2020...A New Year, A New Decade, A Lot of New Ideas!

So, I've been silent for awhile.  The truth is, I've been really busy! 

Last summer my friend, Cindy, and I thought we would try our hand at selling some of our crafty creations.  Cindy just happened to have a canopy tent, and I had some tables.  So, we started our little venture at a small town Farmers Market.    Our expectations were not high, but the price was right!  It was a fee free event and recurring weekly.  We were under no obligation to be there every week, so the freedom to participate or not was definitely nice. 

To our great surprise and delight, people stopped by our tent and we sold several items, including winter beanies in the middle of summer!  With that little bit of encouragement we decided to set up at another Farmers Market near us that required only a small fee, but still no long term commitment.  Once again, we caught the interest of people and sold a few items.  This spurred us on to try our luck at some craft and vendor shows. 

The rest of the summer and up to December we were quite busy keeping our craft booth stocked with adorable handmade items.  It was hard work, but great fun.  Some shows were more successful than others.  Each of them taught us something new.  We saw old friends and made new friends.   It was a great time!


But here we are in the beginnings of a new year.  Will we do the same this year?  I'm not sure.  We haven't totally decided yet, although we are looking at some new craft ideas.  I do think we will do some craft shows again, but probably not weekly as we tended to do last summer.  But whether or not we market our wares, we will still be creating. 

So check back from time to time to see highlights of what we are crafting as I will be posting some of the new items.

For now, I leave you with this new creation, Lucy the Cow!  She is my own design and I'm quite proud of her. 

My goal is to design crochet patterns that are beginner friendly and fairly quick to make up.  This pattern will be available in my Etsy shop as soon as testing is completed and any kinks worked out.

So until next time, 

Happy Crafting!

Reny

I love Crochet-alongs! Meet Dappy the Baby Dinosaur!

         

Sometimes it's just fun and relaxing to crochet along with someone else using a prescribed pattern.  Not much to think about except following the instructions.

And this is just what I did with this cute little baby dinosaur pattern.  

This particular CAL (crochet along)  comes from a wonderful Facebook group,  Learn Amigurumi Crochet With Us!    If you have an interest in learning amigurumi, then you should pay them a visit and perhaps even join the group.

This little guy was a simple make, but with several parts.  The hardest part was stitching him together, but the pattern was very precise in where to place and stitch on the various pieces.  This awesome pattern was designed by  Beverley Arnold and you can find the free pattern here.

He's a little guy, just 6 inches tall, but a perfect size for little hands to hold.  He would be just perfect for a dinosaur themed party,  nursery or a baby shower.  He would also make a great birthday or Christmas gift for a little one.  Imagine him peeking out of a Christmas stocking!

So I hope you will check out this pattern and the Facebook group!  Join up and have some fun with us!

Blessings!

Reny

Crochet Bags, Totes and Coin Purses!

I have been so busy lately designing and making some very practical items!  I love making toys, but every now and then I just like to make something different.  And when I deviate from my norm, I like to make something useful as well as attractive.

It all started with this scandinavian style bag.  I saw bags of this style on Pinterest, but did not find a pattern.  So, I set out to make a pattern myself.  It turned out pretty good and I was pleased with the result.

But I couldn't make just one!  These were so much fun to make and worked up so quickly that I had to make some more!   (Any other crochet artists out there like me?)

 Next it occurred to me that some cute charms dangling from the purse would look nice, so voila!

 Well, just as I was about finished with my bag frenzy, my daughter suggested that I should design a nice beach tote.  I don't get to the beach often, but I can always use a nice roomy tote bag!   I wanted something a little more elegant than a plain bag, so I decided on a nice diamond pattern.

 I liked the teal tote, but not the handles, so I decided to continue to try to improve the tote bag.  I think the tan color and the brown leather handles look great!  The leather handles were another technique that I had to learn, but found it was not as difficult as it seemed.    So glad I learned this as I can now use it on other projects such as baskets!  So fun!  And, I used a recycled leather belt for the handles.  Doing my part to save the Earth!

So, looking at the bag, and glancing over at the remaining leather belt buckle, I realized that I could also utilize that on my project!  The buckle gives the tote a more dressy look, making it suitable for use in almost any setting.

 So there you are.  I thought I would be finished with bags for awhile.  But then, I kept seeing these little coin purses popping up all over the place.  I was intrigued on how these were done and how the clasp would be attached.  Well, guess what?  They are not hard to make at all!  And the combos of color and patterns are endless!  More fun!  I love these little coin purses and look forward to making them in a variety of styles!

So, that's what's been going on at Reny's Place during the past couple of months. 
Comment and tell me what you think and if there are any projects you would like to see me try.   I love a good challenge!

You can find some of these bag patterns HERE

Happy Crocheting!
Reny