Pin Some Loving Hearts

Do you like Valentine's Day?

I realized last year whilst doing a bit of blog reading that some people really dislike Valentine's Day.  Not me.  It also happens to be my anniversary (#26 in 2015 to be exact).  And on the year I got married Valentines was a Tuesday to boot!  Yes, I got married on a Tuesday night.  I do not like to do what everyone else does and I don't not like my holidays and celebrations defined by what the rest of the world thinks is the right way to go about it.  But I do, bottom line, like Valentine's Day.

So for me - I love to make Crochet Hearts!  And I happen to have a pretty nice collection of heart patterns for crocheters on one of my pinterest boards - aptly named, Crochet Hearts.

Above in the photo you will find just a snippet of those crochet heart patterns, but you can go to the REAL board and save all your faves on your own pinterest board.  If you make any of them, please share them with me - I'd LOVE to see your LOVELY creations that are all about the day of LOVE.  Simply click the picture of the board above in this post and it should whip you right over onto my Crochet Hearts Pinterest board.

Enjoy - and happy hooking.  Sher

PS - while you are over there, take a look at my other crochet boards.  They are decently well organized and give me loads of pleasure to scroll through them and pick and choose which ones will be next on my DOING list!

Facebook Valentines for the Snowbound

Here's an idea for you if you are stuck inside due to several feet of snow blocking your way outside... Facebook your Valentines with photo design software.

Here's what I posted for my lovely hubby today:

See more Valentines/Anniversary photos I designed for him and read about this post over at my other blog by CLICKING HERE.

Hearts aBrewin' amidst the Snows

 Woke up Sunday to find this little curled up fur ball in my bed - she snuck in when no one was looking and was very still and quiet.

Ran some errands Sunday afternoon just as the first few snowflakes began to fall.  We were expecting an inch or less.  The sidewalks and streets coated up pretty fast with the cold temperatures (it's been well over a week since we've seen temperatures over the FREEZING mark aka 32F).

Headed out in slippered feet to check the progress - yep, just a coating.  Off to bed.

6am - awoke to find more than a coating had fallen over night.  Instead it was 3-4 inches.  Fortunately no school delay or cancellation.  I didn't even bother to get out of my pjs, just started a pot of coffee, made a school lunch, popped a pair of boots on my rainbow sleep socks and headed out at 6:40am to shovel.

I was not alone, a few other neighbors were out, clearing away - again.

By 7:20am hubby and son had headed off to work/school and I was clearing the snow from the final car, preparing for my own departure for BE Fit exercise class.  I hadn't been to class in over a week so after an hour of shoveling my own property and the neighbor and the driveways, sidewalks and cars, I wondered how my muscles would cooperate for the class!

Climbing out of the car after exercise class I gazed up at the brilliant blue sky and dark green pines and delighted in the cotton balls that hung from every branch.  This had been a light and fluffy snow, just enough to cover the grey ice with white fluff and make it look all pretty again.  The sun was out and I was warm from the class (a great class which I did manage to get through quite well).  Added some color to my cheeks...

Treated myself to some citrus water.  I love my new (scavenged and free!) citrus juicer.  I've been doing lemon, lime and clementine and adding the mixture to my ice water - very refreshing after a workout and it feels so summery!

Tho still below freezing, the sun was really doing its work on the sidewalks and the streets were almost back to black!

The tulips and daffodils on the mantel were blooming with flourish - enjoying the warmth of the house and the sun.

And OH MY LUNCH.  YUM. YUM. YUM.  toasted taco shells with refried beans, sharp cheddar from the farmer's market, shredded spinach and cabbage (way easier to keep fresh and crisp than lettuce), topped with some homemade guacamole - delish.  YES!  I ate it ALL and wanted more.

This morning (Tuesday) I headed off to running group.  It had been two weeks since I'd run - for a variety of reasons and only one of those reasons being the weather.  I wasn't sure how I'd do.  I was slow, there were hills, it was cold but I did it.  Three miles, slow - mighty slow.  But hey, I was out there.  When I returned home I saw two things... clear streets and more sunshine!!!  

Checked my weather app after the run and saw it was 20F degrees!  That's 12 degrees below freezing on the Fahrenheit scale.  It was a cold run but by the time it was over I was well thawed out and sweaty even!  Hmmmm what's that little red exclamation point, I think I'll click on it and see.  Yesterday, the weather report said we had 2 inches of snow coming Wednesday night.  OH MY!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  6 to 10 MORE inches, with a layer of sleet in the middle, heavy, icy, branch breaking, power killing ice between the bouts of snow.  OH MY.  Coming tomorrow night and sticking around all day and night on Thursday.  UGH.

Well today I will just enjoy the sunshine filtering thru the windows and the flowers popping open with power!

