#HPShowdown2 | The Competitors!

This week has been a bit crazy! My husband was away from work, and between the kiddo, the pup, the garden, orders and the house… I have been a bit overwhelmed! I meant to do this earlier this week, but time certainly got away from me. (Sorry ladies) As promised though:

The lovely ladies I competed with in #HPShowdown2!!!

River Rose Pillow

First up, we have the lovely Heather from Keep Calm & Crochet on UK! She designed her River Rose Pillow. It is so pretty! She used a square motif which means more sewing, but the end result is gorgeous! Her sample pillow reminds me of poppies! Isn’t it fantastic?

Mamta Motiyani | Lace Mandala Pillow

Next up, we have the Lace Mandala Pillow by Mamta Motiyani. I love the simplicity of this design. This is a nice big pillow you could snuggle up with!

Simply Knots | Secret Jewels Pillow

The Secret Jewels Pillow by Dreanna of Simply Knots is up next! This is a pretty cool design! It reminds me a bit of the larksfoot stitch, and I love the bright colours against the black look in this photo!

Brandylynn Creations | Blooming Peony Pillow

I love the Blooming Peony Pillow by Brandylynn Creations! I imagine it is so soft and snuggly. I could definitely picture myself cuddling up to this pillow on my couch.

Trifle N Treasures | Teen Dreams Pillow

Finally, we have the Teen Dreams Pillow by Tera of Trifles N Treasures! This is definitely a pillow any teenage girl would love to have on her bed! I took my not quite teen niece shopping and she asked me to get her a fur rug for her room, so this pillow would be a lovely matching accessory!

There you have it! The competition I was up against in the #HPShowdown2! Which pillow was your favourite design?

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#HPShowdown2 | We Have A Winner! Classic Lace Bolster – New Pattern Release

So, here’s the thing… a couple of months ago, I was asked to take part in a mini-competition with my peers. I was so excited, but then reality took hold… I was going on a ten day trip during creative time and thought I would not be able to complete my design.

I almost turned this down.

After giving it some thought and checking out the deadlines, I realized that if anyone COULD do this, it was me, so away I went…

I wanted to do something a little different and had two ideas floating around in my brain. Both were the same pillow shape, but different stitches.  I tried out my first idea and really liked the look of it, but didn’t care much for the yarn I used. This pillow was originally designed using Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable, but I found it was a little too stretchy on the pillow form and the yarn was really fuzzy.

Not bad… but not quite what I wanted.

So, I went back to the drawing board. I had come home from our vacation at this point, and received a package of Knit Picks Chroma Worsted I had ordered… and I was sold.  I went with Fog Bank, and got to hooking. This yarn was perfect for the job. It didn’t stretch as much as the RHBU, and it wasn’t quite as fuzzy. And, silky… so silky feeling!

The end result was my Classic Lace Bolster:

Isn’t it pretty?

I loved the feel and the look of this bolster! The yarn is so soft. And, it is so comfortable! I could lie on my couch reading my favourite book for hours on this pillow (okay, I HAVE done this).

Grumpers loves it too!

I am excited and proud to announce that my pillow won! I had some tough competition and I admit, I was really worried. A big, big thank you goes out to everyone who voted (even if you didn’t vote for me… I forgive you) and tomorrow, I will post links to all of the competition! They worked really hard on their designs, and I would like to give them their props!

While you wait, you can pick up my pattern on Ravelry. It is on sale for $2.50 until Sunday, August 16, when it will bounce up to the regular price of $4.

I would also like to extend a huge thank you to Tanya Naser of Hodge Podge Crochet and Kimberlie Goodnough of ShopKimberlie for all of the work they have done running this competition! It was an honour to be asked to participate and I look forward to seeing the next one!

Hodge Podge Crochet Design Challenge! #HPShowdown2 | (and where I have been hiding)

Goodness! It has been WAY too long!

Once the nice weather hit, I pretty much went MIA. I also have a lovely suntan, a fabulous garden, and a lot of memories with my family to show for it. 😉

I haven’t vanished entirely though. I am still keeping busy in my Etsy shop, I have taken on a new business venture selling Jamberry nail wraps, and I have been working on a top secret project for a little competition I entered in my favourite Facebook group, Hodge Podge Crochet!

The idea is simple. A handful of designers are given a theme, create a design, have it tested, and our peers will vote on their favourite design! It’s also secret! No one knows who designed which pattern!

