Handmade – Bead Yarn & Spatula

A Few Projects from a Fiber Artist… AKA a Procrastinator

It’s been a while… well, a little over 3 months. I am sure I have taken longer breaks from blogging. I have been baking, but mostly things that I have made before. I recently tried a new pumpkin recipe that was a fail. It was a recipe for Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Brownies that sounded promising but, in the end, had no flavor whatsoever. That led me to a deep dive into whether people post “fake” recipes and I learned that thanks to AI people are now posting recipes that have never been tested and completely computer generated, recipe and pictures, in order to generate clicks, views and likes. Great! No need to worry though, everything I am bringing you today is completely real and created by me. While I haven’t been baking my fingers have been busy crocheting and knitting.

Up first a granny square cardigan that I made for myself. I made my first granny square cardigan a few years ago. It was a request – order – from someone and they were happy with the final product. Since then, I thought about making one for myself, but I didn’t want to make the typical granny square for it. After some research I settled on a sunburst granny square, which was a bit more involved than your typical granny square. I started making the squares last year and then took a break from making them, started up again, took another break and it wasn’t until this summer that I decided it was time to finish. When I laid out the squares to design my cardigan, I realized that I made way too many, so I probably could have finished it a lot sooner. Oh well! I’m really happy with how it came out, and I have quite a few of the squares left-over and a bunch of yarn in this color that I will need to decide what to do with.

Next, another item – a crocheted tote bag – that sat for a while before I finally finished it. It’s the life of a crocheter though. More WIPs (works in progress) than they can manage. Actually, only one of these sat, the other one I got done fairly quickly. I started the tote bag in the fall colors last year. I worked this up without an actual pattern. I had an idea of what I wanted so I combined components of two different patterns to create it, and I was very happy with how it came out. But then it sat. The hold-up, having to sew a liner into the bag. Since I was hand sewing it and I haven’t had much practice doing so I psyched myself out and just put it aside. This summer though I decided it was time to finish. I think I got into a kick over the summer that it was time to finish the projects that I had started and left astray. Truthfully it weighs on my mind when I do this. I see the project half done and I just feel like something is amiss, that things are unraveling at the seams because I am not finishing things. Talk about a metaphor. So, I sewed the liner in, and I ordered handles that I stitched onto the bag. Truthfully, I was very proud of myself for how this tote came out considering I had no pattern to follow. I was so happy with it that I made another one in shades of purple for a friend. This was the one that I worked up quickly. No lagging whatsoever. Probably because her birthday was coming up and it was fresh in my mind how to finish it. I am thinking of making another one so that I can actually write-up the pattern to have for future reference.

And finally, a knitted cowl. I’ve made a few of these scarves, the pattern is super simple. It’s the seed stitch and it creates a scarf that looks good in basically any weight yarn. This was the first time I made it using a heavier weight yarn and I really like how full and warm it will be for the colder months ahead. Truthfully, I had to make this scarf two times. The first time I casted on too many stitches and the scarf didn’t look good in the end. It was too short and bulky to loop around my neck, so I sadly frogged the entire thing and started over by casting on fewer stitches and it came out exactly how I wanted.

And now, I am looking for my next big yarn project that will hopefully not take me over a year to complete!

Granny Square Tote Bag – Red Heart All In One Granny Square Yarn

Most crocheters / knitters would agree that the worst part of any project is weaving in the ends. If you are unfamiliar with what that means, it’s basically weaving the ends of the yarn into your finished project. This is especially the worst when you create something with multiple yarn colors, like granny squares!

So, I was excited when I saw that Red Heart created a yarn that would minimize ends with granny squares with their new Red Heart All in One Granny Square Yarn. The yarn also takes the guesswork out of selecting colors for the granny squares, although I wasn’t all that thrilled with the color selections. I did find one that I liked, I just had to get my eyes used to crocheting with black yarn. There is a funny saying that goes “If someone makes you something out of yarn, they like you. If they make it out of black yarn, they love you.” Not sure who said it, but there is a lot of truth in it. My mom used to crochet, and she would avoid dark colors (if possible) when working on a project. Working with darker colors requires ample lighting to reduce the strain on your eyes as you work so you don’t miss any stitches. Which can slow your progress down as well. For me personally I can crochet much quicker (and with less mistakes) when working with lighter colors.

