I was able to finish up the bunny hat I was working on:

I wasn't able to get very good pictures of it as the hat was given away later that day.
It's made from my own design, which I was especially happy about because this is one of the only hats from my own design that actually fit :)

No, not writer's block. Bloggers block.

You know it's happened to you. It's been a few days since your last post, and you have no idea what to blog about. What's a blogger to do?

Well, I'm here now to give you a few ideas :)

1-Look at other peoples blogs and see what they're doing.

I often get blog post ideas from looking at other crocheting blogs. For example, yesterday I was looking at Freshstitches.com (which BTW, is an awesome blog). The blogger (Stacey Trock) posts almost everyday. That's a lot of blogging!

As I was looking through her blog posts, I wondered "How does she get so many ideas for these blog posts?". And then, boom! This idea landed in my head: Do a blog post about what to blog about.

So, tip number one is look around: Don't copy, but see what other people are doing. I find that this helps me think of lots of great ideas.

2-Think of something awesome.

Have you ever been reading a blog post where someone thought of a really clever and neat idea? Were you like "Why didn't I think of that?"? If you can make someone say that, then you must be doing something right.

Here is an idea I thought of that I encourage you to do a blog post on:

1- Find an old, at least 30% wool hat. For me, this was perfect for the job:

It's an old, hand-me-down store-bought hat that used to have pompoms. The color is kind of tan(ish). I new I couldn't let the hat be thrown out. I was dyeing yarn earlier that day (which was yesterday), and I thought: "What if I dyed the hat?". So, I got out some blue dye, put the water and white vinegar in a pot, and heated it up. Unfortunately, the hat wasn't wool, so the dye washed right out D:

But, imagine how cute the hat would be if it was a turquoise blue, and had brand-new cream colored pompoms? In my mind, that would be very cute.

So, I encourage you to use this idea as an opportunity to blog :)

3-Have a weekly post.

If you don't have one of these, I suggest you create one. A few ideas are WIP Wednesday, FO Friday, Tip Tuesday, ETC. That's just to name a few. Another great thing about weekly posts is that people know when you are going to post. So, if you have something you really want to get noticed, post two posts that day. The weekly post, plus the other post. People know that you're going to post that day, and if you post something like a pattern sale on the same day as the weekly post, your sale will get some extra traffic from your weekly post.

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Now that you've read this, go! Start blogging! Your readers are waiting!

Man, now that I think about it, I have a lot of things that I need to finish. For starters, here is a bunny hat that needs to be finished by tomorrow:

I still need to work on the ears for this hat. It's also going to have a face (I'm not exactly sure how that's going to go down).

I also have a teeny, tiny bear that needs to be finished:

He's super tiny (okay, he's not that tiny, but he is pretty small). I had a few small balls of brown yarn in my collection, and I thought that this guy would be a perfect animal to use it up on. The only problem is, I'm not sure if I'll have enough yarn! Only time will tell ☺

Remember how I said I was making a giant stuffed Olaf? Well, I got a little sidetracked with making a not-so-life-sized Olaf:

It's an African flower Olaf!

I'm making the motifs with sport weight yarn and a 3.75 mm hook (so, he'll be a huggable Olaf, not life-size).

I know what you're thinking: "What about that big skein of yarn you bought to make Olaf?". Well, along with the African flower Olaf pictured above, with the yarn that I bought I plan on making an Amigurumi style Olaf (and that one will be life size).

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Okay, this isn't a WIP, but I want to share it anyway☺

Currently, I'm working on downsizing my yarn stash. But, when I saw this at Johann's the other day, I new I had to get it:

It's Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) yarn! I took the label off to see the entire skein (which is drool-worthy in real life). It has a large acrylic fiber content, but 30% of it is wool, so this yarn will be perfect for dyeing :D

I've been working on a lot of projects lately, but I was able to complete a teeny, tiny FO:

Hmm...Not the best photo in the world. Oh well. He worked up pretty quickly (I used aran yarn and a 5.00 mm hook, so it was kind of destined to be worked up quickly).

That is all. I'm off to go work on my other projects! Bye bye ♥

I started this yesterday (and finished it later today :P):

He's a monster designed by Freshstitches! 

