Inspiration

It has been quite some time since I last posted.

We have finally moved states! I’m officially living in Washington state and it’s still a bit surreal for me. We’ve been here for 2 weeks now, and still have yet to finish unpacking. It’s a bit overwhelming, but I know it needs to be done and I can only hope that it will be done before my husband goes back to work on Monday! GAH! I feel like time flew by so fast!

The drive up here was pretty awesome. We did about 3-4 hours at a time, and took a couple of pit stops. I’m glad that we were able to site see and take our time instead of rushing up here. We got our house and then got our stuff the next day, even though it wasn’t expected to come until a week later!

One thing I was able to get a head start on, was unpacking all of my yarn goodies. I’ve been feeling like crocheting, and so far I’m working on my first order since being here in Washington! I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Also, I bit the bullet and went back to becoming an apple laptop owner! I really can’t stand my PC and I was really trying hard to like it to no avail. But, I got my mac at a veryyy good price and that’s all that matters! So, here’s to hoping that I can start to post more often. Does anyone have any tips on blog posts and how to keep up?

Well, time to finish crocheting my order!

-S

Neglection

I apologize for neglecting my blog! Things have been pretty hectic here at home lately. For a while, the whole family was sick, and then it was just me sick with a sinus infection.

With our big move coming up, we’ve been trying to prepare the house, and family has been coming up to visit as well! So things have been super busy here at home.

I’m also trying to get some patterns written out for everybody to enjoy!

Here is my latest pattern:

Basic Crochet Bikini Top

-Steph

Ice Cream Scoop Play Food

I seriously love making these! So far I have two scoops done. One is Strawberry with Chocolate Fudge and a Cherry on top, the other is Chocolate with Caramel topping. I plan on making other scoops, and adding onto the pattern so you can make ice cream cones, and banana splits!

This pattern has been tested by 3 testers total (including me). Please do not copy, edit, or try to pass this pattern off as your own. If you feel there should be any changes made, feel free to email me at: thisninjacrochets@gmail.com. ***Items made from this pattern may be sold, but I do ask that you please give credit and link back to this blog post! Thank you!*

-Steph

Living with an Invisible Illness

Although what I have is far less significant than other illnesses, I do find that some days are just much harder to get through than others.

A lot of the time, I pretend that everything is fine and that I feel fine, but inside I don’t feel that way. I guess that if I tell myself that as long as I look like I’m feeling ok, I’ll feel ok. However, that’s definitely not the case.

My exterior looks a lot stronger than my interior, and each day I hope that it’s better than yesterday. I remember when I was really not doing well, and I thought that it would never pass. Every day and every month just seemed to get worse than before, but somehow I just never lost hope that things would eventually get better. I mean, once you hit bottom, there’s no where else to go but up? Right?

These days I’m doing a lot better than I was 2 years ago, but I definitely still have many more rough days than good. It doesn’t seem like it though, because I don’t like to show it… Sometimes, I just have to vent and let it out, and once it’s out I strive for more positivity! I’m hoping that the more positive I think and feel, more positive things will happen. One day, I will be healthy again. I just know it, and I’m going to keep trying to push for the positive thoughts that it will happen!

-Steph

Valentine Coffee Cozies

I know it’s the day after Valentine’s day, but these are a few of the cute coffee cozies I made for my Etsy shop! If you hurry now, you can order them for 50% off using the coupon code: HEART50 at checkout!!

Oatmeal Coffee Cozy with Teal Heart

Oatmeal Coffee Cozy with Teal Heart
by Stephanie Cardinez

Materials needed:
-Worsted Weight Yarn (I used Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Ivory Tweed and Peacock)
-Size H/5.00mm Crochet Hook
-Scissors
-Tapestry Needle

Abbreviations:
Ch – Chain
HDC – Half Double Crochet
Rnd – Round
SS – Slip Stitch
St – Stitch

Directions:
Ch 32 and join with a ss being careful not to twist (You can also do the HDC chainless foundation).
Rnd 1: Ch 1, HDC in each ch in the round, join with ss to beginning HDC (32)
Rnd 2 – 8: Ch 1, HDC in each st in the round, join with ss to beginning HDC (32)
Fasten off and weave in tail.

