Crocheted Minion Hats - All The Rage And Lots of Fun

The time is flying by so fast! There is not enough time in the day to do all the things I want to do. Nor the things I need to do!

The Despicable Me Minions are so popular. I took some time out yesterday, purchased a pattern and sat in the dentist's office crocheting hats! Hubby was in there 2 hours with the dentist who would not do a darn thing.....another trip to Phoenix to the oral surgeon I see.

But back to the Minion! This hat is so much fun to crochet! I managed to get two hats finished and started on crocheting the goggled eyes.

The two crochet Minion Hats I have completed are 1-3 year old size and a 4-12. The 4-12 year old fits me, although I do have a small head.

Today, I hope to do a newborn minion hat with just one huge eye and maybe an adult size, also with just one eye. Then I would love to do a purple minion! So many ideas. I need to put some of these little guys to work!

Crochet Barbie Gown - Once Upon a Time

This crocheted barbie gown, "Once Upon A Time" was created using sport weight yarn in dark purple and a variegated lavender, pink and white.

Crochet Barbe Bed Doll Cotillion Miss April

Celebrate April Birhtdays by displaying this lovely gown on your bed! She’d look stunning in a room decorated in yellow and white!

“Miss April” is crocheted from Annie’s Cotillion Collection in size 10 cotton crochet thread in white and yellow.

One piece yellow dress with snap closures. The white pineapple over skirt is adorned with hand dyed and crocheted roses in two sizes. It has ties for closure. Two small roses adorn the bodice sleeves. The belt is also crocheted.

I thoroughly enjoyed crocheting this gown and can imagine it being done in so many different colors! Red, teal, purple or green!  Or a variegated thread.

Miss April is available in my Etsy shop here.

Free Crochet Pattern easy V-Stitch Headband

This is my very first attempt at writing out a pattern. I chose a simple crochet stitch, the v-stitch. This cute headband is suitable for beginners and can be embellished with many different accent pieces to make a one of a kind.

Skill level: beginner/intermediate

Materials needed:
WW yarn (I used Red Heart Purple)
Crochet hook size H
Stitch guide
Ch (chain), ch sp (chain space) st (stitch), dc (double crochet), sl st (slip stitch), * (repeat from this stitch across piece or however many times as directed.
Gauge not important

This pattern is designed with the beginning crocheter in mind. We will be using some basic stitches and a simple pattern to create a unique headband. The rose accent is optional. 

To begin ch 13.
Row 1 – dc in 5th ch from hook, ch 1, dc in same ch (v-stitch made), (skip next 2 ch, dc in next ch, ch1, dc in same ch) twice, skip next 2 ch, dc in last ch, ch 3, turn.

Row 2 – *skip 2 st, dc in ch sp of v-stitch, ch 1, dc in same ch sp, rep from * to last stitch, dc in top of ch 3, ch 3 turn.

Row 3- 32 – Repeat row 2 until piece measures approximately 22 inches.

Row 33 – Fold piece in half, slip stitch or sew seam. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Wear as is or decorate with crocheted roses, flowers, hearts, or synthetic floral sprays.

Crocheted Barbie gown "Ruby Queen"

Our beautiful Ruby Queen Gown is finally finished! This project was a real challenge right from the beginning! Stringing over 900 3mm beads took quite some time. And then pushing them all down further on the skein of thread seemed a never ending process!

I am so pleased with the results! This is an order from a regular customer who keeps me very busy crocheting gowns and Barbie bed dolls outfits. She only buys the gowns and has her own vintage dolls to wear them. This particular pattern calls for sewing the gown right on the doll (hence not meant to be taken off and put on another doll), so I improvised and added snaps to make the gown removable.

Last evening, I began crocheting "Miss April", a 1992 Annie's Calendar Bed Doll Cotillion Collection. The idea here is to begin the targeted month's gown 2 months early in the hopes to have it completed and listed for sale by the middle of the month before the target. Then in March I will begin “Miss May” and so on.

Today's Writing Prompt is all about forums!

What crochet forums do I frequent? Which ones do I spend the most time visiting? Do I participate in the discussions?

I am a member of CrochetVille. I don't post frequently but I do spend quite a bit of time reading others posts.

And I am also a member of Ravelry. I am a bit more active at this forum.

Some other Forums that I would like to join and become an active member of include:

CrochetHappyforum -  very inviting and friendly sounding name!
CrochetTalk -  welcomes knitting discussion as well (another of my passions)
CrochetMe -  well organized forum.