P.S. the pattern's name is Ro the monster :)

I used 12.00 plastic eyes, a 5.00 mm hook, and aran weight yarn. I love the color changes in this stuff! It's really soft, to. I used Hobby Lobby "I Love This Yarn!" Ombres (not exactly sure what the color way was). It worked up a quick, cute and cuddly animal :)

Today, Disney's Frozen came out on dvd (yay)! I also went yarn shopping today, and I got the yarn to make something that I've been planning for weeks:

This 812 yard skein of yarn is going to turn into a life size version of Olaf, the snowman!

I'm going to make Olaf 3' tall, so I'm going to need a lot of yarn. I think his face is going to be the most challenging part of designing him. I have some plans, but I want to do a few tests before I go all out on putting my time into such a big project. I also have some other projects I have to finish, so it might be a day or two before I can get to him.

Since Olaf is copyrighted by Disney, after I crochet this guy, I it as a free pattern.

Well, like I said before, I have some projects to finish. I will post pictures of the progress, and I hope you follow along :)

This first FO is an FO, but it's also a WIP. Remember that other blog post with Puff the Stegosaurus? Well, I've decided to make my own African flower animal:

I'm using two different kinds of pink, along with yellow. This flower is finished, but not the actual animal. Like I said, and FO, but also a WIP.

I also spun some yarn on my drop spindle! Not a lot, but it's something. I think I'll make a teeny tiny animal with it :)

I haven't really mentioned it on my blog before, but I'm kind of obsessed with the new Disney movie Frozen (I can't wait for the 18th!). So I thought, why not combine my two favorite things: Crocheting, and Frozen?

As a result of that thought, I started making an Olaf:

He's about 4.5" tall. I held 2 strands of sport weight yarn together and used a 5.00 mm hook. I also made one of his feet, but I have yet to attach it.

The one above is from my own design. This one was designed by Carin:

I'm only up the head on this guy. It's a really awesome pattern, and I highly recommend it!

That's all for now. Come back later for more blog posts :)

A few months ago, I discovered the world of stuffed animals made with African flowers:

These lovely motifs have been used by several designers to make absolutely stunning animals. One of my favorites is Heidi Bears. She uses bright, vivid colors to create beautiful, crochet eye-candy. I mean, just look at this stegosaurus!

                         Note: Photo used with permission from Heidi Bears. I do not own this photo.

He is absolutely adorable! The different colored motifs, the little spikes. Everything about this guy is amazing! And the best part? From the top of his spikes to the very tips of his toes, he's only about 9" tall! How cute!  

According to the pattern page, he was made with fingering weight yarn and a 1.75 mm hook. With that combination of yarn and hook, you get a teeny-tiny dino (which makes him even cuter!)!. But, what if you used aran weight yarn and a 5.00 mm hook? Well, then you'd have a mommy/daddy dinosaur!

But, what if you used a 9.00 mm hook and super bulky yarn? Well then my friends, you'd have a very large stegosaurus on your hands.

The point is, the options are endless (okay, they might end at one point)! Puff is a great way to use up all that thin yarn in your yarn stash. Or maybe you were randomly given a lot of bulky weight yarn (I was, and I think this is what I'm going to use it up on). Either way, your dino will still turn out cute!

To see all of Heidi's designs, visit HeidBearscreative.blogspot.com.

I love dyeing yarn. If you've read my blog, you'll know that I love dyeing yarn. When you make something with it, you get this special feeling, like what you're making is really special, because you put that extra bit of work into it.
Unfortunately, sometimes there are a few disappointments. For example, take a look at this hat I'm working on:

Unfortunately, this is about all of the progress I will make on it before I frog it (for those of you that don't know, the term "frogging" means unraveling a knitted or crochet (or any yarn related craft, for that matter) project). I wanted to make a hat for myself, but I realized I wouldn't have enough. So I decided to make one for my little sister. But, I'm running out of yarn, and because this yarn is hand-dyed, I can't make a dye lot that is the same as the original. So this project with be frogged, and will end up as a wonderful hand-dyed stuffed animal.

