Made By Smree

A few years ago while prepping for a local craft show, I developed this Pokeball pattern, thinking it would be popular with kids (and kids at heart).  I made a total of six for that particular show, and sold every single one of them.  They've become a stock staple now, and each time I have them at a show I sell at least a few (if not all) of them. Not only do they sell well, they're fantastic attention grabbers too!  I typically display them in a large platter at the front of my table, and they've attracted numerous folks to my table.  I now know the favorite Pokémon of many children, who are excited that someone 'older' gets it.   I have been meaning to write up this pattern into a more legible form for some time now, and finally have managed to do it.  To give you an idea as to what the original pattern looked like, which I wrote down as I was making my first ever pokeball... Make sense to anyone else?  Or just me??  Haha! ...

Remember the taco fleece impulse buy I posted about? Happy taco is happy. The blanket is now finished, and so I wanted to share the final product!  I used a skip stitch blade to cut holes along the edge of the fleece, and then used some sparkly green yarn from my stash and a 7mm hook to crochet a border. (The yarn was Caron Simply Soft Party, I think.) After the beginning round, I did one round of HDC (half double crochet). Then I did a simple ruffle edging (slip stitch, chain three, slip stitch around).  I think the edging looks a bit like lettuce, which adds the perfect touch to the blanket. (and now I'm hungry. Oops?) And here's a photo of the finished blanket!  Isn't it the cutest thing ever? I'm not certain of the exact dimensions of the finished blanket. The fleece was roughly a yard and a half lengthwise, but I'm not sure of any other measurements, especially after adding the border.   But! I am extremely...

In my last post, I detailed how I've been making blankets to donate to Hospice. I've tried to use an assortment of colors/styles/etc, to accommodate a variety of people. It's no secret that I am a huuuuuuuge nerd, and especially fond of superheroes and the like.   So naturally, when I saw this Spider-Man fleece in the remnants section of Hobby Lobby, I knew I had to get it. Not only because I liked it, but I just knew I needed to buy it. I debated keeping it for myself, at first, but then I figured someone coming through Hospice could use it more than I could. I even distinctly recall telling someone about it, telling them "You never know, someone might come through, and Spider-Man could be their very favorite. thing. ever." So I finished it up, trying to find an appropriately spiderweb-ish edging to use on it.   When I took the blanket to Hospice, the workers in the volunteer department mentioned they had a young boy that might be interested i...

Recently, I've been making blankets to donate to the local Hospice. A lady at church (who heard me somewhat complaining that I loved making blankets but had no one to give them to) told me about it, saying that the workers would give blankets to patients as comfort items, and then it would be something for the family to keep as well, later on. I thought  it was a fantastic idea, and jumped in whole-heartedly.  I thought originally I would make just straight up crochet blankets, like this one.  While gorgeous, they are very time consuming (and unfortunately time is a precious commodity these days). I remembered seeing on a few websites things about adding crochet edging to fleece blankets, so I began looking into that as well, thinking those would be a nice way to supplement what I could crochet.  I purchased a Skip Stitch blade from SkipStitch.com (which, by the way, is completely awesome and SO worth it), obtained a stockpile of fleece, and set...

Happy Friday! (And also Happy Pi Day, for those of you of the geeky persuasion!) This scarf began as one of those 'I want to make something for meeeeee' projects. I'd been buried under requests for things for others (which is nice, don't get me wrong), that it had been awhile since I was able to whip up something for myself. So one night I decided I'd stop at the store and buy myself some yarn to make myself a new scarf. Allllll for me.  I chose the colors originally thinking it would be a Thor-inspired color scheme, but once I started working I realized it was more Captain America-ish than anything. Which works just as well for me.  And so, I'm dubbing this my 'Winter Solider' scarf, in honor of the new Captain America move coming out in April! (And no, I'm not being paid to plug this movie by Marvel, I just love them is all!)   I used three colors of Caron Simply Soft Party yarn, which I'd never used before but ended up ...

Awhile back, a friend of mine informed me of an opportunity to do something that I thought was pretty darn cool. At one of the local community colleges, an instructor was heading up a volunteer group to make sleeping mats for the homeless. These mats are crocheted using 'plarn' (yarn made from plastic bags). The mats are supposedly better than conventional blankets, as they are easier to clean and don't attract bugs.   We both thought it was a great idea, and as we both love to crochet, we decided to give it a whirl. She picked up enough materials for the both of us to get started, and so we did.  I finished my mat recently, and I'm super proud of how it turned out. Naturally I took pictures! It's approximately the size of a smallish blanket, which is (I think) bigger than it was supposed to be.  Oops. All in all, I think it took easily a couple hundred bags to complete. I know I ran out of the plarn I was given pretty quickly, and had to m...

