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

Stash it Sunday ~ Week 28

As most of you know I love ALL fibers. I have 2 MASSIVE (in my eyes) stashes fabric and yarn. Crocheting has been part of my life for 25 years this year and over those years I have collected my fair share of yarn. So I think Stash it Sunday should be about all fiber stashes, which is why this week I chose to stop by a fellow Mad Mad Maker and new friend

When I first got to see the amazing hand dyed hand spun yarns that Yarn Baby, LLC has made I literally started drooling. I am in LOVE!!!!!! She has such amazing talent with her color combinations. I can't wait to get my hands on my own skein of Yarn Baby's hand dyed hand spun yarn.  

I would love to make some socks or an amazing hooded scarf with some of this yarn. What would you make if you had a skein or two of some of this beautiful yarn? We will stop by again and I will show you some of my personal favorites.

If you have not had the chance to stop by Yarn Baby LLC yet then hop on over. You can check out her website or visit her on Facebook. 

Happy Crafting,


Stephanie

Feature Me Friday - Week 4

In the handmade world we ask ourselves all the time, How do we start a home business from this? What do I charge for my handmade items? Well this week I was so excited to meet this awesome person from one of the crochet groups I belong to on Facebook. She wrote an awesome book, sharing her tips on how to figure out those very questions. I would like to welcome Sedie from Yarn Obsession

" I'm a crochet designing mommy who works as a small business marketer by day and a crochet designer, instructor by night. I am blessed to have my own business which allows me to be flexible in my schedule and enjoy my friends and family more than ever before. 

When I realized that the number one question most people were asking when they started or were into their crochet business was "how much should I charge" 

I decided someone needed to take the time to answer that question with specific formulas. That's when "Pricing Crochet Fairly for Maximum Profit" was born. My goal is to help the crochet small business community understand that we only get as much as we think we deserve. The more time we put into thinking about our audience, the better we can build our businesses fairly, not just for our customers, but for ourselves.

In this book, “Pricing Crochet Fairly for Maximum Profit“, are formulas that will help put you on a solid path to pricing yourself properly.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• How to determine who your audience is
• How to calculate a wholesale price that provides you with a profit
• How to calculate a “Suggested Retail Price” that will entice a buyer to purchase your items
• How to calculate a price for family and friends
• Why you should never go below your wholesale price
• The only instance I will ever suggest you go below a wholesale price you’ve calculated
• The various ways you can monetize your crochet skills

This book has a mission and a purpose.

It will help crochet business people get on the right track when it comes to pricing their art and their skill. When more people are pricing their crochet in a way that works for their audience and for their businesses, then the crochet market will begin to see a shift. It is my mission to help bring that change along one crocheter at a time"

I know I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book.  If you purchase this book within the next 24 hours use coupon code "SMALLTOWN123" on her Etsy site to get the book for 30% off. 

If you miss the sale or are not a ETSY user don't worry you can still purchase her new Book by going directly to her site Yarn Obsession. You can also follow Sedie at her Facebook Fan Page

If you would like to be featured here on Feature Me Friday's than please send me a few good quality photos, a description about yourself, your item you would like featured and what inspired you to make it. Also include a link to your blog post and any other links you would like added. Email them to smalltowndreamz@gmail.com   subject: Feature Me Friday

See you next week

Feature Me Friday Week 1

Welcome to the first week of Feature Me Friday.

I Love Yarn and anything that you can make with it. I have been on the search for some crochet blogs and sites and for the longest time I just couldn't find them. Thankfully a dear friend of mine pointed me in the right direction and I have been on cloud 9 ever since.

I personally have been a crocheter for going on 25 years this year. Although I didn't start getting real heavy into it until just a couple years ago. Anyway while I was finding all these amazing crochet blogs I came across one that I really fell in love with. So I would like to kick off the first Feature Me Friday by visiting Lorene over at...

"Hello, my name is Lorene and I am a crochet-a-holic.  I’m also a craft-a-holic, but crochet is by far my biggest obsession.  I love creating new designs and making homemade treasures for my family and friends.

