Sunday, November 25, 2012

Crochet your own baby room window treatment or curtains


When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was getting a room ready for her.  The walls were painted blue not that long ago, so I really did not want to go through the hassle of re-painting them.  I figured I’ll just add things to make it girly.  I bought blue-purple butterfly wall decals and I fell in love with them right away.  However, I could not find right curtains for the windows.  I decided to sew them myself.  I’m not an expert in sewing, that’s for sure, but I’ve tackled curtains before, so I felt I could do this.  I got pink flowery fabric, got it all done (4 panels for 2 windows), hung it and... I hated it.  What was I thinking choosing such a pink dominant fabric when I don’t even care for color pink!  This girly thing must have gotten into my head..  So for the next couple of weeks, I was trying to figure out what to do and then I got it..  I already did a large crochet butterfly as a wall hanging for the room so why not make colorful crochet flowers and saw them to plain white curtains?

I ended up making flowers and little butterflies.  When I was done, I realized that it was missing something..  Once I added stems and leaves, I was satisfied.  I also made some extra flowers and butterflies and glued them to a white nightstand lamp shade I bought.
It took me awhile to accomplish this task (finished it after my baby girl was already here), but it was worth it. I love it.  



I used quite a few patterns I found online.  Some of them are no longer available, but for those I can still find, I’m passing the links here.

Everything, including stems were made using Royale Fashion Crochet Thread Size #3.







Bold Bloom and Sunny Flower are from "Crochet Embellishments" by Jean Leinhauser.



I made the stems using a basic chain stitch.  You can find a tutorial on Sarah's Hand Embrioidery Tutorials website.  






These orchid flowers were designed by Josi Hannon Madera

I cannot find the original website where I got this butterfly from, but similar pattern is all over the internet.  Here's one place where I found it with video tutorials.  For the body, I made a chain and wrapped it around the middle and tied it at the top using the ends as the antennas.







I did not capture all the flowers, but a few of them including this rose were made using patterns from a great website MyPicot.com 







I hope this gives you ideas to create crochet curtains in your home!


Have a colorful day!






Tuesday, November 13, 2012

My Online Shop is open - Twisted Thread and Hook




 I did it!  I finally opened my own shop on Etsy - Twisted Thread And Hook!  For the first time, I’m going to try to sell my crocheting creations.  I wanted it to do it for a few years now, but for a couple of reasons, it did not happen until now.
Firstly and mainly, I just didn’t think there will be a market for it..  The truth is, it takes a lot of time to hand-make things, so when at the end you put a price on it, it often sounds crazy to some people.
The second problem was and still is time.  I’m a mom to two wonderful kids and a wife to a great husband (who’s amazingly supportive of my crazy idea that is already taking a lot of my time).  Spending time as a family cannot ever be beat (though it could be enhanced if it involves some crocheting as well!).  In addition, I work full time.  I’m a software engineer for a major company and spend a lot of time in front of a computer.  I think that kind of pushed me to do more of the things that don’t require the logical side of the brain.  So in the end, there is not much time left for my hobby, but it is what I love to do and decided I need to find the time to do it.
So I decided to start small, but at the same time do something unique, eye-drawing and detailed, detailed, detailed.  I always drive myself crazy with details.  It takes me a while to come up with a final design because I’m very critical of what I make and I always think how can I make it better.  In the end, what I decided to do is jewelry and accessories made with fine thread.  Here’s a little preview of what I did.  For more, visit my Etsy store Twisted Thread And Hook.
It took me some time, but I found 2 threads I fell in love with.  One is very thin and has a slight shine to it which makes it perfect for making jewelry.  Here’s my favorite piece so far, a necklace using hairpin lace crocheting technique which I call “Broken wheel necklace”:




Mother-child heart necklace (inspired by my children) with matching earrings.  


The pieces that follow are made from a little thicker thread though still quite thin.  It has even more shine than the other one.  I really like the color blends this thread offers.  Here’s a necklace I made inspired by a vintage doily pattern published in a Polish crocheting magazine:



And a few hair pins that are perfect for little girls yet sophisticated enough for grown up women to wear as well.  They are inspired by my daughter and her love for butterflies.



I’m looking forward to the feedback I get on all you see here in my 1st blog(!) and my Etsy store.  

Thank you for visiting!