Starry Night Reflective Beanie

Red Heart has come out with an exciting new yarn called Reflective.  Right now, it is pretty hard to come by.  I happened to be in the right place at the right time and managed to get ahold of some. For the most part, I am loving it. It is a bulky weight yarn. (5) I love the way the weight of it feels. So, maybe that doesn't make total sense, but it has a comfortable heaviness to it. The reflective thread, woven into the skein, creates an amazing effect when it's hit with light. (You can see it in the picture when the hat is photographed with a flash.)
While I am generally thrilled with this yarn, a few thing warrant a mention. I would not recommend this yarn for small children, or hats for bald people, unless you plan on lining your project. The reflective strand is just a bit scratchy. Secondly, the skeins I have worked with so far, about six of them, have been very difficult to pull from the center. I have had to pull quite a chunk from the center to find the start. One skein in particular was so difficult to get to I ended up unwinding the entire skein to get it untangled. Lastly, and probably most discouraging, is that I have found at least one section of yarn on each skein where there was a knot attaching the yarn together, and a few spots the yarn was a bit "puffy" ar freyed looking. I have been fortunate so far that it has worked into the back of my project. However, I have heard nothing but good about Red Heart's customer service and feel if I contact them with concerns they'll make it right.
The pros far out weigh the cons as far as I am concerned. I will keep purchasing and keep using it!

Starry Night Beanie

Materials:
Red Heart Reflective
1 Skein Black
1/2 Skein Grey
J hook
Tapestry needle for working in ends

Gauge:
6 DC = 2 in.
4 rows = 2 in.

DC - Double Crochet
SC - Single Crochet
Join - (Join the end of each round by slip stitching into the top of the first Double Crochet

Work rows as follows: Start with black for first three rows. Switch to grey on Row 4 and Row 5, back to black for four rows and back to grey for Row 10 and Row 11, then back to black for the remainder of the hat.

Start with Magic Ring, Chain 2
Row 1:  9 DC in Magic Ring, join. Chain 2
Row 2: 2 DC in each stitch and join. Chain 2.
Row 3: 2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next stitch, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 4:  2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 2 stitches, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 5:  2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 3 stitches, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 6:  2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 4 stitches, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 7:  2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 8 stitches, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 8- 15: DC in each stitch around, joining and chaining 2 after each round.
Row 16: SC in each stitch around, join and tie off.

Use a tapestry needle to weave end threads into the hat.

For a slouchier hat, The length of this hat can be adjusted by adding additional rows before you add the row of SC.

Craft Shows and Orders and Gifts! Oh, My!

Tis the season. Hard to believe I have not posted since October 2nd! Fall has arrived, and so has the busy. October was full of hustle and bustle and my hook got so busy my hand decided to protest. Here is a peek at some of what I've been doing...

A dear friend of mine has been battling cancer, I flew out to Illinois to visit with her and attend a benefit auction. While there I made her a horse hat per her request along with a few other crochet items that went into a raffle. I didn't use a pattern for this, but there are some great patterns out there!

For Breast Cancer Awareness month, I put together this hat and wristers set using Deborah Norville Collection Serenity Baby Yarn in Tea Roses. I used a basic beanie pattern for the hat, a row of double crochet for the ribbon, and Red Heart's pattern for the wristers. Pattern Here (Free Pattern)

What does the fox say??  If you have not seen this video yet, take a moment and watch. (You will either love it or hate it.)

I'm in the love camp on this one, and had to try this Sly Fox Hat Pattern by Lisa Gutierrez (Free Pattern) It was a hit and was one of the first hats to go at the craft show I did last weekend!

So I did my first craft show last weekend. All things considered it went quite well. I have one more on the 16th and one in December. It is going to be a busy few months. One of the favorites was this scarf. Though I didn't use a pattern for it, there is a very similar pattern on Ravelry by Christy Fisher (Paid Pattern)

I have also been playing with itty bitty stuff! My son's teacher had a new baby and he wanted to give her an owl hat. I used the owl hat pattern from Repeat Crafter Me (Free Pattern) with just a few minor changes, the diaper cover is by Boomer Beanies'(Paid Pattern).

