Crocodile Stitch Statement Necklace

I have been seeing this crocodile crochet stitch everywhere! I love the way that it looks, it reminds me of dragon scales (other people say fish scales or flower petals, but that's not nearly as much fun as dragon scales). One of my favourite occurences of this stitch is in Dainty Loops Etsy shop- she makes necklaces like this one that are smaller and more delicate and absolutely stunning. I've been wanting to try making my own for a long while. Mine turned out bigger (statement sized) because I used size 4 worsted weight yarn- not exactly your most chic and delicate kind, rather closer to the opposite. But it was what I had lying around, and this morning I decided it was time to learn this stitch. So a few mock ups, rip-aparts, grumbles and adaptations later, I had this chunky and delightful new piece to wear.

I'd love to share the pattern, but...
a) I don't know how to explain exactly what I did,
b) It is practically impossible to find written out instructions for this stitch online, and
c) I don't want to step on Dainty Loops toes.

So here's what I do have for you.

If you want a necklace like this of your own, please visit Dainty Loops Etsy shop here: Dainty Loops on Etsy where you'll find tons of different colours and other amazing crocheted wonders.

If you want to try this stitch out for yourself and play with it, these were the resources that I used:
- Teresa's video on her Art of Crochet blog
- Jennifer's Crocodile Stitch 2 part video on YouTube: Part 1 and Part 2

I'd love to hear about your experiences trying it out, or even if you just love things created with this stitch :)

*Maria

Crochet Rainbow Fingerless Gloves - Free Pattern

Last night I decided that it was time for another pair of fingerless gloves, or armwarmers, or gauntlets... Every now and then you have to make something just for you- it's kind of like an insurance policy against losing interest in your favourite crafts. If I'm constantly making things for other people it can start to feel like only work, and the last thing a creative entrepreneur needs is to get sick of the things you want to make for a living. You also need to try stuff out to see if it might become a new item in your shop :)

I've always had issues with fingerless gloves- I have very small wrists so sometimes things that I buy are too big, and things that I make for myself are too small for others. These fingerless gloves measure about 8" in circumference at their narrowest point around the wrist. If you follow this free pattern look for the stars that mark the places where I decrease to get this wrist size. You may choose to include the decrease or not- the nice thing about this pattern is that it's pretty intuitive, and you can try these on as you're creating them and alter them as you think you need to. The decreases occur around the thumb as it connects to the wrist. There is also a portion of the pattern that includes increases as your arm gets wider. Again, these can be included or not- just judge based on how the glove fits you as you proceed.

Alright! Here we go!

Striped (Rainbow) Fingerless Gloves

Supplies:
-at least 2 balls (contrasting colours) of size 4 medium worsted weight yarn (I've used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in 6 colours, 3.5 oz (100 g), 170 yards (156 m) )
-size I (size 9 or 5.5mm) crochet hook
-scissors
-darning needle

*Colour change tip: When I change colours, I yarn over with both threads and complete the stitch with only the new thread. Holding on to the old colour and the tail of the new colour, crochet underneath those two threads and complete the stitch above those two colours. This way, the yarn gets woven into the back of the stitch and saves you from having to weave in the ends when you are finished the glove.

Ch 26, join with slst to first ch.
Round 1: Ch 1, sc 26. Add marker if you like to see precisely where the round begins/ends, because you will now work in the round (no more slst to the beginning of the round, you'll just continue with sc)
Round 2: Sc 26.
Round 3-5: Repeat round 2.
Round 6: Sc in next 2 sts, ch 7, skip 2 sts and sc in 3rd and every st until end of round.
Round 7-8: Sc

Round 9: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 10: Sc
Round 11: Sc2tog twice*, sc in next 6 sts, sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round.
Round 12: Sc
Round 13: Sc2tog twice*, sc in next 3 sts, sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round.
Round 14: Sc
Round 15: Sc2tog twice*, sc rest of round
Round 16: Sc

Round 17: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 18-23: Sc
Round 24: (Sc in next 5 sts, 2sc in next st*) repeat to end of round.
Round 25: Sc

Round 26: Change colour, sc in back loop only or whole round.
Round 27: Sc
Round 28: (Sc 7, 2sc in next st*) repeat once, then sc to end of round.
Round 29-33: Sc

Round 34: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 35-40: Sc

Round 41: Change colour, sc in back loop only for whole round.
Round 42-47: Sc

You can make the last colour longer if you like, but these ones reach about a half inch below my elbow, and I have long arms. If you try out this pattern I'd love to hear how it goes! Please let me know if you share it, or leave a link if you blog about a pair you tried out! If it works out nicely for you and you want to sell them, please credit my blog with the pattern.

Happy crafting!

*Maria

Creating Creativity

These last couple of days I've been getting some spring cleaning done, crocheting Beastly Baby Booties, and to be perfectly honest, have been racking my brain about getting a post up on this blog. I refuse to post something just for the sake of posting something. While I'll quickly admit that I'm still developing a sense of direction with this blog, I do try to post things that my readers will enjoy, that will make you think, or that will bring something positive to your day. And of course I always love to let you all know what sort of creations I'm working on for the February Jones shop.

Yesterday I met some of my girlfriends for a Crafternoon (I'll share some photos of the next one that we have)- I brought some crochet projects, Gillian was working on her wedding invitations, and Faren was working on some fashion concepts for an international design competition that she's entering. While I was drooling over her sketches, I remembered how much I used to draw and create collages and that sort of thing. Why did I stop? Why don't I use those sorts of techniques to design my jewelry? I was stumped, and when I got home I spent a long time sifting through useless search results online looking for some sort of direction about drawing out jewelry designs. I found some videos and images of people designing their own jewelry, most of which was for setting stones or the kind of work that I just don't do. 