Until recently I never followed a pattern.  I just looked and created what I saw, lots of times having to rip out most of my work and start over.  As I got better and better with creating designs in my head I got pretty good at crocheting.  I decided to try my hand at following a pattern.  It was all down hill from there.  I started to create my own patterns and designs.  Blogging was a natural progression for me.  I love being able to share my FREE patterns and designs with fellow hookers.

I would like to share a Newborn Blanket that I recently had made.I love animal print, especially zebra print and I really love the way it looks with hot pink.  I have a friend who is expecting her first girl any day now and she is also really into zebra print so I created this lovely blanket for her soon to be bundle of joy.  It is VERY easy to work up and unlike some zebra prints I have seen it is varied in design.  I hope you enjoy creating this cuddly Zebra Newborn Blanket for someone in your life."

 Lorene offers this pattern for free for you to use on her site you can view the pattern here. You can also find her stuff for sale at her ETSY SHOP. You can follow her on Facebook as well. 





If you would like to be featured here on Feature Me Friday's than please send me a few good quality photos, a discription about yourself, your item you would like featured and what inspired you to make it. Also include a link to your blog post and any other links you would like added. Email them to smalltowndreamz@gmail.com   subject: Feature Me Friday

See you next week

Medium and Large Pumpkin Release

It's November and any of you are like me..... you start thinking about THANKSGIVING!!





Some of you might be hosting Thanksgiving this year and thinking to yourself. What neat decorations can I fill my house with. Well with enough time to make a couple for yourself why not think about some of these elegant pumpkins.

That's right the elegant pumpkin pattern has been released!

 This is a double pack pattern. The PDF will include the patterns for both the medium and large pumpkins for $5.70.(US Dollars)

These pumpkins are sure to make any room look elegant.

This Pattern is sold in the following shops

Etsy

Ravelry (Coming Soon)

Craftsy (Coming Soon)

Below are other examples of the finished pattern.

 

Happy Crafting,

Smalltown Mama

Jack-O-Lantern Pattern Released!!

Jack-O-Lantern Pattern Releases!!

I am very excited that over the next week I will be releasing the rest of my Halloween Collection. Today the Jack-O-Lantern Pattern has released. I hope everyone will enjoy making this as much as I did.

You can find it available in all 3 of my shops

Etsy

Ravelry

Craftsy

<--This pattern will fit the Mini Witch's Hat pattern that was released last week.




Here is a sneak peak at whats releasing next week-->









This weekend is Halloween and kids will be dressed up in their cute little costumes. I can't wait to see all the goodies my little one comes home with, on top of seeing all the other little witches, monsters, and ninjas running through out the town. Then at the end of the night the people in our community get together in the center of town at the baseball field for an awesome community bonfire. Last year was our first year living here in our little village and we had a good time. I look forward to seeing familiar faces and lots of fun the rest of the week. Wednesday is the last day of school for the kids out here so let the Halloween Festivities BEGIN!!!! What are you doing this Halloween?

Happy Crafting,
Smalltown Mama

Calling for Crochet Testers!!!

First I would like to share 2 of my new crown patterns. These patterns will be ready for sale in my shops in a couple weeks. 

 These are the first crowns that I attempted. 

I am looking for Crochet Testers to test our my patterns before they are put up for sale. If you are interested in becoming a pattern tester for Smalltown Dreamz please Email me at smalltowndreamz@gmail.com. Subject pattern tester. Please include a little background of your crocheting skills and what sizes you are most likely to be working with.

 I have a Facebook Group set up for all my testers so that you can bounce things off each other or pick up tips and tricks along the way. I hope to hear from some of you soon. 

Happy Crafting

Tetris Week 2 of 16

We are through the first week of the Tetris Themed Crochet-A-Long. Sign up for the Crochet-A-Long is at the Smalltown Dreamz Facebook Events Page. Sign-up is for the people who are participating so they can get the pattern for free and to be included in a pattern help group where my testers and myself can help you if need be. This pattern was designed by me and will be available to everyone after the Crochet-A-Long for a small fee.