Just to let you know, I've updated my Bofur hat post with this new handy dandy photo... Because there's nothing quite like being on Pinterest and seeing a horrible cell phone photo of yourself with THE WASHING MACHINE in the background.  Sigh.  So hopefully THIS one will start making the rounds on Pinterest instead.  (I can hope, can't I?) Anyway, that's all! :)

I love the availability of free crochet patterns online. Between Ravelry, Crochet Pattern Central, and others, there are SCORES of patterns out there for nearly everything you'd ever wish to make.  As such, I've accumulated several patterns over the years that are favorites, that I make time and time again.  I thought it might be fun to highlight a few here from time to time.  First up is the 29 Stitches Dishcloth pattern , by Heather over at The Good Life. I found this pattern on Crochet Pattern Central, I believe. (I think it's also on Ravelry, but I'm not sure.) It's quickly become my favorite pattern for dishcloths, though I do veer from the actual pattern a bit.  Rather than the H hook, I use an I, which makes the cloth bigger (I do this to allow for shrinkage, as cotton draws up SO much after being washed). Also, I do a simple half double border, as I simply couldn't be bothered to figure out the reverse single crochet.  ...

 (Check out this handy dandy Pinterest ready graphic I made!) In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, one of the dwarves (Bofur) wore this really, really awesome hat.  I fell in love with it, and decided to see if I could crochet my own version of it.  Well, first I scoured the internet, hoping for a pattern, and when I didn't find one THEN I decided to make my own.  And since I know there are others out there who would love to have this pattern, I'm posting it here! PLEASE NOTE: You may make items and sell them using this pattern, but PLEASE link back to the pattern and credit me as the source. It's only fair! :) The Bofur Inspired Hat Pattern You will need: Red Heart Super Saver (I forgot the actual color name, but it’s brown, okay?) Lion Brand Homespun in Edwardian H hook, I hook HAT : with I hook and brown yarn Chain 5 & join with sl st Ch 2, work 11 DC into loop, join with sl st (11) Ch 2, work 2 DC into each...

I love cloaks. I'm not sure why, but I think they're beautiful.  As such, I decided to make one! After doing some scouring online for a decent pattern, I settled on this one . It was a free download from Ravelry, and was just what I was looking for. I didn't use the Homespun yarn (which the pattern called for) because I detest that yarn. Instead I used some Lion Brand Jiffy yarn from my stash, because it was similar to Homespun, but not so frustrating. I ended up buying six more skeins (I think), in order to finish the cloak. I'm not sure what I had in my stash to begin with, but I feel safe in assuming it was at least two. So all in all, I'm figuring it took around eight for the entire thing.  I used some black acrylic from my stash to do a row on the bottom as well as the trim.  I made it shorter than the original, and I left off the armholes (because of it being shorter). It is surprisingly light, and super warm. I love it to pieces!! ...

Soo, that thing about posting more in my blog? Yeah, I don't think I've kept up very well with it either. But I've just been so busy . I know, I know, not a good excuse. But it's true! Apart from working insane hours and in the off-hours trying to have some semblance of a decent private/social life, I've been working away on various projects. Namely, scarves! I recently found a pattern that I ADORE, and after modifying it to make it a bit more narrow, this is what I have: This is the first one I made. I used Bernat Mosaic yarn in Psychedelic to make this one. I love how the colors came out..it's a lot brighter than it seems in this picture. Sorry for the bad quality. Anyway, everyone that has seen this scarf has LOVED it. It's soft and wears beautifully. I love it to bits. This is the second scarf. It's the same pattern, same modifications, just a different color of yarn. It's still the Bernat Mosaic. I forget what this color is called, ...

I've been busy working and making new things for my little Etsy store, so here's a bit of a preview! More to come soon, so keep your eyes open!

At long last, here is the pattern for the Spidey Warmers! I ended up not being able to get them to the boys til last week-ish, and I had to get their sister to take photos for me to post here. So thanks Jaimie!! Aren't they adorable? As you can see, I made two sets in different colors for them, but the pattern is for the red with blue trim. To make the others, just swap out the colors. Easy as pie! First off: much thanks and credit to the creativeyarn blog, as I used her free pattern as a basis for mine. Thank you!!!!! This pattern has not been tested, so if you find mistakes please let me know so I may correct them! --> Spidey Warmers F Hook Red Heart Super Saver Begin with Blue Ch 25, join (do not twist chain!) Row One: Ch 1, HDC around, join Row Two: Ch1, HDC around, join Switch to Red Row Three: Ch3, DC in next st, ch 1, skip next st, DC in next two st. Repeat around, join Row Four: Ch4. Skip next st, DC in next two st. Ch1, skip n...