You Go Girl!

Big Plans...

Big plans.

So excited.

We'll see if I can pull it off.

More later.

XOXO.

Cassie

 

Baby Bloom Hat

I sure wish I had a model for this little crocheted hat.  My picture doesn't do it justice, I'm afraid. I am dying to see what it looks like on a real baby. I'm telling you the truth. This Baby Bloom Hat is sweet as sugar and soft as dandelion down. I'm sure a wee little chick-a-bee baby girl would look like a delicious gumdrop wearing it. Who doesn't love a gumdrop? 

I had no one in mind when I made the Baby Bloom Hat. It's just that my divine Baby Bunny yarn wouldn't quit calling my name...Look at me. Look at me. I am so soft and yummy. You know you love me. I finally gave in and grabbed a hook. Now I have a very cute hat without a home. It's living in my shop right now. It is sized for a baby, probably 3-6 months old. Hat, anyone?

I just read what I wrote in the first paragraph. It sounds like I think I am all that and more. Not so. It's just that this hat is all aqua and red and little and sweet. I just want to eat it up. The cuteness makes me want to squeeze something. Hard. I feel like Agnes on Despicable Me...It's so fluffy sweet I'm gonna die. Watch Agnes at the end of this clip. That's how I feel.

 

But any one could make a Baby Bloom Hat. Truly.

Workin' on Some Posh

I worked up some Posh Pillowcases for the girls' birthdays. Isn't it funny how we craft for everyone but ourselves? I've made quite a few pillowcases and none of them resided at my house until now. It's kinda like the shoemaker's kid not having any shoes. Well, no more. There are four Posh Pillowcases on beds in my house. Girl number 5 doesn't have a birthday until June. She is going to have to wait. That's something for me to look forward to. I never get tired of stitching up some Posh (tutorial found here).

Playing Hooky

Things I should be doing:

• stripping wallpaper
• selecting countertops, flooring, and cabinets for a kitchen redo
• shopping for the birthday bombardment that is just around the corner 
• scheduling an appointment with a computer tech
• dusting my house 
• clearing my flower beds
• folding the load of laundry that has "de-wrinkled" at least 7 times
• washing the layers and layers of spring-thaw mud off my vehicle
• etc., etc., etc.

But I am not doing any of these things. I'm playing hooky. The rhythm of the crochet stitches and the feel of the yarn in my hands is balm for my being. Why is that?

Crocheting is not the only hook for me, though. Another little distraction I've been attending to is Downton Abbey.

I downloaded the season from itunes. I am hooked.

Hooked...Hooky...Playing Hooky. I should probably go now. I think I just might need to watch another episode.

Translation Please...

(photo found here)

I was so gaga over the images in this book that I bought it forgetting that I don't speak or read Japanese.

Seriously, can you even stand the eye candy? I think I have a cavity in my eye.

If only I could figure out what it says. Translation? Anyone?? Nevermind, it is enough just to gaze upon the loveliness.

 

Yes I Can...

My sweet Emily wanted a hat for Christmas. Not just any hat. She wanted a hat that she spotted at Rockin' Rudy's, a groovy little store full of lots of fun and sometimes quirky things. The hat was the bomb. I even thought so. It was crocheted in a lovely woolen yarn. It had a scalloped edge and an amazing crocheted froufrou flower that was stitched to it in just the right place. It was cute, and jaunty, and perfect. It also had a $42 price tag. OUCH!! Forty two dollars for a hat that may or may not find its way home from school each day seemed like A LOT. What's a girl to do? Of course. Why didn't I think of it sooner? I could make one...maybe...perhaps...hmmm, I don't know. My original enthusiasm for the plan was dulled by uncertainty and doubt. After all, I only kind of know how to crochet. It seemed a wee bit risky. I shushed the voices in my head. "Breath deep and carry on," I told myself.

One skein of blue yarn, a little ball of magenta yarn, the tail-end of green yarn, and some determination...Yes, I can. I can crochet a hat with scallops and a froufrou flower. Tah-Dah...

Sweet Emily told me it was better than the one at Rockin' Rudy's because I made it. Awww, shucks. Stop it already, Emily. 

Breath deep and carry on...I think that will be my mantra for 2011. It works for so many different situations. Try it.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2011.

Breath deep and carry on, friends~

Cassie

 

Little Posh Seeks Loving Home...

The pile o' posh is finished. Pictures have been taken. Shop listings are updated Adoption opportunities are available for three posh pillowcases deserving of loving homes.

Introducing Ms. Blush and Ms. Jade Flower Power. The two Flower Power gals are anxious for homes to call their own. Ms. Blush and Ms. Jade are friendly, attractive, and exceptionally good with children. They want a home where they will be loved and admired for both their beauty and functionality. They are happy to stay together, but willing to part ways and keep in touch on holidays and birthdays. (Not really. Just kidding.)

 

Felicity Redbloom is a vibrant personality with blossoms that will light up any room she is in. She is looking for a happy home with a nice soft bed or an overstuffed chair for her to relax upon. She has enjoyed her stay with the Flower Power sisters in the land of You Go Girl, but is anxious for a space of her own.

 

Charm and Poppie Butler have already been adopted into a stable and loving environment.

 

They are joining Miss Daisy Meadowsweet at an undisclosed location. 

We miss them already, but wish them well.

If you would like to welcome a little posh into your home, click here for details.

I know. I know. This isn't much of a post. It is a shameless self-promotion of my little Etsy shop. But, you see, I have fallen deeply in love with a technological gadget. I've never fallen for technology before. Wii? No thanks. Blackberry? Yikes! Kindle? Nope.  When it's right, though, you just know it. The Apple ipad whispers my name and teases me mercilessly. Oh, sweet ipad, I have a crush on you. I am stockpiling a pile of shekels in hopes that you might be wooed into my home someday. Oh, please. Oh, please. Say you will come live with me. I adore you!

