join in the first periscope crochet along !

I am super excited to share with you an upcoming project.
Introducing the first #periscopecal!

As you already know, I have fallen completely down the rabbit hole of Periscope.  And I am dipping my toes into the possibility of interactive crochet with my first Periscope Crochet-a-Long.  Eeeeeeks!

The Dates:
September 13 through October 17 (5 weeks)

The Pattern:

{NOTE: Please don't Pin this photo--it is not mine.  Please click on the link below and Pin directly from the original site.  Thank you for your cooperation!}

The Carnivale Cushion
by Michelle Robinson of Poppy and Bliss

Isn't it gorgeous?!!

The Gist:
Each week, we will work on a part of the project.  Every Monday at 11:00am est, I will Scope mini-tutorials for the stitches and techniques used in the project.  Every Thursday at 11:00 am est, I will share my progress so far and then open it up for a Pass-the-Cast for anyone else who would like to share their progress.  If you haven't Scoped yet, this would be the perfect time to jump in on a supportive community (hint, hint)! If you are not able to join live at those times, the replays will be available on Pericsope for 24 hours and on Katch.Me.  Please share your progress on your social media outlets using the #periscopecal.

The Schedule:

{Please note the change in time for the 1st three Scopes below}

Prior to September 13: choose your colors and gather your yarn and hook.
Scope: 9/10 at 11:00am 4:00pm est
to share my yarn picks

Week 1: 9/13 to 19
Cushion Rounds 1-7
Scope: 9/14 at 11:00am 4:00pm est
to go over this week's stitches
*magic circle
*invisible join
*standing stitches
*double cluster stitch
Scope: 9/17 at 11:00am 4:00pm est
to share progress

Week 2: 9/20 to 26
Cushion Rounds 8-14
Scope: 9/21 at 11:00am est
to go over any questions/review stitches
Scope: 9/24 at 11:00am est
to share progress/talk options

Week 3: 9/27 to 10/3
Cushion Back
Scope: 9/28 at 11:00am est
to go over front post double crochet
Scope: 10/1 at 11:00am est
to share progress/talk about blocking

Week 4: 10/4 to 10/10
Pillow Insert
Scope: 10/5 at 11:00am est
to go over any questions/review
Scope: 10/8 at 11:00am est
to share progress

Week 5: 10/11 to 10/17
Finishing
Scope: 10/12 at 11:00am est
to go over joining and pompoms!
Scope: 10/15 at 11:00am est
to share our finished projects!  Woohoo!

Along the way, I will be sharing my progress on Instagram and posting weekly updates here on my blog as well.  All Periscopes will be saved on my Katch.me and I am hoping to embed them in each week's blog post as well (have never done that, so hope I can figure it out).

If you are planning on joining us, I would love for you to leave a comment in this post or send me an email (link in side bar) or comment on the post on Instagram.

I am super excited to begin this project with you and see how it all goes!

periscope : my top tips and how-to's

So you've downloaded the Periscope App and you're wondering now what?

Here are some of the tips I've gathered during my month or so on Periscope:

Your Profile:

1. Use a face shot as your profile picture.  Periscope is a more personal form of social media.  You're interacting with people face-to-face in real-time.  Let them see who you are!
2. Fill in your bio.  People will click on your name during a cast and make a split-second decision whether or not to connect with you.  Let them know who you are & what your interests are.  People want to connect with people who are similar in some way to them.
3. Scope daily.  I know this one is hard.  But even if you come on to share your 1-minute bio.  When people visit your profile, they are wondering what you're all about.  A current, playable Scope helps answer their question.

