Earlier this month I participated in the Second Annual Craft Social Swap via Swapbot. I hadn’t done a swap in awhile and I’d never made a mug rug, which is what we were swapping, so I thought it was a good swap to participate in.

I have just received my cute mug rug, along with an additional coffee cup cozy, from my swap partner so I thought I’d share it here.

And here’s a look at the two crochet mug rugs that I sent to my swap partner:

Have you ever made a mug rug? Using what craft?

Tags: craft social, crochet, mug rugs, sewing, swap

For today’s A-Z Blogging Challenge post I’m going with crochet for the letter C and I’m doing something different – a post with little words and lots of pictures. If you like crochet check out my crochet blog at http://www.crochetconcupiscence.com.

All of the crochet work pictured here is my own:

Made for Scarves for Special Olympics

Squares that will eventually become a blanket

First Blanket I crocheted. Mom has it now.

Purse made from recycled sweater.

My crochet laundry bag with the old storebought one behind it

Do you crochet?

Tags: a-z blogging challenge, crochet

I’ve gotten a little bit obsessed about crochet lately and I wanted to share some of my stuff with you.

First, the writing. My crochet blog is called Crochet Concupiscence. That’s where I write about crochet news, fashion, interviews, artists, quotes, contests and more. One of the posts from that site, 25 Yarn and Crochet Apps, was recently included in a blog carnival over at Mental Mosaic. Another, about crochet artist Shauna Richardson, was included in a blog carnival at Greenwick Press.

I have also done crochet-related guest posts on The Shopping Mom, GoCrochet and Budget Dream Weddings. Crochet articles that I’ve written on HubPages include 5 Examples of Extreme Crochet, 20 Ways to Save Money on Crochet and 10 Crochet Words You May Not Know.

And now for the pictures of some of my own crochet work:

Do you crochet?

Tags: crochet, crocheting

I started crocheting at Thanksgiving and have learned that this is a terrific art form that you can use to make almost anything. However, it would not occur to me to crochet a yurt. It did, however, occur to artist Kate Pokorny who is planning to do exactly that and detailing the project on her blog, Yurt Alert.

A yurt, for those who aren’t sure, is a nomadic dwelling used by Mongolian people. However, it’s something that’s become increasingly popular as a design option in the modern world, especially among high-tech minded green-thinking traveler types.

Pokorny is taking the traditional idea of the yurt and instead of going more high-tech is going back to an even more basic design option. Traditional yurts have an inner structure covered with felt. Pokorny’s yurt will be made entirely from crocheted wool, needing no internal structure. Her goal is to use locally-sourced wool and to hand-crochet a large-scale dome which will end up being a yurt that can be lived in.

Creative idea. Way beyond anything I ever plan to do with crochet but cool to learn about, isn’t it?

Tags: crochet, crochet yurt, yurt

Most of us like to be involved in DIY craft projects when we can. At the very least, we like to be able to dress up our own clothing or make some of our own accessories now and then. But let’s face it, sometimes being crafty takes a back seat to practicality. There just isn’t always time to do things like sew.

For those of you looking to pull your look together without having to mess around with needle and thread, here are a few tips:

· Button Guns – These craft toys are inexpensive and can be efficient in a bind. Toss it in to your purse and the next time you have a button pop off, you can use your button gun to put it back on quickly.

· Fabric Tape – Have a pair of pants that you want shortened but don’t have the time to hem them? Next time you’re at the store, pick yourself up a roll of toupee tape. Stick the tape on the hem edge of the pants you’re shortening, turning it up so the leg sticks to itself and voila – you’re all set!

· No-sew Snaps – Use these instead of buttons to tighten clothes where they need to be tightened or loosen your look with some decorative picks.

· Patches – With the right choice in designs, fabric patches never go out of style. Rather than getting the sew-on kind, use the self-adhesive ones to jazz up your jeans.

And if you want to make things but sewing isn’t working out for you then I’d recommend trying crochet. I’m still working on learning to sew but it frustrates me a lot. In contrast, I’m finding crocheting to be super easy. I even made that cute little neck warmer recently.

Tags: arts and crafts, crochet, no time to sew, sewing, simple craft tips, smartchick

Over Thanksgiving weekend I decided to try to learn how to crochet. My mom had taught me how to do a basic crochet stitch when I was a kid and I really enjoyed doing it but then I never did anything with the skill. I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to learn how to do this again. And indeed when I first started trying to understand the language of crochet on Thanksgiving I felt fairly certain that this was yet another hobby that wasn’t quite right for me. Boy was I wrong! I have fallen in love with the art of crochet.

I’ll be honest in saying that I can’t do much yet that’s complicated. I only know really basic stitches. However what’s cool about crocheting is that you only need to know basic stitches to make a lot of items. I’ve already made a pillow, a scarf, a purse, some jewelry and the beginning of a blanket. What I’ve learned is that it’s easy but also complex. You can add many different stitches and tricks to make different items. You can use so many different combinations of yarn type, color and crochet hooks that it’s unbelievable. It’s creative and fun.

I’ve already got my eye on a bunch of stuff that I’m hoping to make in the near future. Five different items that I’m hoping to try my hand at in the near future (and which you should check out via the links to them if you’re into crochet) are:

1. Three Strands Crochet Headband with Flower Add-On. Cute little headband that looks really simple to make although I’ll have to learn to make crochet flowers if I want to dress it up.
2. Crochet Flower Necklace. Same great idea but this one is a necklace.
3. Crochet Mary Jane Slippers. I didn’t even think about the fact that you could crochet little around-the-house shoes. Love the idea!
4. Crochet Apron Soap Bottle Cozy. I don’t have a link to this one but I saw it in a pattern magazine from the 1970′s that my mom had around the house. It’s a little crocheted apron that goes over your soap bottle to cover it up. It’s shaped like a cute little apron. How fun!
5. Crochet Neck Cowl. Interesting alternative option to scarves.

Tags: crochet, crochet projects, learning to crochet