Pile of Posh

First things first...Before I tell you about this Pile of Posh, I want to thank you for the Pretty in Pink love notes.  I'm not proud to report this, but I didn't respond to a single comment. We were on a little road trip to Newport, Oregon. Internet access and my time were a lot more limited than I'd anticipated. Plus it is really hard to type when your fingers feel like frozen fish sticks. The weather did not cooperate with us. It was unseasonably cold and foggy. Cold as in 56* for the high. Foggy as in I can't see you unless you are holding my hand. Oh, I forgot to mention the whipping wind ocean breezes that stirred that cold moist air into a whirlwind of nastiness invigoration that made the temperature feel at least ten degrees cooler than it really was. I've been to the Oregon coast at least a dozen times. Never, never, never has it been this cold, even when we used to go in October! Fear not, though, we bundled up in all the clothes we brought and had fun anyway. My girls will never again question me when I tell them to pack some long pants "just in case". Their "just in case" pants got a 4-day workout. Gross, huh?

I took this pile of posh pillowcases with me to work on in the car. It's a long drive so they are all done now. I've also worked up a crochet edging pattern that I will share with you soon. I know I said I would share this pattern with you, but I spoke typed out of turn. After I opened my big mouth, I remembered that this pattern is not mine to share. It can be found in the book Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann. It's called Looped X's on page 120. I hope that helps those of you that were interested.

I'm off to fold another load of vacation laundry. There isn't quite as much of it as usual since the girls wore the same clothes four days in a row.  There's always a silver lining, isn't there?

Just in Case...

Just in case...Get it?  Just in case...these are pillowcases...oh, nevermind, it's just my lame sense of humor kicking in to overdrive.

Let's start over.  Just in case you don't want to make a pillowcase of your own, I've listed five in the shop. My photo skills are mediocre, at best.  Trust me. They are a lot better in real life than they are in the photos. I'm telling you, there's a whole lot of yum sitting around in my craft room studio. It sounds so much artsy-er to say studio, don't you think?

I think  I'm rambling.  All I really wanted to say is...There are pillowcases listed in my You Go Girl shop...if you're interested...not that you have to be...or should be...I'm just saying...

Crochet Like Crazy...

Welcome to the final week of On the Edge...

This weeks task: Crochet Edging...FINALLY!!!

Difficulty Level: 2 Chocolates plus 3 Bonus Chocolates, just for fun

 

It's time for the icing on the cake, the crowning glory, the creme-de-la-creme, the Bomb with a capital B. Get the hook out, ladies. Let's crochet like crazy. (insert wild excited screams here)

To get the party started...

Eat a chocolate.  A girl's gotta be fortified.

 

Load your hook with a slip knot. Make sure you have about an 8" tail. Don't cut the tail.

Slide your hook under a blanket stitch.  Start your stitch from the right side of the pillow case. I like to start by the side seam.

Complete a single crochet. 

Directions for how to start the first single crochet: Slide hook under blanket stitch. Hook working yarn (yarn on skein), bring it under the blanket stitch, yarn over hook and through both loops on the crochet hook.

In the same manner, work two more single crochets into the same blanket stitch.

Stitch three single crochets into each blanket stitch all the way around the pillow case. This will be the foundation for the scallop pattern.

When you get back to where you started:

• Chain one; 
• Single crochet into the first foundation stitch you made; 
• Skip two foundation stitches; 
• Stitch FIVE double crochets into the next foundation stitch (all five double crochets go into the SAME foundation stitch); 
• Skip two foundation stitches; 
• Stitch a single crochet into the next foundation stitch; 
• Skip two foundation stitches; 
• Stitch FIVE double crochets into the next foundation stitch;
• Skip two foundation stitches;
• Single crochet into the next foundation stitch.

You should now have two scallops on your pillowcase.

Don't adjust your monitor.  This next photo of the first completed scallop is really blurry.  Eat another chocolate. Maybe then you won't notice so much.

 

Continue the scallop pattern (sc, skip 2, 5 dc, skip 2) all the way around the pillowcase.

 

When you get back where you started, slip stitch into the first single crochet of the pattern. (A slip stitch simply means to insert your hook, pull the working yarn through the stitch and through the loop on your hook.  It is a way to connect things.)

Cut your working yarn about 10" inches from the hook. Make the loop on your hook kind of big-ish.  Put the end of the working yarn through the loop and pull to tighten. Do not cut the tail.

 

You now have two "tails" of yarn to deal with. Weave the yarn tails, one at a time, through at least two scallops. To do this, put the yarn tail on a needle. Sneak the needle through the middle of the stitches. Pull the yarn through. I usually weave the yarn in for about 5" in one direction and then come back the other way for an inch or two. Pull the yarn taut. Trim yarn close to your work. Give your work a little tug.  The end should "disappear".  Weave in the other yarn tail.

You are done! Fini! Completo! You go girl. Slip a pillow into your new Posh Pillowcase.  Doesn't it look dandy? Find a sunny spot on the couch. Lay your head on the new Posh Pillow and enjoy those last three chocolates.  You deserve it.

Thanks so much for sewing, and crocheting, and eating chocolates with me. Up next at You Go Girl...a tutorial on how to let your jeans out. Chocolate always comes with a price tag. Just kidding. Actually, sometime in the next couple of weeks I will post the pattern for this crochet border. Stay tuned.

And finally, I have started an On the Edge... Flickr group to post pictures of your amazing work. You can join here. I am dying to see all your lovely lovelies.

That's all for now. Don't be a stranger. 

Later, blog friends~

Cassie