I do need to focus on becoming an active participating member of these communities. The friendship and fellowship are very important aspects, of which I am more on the timid side of socialization.

Crochet American Girl Clothes

This is a "New Year's Party" outfit. The sleeveless cowl neck pullover was crocheted using a maroon novelty yarn, I am not sure of the name. The pants were crocheted using Red Heart Super Saver in black. 

This outfit will fit most 18" dolls including American Girl Doll, Madame Alexander, Our Generation and others of similar build.

The top will be very difficult for youngsters to put on their dolls, so this might be suited more for display or Special Occassion wear.

Our model is an 18 inch Madame Alexander Doll.

Patterns provided by Darski, found on Crochetville forum.

Crochet Barbie Gown Ruby Queen Progress

The underskirt is crocheted and finished. Added a snap at back. Most of the crochet patterns for Bed Dolls and gown are designed in a way to have the gown sewn onto the intended doll. My current customer supplies her own vintage Barbies, so I have been needing to adapt the patterns to utilize snaps and create the ability to put the gowns on and take them off any doll.

I am still working on the beaded outer skirt, very close to the finish line on this part! I will get a photo of where we are on the gown. I wanted to crochet a bikini top for Barbie but will just use a blue box to cover her chest, or maybe paint in a bra on the photo!

This pattern has proven to be an incredible challenge! But I know that Ruby Queen is going to be a stunning gown once it is complete!

Facebook Fan Appreciation

Today's writing prompt is on how important it is connecting with my Facebook Fans and ways of saying thank you to those fans.

One idea was a giveaway, another is A Fan Page Day or Fan of the Week. I like the giveaway idea and may do that later this Spring. The "Fan Page Day" is really intriguing.

This week, I will show my appreciation to my fans with a "Fan Page Day", by selecting a Fan Page at random, and promoting/sharing/tweeting their page or a product from their page throughout the day. I shall do this Fan Page Day on the 16th, and practiced sharing...although I couldn't share from my page's profile.

Then I need to begin focusing a new FB Page devoted to just crochet and gaining fans and followers there.

Day 1 - 31 Days of Crochet Business Blogging Challenge

Goals for 2013

Such a frightening and daunting thought. As I sit here, I choose to focus on where I plan to be at the end of 2013. What do I want for my business(es)? How much do I want my crochet blog and business to grow? What do I need to channel my efforts on to attain those goals?

I've been considering for quite some time on narrowing the focus of my general crafting blog. And changing my mind again. Then thinking niche blogs would be more beneficial to readers. With that said, one goal is to get the general blog (though it will still be active) streamlined into several smaller more topic oriented blogs. I just have too many interests!

My financial goals for 2013
My money maker is crocheting and selling my work (strictly online)

My goals for the year will be to incoroporate the techniques I learn through the challenge, focus on gaining quality traffic and a readership. Once all the pieces are in place, the income will begin to flow. I don't want to set a monetary goal here just yet. Once things are in place, then I will set my first financial goal and strive for that.

Other goals are to create videos and more product.

Crocheted Barbie Gown Little Bo Peep

This gown is called "Little Bo Peep". It was a custom order from a wonderful repeat customer. It used crochet thread in pink and white.

For the shepherds crook, I used a pipe cleaner and wrapped it with white ribbon.

I really love working with the size 10 crochet thread, but these gowns seem to take a lot of time to complete. Currently I am working on "Queen Ruby" for the same customer. The strung beads are driving me insane!! LOL! But this will be another post!

And I am sure I am grossly underpricing my work on the Barbie gowns. I have bumped the prices by 10% for now. These items are not intended to be my bread and butter income (the cloth dolls are my main source of income).

Mom Loves Crochet

I've decided to create this blog for my crochet work (to share finished items, patterns, tips and general love of yarn and crocheting) after some deliberation of whether or not to lump all of my interests into one blog or narrow things down into separate dedicated niches (sewing, dolls, knitting, crochet, drawing, cross-stitch, etc). The projects seem to be getting "lost in the shuffle" with so many varied topics.

As I join and participate in the 31 Days of Crochet Blogging, hosted by Sara Duggan, this gives me the encouragement and confidence to put my crochet in a niche all it's own!

So, stay tuned as I create new posts on items already finished, works in progress and so much more as the hooks begin flying!