Now, while most patterns for granny squares are the same with just a few tweaks here and there, I opted to follow the pattern that came with the yarn as opposed to the one I normally use just to be sure that my granny squares would work up “properly.” Well, right off the bat I realized that it wasn’t going to be as easy as it seemed. I was constantly frogging (ripping out the yarn) and adjusting my tension to get the colors to line up for the different rounds of the square. There was always a round or two that was off which meant I would have to start the round again. I decided to read the reviews for the yarn on their website to see if there were any tricks or suggestions and what I found was a bunch of negative reviews. I was determined though. Ultimately, I ended up with 15 granny squares that required a lot of patience!

So, what to do with the 15 squares? For a moment I thought of buying a few more skeins of the yarn to make a throw, but I quickly tossed that idea out. I really didn’t feel like working with the yarn again to make more granny squares after all the trouble it was to create the initial 15. I decided on a tote bag instead. I had recently finished another granny square tote bag so why not make another. One thing though, I was going to need more granny squares. I needed a total of 19 granny squares for the basic design I was thinking of. So, I ended up crocheting 7 granny squares in black yarn – straining my eyes once more.

As I mentioned this tote bag was my second granny square bag. After crocheting and stitching together the squares for the first one I decided to add a liner to the bag to give it more structure and to prevent it from stretching when carrying anything in it. This was a daunting task. While I own a sewing machine, I had no clue how to use it for the longest time. I tried once and it was a complete failure. So, to add the liner to the bag I did it completely by hand. Overall, it didn’t come out too bad, but it’s definitely not stitched into the bag completely straight.

Well, for this new bag I learned how to use my sewing machine. My local library had a “class” where you could bring in your machine and an instructor would show you how to use it. Woo-Hoo! Well, almost! My first attempt at stitching the liner into the new bag was a fail! I practiced with scraps of fabric but then when I got to working on the bag it just wasn’t working out. I sewed the liner in, but it was atrocious! Not one to give up though, I watched a few YouTube videos (which I probably should have done in the first place) to get some tips and decided to rip the liner out of the bag and try again. And my second attempt was much better. I did end up stitching the liner into the bag by hand, but it was much neater this time.

I also ended up making this cute pouch with 2 remaining squares. I even added a zipper to the top!

So, would I use this yarn again? Probably not to make granny squares that’s for sure. While the yarn does cut down on the amount of ends to weave in, I am not all that inspired by the color choices. And I find that lining the colors up for each round is too time consuming and requires me to crochet with a much looser tension than I am accustomed to which I didn’t like. I ended up the squares that were limp and loose.

Granny Square Cardigan

While I’ve been crocheting for over 10 years it wasn’t until recently that I learned how to make a granny square. A little backwards since learning how to make a granny square is usually one of the first things you learn to make when you start crocheting. When you are pretty much self-taught though you learn things as you go and as you need. So, why did I finally learn? Well, I was asked if I could make a granny square cardigan and since I am always up for a challenge and I like to learn new things I said yes.

First though I had to learn how to make a granny square. Once I found a pattern that was simple enough to follow I used some extra yarn from my stash to test it out a few times to make sure I had the hang of it.

Next, I had to finalize the colors. The person who I was making it for had a color scheme in mind from a cardigan they already saw. They were looking for pastel colors so after going back and forth with different options she decided on the colors below.

Now, the fun part. I started making the granny squares. I made a few and sent her a picture to make sure she liked the colors once they were all put together.

Once I got the greenlight that those looked good I went ahead and continued to crochet more. Truth be told I didn’t have an exact pattern to follow for how many squares I needed. I looked at various patterns and pictures to get an idea. I knew that I had to make the equivalent to a size medium. From doing my research I initially went with making 30 squares and I placed them in the layout below. I had a feeling that it wasn’t completely right but I decided to move on to another part of the cardigan… the sleeves.

