Author: Rose

Rosehttp://www.phoenixrosedesign.com/

Leftover yarn.. what to do?

After making a few projects in the last few weeks, I had some leftover yarn. There was too much left to want to throw it away, and too little left to do something big and complicated with. Dilemma – what to do with my leftover yarn?

Thank goodness for pintrest.

On Pintrest, I found lots of small projects – everything from applique birds and other creatures that can be attached to other crochet projects – to mini granny squares that you just save forever until you can sew them together. The best, however, was a pattern for a cup / mug / beer cozy. As a coffee drinker this was the perfect idea for me, and so I started with a granny square.

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Once the square was the height / width I wanted, I then started working on one side – and then the other until it made it around the mug.

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Finally, I made a long tie – and wove it through the back “shoelace” style.

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Here’s what the finished product looks like – on the cup:

Fabulous colors of Orange and Blue for my adjustable cup / coffee mug /beer cozy. Order one for your favorite fan today! https://www.etsy.com/ie/shop/PhoenixRoseDesign #auburn #blue #orange #crochet #custom #etsy #PhoenixRoseDesign #handmade #followme

Not bad for a little bit of left over yarn and about 20 minutes time. I think I’ll have to make a few more as gifts – because I know several football lovers who would appreciate these in their team colors!

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Honeycomb crochet

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My latest crochet project was that I decided to learn to do a more complicated cable type stitch, called the honeycomb. I found a gorgeous picture of a honeycomb stitch used on a blanket and thought I wonder what that would look like on a scarf or cowl.

Thanks to Bonnie Bay, I found a tutorial for how to do the stitch (link at bottom) and started working it up in some leftover “tardis” blue from another project. Unfortunately, the stitch is very 3 dimensional which means that it didn’t photograph well in the dark color:

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However, because I had that blue and some lighter blue left, I decided to merge the two colors and make a bi colored cowl with the stitch. You can see the result (and the stitch) a bit better below:

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Finally, I ran out of yarn, and decided to hook the whole thing together into a cowl. Add my new haircut and this is what you get – a light blue / tardis blue honeycomb crochet cowl.

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Want to learn the honeycomb crochet stitch for yourself? Bonnie Bay has a great tutorial on youtube


For more great stuff from Bonnie bay, I would suggest her website at:
http://www.bonniebay.com/

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It’s that time of year again

Chocolate layer cake

Time for my birthday.

I know some people hate their birthdays, but I personally love mine. It falls in springtime, but one can never tell if the weather will be winter or spring.

When I was in my 20’s I started something called the Random Birthday trip tradition. Basically, it entails putting a map up on the wall and closing my eyes, and picking a spot on the map to go no matter how obscure. Over the years, I’ve modified it slightly to fit in with budget, days off, or what have you but I’m still doing it and absolutely recommend some version of the tradition to others. For me, celebrating with the random trip does a few things. I get to travel, see the sites, and meet new people – AND (most importantly) reminds me I am still young enough to enjoy life and all the new experiences another year brings.

Birthday 35, Leprechaun 35 by coincidence
Helping set a Guinness World Record for Birthday #35 – the most people dressed as Leprechauns in one place (Rainbow Bar in Dublin, Ireland)

And the best thing? Somehow, the trip always ends up with a good time (even the bad things that happen) and a great story/ memory. One year, I was in an Ossuary (bone church) near Prague contemplating my own mortality…. and then met some people on the train back. We ended up in an Irish Pub in Prague (my birthday is day before St.Pad’s) laughing it up with a bunch of exPats who ended up Irish dancing on the tables as a bet….even the bouncers had a laugh and tried to learn a few steps themselves.

Yes, I really was here.

Another year, I ended up in Strasbourg, France for the carnival (surprise! it’s Carnival!) and covered in confetti (which I still find bits in the folds of the backpack years later) before getting lost on a 9 hour drive from France to Switzerland (seriously – after the first one detour signs didn’t exist!)… And yet another travelling up the canals in Amsterdam, Netherlands before heading on to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Beautiful Canals

I’ve also been in Egypt (Sunrise in hot air balloon over the Valley of Kings & Queen Hathsheput’s tomb) for my birthday, and that’s just the more exotic ones.

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Last year – I was in Turkey, walking my way up the Pammukkale waterfall watching an electrical storm move in.

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This year, I’m going to be heading up to Northern Ireland to Londonderry and staying in a castle tower suite. I splurged a bit because the place looks really fabulous – and I’ve never stayed in a tower before. If I feel up to it, (I’m fighting off bronchitis right now) I’m hoping to get over to Donegal and maybe catch the Northern Lights… but as with all birthday trips – playing it by ear is the key. So, bring on the helpful suggestions from random strangers…. and the best stories / random happenings money can’t buy.

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