Here is my first weeks square. 

There is still plenty of time to catch up. Every Monday you will find a PDF file for that weeks square. Then we will share all our finished squares each week with everyone right here on the blog. You would be amazed at how different everyones squares look even though its the same pattern.

If you have any questions about the Crochet-A-Long please email me at smalltowndreamz@gmail.com


Happy Crafting!

Tetris Crochet-A-Long Week 1 of 16

The day is finally here!! It is kick off time fellow crocheters!!!!

This pattern is a private pattern that is being released for free only during this Crochet-A-Long and to the people that are participating in the event. 


The pattern will only be released to the individuals that sign up for the Crochet-A-long on the Smalltown Dreamz Facebook Events list. For those who sign-up I will be sending everyone  an invite to a special group that I made on Facebook in which every Monday a new section of the pattern will be released. 


In this group you will be able to ask questions if you get stuck or don't understand something. Myself or one of my helpers will be able to answer them for you plus you can interact with other participants.


Here is a quick link to the sign up page for the Crochet-A-Long. 


Also each week we will have a place where you can upload what you did the week before so that we can see everyone's individual work. 


Now doesn't this sound FUN!!!!! Make sure you spread the word to all your crocheting friends!!!




If you have any other questions please feel free to email me at smalltowndreamz@gmail.com

Happy Crocheting!!!!

Fun Upcoming Blog Events

I have some exciting news!!! Next month I will be joining along in my first quilt-a-long. There is no hiding that my family loves the classic video games. My first patterns that I started to design was  Mario Inspired Characters. Well Tetris would be another one of those beloved classics.



Melissa over at Happy Quilting is going to be running a Tetris Quilt-A-Long starting in mid July. You can find the link over in my blog hop buttons. I am so excited to be joining a long in this event. Like I said this will be my first quilt along, so I have to admit I am a bit nervous...... However that is not the only cool Tetris news I have to share.

Drum Roll Please........

I will also be holding my very first Crochet-A-Long Starting the first week of July. This Crochet-A-Long is going to be in the same Theme Tetris. Every week I will release a new section of the pattern. This will run as a 15 week event and will go as follows:


Week 1-12  each week we will make 1 -7 in by 7 in square for a total of 12 squares.
Weeks 13 & 14 we will work on the border edging and to finish catching up for anyone behind. 
Week 15 we will present our finished afghans in a Link-Up Gallery 


Also everyone that participates will receive the pattern for free as the sections are released. However if you do not participate then after the Crochet-A-Long you will then need to purchase the pattern in one of my shops. 


After the Crochet-A-Long is finished the links to the pattern will be deleted.


 I am very excited in doing both events. I know my family is excited to get both a quilted and a crocheted version of our beloved Tetris Game. If you would like to join in on the Tetris fun make sure you become a follower so that you can get updates when the first pattern will be released. 




I will be updating you on both events as they progress. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for this crochet along please email me at smalltowndreamz@gmail.com 


I will be releasing the rest of the details as we get closer to the start of the event!

Here is the Linky Button to share on your page. 

<a href="  http://smalltowndreamz.blogspot.com/p/blog-events-2012.html  " target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJz8_IZ8FraIkf1AtxGFB8wA-s7ufx4Uw81JiJRDcQDG1ow213MZI4JYccrWmVl14ap2BSRi3AqyTriEWMUU7A3YQ2Oo_9HT9cdn_yRFD7bBJRsCeJ77YM5sApIm3vUL7nepuBxWxj6MU/s320/tetrislogo1.png" alt="YSmalltowndreamz" width="143" height="200" /></a>

       Happy Crafting

Mario Inspired Goomba Crochet Pattern

I would like to present to you pattern number 4 in the Mario Inspired Character Collection. That's right it's Goomba!! Since my very first pattern my Husband has been asking for a Goomba. I knew I had to finish him by father's day since the quilt I am making for him would not be finished in time. It took me nearly 9 hours from the design table to the finished product.