Normally with granny square cardigans the sleeves are made using granny squares as well, but, the person I was making it for requested the sleeves to be solid white and they didn’t want them to be granny squares. So, more research. I knew that when it came to making sleeves they needed to be tapered to accommodate a wider upper arm to a narrower wrist. But, I didn’t want to just wing it and start crocheting. I was able find a sweater pattern that had the sleeves broken down exactly as I needed them. The width on top was perfect to be placed in the center of two specific granny squares. I also went ahead and crocheted two additional squares and placed them in the empty spaces I had.

I started seaming together the squares for the back of the cardigan but I still had my doubts about the layout. It just didn’t seem like it was going to fit correctly.

I ended up crocheting four more granny squares and added an additional row to the back of the cardigan so it would sit better. I then finished seaming all the other squares together and then attached the arms and seamed them together. I tried it on and it fit perfectly.

And finally, I crocheted a border around the entire cardigan to give it a more finished look.

I am happy to say that the person I made this for was very happy with it. I may make one for myself one of these days!

Knitted Tube Socks

Before the pandemic started and everything shut down, I was taking crocheting/knitting classes at my local library to learn new patterns and get together with other yarn crafters. Before the pandemic ended the classes I learned how to make crocheted market bags and had just started a class to make a Knitted Keyhole Scarf. What I was excited about though was that I was finally going to learn how to knit socks. It’s something I have been wanting to learn for a while but whenever I read the patterns, they made absolutely no sense to me. I had unfortunately missed the class to learn how to make socks, but the teacher was willing to show me during one of the classes and gave me a pretty easy pattern to follow. A tube sock pattern that didn’t require me to knit a heel, which apparently is the hardest part of making socks. So, I bought the knitting needles I would need (size 3 9-inch circular) and already had the yarn and then classes ended, but I was still determined to learn how to make them.

Thanks to YouTube, I was able to figure out how to start the socks. Using the short-cabled knitting needles I casted on 64 stitches and then divided those stitches among three double-pointed knitting needles. I then worked in a K2, P2 ribbed pattern for five inches to make the cuff of the socks.

Next, it was time to work on the body of the sock. And it couldn’t have been easier, I knit every row until the sock measured 13 inches from the beginning.

To finish the sock, I had to shape the toe. The directions on the pattern I had weren’t that easy to follow, but after a few Google searches I was able to find a toe shaping pattern that would work for the tube sock I made and was easy enough for me to follow.

And once I finished, I had a cozy tube sock that will be perfect for the upcoming cold weather. And since I had worked out some of the kinks in the first sock, my second sock was a lot easier to work up.

My new pair of socks…

Knitted Tube Socks

Materials:

100 grams / 3.75 oz Sock Yarn*

Set of 4 US 3 Double Pointed Knitting Needles

Size 3 9-inch circular needles

*I used Patons Kroy Socks Yarn

Directions:

Using the circular needles cast on 64 stitches loosely.

Divide the stitches among three double-pointed needles: 24 stitches on the first needle, 24 on the second needle and 16 on the third needle. Join in round.

Using the 4^th needle begin working in K2,P2 rib. Work the ribbing for 5 inches. You can make the ribbing shorter or longer based on your preference.

Knit every round until the sock measures 13 inches from the beginning.

Shape the toe as follows:

Round 1: K6, K2 Tog

Round 2-4: Knit 3 rows

Round 5: K5, K2 Tog

Round 6-8: Knit 3 rows

Round 9: K4, K2 Tog

Round 10-12: Knit 3 rows

Round 13: K3, K2 Tog

Round 14-16: Knit 3 rows

Round 17: K2, K2 Tog

Round 18-19: Knit 2 rows

Round 20: K1, K2 Tog

Round 21: Knit 1 row

Draw the yarn through the remaining stitches and fasten to secure. Weave in ends.

Wash and block to shape.

Staying Home and Crafting

How have you been spending all this extra time at home? Cleaning crevices of your home you never thought of cleaning? Finally clearing out your closets to discover items you had long forgotten? Constantly searching the internet for recipes to use up obscure items found in your pantry? Or simply catching up on television shows or discovering new ones? And of course, there are those things on your to do list that you know you should get to, but, just don’t seem to have the motivation to do so. One of those things for me is raking the leaves in my backyard. A task I am never fond of doing, but, once done I am so happy to have done. Sometimes too we put so many things on our to-do lists that we become overwhelmed with what to do first. I know that happens with me often. Especially on my list of crafts I want to do.