Heart:
I used this pattern to make the heart. The only change I made was doing the first round in a magic circle, and only did 2 rounds. Leave a long tail and sew onto your new coffee cozy!

I love making these! My friends love these too and I always get compliments! Hope you have fun making your coffee cozy! I would LOVE to see your finished work! Please tag @ThisNinjaCrochets on instagram with any of the work you have created using my patterns! If you don’t have a crafty bone in your body, you may purchase this coffee cozy here at my Etsy shop!

***You may sell your finished item, but I ask that you please link back to this post and give me credit!***

-Steph

Turban Inspired Ear Warmer

Turban Inspired Earwarmer
By: Stephanie Cardinez

Materials Needed:
-Worsted Weight Yarn
-Size H (5.00mm) Crochet hook
-Tapestry Needle

Abbreviations:
Ch = Chain
DC = Double Crochet
HDC = Half Double Crochet
SS = Slip Stitch
St = stitch

Directions:
Chain 65 and join being careful not to twist chain.
Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as 1 DC), DC in remaining chains, join with slip stitch in top chain of ch 3 (65)
Round 2: (This round is worked in back loops only) Ch 1, HDC in same ch and in each st around, join with ss into front loop of HDC (65)
Round: 3: (This round is worked in front loops only) Ch 3 (counts as 1 DC), DC in front loop in remaining chains, join with slip stitch in top chain of ch 3 (65)
Rounds 4-7: Repeat rounds 2 & 3
Rnd 8:  Repeat round 2
Leave a long tail. Scrunch up the middle and use the tail and wrap it around the center a handful of times. Tie off and hide ends.

You can easily alter this pattern to fit your head. If you need it to be smaller, chain less, and if you need it larger you can add more chains. You can also repeat rounds 2 and 3 until you get reach your desired width. Hope you all enjoy this pattern! This is one of the first patterns that I have written! Please let me know how this works out for you and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see your work! Please tag @thisninjacrochets in anything you have created using patterns that I have written! Thanks so much!! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me!!

***You can create and sell this if you’d like, I just ask that you supply a link back to my blog to give me credit for the pattern. If you don’t know how to crochet and would like to have one made, you can purchase one here at my Etsy shop!***

Patterns: Free or Paid?

I’ve been thinking about online Knit/Crochet patterns… even print patterns.

I’m a part of multiple Crochet Facebook groups, and I remember a post about selling items made from free patterns and it sort of grew into a huge discussion. A lot of the items I make, I freehand and have no pattern for it. For a while, I didn’t want to share how I created these items because I didn’t want someone else duplicating what I made… Then again, I realize that if you are really good at what you do, you don’t need a pattern to duplicate because you could just create something just by looking and guessing.

I’ve been thinking about dedicating this blog to patterns/tutorials/DIYs… and glimpses of my life.

My patterns that I release that are written solely by me (meaning not a pattern that I’m ripping off of someone and calling as my own, however, I do realize that a lot of patterns I will be releasing will be similar to many others out there) will be free. Items made from these patterns may be sold and I just ask that you give me credit for the written pattern!

However, I am curious to know. What do you feel about patterns? Do you think they should be free for all or do you think that you should be paid for the hard work put into writing the pattern?

-Steph

Moving Out of State.

Can I Do It?

Nani playing with a sparkler on New Year’s.

Hey everyone! I think I’ve probably created fifty thousand blogs by now (not really, but really), and I just truly want to have one that I feel like I can be committed to and keep up with.

I kind of go off everywhere with the previous blogs that I’ve started. First I might start off with DIY stuff, crochet stuff, cooking stuff… and then I literally try to keep up with other blogging standards (like fancy pictures and such) and realize that I just can’t keep up..

So, my goal with this blog is to just try to go with the flow. Hopefully, I’m able to incorporate all my craftiness into this as I plan to, but I’m not going to stress myself about it like I normally do.

We’ll just take it day by day, what do you say blogging world? Think I can commit to this blog? I guess we’ll just have to see! 2014 has a ton of surprises and adventures just waiting, and I hope to be able to document it and share it all with you! Wish me luck!

-Steph