Mother's Day Gifts & Mother's Night Fun

Mother's Day is only a week away! Give her the gift of inspiration with a custom diy kit! Combine two or more items as a gift set for mom and receive 10% off your purchase with gift wrapping available in store or as supplies to take home and diy!

Give yourself a Mother's Day gift! Join us for Mother's Night, an evening of craft and fun and some good old fashioned 'me time.' We'll be creating beautiful sets of hand embroidered note cards. Sign up here and share with your friends on Facebook.

Crochet Hook Valentine's Heart

I knew I wanted to make some crocheted hearts to decorate the shop this Valentine's Day, but got extra excited when I realized the crochet hook makes a perfect little Cupid's arrow! Pattern below!

Crochet Heart with Arrow

US Crochet Terms

ch = chain

sc = single crochet

hdc = half double crochet

dc = double crochet

tr = treble crochet

dtr = double treble crochet

sl st = slip stitch

HEART **Edited 2/3 to correct error in row 2**
ch2

row 1: 3 sc in 2nd chain from hook, ch 1, turn (3 sc)

row 2: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch 1, turn (4 sc)

row 3: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (5 sc)

row 4: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (6 sc)

row 5: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (7 sc)

row 6: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (8 sc)

row 7: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (9 sc)

row 8: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (10 sc)

row 9: 2 sc in 1st sc (increase made), sc across, ch1, turn (11 sc)

row 10 (shaping the top of the heart): dc in 1st sc, 2 tr in next sc, dtr in next sc, tr then dc in next sc, hdc in next sc, sl st in next sc, hdc in next sc, dc then tr in next sc, dtr in next sc, 2 tr in next sc, 2 dc in last sc, fasten off, weave in ends

ARROW END
ch 4

row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, 3 sc in next sc, sc in last sc, ch 1, turn

row 2: sc in 1st two sc, 3 sc in next sc, sc in last two sc, fasten off, weave in ends

To attach the arrow end to the crochet hook, you may want to stretch the triangle to expose the two holes that you made 3 single crochets in on both rows. With the pointed end of the crocheted triangle facing the hook, insert the non-hooked end of the crochet hook over the top of the triangle into the first hole, then up through the next hole as shown below. I made the mistake the first time of turning the triangle the other way which made it look like the arrow head instead of the feathered end.

Next insert the hooked end through the heart from front to back and back to front as shown in the finished photo above.

This is my first shared pattern, so I hope it serves you well! I would love to see photos if you make one!

Lauren

Grand Opening & Patchwork Recap

Leading up to last weekend, we wondered more than a couple of times what we had gotten ourselves into...a pre-opening party, grand opening day, and Patchwork Long Beach...in 3 consecutive days!? Ready or not is was time for our close-up! Without the tremendous generosity & help of so many friends and family, there is truly no way we would have pulled it off. I'll leave any further sappiness to personal thank-you's! At least tears of gratitude can't smudge internet writing!

A couple of pictures actually exist from the grand opening festivities! We were so caught up in the moment, that these are all we have to share. Our (big) little banner at the top left actually doubled as the backdrop to our Patchwork booth as I'm sure it will for many future events. All it took was some crocheted chains stitched on a drop cloth and the fabulous bunting made by Jessica at Beerandbaking.com (not only did she make the awesome arrow cookies and honeycomb candy at the bottom, but she's a crafty one too!). The pre-opening party was such a hit, our favorite little customer had to take a rest in our comfy lounge area.

Grand opening Saturday was just as fun, but maybe a little windier...we were able to capture our sandwich board (made by Grandpa!) before it's corner was chipped clean off in a gust! Inside, however, we were crocheting and letterpressing up a storm and giving tours of the space! If you didn't make it in last weekend, don't fret, we are always happy to show you the space!

By the time Sunday rolled around, we were running on pure adrenaline. As our first craft fair booth (can you believe it!?) it came together pretty smoothly, but it's amazing how easily things can become disastrous. For example, how did I not realize until the last minute, that there was no way all of our supplies were going to fit in my little Ford Escape? Or that finding your destination can be a matter of having a navigator or not! (Thank you Megan, Jessica & Sean for all your help!!). Our letterpress was a big hit and we still have the gift tag linoleum blocks at the studio if you didn't get a chance to try it out that day. If you did miss the Long Beach show, there's still one more in Santa Ana on the 25th! 

It was so great to meet so many new people over the weekend! If you entered our drawing, keep an eye out on Facebook and in your e-mail as we will be announcing winners soon!!

-Lauren

GRAND OPENING!

Our Grand Opening is finally here! Join us on Saturday, November 10th, to check out the studio and do some fun DIY-ing! We'll be raffling off some great prizes too! We hope to see you soon!

**Please note that we have a big little typo on our official website, and our correct address is 2035 Placentia**

Sorry for any confusion!

Here Comes Halloween!

Get in the spirit and come by this week for two awesome events! First up is a costume workshop/swap on Friday. Come and share ideas and inspiration or show those last minute people how it's done by finishing your costume in the studio. For the swap, bring in those old cat ears or batman cape and see what they're worth to someone else (trade only, please). Friday night we'll be carving pumpkins like mad (scientists!) and we hope you'll join us. To make the night even better, bring in a stencil you've made to share with the group (we can photocopy here). We look forward to seeing you!!

We Love: Imperial Yarn

If you haven't seen this yarn yet, we bet you'll love it at least as much as we do. Right now, we're stocking the Columbia 2-ply mulespun and super soft Erin 3-ply worsted in some seriously beautiful vibrant and neutral colors! We also have some fun options with their Anna cotton/wool twist and the bulky Native Twist and Lariat skeins for amazing texture and quick knits! Hurry and check it out before I buy it all up myself! (Don't worry, we plan on having these beauties around for a long time!)

-Lauren

It's Happening!

We’ve been living so in the moment, that only this moment did we realize to announce…our soft opening is THIS FRIDAY!!! We are so thrilled to share with you not only the fruits of our labor, but of the family and friends who have given so generously countless hours of brain-racking and manual labor!! We hope you will stop by this weekend and help fill the studio with the creativity its been waiting for!

The studio is an evolving space that is ready for you to use and hungry to suit your needs. As we continue to add to our inventory and workshops during our soft opening, we hope you will pardon any quirks and kinks and let us know what you think!

Our new website is on its way, but Workshops are here now! Please check back as we add the Calendar and Workshop descriptions to the blog here and our Facebook page! Workshop registration is available by phone and in store.

Hope to see you all soon!!