Colonial Day with {K}

I volunteered down at the school for Colonial Day today. I cut off a pair of thrift store pants to make breeches for {K} and made a simple mob cap out of muslin and a long skirt and apron for myself. I was able to help teach the children how to tie quilts. The kids were so smart and quickly learned how. They finished 6 baby quilts that will be donated to the Humanitarian Center.

{K} was such a pill about the tri-corner hat I wanted him to wear! Apparently the rest of the school was having "Crazy Hair Day" and he thought the hat would get in the way. He would only wear it for a picture - and then only begrudgingly. Oh well.

Intro to Crochet class added at Harmony

We've organized another beginning crochet class this fall at Harmony! The class will run Thursday mornings from 10 am to noon on November 1, 8, & 15. I'll walk you through all the basics of chain stitch, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, changing colors, reading patterns, increasing, decreasing, and weaving in ends when you're finished.

You'll leave the class with a gorgeous scarf and the confidence to try new crochet patterns - just in time for Christmas! The cost of the class is $60 and you'll receive a 10% discount on supplies purchased at the shop.

*If you're left-handed, don't despair! I have experience teaching lefties how to crochet!*

Have you ever wanted to learn how to crochet something like this?

Rose Hip Blog Crochet Flower Pattern

Or this?

Yvonne Eijkenduijn Copenhagen Pillow Pattern

Or any of these??

Attic 24 Inspiration

Call or stop by Harmony, or sign up for the class online and come learn how to crochet!

Learning to Smock, a Bake Sale, and Granny Squares

I signed up for the Smocking Class at Harmony and I'm over the moon to finally learn how to embroider smocking!! I've wanted to learn since {G} was a baby and for one reason or another I never have. Thank you Harmony!! And I also learned how to embroider bullion roses. Bonus. My lines are a little wonky, but I'm thrilled with how it's turning out. Just need to sew the smocked panel into a skirt and I'll be done!

I promptly put Sabrina's cute new logo that she painted for me to good use! {K}'s soccer team was having a fundraiser so I made a little tag and put them on my famous Peanut Butter Cookies with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, and my mom's Gingersnaps to help raise a little bit of money. Super happy with the logo!!

I'm teaching another class at Harmony on Saturday November 3rd from noon to 2 pm. Do you want to learn how to crochet Granny Squares?? I'll discuss how to quickly change colors, weaving in ends as you crochet, different methods of circular crochet and joining the blocks together as you go! The 2 hour class will be jam packed with tips and tricks that you can apply to all your crochet projects. Come join us for a great class to elevate your basic crochet skills to the next level. Only $20!

alipyper likes to bake

My sweet friend Sabrina designed and painted a new logo for me!! I'm super duper thrilled about it! Like turn cartwheels over it. I think it's darling and I'm going to plaster it all over everything I bake from now on :)

Eyelet Lace

I recently designed a crochet edging that looks kind of like eyelet lace. When I was trying to find a crochet pattern to edge my robe, I came across these laces available from the famous Britex Fabric shop in San Fransisco. Aren't they gorgeous?

Britex Fabric Eyelet Lace Selection

I'm thinking I need a couple yards of each of these! So beautiful!

Eyelet Lace Crochet Edging Pattern

I finally made myself a housecoat (is that what they're called? is it a robe? a muu muu? I don't know!). We all share one bathroom right now, so it was high time. One of my small indulgences is a subscription to the French craft magazine Marie Claire Idées. In the March/April 2012 edition they had this picture (and pattern) and I had to make it!

Unfortunately for my husband and children, the decision to make myself a housecoat was not prompted by necessity. It only came about because I saw one that I felt like I could tolerate wearing. If I hadn't seen it, I would be still be slinking between the bathroom and the bedroom in a towel.There are other areas in my life where this principle applies, to the detriment of my family members. But why compromise for bad design?? I'd rather slink in a towel than buy an ugly robe.

Granted, it's autumn and the linen/cotton I chose will not be very warm in the coming winter months, but it had to be linen. I decided to trim the housecoat with a simple crocheted lace and I had it in my mind that I wanted the crocheted lace to look like white eyelet lace. So, I searched high and low to try and find a pattern in my books and online, but to no avail. So, I made a pattern up! It's not EXACTLY like eyelet lace, but for a simple crocheted edging I like it quite a bit.

 

Pattern repeat is 7 sts +2. 

On a foundation row (see this tutorial for ideas on how to attach crocheted edging to your linens): ch 1, sc in beg st. Sc in next st *Skip 2 sts. 7 dc in next st. Skip 2 sts. Sc in next two sts.* Repeat from * to * until you reach your last 7 sts. Skip 2 sts. 7 dc in next st. Skip 2 sts. Sc in last 2 sts. Ch 3, turn.

Row 2: Skip first 2 sc. *Sc in 1st dc of shell. Ch 3. Sc in 3rd dc of shell. Ch 3. Sc in 5th dc of shell. Ch 3. Sc in 7th dc of shell. Ch. 3. Skip next 2 sc.* Repeat from * to * until the last shell. Sc in 1st dc of shell. Ch 3. Sc in 3rd dc of shell. Ch 3. Sc in 5th dc of shell. Ch 3. Sc in 7th dc of shell. Ch 3. Skip 1 sc. Sc in last sc.

Knot and weave in ends.

I'm thinking that I need to figure out how to attach this edging to some linen handkerchiefs or napkins. I'm thoroughly in love with it!

ps. The Intro to Crochet class at Harmony was a hit last night! I'm so excited to continue for the next two weeks with the great group that signed up! Hooray for crochet!!