Jingle Bell Cuff Bracelet free pattern

Ever tried crocheting with beads? Yeah, me neither. But, I'm in a festive spirit, and need a break from this ridiculous order of 11 scarves due in 11 days. Soooo, I decided to make a little cuff bracelet with some jingle bells. I've kind of seen beaded crochet done before, but I don't really know what I'm doing, so I decided to wing it. I also took lots of pics, to help out any other newbies. You will only see the pictures of my successes; believe me, there were many failures. LOL!

I used worsted weight yarn, 12 bells, an I hook, some holiday buttons, and a needle and thread.

First things first, in beaded crochet, it's uber important to string the beads, or bells in this case, on to your yarn BEFORE you begin. Just keep sliding them down the yarn until you are ready for them. Unfortunately, this means you kind of need to plan ahead and really know how many beads you need. Of course, you could always put extra beads on the yarn just in case. Also, I learned the hard way to make sure your beads are in front of your work when you move them down the yarn. Otherwise, the bead moves to the back of your work.

OK, so on with the pattern...

Jingle Bell Cuff Bracelet

Ch 11

Row 1: Turn, sc in 2nd ch from hook, and all the way across (10 sc)

Row 2: Ch 1, turn, sc in ea sc all the way across (10 sc)

Row 3-5: Repeat Row 2

Row 6: Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, attach bell (slide bell right in front of your work, insert hook into next sc with bell and working yarn in front of work, complete sc as normal. See pictures), sc in next 6 sc, attach bell in next sc, sc in last sc

Row 7-11: Repeat Row 2

Row 12: Repeat Row 6

Continue this pattern until you run out of bells.

Repeat Row 2 five more times.

Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, ch 4 (more or less depending on the size of the button you use), sk next sc, sc in next 6, ch 4, sk next sc, sc in last sc.

Ch 1, turn, sc in first sc, 1 sc in ch 4 sp, sc in next 6 sc, 1 sc in ch 4 sp, sc in last sc.

Repeat Row 2 one last time.

Sew buttons on near the original ch.

Voila! You are done! I hope these pics made it easy to understand. I can't believe I've finally crocheted with beads! I am looking forward to making other stuff too...whenever I get a minute. :)

Versatile Flower pattern

So....here is the pattern I promised! I've done it with super bulky weight yarn, and worsted weight. Works great for both! Here I will show the pattern done with ww...

Versatile Flower

very small amounts of worsted weight yarn

H hook

optional button

R 1: Ch 4, sl st in first ch to make a circle

R 2: Ch 1, 10 sc in the circle, sl st in first sc to close the circle (10 sc)

R 3: Ch 1, 2 sc in ea sc, sl st in first sc to close the circle (20 sc)

...At this point, you can change yarn colors, or keep the same yarn...

This part is a little tricky, and you may need to finagle your stitches a bit.

R 4: Sl st in the BLO of the next st loosely (because you are going to end up joining the petal here at the end of this round), *skip the next st, 7 dc in the back loop of the next st. Skip the next st, sl st in the BLO of the next st*, all the way to the end. You should end up with 5 petals of 7 dcs each, all in the BLO. Join with a sl st to the first sl st...or wherever it looks right. :)

R 5: Sl st into the FLO right below where you joined the back row. Now follow the directions for the back row of petals, but use 5 dcs in the petals, and make all your stitches in the FLO. Join to first sl st. Pass hook through to the back of the flower. YO, draw up loop, clip yarn, and fasten off.

Now, if you feel like it, add a little pizazz with a button or something.

I hope this is fairly easy to understand. It may look difficult, but I think once you try it, you will like it! Just remember it is essentially 5 petals of 7 dcs in the back loops, and 5 petals of 5 dcs in the front loops (a bit off-set though to add dimension).

Oh, and here is a picture of the flower in super bulky yarn:

coming soon...new pattern!

It's been FOREVER since I've posted here. I've been so busy with the kids and crochet. I have a show coming up, so I've been making as much product as possible. Anyway, thought I should pop in and share a free pattern for a flower! I couldn't find a pattern that used bulky yarn to my happiness, so I made up my own. Use it and enjoy it!

Oops! The kids are up. I will be back later...with a pattern and pics!

update on my clan

Well, it's been crazy. As usual. I've been sewing as much as I can, making super cute baby shoes, purses...well, you name it. Now how can I possibly find time to sew and crochet when I have so many small children? Take a look at the dark circles under my eyes and you will see the answer. I am sleep deprived. But I gladly give up sleep to craft. Why, you ask? Because if I don't have a creative outlet, I will go insane. So it sucks for my health, but it's good for the health of my family. LOL! When I'm stressed, I sew. When I'm worried, I crochet. With two active sons and a daughter that's kept me on the brink of a mental breakdown, it's no wonder I never sleep...but damn I make lots of things!

