Crochet Legwarmers

The time is finally here! There have been countless times that I have been asked to please create a leg warmer pattern.  Well, I one-upped that...how about two leg warmer patterns?!

That's right...not only did I give you a leg warmer pattern in plenty of time to whip some up to go with those fall dresses...I gave you two different options!  The first is your basic crochet leg warmer pattern for kids.  I love to create this look with stripes and other embellishments to make them fun.  Or, add a little lace to a plain set to spruce them up.  The possibilities are endless!

Buy Set Here

The second set, the crochet ruffle legwarmers pattern has also gotten great reviews from my testers.  With a little ruffle on the bottom and a little flower on the top, these are just a great way to make your leg warmers unique!

So, why should you choose CUTEure Creations crochet patterns above others?

First off, I am dedicated to regularly producing new, unique designs for you to crochet. I also get each size of my pattern tested by experienced testers so I know there won't be mistakes once the pattern gets to you.

For sellers, I charge no cottage fee, or selling fee what-so-ever!  I love it when you link back to my shop in your descriptions, but do not require it at all.  In fact, I encourage the selling of work made from my patterns so much, that I even include a suggested retail price to take the guesswork out of it for you!  This keeps the market fair so that we aren't undercutting each other.  It is a disservice to others when we are all unable to charge for our time and creativity when selling our crochet goods.

So, there are my two newest pattern releases for you! Enjoy making your leg warmers! I know Addie will have a few pair for this fall.

How to Build a PVC Frame for Craft Show Displays

This past weekend, I participated in the Funky Finds Spring Fling event in Longview, TX.  Before the show, I spent countless hours planning, building, and perfecting my display.

I spent several months designing my booth by pinning ideas to my Craft Show Board on Pinterest. I figured out exactly what I wanted and went from there on how to make it happen.

Once I figured out that my first few shows would be indoors,  I began researching different ways to build a frame for my booth, rather than using a canopy frame indoors.  I stumbled upon this diagram which looked perfect! Unfortunately I couldn't find any sort of blog or forum post that gave step by step instruction on this frame, so my husband and I figured it out ourselves and put it together.

At the show, I had several vendors come up to me and ask me about the display, and ask permission to check it out so they can make one themselves.  I decided to put together a "how-to" of sorts since this turned into such a popular set up!  To give you an idea of the finished product, this is what my booth looked like with the frame.

The frame is really very simple, and most people can probably figure it out just based on that diagram (like us).  Still, if you're like me, you'll probably appreciate a simple step-by-step tutorial as well as the tips, tricks, and first hand experience this post can offer.

What You'll Need


-13 pieces of 10' long, 1" wide PVC pipe
-10 "T" pieces of PVC
-8 "elbow" pieces of PVC
-4 1.5" "spacer" pieces
-Tape measure
-Pencil
-Jig saw or reciprocating saw
-Hand sander
-PVC cleaner (generic, optional)
-PVC glue (generic, optional)

How to Construct Your Frame


First start by measuring each piece of PVC.  You will need:
-12 5' pieces
-6 6' pieces
-4 1.5" pieces

Once you have measured and marked each of these pieces, secure them and saw each piece along the mark you made.  You've now got all of the pieces to build your frame.

You could stop there, but if you're going to spend the time and money to build your own display, you may as well do it right. Right?

So, now you'll most likely want to take a hand sander and smooth down all of the edges where you cut the pipe.  I know ours came out messy, but maybe that was a lack of experience?  Anyway, it was definitely worth our time to sand down each end to make them look smoother and fit together better.

Test Your Set Up


You can see in the diagram linked above how each piece should fit together.  Each wall will consist of 4 5' pieces attached with a 6' piece & 2 "T"pieces.  The corners will use 2 "T's", 2 1.5" spacers, and 2 elbows.

This next part was just personal preference, but we didn't want to risk losing any of our pieces, and wanted our frame to go up as quickly as possible during set up.  We decided to glue each long piece to a T or an elbow so that all of the short pieces would be attached to a longer (or harder to lose) piece of PVC.  We used a generic PVC cleaner and glue to do this.  Just make sure that you don't glue all the pieces together.  That would be a nightmare to transport! We kept ours in 5' and 6' lengths to keep it very easy for me to carry if I'm doing a show alone (I'm only 5'4, after all!)

Experience and Tips


This whole set up worked beautifully! It went together in no time and looked more professional (IMO) than a standard canopy frame, at least for indoor shows!  Even better? The whole thing cost us less than $70!  However, you may want to consider purchasing some sort of legs for the frame.  While this worked fine, and did not collapse, there were a few times it swayed enough to make me nervous. Particularly if you think there will be kids or pets at the show (and let's face it, that's a given), it would be a good investment to put legs (short legs-you wouldn't want a tripping hazard!) or corner supports of some sort on this to ease your nerves.  Another solution would be to run your tables alongside your walls, and possibly even secure them to the walls using zip ties or bun jee cords to add extra support.

The only real issue we came across, which luckily wasn't an issue at this show, was that once we had the entire frame constructed within our space, we realized that due to the way the corners are constructed, we went a few inches outside our taped area.  We'll be cutting an inch at least off of each 5' piece before the next show. I'd rather my frame be a tiny bit smaller than 10x10 than go a little outside of my space.  The next organizers may not be as easy going about this problem!

As for the "walls," we used 5' (they were actually very slightly smaller) sheer curtains, but you could also use opaque curtains, shower curtains, or even custom panels in yours.  These were just the best I found in my budget and time frame.  A few of them didn't reach the floor, so we just put some spare wooden dowels into the bottom so they'd hang straight.

Otherwise, the only other thing we'll change is that we'll consider painting the pipes. I didn't have time before this show, and it wasn't a huge deal, but you can definitely tell it's PVC pipe.  It will look much more professional once it's painted and you can't see the writing!  Now I just need to decide if I should go teal, lime green, or off white!

