New Sets for an Order

I have a friend who has contacted me for custom orders for her last 2 babies.  The most current order, which I finished yesterday, was for 2 sets.  The first was for one of our Al-Lie the Elephant Hats and a matching diaper cover.  The second was for a Dinosaur Set that included the hat, diaper cover, and booties.  Below you can see the photos and pattern links for the various pieces of the sets.  (I made a couple of minor changes to the Diaper Cover - both of which are from the same pattern - and notated them on my project listing in Ravelry.)

(Note:  The Al-Lie the Elephant Hat is shown with the alternate ears that are not currently on the pattern, but are in the works for the various sizes and will be updated once complete.)

Al-Lie the Elephant by Hooking Housewives
Diaper Cover by Amy B Stitched

Dinosaur Hat and Diaper Cover by Amy B Stitched
Dinosaur/Monster Booties by HookN Yarn

2016 Hodge Podge Afghan Sampler CAL - Square 2

The second square for the 2016 Hodge Podge Afghan Sampler was announced on Monday - the Sunflower Window Square by Kimberlie Goodnough, the designer behind Shop Kimberlie.  I worked it that afternoon and got it blocked.  I worked this one up in a goldenrod yellow and again, trimmed with the aubergine yarn.  Here's how it turned out:

If you're participating in the CAL or just want to use this square for your own blanket or piece of work, you can get it for free here.  

2016 Hodge Podge Afghan Sampler CAL - Square 1

On January 1st, Hodge Podge Crochet released the first square in this year's afghan crochet-along.  I, of course, didn't realize it until last night.  Don't you love when the New Year starts off in total chaos... LOL.  Fortunately for me, the first square is a "simple" single crochet swatch.

Yeah... it's so simple that sometimes I forget how tough it can be to do a simple square swatch.  After 3 attempts, I finally met the correct gauge.  This CAL is meant to work each square in a single color, which I figured would be perfect for using up some of those small balls of yarn that aren't large enough for a project but are too small to just throw out.  That meant I underestimated how much yarn a single crochet swatch can eat up and had to start it a second time with a different color.

In the end, I was able to complete the square and officially have Square 1 of the Hodge Podge Afghan Sampler CAL done.  I have already wet blocked the square, though a second wet block is likely going to be necessary.  I love the way the red looks with the Aubergine that I'll be using to border each square.  What do you think?

If you're interested in joining in with the Hodge Podge CAL, it's not too late - things have just started!  You can find more information via the FB group here and download the instructions for Square 1 here.

Square 2 was released today and is in progress... look for another post tomorrow!!

New Pinterest Boards

If you've ever visited the Hooking Housewives Pinterest boards, you know we have TONS of them - and although most are craft-related, we do have a few that are other things you may have an interest in.  Our crochet-related boards are obviously those that we have the most of as we try to break them down by categories.  A few of those categories are Amigurumi & Toys, Items for your Neck (Cowls, Scarves, etc.), and Hats.

As I sat this morning, scrolling through and looking through a few of the Crochet boards, I came to the realization that just like our Harry Potter-themed Crochet board, there are a few others that need to be broken down a little more specifically.

So now, I give you the following new boards:
Crochet - Disney (other than Star Wars)
Crochet - Dragons
Crochet - Despicable Me/Minions
Crochet - Ninja Turtles
Crochet - Owls
Crochet - Sports-Themed
Crochet - Star Wars

There may be a few others that come as well, but I'm going to try to focus on getting the pins off the other crochet boards and onto these first.  LOL  Are there specific topics you would like to see us post on?