the mr. and his scarf

Go check out the scarf I finished knitting for the Mr...

alipyper.com

alipyper.com

In a very short while my blog address will switch to alipyper.com. Yay! You can start following my blog at the new address right now if you'd like.

I posted a brand new free crochet pattern for a Danish Heart on the new site that you should check out! There is definitely still time to crochet one of these up before Christmas.

Win a Week's Stay at La Maisonnette in the Dordogne Region of France!

La Maisonnette

Stephanie of Stephmodo is offering one lucky winner a chance to stay for a week at her family's gorgeous little cottage La Maisonnette in France!! Can you believe it? So exciting!

Go here to learn about how Stephanie and her husband renovated their cottage and go here to learn about the giveaway.

Spiderstitch Baby Blanket Up For Auction!

Our friends, the Truax Family, are making the final push to raise enough money to adopt three orphan siblings from the Ukraine. They've set up an online auction and have listed some really fantastic items people can bid on Thursday and Friday, November 15-16th! See all the details here.

Last month I crocheted a baby blanket that will be part of the auction! This blanket was hand crocheted with high quality 100% mercerized cotton yarn from England and can be lovingly passed down from generation to generation. It's a great baby size, 27.5" x 34", and will work for summer or winter.

If you want to bid on the blanket, set your clocks for 1 am Thursday November 15th to get your bid in! Check out the bid page here.

The Incredible Power of Handwork

I was deeply touched by this short clip of Renate Hiller, co-director of the Fiber Craft Studio at the Threefold Educational Center in Chestnut Ridge, New York, who speaks on the transcendent and meditative qualities of creating with our hands and the importance of using natural and beautiful fibers in our work.

To quote from the video clip:

"...in handwork, in transforming nature we also make something truly unique that we have made with our hands, stitch by stitch, that maybe we have chosen the yarn, we have even spun the yarn — even better, and that we have designed. And when I do that, I feel whole. I feel I am experiencing my inner core because it’s a meditative process. You have to find your way; you have to listen with your whole being. And that is the schooling that we all need today. Because we’re so egocentric and this makes us think of what is needed by something else. So we are in a way practicing empathy — empathy with the material, empathy with the design. I think this practicing of empathy that we do in the fiber crafts is paramount for being healing to our world. And it’s a service for the divine that we are surrounded by."

Thank you Amanda!

Granny Love Guest Post at Harmony

In preparation for the Granny Squares class I'm teaching tomorrow at Harmony in Provo tomorrow, I was asked to guest post on their blog.

Go check it out here!

Photo credits: 1/2/3/4

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 :)