What inspires you?

What inspires you? What is your go to place to find inspiration for your projects? How do you go about starting?

And the best question: how many projects do you have started right now?









The last question is easy for me.  Right now I have three projects started.

1.  I have a scarf with a pattern that when I saw it I grabbed a ball of yarn and my knitting needles and had to try it out. The yarn isn't quite right for this project.  It is a scarf and the yarn is 100% wool and a bit itchy.  I am not sure I will want it next to my neck for very long.  I will most likely pull it out and start over with a softer yarn.

2. I have a quilt that I am hand quilting.  It is on hold right now because it is a donation quilt and I haven't heard back from the people I am donating it to.  Once I hear back from them I will get on this project again.

3.  I have another scarf. It is an infinity scarf that I am crocheting.  I love love LOVE this pattern and I have several in different colors.  This one is in a bright pink/coral color.  It is fun and easy to crochet. I have two rows done and have 8-13 more before I will call it done.

I find that I draw inspiration from my yarns.  They talk to me.  Sometimes they scream what they want  to become.  Other times I have to live with it a while before it speaks to me about what it wants to become.

I also find inspiration from other blogs, patterns and websites with crafty ideas.  Pinterest is a great source for inspiration but sometimes there is just too much on there.  There are two sites that I love.

www.allfreeknitting.com

www.allfreecrochet.com

These two sites are awesome for inspiration.  The patterns are completely free and you can sign up for their daily emails.  These emails give me lists of similar patterns.  For example one day I find 10 free scarf patterns.  Or 10 free hat patterns.  I find myself clicking all the links and seeing what the patterns are.  I often find myself grabbing a ball of yarn and my needles to try out a pattern.  They often link to some great blogs and websites that I never knew existed. Other times the patterns are directly on their own site.

So what gives you inspiration?

Cute Crochet Roses - Free Pattern

It has been sleeting, freezing rain and last night we had some snow.  It is chilly outside.  So to warm things up a bit I searched the internet for some fun flowers to crochet.

I came across this pattern but as I worked it up I realized it was wrong. Here is my corrected pattern.

Crochet Rose

Need:
worsted weight yarn
hook that corresponds with the weight of the yarn
yarn needle

Pattern:

Leaving a 6 inch tail, make a slip knot and chain 52.

In second chain from hook make a single crochet.  Chain 2, skip next chain, SC in next chain. *chain 2, skip next chain, SC in next chain. (basically you are single crocheting in every other chain with a chain 2 in between.) Continue SC, chain 2, skip next chain, SC in next to the end. Chain one and turn.

Row 2: SC in first two chain space.  Then 3 HDC in same space, ch 1 and slip stitch in same chain 2 space. Slip stitch in next chain 2 space, ch 1, 3 HDC, ch 1, slip stitch in same chain 2 space. Slip stitch in next chain 2 space, ch 1, 3 HDC, ch 1, and slip stitch in same chain 2 space. Slip stitch in next chain, ch 1, 4 HDC, ch 1, and slip stitch in same chain 2 space. Slip stitch in next chain 2 space, ch1, 5 HDC, ch 1, and slip stitch in same chain 2 space. Slip stitch in next chain 2 space,  From here to end alternate between 4 HDC and 5 HDC in each chain 2 space.  (in each you will slip stitch to next chain 2 space, ch 1, do 4 or 5 HDCs, ch 1 and slip stitch in same space. then move to the next space with a slip stitch)

When you finish Row 2, bind off with a 10 inch tail.  When you finish Row 2, your flower will look like this, a spiral.

Now, starting with the 3HDC side begin twisting the spiral around so the 3 HDCs are the center of your flower.  Twist the rest around to make the flower. 

Thread your needle with the 10 inch tail and begin sewing the flower together.  You will see the edges on the back and just whip stitch them together making sure you have all the layers attached. Then using the 6 inch tail from the beginning, tie the two ends together.  You may now cut these tails off or use them to attach the rose to another project.

This is what mine looks like from the back side complete.

Aren't they cute???

These are so easy to make and super quick.  You can use them for headbands, hat embellishments, or put them on a wreath.  You can add them to all sorts of things.

Let me know how your's turns out.

Cute Crochet Coasters

These are so cute and fun to make.  They whip up in no time flat.  I can make one in about 35-45 minutes time and I am a slow crocheter.

I got the pattern off someone else's blog.  I can't seem to find it again unfortunately.

I am an intuitive crocheter when it comes to making things I look at a bunch of patterns and then put a couple together to make what I am looking to create.

My pattern may not be exact nor might it be exactly what you are looking for.  I will try to explain it as best I can though.

Coaster Pattern:

1 skein of 100% cotton base color (you will be able to make several coasters with just one skein)

1 skein of edging color (100% cotton)

Chain 14.

Single crochet in 2nd loop and each loop after.  (13 SC) ch 2 and turn.

