The Big Announcement...!

As many of you who read this blog know, I am a sucker for newborns and their photo accessories!  Sadly I haven't posted in a while and I am fairly certain my last post was about newborn sets.

Well here they are in action! This cite little guy is sporting the Dino and sock monkey. His sweet mom approached me  about making them. It was so fun!

What did I learn? I need to work on my gauge. It's still a little off, but I am getting there. Also I love creating sets like these.  I have one request I need to work on.  Watch for it coming soon.

In other big news-That Yarn Girl in conjunction with Blue Orchid Imports will be at the Freedom Festival in July!  All you Utah County fans come check us out!

Newborn Sets!

As you can see from the pictures below, I finally gave in to the Sock Monkey trend. It's not that I am opposed to the Sock Monkey, it's that I tend to stay away from trends because everyone else is doing it too!

Lucky for you a close friend of mine is expecting little one #2 and wanted the Dino set for him. Her older one already had a sock monkey hat , so she decided to have a set done for the next little one also.

These were very fun and super quick sets. I will get my pricing pages up to dates and you can order to your Geary's content.

Also, stay tuned for an awesome baby girl set!

Everyone Loves a Great Bag!

Mermaid Tears Bag

For those of you who follow me faithfully, thank you. I am sure you have noticed I am slacking in my posting duties lately. I have been busy, busy, busy! Being a wife, mother, and a full-time professional tends to eat up most of my time!

Luckily my hobby of crochet can fit in almost any time! My crochet line has been picked up by a local small business-Blue Orchid Imports! Yes, Blue Orchid Imports, and yes that is my husband's company.

Large Bag

We have decided to join forces and do something experimental and exciting this year: go on a road trip.  This isn't your average road trip.  There will not be excessively long miles driven (I hope), there won't be three days sitting in the car, and hopefully there won't be too much road trip food.  We are planning on hitting local farmers markets and outdoor fairs this summer to give our products to the people.

Which brings me to my latest projects: Purses!  I have been wracking my brain to come up with something I can crochet which is spring-time friendly. Here is what I cam up with!

Medium Bag

If you are anything like me the bag is the accessory to show your true colors!  Mine are usually loud in their color choice i.e. lime green, orange, red...you get the idea. I will be working on bags like that, but I tend to use up the yarn I have, so these are done with scraps and left overs from other projects.   Here is a list of the patterns:
Mermaid tears bag click here.
Large Bag  here.
Medium Bag click here.

Enjoy!

In Honor of My Alma Mater

This project came about for several different reasons. The first s a family Christmas tradition. My husband's family has a tradition of exchanging family gifts each year a Christmas. Well I started out last year by crocheting hats for the family we had. To my surprise it was a huge success. Not to mention it ignited the rest of the family to want something from That Yarn Girl.

Needless to say, the family we had this year was excited and wanted hats. No problem! Except one problem: what to make for a teenage boy...? I was momentarily stumped, but never fear! Ravelry came through for me on this one! There is an awesome patter posted there for these hats. Luckily the teenager in question is a Utah State University fan, BONUS!

The hat I made for him became the envy of his dad, who asked if I could make him a hat like that for him. Of course I said yes. Then I realized my son's hat was too small, so of course he had to have one also!

So in honor of Utah State University (WAC Champions-it's a big deal!), I bring you Reversible Strands for Men! Enjoy!

Starry Night

Well, that is embarrassing! My blog turned 1 and I have been so busy I did not even post about it. If you dd not know I was not consistent you do now!  Moving right along: HAPPY BIRTHDAY THAT YARN GIRL!

Quickly I want to say thank you to the readers of this blog.  I know it is not the most interesting blog on the web, but I would like to think I am contributing on a small level.  A bigger thanks to those of you who have ordered from That Yarn Girl.  It has helped me stretch my mind and skill!

