Cute Crochet Reads

I wanted to talk about crochet books and magazines today. I'm constantly searching at Joann's, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Wal-Mart, and Barnes and Noble. I also spend a lot of time searching Amazon, Etsy, and eBay for fun books.

It should be known, that I LOVE to make toys. It's my favorite thing to make. And I'm always looking for new patterns. And new designers. If you have a favorite, please leave it in the comments. :)

With that being said, I like to try new things. New designers. New patterns. New toys. Here are a few of the books, I've recently had my eye on...

Everything about this book, says fun!  I want to make every project in this book. I haven't seen it in person. Only on Barnes and Noble. I wouldn't mind getting this book now, and making ahead for next Holiday Season.

These Zoomigurumi books are my favorite! There are a ton of them! I've managed to pick up a few, at Joann's. Using a coupon...you can get them for almost nothing. Like a third of the price. I'm not lying. I think we have 2 or 3 in the series. All the toys are just too cute to make. I just wish my local stores carried more of them.

These Care Bears are too fun too! I remember this book, from years ago. I was in college. And would "visit" it at least once a week. Hobby Lobby was about 2 minutes from my home. But I never seemed to have extra money at the time.

By the time I could afford it, and the Winnie the Pooh book, they no longer sold them. And it made me so sad. I still think about these books. And search for them. Whenever I'm online. I am yet, to come across them...for less than $30 a piece!!!

Ana Paula Rimoli has been my favorite pattern writer. For years and years! I made my first Etsy purchase...at her shop. I don't think she sells patterns any longer. All of her patterns are in books now. And I have the first three.

I can still remember finding her shop. And wanting every single pattern that she offered. I bought 3. And she gave me 2. The first time I got a large paycheck...and extra spending money...I bought all her patterns. I emailed her beforehand. And she gave me an incredible deal! I might have also been gifted a book or two. ;)

This book looks like so much fun! With bigger projects. Something that I'd now make, for family and friends. Oh how fun! I need to go look for this book!

Ana's other new book...seems to have a lot of her OG patterns. I have most of these as files. But would 100% buy this book. To have everything in one place. Easy to access when needed. 

Can you see why I LOVE Ana's patterns? They are so cute! With her patterns, I went from making crochet blankets...to the fun stuff. Her patterns are so easy to read. The projects are completely adorable! Her patterns...changed my life!

I'm 100% a magazine reader. In fact, when my friends asked me what I wanted for Christmas a couple of years ago...I asked for magazine subscriptions. I'm so lucky, that they gift me, my favs for my birthday or Christmas.

But since Red Heart discontinued their magazine a few years ago...I haven't subbed to any Craft Magazines. But this one...is calling my name! Where do I find it? Because Joann's only has cute knit amigurumi magazines.

This is another cute magazine. That I wouldn't mind being subscribed to. I saw a couple of covers, during my search. All the patterns look too cute! I think these 2 magazines are probably from the UK. But I'd still like to receive them.

I would love to hear what you've got your eye on. Or what your favorite magazine, book, or leaflet is. I like to try a little of everything. Hope I've inspired you a bit. 💕

A Story About a Sewing Machine

I got my first sewing machine, when I was in elementary school. I wanted to sew. But I'm positive, my Mom didn't want to teach her small child, how to sew on her expensive sewing machine. Instead, my parents bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. Nothing fancy, or special.

But I LOVED it! My sister also bought me a big sewing box, filled with tons of supplies! There was not a happier 7 year old, around. :) I'm almost positive, my parents bought the sewing machine at Wal-Mart. For less than $100. Crazy thing is, I never used it! I think, I tried sewing once. And didn't know what I was doing. Heck, I was 7 years old!

Well, we ended up taking my sewing machine, to my parents' cabin. We figured, on the weekends I'd learn how to sew. It didn't happen. But my Mom did sew on it. :) Jump ahead. I'm in my twenties. Living on my own. And I take my sewing machine, to my house. I start sewing, and I LOVED it!

For the next few years, I'm so inspired. Not just by "Blogland." But by my friends' kids. My Goddaughters. And stuff that I couldn't afford to buy. All was going great. Until, it wasn't anymore. My sewing machine, didn't want to work. I tried everything. I took it, to get worked on. Nothing!

After a few months, I just gave up. And I honestly didn't have any money, to spend on it. Or a new one. So when I had to sew, I'd go use my Goddaughter's sewing machine. Not convenient. But it was working. My parents surprised me, with a new sewing machine.

Again, it wasn't anything fancy. One of the Singer sewing machines that Target sells. That week, it was on sale for $70. How do I know? Because I went to the 5 local Target stores, looking for it. With no luck! And I happened to mention this, to my parents. On a Friday night. Before my birthday. Not expecting anything. Just annoyed that I couldn't find my sewing machine.

My parents happened to find one, in their city. The next morning. That was my birthday present. And I was over the moon! It was quite a bit different from my old machine. This one, was a front loading machine. My other, was a drop in bobbin. This machine, was also light weight. That was both good, and bad. But I've gotten to enjoy it.

Honestly, I've been saving my pennies. Hoping to buy a better sewing machine. It's not that I don't appreciate these sewing machines. Or that I don't love them. Because I LOVE them!But I've been sewing a lot more. And I want something more durable. Something that has a few more "bells and whistles."

