I See You! (free crochet pattern)

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know it's been a while since I've treated you to a new, free pattern, but I plan to make up for it. The prototypes for the book are basically made. The rough drafts of all the patterns are written. All that's left is a bit of spit and polish, and a whole lot of high quality picture taking. Until then, you get to reap the benefits of a newly finished project:

The Blog Collection

Eyeglasses Case

Supplies:

small amount of Color A

small amount of Color B

size G (5.0 mm) crochet hook

smaller hook or yarn needle for weaving in ends

Note: All instructions are in American terms. This pattern is worked in the round which may make your beginning stitch travel (as when working amigurumi). Instructions are given at the best places to correct stitch position so that color changes are obscured. There is no need to join and ch1 at the end/beginning of each round.

ch 15 w/Color A

Round 1: sc in second ch from hook and each ch across, turn, sc in unused loop of each ch across (28 sts here and throughout)

Round 2: sc in each st around

Rounds 3-10: repeat Round 2

Lay your project flat. If your last stitch is not at the side of the pouch, add or remove stitches until it is. Change to Color B.

Round 11: sc in each st around

Round 12: sc in BLO of each st around

Round 13: rep Round 12

Round 14: [sc in BLO of next st, dc in BLO of next st] rep around

Round 15: [dc in BLO of next st, sc in BLO of next st] rep around

Note: Yes, at the end of Round 14/beginning of Round 15, you will work two dc side by side.

Round 16: [sc in BLO of next st, dc in BLO of next st] rep around

Note: Yes, at the end of Round 15/beginning of Round 16, you will work two sc side by side.

Round 17: rep Round 15

Round 18: rep Round 16

Round 19: sc in BLO of each st around

Rounds 20-21: rep Round 19

Lay your project flat. If your last stitch is not at the side of the pouch, add or remove stitches until it is. Change to Color A.

Round 22: sc in each st around

Rounds 23-24: sc in each st around

Stop here and slide your glasses into the pouch. You should have about ½" of space from the top of the glasses to the end of the case so your glasses don't easily slip out on their own. If not, continue to add rounds of sc until you do.

Lay your project flat. If your last stitch is not at the side of the pouch, add or remove stitches until it is.

Optional Hanging Loop: join w/sl st in next st, ch 10, join w/ sl st in same st, sl st in each ch back to first ch

Optional Button Closure: Find the middle front of your project and mark it for attaching your button. Find the corresponding stitch on the back of the project and mark it for the button loop.

sc in each st stopping at marked st on back of project, ch12, attach in same st w/sl st, sl st in each ch around loop, sc in next st and each st around

finish off, weave in ends

This pattern has been tested only by me. If you find a mistake, please leave it in the comments below and I will make the necessary corrections. If you need help, feel free to post any questions in the comments and I will get to them asap.

Any pattern I design and post here is my property. Please do not duplicate my patterns for any reason especially to sell. Instead, please link to my blog or to the pattern page when referencing one of my patterns.

You are more than welcome to offer finished items made from my patterns for sale. I see no reason why you should not profit from your hard work. However, I'd really appreciate it if you gave me credit for the design; please reference my blog or the pattern page.

If you do make any of my patterns, I'd love to see your finished items; please feel free to email pictures to me.

BigGirlJewelry@yahoo.com

Happy Crocheting!

Merry Handmade Christmas!

Basket Case Kitchen Set

I think we're all familiar with the crazy practice of Christmas in July, but it's not so crazy when you consider that you have about five months to decide upon, and make, all those handmade gifts for the holidays. I love giving handmade gifts whenever I can. I also love receiving them. Partially because they can be economical, partially because it makes me feel good to know how much love and attention goes into handmade products. They don't simply roll off an assembly line, mass produced in a factory where thousands, even millions, of the same design are spit out by machines.

The only part of gifting that makes me happier than bestowing a handmade present is returning to find that gift tattered and torn and used and abused. Why? Because that use and abuse tells me that the item was truly cherished, truly loved. I'd rather return to find an afghan falling apart than one in pristine condition as though it's been hiding in a drawer except when the recipient pulls it out because they know I'll be visiting.

A person who truly cherishes a handmade object (and the person who made it) understands that it won't last forever, and that the maker filled it with love, and that the best way to acknowledge that love is to use the item.

My mother, about thirty years ago, went through this crazy afghan-crocheting binge. I took several of those blankets with me, including one she made specifically for me, when I moved into my own apartment. I still have one of them. I will confess that it's currently packed safely in a box on the floor of my closet waiting for the day when I again have a larger apartment where I can proudly display that afghan (and use it daily). That blanket is one of my prized possessions, which is saying quite a lot when you consider I've become something of a minimalist.

On the opposite side, I have a friend for whom I made a beautiful baby afghan to celebrate the birth of her first child. I searched my personal library for just the right pattern and decided I wanted to cross-stitch an adorable Pooh design to match his room. I stood in the store, pattern in hand and picked out just the right fabric and scoured the rack for the correct colors of embroidery floss. Then I spent evenings and days off, whenever I could find a few spare moments, bringing the design to life. I washed it by hand, allowed it to air dry, and pressed it carefully so it would be pristine and ready for use by the first child brought into the world whom I would be honored to call not "my friend's kid," but "my nephew."

The "baby" is about to celebrate his eleventh birthday. The blanket already has. You see, that cross-stitched afghan has spent nearly all of its eleven years in a drawer. Hours of painstaking work, hundreds, maybe thousands, of stitches, and it has hardly seen any use. That breaks my heart. I begged my friend to donate it to Project Linus or to Children's Hospital so at least a child who needed it could use it. But she refused. Why? Because she didn't want it to get ruined.

If I had known it would never get used, I would have purchased a blanket for half what it cost me to make that one and the store-bought one would have been put to use. Fifteen bucks, fifteen minutes, done.

So why have I shared these stories with you? Because I hope to remind you to choose wisely if you're making some gifts and buying others this year. And if you receive any handmade gifts this year, I hope to help you understand that a handmade gift belongs in your hands where it will be used, not in a drawer where it won't.

The Whole Shebang Value Bundle (pot holders)

Anyhow, let's get to the point. It's time to decide what to make and what materials to buy. And I'd like to help if I can. My Whole Shebang Value Bundle is already a great deal at $24.99 for 18 patterns; that's six different kitchen sets. But I'm sweetening that deal for the month of July*. Use this link which will take you to my Ravelry store and automatically drop the deal into your basket. What's the deal? When you purchase the Whole Shebang, you will also receive my Basket Case Value Bundle, normally priced at $5.49, as my Christmas in July gift to you.

If you prefer, you may drop the two bundles into your basket separately and the highly intelligent Ravelry computer will do the rest. Unfortunately, there is no way for me to offer exactly the same deal automatically via Etsy, so I will do it manually in the back of the house. (That's retailspeak for, "I'll take care of it for you; don't worry.")

*Offer expires July 31, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. GMT.

Merry Christmas!