Next row: SC in first SC. *Skip next sc, dc and sc in next sc* to end.  Ch 2 and turn.

Next row: sc in first sc. skip dc, dc and sc in next sc. Ch 2 and turn. You will be doing a dc and sc in every sc in previous row. 

Continue until it looks like a square, about 10 or 11 rows. 

Change colors and sc all the way around the square, with three sc's in each corner. Then slip stitch around the entire thing again to finish it off.

And there you have it.

Pens, Pens, Glorious Pens!

I love to do pen work on my pages and cards.  I love how it gives a little bit extra to whatever project I am working on.

My go to pens are usually Sakura Souffle or Glaze pens.  I also love my Micron pens.  The points are awesome and gives such detail to things. Use the .05 and the really fine tips, .01.  LOVE them!!

When I am journalling I love my Creative Memories colored pens.  The CM pens are about a .05 tip. The thin tips are awesome for journalling. 

I have several cups of pens on my desk.  I love that they are right at my fingertips. I also have some markers, from Creative Memories in thick  point that I use sometimes.  Watercolor pencils are also on my desk. I do love shading with those when using stamps. 

Teachers need cards too!

I was a classroom teacher for 19 years.  Now we homeschool our kids so I am not in the classroom anymore.  When I was teaching in school I always needed note cards.  I would use them to write a quick thank you to a child for doing something awesome, a thank you for a parent who contributed to the class in some way, a thank you to another teacher, principal or guest speaker.  I used the cards to write a quick note home to a parent about their child (usually a good note) or requesting something from a parent.  Anyway, I loved it when I would receive gifts of a note card set from others.

Here is a set that would be fun to receive if I were teaching again.

I used the DCWV Grade School (with glitter) stack.  I love the foil and glitter on the papers.  I had the 4.5" by 6.5" paper stack that I had gotten on sale a couple years ago.  These are so much fun.  I used pen on the edges to draw the dots and lines.  The pens were Sakura Glaze and Souffle.  I love these pens!!!

Scrappy Goodness-Note Cards

I haven't scrapped in like forever (in my best Valley Girl voice).  So I decided to start with some cards.  Everyone needs a few note cards laying around the house for when you need to write a note. People still do that, right??? Write????

I was unpacking my FEW supplies I still had and came across some old scrapbook kits I had never used.  Well I did use this kit but I didn't like it.  So I had a lot of paper and embellishments left over. I decided to dust off the rust with this kit because if I didn't like what I created it wouldn't really matter.

However, I really liked what I came up with.  These all came from the same kit.  Like I said, I didn't like the kit so much for scrapbooking so I had a lot of paper left.

Time Flies:

 I used pen around the edges to make the dots.  This pen was a thick point pen.  I stickled the butterfly's body with Gold Stickles to give it some bling.

True Love:

I had fun with the Diamond Stickles on these cards to really make them shine.

You're such a HOOT!

These cards were a lot of fun and I used more layers on them.  I blinged them out with Gold Stickles and made them really extra shiny.

I am taking these up to a local store where people can sell their handwork. Maybe I might actually sell a few. Who knows!

Moving - What happened to my craft stuff?????

Last year we moved out of our house.  We sold the house and put all our belongings in storage.  We had lived in this house for 13 years and accumulated a LOT of stuff.  No big deal.  We can weed out the stuff we don't really need and have a yard sale.  So before packing a single box we went through the house and gathered all the stuff we didn't need and had a yard sale.  We got rid of a lot of stuff!  It was great.

Then we gathered some more stuff and had another yard sale.  We got rid of a bunch more stuff. It was good.

Then we started packing.  While packing we found that we still had stuff we didn't need so we had yet another yard sale.  After each sale we gave all our leftovers to the Goodwill. They loved us! :)

With each yard sale I got rid of my yarn stash, paper stash, and material stash. I still saved stuff but I got rid of a LOT of stuff.  Everything else went in storage.

This past April we came back into town and went through our stuff one more time.  We had the MOTHER of all yard sales and got rid of HALF of all our belongings, including ALL of my yarn stash (save a few hand dyed items), ALL of my paper stash (save for a few boxes), and ALL of my material.  We didn't want to move it 1000 miles away.  It is really far and the less we had to move the less money it would take. I was saving money.

Now plans changed and we actually moved back to our hometown and are in a new house. The reality has hit me that I no longer have my awesome yarn stash, my awesome paper stash and my awesome fabric stash.  I want to make curtains but can't because I have no material for that. I want to scrap a bit but am missing paper that I got rid of. I want to make some placemats but have no yarn to crochet them.  Oh and did I mention that there are only 20 weeks until Christmas???  I have no stash from which to make presents yet.

I have learned my lesson.  I will no longer listen to my husband when he says I have too much stuff and need to get rid of it.  I will no longer listen when he tells me that "we can just buy new later".