books, etc. - 100 flowers to knit & crochet

I don't own many crafting books. I usually turn to blogs, Ravelry, and Pinterest for inspiration and new patterns. So when I saw 100 Flowers to Knit & Crochet: A Collection of Beautiful Blooms for Embellishing Garments, Accessories, and More at Michaels, I hesitated to buy it. But since I have long wanted to make a set of tea cozies inspired by different flowers, I thought it would be a worth while purchase for me. 

While the book does not include specific yarn or needle size suggestions for each pattern, I am hoping that the detailed pictures will be enough to help choose the right materials. From browsing the book, some of my favorite flowers include the crocheted pansies and knit filed poppies. The carrots or radishes would be an adorable accessory to a reusable grocery bag. 

It is still definitely winter here in Boston, but that won't stop me from bringing a little bit of spring into my (knitting) life! 

flowers, etc. - effortless arranging

I love this floral arrangement featured on the blog {frolic!}. It is organic without looking messy, and the colors go great together.

This particular composition is actually from an online floral arranging class taught by Chelsea Fuss. I think floral arranging is a great skill to have, as flowers bring life to any setting. Maybe I'll find the time to take a class on it one of these days!

nails etc. - spring colors

Last week I wrote about green being one of my favorite spring colors. But when it comes to my nails, I have been at a loss to find an on-trend color for the season. Most magazine articles I've read have said that nude nails are the way to go this spring. (Read more about that in Harper's Bazaar here and Vogue here.) I've tried pale nails, but since I don't have any sort of tan yet, I felt it left my hands looking flat.

Perhaps I'll try neutral polish again, once I have more of a tan, or in the fall. Recently though I'm sticking with brightly colored nails. My favorite shade of the moment is the orangey-red, My Paprika is Hotter than Yours by OPI.

Do you have a favorite spring nail polish color?

spring, etc. - green!

On my way to work I get to walk through the Boston Public Garden. It was looking especially lush today, so I snapped this picture. I love how green the grass and trees are. Maybe I am prejudice, because green has always been one of my favorite colors, but I feel like green is a color trend for the season. I especially love it paired with black...

Here is one of my favorite new J. Crew patterns of the season: punk floral.

And for another burst of green + black, how about a Grasshopper Sundae? I'm in!

anna crochets - boston love blanket

I read about the Boston Love Blanket on the blog One Sheepish Girl, and knew I had to send in a square! The squares are going to be sewn together to create a blanket for relatives of one of the victims of the Boston bombing.

As some of you know, I've been working on my own flower blanket, so I decided to use some of the flowers I had already made for it in my 8x8 square.

There are so many beautiful flowers out in Boston this week. I snapped a pic of some tulips in the Public Garden that reminded me of my crochet squares:

Happy spring!

anna crochets - cotton perle update 3

After finishing my first crochet garland, I quickly started on another using the same cotton perle. (Read about my materials for this project here.)

This time I tried a new pattern (originally by Yvonne Eijkenduijn of one of my favorite blogs, Yvestown) for the crochet flowers, but modified it so that the flowers have six pedals. I also made a few crochet circles, using this basic pattern. 

I am getting faster, and hope to have a few more elements done for this garland soon!

anna crochets - flower garland

Sorry about the delay in posts! It has been a crazy week here in Boston.

I did get a chance to finish my first flower garland!

Here is a pic of me assembling the garland strand:

I used size 8 DMC cotton perle for the garland, and size 5 DMC cotton perle for the flowers. It is based on a pattern my Emma Lamb published in an issue 24 of Mollie Makes. See my progress here and here. 

anna crochets - cotton perle

With the weather warming up, I decided to start a spring project in cotton perle 5, rather than wool. I got the cotton perle at Michaels, which had a great color selection. It is just one size bigger than the embroidery floss I used to make friendship bracelets out of.

I'm using a tiny size 1.5mm crochet hook - much smaller than anything I have ever crocheted with before. At first it was hard to grab the loops without letting them slip, but soon my hand adjusted to the size of the needle and it felt more natural.

I'm planning to use the flowers I make in a garland, much like the Emilia Flower Garland
by Emma Lamb.

happy easter 2013

Get the crochet pattern here.