Mom ♥

This is my mom :-) She and I are both embarking on the crafting etsy adventure and having so much fun sharing the process with each other along the way! 

Here are some of the fun things she makes!

Find her here: 

ETSY - FACEBOOK - WEBSITE

Her presentation on Etsy:

My name is Sandra Hanken and I live a country life in northern Minnesota. My mother taught me to sew when I was a little girl and I have loved to create things ever since. I use lots of re-purposed materials for my creations. I enjoy the variety of colors and textures this allows and it is wonderful to see something old given new life. I have made memory bears since 2006 as BecomingBears® but am currently having fun creating lots of new creatures that I call ETCs (short for Especially Terrific Creatures). I hope you will enjoy meeting them!

Mom, Grandma and Oliver

My mom's mom and my Grandma, Eleanore Mejdrich, who taught my mom to sew and me to crochet turns 95 next week! Happy Birthday, Grandma! 

In these times of youtube, google and online tutorials isn't it wonderful to sit down together and make something? To take time and pass on skills like sewing and crocheting through generations? I feel very lucky to be able to experience that. 

Here I am helping mom sew. :-)

Oliver's turn. :-)

Giveaway!

Since my mom is just starting out with Etsy and Facebook I thought we could put together a little giveaway to get the ball rolling. She has just started selling patterns so to celebrate she will give away 1 pattern of choice to 3 winners. 

To enter like her FACEBOOK page and then leave a comment here on my blog post. 

The giveaway starts right now and ends on Sunday night at midnight CST (the 29th of January). If you leave your email address we will contact the winners that way. I will also publish the winners on my facebook page.

You could win the Owl pillow pattern

Or make an especially terrific creature!

Good luck! 

We had fun searching through old pictures! Here we are in 1988 :-)

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Enjoy your time creating!  And if you have snow, make a snowman!

Ball Hank n' Skein - Crochet Designer Interview

Meet Sarah from Ball Hank 'n Skein.  :-)

BLOG - FACEBOOK - ETSY

Who is Sarah?

Who am I?  Wow!  That's a tough question.  I like to think of myself is a good mom to two amazing little kids,  I have a great husband, and we are living the good life here in the Pacific Northwest.  I love to crochet and have been crocheting every day (except one day when I was really sick with the flu) since I learned!  I'm constantly having crochet design ideas just pop into my head and I have a bunch just waiting for me to write down.  I like thinking of ways to make something that looks complicated very simple and am always looking for ways to make my patterns as easy as possible. 

Where do you find your inspiration?

My kids for sure!  I love making them clothes, toys, blankets, hats, mittens, etc.  I'm also so inspired by all the wonderful crafters and crocheters I have seen in the blogosphere.  My very favorite crochet designers are Amanda Tipton for her ability to capture her creations on film (well, I guess it's on a memory card, but you know what I mean!), Tara Murray for her fun sense of style and her work ethic (she is just so prolific!), and Lisa VanKlavern for her cleverly written patterns. 

What are you hooked on right now?

I love slippers!!!  I have two slipper patterns out right now and have five more that I haven't yet written out. I just finished my "mandala house slipper" pattern that I love! I'm hosting a giveaway of the pattern on my blog right now.   I'm also working on a super simple Fair Isle sweater that I'm really excited about.  Again, I'm working on getting it to be as simple as possible but still have that intricate Fair Isle look. 

Here is Sarah's new slipper pattern!  Cute!  She sent me the pattern, and although I haven't had the time to make them up yet it looks like a really well written and easy to follow pattern.

Here is the link to Sarah's giveaway:

MANDALA HOUSE SLIPPER GIVEAWAY

All you have to do is follow her blog or like her facebook page (links up at the top) and comment on her giveaway blog post and she will pick out 3 winners on monday!  Fun!

I have to share a picture from her blog of her Fair Isle Sweater in progress.  I love it so far!!

And look at this picture of some of the cute things she sells on Etsy!

With tread!  Smart! And so cute :-)  

Thanks for sharing, Sarah and I wish you lots of success with your crocheting!  

Photoshoot with Hedda

Our friend Kine visited yesterday with her adorable little daughter Hedda who is soon to be 3 months old.  Isn't she adorable!  Hedda came over to model and test my newest pattern that I am so excited to share with you! 

Hedda modeling the Bonnet Balaclava

Before I show you the new pattern, look how sweet Oliver's winter hat looks in a violet color in a baby size!

I know!  So cute!

and little!

Ok.  So here comes the new pattern!  I have some adjustmests to make before I publish it.  We discovered that the arms were longer than they needed to be on this size - or rather this makes a good bigger size if it were a little longer.  So as excited as I am to get it out there I want to make it perfect before publishing it.  

The cuffs on the arms pull over so that you can have the hands out or cover them up.

Bunting bag - front and back

I am planning to make a few different sizes including a toddler version with legs and make directions for a car seat option with a spot for the seatbelt in the baby bunting bag.

Yay! Although I still have some work to do on this it is so fun to finally share my progress!