So, to add to my stress levels, my daughter appears to be suffering from the same type of asthma my eldest son has. On a routine visit, a new doctor was listening to her breathe and taking quite some time. He turned to me and said something that just took me by surprise. He said, "I want to get a chest Xray because I hear a heart murmur. The last Xray you had for her showed an enlarged heart, and I want to see for myself." Well, I was unaware of any enlarged heart, and I was instantly worried. Apparently, heart disease can be masked by symptoms of asthma.

Two EKGs, and echocardiogram and another chest Xray later showed that my baby does indeed have an enlarged heart and blood vessels because, get this, she has a large hole in her heart. It's called an atrial septal defect, ASD. Luckily, because he caught it early, it's fixable and should not pose any problems in her little life. It's not the cause of the asthma, which was not a surprise to me because we have asthma in the family. According to the cardiologist, lots of babies have small holes in their hearts but they heal themselves and no one ever knows about it. Every once in awhile though, the holes are quite large and have to be medically addressed. If my new pediatrician had not listened, really listened, we might not have known until she was older and possibly symptomatic. We went in for asthma and came out with a heart defect, although she definitely still also has asthma.

When it rains it pours. So, does this mean I will have to stress about her for the rest of her life? Have to? No. But will I? Abso-frickin'-lutely.

Anyway, I am going to post a tutorial on a purse pretty soon here. Working on it and taking pics now! Check back later...

I'm baaaaaccckkk

Well, I've been busy. Of course, that's an understatement to anyone with three kids. LOL! I've been really sewing up a storm though. I am notorious for screwing up anything and everything I try to make; it's part of the adventure. If it takes 3 hours to sew a bag, it takes me an extra three hours to rip out all the seams I messed up and start again. But, what can you do? I am finishing a bag right now that is my first attempt at a diaper bag. Well, I wanted a diaper bag that I was not embarrassed to carry about in public. It seems all diaper bags are so...well, Mom-ish. I wanted something that looked like a killer stylish bag, but just happened to carry bottles, diapers, binkies, etc. It may not look like much now, but it's going to be awesome. Of course, that's if I don't screw it up...which I most likely will. :)





Oh, and here's a picture of my crafting area. See how messy it is? I have bins of yarns and material. I am such a lucky gal that my hubby created this space for me!

Check back soon for a gusseted pocket tutorial. I have no idea how to make one, I can't find a decent tutorial online anywhere, so I am going to figure it out (painfully and with good use of my seam ripper, I'm sure) and then I am going to share with everyone.

Oh, and I had my first craft show! It was total crap and I didn't sell a thing, but that could be because no one came. It was over 100 degrees and it's a brand new show...no one knows about it yet. But hey, at least I tried! I am fired up now and applying for three more (different!) shows!

Food for thought

Ever wonder what it would be like to be the last human on earth? I started thinking about this while watching a show on the now-extinct mammoth. It made me wonder what that last mammoth was going through and then, of course, I extrapolated it to human kind. What would it be like? Especially since we are conscious beings. I know this has nothing to do with this blog's general purpose...it's just one of those things that I think about.

Food for thought...

Some advice for Irish twin moms

It's been awhile since I've been able to post! My little ones and I have been so sick. I ended up in the ER with my oldest boy. He had a terrible fever and was really dehydrated. Poor thing. Then I got sick, my little boy, and finally, my princess. Fevers and coughs all around. It totally sucked. Thankfully, I think we are on the mend...physically anyway.

My little boy, 14 months now, is, I think, entering the terrible 2s early. The past few days he's been throwing temper tantrums and being cranky. This is soooo uncharacteristic of him! But, just when you think you've got your child pegged, they up and change on you. That's one of the joys of parenting! LOL

So, I was compiling a list of advice for an Irish twin mom and here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Ask for help. Especially in those first few weeks and months. Don't be shy about it. Don't be proud. You are going to need it.

2. Don't be fooled by your older child's initial reaction. It may be one of interest or disinterest. Rest assured, given some time your child will realize Mommy's attention has been diverted, and he/she will let you know they are...ahem...displeased. Just be sure to let them know how important they still are, but do not sacrifice that important one-on-one bonding time with your new baby.

3. Get on a schedule. Obviously, this will be difficult at first; I am still having trouble with it now. But at least they go to bed at the same time every night now. That is wonderful! Now, if only I could get them to nap together...

4. Don't be bummed if you can't BF. Hard as I tried, I couldn't BF my LO while trying to spoon feed my older one. Oh well...she's just fine.

5. Invest in a really good carrier. Baby Bjorn, hotsling, who cares! Just get something that you like and that works for you. You are going to need something to carry the infant in...especially because you will have a wobbly walker (or almost walker) on your hands at that time.

Well, that's what I've got for now...until I reach the next phase in this crazy journey of mine. For now, I better eat some breakfast before the other kids wake up. If I don't eat now, I may not eat until dinner. LOL!!