Sneak Peek

I thought I'd give you guys a sneak peek at some of the stuff that will go up in my shop this week. I've been a busy bee!

More after the jump!!

Tentacular!

Pepika is sailing the high seas with this octopus pattern

I love the animals of the sea. They are so beautiful and strange and different from us! As a biologist, this makes my gears turn. How about those tentacles? Tentacles can be used for motion, grasping, eating, feeling, and even smell! Can you imagine smelling with your fingers?

So we have established that tentacles are the ultimate appendage. Now how the heck to I crochet them? I searched around for inspiration and found a lot! Jellyfish, octopi, and squids have all made it to the yarn realm and I'm ready to get my hook going after looking at all these wiggly, squiggly, spiraled, dangly, prehensile wonders.

Bring your scuba suit and hit the jump for more tentacular goodness.

Crochet is Sexy and I Know It

Mademoiselle Mermaid knows what's what in fashion!

Crocheters: Have you ever heard "Oh, you crochet? You're such an old lady!" Well, I have. A lot! (And I'm only in my twenties) I don't let it get to me though, because I know the truth. Crochet is current! To prove my point, I have assembled some neon crochet creations. Neon is the hot new thing this year, so let's celebrate with our crochet hooks!

Put on some shades and hit the jump for some near-blindingly cool stuff.

'Ring in the Spring!

Find these pretty little gems at Nothing But String

Sometimes I get caught up in all the amigurumi that I love and forget all the other applications of crochet. I think I'll accessorize my spring wardrobe with some beautiful, detailed earrings! What a wonderful way to spruce up your look and sneak more crochet into your daily life. And, with most of the earrings in this post at under $25, you won't break the bank, either!

Hit the jump for some crochet bling!

Double Piglet, Double Apology Post

Check out this Guinea Pig Home Care blog and get yourself a pig!

1Funny makes us go "awwwwww"

Excuses, excuses, I know. I have been applying for jobs for the last couple weeks and I have been very neglectfulof the blog. I hope you're still reading! I'm going to put myself on a schedule of twice during the week and one big post on weekends. I'm still getting used to this whole blogger thing. The good news is I think I have a job lined up. Hopefully once I'm out of school (5 more weeks!) I'll be more available to crochet the day away!

THANK YOU for reading Yarnacles!

One Up!

This cute pink ball of destruction comes from Nerd Jerk

I'll admit it: I'm a huge nerd. I come from the era of Super Nintendo and honed my hand skills as a child hopping over barrels and running after mushrooms. What better way to celebrate video games than with crochet? Bring your favorite characters to life and they can serve as mascots for your favorite game! I would certainly love to have any of these awesome video-game-inspired crochet pieces to cheer me on (I said I was a nerd, I didn't say I was acutally any good at playing...).

Hit the jump for some digital-meets-crochet goodness. Warning: it's pretty heavy on the old school Nindtendo, so sue me ;)

Book Review: 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects, and Ideas

Purchase it here on Amazon

I am a self-taught crocheter, and therefore I have a special attachment to crochet books. I have been through a lot of them. Some good, some bad, some boring, some inspiring, some simple, some indecipherable. 201 Crochet Motifs, Blocks, Projects and Ideas by Melody Griffiths (2007, CICO Books, New York) is one of the best. It has tons of basic shapes, quilt squares, flowers, motifs, even the whole alphabet! And if you have so much inspiration in your head at once you can't even get started, there is a chapter of project ideas that utilize patterns from throughout the book.

To simplify things, here are my top ten favorite things about this book:

1. "201" isn't just a number made up by some ad man! Your fingers will fall off before you run out of things to do in this book.
2. Multiple uses suggested for patterns in the projects section. You get endless possibilities!
3. Easy-to-read patterns and instructions with relevant glossaries on the same page as the patterns. Easy to find and simple.
4. Pattern diagrams. I'm a visual learner, so having the diagram along with the words of the pattern is wonderful! Especially with some of the more complex patterns.
5. A range of difficulty among the patterns. From a 5-minute flower to an all-weekend project, I can always find something to fit my needs.
6. Its value as a reference. "Gee, I'd really like to make a pattern for a ______. How do I make the basic shapes I need?" Look it up in this book, it has any shape you could want!
7. Multiple techniques and stitches used. Can you crochet in a bow? I can now!
8. Variety of flowers. Flat, three dimensional, tiny, huge, doily-style, flashy, a flower for every project!
9.  Really nice index. I know this sounds boring, but I can't stress this enough. How am I supposed to find anything if your book has no index?
10. Beautiful stitch guide. Need a refresher on the bobble stitch? Check out the slick illustrated stitch guide!

Here are the top ten things I dislike:

1. No amigurumi. I guess no one can be perfect.
2. Relative difficulty of the patterns is not indicated--you can get in over your head!
3. Too awesome
4. ....Nope, that's it. I love this book.