OH... and a bit of something red pink and heart-ish happening on the hook.  I have a plan, for Valentine's Day - which is not only Valentine's Day but my 25th ANNIVERSARY!!!!  I hope the roads are clear and the power is on and the public transportation is running on Friday cuz Hubby and I have some plans.

Oh yeah, one more little thing happened last night - I went to my last ever swim meet.  Child #4 of 4 competed in his last diving meet - and the whole dive team even did a swim relay just for fun - they didn't do half bad.  It was a fun meet and certainly an end of an era for the Jenkins clan.

senior posters

son Sawyer w/ girlfriend and her sister

senior Sawyer send off with parents

the seniors and their coaches.

TATA - stay warm.  Sher

Valentine Trimmings

Above the fireplace, I decorated the mantel to be more in line with Valentine's Day.  Hubby hates it when the Christmas decorations leave the house looking bare and longs for some festive décor.  For me, it makes a fabulous excuse for filling the house with crochet and flowers~

Makes me want to run upstairs and crochet more stuff with hearts!

Paper Heart Valentine Critters

I have another blog.  It's mostly about Digital Scrapbooking, Traditional Scrapbooking, Personal Photo Organizing and Memory Preservation.

Today I posted a bunch of Paper Heart Valentine Critters.  Maybe you'd like to play with paper and hearts too.  If you'd like to see all 6 of the photo tutorials for the cute little Valentine Critters, CLICK HERE.

Chocolate Heart House Bunting

Did you see my Happy Heart House Bunting?  Well, here's another take on that.  It was inspired by Valentine's Day chocolate.

and also inspired by a little Gingerbread crochet house that I found when I was looking for a way to add snow to the roof of my happy heart house bunting.  In the gingerbread inspiration house, Ursula makes an ornament.  It's single thickness and doesn't have the final edging of single crochets around the outside that mine does.  She also uses a different pattern to make the little red heart on the front of hers.  But, nonetheless great minds think alike, right? I've made my chocolate bunting the same size as hers as we both came up with basically the same house pattern and I liked the size of her gingerbread version.

I'm calling mine:  Chocolate Heart House Bunting and it's a baby version of the "Happy" one.  I've made a photo tutorial and also have typed up the pattern so you can follow it exactly as I made mine if you so choose.  Here goes:

This pattern uses American Crochet Terms
Yarn used: Knit Picks Dishie 100% cotton yarn (light worsted/~dk); size G/6 - 4.25mm hook
also white carpet warp and a size C crochet hook

Row 1: To begin, make a slip knot and chain 9, turn.

Row 2: sc in each stitch (8 stitches), ch 1, turn.

Row 3 - 8; Repeat Row 2.

Row 9: sc2tog, 4sc, sc2tog, ch1, turn.

Row 10: sc2tog, 2sc, sc2tog, ch1, turn.

Row 11: sc2tog twice, ch 1, turn.

The basic house is now constructed.  Next, single crochet around the outside edge.

Starting at the top of the roof and continuing down the left slope of the roof, make 1 sc in each stitch.  Make 2sc into the same stitch at the place where the roof meets the house and 3sc into the same stitch at each bottom corner of the house.

Make 2sc into the roof tip and finish off at the top of the house.

GREAT!  Now make a second house the same way.  Each bunting house requires two of these.

My bunting has 5 houses, so 10 house sides are needed.

Now, onto the heart.  I made all of my hearts in light pink.  I used this pattern here:

For my bunting I needed 5 hearts.  Stitch the heart to the right side of 5 house parts.  The back doesn't need to look neat because it won't show.

Once the houses and hearts are complete and the hearts are sewn on, it's time to join the two house parts.  Put two house parts wrong sides together and tuck in any yarn tails.  They fit nicely right inside, no need to even clip them.

Single crochet the two house sides together.  Again, put 2sc into the stitch where the roof meets the house, 3sc into the stitch at the bottom corners of the house and make a (sc, ch3, sc) into the very tip of the house so that there is a bit of a loop at the top of the house - the loop is what you will use when you connect the houses to form a bunting.

Let's add the snow (tho. today, where I live, this would definitely be a layer of ICE on the roof - oh my the weather we are having here!  take a look at THIS POST to see photos).

To add the "ice" to the roof, I switched to a C sized hook and a very thin white cotton.  Poke the hook into the stitch just below the final edging and pull a loop of white thread thru.  Yarn over and pull through to attach the white.  Now, single crochet, ch 1, single crochet up one side of the roof top and down the other.  It did the stitching by starting on the right side of the roof just below where it meets the house, the right side is facing me.

When you get the to top of the house, stitch the white ice in front of the loop as you see in the photo below.

Next, weave in any remaining tails and get ready to join the houses.

I used the same pink yarn as the hearts to connect the bunting.

