Show and Tell

I wanted to share a few photos from people who have purchased my hooded baby cocoon. The first is from Kate Bruinsma. She is a photographer in Grand Rapids and bought a cocoon that I had made for her photography, Photos By Kaity. Here is a pic from one of her newborn sessions. So precious!


The next few pictures are from Melissa. She purchased the pdf of my patten and created this herself! We worked together to create a pattern that was 3-6 month size and this is the result. I think it turned out awesome and I am so glad she shared her pictures! How adorable is this little one???

Making Progress

So I have immersed myself in bootie patterns and how to get a pair to work for once. I would say that I have had success! Here are a couple of pairs I have recently made and I am so pleased with how they turned out. These patterns were purchased at Mon Petit Violin. She helped me out when I ran into a snag, and it was easy going after that. I think I am going to try the baby booties I wrote about in my previous post...so stay tuned!

Baby Bootie Dilemma

Okay, so I have a clear problem. No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to master any pair of baby booties from a pattern I have bought. I am not kidding you, I have probably purchased 8 baby bootie patterns in the past 3 months and somehow I just can't seem to figure them out! They end up too big, or they just take too much time for what I want to spend on a pair of booties. Does anyone else have this problem?

I recently purchase these booties from Holland Designs. She has THE cutest patterns and I always want to buy all of her patterns. Look how cute these are (these are pictures from her site):

Cute, right? Well, for some reason I cannot seem to figure out how to create them. I know I should check gauge, but in all honesty, I have never paid attention to that. Do other people ignore this, or am I just the only one to lazy to check??? Her patterns are written very clear and I can follow along just fine, but in the end I get frustrated and throw in the towel. I should ask for her help, as she has made it very clear she will help anyone out who has questions. I guess I just don't know which questions to ask and how to explain that I really am following everything right, but my crochet skills seems to lack in the bootie making area.

To be fair, it is not just booties from Holland Designs that I can't master. It is pretty much any bootie pattern. I am bootie pattern impaired. So, for all of you who have no problem, I envy you and wish you could teach me your secrets!

I have created my own pattern for a set of booties that I can whip up just fine. Maybe I will forever be subjected to my own patterns...they just aren't nearly as cute as other patterns I have found.

If anyone has any wise words of wisdom I am open to help and suggestions. Otherwise, I will keep on practicing and hopefully I will one day see the light on what I am doing wrong!

My Own Little Monkey

I could be biased, but I think she makes any hat look cute :-)

Monkeying Around

I am so happy with how this turned out! I changed the edging yarn to the Red Heart Light & Lofty because I thought it added a "furry" feel to the hat and made it look more like a monkey! The hardest part of this was lining up with ears! My goodness I struggled. If anyone has any good ideas on how to sew these on straight I would appreciate it! I hope to get a picture of a little munchkin wearing this soon, so stay tuned. Hats without a baby head just don't look near as cute!

I plan to sell this one for $17.00. I can make these in up to 24 months.

I can't wait to make a few in girly colors with the ears, and of course to add a flower to it too. Wouldn't a little pink money hat be too cute?

New Stuff' Comin'

Oh, oh, oh! I am SO excited to share some of the stuff I am doing! It will be soon once I have time to take pics! I am happy to have a few more boy things and I am doing some more girl stuff too (of course!). I just can't stay away from those flowery pieces for too long.

Here is a sneak peak of something I have been working on. This is not my finished piece, but I bought the pattern from The Crafty Tortoise, so I can't wait to see this little number on some cuties:


In the meantime of doing some new stuff, I have been working hard to finish many orders I have lined up. I love being busy, but I hope I don't take too long to complete the orders! I feel like I need to hire some help! I am flattered that people really like what I have made and it makes me feel so good when I see those little munchkins in something I made.

So, if you happen to have anything I have made I would love to see pics! I am hoping to post a photo album on this site (once I figure out how to do it). I can't wait! Email me your pics or post them on my Facebook page!

SO CUTE!

