Monkey Business

Hello again!

It's been a couple weeks since I've talked to you! Last week was Spring Break here, so I was spending some time with my Mister. He introduced me to Minecraft, so I have to admit I've been a bit distracted. Maybe I'll turn that into something constructive and come up with a few Minecrafty projects in the future. Hmmmm....we'll see. 

I didn't spend all my time playing though! This past weekend I buckled down and finished my latest project, and here he is!

You can find the pattern here!

I've made a couple other monkeys in the past few years, but I like this one best. I tweaked how I attach the arms and legs a bit, and I really like how it came out. It's crazy how much you can learn about crochet just by keeping a variety of projects on your to-do list. And I have to say, making things up as I go along is the most fun. I love the challenge of figuring out what shapes and sizes I need to use to get it exactly how I want, as well as the freedom to do it! 

If you like the Mischievous Monkey, you can buy the pattern on Ravelry, and don't forget to check out my other patterns too!

If you want to know what I'm up to between blog posts, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram. 

Are there any amigurumi animals you'd like me to write a pattern for? I've got a couple ideas, but I'd love to hear from you! Just let me know in the comments or on Twitter.

Quick Update

Not a lot to post, but I've been working on a bunch of things for the blog. Get excited!

If you haven't noticed, I've updated the blog a bit. To the left, I added a few social media buttons if you want to find me elsewhere on the internet. These buttons include one for Pinterest, which is super cool, because I spent several hours moving all my crochet pins onto their own separate Pinterest page. So, if you follow all "iloveicraft" boards on Pinterest, you can get lots of awesome crochet pins and none of my personal ones. Yay!

I've also been working on the three FREE patterns I have yet to post. They're all planned out and include a dishcloth, my favorite scarf, and something amigurumi! The amigurumi pattern is a surprise, but I love making critters and plan on writing plenty of amigurumi patterns to sell later on, so I'm going to do one for free to give you a taste.

Another Pattern, and a bit of News

The Pattern

Everyone has to keep warm in these cold cold months. Especially your little ones! 

I made this hat for a family friend of mine and decided to write a pattern for it as well. Isn't it cute? The ridges are my favorite part, but it also is doubly warm over the ears because the black portion is flipped up! 

It also combines my favorite yarns in one project. The top part is a gorgeous blue sock yarn that's good and stretchy, while the band is super soft and cozy. 

If you'd like to make a hat like this for your little guy or gal click for a link to the download the FREE pattern.

The News

At the beginning of the year, my goal was to write and publish five crochet patterns. This is the second. As my life stands right now, I should be at five in no time at all. 
Some of my patterns can get a bit complicated though, and just from personal experience I know that visuals are always a benefit when reading patterns. So I did a little research, and found this great program that is set up specifically to diagram crochet patterns! How cool is that? The issue, is that it costs $50. $50 that I don't have right now, but I have a plan. 

The Plan

• Write 5 patterns and publish them for FREE so other crochet artists can see my work. 2 down, 3 to go. (These patterns will always be free.)
• Continue writing patterns, but put them up for sale. (I may continue to publish freebies now and then.)
• After sales reach $50 or more, I can get the program and my patterns with be THAT much nicer and easier to understand.
• Retroactively update previous patters to make all of them equally awesome.

In the mean time, if you want to help out - and help me get the program sooner - I've added a donation button on the left! Any and all contributions are appreciated. 

So if you download one of my free patterns and think to your self, "This pattern would be a lot easier to understand if there were some diagrams," just keep in mind that I think so too! I  don't have the tools to do that right now, but I'm working on it!

2013. ready. set. GO!

Ok. So clearly my past blogging habits are less than desirable, and all but dropped off a cliff somewhere in June. But in light of the new year, (and since 13 is my favorite number) I got to thinking, and this post is what I came up with. 

Be advised. these are not New Year resolutions.
They are only goals, which means I'm not setting myself up to fail.
They're merely something to strive for spelled out in plain English for all the world to see. (as opposed to floating around in my head)

13 Goals for 2013

1. Blog!!! At least once a week. No Limits.
   I know everyone enjoys my crochet updates, but no limits on topic, mean no excuses to skip a week, or two, or 13. And who knows where things may lead?
2. Finish my Associates Degree.
   I'm 6 classes away from an Associates degree in business. Two of those classes start in a couple weeks. This is by no means where I intend to finish my education (I'm defiantly a lifer), but it's the next milestone.
3. Write crochet patterns for the public. At least 5.
   Five seems like a low number for the whole year, but I'll tell you something. Writing a crochet pattern is HARD. Especially since I don't think about crocheting the same way as your average person. It's very mathy and numeric in my head when I'm making things, so translating this to regular crochet-speak takes some work.
4. Finish the Latch-Hook Rug.
   I got a latch hook kit for Christmas. It's a picture of a kitty in a basket of yarn and is completely adorable. Unfortunately, this is one of those projects I don't usually finish 100%, so it's going on the list.
5. Make Mom and Afghan.
   For part of her Christmas present, I promised to make my mom an afghan (that she may help design). It would be nice if that was done before NEXT Christmas.
   
6.  Read.
   This one isn't so much of a specific goal, as a reminder to myself. I love to read and get lost in other worlds, but when life get's crazy, it's one of those things that falls to the wayside, and I don't want it to.
7. Swim.
   I recently discovered that my exercise of choice is swimming. I'm definitely a mediocre swimmer, but it's the only physical activity I really enjoy.  I got a membership to the local pool for Christmas, so I'm looking forward to starting it up and taking full advantage. Yay for fitness!
8. Get a new tattoo.
   Perhaps a bit silly, but I got my first and only tattoo back in the summer of 2008. Nearly 5 years ago. So I'm thinking it's time for another one. No specific plans yet however.
9. Road Trip!
   I don't travel much outside my hometown, and visiting my friends and bf out of town. So it's time to nail down some plans and go somewhere.
10. Try something new.
    What that might specifically be, is yet to be determined.
11. Sleep Enough, but not too much. aka Stop hitting the snooze.
    I like sleep. No, I LOVE sleep. probably more than I should.
12. Wear Sunscreen.
    If you've never listened to this speech. Do it. It's beyond inspiring.
    
    
13. Breathe.
    Sometimes everyone needs a reminder.