but it was such a challenge when so much beauty and inspiration was before her. 

The lady, full of joy and pride in her creation-in-the-making, took a moment to photograph it and write up some information about the floor mat to be. She posted the pictures to her online crochet journal so that friends and family might see the new floor mat's progress and be delighted and inspired to create something useful & beautiful for their home as well.

The end.

Thankful for November (Fantastic Finds)

November's here! I'm thankful for another upcoming Thanksgiving with my little family. :) 

Do you decorate with crochet for the autumn? I have my little nesting bowls out, filled with rocks and acorns and some stuffed pumpkins I made years ago. That's it. :) But I did find a use for that gorgeous, mustard colored yarn... you've gotta scroll through these Fantastic Finds first to see what's come from it. Don't worry, it's totally worth it, there are some GoRgEoUs colors down there VVVV.... 

Image courtesy of astashtoys

Image courtesy of BobbiLewin

Image courtesy of Jillybeanerz

Image courtesy of Jillybeanerz

Image courtesy of kanokwalee

Mum Hat - pattern coming soon to PurpleChairCrochet

Yay! A fun hat, inspired by Mums, my favorite autumn flower (Sunflowers are more of an end-of-summer flower, so there). Here's why it's the "Mum" hat...

See that pretty mum spiraling out from the center? With me now? Awesome.

So leave me a comment and tell me what you're making this autumn. Thanksgiving decor?  (YES to colorful acorns! In a dish or on a garland, they're delightful!) Autumn inspired scarves or hats? (How great is that golden-leaf scarf? Beautiful!) A gift for the newest baby in your life? (Autumn is such a great time to have a baby!) Get to sharin'!