And this set for a friend who's granddaughter was born 7 weeks early. There isn't a pattern for the hat, but the booties are from Deb's Crafts (Free Pattern) I would have never thought to make the booties with an open heel so they can wear them even if the wires are attached to their little feet.

There is so much more I would like to share with you, but I have craft shows to prepare for, orders to fill, and gifts to be made! The holidays are quickly approaching and there is way to much cool stuff out there I want to try.  I leave you with this...my little Crochet Protege'...Elsa is one of my daycare babies and she loves to pretend to crochet!

Happy Crocheting!!

And The Results Are In

The My Mountain Hat Design Contest Results are in and...

THIS is how I'm feeling!

BECAUSE of this....

My Mountain top 5 Finalists!

"Congratulations to our 5 finalists in the My Mountain hat design contest!

Sheri Goad for "Fusion" 2,819 votes

Rohn Strong for "Greer" 1,994 votes

Sonya Blackstone for "Mount Katahdin" 1,764 votes

Lars Rains for "Norwegian Sleeping Cap" 1,729 votes

Susan Anderson for "Woven Ladder" 1,461 votes

These finalists will receive an iPad Mini, Ravelry ad featuring their design and expanded features on mymountain.us and social media. The semifinalist and finalist patterns will be published on mymountain.us as free downloads sometime in October. We'll let you know the moment they're up! 

As the top vote-getter, Sheri's pattern, "Fusion," will become a paid Ravelry download with all proceeds going to her selected nonprofit, St. Baldrick's for Childhood Cancer Research.

Thank you so much to EVERYONE who participated in this very exciting contest. Remember, you can see more of the entries on the My Mountain Pinterest page. Look for more cool stuff coming from the My Mountain movement very soon!"

 Is my hat the "best" hat in the competition...for some, not so much for others. We all have different likes and dislikes, but isn't that the way it should be? How boring would life be if we all liked the same things?! Isn't that kind of what My Mountain is trying to do is start a movement where people can create something that reflects who they are?

I came across a comment where the person said, "I do not understand how the hat in the lead...is in the lead." 

My answer, because I promoted it. Far and wide. I invited my friends, who in turn invited their friends, who in turn invited their friends and more! Rock the Vote was only one way we, and I say we because NO WAY did I do this myself, spread the word. Besides the 166 attending this event, there were more of the 1,970 that didn't click on join but voted and shared daily. (The top two names on the list of invited but not joined are my son and my mother! You know they were voting.)

This was not the only means of spreading the word. Friends sent out daily messages, to those who wanted to be on a texting list with the link and reminders to vote, as well as emails. Along with other designers in the competition, we posted on crocheting boards we are involved with. Posts went up on local community boards where people within my community rallied in support. 

I don't think it hurt that I designed a hat that was fun, different and gave somewhere for that darn ponytail to go!  Something that could easily support the idea behind My Mountains grass-root movement...offering a simple design that even the newest crocheter could accomplish, leaving endless possibilities to those more experienced to embellish. Even if it wasn't for everyone. =)

I look forward to trying out some of the other amazing designs. Keep your eye on the My Mountain Facebook page, while the top 18 designs will be released in October, others who did not make the top 18 are posting their patterns now! If you haven't checked out My Mountain's Pinterest, add it to your to do list. Simply inspiring!!

For all those who rallied in support of "Fusion," my hats off to you! I am blessed and truly appreciative! Beyond my "prizes" I am most thrilled at the opportunity to help out St. Baldrick's Childhood Cancer Research!

While I wait.

So, as excited as I am about the Hat Design Contest,  I'm not a very good waiter! The contest is open until September 23rd! Honestly, I am very intimidated by this process. Many of the designers have been out there a long time. I am barely peeking my head up in this world! The contest has been good for me. It has brought me out of my comfort zone, encouraged me to be creative, challenged me to write a pattern, and produced the excitement to take my crocheting to the next level! Now, that I made it this far I'm a nervous wreck! To keep from going crazy I've decided to put my mind on the next project. For me, that is the Crochet Arium.