For quite some time I had a small pile of beadweaving projects that I wanted to get to. I even organized the beads I wanted to use for the projects so all I had to was actually sit down and make them. Well, I finally started working on some of those projects and soon discovered that I didn’t like how a few of them were turning out or I just didn’t have the patience so I gave up and moved on to the next one. I did find one project that I liked and I ended up making two pairs of earrings.

I’m in the middle of making this bracelet. So far so good, I just need to figure out how to put a knot in the end of the bracelet without destroying the braid or making it look wonky.

I also attempted to make a new Easter wreath. I picked up the supplies in late February after coming across the directions and they sounded simple enough. Decoupage plastic Easter eggs with small pieces of paper napkins and then glue them to a straw wreath adorned with Spanish moss. I’ve made quite a few wreaths so I thought I would have no problem with this one. I started, well, I should say I tried to decoupage the eggs and it was a mess. The paper wasn’t flat on the eggs regardless of how small I cut the napkin and I couldn’t stand the smell of the decoupage glue. Oh well. Thankfully the supplies weren’t that expensive and they are all things I can use for other projects so it wasn’t a total loss.

Before things got really bad with the virus and places were still open I was taking crocheting/knitting classes at my local library. I had just finished a series of three classes where we made crocheted tote bags and was starting another series of three classes to make a knitted keyhole scarf. I actually made a crocheted version last year. We got through one class before the library decided to cancel all classes and then ultimately closed. Thankfully in that one class I got the gist of how to make the scarf – it involved splitting stitches and using double-pointed needles, neither of which I had done nor used before in knitting – so, I was able to complete it on my own.

And then I started another scarf (my neck is ready for next winter). Initially, using Lion Brand’s Homespun yarn, I was knitting a scarf in garter stitch (knitting every stitch in each row) and once completed I was going to weave ribbon through the scarf in a basketweave pattern. I got to a certain point and tested out weaving the ribbon through and just didn’t like how it was looking so I decided to go with a pattern (Flights of Fancy) I had in a folder and I am liking this much better. I’ve thought about going through my yarn stash and putting all my remnant yarns together to make a blanket. For now though, I’ll just add that to my to-do list.

So, I’ve definitely been trying to keep myself busy at home as you can see. And yes, I have cleaned corners of my house I never thought of cleaning all while avoiding those leaves. As for television, I don’t subscribe to any streaming services so I split my time between watching actual television and listening to music. I am always amazed how there are so many channels and still nothing to watch at times. As for cooking and baking, I haven’t gotten too creative yet. I did make this Banana Cake with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting last week as a means to use up some bananas and mascarpone cheese. I do have a pasta dish that I have yet to hit publish on that I give quite a few ideas to customize with what you have in your pantry. The main thing right now though is to stay home, stay safe and stay healthy!

Crocheted Hexagon Christmas Tree Skirt

I started this project way back in January. I actually posted a little about it in my Elusive Magic Ring post. By the way, I still cannot do a magic ring, but, I am not letting it hold me back. I am sticking with my chain 6 and join with a slip stitch method to get around it. So, why did it take me so long for me to complete it? Well, while I easily found enough skeins of red & gray yarn in the same dye lot I was having trouble doing the same for the green I wanted to use. After a while I just gave up looking. But then September rolled around and I knew that if I wanted to finish my tree skirt for Christmas this year I would have to find it. And so, luckily one day at my local Michael’s I came across three skeins in the same dye lot and I picked up a fourth one that looked similar just in case. I crocheted 12 green hexagons and I finally had the 36 I needed to make my Christmas Tree Skirt.

I began by laying out all of the hexagons on top of my old Christmas tree skirt to ensure that the 36 hexagons would be enough. It ended up being a little smaller than my old one, but not by much. I also wanted to make sure that I laid the hexagons out in a pattern that I liked. I basically placed them haphazardly but also made sure that there weren’t too many of one color in one area. I probably switched the hexagons around once or twice before finally settling on the design.

And once I did I began stitching the hexagons together to create columns.