Now I'm not sure if you know this, but crocheting uses up a lot more yarn than knitting. I'm not sure of the exact amount, but the difference is quite large. So when I want to make a hat out of hand-dyed yarn, I go the knitted route:

I dyed approx. 105 yards of yarn, the perfect about for a knitted hat! The yarn has little speckles of purple, and the majority is blue (which is my favorite color). I can't wait to wear it when it's finished!

But, not everyone is a hat maker. So what is a non-hat maker to do?

How about stuffed animals?

The book above has lots of cute stuffed animals that don't use up a lot of yarn, so you can get the most out of your hand-dyed yarn.

Remember, these are just a few ideas to get you started. They're a lot more things out there to try!

It's sad, but true. My power got knocked out by an ice storm, so no internet. I didn't finish anything this week, so it's kind of convenient. I do however have another post planned for later today :) 

Remember that circular needles I shared with you a couple of weeks ago? I bought it for a specific purpose, and I finally made a bit of progress on it:

I'm knitting a cape! I plan on having it done by the Fall (It's a big cape), just in time for Winter :) As shown I the second photo, the technique I'm using creates a nice, open fabric. I still have a long way to go, though!

I'm also working on an afghan (or in this case, a scrapghan):

I'm using up balls of yarn that aren't big enough to make stuffed animals (or anything, for that matter). So far, I've used up the rainbow yarn, the light blue yarn, and the light pink yarn. I have almost an entire skein of the dark pink yarn, and It was a bit thinner than worsted weight, so I stopped using it for this project.

I haven't made a lot of stuffed animals lately, so this morning I decided to get back into the groove by making a giant jellyfish:

I'm using up some neon yellow yarn that I've had for awhile. Its so soft! I can't wait to see it once it's finished :)

Where I live, the weather is turning to the warm side (we still got a bit of cold left, but we're getting there). But when we were in the middle of the cold, it was, well...cold. In this kind of weather, you need a nice, soft, comfy hat. In my case, this is what I had:

Yeah, not the best photo in the world, but It's nice, soft, comfy; everything a hat should be.

I made this hat out ofLion Brand Homespun, a bulky weight yarn. Because of its bulky, I made this hat pretty quickly with this yarn.

Currently, I've been working on a hat made out of worsted weight yarn, and it is taking longer than I would like. I have tried other patterns, but they always end up too small (I have a big head). So for this hat, I decided to design it myself. It fits my head, but I still have a lot of crocheting to go. I have been working on it for a few weeks (it hasn't taken that long, but I've been working on other projects, so it gets put aside a lot), and I still have a good chunk left to go (It's going to take longer than a regular, because I'm adding earflaps). The hat pictured above took about a day to make, and it is a lot softer than worsted weight yarn (in my opinion).

Besides a hat, I'm also working on a bag using two strands of bulky weight yarn (not as bulky as Homespun) and a 11.50 mm hook. I'm almost done with it, and I started it about two days ago (but it got put aside as like I said before, I have other projects that I'm working on). When its all said and done, and spent 3-4 hours on this bag.

If you've read my blog before, you probably noticed that I recently finished an African Flower Bag. This bag was made out of worsted weight yarn (the yarn label said it was aran weight, but it felt like worsted), and I made it over a span of (about) a week. Let me tell you, this took a long time. I did lots of color changes, there was a bunch of sewing, lots of ends to weave in, you name it. That being said, I started another one.

Okay, the African flower bag had more details to it, but the one made in bulky weight yarn worked up a lot faster. So, if you want to make your friend a quick birthday present (because you just realized that her birthday was tomorrow), are you going to make the African flower bag, or the bulky weight yarn bag? If you had a few more days and a lot of time on your hands, go with the African flower bag (it you're up to the challenge). If you are now freaking out because you forgot to get her a present and you need to make something fast, go with the bulky weight yarn bag (the one I'm working on is from my own (unpublished) design, but you're bound to find something onRavelry).

I always believed that January and February were these dark and dreary months, while March was a breath of fresh air. Clearly I was wrong.

Where I am right now, it is has been raining frozen rain, and it is very, very cold.

I guess the only good thing about this is that I can crochet all day :)