The Crochet Crowd is creating a crocheted aquarium for the Creativ Festival. They are gathering donations to add to the aquarium and selling them at the festival. The proceeds of this project are going to be donated to Crafting For A Cure.

I got a jump start this weekend while I waited nervously for the Semi-Finalists to be announced. One jellyfish and two corrals done! More to come!

If you are interested in contributing to the Crochet Arium, you can learn more about it here:

Crochet Arium With The Crochet Crowd!

If you are interested in the My Mountain Hat Design Contest, and would like to check out the hats and vote go here: 

My Mountain Hat Design Contest Voting

I'm a Semi-Finalist!

I am beside myself excited! My Mountain just announced the top 18 Semi-Finalists in their hat design contest. I was thrilled to see my hat pop up in the pictures!  They are now open to voting and the public chooses the top 5!  That means YOU!  Please take a minute and GO VOTE!!

There will be 5 Finalists, but the top voted finalist will get their hat pattern listed as a paid pattern, and ALL proceeds from it will go to the charity of their choice!

A year ago I couldn't even read a pattern! I'm thrilled to be among so many amazingly talented designers!

"Yes, I believe I was the only one at the park with a hook in my hand!"

There's nothing quite as exciting as taking the kids to an amusement park to end the summer with a bang! The kids had a blast, I'm more of a hang-out-hold-stuff-while-you're-on-the-rollercoaster kind of gal myself. Thanks to hubby's awesome football throwing skills, I was in good company!

Day One - Chillin' with Dude!

Getting Dude in on some crochet action!

Day Two- Hanging with Dave!

Needless to say, the park was a bit full and lines a bit long, I had plenty of time to take advantage of the yarn packed in my bag. Here's what came out of our weekend trip.

Baby Girl Hat - Made on the way to the amusement park. Traffic was horrid!

Chillin' by the pool!

Black Light Hats! Definitely going to be getting more of this yarn and doing hats for the craft shows this fall! (Red Heart Black Light Yarn  I used the Basic Beanie (Adult Size) Pattern

I started this Purple Minion hat at the park and finished up after we arrived home, I used Dude as my inspiration. There are multiple styles of this character hat out on the WWW. I will post my pattern in the near future.

Our weekend was a blast, the kids had fun, I got to make more hats, and we all had some wonderful family time together.  School started today and soon the weather will cool, leaves will get crunchy, and the need for all these hats will be upon us!  I can't wait.

P.S.  *WAVES* to the nice lady I met at Kings Dominion and chatted about crocheting with. (Hopefully she made it here to check out the blog!)  Go ahead, pick up a hook and yarn...you can do it!

Hat Crazy!!

I will openly admit I have gone a touch hat crazy! In all fairness, it's not my fault. Full blame is to be placed on the My Mountain Hat Design Contest. I first learned about the contest while searching for crochet blogs. Liz, from Crochet in Color had posted about it.

My first request was for Boston and Boston Style yarns...from these came this, my first entry. I blogged about it HERE. (There's more pics there too. I took another batch of pics in hopes of showing the pattern off more.)

I fell in love with the Boston yarns and decided to request the same yarn in different colors for my second entry. This time I requested, charcoal heather, brilliant white, black and purple. I had a fun pattern worked up and couldn't wait to try it out. This one is named "Payton" after the adorable young lady who fell in love with it when she was modeling the hats for me.

The Boston and Boston Style yarns were amazing to work with, I loved the texture of the yarn and the color choices...so many to choose from! I decided for my third entry I would request something in a super bulky weight. I thought they were 100g so needing about 225g  to finish the next pattern I had worked up I requested 3 skeins. This time I simply asked for three of the same color, any color, and waited anxiously to see what surprise would come in the mailbox. SURPRISE! I got Neon Pink Marl in the Bravo Big. DOUBLE SURPRISE! Each skein had 200g!  With 600g of Super Bulky yarn, there was enough to make my third, fourth and fifth entry!