Weekend Project - Easter Peeps

A few weeks has gone by since I had a weekend project to share, but this weekend offered up a perfect project!  Crochet bunny peeps!

This little guys make great Easter gifts and look absolutely adorable propped up in an Easter basket.  I don't know about you, but growing up we always got some sort of stuffed animal-either a chick, bunny, or lamb-in our Easter baskets along with our eggs and candy.  Well, instead of buying a generic stuffed animal, make these!

Unlike most amigurumi, these are so easy.  I normally don't like making stuffed animals, but since these are worked flat and then sewn together and stuffed, it's a completely different concept and even a novice crocheter can make these.

If you'd like to make a set yourself, be sure to download your own copy of the free pattern here.

Enjoy!

Funky Finds Spring Fling Show

I mentioned in my last post that there was a lot going on "behind the scenes," as you might have noticed.  Cryptic, I know! Really, though, there is!

First of all, I've applied to, and gotten accepted into, my very first craft show in Texas! Woohoo!

This time next month, I'll be set up at the Funky Finds Spring Fling event in Longview, Texas.

You can find any info you may need right here on this flyer.  I've heard great things about these organizers, and can't wait to try out one of their shows!

So, now you know some of what is going on behind the scenes.  If you're local, come visit me! I'll have tons of new stock, much of which will not be shown online first, and a lot of great summer products you haven't seen yet!

Giveaway Time!

Happy Monday! Sorry I've been MIA lately (I know, an awful habit to get into with a new blog), but I've had a lot going on behind the scenes!

source

For the time being, I wanted to tide you over with a giveaway!  Head on over to Tangled Happy and you'll see a CUTEure Creations pattern giveaway going on right now.

Enjoy!

Babies Don't Need Pastels

By now you have probably noticed that I'm not a huge fan of pastels.  I just think that there should be some fun and color in every life!  I'm a huge fan of bold, bright colors and a lot of my designs-both in my personal projects and my business projects-reflect that.

To that end, I just really wanted to show off my newest baby blanket.  I adore it! I made it for a really good friend of mine due with a "mystery" baby next month.  Not knowing the gender makes buying a gift more fun, I think :) I didn't feel locked in to the whole pink vs. blue debate and just got to go crazy!

I just love the look of this style.  It's my newest favorite, and honestly a breeze to make.  If you're interested in making something similar, I found this basic granny square how-to really helpful in making this blanket.  I followed this bloggers directions, changing colors where it suited me.  Instead of stopping after a few rows, though, I just kept growing the square until it was the size of a baby blanket, about 32" x 32", then made a simple single crochet border around the edge.

Anyway, I hope this blanket will be well loved in the future!  Addie got a crochet blankie from a family member when she was a baby and it gets dragged around with her everywhere.  Not all kids do this, I know, but it's a sweet thought to imagine my work being loved by a tiny human.  It's why I got into this biz, after all!

Crocheting for a Cause

This past fall, I tried hard to find out information on what is needed to donate hats to a certain local chemo center.  It was right at the time of my mom's 10 year anniversary of her breast cancer diagnosis, so it was really important to me, and I chose the center where she received treatments.

Well, long story short, they never would answer my questions and accept a donation.  In fact, they just sort of ignored me.  I was really upset about it and griped to a lady I met recently that works for the American Cancer Society.  

I thought the subject was dropped, and figured I'd try again at another place.  Then, two weeks ago she asked me if I was still interested in donating hats.  I just....didn't know what she had in mind...

When I said yes, she proceeded to tell me the story of her friend's daughter, who is 4 years old.  FOUR YEARS OLD!! The family was new here so when they little girl had an ear infection they brought her to a new doctor, who did a full work up as a routine new patient procedure.  Yep...they found cancer.  I didn't ask details on what kind of cancer.  I was too distraught.

This little girl was scheduled to start her treatments this past week and my friend asked me to please donate a hat, because she was so upset about losing her hair.  Poor girl...her best case scenario is supposed to be stage 4 cancer.

Needless to say, I cried while making these hats.  This little girl is just a little bit older than my little girl, and I couldn't imagine facing this battle.

People get diagnosed with cancer all the time, and these crochet and knit hats are expensive.  I know, because I make them! When you need a hat for every day, that expense can add up.  These are no longer just accessories.  If you know how to crochet or knit, please consider donating a few hats when you have time.  It can make a huge difference to someone going through a really hard time.

If you're interested in getting started, you can try contacting local chemo centers, or getting in touch with a local cancer society team like I did.  If nothing else, they should be able to direct you to the right people!

Some things to consider when making hats for cancer patients:
-Get the softest yarn you can find. Even yarn that doesn't bother you might bother someone that is losing or has lost their hair.  I've found that Caron Simply Soft is an excellent yarn to use for these hats.  It's easily accessible, and fairly affordable.  While it's $4-5 a skein, you can make a lot of hats out of that one skein!
-Consider kids as well as adults. Adults are, unfortunately, not the only ones suffering.  If you can make hats in different sizes, please consider it, because fewer people donate hats in kid's sizes, making them harder to find. In fact, even if you've never made a child's size hat, if you are willing to try, I've got a free pattern you can downloadhere for a basic beanie for most sizes.
-Make it long. Things you might not think about if you've never been through it: there will be no hair at the base of the neck or in front of the ears.  Make your hats long enough to cover this if the person wants these areas covered.

It was such a rewarding experience knowing that the hat I was making was going to bring comfort to a suffering little girl.  I've told the lady from the cancer society to let me know any time she knows of someone in need of a hat for this purpose.  It broke my heart, but also made me so thankful that I have a gift I can give!