Lil Cross Stitch Buttons. Wheeeee!

I have been knocking out little projects and working on larger ones.  I made a list yesterday, I have 14.  Not including the things still in my head.  I'm gunna need a nanny. 

I've been cross stitching for about 3 months and I'm ready to expand.  I like working with the smaller project.  It's really satisfying to complete something nearly daily and be much more portable.  An afghan can take months and it's going to sit in the same spot for a while. 

First was these...

Which I LOVE.  The colors are perfect.  I made them into earrings but they felt weird and I don't have the guts to wear them. So I'm going to rip off the earring back and make them buttons also. 

But I'm wearing them everydamnwhere.

Then this - 
I experimented with an idea I saw on Pinterest.  I LOVE this. 

I buttoned it and threw it on my pea coat.

Then I did a heart and a skull.

These are just something cute for Violet's coat.

The skull is done in Kreinik Metallics.  This stuff is great.  I have a huge assortment of colors to play with.  :D

She loves skulls and monsters.  She calls them "rawrs". 

The buttons are 7/8" and 1".  They have a few different sizes and I'm mos def going to be making more.  I love me some buttons. 

I'm planning a tutorial for the buttons.  That is.  If you want one...

Perfect Puff Bow

I had this idea...
that I would make little bows and turn them into necklaces. I've seen this idea and I'm not sure if it was completely mine. I'm going to claim it though cause why would I have seen it if I didn't do a search for it. Crafter logic.

So I haven't found a bow that I really liked and looked like what was in my head so I came up with one.
Here are the prototypes.  They sizes are slightly different, and can all be used for different things.

The best mod was adding those pellets.  :)

Update:  The pattern is done and for sale!

I made one more modification here.  I switched from dc to hdc.  It made it slightly more compact and it holds the pellets a bit better.

Embroidery Floss as Yarn

I've been really interested in making statement jewelry with yarn.  I've also been obsessed with chevron and ripple stitches ( like most of the craft world at the moment).  

The problem I'm seeing with the yarn that is at my disposal is that there is no gradient of color.  It's dark blue, light blue.  Nothing smooth.  However, embroidery floss has this beautiful gradient.  

Tonight I gave it a try.

I used this pattern from my handy dandy crochet stitch bible.  The difference is that I add 3 dc.  So it went more like this :  VIIII^^IIIIVVIIII^^IIIIV.  Get it?

I used a 1.9 hook.  justalilguy.

I'm not sure what to do with him.  Or even to use him for anything.  I redid the pattern a few times and it still just isn't looking right to me.  When its this small its hard for me to see.  It's 3 inches by 1.5 inches.  Smaller than a business card.

It seems that I need to make some swatches......

***A FEW HOURS LATER***

I couldn't stop feeling like I didn't accomplish this idea today.  So I made this one.  The colors!

It's weird how one side of the circle is bigger on the inner and outer but the middle seems fine.  Hmmmm.

Statement Necklace OR My First Pattern Hack

I found this pattern.  Then I decided it worked but could be better.  I wont link it just because I don't want to say that this particular pattern is bad.  Its just not exactly what I was looking for.

So, I wanted to make it what I was looking for.  

I'm not a big fan of math.  So when I realized that I was about to embark on the most math intensive project of my life I was a little hesitant.  

The problem is that you don't know if it works or not until you are done.  Until the last stitch.  It took me about 4 hour to break it down.

I realized that the pattern is 4.  There needs to be a multiple of 5 double crochet.  To get a multiple of 4 loops.  But there is a turning chain so that makes one less chain than there will be double crochet.  BUT to make the side symmetrical you have to put 3 double crochet (or two loops) in the same stitch.  Then you have to have three rows of dc on the bottom layer, 2 in the middle and one on the top.  

Yeah.

So this is basically my pattern...

Bottom Layer
1 - ch 20
2-4 - ch2, dc into 2nd ch from hook and dc across (21)
5 - ch5, dc in same st as the ch *ch3, dc in next* rep 19 times.  Ch3 and dc into the same stitch to create 21st loop in the same stitch as the 20th looop. (do not use turning chain)
6  - ch3, *tr,ch,tr,tr,tr,ch,tr, (Into first loop) ch3, sk loop, sc into the next loop, ch3* Repeat * to * until the last loop.  tr,ch,tr,tr,tr,ch,tr, ch3 (into the last loop) sl and tie off

Middle layer

1 - ch 16
2-3 - ch2, dc into 2nd ch from hook and dc across (17)
4 - ch5, dc in same st as the ch *ch3, dc in next* rep 19 times.  Ch3 and dc into the same stitch to create 21st loop in the same stitch as the 20th looop. (do not use turning chain)
5  - ch3, *tr,ch,tr,tr,tr,ch,tr, (Into first loop) ch3, sk loop, sc into the next loop, ch3* Repeat * to * until the last loop.  tr,ch,tr,tr,tr,ch,tr, ch3 (into the last loop) sl and tie off


Top layer
1 - ch 12
2-3 - ch2, dc into 2nd ch from hook and dc across (13)
4 - ch5, dc in same st as the ch *ch3, dc in next* rep 19 times.  Ch3 and dc into the same stitch to create 21st loop in the same stitch as the 20th looop. (do not use turning chain)
5  - ch3, *tr,ch,tr,tr,tr,ch,tr, (Into first loop) ch3, sk loop, sc into the next loop, ch3* Repeat * to * until the last loop.  tr,ch,tr,tr,tr,ch,tr, ch3 (into the last loop) sl and tie off

Then I added the chain.  Use the left most and right most chain stitch the attach the chain.   

WHEW. 

Do you like it?  :)

Lil Necklace

I'm been working on larger projects.  Large animals, afghan and some more gifts.  I'm waiting on some yarn to get here in the mail and needed something small to do tonight.

Pinterest delivered again.  

Here is the tutorial.  It is in UK stitch names. It took me about 30 minutes to complete.

Note:  You have to sign up for the site and "buy" the download for free.  The rest of the site looks interesting so I didn't mind giving up my email address.

I also took the photo and edited in Lightroom.  (best program evar!)

This is my favorite thing to do.  Make some thing then make it look cool.  :)  I added the B&W and color version simply because I couldn't decide which I liked better.

Hope you like!

Also, if you are interested... my photography site.... tmpd.me.