Towel Holder

I have a few different rolls of cotton yarn that have sat for quite some time in my stash. I work mostly with acrylic yarn so I always feel like cotton yarn is this unknown and special realm. It's not really. It's just more expensive so I reserve it for projects that are more essentially benefited from the use of cotton yarn. Like projects that you will wash and dry.

Hobbies turn into skills which although primarily for fun, can come in handy.

My apartment has this odd oven with like a 1/4 inch gap between the oven door and the handle (really just a towel holder, right?). Pretty much it is impossible to fit a towel through that little crack. Especially if it is being used often.

Well, I found a solution! A bright and fun towel holder that fits nice and snug on the handle and holds dish towels wonderfully!



I got the {Free} pattern from Little Birdie Secrets here. Simple and effective!

Chocolate Funfetti

I tend to fall in love with every project I make. There is always something that pulls me in. Sometimes it's the stitch, sometimes the yarn, sometimes the challenge of making it.

This. Yarn.

Has softness levels are that off the charts. This isn't one of those wispy angel hair soft yarns. It is thick and bulky but the softest project I have ever made!



I love the neutral color with the little pops of color. It makes it a nice everyday cowl as well as a statement piece.



Better yet, it is totally unisex. Get it in the shop here.

Early Halloween

Remember Christmas in September? When Christmas comes early it's assumed to be a happy thing. When Halloween comes early, it's a scary thing.

A really
scary
terrifying
frightening

thing.



It looks like this:

Horrifying right?

I just dropped a bunch of cash on what I like to call "capital investment." For some time I've been toying with the idea of opening an Etsy shop. My Etsy evolution started like this:

1) Oh cool idea.

2) Wait, you can sell THAT for that?!

3) Other people telling me, "You could do that!"

4) To me telling me, "I could do that!"

To 5) never actually doing that. But I gave it really a lot of thought.

When I saw that Joann's had a huge yarn clearance, I gave it a little more thought. It would be a relatively small investment compared to what I had previously anticipated. And I thought it was time to take the final leap and make a commitment that would push me to start something.

Now I am sitting here in a living full of yarn wondering what I have done. It's this calmness between
"What have I done?" and "What's next?" I'm just staring at my crochet hooks. Hoping to have a Fantasia moment where I suddenly have 20 products to list.



Because right now I think it's just called hoarding.

In other news, Ross comes home from Utah on Saturday and I'm just so sure this is what he is going to say when he sees what I've done.

In the meantime, Ryan believes in me, and that is all I need.

The Coupon Unicorn: 60% Off (@ Joann's)

I'm not coy about my interest, love, obsession, addiction to craft store coupons. It's utterly offensive to me when people walk out of a craft store having purchased something without a coupon. I just want to grab them and show them all about e-mails and apps and free wifi. I never let a coupon or trip to the craft store, go to waste!

40% off is standard. It's child's play. 50% are a little bit of a bigger deal but we all know they only give you that when all the stuff you really want is on sale for 10% off (therefore you can't use a coupon).

BUT the 60% off? That's a rare gem of a coupon unicorn. It's what you dream about at night if you ever put down your crochet and sleep. And you can bet that on my way home from a day trip, an hour til closing on Saturday, I found the closest Joanns (one I had never been to!) and used that 60% off coupon.

I will admit that this purchase is totally out of my comfort zone. I am a beginning sewer (have been for years and years). I leave all the sewing and especially quilting to my friend Pip. B apparently 60% off coupons also come with a large helping of gumption. I was looking specifically for a rotatory cutter which apparently you need to use with a self-healing mat, which is also very useful if you use with a ruler. Well I'm cheap and I knew I wasn't going to buy them all individually so I was very pleased to see them all packaged together as a single item = coupon eligible. I was coupon fangirling. 

[Source]

Let me help you with the math:

Rotary cutter + mat + ruler = $50
                         + 60% off coupon ($30 off!)
                         ----------------------
                       TOTAL: $20!

Needless to say I am pretty excited for my future endeavors with my brand new cutting mat. Any suggestions for a beginner?

Spice Market Scarf

I tend to covet yarn. This is more financially responsible than hoarding, but mentally much more debilitating. I have a price range for yarn. And you can guess that every skein that is coveted is out of said price range.

Until you happily find them in the clearance bin.

I had my eye on this yarn for months. The line is called Aurora Borealis and this color is Spice Market. I was so taken aback that it would be on clearance for any reason. And thus started the first scarf  as part of this entrepreneurial project. First and absolute favorite. I go back and forth as to whether or not I want to sell it. The yarn is just so beautiful! I feel the lighting never does it justice.



It's an easy V-stitch that worked up fairly quickly. And I finally got a reason to use that crummy plastic hook I bought in Grenada.



The finished product!



Looping it three times is a bit of a stretch, but I love how fashionable this scarf is.



My only regret was not buying more skeins when they were available. But now I can covet this scarf instead of a skein of yarn. I might be beginning to see how this process should work.