That lead to me visiting JoAnn's. And I was dreaming of the day, when I could invest in a nice sewing machine. One that makes button holes. And has fun stitches. Something to grow, with my new sewing abilities. That's when I spotted this beauty!!!

Isn't this a pretty sewing machine? Well, I picked up the brochure. And showed it to my Mom the other day. She LOVED it too! I'd love to buy this for myself. The 50th Anniversary Singer Sewing Machine! It's nice to dream about. A little bit of history.

But I'm very happy with my sewing machine. And the fact that there is history behind it. My own history. My own story in the sewing world. And I'm really grateful, that my Mom shared this love of hers, with me!

Lost Patterns...

My little cousin is expecting her first baby, in about 6 weeks. Her baby shower is just weeks away. And I'm barely starting her gifts! :( My schedule has been so bad! I've wanted to sit and start some stuff, but school, work, and the holidays kind of got in the way.

Not to mention, all the babies that were born, between August and November! So I'm ridiculously behind on projects. Oh, and the fact that the hospital where I work, is moving to a new building...is not helping. My office is in shambles! Half of my stuff, is in my old office...the other half is in my new office.

I tried to get started on my projects. Yesterday. I bought all the yarn I needed. And then I hit a wall. I couldn't find the patterns that I needed. Or more like, that patterns that I wanted to use...

Like this book. Coats and Clark, "Soft and Sweet for Baby." That blue sweater with the hat, "Fairytale Set," is my favorite to make! There's also a cute Christening Set. And a Mother's Shawl in this book.

This book of booties, is also a favorite! I like to make those white booties, with the blue ribbon, to match the set above. Or I make the Mary Janes, to go with another hat, that I make.

And this book, well, has 2 sets that I like! A LOT!!! I like to make the flowery set, in pink. It's so cute! And that green hat at the top, it's a butterfly set. I really like making the hat and booties. :)

Two of my favorite blankets to make, are in this book. Along with those cute animals! Because the crib bedding that my cousin bought, would go perfectly with those animals!

This is the only book that I don't own. I've never even seen it in person! And there is a gorgeous sweater, that I want to make! No luck. At all! I just can't find this pattern book.

So I've looked all through my house. And in my office...my old office. With no luck. I don't know what I'm going to do. Most of these are older books. And I can't find any of them in the craft stores, around here. If you happen to know, where I can find these books, PLEASE let me know! As soon as you can. Because I only have one blanket made...and I totally winged it! Looking at another blanket, that I had made...using that pattern. Oh, I'm having some issues...

Craft Supplies

If you've been reading a craft blog, for the last year or so, you've heard about the Cricut and the Silhouette. There are so many projects that you can make with these 2 machines. And I've been eyeing them, for longer than I can remember...

The Cricut has been out longer. At least I think so. And I see it everywhere! At Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, and JoAnn's. EVERYWHERE! They're always having sales. But even the sale price, is just out of my reach...right now.

How about the Silhouette? Almost every blog out there, the big ones, is sponsored by Silhouette. And honestly, if I had a few hundred dollars, I'd buy this bad boy! Without even thinking about it. I find myself, dreaming about so many projects. Oh, my! If only. But let me tell you, I'll be saving my pennies, to buy one of these fun machines.

Mark's Craft Books

Have you ever heard of Mark Montano? Well, I didn't know that he wrote craft books. On a recent trip to Barnes and Noble, I literally stumbled on one! I was there buying some stuff for school. But I sat down with this book, and took a long look!

And by a long look, I mean I sat there for 2 hours. Just going through all the projects. What a great book! And it wasn't too expensive. I think it was under $15. Honestly, it's an incredible book for the money!

That's not all. When I got home, I Googled the book. And I found out that there are 2 of these books. Yes, 2! I'm putting these on my "Wish List." Maybe just maybe...I'll get them for Christmas. I'd be so excited! Because I'm already thinking, of all the projects that I want to make. :)

Lovely Lace Dress

I've been looking for dresses lately. One of my jobs, includes performing with a band. And I need some new dresses for our next set of shows. For New Year's! All the band told me was, to have fun dresses. A little sparkle, lots of color, and something that I liked. So I took to Google, and found this lovely dress!

Don't you just love it? The color. She shape. The lace. All that lovely lace! It's so ladylike. Yet, fun. A little sassy. And I think this would be cute, for one of the smaller shows. With my black boots. Sounds like fun to me.

Now, do I try and track down the dress. And buy it. Because the link in Google was broken. Or do I try and recreate it myself? If I do this, I better get started! Oh...the decisions!

Christmas Cooking and Baking

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, I've been thinking about Christmas. One of my absolute favorite things, about the Holiday Season is, cooking. And baking. Yum! I have a lot of recipes that are "tried and true." Recipes that I LOVE to make every single year. Things that my family enjoys. But then, there are all these AMAZING Holiday cookbooks. And I want to try them all! None more than this one...

This cookbook is at the top of my list! Yum! Just look at these pictures. What's not to love? Do you have a favorite cookbook? A favorite holiday dish? I'm always looking for new recipes. And I'd LOVE to hear all about your favorites!