A Yarntastic Life!
As most of you know, I do not sell very many items I create because I always want to make gifts for my family. Last week I decided to take a few custom orders. The first order was for this 3-6 month crochet Yoda hat. A friend of mine from Knot Your Nana's Crochet had already made a Yoda hat pattern but its for child size. So if you need a larger size, be sure to check hers out! Also available is my own Adult Size Yoda Hat Pattern!! Now get hookin'!!
A couple days ago I found a beautiful free crochet pattern for a Cross Bangle designed by the Crochet Chiq. I knew right away that I wanted to make some bookmarks with her crochet pattern. For the last year I have searched countless times for the ideal cross to use as a bookmark. There are so many already out there to choose from but none of them were really my style or calling out my name. Thank you so much Crochet Chiq for designing this and sharing it with all of us!
I used crochet thread and a 1.9 mm crochet hook.
Check out this awesome FREE crochet pattern for a 12 point star. When finding this pattern in The Yarn Box, I knew I had no choice but to try it out! What I didn't realize was that this thing is HUGE! I love it!! I still wish I had a mini hand sized one though- so I may just have to create a pattern for one. 😀 I would love to make about 10 of these in all different sizes and hang them from one of my children's bedroom ceilings. The greatest thing about this Thingymajigger is that it is great for everyone! All ages!
I did have a few moments while following this pattern when I became a little lost…. but I wasn't going to give up! NEVER give up! Happy Hooking!
While I was designing my last free ear warmer crochet pattern, Forever Tiffani, a friend of mine requested I make her an ear warmer also. She liked the simple but unique style of the Forever Tiffani but wasn't too fond of the bulky knot at the top or the fact that she would have to fold the piece before putting it onto her head. So with her help, I present to you…… ***drum roll please***….. The Turban for Miss Happy! Miss Happy is perfect for everyone! It's thick and warm but it's not bulky! It's so easy to make and it's stylish and unique! The person wearing the ear warmer will NOT need to fold the item at all to get this folded look— Making this my favorite free crochet turban ear warmer pattern EVER!
The Forever Tiffani crochet ear warmer pattern was inspired by my beautiful cousin Tiffani. A few days ago, Tiffani posted a picture on Facebook of a cute ear warmer she wanted me to make her. I quickly replied to her “This is knitted!” 😉 The ear warmer she had in mind was very unique and attractive- so I wanted to do my best to apply those qualities when designing this yarntastic free crochet pattern.
To make this ear warmer you will only need one skein of Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand. It is medium weight yarn. I used both ends of the skein at once to make it double stranded. If you have problems using both ends of a yarn skein– I would suggest using two skeins. Happy hooking!
Today I have been searching for the perfect crochet heart. I wanted to find something that would be a cute gift for young children and also work great as an applique on a crochet item.
After searching the web far and wide, I found 5 patterns that were so adorable, I had to try them all out. Each of these 5 free crochet heart patterns are unique from one another and all have good qualities– just some more than others 🙂
Once a week, a few members of my family and I meet up for a Bible study. It never fails, I always forget my highlighter and pen. This week, I had an *aaaah* moment when I realized I could design something to attach to my Bible that could hold and store my highlighter. Eliminating my problem of not knowing what to do with my highlighter when its not in use. I present to you “Penzy”– A FREE crochet pattern for a highlighter/Pen holder for books. Penzy has an adjustable strap making it perfect for all books no matter the size!
My daughter Ella, and my niece, Sara, share a birthday on January 11th. My niece is having a Hello Kitty themed party so I decided to have a go at a Hello Kitty inspired head band. To be honest, I am not 100% thrilled with this headband but maybe the next one will be even better! Either way, my daughter LOVES it! This free crochet pattern for a one size fits most headband is brought to you by- Stitch11!
When giving handmade Christmas gifts, it's always fun to try to give some family a few laughs with their gift. A few in the family will be getting a toboggan but someone will also be getting a BEARD!! I found the FREE Beard pattern through Busting Stitches. I love it! I am planning on making many more beards in my crochet future. Hope you love my Toboggan for MEN free pattern! Hook on!
