JUST KIDDING. I'm back.

Hello all! It's been a while. A long while. I might be a little awkward at this at first, because it's been almost 3 years since I last truly blogged. And it's been almost 3 years since I updated this blog.

Truth be told, I didn't even plan on revitalizing this blog. But today by chance, I meant to look up Gmail and accidentally Googled my e-mail address instead. Doing that brought up this blog and I decided to take a look again. As I read my About Me section, I realized what a passion I once had and longed to have it back. I wanted to share the things I made with everyone again. I wanted to find my purpose again.

A LOT has happened since I last posted. I cut my hair, had a kid, cut my hair again, dyed my hair, got pregnant, miscarried, got pregnant again, had a mental breakdown and buzzed my head Britney Spears style, had another kid, dyed my hair, then cut it again, and now we are here. Would you believe that I've been trying to grow my hair out since then?

The most recent picture of us. Chase is holding Liam, and Michael is sitting next to me.

I did a LOT the year my oldest was born, but got a little burnt out since then! Once I got pregnant with my second, I was just SO EXHAUSTED. I barely had energy to do anything. And now since becoming a mom of two, I've been so ridiculously busy that the only time I have to crochet, sew, knit, or ANYTHING is after the kids have gone to bed! Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my life would be like this in 3 short years.

And while I LOVE my children with all my heart, I do miss having that purpose. That passion. A passion for something that doesn't make me lose faith in humanity. (I've gotten into veganism and feminism, so you can imagine I've become a lot more cynical since I first started the blog haha) I miss it. My husband misses it. My children probably don't miss it, since they never knew I was that way to begin with. Motherhood and life has just consumed me, and I want myself back.

So starting next week, I will create. I will make everything I can. I will find that passion again. And I will share it with all of you. I've become a pro at crocheting, (at least I think so) so I have lots of projects to share with you on that! I made a business out of it there for a while. I'll share those older projects over the next few weeks, and then get into my regular stuff. I'll be sharing crochet mostly, but I will be working on knitting, embroidery, cross stitch, hand sewing, and other crafts and DIY things as well. I can't wait to find my passion again, and I hope you'll join me on the journey!

Moving: I Made The Switch

Yes that's right. I officially switched over to Wordpress. So far it's been a pretty good decision, because I've gotten a lot more traffic to my blog, but we'll see. If you would like to continue reading my blog, please head over to my new blog HERE! Thank you guys! See you on the other side! :D

Crochet: Red and White Mesh Hat

After all those Christmas gifts, I decided to spoil myself with a hat of my own. Since finishing it, my mother wants one exactly like it, and a scarf to match. Oh well. At least it was an easy project haha!

I used a pattern from Meladora's Creations found here. This hat was simple and came out really nice! I love the colors, and it's nice and warm too! For the pattern, after the headband part was done, I did 1 row of red. For the rest of the hat, I did 2 rows of white and 4 rows of red. Then I turned the hat inside out and closed it up with a bunch of slip stitches until the hole was closed enough.

I used up almost the entire red yarn ball I had, so I used the remains in a red and white pom pom. I wish I could put a pom pom on every hat. I'm obsessed with them!

 This pattern has a few advanced stitches, but they are quite easy to figure out. The result is so worth it too! You can use any and EVERY color you want! It'll turn out awesome no matter how you do it! Post your results in the comments!

xo Link

Crochet: Minecraft Enderman Beanie

I had a post a couple of weeks ago where I showed off a Minecraft Creeper Beanie, and since that sibling had a twin, I kind of had to match their gifts. They are both obsessed with Minecraft, so I decided to make it an enemy in the game he always talks about.

Again, I used Oombawka's Double Crochet Beanie pattern found here. I didn't really use a pattern for the eyes. I just started around the 8th or 9th row and played with the size of the eyes until I found one I liked. I again tried to do the entire hat pattern by memory (which I have completely memorized by the way) and it once again came out like a plate. I don't know if you guys have this problem, but it completely baffles me, and I just don't get why it happens every time I do it without a pattern. But it worked out in the end, so that's all that matters.

xo Link

Crochet: Treble Slouch Hat FREE PATTERN

Okay wow this hat was actually a huge pain to make. It took FOREVER, only because I went through a billion designs before I stayed on one. If I had just stuck with the one design I picked in the end, it probably would have taken me half a day at most. It's actually a pretty design, and builds up quickly, so it's a perfect project for beginners!

At first I started with a puff stitch, but I don't think I was doing it right, so it didn't look very good. I then tried each basic stitch in a number of different designs until I settled on one.

I'm using American terminology

Crochet hook: H

Medium worsted weight yarn

Stitches used:

Slip stitch (sl st)

Double crochet (dc)

Treble crochet (tr)

Back loop only (BLO)

Row 1: Chain 11, DC in second ch from hook, continue to end. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 2: Dc in BLO to end, ch 1 and turn. Repeat row 2 until you have a strip that is long enough to stretch around your head. Make sure it's snug, because it will stretch out after a few wears.

Row 3: Ch 4 (this will count as your first tr), tr in next two st, ch 2 and skip a st. [tr in next 3 st, ch 2 and skip a st] Repeat "[ ]" to the end. Sl st into top of ch 4 to finish row.

Repeat row 3 until it reaches the length you like. Try it on and hold the top together to see what it might look like and feel like, and make it as snug or as slouchy as you would like. I did 12 rows, where it wasn't too slouchy and wasn't too snug. 

To finish, turn inside out and pull up a loop through each chain space. When there is too many stitches on the loop to pull any more through, yarn over and pull through each loop. Keep doing this until your hat it securely tied off at the top. Finish with your preferred finishing method and weave in ends.

Super simple project for beginners and it comes out so nice! This is my first pattern, so let me know if you made it and feel free to ask any questions in the comments below!