Check out MiniMi BabyGear! This site has seriously adorable baby things and now through June 5th 50% of the proceeds go to help the Pettinga Family cover medical expenses. Please check it out! Trust me, this family is more than well-deserving.

FROM MINIMI BABYGEAR:



Little Miss Ellie was born deaf. She has captivated everyone she knows with her bright blue eyes and willingness to smile. After many months of waiting, Ellie finally received her cochlear implants in March. Unfortunately for this family, even with insurance, the medical bills are piling up fast. Dr's visits, hospital stays, co-pays, time away from work...it all adds up. In the midst of Ellie's Journey to Hearing, her dad had an unexpected two-week hospital stay and is currently waiting for a new kidney.

I would love your help to raise some money for Ellie and her family. From now until June 5th, MiniMe BabyGear will donate 50% of the proceeds for every sale that uses discount code ELLIE during checkout.

Please click here to read more about Ellie or the 50% fundraiser.

Home Business Expo

My sister, Cricket, and I were hanging out in Plainwell last night or a Home Business Expo at the Plainwell Coffee Mill. It was a great night! Overall, we just love getting a break and getting out to have a fun time with other women!

I did pretty good and sold a few hats. I have many orders lined up to get started on! I will be calling Village Kids soon to set up a time to drop off my products to their store. I am very excited to see how well the hats and flowers sell.

I am ALMOST to my goal of saving all of the money that I need for new countertops! Only a couple hundred more to go and I will be there! I cannot wait. Paul and I are still trying to pick out what we want. Seriously, we got a ring of samples with more than 100 options! How in the world do you choose?!?!

I have some new stuff I made that I hope to post soon, but I have to get going to finish up some orders!

Baby Cocoon

I have been seeing these adorable baby cocoons all over Etsy, so I figured it was high time I made one! I made a couple for my sister's silent auction, and then I whipped this little number up yesterday when Anne Jansen called to tell me that she was going to be photographing a newborn. I am so happy with how it turned out. Once I get the pattern written down I will be sure to post it on my Etsy shop for those who want to buy it. Otherwise, if you just want the cocoon, I can make that too! :-)

SIlent Auction Items

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My sister and her husband had an adoption fundraiser today with a silent auction. Obviously, I had to donate a few items to help raise some money for my nephew to come home to Michigan from Ethiopia! I am so happy with how these items turned out and can't wait to make a few more to add to my Etsy shop! What do you think of them?

If you want to follow my sister's family's adoption journey follow her blog at Five and Counting.

Crazy Yarn Lady!

Lots of stuff has been going on! My sister, Cricket, and I took part in an event to at Koetsier's Greenhouse where money was raised for The Pregnancy Resource Center, and we sold our stuff. This gave me the opportunity to use my new hat rack that my brother and Paul (my hub) created for me. Don't you think it's awesome?


The show was a ton of fun! I didn't sell as much as I would have liked but I don't think crocheted hats are overly popular in the Spring and with Summer coming up. Either way, it got my name out! Cricket and I also got to snag some food and do some wine tasting while there! Here is a pic of our "booth." So much product! Cricket sews baby items like hooded towels, adorable onesies with appliques, and burp clothes. You can check her stuff out at This N That Designs.



On another note, I have been trying out some new patterns and I am having a ball! It has been so fun to put together some new things. I have been doing the same pattern over and over lately, so I needed a change of pace! Here are a pair of booties and a hat I crocheted for my other sister, Jill's, adoption fundraiser. I bought the bootie pattern off of Etsy from Mamachee. I added a bit of my own touch, but don't you love them???? The newsboy hat was bought from Angels Chest. It stitches up quickly and I love the variety from my other newsboy hat.






Lastly, I must brag. This is why this blog is called the Crazy Yarn Lady. I went to buy yarn today and found an AMAZING deal at Michael's. They had an entire bin of yarn for $1.50 a skein!! They even had Lion's Wool-Ease Thick and Quick! This yarn is normally at least $6.50, so I cleaned them out! As you can see I went insane and came home with 25 skeins of yarn! Paul is going to kill me! But seriously, I am WAY too Dutch to pass up a deal like that!