Entry #3 is called "Duplicity" With an open back and drawstring this hat can be used much like my first entry, "Fusion" the difference is the opening is wider and "Duplicity" can double as a cowl. Using such a bulky yarn, this hat worked up in just about an hour and a half.

Entry #4 is called "Flirty" Since the hat needed to be made in all Schachenmayr yarn, and I didn't have time to request anymore, I took advantage of the extra I had. Using about 3 yards of yarn and separating the strands, I made the flower and gray and white band that weaves in and out around the hat.  They are the perfect color match!

Entry #5 is "Bobble" using a basic pattern, I added a bit of zing to this bobble style hat by using some of the Boston Black yarn I had left over from my second entry. 

Entry #6 "Belle"  is a petite hat made from bits of Boston and Boston Style yarns left over from entries one and two.

It's been a fun month of going hat crazy...I'd be lying if I said it was going to end here...I have already done up two non-contest hats. One replicating the "Flirty" hat in a less bulky yarn and a chemo hat for a friend of mine.  

My Mountain Hat

I did it! Here's my entry for the My Mountain Hat Contest. Crosses fingers tightly. =) The name "Fusion" is from a mix of fun and functionality. With fun colors and designs, "Fusion" sports an open ended hat perfect for pulling a ponytail through. A drawstring feature allows you to pull the back together or leave it open for a fuller fun effect.  The options of how to wear this hat are really up to the individual sporting it.  A quick flip of the bottom and drawstring pulled tight and you have a beanie with a festive spray of braids on top! 

Part of the contest was talking about the mountains you have overcome. I am somewhat a Jill of all Trades. I have tried many crafty type things and hobbies, never really sticking to any  of them. With crocheting it has been completely different.When I started a few years ago I was terrified of doing anything using a pattern. Straight, non counting projects for me.  In the last year I began  climbing that mountain one pattern at a time. Now I'm making my own patterns!  The My Mountain Hat Design Contest gave me that final motivation to take my crocheting to the next level! With my brand new blog and an insatiable desire to create with yarn, I'm over the top and quite happy to be here!

Basic Beanie Adult Hat

BASIC Beanie Hat (Adult Size)

Hook Size J
This hat works with Lion's Brand and Red Heart Yarn Worsted yarn. I used Lion's Brand for this hat. 

DC - Double Crochet
HDC - Half Double Crochet
Join - (Join the end of each round by slip stitching into the top of the first Double Crochet)



Start with Magic Ring, Chain 2
Row 1: 10 DC in Magic Ring, join. Chain 2
Row 2: 2 DC in each stitch and join. Chain 2.
Row 3: 2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next stitch, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 4:  2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 2 stitches, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 5:  2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 3 stitches, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 6:  2 DC in first stitch 1 DC in next 4 stitches, Repeat until you have come back around and join at the top of your first DC. Chain 2.
Row 7 - 15: DC in each stitch around, joining and chaining 2 after each round. 

Row 16: HDC in each stitch around, join and tie off.

Use a tapestry needle to weave end threads into the hat.

For the hat shown, I switched to white on Row 7 and Row 8, back to blue for three rows and back to white for Row 12 and Row 13.

The length of this hat can be adjusted by adding additional rows before you add the row of HDC.

"What's Your Mountain?"

Have you heard about the My Mountain Hat Design Contest? You pick the yarn from their selection of fun yarns and design a hat! I chose Aquatic Color from their Boston Style collection, and Neon Yellow from their Boston collection.  It's a bulky yarn that's very easy to work with. My design is going to take more than  originally requested so I'm waiting! More is on the way. What a fun way to jump feet first into the world of creating patterns. I'm anxious to finish this one up. With two sampler hats already finished, the final project should be just right! It was fun designing something and figuring out ways to make it better. 

The theme of the contest is "What's Your Mountain?" I've had many mountains to deal with to get where I am today, but my focus is on crocheting. My personal mountain was learning to read patterns, I've come a  long way baby! What a perfect tribute to overcoming that mountain...designing my own pattern. Photos of the finished hats have to be submitted by August 30th. I'll share photos of the finished projects as soon as I submit them.

So tell me, "What's Your Mountain?" crocheting or otherwise.