Make a slip knot and chain 15.  Slip stitch into the first chain to form a hanging loop.  Chain another 15, put the hook through the top loop of the first house.  Make 3sc into the roof top loop.  Chain 15 between each house and the next house.  Make 3sc into the top loop of each house.  After all the houses are attached, chain 30 and then slip stitch into the 15th chain from the hook to form the final hanging loop.  Weave in the ends of the bunting connector and TA DAH - find a lovely place to hang it up and enjoy it for Valentine's Day.

Remember, this is way more low calorie than the actual chocolate candy!

Happy Heart House Bunting TA DAH!

A bit before Christmas, I had the idea for a holiday house bunting (hopefully it is an idea that will remain in my brain and be created for another Christmas).  HOWEVER, this year it never came to be.  The idea was still in my head when the holidays were over, and the designs I had played around with a few months ago were still pushing themselves at me and begging for creation with a hook and yarn.

So, I devised a heart house bunting for Valentine's Day.

I had first created a cute little house for my bunting a few months back.  I was happy with my pattern and so, that part of the bunting I kept.  Because it's typically cold and sometimes snowy here in the northeast USA around Valentine's Day, I searched around the internet for inspiration to add a snowy rooftop to my little house.  (More about that find - later)

I also wanted LOVE to join in with my house bunting.  A house full of love for Valentine's Day?  A little snowy house full of love with a fire going inside?  A yarny love house with a warm fire and snuggly blankets inside...yes, yes and yes.  These are the inspirations that my Valentine's bunting would portray.

So I got to work, trial and error, and what happened is my Happy Heart House Bunting!

I'm super pleased with it.  And of course, I must share the pattern with you so that you can make one too! Here goes the photo tutorial (American Crochet Terms):

Supplies:

I used Knit Picks Dishie yarn (one of my faves).  It's 100% cotton and a light worsted weight.  It comes in a decent variety of colors.  I order it online and use it often.  For this project, I chose a size G - 4.25mm hook, tho. this size is less common than the size G - 4.00mm hook (either will work fine).

The first items to create are the houses themselves.  You will make two houses from each color.  My bunting has 5 houses (it could easily have more or fewer).  I'll start with the orange house.

Foundation Row: Chain 13, turn. (12 ch plus 1 turning ch)

Row 1: sc in each stitch across, ch 1 turn (12 stitches)

Row 2 thru 10:  Repeat row 1.

At this point you have 10 rows of 12 sc each

I photographed this over a few very cloudy days - photo colors vary, sorry.

Now for the roof.  You will begin and end each row with a decrease until you reach the roof point.

Row 11:  sc2tog, 8sc, sc2tog, ch1, turn
Row 12:  sc2tog, 6sc, sc2tog, ch1, turn
Row 13:  sc2tog, 4sc, sc2tog, ch1, turn
Row 14:  sc2tog, 2sc, sc2tog, ch1, turn
Row 15:  sc2tog twice, ch1, turn

You have now built one house side, but you will put a sc border on it to smooth it off.

Starting with the last stitch you made, and continuing down the left side of the roof (front side is facing), sc in each stitch around.

When you get to the stitch where the roof joins the house, make 2sc in that stitch

When you get to the bottom corner of the house along the bottom, make 3sc in each corner.

When you get back up to the top of the roof, make 2 additional sc right there at the roof peak (where you made your first border stitch).

slip stitch into the next stitch and finish off.

Now, using the same color yarn, make a second house just like the first.  GREAT!

Continue on, making two houses from each color until you have as many houses as you plan to add to your bunting.

As you can see in the photo above, I have only one more orange house to create!

Once you have completed your house, it's time to make a heart for each house.  I made 5 red hearts - one for each house.  You could of course make any color heart or make lots of different color hearts depending on the look you want for your bunting.

I used a heart pattern from Maggie's Crochet Blog I got permission from Maggie to link to her heart pattern here. (the pattern may appear to be unavailable but it's not, just scroll down for the directions).  I have an entire pinterest board of crochet heart patterns.  Maggie's is on that board as well.  I like the Maggie's heart pattern because it was very simple and made in two rounds.  I used a magic ring when I started my heart, Maggie's pattern calls for a ch4 with a sl st join to begin.  Either method works fine.

Remember to leave 1 or 2 long tails on your heart.  You will use the tails to sew the heart onto your house.

While I was rummaging around for a pair of scissors in one of my drawers, I came across a little package of heart buttons.  I ended up stitching a button onto the front of each heart as well.  You can add a heart button embellishment or skip that step - up to you!  If you add the button, stitch it on BEFORE you go on to the next step of joining the two sides of the house.

No need to make it look pretty on the back, this will all be hidden.

Once you stitch on the heart, the button would go next.