And then I stitched those columns together to form the tree skirt. As you can see, my new skirt isn’t that much smaller than my old one. I was initially think of adding 2 hexagons to each column (one on top and one of the bottom) but I decided against it because I felt that the skirt would be too big and it may take away from the overall design. Also, if I did that I would then need to add another column on each end consisting of 5 hexagons each to balance it out, and I just didn’t have enough yarn to do that. I only had 1 skein of each color left over and that would give me another 12 hexagons and with the added hexagons I was thinking of I would have needed an additional 24 hexagons… Eeek!

And to make sure I can easily place this around my Christmas tree I left two columns unstitched. Choosing one near the center just made the most sense.

I think it looks perfect under my tree…

Hexagon Christmas Tree Skirt

Yarn: Bernat Chunky Yarn (3 skeins each of Berry Red, Dark Green & Gray Heather – you should get 4 hexagons from each skein)

Crochet Hook: L / 8.0 MM

Hexagon Pattern:

Round 1: Ch6 and join with a slip stitch in the first chain*. Ch1 and then Ch2 more, dc in ring, ch2, *2dc, ch2* 5 times into ring. sl st to join last ch to the top of the first series of 3 ch. (You will have 6 sets of 2dc + 2ch. The 2 dc will become the sides of the hexagon and the 2 ch gaps will become the corners.

*Alternately you could start with a magic loop

Round 2: Ch3, dc in next dc stich, *[dc, ch2, dc in chain gap from previous round], dc in next 2 dc* (5 times). dc, ch2, dc in last corner gap. sl st to join last ch to the top of the first series of 3 ch. (Each hexagon side now has 4 dc stitches, separated by a ch 2 space)

Round 3: ch3, dc in next 2 dc, *[dc, ch2, dc in chain gap from previous round], dc in next 4 dc* (5 times). dc, ch2, dc in last corner gap. dc in remaining 1 dc. sl st to join last ch to the top of the first series of 3 ch. (Each hexagon side now has 6 dc stitches, separated by a 2 ch space)

Round 4: ch3, dc in next 3 dc, *[dc, ch2, dc in chain gap from previous round], dc in next 4 dc* (5 times). dc, ch2, dc in last corner gap. dc in remaining 2 dc. sl st to join last ch to the top of the first series of 3 ch. (Each hexagon side now has 8 dc stitches, separated by a 2 ch space)

sl st – slip stitch

ch – chain

dc – double crochet

Once you have all of your hexagons made lay them out in 7 rows. Your 1st and 7th row will have 4 hexagons each, your 2nd & 6th will have 5, your 3rd and 5th will have 6 each and the middle row (row 4) will also have 6, but, you will leave a space in the middle for your tree / tree stand to go through. The hexagons will be staggered so that the final skirt will somewhat look like a hexagon as well. You may have to use your imagination to see it.

Once you like the pattern, begin by stitching the hexagons together into columns.

Once you have your columns done, stitch them together to complete the skirt. When you have decided which half of your skirt will be the top and which will be bottom (or in terms of laying it down for the tree, which will be the back part and which will be the front part) be sure not to stitch one side of middle column to the adjacent column so you can easily place your skirt around your tree. You can use leftover yarn to tie the two columns together while the skirt is around your tree to prevent it from moving around.

Knitted Cocoon Shrug

Have you ever completed a craft project and felt a bit disappointed with the outcome? I’m sure we have all been there… I know I have quite a few times. You kind of feel like you wasted your time and possibly money on the supplies.

For the longest (a few years to be sort of exact) I finished knitting a rectangle that would ultimately become a shrug – all that was left to do was seam it together. I folded it and placed stitch markers on the sides so I knew exactly where I needed to seam, but then I folded it up and placed it in a corner and kept reminding myself that I had to finish it. I would put it on my desk and in other places so that it would be in my line of vision, but, it just wasn’t working. Not really sure why I was procrastinating. I was possibly thinking that it was going to be more difficult than it really was. Truth be told, I enjoy crocheting and knitting, but I am just not fond of those projects that require seaming at the end to complete them.

