Melon Berry Rug Crochet Pattern

Can you feel it? I do. Spring is coming!! So here is a new pattern I'm calling...

Melon Berry Rug

This pattern is perfect for a rug! With two strands of worsted yarn held together, it makes a soft, squishy, yet durable rug! I've got mine by my back door and I don't sweat the dirt, because it's made in easy-wash acrylic! 

But wouldn't it be adorable in a nursery?

...or a bathroom?

...or a kitchen?

But get this...make it in a single strand of yarn for a softer drape, make more squares, add the same border using the instructions in the pattern, and you've got a terrific blanket. You decide the colors. You decide the size.

Find it in all of my shops...

Craftsy

Ravelry

Etsy

And if you missed my other pattern this week..the It's Stashing Tote! You can find it in my shops, too! Lots of color, lots of function...but best of all...FELTED with BUTTONS!! 

That's what Felted Button's all about! 

Find me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram (Felted Button), too!

| On the Board | -- A hook full of yarn makes the anger go down.

It's Stashing Tote

My newest pattern is off the hook, through the washing machine (more about this in a sec), and back from my awesome testers!!

Introducing It's Stashing Tote! Say it fast. Yes. It sounds like It's Dashing! And it is!!!

As you might have noticed from the name Felted Button that I love felt and buttons. This beauty has both!! Oh, and oodles of color.

One of my testers did it in black, grey and soft blue. Lots of options, I tell ya!

Admittedly, I have a disease. It's called "compulsive containerism" and I've got it bad. I love bags. On a trip to Taiwan for 10 days, I came home with 11 bags. Just call me "The Bag Lady".

Now, if you look at this and think, "Wow, I would like to make that, but I have never worked with wool and felting." FEAR NOT! In the pattern I walk you through the steps of felting--which can easily be done in your washing machine. The results, a sturdy, strong and durable bag which will last! 

If you've got lots to take with you and need room for expansion, just unbutton the tabs and you've got it--showing some little dottie happiness!

The pattern gives all the information on yarns, how to put the bag together, and how to felt it.

You can find the pattern in my Craftsy shop, Ravelry shop, and Etsy shop.

If you want to keep in the Felted "Button Loop" follow me on Facebook. Lots of color, crochet, yarny business and positive--come say hello!

| On the Board | -- BLOOM with courage and grace.

I Stink at Keeping Secrets

Mom: So, Susan (6 or 7 years old), how was shopping? Are you going to tell me what you and Dad got me for my birthday?
Me: No. Don't even ask. I'm not going to tell. But I will say that it is gray.
Mom: Oh, gray, huh?
Me: And it is a size 4. But that's all I'm going to say. It has a lighter gray top with little buttons and a flowy darker skirt...with a little belt around the waist.
Mom: Hmmm.
Me: I'm not going to say any more. I don't want to give it away. It's a surprise, you know.

Have I ever told you that I stink at keeping secrets? Not in the disloyalty sort-of way. But I am a blabber-mouth. I simply say too much--just ask my teachers.

My relative silence lately in terms of what is on my hook is not due to the fact that I haven't been busy, but only because I have been frantically working behind the scenes on some other projects that I simply cannot share yet. 

But now I can officially share at least one of them...well, not the actual project--that will be revealed on March 31, 2014--but...

...I am going to be involved in yet another round of Design Wars! (Sign up for the newsletter to keep in the "Button Loop" here.) This one is for alumni of the challenge--a mini-challenge--and is using a brand spanking new yarn from Red Heart called Swanky.

It is a very soft yarn with incredible drape and little oval sequins. I worried a bit about working with the sequins as I have never tried it before, but if I use a slightly larger hook, I find that I don't even notice the sequins when working. And simply clipping the sequins off the tails facilitates weaving those ends. Easy peasy.

I am happy to say that I actually have a design in place for this round, too. That's pretty amazing since Design Wars 5 was much more "challenging" for me to finalize my design. 

As soon as I finish my Swanky design, I'm going to focus (haha, did you hear me try to convince you that I can do this?) on the bazillion other design ideas that have been floating in my head. 

And I really would like to return to this beautiful project...

I have actually completed a couple of rows already and it is making me ridiculously happy--it's that color thing!

I hope your life is full of peace, joy and fun! Best to you!

|On the Board| -- It's not who you are that holds you back...it's who you think you're not.