crochet | Bead Happily Ever After

Anything But Grey

Posted on February 10, 2014 by crystal

Here in New England, our frosty winter days are usually accompanied by clear blue skies and lots of bright sunshine.

This year, however, has been remarkably cloudy – not rainy, just CLOUDY!
And the combination of grey skies and short winter days gets old pretty quickly.

What to do? Well, I like to grab some colorful yarn and ignore the bleak weather.

Here’s my idea of an afternoon break.

I’ve just begun this blanket. Generally, I wait until I’m finished making all the squares (or other motifs) before sewing them together. This time though, I’m joining them as I go – which means the blanket will already be in one piece by the time I make the last square! 😀

Have you had a cloudy 2014, so far?

What do you like to do on a dreary day? C’mon, please tell us!

Hugs,

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Click the envelope to leave a comment or to read what the other kids are saying! 😀

A Little Magic with Yarn

Posted on September 20, 2013 by crystal

Ladies and Gentlemen!
You’ve heard of the Amazing Kreskin?

Well, prepare to be entertained by the Not-Quite-As-Amazing Crystal!

For my first trick . . .

I will begin with a crocheted yarn ring!

Next, I make 5 more, overlap them, weave a strip through the centers to hold them in place, and then crochet around the outer edges in contrasting colors.
(You’ll notice I have nothing up my sleeve!! 😉 )

And now, I wave my magic crochet hook and Presto! Change-o!
A vintage-style trivet/hot pad!!!

Pretty cool. Don’t you agree? 🙂
I think it looks like a Celtic knot, or maybe a brain teaser puzzle?!?

I used left-over yarn for this. It was a delight to make – very easy and very fast! I must get some yarn in my kitchen colors and make a couple more.

The pattern can be found by clicking here.

Hugs,

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Click the envelope to leave a comment or to read what the other kids are saying! 😀

Monday Memo

Posted on November 28, 2011 by crystal

Let’s hear about your holiday weekend, Kids!

Did you have a Thanksgiving feast?

Did you shop ’til you dropped on Black Friday?

Here at Bead Happily, we did the first and skipped the second! 😉

Let’s see…. I have two topics today.

First: I would like your thoughts about the next Bead Challenge.

a. Should we wait until after the holidays? We’re just about in December now, and I fear that schedules will already be stretched to the limit without having extra assignments! So, I’m wondering if January would the best time to begin the second challenge?

b. Is there a bead in my shop that you think would make a great “challenge bead“?
(Even the non-beaders might want to offer opinions on this!)

Second: Changing the subject now . . .

You know me – I love a QUICK craft project! Quick is really all I have time for these days.

Who knew having a retired husband would leave me with less hours than I had when my kids were little?!? Ok, I’m exaggerating, but it IS a different kind of schedule, lately! (I wouldn’t change a thing, though.)

But back to the project . . .

I loved making this crocheted flower scarf! Don’t they look like little pansies?

And it’s always fun to whip up a pair of matching earrings!

This scarf has an artsy, whimsical, look that really appeals to me. I’m thinking it would look great paired with a light-weight turtleneck sweater.

You can find the pattern here.

‘Til next time,

Hugs,

Crocheted Flowers Update

Posted on June 7, 2011 by crystal

There’s progress on the flowers for the shawl I have planned.

With 16 complete – I’m 1/3 of the way there! 😀

I still need to weave in the loose ends on a few of these. And I think I’ll eventually want to “block” all of them (lightly mist and pin the edges flat).

For now though, I’m having a ball watching things begin to take shape!

Most years, I stop knitting and crocheting during the summer months. The reason is simple . . . it’s just too hot. As a project gets bigger and bigger – it ends up on my lap and who needs a yarn “blanket” when it’s 90º?

But, these flowers are fairly small (approx. 4-1/2″ diameter), so there will be no problem.

I will, however, wait for a *cool* day to assemble the shawl because I’m pretty sure I’ll want to try it on immediately after it’s finished! 😉

Have you thought of something fun that you’d like to work on this summer?

Hugs,

A Purse to Crochet

Posted on May 6, 2011 by crystal

Remember a while back when I made several flowers (here), including this one?

I figured it would eventually come in handy to jazz-up a project . . .

I think I found a good use for it! 🙂

When I mentioned that I had done some “quick crocheting” last week, it was this little purse to which I was referring.

The pattern (found here) is really well-written and works up in a flash, which makes it a great “tv time” project!

Wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms, and I would also include aunts, sisters, grandmothers, and friends on that list!

In my view, the true spirit of Mother’s Day is the celebration of the nurturing woman – whomever she may be! 😀

See you Monday, Kids!

Hugs,