But then I finished up another project that requires seaming (hexagons for a Christmas Tree Skirt) and I thought to myself that there was no way I could start seaming this project if I still hadn’t finished the one from years ago. So, I took the rectangle out of the corner and procrastinated for a few more days and then finally sat down and got to work. And guess what, I realized that all that procrastinating was for nothing. I seamed up the sides of the shrug in about an hour. I did one side while watching television and the other side laying in bed before going to sleep. Finishing it prompted me to get out of bed and try it on and that’s when the feeling of disappointment came over me. I tried it and my first thought was “Eh.” The pattern was one size fits all, but, I think if I was a little taller I would like the way it fit in the back better. And while the picture accompanying the pattern had the sleeves coming down about 3/4 of the way on the model’s arm, on me the sleeves end before my elbows. Maybe trying it on over my pj’s didn’t help give me the best impression of the shrug, but, considering that I was fussing with it so much to get it to look just right I don’t know if my thoughts will change. Ultimately, I ended up folding it back up and placing it in another spot. At least it’s done, so, I can to get to work on seaming the hexagons that I am determined to get done before my Christmas Tree goes up this year. I have some time so fingers crossed I will get it done.

The Elusive Magic Ring in Crochet

I have been crocheting for quite a few years now and I still get stumped when it comes to certain stitches and I’ll admit that I will avoid certain patterns if it includes an unfamiliar stitch. Like those FPDC that I see sometimes, which simply stands for Front Post Double Crochet. HUH? I just pass those over. Eventually I will break down and try it, but, for now, I will stick to simple stitches that still create beautiful pieces. I am more apt to try these different stitches when it comes to knitting. Which is kind of a little backwards since with knitting if you mess up it is a bit more complicated to remove all the loops from the needles to rip out the yarn from the “bad” part of the pattern and then reinserting the needles once again. With crocheting you simply remove the one loop from your hook, pull the yarn and then reinsert the one loop back on to your crochet hook. Maybe I just like to do things the hard way. Although, some will argue that knitting is the easier of the two because it involves only two stitches, knit and purl, whereas crochet has more. For example that FPDC I mentioned before, as well, SC (single crochet), dc (double crochet), hdc (half-double crochet) and so forth.

I recently came across a pattern that I wanted to make that I am a bit off season for now. Well, a season late you can say. It’s a Christmas Tree Skirt. I have been wanting to make one for a while, but, I just didn’t care for the patterns I saw. And then, right before the holidays I found one that I thought would be perfect. It was a bunch of hexagons stitched together to form the skirt. I figured hexagons I could handle, although the stitching them together not so much. It’s not that I can’t handle it, but, if you read my A New Year post you will know that I still have a shrug I made over three years ago that I haven’t stitched together. I’m a procraftinator who doesn’t like stitching things together. But, I figured if I start now I have a solid 9-10 months to get it done. And then I started and instantly ran into problems. I’ve crocheted shapes before so I was fine with that, but, the starting point was to create a Magic Ring and that’s where I hit a major hiccup. I watched tutorials online and finally thought I had gotten it, but, it just didn’t seem right. I felt like I had too much yarn in the ring and then that the ring wasn’t “thick” enough for me to stitch my other stitches around. The advantages of the magic ring is that you are able to pull the yarn so you end up with a closed circle in the center, as opposed to the open one you get if you crochet a short chain (about 6 chains) and then join it with a slip stitch. Which is perfect if you are crocheting in the round and/or making amigurumi – the Japanese art of making small yarn creatures. I thought, is a small hole in my hexagon worth this headache. No it’s not. So, I decided to ditch the magic ring and went the chain and slip stitch route instead and found a better pattern for the hexagons and am about a third of the way done crocheting them. I still have to get the yarn for the other two colors. I want a certain shade of red and green to go along with the silvery gray I got and of course since its right after the holidays the colors are out of stock at my local craft stores. Well, they did have some but, they all weren’t the same lot numbers and I already learned my lesson about lot numbers! Quick story, I knitted a blanket for a friend’s baby and one of the yarns wasn’t the same lot number as the other ones. So, when I finished the blanket that one section of the blanket stood out from the rest. That’s when I went and checked the labels and saw that one of the labels had a different number from the rest although was the same color, hence, me learning the hard way about lot numbers. Thankfully she loved the blanket and didn’t notice the difference until I pointed it out to her. That was my first big knitting project actually!