Once the heart (and button) are attached, you will join the two houses.

Line up the houses with their wrong sides together.  Then, starting with the heart house facing you, join the two houses together using a single crochet.  I started just to the right of the heart on the right hand side of the house.

Make 2sc in the same stitch where the house joins the roof.

At the roof peak, sc in the topmost stitch, then, ch3, then sc in the same stitch again.

Continue down the left slope of the roof, make 2sc in the same stitch where the house joins the roof.

Continue down towards the bottom of the house and make 2sc in the same stitch at each bottom corner.

Continue around to the place where you started joining and slip stitch into the first stitch made, finish off, weave in ends.

Repeat the same steps to join the two sides of each house.

Next - let's add some snow to the roofline!

Using the same hook and some white yarn, push the crochet hook into the house into the stitch just below the joining row you made (see photo).  Do this about 1 or 2 stitches below the point where the house joins the roof.

Pull a loop through.

Make a single crochet that goes over the entire join row you made.

You want about 11 sc stitches from your starting spot to the peak of the house (count back down from the house peak towards the house side to see where to begin - if you prefer to make 12 stitches on each side, that can work as well).

Note that where the arrow is shown in the photo above, I crocheted the white sc in front of the 3ch loop at the top of the house.

This first row of white is what will hold our little piles of snow onto the top of the house.

Ch1, turn.  Peform the following stitches going up the left side of the house towards the peak and back down the right side (the opposite direction of how you just put the first white row on).  Yes, the back of the house will be facing you while you make the snow piles.

In the diagram above, you will see the back of the house.  The little white ovals represent the sc stitches you made with the white yarn.  The black text along the slopes indicates what stitches are to be made in each of the sc you made in the previous row.

The starting point is indicated.  The starting point is where you ended the first white row and did a ch1, turn.  You are ready to begin the stitches listed in black.  I hope you can understand the diagram.  I am a very visual learner and I felt the written explanation would be too lengthy and confusing.  If you have any questions about this part, contact me.

Here is the blue house with the snow piles on the roof.  Keep in mind that it was just after I made this house that I decided to add the heart buttons to the bunting so I had to sew the button on this house after it was already joined.  You should not sew on the button after joining.  The rest of the photos show the button sewn on at the correct time.

Now that you've finished adding snow to your first house, you will want to continue adding snow to all of your houses.  Here are some photos of adding snow to the yellow house to assist you if the photos above don't do the trick.

Keep working (get a nice cup of coffee or tea to get you through) until you have added snow to every house.

Now - get up and do a little happy dance!  You are nearly finished with the bunting except for the joining together so this deserves a bit of celebration.  Here you see the snow on the houses from the back sides.

Most assuredly, you will want to arrange your houses in lots of little configurations and take loads of photos just to please yourself - and you would be right by doing so!

Lovely - happy - fabulous!

Okay, now before you get too over the top with your accomplishments, you need to attach the houses together to form a little bunting.  This process is very easy and painless and it really takes very little time.

First - decide the order your houses will go in.  Then, note that with the house fronts facing you, you will join the houses right to left.  So if this were to be my final order, I would first join the orange house.  This is not the case with my bunting - in fact, this little configuration is exactly backwards from how my final bunting will look - no worries, I rearranged it before joining as you will see in the remaining photos.

Here goes the joining.

Using your joining yarn and the same size hook (I am using red) ch20.  Slip stitch in the first chain from the hook.  You have just formed a loop - this will be your hanging loop.

ch 30.  Now you will join your first house.

Pick up the first house (the house that will be all the way to the right side of your bunting).  With the house facing you (heart in front), make 3sc into the loop at the very top of the house (the loop was formed when joining the two houses).  See photos below.

A: ch 25.

B:  Make 3sc in top loop of next house.

Repeat A and B for each house that will be in your bunting.

When the last house is joined, chain 50.  Then, sl st in the 20th chain from hook to form the second hanging loop.  Weave in ends.  DONE!

Okay - another happy dance is in order, or a glass of something that will make you tipsy if you'd prefer.

Your Happy Heart House Bunting is complete and ready to hang it up in honor of Valentine's Day!  YIPPE.

Hope you enjoyed my bunting tutorial.  Let me know how you like it.  And, if you make one, feel free to share your photos on my ravelry page or in my facebook group.

Next up - in my search for rooftop snow, I uncovered the cutest little tiny version of my little house created by another crocheter.  So, I made a mini chocolate candy version of my heart house.  As soon as I get permission to link to her pattern, I will certainly add a photo tutorial for that adorable and yummy little Valentine's Day bunting as well - stay tuned! Cheers, Sher.

NOTE:  I made a similar bunting with a photo tutorial.  I'm calling it Chocolate Heart House Bunting and you can find the TUTORIAL HERE.