 I had a lot of fun while creating this guy. The morning after I finished him my son woke up and his jaw dropped to the floor in sheer joy. I think he was as excited as my husband was when he saw the finished product. I actually have to say that out of all 4 of my patterns so far this one was my favorite to design and create. 


I wanted to share with you how this whole process starts in my head. I understand that it may not be the most conventional way but it works for me. What I did was designed my own graph in Photoshop. After I merged all the graph layers together, then I go through and color in the individual squares with the paint bucket tool, changing them until I get an image that I like. Since I know the size of the image I have figured out that this graph is just big enough for me to lay out the design of just the face and then I color in around it to get a better idea of what it looks like. If I have a pattern that is more detailed I put 4 of these graphs together to make a bigger graph. 

After I am finished with the graph process I count everything out and figure out where it would lay best as a pattern. This is where those years of math in high school and collage that I loved so much came in handy. There is a lot of counting involved in designing a pattern along with making sure that your colors all line up.

I was asked once why don't I make it easier on myself and just attach the face features with felt or some sort of fabric. The reason is due to my son being a bit  rough with almost everything. I would think that he would either peel them off or damage them somehow. I feel much better knowing the details are built right in. 

I always love to hear from my readers so please leave a comment and let me know what you think of this guy. 

This Pattern is for sale in my shops listed below.

ETSY Shop - Buy Now

Raverly Shop - Buy now

Craftsy Shop - Buy Now

     Happy Crafting,

Also make sure you check my sister blog KiKi Love Creations 

for all our great Father's Day Gift and Crafting Ideas!

Mushroom Pattern is officially on sale

Pattern Sale 30% Off

In celebration of our newest pattern being launched

All crochet patterns are 30% off through Sunday May 27th at Midnight.

Coupon Code - MUSHROOM

 

You can purchase this pattern at the following shops

ETSY - Buy Now           Ravelry - Buy Now

              Happy Crafting

Another Mario Pattern

Well I finished another mario pattern. I love the little mario mushrooms so it was only fitting to remake this and do my own pattern for it. This little mushroom was very easy to make. My family has asked me to continue and make the rest of the mario characters for them. So in between all my other projects I will sneak in some time to work on the rest of the characters.

 My mom fell in love with this little guy and has asked me to make her one so that she can travel with it on her vacations and she is going to take pictures of the mini mushroom on her ventures. I will share her photos from her traveling mini mushroom adventures as they go. I think its a nifty little idea that I might just have to do with my lil guy on our adventures.

Well anyway the pattern for this guy will go into testing this week and as soon as I get it back the pattern will be available in my ETSY Shop. If you are a follower and saw the bomb-omb post last week. That guy is supposed to be out of testing this week and the pattern will be posted in my shop following a good review from the testers.

On another note I am looking for more crochet testers for patterns that I will have coming up if you are interested please email me or contact me on my Facebook page for more information.



Happy Crafting!!

My very first crochet pattern

My husband and I grew up to love Mario so to my surprise our favorite past time character made a comeback just in time for my son to hop on the Mario train. I have to admit I was a little excited. Anyway my son loves to use his imagination and I will never be one to stop that. So I wanted to make him a couple Mario Items. So I made him a couple of the Mario mushrooms. He loved them. I used a free pattern for the mushrooms from amiamour.com and then all the sudden my Husband who I think is still a kid at heart asked me if I would make him the Mario bombomb. I sat there for a minute figured it couldn't be that hard and started from scratch.

This was my very first attempt at making my own pattern from looking at a box on our mario game at home. It took me a total of 8 hours but I finished it. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. The pattern will go into testing within the next couple weeks and then it will be available for a great price on my ETSY shop. If you end up purchasing the pattern I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I think it would be cool to make the whole Mario family for my boys lol.

POST UPDATE *** This pattern is now for sale in my ETSY shop found below or in on Ravelry buy now

Happy crafting!!