Crochet Slippers - Pattern/Tutorial

If you haven't been to my facebook page lately, then let me up date you about what I've been up to. 

I was diagnosed with degenerative bone spurring of the spine. It's very painful and it took them months to figure it out. I was pretty immobile for quite a few months. In that time, I decided to learn crochet. I watched a ton of great instructional videos on YouTube by Crochet Geek and took off!

That was the end of November 2011. I've crocheted at least 5 items or more per week, and I'm totally addicted. I'm even looking into selling locally in a new craft consignment store in my town that is opening up in a few months!!

What I love about crochet is that it's easy to do on while sitting on the couch, sitting in the car, sitting at the Dr. office... basically, while I'm stuck on my butt, I can crochet. 

I'm now shot full of cortisone and feeling fine. I have put the sewing aside for a while so that I don't do more spine damage. Sad, I know. I do miss it like crazy. The love I have for crochet and yarn is great though! I am eagerly awaiting my new drop spindle and roving so I can try my hand at spinning! So excited about that. Also taking a mini vacation next week to northern Vermont to see a working Llama (or maybe alpaca??) farm where they make their own yarn. Yippee! 

I do have to say, crochet has lifted my mood, and makes me feel great. Plus, I'm pretty sure my hand, wrist, and forearm muscles are getting a great workout!

On to the original goal of this post... I wanted to share a slipper pattern I made up. Hope you like it, let me know!

Quick to make, and fun to wear! Might be a little slippery on smooth floor....

You'll need about 220 yards of worsted yarn, give or take for tension and size.
Use Two strands of worsted yarn, 6.5mm hook.

Toe of shoe is worked in the round.

R1: Ch 2 and then 10 hdc into a Magic Circle, join with beginning ch 2 at the end of each round. (11)
R2: ch2, 2 hdc in each, join. (22)
R3-7: ch2, 1 hdc in each, join. (22)
R8: ch2, 1 hdc in each then increase in the last two st, join. (24)
R-11: ch2 1 hdc in each, join.

Now you stop working rounds and switch to rows... 
Ch 2, *17 hdc, chain 2 turn* continue from * until long enough for your foot.

These are a size 8-8.5 and are 20 rounds/rows. I made a size 9.5 and it was 22 rows. I think it's safe to say each row adds another 1/2 size.

Finishing:
Fold heal area in 1/2 and Slip Stitch to create heal. Weave in ends and you are done! Make another for the pair!

Flower:
Two strands of worsted yarn, 6.5mm hook.


1st Petal: Ch 5, tr two times in first ch space. ch 3 and sl st into first ch space.
Next Petals: *Ch 3, tr two times in first chain space, chain 3 and sl st into first ch space* repeat from * 2 more times for a 4 petal flower, or 3 more for a 5 petal flower. Finish off. Leave a tail for attaching button and  securing to slipper.

I make mine non-skid by stuffing lightly with crumbled paper and using tee-shirt paint on the sole area in various patterns. Just follow directions on bottle. 

Please do not reproduce this pattern. Feel free to sell your items, would appreciate credit back to pattern. Enjoy!

So, what's up? Miss me?

It's been quite a long summer. I had some health issues, and couldn't sew. Then I had different health problem, or maybe the same problem that was just in a different spot, not sure. I have a job now which I like love... and I've dusted off my sewing machine, but just a little bit. My last sewing venture in February was what broke me and landed me in the chiropractor's office for a few months. I ruined a nerve and decided to just stop trying to sew.

I have PILES of cut projects that I may never get to. I'm sewing just  a little bit, and in spurts right now. I really don't want to over do it.

Some other stuff I was up to over the summer was lots of little getaways, we went to Story Land, spent some time in Maine, and my kids went to the beach a few times. I hate the beach, so I skipped that part. My boys turned 13 and 2 this summer. Yes, that's not a typo. They are great and totally adore each other.

