winner and q&a

i first need to apologize for not coming back monday when i promised. From the bottom of my fuzzy crochet heart i am so sorry. I was feeling a bit under the weather these past few days after i decided to get the flu shot. :( i don't mind needles. i just always seem to get sick after i get the shot. They say it doesn't happen but i got something so here i am today with just a minor throat ache and thankfully mr.handsome took a day off to help me recover :) I should've let him try to answer the following questions for me, that would've been funny lol!

okay... onto some good happy news!
drum roll please....
(insert awesome drum roll...I'm rockin' the drums here for you- hehee)

our lovely doily ring winner is Valerie
congrats Valerie! please e-mail me at belladrummer @gmail.com with your post address so I can send out your ring to you soon!

Valerie said...
I would love to learn how to crochet :) How did you learn? Is there a book that you can recommend?
All of your crochet creations are so lovely! I love your little ring :)

At first I started off paying for classes at my local community center. I was kind of learning at the same pace as a 4th grader and although they are smart little kids I was kind of wanting a little more from the class and ended up learning at my own pace by going on YouTube and searching for crochet how-to video's. Every week i'd show up to class with more advanced stitches etc and blew through the kiddie corner in no time :) It was then I took it upon myself after the class ended and never signed up for another one since. I just like to crochet. And the internet has a whole lot of good & free resources for that. I love free :) And honestly YouTube video's helped so much since I'm a visual learner anyway ( that's also how I learned to rock the drums) and the rewind feature on the videos is pretty awesome. I always felt like i annoyed my teacher at the community center asking her to repeat stitches for me again and again. I have no shame ;P And as for books Mr.handsome bought me my first book: beyond the square crochet motifs, i had seen several crafty blogs mention this wonderful book and I LOVE it. I think I will try to make a few each week and share them here in 2011 :)

and a couple more Q&A's from lovelies:

Knoopjes said...
Oh yes, sewing, I have a machine, but I really need to learn some basic skills on it.
And I need to learn to finish something before starting something new... *sigh* ;)

Great ring, if I don't win I hope you will post a pattern!
Happy weekend!

sure indeed :) I found this Ring Around The Rosy crochet pattern on Crochet Today! but to tell you the truth the actual ring I made is from a motif from a vintage table runner I simply took apart. So the intricate doily was already done and I only added the ring part for the finishing touch :) But hopefully i too can try to make one from scratch and I will let you know how that goes :)

Vanessa said...
there is so much I want to learn in 2011! First thing is learning how to read crochet and knitting patterns better. They are really intimidating to me, I can make things if someone teaches me, but I would like to be able to read and translate myself.

I do have a question, doesn't thrifted yarn creep you out? Do you wash it? I have found tons of yarn at thrift stores but I have never bought any cos I am afraid it will be gross or smell.

HAHAAAHAA! ahhhh... yes, thrifted yarn. I mean WHAT is that smell right?! holy moly i have met some that have stains on them it's just disgusting. but there are a few i have found at a local church thrift shop that look loved. Those are the ones i really only buy. They have to still have the label on them, no stains no icky anything on them and they also have to be a pretty awesome color. As most are. I love the mustard yellows and mossy greens. Honestly sometimes you can't find that kind of color anywhere so I go for it. Once i take the yarn home i air it out, undo the entire roll, then create a ball of it. it seems to do the trick. And a heck of a lot of febreeze. I wont wash it until i've added it to a project and after the first washing there is never a problem :)

Serena said...
I want to learn not to get discouraged and sad about the trials and stresses of our current situation of where we live - the heat, the flies, the isolation, the lack of regular fresh fruit and vegies as well as all the other things I am used to having on a regular basis. To be positive around my kids about this experience and opportunity, and of course to try and be a better mum, wife etc - we will have 3 kids by early January so trying to juggle them and count my blessings.


i love this. yes indeed. happy blessings to you and your sweet family *xoxo*

cindy said...
I want to learn to crochet granny squares. ALso I want to start an art journal. Fingers crossed that both of these come to be in 2011!

you know that once you start one granny square you will never stop. you will memorize the pattern without even thinking about it and it's just SO addicting :) good times ** on a side note, i have another class in the works and it has more of an art journal flare to it. I want to teach it mid january and am hoping it really starts off 2011 on a high note :) I will share more info about that later * smiles*

update on life around here:
so mona is away having an awesome spa treatment( full body camera cleaning, poor thing, she's been with me for over 4 years now and has never been cleaned) until next week. when she comes back i want to get her new glasses too ( hunting for a new lens :) just to surprise her... so pictures are going to be from my iphone in the mean time. oh joy. i was kind of hoping to put it off until next year but now i get to start the year with a clean happy mona. and that is priceless.

I've got another shop update coming up and without pictures i'm kind of clueless... but we will make it work!

i made a crochet garland over the weekend i'm dying to show you. i think it's pretty fun and quirky looking. i made it using the left overs from the extraordinary dottie angel blanket and it's just so pretty to look at. hopefully it will fit in with the holiday decor around here and my studio corner for the rest of the year. i love stuff you can keep around forever :)

i picked up some vintage ornaments while thrifting and i'm super excited to share our december edition of our R wall.
- new paint color for the wall( had to pinky promise mr.handsome i would not change the color ever again. good grief why did i do that for?! pressure. big time)
- new frames from ikea
- red + glitter = joy all around

so much to do... so little time :)

hope you are having a sweet week so far.
happy hugs to you,
xo
-d