While staring at my yarn trying to think of more Christmas present ideas… I came up with the neon color theme for my Child Size Sock Monkey Hat Pattern. But I didn't want to just do braids, not when I can make pom poms! So I combined the monkey pattern with my Curly Q pattern. And this is what I came up with. 😀 Enjoy this YARNTASTIC free crochet pattern made by me, Stitch11.
I have to share this with all of you crochet lovers, because you are all awesome!
For my 27th birthday, my totally flippin awesome friend, Andrea, bought be an Art Bin Yarn Drum!! This is the greatest bag for not only traveling, but also for around the house. These babies hold enough yarn for an entire queen size blanket and maybe more! It comes with a little bag for your hooks and supplies. It has two carrying options, by handle or by the shoulder strap. The top of the bag gives you easy access to your yarn with avoiding all tangle messes!
My daughter, Ella, is just under two. She always has sticky fingers and is always trying to get tangled up in my yarn. It has become a game for her. But for some reason, she knows to stay out of this bag. Lets just hope it stays that way! I would highly recommend this bag to all of my crochet buddies!
I was very pleased and surprised at how quickly I received my Sharp Crochet Hook. As soon as I opened the light weight package, I noticed it even included some GREAT patterns to help me get started. Not only did they come with the hook. But you can also find them on the Sharp Crochet Hook website.
Next, I wanted to test out how strong the hook was. So, I grabbed a welders sleeve (my husband is a fabricator) And worked a simple SC around the sleeve with the hook. And of coarse I unraveled it before he could see it, I do not think he would want to wear ruffles to work. 😉
Since the Sharp Crochet Hook worked so easy into the welders sleeve, I knew I had many options of what I could create first. I really really really want to make my daughter, Ella, and I both aprons and decorate the edges with pretty yarn using the Sharp Crochet hook. BUT I really do not like sewing so I will wait until I find a good deal on some already made (or beg my sis to help me make them ;)) Next up on the list was to crochet edging on my daughters pillow case to match her V stitch blanket I made her. 😀 And it worked up beautiful!
The Sharp Crochet Hook is a very small hook…. but I was still able to use simply soft with ease. I also tested out sport weight yarn with it and it worked great!! I would still like to try using some crochet thread when using it 🙂 Maybe for those aprons! I will let you all know how it works out for me. I would highly recommend the Sharp Crochet Hook to anyone who crochets and likes to try new things, and also anyone who plans on using any type of fabric with their crochet skills.
You can find the Sharp Crochet Hook Here
Also, be sure to check it out on Facebook!
Crochet bloggers have come together to bring you a selection of Halloween patterns. I will be adding more to this list at a later date. Enjoy these haunting stitches!
With Halloween coming up my mind has been thinking up costume ideas. This is one of the simpler designs that I have been storing in my head. Luckily, after making the eye patch, both of my nieces said they wanted to be girl pirates. (But we all know how many times kids change their minds lol) This free crochet pattern is designed for a child but could easily be modified for a toddler or an adult.
I have listed all my free patterns on Ravelry! Check it out!
I have seen so many people asking others where they should sell items online. I have listed the top 7 ways to sell online. There is something for everyone!!
Etsy is the #1 place for selling yarntastic creations. But we all know its nice to have options. The more market sites you sell through, the more your name is floating around the world wide web, and the more you will sell.
There are no membership fees with Etsy. It only costs $0.20 to list an item for 4 months, or until it sells. Once you sell your item, Etsy will collect a 3.5% fee on the sale price. Fees for listings and transactions will be on your monthly Etsy bill. At the end of each month Etsy will add up all your fees, and email your monthly stat.
If you have items that fall into one of these categories: Accessories, Clothing, Health & Beauty, Home, Jewelry, Shoes or Handbags; then Copious is for you! The site is very simple and easy to learn. Not only for the seller but also the buyer.
There are no listings fees, so it is free to post. When an item sells, you will pay 3.5% for the transaction.
Copious is a social marketplace, so grow your community(using other network sites like Facebook) to sell the things you create.