I've also been trying to get my thoughts together. Long story, but I flipped out (on myself) and deleted just about all my Facebook friends. Now I'm embarrassed and I'm pretty sure they all hate me... especially since they have unliked all my pages that they used to love. If you see this, and were one of my victims... I assure you, it was just me being an idiot. I mean, some people seem to never be online, some people never conversed with me, and some people only wanted to talk to me when they needed something which in my fuss and craziness, I took VERY personally. So, I'm over it and if you want to add me back, please go ahead... and sorry.

So if you are still reading, I just found Pinterest.com. It's so cool, and highly addictive. Feel free to follow here:

and if you would like to know what it's all about, see here:

http://artisantopia.com/2011/06/tutorials/pinterest-virtual-pinboard-guide

Free Pattern- Little Clippie Case

Made this for a friend, and since I am not sewing anymore decided to write it up in a pattern and offer it up for sharing! Please do not create and sell from this pattern without purchasing the resell license below.

Click Here For Pattern PDF

The dirty 30 beer bash! {Surprise 30th Birthday Party!}

My husband turned 30 the other week. (Yeah yeah, I'm robbing the cradle) and I had to quickly develop a plan for a birthday bash that my cheap-butt could afford!

I know a lot of people get a huge shindig at a hall or VFW or other venue of sorts, but I'm not about to pay a couple hundred bucks on a party room and chance that no one shows up. I would much rather buy photography equipment with my money, that's for sure!

I decided on a beer bash. Not a 20 year old's type of beer bash with a keg and people passed out all over the place the next day. No no no... we are grownups now. We're sophisticated, darn it!

So the invite was nothing more than a private Facebook event invitation, and a few phone calls. Hey paper invites cost money, and no one hangs onto them anyhow, right? If I'd had to send invites, they most likely would have been printed on sticker paper and adhered to cardboard coasters. But I saved the coasters for the table- these were my mother-in-laws collection of coasters from traveling the world! They worked perfectly as decorations. Plus, they were free.

The center of the table sported some fine bottle shaped gummies. They didn't taste like beer, but they looked the part. They were like a dollar a bag at Walgreens. 

 

The plan laid out in the invitation was that everyone/couple was to bring a 6 pack of unique beer in a paper bag for the "Beer Tasting" We ended up with 15 different kinds, including a few gluten free ones.

The prizes were for Best, Most Unique, and "No one should drink". Woah boy, that last one was a pretty close contest! The prizes for best were a vintage looking beer sign from Michael's, Beer pancake mix, Beer mug chicken marinade, a tee that said "I'm a hero" with a sub picture, and a $10 gift card to our local theater. Most unique prize bag included  Beer mug chicken marinade, A folding sports seat, and a $10 gift card to Lonhorn's. Prize for worst was a beer hard hat.

 

The beers landed in my care and each was carefully disguised by a clever label or two. After the last few guests arrived (after the surprise, way to go guys!! haha, just kidding) we started the official tasting. Everyone got a little plastic shot glass and stood in a circle around me and my lovely pregnant friend Angie. Since neither of us drink, it was easy to be the servers. We gave everyone a ballot that I had printed up in sheets of 10 like business cards, and we just started with number one and went around the circle. Everyone tasted each one, and we laughed and made jokes. It was actually a really super fun time!

Prior to serving, I had labeled each beer with a number, and wrote down who brought which number. In hindsight I see that I should have also noted the name of the beer each person brought also.

The food was great! My friend from Cakes 5th Avenue made us a really yummy cake and 12 delicious

cupcakes. We also had some allergy friendly cupcakes for the allergy people.

 

Yup, he got 30 flames, and got them all blown out with one breath!

 

We had LOADS of food, with tons of left overs. Cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, fruit tray, chicken wings, veggies and dip, chips, chili, pulled pork, etc etc etc. Seems like everyone brought food, and that's fine by me! (Thanks everyone!)

 I decorated with paper stars in red and gold (cheapies from Wallyworld) and gold and burgundy balloons we tossed on the ceiling all over the place.