Let me share something I have learned over the last year-when people find out your crochet they automatically assume you knit.  I have nothing against knitting, but I have absolutely no knitting capabilities whatsoever.  With that comes people assuming you can create the same kind of project, and for the most part I can.


Here is a great example: One of my coworkers was pregnant and had found a cute hat she wanted to use in newborn pics.  She had checked around with her family and friends and found no one who would be able to duplicate the hat.  I did not have the opportunity to attend her baby shower, so I left her gift on her desk.  It was a crocheted sleeper.  She loved it and sent me a picture of the hat she wanted and asked if I would be able to create it.  I looked at the hat and immediately notice it was knitted.  I told her I would do my best and she could decide if she wanted to keep the final product.  Well as you can plainly see, she kept the final product, and used it!  My new model tonight is Ethan.  Thank you, Ethan!!

Needless to say, sometimes I do have the ability to duplicate a knitted item :)

Boy's Vest

As promised for those of you who fallow me on Facebook; tonight's project! For those of you who have small children you know they tend to get cold quickly. My son is no exception. As this winter approached, I was obsessively looking for a crocheted sweater vest pattern.

I check Google first because it is usually the first place I look for these things. I did find a pattern and it is great-for older kids. I worked one of the vests up and found it will fit Landon in about two years. So now I was back at square one. The next place I looked was ravelry.com.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Ravelry a quick explanation. Ravelry is a site for those who crochet or knit or both. You can find forums, patterns, and more! It has a great pattern library and a good portion of the library is free. Bonus!

So I was searching in Ravelry and found a Varsity sweater for kids. I used that pattern and left of the sleeves. It turned out perfect! My super cute model is my son Landon.

Getting to Know You!

Andrew

Today's post is a derailment from the norm here at That Yarn Girl.  Today I want to talk to you about my wonderful husband, Andrew.  About 10 months ago, he lost his job.  He has been working tirelessly since then to start his own business.  For those of you who are currently running your own business, or trying to, you know how hard the start up can be.  Another roadblock you may be very familiar with is funding.  Funding is difficult at best to come up with for starting a business.  Luckily my husband is an internet hound and found a wonderful little site called Kickstarter.com.  Andrew, being the tech savvy guy that he is started his own project on Kickstarter and he is now in the process of fund raising for his business.

A man in uniform, am I right ladies?

Let me explain what he wants to do.  Andrew was lucky enough to serve two years in Thailand as a volunteer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and while he was there he developed a great love for the country and the people.  Upon returning to the States, he enlisted in the Utah National Guard in August 2001.  Only one short month later 9/11/01 happened and his world changed.  Andrew was deployed to Iraq in 2003. He served his country for six years in the National Guard and two years in the Inactive Ready Reserve.  Besides a deployment, Andrew had the opportunity to return to Thailand a couple of times with the military, which only solidified his love of the country, culture, and people.  With his service in the military, Andrew was able to attend Utah State University and graduate with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design.

What did all of that explanation have to do with Andrew's current endeavor of starting a business?  Simply this: Andrew is working to import home decor goods from Thailand.  In doing that he is working to create his own business, yes, but he is also working to improve the lives of the people he loves in Thailand.  Most of the business and factories he works with in Thailand are not wealthy folks running a business for pleasure.  For the most part the factories are run by exceptionally poor people who are trying to earn a living.  Some of the goods Andrew is hoping to import are hand made by the local Thai people.  I realize the big push right now is to have everything "Made in America," and I agree.  There is something that always enters my mind when I think of that, every person on this earth is a human being and with that comes the right to live comfortably.  I am not saying everyone in the world needs to become filthy rich, I am saying we have the ability to make someone else's life better.

Now for the good part!  You have taken the time to read this blog post, so please take the time to check out Andrew's Kickstarter project.  You can find it by clicking here.  If you have questions about what Kickstarter is or how it works, please check out Andrew's blog www.blueorchidimports.blogspot.com.

Thank you for your time and stay tuned for a wonderful little newborn project.  You will love it!