What I did discover was that no one can show you how to draw your own designs, and no can tell you how to apply your own inspiration. (I know I know- pretty obvious... but sometimes you just want the easy way out, right?) 

So I got to work. I grabbed my Crayola and Mr Sketch markers, my pencil crayons, my coloured pens, and my sketching pencils. I picked up a book to read that I hadn't delved into in a few years confident that when inspiration struck I'd be ready. I had no idea what would end up on paper, but realized that if you over-think things, you'll just get stuck. So if you're having trouble recording your ideas, stop trying so hard and remember that it doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to get out, and every idea needs some breathing room to thrive so don't be surprised if you notice things evolving as you play around with them.

Do any of you have any suggestions for getting your ideas out and recording them? Any favourite methods, or things that always work for you or never do? I'd love to hear them as I build up my repertoire of options :)

*Maria

Custom Deoxy Replication Necklace and Clone's Earrings

I missed posting on the last 2 days (still working on that post-a-day challenge for this month!) so I thought I'd share some of what I've been up to. A family friend named Christina is visiting from Switzerland and did some February Jones shopping while I was getting ready for the show that I did on Saturday morning. Happy day for me- she bought lots of great stuff to bring home as gifts for friends. Among her purchases was a custom order for a Deoxy Replication Necklace and matching Clone's Earrings. She went with a mystical looking blue/purple/green blend of glass seed beads. I have so many colours to choose from, it can sometimes be overwhelming, but I absolutely love to see the choices of others when they want a custom piece. Here's the finished product!

Custom Deoxy Replication Necklace

Custom Deoxy Clone's Earrings

This set and some other great picks will be heading back to Switzerland tonight!

*Maria

Handmade Jewelry Show and Sale

This Saturday, March 12 (tomorrow) I'll be attending a handmade jewelry show at a very cool coffee house called the Kava Bean Commons in downtown Kitchener. It's right down the road from the bus station,  at 24 Gaukel St. I love local businesses that support the handmade community, and this will the first show of this sort that I've attended. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you! Even if you're just grabbing a coffee and stopping to say hi. Check out some of the artists who will be attending from the list below :)

 Cobbled Stone - cobbledstone.etsy.com

February Jones - februaryjones.etsy.com

Sugar Accessories - www.sugaraccessories.com

Rawkette Jewellery - www.etsy.com/shop/Rawkette

Les-is-more by Lesley Lang

Dazzling Designs by Jennifer Hagen

Scribbles Boutique by Sara McAuley

*Maria

Stay in Touch

Social media has revolutionized the way that we all interact with one another. Do you remember the last time that you sent someone a letter or spent an hour on a real (without the help of a system like Skype) long-distance phone call catching up with a friend who moved? Social media forms like Facebook and Twitter let us stay in touch instantly, which is wonderful, but sometimes I still the personal connection that less efficient and more expensive methods seemed to offer. You might argue that photos and videos and status updates are personal, and you're right, but they become even more personal when I'm talking on the phone with a friend and we discuss what we've been seeing on Facebook, or get into the details of certain status updates.

I'd like to share with you an awesome idea that my cousin Rachel brought to the table a few years ago. We are members of a very large family (our parents are 2 siblings in a family of 20 children) that is spread out all over Canada. We don't get to see each other very often, but keep track of everyone's 'going's on' through Facebook. To allow us to share things in a different way, Rachel proposed A Book.

It's a journal that we are allowed to keep for 2 weeks and fill with whatever we want- photos, postcard snippets, collages of old magazines and newspapers, doodles, etc. The front of the book contains the mailing addresses of 5 female cousins (I'm in Ontario, Janie and Alyssa are in Saskatchewan, Rachel and Amanda are in British Columbia) and after our 2 week session is up, we mail The Book along to the next cousin in line to receive it, and the cycle continues. We share advice, stories, tales of woe, frustration, sadness, victory, changes, and life in general. This can be done for family members, close friends who have moved away from each other, groups of people who met for a shared experience and then went along their own separate paths again, anything you can think of! It's a wonderful way to share more and develop a stronger sense of connection than online social media can provide.

Talk to any kind of circle of friends that you have and give it a try! You'll need:
- a notebook of some kind
- creative implements like markers, coloured pens, etc to help your imagination run free
- regular visits to the post office
- an open mind and willingness to create

Do any of you already do something like this? If so, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

*Maria

Beastly Baby Booties

I've been working on Beastly Baby Booties for a while now, but for the longest time I could only make them in one size, somewhere in the range of a size 0 - 1/2 which would fit a newborn to a 3 or 4 month old baby. These booties get such a big response whenever people see them, basically they are such a high degree of adorable that people gush over them- even if they don't have and never will have a child. At the end of this month I will be vending at the Kitchener-Waterloo Mom Show and Craft Show, so I invested some time in designing larger sizes of these cute showstoppers and increasing the stock that I have available. I'd like to share with you a sneak peek at what I've got going so far, the following photos are all of booties in the smallest size, 0-1/2. Don't be embarrassed if a little "Awwwwww!" escapes from your mouth ;)

 

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I will probably list some on Etsy either after the show at the end of March, or a little sooner if I find that making more of these becomes addicting and I just cant stop! Sizes that will be available are 0-1/2 (3" long sole), 1-2 (4" long sole), and 3-4 (5" long sole). If you're interested and aren't local enough to make it to the show, feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post or to get in touch with me through the February Jones Facebook Fanpage or my February Jones Etsy Shop.

*Maria