Mystery Revealed: Meet Bradley!

So, I had a blast participating in the Fresh Stitches Bradley Mystery Crochet Along this past month, and the final clue was just released on Monday, so f course I finished him up as soon as possible. Meet Bradley!

He's an adorable sea turtle! The mystery had an extra twist this year that was so much fun. Clues #1 and 2 were all the pieces we had to make - all don in natural, undyed wool yarn. Clue #3 told us which pieces to dye what color and how to dye them ... with Kool-Aid! Stacey at Fresh Stitches has blogged about Kool-Aid dying for years now, but I never took the plunge until now. I'm so glad I was slightly forced to finally do it, lol.

Here is what my pieces looked like at first. Totally creamy white colored. I decided to use quart sized mason jars to dye my pieces, so I just boiled some water in my kettle, put the kool-aid in a jar, poured in enough water to cover the pieces, and added the crocheted parts.

It looked pretty cool immediately and lots of color showed up within seconds.I let my pieces soak for quote a while, then let the water cool down before I removed them officially. About 40 minutes into dyeing, I noticed the green pieces were pretty splotchy looking with some pieces much darker than others, so I removed the pieces, added a bit more water and half a packet of kool-aid, then added the pieces back and they looked much better for it. Nice and evenly colored :)

The truly magical thing is that all of the dye from the drink mix soaks up into the yarn, leaving your yarn pieces sitting in clear water when they're done. Isn't that amazing?! I was a convert right then and now I seriously want to dye everything with Kool-aid.

Straight out of the jar, this is what my pieces looked like. I set them on my drying rack for a few days to make sure they dried really well in preparation for the final clue. Clue #4 told us how to assemble the pieces and make him into his cute turtle self.

I seriously love the colors I got with dying. The pieces are so vibrant and bright! I actually had a hard time adjusting the photos due to how bright the yarn is. Also, the shell still smells like blue raspberry lemonade Kool-Aid (it's not crazy obvious, but if you stick your nose on it you can smell it) which is so stinkin' fun. 

The dying process left slight irregularities, but I think that just adds to the fun. He has a very painterly quality to the dying now.

The only thing to keep in mind is that they underlayer of yarn inside each stitch didn't get as much/any dye. This wasn't noticeable until I was sewing the pieces together, and it's not a deal breaker at all, it just makes me think it would be better to dye the yarn before using it (even though it's more of a hassle).

So there you have it: a mystery solved! Everyone I show this little cutie to lights up and says how cute it is, so I call that a successful design. Thanks so much, Stacey, for another awesome mystery crochet along! I can't wait to see what you dream up next year :)

FO Friday: Ashton Mystery Revealed! Meet Larry :)

This past month has been one of my favorite annual events - the FreshStitches Mystery Crochet Along! The way it works is that there are 3 clues each containing several pieces to crochet. You have no idea what you are making - you just follow all the directions and collect your pieces, waiting for the final clue that tells you how to put them all together. After completing all my pieces, my project looked like this:

I played around with where the pieces could go and tried to figure out what it would be, but I had absolutely no idea, lol. I knew those blue pointed pieces would be ears, and that the big piece was the body, and I had a suspicion about the others but that was it. I just embraced the surprise of the whole thing and waited for the final clue to be released this past Monday. So, without further ado, this year's mystery animal is:

A super cute puppy! I've decided to name my guy here Larry - he looks like a Larry, no? I really love the shape of him, very unconventional compared to the bodies of other FreshStitches animals. This guy just makes you want to hug him, which is exactly what my toddler nephew did as soon as I showed it to him (after the hug, he tossed him aside, but we'll take the hug as a good sign, lol).

The legs are attached flat to the body, which makes them easy to bend so he can sit down. The points of his ears are tacked down to stay in that folded over position. I think he's just adorable :)

He even has a cute little tail! Since I had no idea what I was making, I just went with crazy colors that I loved. I used Red Heart With Love in Jadeite (seriously my favorite color right now) and Peacock. They are a really nice combo and I think it came together nicely.

Look at that face :)

I had so much fun with the mystery this year and I just love the design - Stacey has done a great job again at stumping us all! If you've never participated in a mystery crochet along before, I highly recommend it - they are a blast and it's so much fun to see the creatures everyone else makes. I will definitely keep up what is now my tradition (this is my third time making the FreshStitches mystery animal). I hope you join us too!

WIP Wednesday: So Many Projects!

This week is suddenly full of WIPs. Firstly, my sister needed a gift for a baby shower on her husband's side this coming weekend. She can't attend herself, so she thought one of my animals would be a nice gift to make up for it. Since I had so much going on already this past week (and she only asked me last week), I decided to go with something quick and easy.