 I grabbed 20 cheap acrylic 4x6 frames off eBay for like $2 each... yes, the cheapest I could find... and had some old fashioned beer ads printed locally that I found on the internet. I just sort of scattered them. Some people took some of the better ones home.

 We owned this Budweiser crate,and it came in handy as a spot for all the gift beer my husband got. Hey, the man likes beer! It also came in handy for carrying it all home!!

We pulled the surprise off without a hitch! I had to abandon him and the kids all day to get everything done. He stopped being mad at me for that when he walked into his moms house for "dinner" and 30 people yelled SURPRISE  at him!!

 Since we are old and stuff now. The party was from 5:00 until 9:30. Woohoo!! We sure do know how to rock the night!

And the best news is... I pulled this party off for about $150.00. My mother in law also chipped in for some decorations and food also, but my out of pocket was a perfect amount!

Next parties are in June/July- my oldest's 13th and my youngest's 2nd. I think they are getting Minute to Win It and Sesame Street parties respectively. So we'll see how those go, and hopefully they are both cheap cheap CHEAP!!!

Three Simple Rules {Printable}

Click image to print. ♥ Enjoy.

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Pre-Quilted fabric bag Tutorial!

This is a tute probably for someone a little more advanced as I didn't take photos of each step, but will explain them here.

The story on this is that I bought this from Joann's for a pretty decent price. It's been sitting on my shelf, just dying to be turned into a bag. It took me a while to think of how to do this without biased tape (my arch nemesis). I also struggled figuring out the handle until I recalled the strapping in my ribbon bin.

I cannot find this damask print anymore at any of my local Joann's or online, but they do have some other colors.

You will need:

1/2 yard Double Face Quilt Fabric, or you can quilt your own.

14" zipper

40" of 1" nylon strapping

1. Prepare straps:

Cut strapping into two 20" pieces. Measure 3" from each end and mark with a pin. Fold the strap in half between marked spots and sew from one to the other. Do this to both handles.

2. Cut fabric:

Cut fabric to 17" long. Then cut in half and cut each piece to 16" wide. (squares should be 16x17 with leftovers).

3. Sew contrasting bottom:

Measure 11" down from top of bag, make sure you have the piece laid the right way. Draw a line across at the 11" mark. Don't worry, you won't see it later. Lay one of the remnant pieces with the WRONG side down on the RIGHT side of the bag piece. Line up the piece so it is sitting on the line you drew (it will sort of be sitting across the middle of the bag.) Sew a scant 1/4" across the bottom of the top chunk. Fold down towards the bottom of the bag and sew a top stitch 1/4" from the top edge of the bottom piece. Repeat on second side of bag.

4. Attach handles:

Fold bag side in half length wise. Mark center the very top of the bag. Measure and mark 3" on each side of the center mark. Measure and mark at 2" down from each of the 3" marks. Lay handle so the raw edge is pointing up and the inside corner of each handle side is touching your 2" marks. Sew 1/4" down on each handle. Fold up 1" and sew an X to secure to bag. (stitch on handle should now be on the inside when the handle is up) Repeat for second side.

5. Attach zipper:

Lay top of zipper centered up against the OUTSIDE top of 1 bag panel. Use zipper foot to sew across, moving zipper head as needed. Trim excess of fabric from the new seam. Turn bag right side up and lay flat over seam of bag and zipper tape, and sew a top stitch trapping raw edge of fabric into seam. Repeat for other side of bag.

6. Sew bag closed:

Time to sew a french seam!! Lay bag right sides out and sew down the sides and across the whole bottom with a scant 1/4" seam. Turn bag inside out and sew a generous 1/4" seam down sides and across bottom. This will trap all the raw edges like magic!!

7. Box corners:

Cut a 2.5" x 2.5" square out of each bottom corner. With bag wrong side out, sew the corners closed. I like to go back over with a nice close zig-zag to cover up the raw edges. If you have a serger, this would be a good time to use it.

Turn your bag right side out, tie a pretty ribbon on the side and voila... you're done!!

If this is terribly confusing, feel free to email me or leave a comment!