Our challenge was… pillows! This one was interesting to do because I have not made a pillow before, but it was a ton of fun for me!

We have finally reached the voting part of the process, and I admit, I am a little nervous. The voting takes place on Pinterest. Likes or repins count as a vote! And, the winner will be determined next weekend! Because my design is still “secret” I can’t tell you which is mine, but if you’d like to head over and cast a vote for your favourite, that would be awesome! Note: you must only vote for one design, otherwise your votes are cancelled out. You can repin others after the competition though. 🙂

Here’s the link to vote! Hodge Podge Crochet Design Challenge

Designs will go on sale after the competition ends (this way it STAYS anonymous) and I will share with you where you can find each of the designs next week!

I can’t wait to see who wins!

From Home Is Taking A LONG Break From Crochet

My first square design

To those of you reading this, April Fools!

I am not quitting. I love my yarn and hooks so very much. (and, if I did quit, and didn’t use up the five hundred trillion skeins I have stashed away, my husband would kill me) 😉

Have a fab day friends! ❤

KCACO-UK CAL – Square Six

Two weeks have passed since the release of my Larksfoot Inspired 12″ Granny Square, which means it is time for a new square!

This week, we are heading to Moogly blog to dazzle us with the Magic Spike Mandala Square! This was the first square I actually planned my colour placements on, and I love how mine turned out!

Magic Spike Mandala Square

Head over to https://keepcalmandcrochetonuk.wordpress.com/2015/03/18/kcaco-uk-cal-2015-block-6/ for more information on how to find the Magic Spike Mandala Square pattern!

NatCroMo 2015!

Good morning and welcome to all of the people who have found me via Crochetville‘s NatCroMo designer tour!

I am so excited to have been included, and would love to share some of that excitement with you! I have a coupon code that I will post for you here, good for one FREE pattern in my Ravelry Shop!

In addition to the freebie, all patterns in my Ravelry shop are 20% off for the month of March!

One more bonus for my Facebook followers; I will choose some winners on my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/fromhomecrochet who will each win another freebie! I know, I am crazy, right? All you need to do is tell me what the three truths about me are from the Crochetville blog post! Winners will be chosen randomly.

Make sure you get notifications on my Facebook page so you don’t miss the winners!

So, how about that freebie? Head over to Ravelry and use code: NatCroMoFree to take one free pattern from my shop. The code is active today only, so don’t miss out!

Thanks for stopping by, and please share the good news!

By Request: “How do you get your squares so square?”

I was chatting with Heather of Keep Calm and Crochet on UK, and she asked me how I managed to get the corners on one of our previous CAL squares so square. I admitted it wasn’t really a big secret; I just added a row.

I did promise her I would blog about it though, so you can all see that my amazing trick, isn’t as amazing as one would think. 😉

So, the square in question is the Harriett Square by Carolyn Christmas. If you clicked that link, you would see the corners were a little rounded looking on the completed square. When I made my square up, as I neared the end, I realized I should have adjusted my hook slightly. My square was a little short for my liking, and it would require too much stretching to reach the 12″ I need for my afghan.

My square looked like this:

Harriett Square

Awesome, right? I still had to stretch it slightly to get the 12″, but it wasn’t a fight with pins tugging, readjusting and me getting frustrated at the amount of work blocking was.

So, starting off with my Larksfoot Inspired Square, I have just finished with the round of hdc’s and larksfoot stitches.

Larksfoot Inspired Square Before SC Row

Next, I join in the corner after I have fastened off the previous round. (I technically don’t REALLY do this… I cheat because I am lazy and ss over to it, but for this tutorial, I DID fasten off and I DID join in the corner 😉 )

Check out my corner!

So, after joining in the corner with a ss, ch 1 (counts as first sc), sc, ch 2, sc x 2. See how pointy it is? Note: If you are more advanced, you may choose to join with a sc, which is what I did in this photo. I will show you how I do that in my next post.

And, after you sc all around, it’s a square!

After you sc all the way around, completing the (2sc, ch2, 2sc) in each corner, join to your first sc, fasten off and weave in ends, and you’ve got a square!

I find adding a sc round is so much easier to make a square flatter, pointier and helps with blocking. I use it when I am short as well, because pulling too much on the square to get it to size really stretches the stitches. Being a tight hooker, I tend to always come up short, so this little trick is very helpful and saves me a lot of aggravation.

I hope you find this tip helpful!