Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Meet the Blog Stalkers







Blog Stalkers!! What are we? Stalkers... the fun kind! 


Yes, we stalk blogs and a variety of kinds! There are three of us and we each have our own interests, though crochet is what brought us together. We decided to share with you the things we love, crochet and more! Each of us will feature a post or article written by a blogger we love and then we'll be sharing it with you! These blog stalking posts will be shared with you on a monthly basis on all of our blogs!
So now, without further ado, here's our blog stalkers and a small peek at what they might share with you!





Hello! I'm Crystal, founder and designer behind Crystalized Designs. I'm happy to be a part of the Blog Stalkers! You'll mainly find I follow crochet related blogs but I can't turn my back on blogs with great recipes. Other blog I follow relate to doing fun activities and crafts with children. I love doing fun small things with them, keepsakes to remember the younger years by! I'm looking forward to sharing with you some amazing posts from others!







Hello! I'm Lisa, the person behind Pink Snail Boutique. When I was asked to be part of Blog Stalkers I was honored and excited to be on the team. I have a bit of the crafting ADD bug so my tastes are all over the place when it comes to reading blogs. I will admit most of my blog following has come from searches and pins I have found on Pinterest. From crochet to homeschooling to planning parties. As a mother of 3, all of which are crafters themselves, I am sure I will have something for everyone. Little Lisa factoid- My ribbon and bead stash are almost as out of control as my yarn stash. I can't wait to stalk some blogs to share with you.







Hello there!!! I am Stephanie with Smalltown Dreamz. I am so thrilled to be part of the Blog Stalker Team. When it comes to overall crafting I like to dip my hands in everything. I love to learn new things. I follow many types of blogs because you never know where your next inspiration can come from. I have been blessed to have a crafty husband so we have been able to teach our oldest son how to build and create things for himself. I am looking forward to sharing all the inspiration that I find.



You can also find Blog Stalkers on Facebook!!!


Stay tuned for next month to see who we have been stalking!!!!


If you have been stalked and would like to add our button to your page please feel free










Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Before the Final Crunch




Are you feeling the last minute crunch to get those last minute gifts bought or finish up the last of your handmade gifts. I know I am. haha...... I am not sure why I do this but I always manage to procrastinate Christmas. I mean I know when its coming every year. I know that it will be on time every year but every year I manage to fall literally to the last minute. Last year I was wrapping gifts when we got to the house we were supposed to exchange at. How sad is that......... Having a new little one I am sure this year will be much like the year before.

A few weeks ago I was at Michael's and picked up a beautiful skein of  Isaac Mizrahi Sutton the color was West End. Super Bulky and an acrylic/wool mix.  I knew I wanted to save it for myself but seeing as it was only 62 yards and I only had one skein I wasn't sure what I was going to make with it. into the stash it went. lol ( we have all been there)

So anyway I have had a few late nights lately as I am sure every mom does with a newborn. The other night was one of those nights. I sat there staring at my lovely new yarn from across the room and decided I just wanted to at least touch it lmao (yes we have all been there too haha) I grabbed it and a hook and things just started flowing. Next thing I knew I had a cover for my hook jar.

I LOVE the way it laid out!!!!!




I used a long half double crochet around the body of it.

Even though it is something small I still feel awesome cause I took the time to make something for myself.

Now back to the chaos

Happy Crafting



Monday, December 1, 2014

Sizing Formula for Crochet Hats



Recently over the holidays I ran into a fellow crocheter who had some awesome knowledge to share. I for one LOVE math which is why I think crochet designing is so much fun for me. However I was INTRIGUED when she told me that there is a math formula to figure out hat sizes. Seeing how this is something that I am really interested in and was finding it difficult to determine sizes, I started taking notes.

After I got home I started crunching numbers and comparing the results with other sizing charts and I was floored that the formulas were pretty accurate. I will for sure be keeping this in mind for the rest of my crocheting life. HAHA.

So this is how she broke it down for me.




Crochet Circle
Formulas for finding crochet hat sizes. 


Circumference (divided by) 3.14 = Size of Crochet Circle

Circumference (divided by) 10 = ? (multiplied by) 4 = Hat Height


Circumference (divided by) 2 = Hat width

*** These formulas will work with Most hat patterns but not all depending on the pattern type***

  

 For example......