Size Matters

 I love these itty bitty hearts from Eljuks

 Tininess: the final frontier. I say the bittier the better! Tiny crochet projects demonstrate skill and dedication and the results are incredible. The smaller something is, the cuter it is--it's scientific! (Check out this post for more info). By this metric, some of the crochet pieces in this post are beyond adorable!

I order you to hit the jump and check out the miniscul-ity!

Chompers!

My days in dental school are coming to an end and it makes me want to crochet up some teeth! Here are some fun patterns I found wandering around on Etsy:

This tooth, paste, and brush have some great goofy eyes!
They can be found at Lilik Sha

I haven't yet seen a tooth with a flower in its hair!
This tooth is all decked out at Bianca's Touch

Diane Langan Crochet has this adorable tooth scarf!

One Pill Makes You Larger...

I made this bun about a year ago.
One of my favorites!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Brunch and candy followed by a week of egg salad? Genius! Even though the holiday is over, we shouldn't just forget about our lop-eared friends.

So put on some Jefferson Airplane and hit the jump for some hoppin' good photos.

Crochet: Not Just Hats and Scarves

What's a monokini? Find out at My Crochet Treasures

Well summer is creeping around the corner and I need to update my wardrobe! I was just starting to lament giving up my cozy hats, scarves, ear warmers, and mittens when I remembered--crochet apparel isn't just for winter! I don't think I have the courage for the bathing suit above, but there are tons of other ways to sneak some crochet into your summer duds.

As a dress...

Feel that summer breeze in this dress from Love Petals

Or a sun hat...

Floppy hats save you from eyestrain at the beach :)
This one is from zell06

Or even on your feet!

Beautiful sandals from Yamgur Shop

Flamingo Shlamingo!

This bright pink peeper is a hair clip. Find him at Happy Hair Day

Who says flamingos get all the glory? I think there are tons of other pink birds out there that need their own spotlight. Bright and vibrant and totally crocheted!

Hit the jump to give those long-legged show-stealers a run for their money!

Make Like a Crocheter and Leaf!

Gotta love that green! These leaves are from Studio Karma Pattern

My favorite part of April is all the plants greening up after the long winter! I also think leaves make an excellent accent to floral crochet projects. A simple little touch of green can really add polish and contrast to your flowers!

Hit the jump for some leafy goodness

Tutorial Tuesday-on-a-Saturday: Pack it up!

All the materials you need to pack your furry crochet friends!

 Recently I was faced with a conundrum: how to ship the Grim Reaper! He was snapped up from my Etsy store this week and I was totally unsure how to pack him up. Usually I ship my amigurumi and other crochet projects in padded envelopes since stuffed projects tend to stand up pretty well in them and they are relatively inexpensive to ship compared to boxes. But the Grim Reaper has a scythe made of Sculpey and I was afraid that it would break in the mail.

But I had a flash of inspiration: Mailing tube! Just cut it down to fit your project and send it off in safety (without upping your shipping cost!).

Hit the jump for detailed instructions

Crochet Party!

I got my friends together and infected them with
amigurumi addiction!

I like to spread my crochet obsession to others. What could make me happier than having more people with which to trade tips, tricks, and inspiration? Thus, I developed a little crochet kit for beginning crocheters to learn amigurumi. Last Sunday, me and a couple of my friends took it for a test drive.

My good friend Misha co-hosted and cooked up a ton of Southern food and tasty drinks. I brought crochet kits to make a little amigurumi lion named Leandro. We had a range of crochet experience and abilities among the guests, but everyone went home with a partially-complete lion and a smile on their face!

Each kit had everything you need to make Leandro!

Look at the joy crocheting brings!

My co-host, Misha (a.k.a. @sexytoothfixer)

Bwah-ha-ha now they're all addicted!

I hope to sell the kits some day online with a detailed guide so more people can learn. Stay tuned!

Apology-Pig-of-the-Week

This felted cutie comes to us from Mini Feet

Ok, my week got away from me again. I swear it won't happen again! Please take this piglet as a token of my apology. May the smile on your face erase your week of bloglessness.

And now for another weekend post-splosion!

April Showers

Nothing like a hot cup o' joe on a rainy day.
Keep it warm at The Cozy Project

I never really got that old nursery rhyme--"rain, rain go away." I love the rain! May flowers might be easier to find in the crochet world, but I think the April showers deserve a little love too. 

Purely fun to fully functional, there's a storm brewing after the jump!

How to Knit in Five Easy Steps

Learn about the "Zen of Knitting" over at PsychCentral

Step 1: Pick out some absolutely adorable knitting needles.

Step 2: Knitting is really just two stitches--knit and purl--which are the opposite of one another, like integrals and derivatives in calculus. So to start out we're going to multiply X by the power of your yarn. Got it? Good.

Step 3: Now we're going to learn to "cast on." Make some loopy bits around your needle.

Step 4: Next we will learn to cable. This requires another needle and three or four more pairs of hands.

Step 5: Knit, purl, knit, knit, purl... oh you get the idea. Now cast off!

APRIL FOOLS!

I have absolutely no idea how to knit.

If you're still stuck on Step 1 like me, hit the jump for some undeniably awesome knitting needles.