So, maybe I will master the Magic Ring one day, just like those FDPC’s, but, for now, I am happy with my simple method of a chain and a slip stitch to start my crocheting in the round. Besides, I don’t think my hexagons are looking all that bad with the small hole in the middle.

Etsy Shop – CraftedByFran

After making jewelry for a few years and creating pieces to give as gifts, sell to friends and at a few local craft fairs, I finally decided to open an Etsy shop. Truthfully, I’ve been thinking about it for a while but held back because I thought it would be difficult.

So, what did I think it would be difficult? Figuring out shipping costs for one. I did a little research and discovered that this stumps many would-be Etsy sellers. There were a few other things as well: the whole creating a listing, taking good pictures, do I have to give my pieces “names?” And a few other silly little things. In the end, I am opting to offer free shipping and decided not to give most of my pieces a name since they are one-of-a-kind. And after creating my first listing and learning how to navigate the process it became a lot easier and not as daunting. Let’s be honest, trying anything new is a learning process. Soon enough I’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. There is one thing that always gets me… Tagging. Which ones work best and which ones don’t. I have that same issue with my blog posts sometimes.

Below is the link to my shop. Feel free to like a piece, like my shop or maybe you’ll find something perfect for you.

CraftedByFran

Here are some of the pieces available now…

Christmas Crafting

With Christmas just a few days away I finally got my cards in the mail the other day. I was so gung-ho about making them super early this year – I took out all of my supplies for them back in late October and put it on my crafting table all ready to go, but, got sidetracked with a few other Christmas crafts I wanted to get done first.

So, while I only have one main door to hang a wreath on – as most people – I ended up making three new wreaths this year. I only planned on making a new garland wreath to replace the one I made a few years back but while searching for ideas for that one I came across a yarn ball wreath that I had many of the supplies for – mainly yarn – and then I got an email that described how to make an ornament ball wreath in perfect detail. I tried making one of these a few years ago and didn’t have much success.

Up first… the Garland Wreath. While my local craft store did have those green wreaths I could have just bought and decorated I wasn’t too fond of the way they looked – that’s actually what my original wreath is made with and I never really liked it because of it – so I opted to wrap an 18″ grapevine wreath with garland. After that was done I then decorated it with various Christmas picks. I bought and returned quite a few of them before I was happy with the layout. This is actually the wreath that made it to my front door.

Then there’s the Yarn Ball Wreath. I used different shades of green yarn I had leftover from different crocheting/knitting projects to wrap various sized Styrofoam balls. I then mapped out their placement on a wire wreath form and attached them using a hot glue gun. I then added in some red shatterproof ornaments for a pop of color and to make the wreath a bit more festive.

And finally, my favorite, the Ornament Ball Wreath. This was definitely the most time consuming, but, worth every minute. To begin I wrapped a Styrofoam ring with red ribbon tying a loop with the ribbon at one point so the wreath could be hung. I then lined the inside and outside of the ring with alternating sized shatterproof ornaments. I then filled in the flat part of the ring with various sized ornaments and finally – the part I couldn’t get too crazed with – I filled in the gaps with smaller sized ornaments. It’s very easy to go from beautiful to gaudy when adding the ornaments.

After the wreaths I moved on to making snowflake ornaments. I got the wire forms (6-inch) from Fusion Beads and then it was just a matter of decorating them with pearls, crystals and seed beads in colors that reflected the holiday season or the intended recipient’s favorite color. This was made all the more easier since I recently organized all of my jewelry supplies into storage containers.

After a few wire mishaps (thankfully I bought extra wire forms) and a couple of wire gashes all of my snowflakes were done. After taking this picture I threaded all of them with coordinating ribbon so they could be hung from a Christmas tree, in a window, or wherever.

And finally… My handmade Christmas cards. While getting started is always a daunting task, by the third card I am full speed ahead. I even got a jump on next year’s cards by making a few extra this year. We’ll see if I still like them in a year’s time or I may just have other ideas of what I want to make by then.

Happy Holidays!!!

(And yes, I did make this as well.)

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Knitted Tube Socks

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