crochet | Bead Happily Ever After

Grape Jelly Slinky

Posted on March 9, 2010 by crystal

What looks like Grape Jelly….

And moves like a slinky?

Why it’s my new scarf! 😉

I love the way it turned out!

Scarves of all kinds are fun to wear, but sometimes a long scarf can get in the way. The nice thing about this shorter style is that it will fill-in that open area inside your coat’s collar (so your neck is snuggly warm) without adding a lot of extra bulk. It’s really pretty enough to wear indoors too – maybe to cover a neckline that’s too bare for winter, or to jazz up a crew neck sweater.

This was one of my TV Time projects, so the pattern is an easy one! It’s crocheted and you can use any yarn and hook size you choose.

I used:
(1) 6 oz. skein of soft, medium weight, acrylic yarn in variegated violet. (I have about half of it leftover.)

Hook Size: J

Several of you ladies have said that you don’t crochet, but wish you did. If you ever decide to give it a go, you’ll discover that it really isn’t difficult. Just search on youtube for some basic “how-to-crochet” videos. All you need is a ball of yarn and a hook.

You can do it! 🙂

Feathering the Nest

Posted on January 21, 2010 by crystal

Sometimes, it’s easy to feel a bit of sympathy for the male of the species. Many of them have absolutely no understanding of the pretty little frills and frou-frou to which women are innately attracted. Take decorative pillows, for example. 😉

This particular point was driven home to me one Saturday morning as Sir Beads was helping me make the bed. We were in a hurry to leave the house that day. He dashed back into the bedroom to see what was holding me up and decided to help. After the comforter was in place, I began to arrange some small throw pillows and tossed a couple towards him to position on his side.

He groaned:

“It’s that darn Martha Stewart! She’s making life miserable for guys! Who needs all these extra pillows? What is their purpose?”

Well, I cracked up laughing. And I had to agree. There is no purpose for them . . . but they do look nice! 😀

I guess all of this supports the theory that “Men are from Mars; Women are from Venus”.

And since I’m from Venus . . . I made another small throw pillow this week.

I had seen some over at don_mae’s that were so cute – I just couldn’t resist. The pattern is fairly basic crochet. I made two hearts; single-crocheted them together, and then experimented until I got a ruffle I liked. I settled on 6 double crochet stitches in each single crochet around the perimeter of the heart for a very full effect. The pillow still looked a little plain somehow, so I added the felt flowers.

It’s adds a cute little touch of Valentine’s Day to the sofa, don’t you think? 😉

A Berry Pretty Scarf ;-)

Posted on January 13, 2010 by crystal

The other day I finished a scarf that I’ve been crocheting for a couple of weeks – on and off.

I always like to have an ongoing project – something I can easily pick up and work on during TV time.

It makes all those commercials a little easier to bear! 😉

The pattern is called: “Queen Anne’s Lace”, and I’m so grateful to Carol for telling me about it. (You can find it here by scrolling down the page. The photos are no longer with the pattern – but more will turn up with a web search!)

This was fun to make, and easy enough that there’s no need to look at the directions once you get going. I used Red Heart “Soft” Yarn – a medium-weight worsted acrylic. Ordinarily, I’m not too crazy about Red Heart yarn, but I’d never seen this “soft” version before, and decided to give it a try. It’s fairly nice to work with – though it did separate a bit here and there, but nothing serious. The real test will come in the future after the scarf is washed.

The color is “Berry” and it’s “Very” pretty!! I couldn’t resist the pun in today’s title – shame on me! 😉

What are you working on these days? Maybe you’re reading something that we’d all like? Seen a good movie, lately? 🙂

See ya tomorrow,

Elf Wanted!

Posted on December 10, 2009 by crystal

With only 15 days until Christmas, things are really getting busy now.

I’m beginning to think Santa has the right idea though . . . I need an elf! 😉

You know – just to help with a few things on my list. Maybe he could do the laundry and the grocery shopping, so that I could concentrate on all of the fun holiday stuff. Yes! That would be perfect.

In the midst of the bustle and merriment of the Christmas preparations here, I still like to have a moment to make something – just for the fun of it. It keeps me calm! LOL

Consequently, I’m always on the lookout for a quick and easy project, and when I saw Donna’s version of a sweet but tiny purse, I wanted to make one, too! She very kindly included a link to the directions!

Here’s mine. I put the business card with it to give you an idea of the size.

Wouldn’t it be just the thing to give with a gift card tucked inside?

I used some leftover wool yarn scraps and then crocheted the button as per the directions. I added a Swarovski crystal for a little pizzazz. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Although I didn’t have a real button on hand that would coordinate with this purse, I do think a vintage or new button would be lovely on the next one I make. Some glitzy yarn and a jeweled button would be gorgeous for an evening bag – when all you might want to carry is a lipstick and maybe a credit/debit card.

Ok, back to decking the halls for me.

‘Til next time,

An Extra Hour…

Posted on November 3, 2009 by crystal

So remember on Saturday, when I was suggesting that we all try to do something fun with our extra “fall back” hour? Did you find a little time just for you? I hope so! I decided to make a potholder.

I know! That probably would have been your last guess for how I’d spend my extra hour. Well . . . it happened quite by accident. I was searching for something on the internet. You know how that goes. You begin to google a specific item and before you know it, you are lost in cyberspace – reading all kinds of interesting information! When you eventually come back to consciousness, you realize that you hardly remember what started the whole thing! 😉

Anyway, I bumped into a forum where there was a discussion about crocheting potholders, and how one particular potholder was so much fun and so very quick to make. According to the post, you crochet it in one piece that will fold in on itself as you go along and when complete, you’ll have a square with a double thickness. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

After I had finished several rows, I thought it was looking more like a little clutch purse than a potholder!

Ah, but then the “magic” began – it was starting to turn into a square. More rows would be needed before I could sew a seam to form the last two corners, though.

With a little more patience and several more rows, this potholder was now a square.

After finishing the seam, I added a loop for hanging and Voila! Although I love pretty, decorative potholders, I always hate to use them. This, however, is a “working” potholder. It’s nice and thick and should offer good protection for handling hot items.

I used Lily Sugar ‘n Cream Cotton in “Faded Denim” and a size G crochet hook. You can find the pattern here. I think if you make one – you’ll make another. It’s a great project to work on while watching TV. 😀