0-3 month old - Circumference = 12 - 14 inches

Circle Size
 12 / 3.14 = 3.8 (round nearest whole number or .5)  
14/ 3.14 = 4.4 (round nearest whole number or .5)
so your circle size would be 4 inches to 4.5 inches

Hat Height
12 / 10 = 1.2 * 4 = 4.8 (round nearest whole number or .5)
14 / 10 = 1.4 * 4 = 5.6 (round nearest whole number or .5)
So your hat height would be 5 inches to 5.5 inches

Hat Width
12 / 2 = 6
14 / 2 = 7
So your hat width would be 6 inches to 7 inches



Neat huh?!?!?!?!

For those that don't enjoy math like I do I have it all broken down for you below. I hope you enjoy!!!!





Newborn - Circumference = 12 inches

Circle Size
 12 / 3.14 = 3.8 (round to the nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
so your circle size would be 4 inches to 

Hat Height
12 / 10 = 1.2 * 4 = 4.8 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
So your hat height would be 5 inches 

Hat Width
12 / 2 = 6
So your hat width would be 6 inches to 



0-3 month old - Circumference = 12 - 14 inches

Circle Size
 12 / 3.14 = 3.8 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
14/ 3.14 = 4.4 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
so your circle size would be 4 inches to 4.5 inches

Hat Height
12 / 10 = 1.2 * 4 = 4.8 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
14 / 10 = 1.4 * 4 = 5.6 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
So your hat height would be 5 inches to 5.5 inches

Hat Width
12 / 2 = 6
14 / 2 = 7
So your hat width would be 6 inches to 7 inches



3-6 month old - Circumference = 14 - 16 inches

Circle Size
14/ 3.14 = 4.4 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
16/ 3.14 = 5.0 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
so your circle size would be 4.5 inches to 5 inches 

Hat Height
14 / 10 = 1.4 * 4 = 5.6 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
16 / 10 = 1.6 * 4 = 6.4 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
So your hat height would be 5.5 inches to 6.5 inches

Hat Width
14 / 2 = 7
16 / 2 = 8
So your hat width would be 7 inches to  8 inches



6-12 month old - Circumference =  16 - 18 inches

Circle Size
16/ 3.14 = 5.0 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
18/ 3.14 = 5.7 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
so your circle size would be 5 inches to 6 inches

Hat Height
16 / 10 = 1.6 * 4 = 6.4 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
18 / 10 = 1.8 * 4 = 7.2 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
So your hat height would be 6.5 inches to 7.25 inches

Hat Width
16 / 2 = 8
18 / 2 = 9
So your hat width would be 8 inches to 9 inches



1-3 year old - Circumference = 18 - 20 inches

Circle Size
18/ 3.14 = 5.7 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
20/ 3.14 = 6.36 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
so your circle size would be   6 inches to 6.5 inches

Hat Height
18 / 10 = 1.8 * 4 = 7.2 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
20 / 10 = 2.0 * 4 = 8.0 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
So your hat height would be 7.25 inches to 8 inches

Hat Width
18 / 2 = 9
20 / 2 = 10
So your hat width would be 9 inches  to 10 inches



3-10 year old - Circumference =  20 - 22 inches

Circle Size
20 / 3.14 = 6.3 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
22 / 3.14 = 7.0 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
so your circle size would be 6.5 inches to 7 inches 

Hat Height
20 / 10 = 2.0 * 4 = 8.0 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
22 / 10 = 2.2 * 4 = 8.8 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
So your hat height would be 8 inches  to 9 inches

Hat Width
20 / 2 = 10
22 / 2 = 11
So your hat width would be 10 inches to 11 inches



Teen to Adult - Circumference =   22 - 24  inches

Circle Size
22 / 3.14 = 7.0 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
24 / 3.14 = 7.6 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
so your circle size would be 7 inches  to  7.75 inches

Hat Height
22 / 10 = 1.8 * 4 = 8.8 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
24 / 10 = 2.4 * 4 = 9.6 (round nearest whole number, .75, .50 or .25)
So your hat height would be 9 inches to 9.5 inches

Hat Width
22 / 2 = 11
24 / 2 = 12
So your hat width would be 11 inches to 12 inches



I hope that all makes sense and I hope this helps with sizing your hats in the future!!!

In the mean time Here is a hat I made for my oldest son recently to match his new winter jacket. The pattern is the Griffin Hat by Sincerely Pam





I look forward to finding more tips and tricks to share with you this next year along with a few other fun things. Until then...................

Happy Crafting






Looking Forward.....

As I sit here and dust off the cobwebs to my tiny ghost town of a blog, I am excited to make a fresh start and slowly get back to what...