Tab Juice is a 100% free, sales and social media application that allows businesses to offer their fans an all-in-tab shopping experience directly on their Facebook business page. This app seems perfect for just about anyone!
“Have more fun selling online. Give your site a design unique to your style. With just a few clicks your shop is branded, launched, and you're in business.” Currently with Artfire your first 14 days free! Then your store is $12.95/month.
If you are new at selling, and depending on how many items you can sell through this site, this site might not be for you.
Ebay, Ebay, Ebay. They are partially responsible for starting the online wave of selling things from home. We can stay inside the home and sell our handmade items while drinking our morning coffee. Founded in 1995, eBay connects a diverse and passionate community of buyers and sellers, as well as small businesses. In 2011, the total value of goods sold on eBay was $68.6 billion — more than $2,100 every second. While searching for prices to use ebay I found this nifty ebay calculator.
With Craftisarts, as a Basic Seller, you would Pay-As-You-Go. The commission fee would be 5.5% of your final selling price. When you reach the limit of items you can list in your account for free, you need to add credit to your account to continue listing for free. Regardless of how many active items you currently have in your account, even if you delete items, every item added counts as a listed item.
Or with the premium sign up you can list as many items as you would like, but you would pay $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
There's an inital set-up fee of $10 (unless you sign up during their penny promotion, then only a penny) then $5 per month after that.The $5 payment will unlock your stocking page for a month from the date that you pay. If payment lapses, your in-stock store will still be visible to your customers for two months, but you'll be unable to add or edit items to the database but then you can pick up the payments again at any time.
Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel is a fun way to earn rewards for shopping. Nielsen sends their panelists a scanner that is used to scan in groceries purchased. Nielsen uses the information to learn more about the shopping habits of Americans. The great thing about Nielsen is it is absolutely free to sign up and if at any time you change your mind, you can send the scanner back at no cost to you!
If you want to be involved just follow the link here or click their banner below
After 8 years of waiting to pee on a stick and see 2 pink lines, I had given up hope of the idea of being a mom who has the option to stay home. Then on Mothers day of 2010 I finally had a positive pregnancy test. One of the first things that came to my mind was how I wanted to be home with my baby. I didn't want to miss a thing. One week after finding out I had a bun in the oven, I gave my boss a 2 weeks notice. With how long it took me to get pregnant.. I didn't want the risk of a stress to ruin my chances of a healthy baby. I think I was the most paranoid pregnant person anyone could ever meet!
It didn't take long before my husband and I had “The Talk.” We both knew I wouldn't be able to stay home forever, but we both also didn't want to leave our daughter (Ella, born on 1-11-11 @ 8lbs 6oz <3) at a daycare until she could at least talk and let us know how people treat her.
I quickly started looking for jobs through www.wahadventures.com and I found the best wah job for me *at the time*. I was able to choose my own hours and work whenever I wanted.. averaging 10-12 dollars an hour for doing the simplest work. It sounds so easy right? It was so easy… to put work off! “I can do it later.” Until eventually I lost the job. Panic rushed through me.
So then I decided that maybe I needed to do something I enjoyed. Like graphic art! I actually still really enjoy graphic art but I have been *trying to design for a year now and im not skilled enough to make a real income with it. Or any income with it.
Christmas of 2011 came and I decided I wanted to give crochet a try. I looked up all the basics and watched video after video until I felt confident enough in myself to be able tell my husband what I wanted for Christmas. He laughed at me as if he didn't think I would ever be able to figure out. Baha! After 2 months of teaching myself how to crochet, I decided to start writing out my crochet patterns. So why not start a blog?! And also another big “THANKS!!” to www.wahadventures.com for her “Blogging 101 series!”
This blog, stitch11, is a place I like to share my crochet arts with the world, all while teaching them how to do exactly the same thing, and with no charge. I am actually starting to make some money through ads and affiliate programs, but not yet enough to call my income. I have about another year until I would like to know I have a steady income through my blog, and luckily, it's growing faster than I could ever have imagined! I have found my passion, my passion to stay home with my daughter. And with a little yarn and hook, I am making that happen!
