Inspired Distractions

Another creative tear is happening over here.

I wanted to try making one of these crochet necklaces ever since I saw the beautiful ones here. I had all the materials on hand. These beads are actually recycled from a broken bracelet I had languishing in my jewelry box. It's very beachy and perfect for summer. Hooray for something seasonal! These are really fun to make too. I see more of these in my future...

I've also been wanting to try my hand at applique ever since K mentioned the subject--maybe a year ago? K makes really cute hand-painted onesies and shirts but wants to try her hand at applique. I would love to try to make some designs for Little C. but applique seems like a little too much work right now. Then I saw this great idea for a stenciled, kind of faux applique look. I've already sketched a bunch of designs (turtle, rocket, radio tower, atom) but I've started cutting out the turtle first to make sure it looks ok.  In a random coincidence, I was browsing Janie and Jack yesterday and saw that they currently have a collection called Sea Turtles in their stores. Turtles are really trendy right now for one year olds, I guess.

These fun distractions are actually keeping me from finishing this white sweater though. As well as the "light and airy nightgown" and "beach tote" I've started. Oh, and my husband's friend just had a baby girl. You know what that means...another baby hat!

Crochet Cool

In light of my sometime prejudice against crochet (i.e. that it often looks "like something from the sixties" or "what an old lady with blue hair, named Mildred would make"), I wanted to share some pictures of trendy crochet fashions that I happened to come across in the past week.

A black skirt*.

Casual dress*.

Boho dress*.

Tank*.

Tankini*.

*All from Athleta

Then, while procrastinating this morning (from a list of chores like, laundry, cleaning, gardening, cooking...) I saw this picture on People.com of Katie Holmes wearing a crochet dress.

Maybe crochet is a lot cooler than I've been giving it credit for? I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for other crochet trends this spring.

Inspiration

I received a new Garnet Hill catalogue in the mail last week. I

was so excited to see so many beautiful handmade products in its pages. From the Christmas ornaments and stockings to these stunning throws, it was a crafter's dream.

These blankets are particularly awesome, because they're crocheted! The top two are hexagon grannies (I mentioned how I have been wanting to make something with that pattern).

And this last one is--you guessed it---Circles in the Square, which I am very familiar with. Circular patterns are very eye-catching and more modern looking when it comes to granny squares, in my opinion.

I'm currently knee-deep (hand-deep?) in yarn at the moment, making a lot of holiday gifts, attempting crochet snowflakes (I spent two hours working on one before I realized the pattern I was using was flawed. I would like to stab the pattern writer with my crochet hook! Hey, that's a lot of valuable nap time to waste, people!), and constantly feeling the pull of other crochet projects I would like to try. The pre-holiday season is a very busy time for us crafters. If you know other knitters/ crocheters, I bet they have started to get that serious, game-face look. Maybe beads of sweat have started to break out on their brows. When you talk to them they have that far-away, preoccupied look on their faces? Yep, they've got a lot of crocheting/ knitting to do before Dec. 25th.

I'm going to buckle down, focus on my current projects, and finish them. Then I can start to think about these lovely inspiration pieces pictured above...or maybe I should get started on next year's Christmas gifts?

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For the cost curious, the hexagon blankets are priced at $348 and the pillows at $98. The Circle in the Square blanket is priced at $128. Crafters all over Etsy.com are raising their prices, I'm sure.