 Isn't she super cute?! I used the Jay, The Bird pattern from FreshStitches and just added baby safe eyes and a flower (as per request). The bird is only part of the gift - a large part, but I still have a little work to do tonight.

In exchange for my bird, my sister offered to buy me a pattern book - sounds like a sweet trade to me! I chose Modern Baby Crochet by Stacey Trock. I've wanted this book ever since it was released and it definitely does not disappoint. I'm using one of the patterns to complete the other piece of my sister's gift - can you guess what it will be?

I'm also into week 2 of the FreshStitches Mystery Crochet Along. The first clue was released last Monday, but I was so busy sewing and whatnot that I didn't get to make up the pieces until Friday night. Clue 2 was released this past Monday and I've just barely scratched the surface of it (*cough* I've only done a few rows *cough*). I'll get the rest of the pieces made up this weekend sometime :) I certainly still have no idea what it is, though I think it may be something with pointed ears...

And in case those projects weren't enough to keep me busy, today is the official first day of the Marion Knit Along with Untangling Knots. I've always loved this design so I jumped right in when this KAL was announced. I've had all my pattern corrections and yarn swatches ready and waiting - now I'll finally get to put them to good use :) I will confess, I'm a bit worried about my decision to use a cheap acrylic yarn, but this is for science, folks! I must know how it will turn out! I know I will be the pariah of the KAL group (hopefully they don't think I'm too trashy, lol), but I seriously have so much of this yarn from before I "knew better". Here's hoping it works out ok.

And of course I am still plugging away at my Emelie Cardigan. It's such a lovely design :) I've started increasing for the bust now, and I am actually surprised it is already this big. I was fully expecting this to take forever because of the thin yarn choice, and I am happy to be proven wrong.

So there you have it :) I certainly have a lot to work on (plus I really need to start my nephew's birthday present), so I'm hoping for a lot of time this coming week. Head over to Tami's Amis' Blog to see what others are working on this week too!

Mystery Crochet Reveal! Meet Amber and Cody

**Spoiler Alert!** If you're part of the Mystery CAL and haven't finished yours yet, don't scroll down! lol

I was so excited to get the final clue in the FreshStitches Mystery Crochet Along on Tuesday. Sadly my schedule is a bit crazy this week and I wasn't able to actually finish the pieces and put her together until last night. Without further ado ... Meet Amber!

She's a kangaroo! Isn't it fun?! I was so excited when I peeked ahead to see what I was making (I know, I cheated, but I couldn't wait!)

So Amber is the mommy kangaroo and the I've named the joey Cody (since it's a stereotypical Australian name lol).

The baby comes out and can stand up on his own too. I gave the baby eyes by making knots with black yarn and I also added a little nubby tail to help him stand upright.

The pivotal piece to this pattern is the tail. Before I put the tail on, Amber wouldn't stand up at all because she's so top heavy. I was getting worried while I made her to be honest, but the tail is the last thing and it really makes the pattern work.

I used Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn in Pastel Green for my Amber since all I knew at the beginning was that it needed a bunch of the same color yarn and I had a big ol' skein of this stuff in my stash. I realize my mint green kangaroo is a little silly, but I think they came out really cute just the same. Plus that's part of the fun of a Mystery Crochet Along!

I'm so excited I got to participate in the Mystery CAL again! It's seriously so much fun and I highly recommend giving it a try next time one is offered. Until next time, I'll enjoy my Amber!

I'm Participating in the FreshStitches November Crochet Along!

I guess I'm just on a crocheted animal high today because I saw this CAL (crochet along) posted on FreshStitches and I just had to participate :) We will be crocheting a mystery stuffed animal throughout the month. So far the clues are that it is a normal animal (i.e. not a monster or alien or anything) that is not holiday or winter themed or even more girlish or boyish. Also, Stacey Trock (owner of Fresh Stitches) has said that it is fairly large so it may need more than one skein of the main color of yarn.

That's all the info that has been released so far :)

Want to crochet with us? Go here to read more info on the FreshStitches blog and to buy your pattern. It costs $6 and the clues will start being sent out (via email or Ravelry message) starting on Nov 15.

Not sure if you're up for crocheting a stuffed animal? Let me assure you - it's a lot of fun! Stacye's patterns are really detailed with step by step instructions that include pictures every step of the way. I learned how to crochet stuffed animals through her Craftsy Class and I promise it is really not hard at all and it's very rewarding when you have your cute little animal at the end :)

Be adventurous! Give it a try with me!