Your Scopes:

1. Just do it!  Yes it's super scary to press that red broadcast button.  But put on your brave girl pants and put yourself out there.  The connections you will make with people make it totally worth it!
2. Plan ahead. While sometimes it's fun to fly by the seat of your pants with your Scopes, you should have some sense of what you will be talking about.  Make a list to keep yourself on track.  When the comments start flying and interactions get going it's easy to forget what you set out to say.
3. Keep it brief.  People's time is valuable.  And just like many other forms of internet activity, attention spans are short.  Say a brief "hello and thank you" and deliver your content.  Your viewers will thank you for it!
4. Frame your face. Put your face in the top third of the frame.  Comments often cover the bottom portion.
5. Look at the camera.  Your device's camera is where the eye-contact is made.
6. Interact.  The whole point of Periscope is to interact with your viewers in real-time.  If you want to talk at someone, write a blog post, send a Tweet, or make a YouTube video.  Periscope is a give-and-take of ideas and discussions.
7. Keep it vertical.  Unlike YouTube, Periscope is shot in portrait mode.  Hold your device upright so you don't send people's heads tipping sideways.

Watching Scopes:

1. Give hearts.  While watching others' broadcasts, tap the screen to give them colorful hearts. They're free and it's easy.  And it tells the Scoper that you like them.  Spread those love hearts everywhere!
2. Comment.  Ask thoughtful questions.  Tell them you feel the same way.  Offer up additional ideas.  
3. Interact with other viewers.  Tap on someone's name during a live broadcast and a menu pops up where you can "reply" to that person, "view profile" (here's where you decide if you would like to follow them), and "block" (occasionally there are creepers on Periscope who are, sadly, up to no good.)

Ideas for Scopes:

1. Teach. What do you know how to do that you can teach others?  Give tutorials for knitting, crochet, a mixed media technique, photo editing, camera settings, cooking, painting, brush script.  Teach the world what you know!
2. Preach.  What do you feel passionately about? What lifts you, moves you, makes you want to be a better person?  Tell the world about it!
3. Share. An idea, a project you're working on, your scrapbook, planner, art journal, recipes for this week's meals, a book you've read.  Share with the world!
4. Show. Visiting an amazing place? Show the world!

Above all: be polite and positive.  Like any other social media (or any part of life, really) be kind.  Keep your comments positive and encouraging.  Give lots of hearts and be your best self!

periscope : what is it

About a month ago, I discovered the new-to-me social media platform, Periscope.

Periscope is a live-streaming, interactive broadcasting form of social media where "Scopers" (people) "Scope" (broadcast) about anything their little hearts desire.

I originally joined a boom of teachers who had heard about Periscope at a Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Las Vegas.  Teachers were viewing Periscope as a fantastic way to connect with other teachers, share lesson ideas and resources, and even integrate it into their curriculum to connect with classrooms around the world (how cool is that?). 

I quickly realized that artists and fellow crafters were also hanging out on Periscope, sharing peeks into their art studios, explaining their process, and generally doling out free inspiration by the bucketful.

Needless to say I'm addicted.

You can find me on Persicope with my Twitter handle 

@lifemadecreate

I'll be sharing some of my Periscope tips in a future post, but in the meantime.  Jump in to Periscope! It's fun and you just might learn something and make new friends (it's like going back to elementary school!)

granny blanket : cocoa puff

Hello!

This is the last square of the summer.  It's bittersweet; while I am sad to see the poolside-lounging days and stay-up-late-cuz-you-can-sleep-in nights come to an end, I am looking forward to getting back to routines and schedules and mostly a new school year with a new group of first graders!  I truly have the best job ever!

This week's square, I won't lie to you, takes a bit of concentration.  I awoke at 6:30 this morning with the expectation that I could hook it up in an hour.  I tuned into some teaching podcasts and got started.  Now maybe it was the distracted bit of multi-tasking, but I had to tear out several rounds sometimes more than once.  Maybe it's just me, but this may be one of those squares you'll want to give your undivided attention to.

WEEK THIRTY FIVE || Cocoa Puff

by Melissa Green

It is a lovely square and turned out to be the perfect size for my blanket.

crochet : another baby newsie hat

Here we go!  I'm on a roll!  It's post #3 for Kid-Free Catch-Up!  Blog posts for days--wooohoo!

Today, I'm sharing my hands-down favorite baby boy crochet hat to make.

Soooo cute, right?!

I've shared the pattern before on this post, so hop on over and check it out, k?

quickie crochet hearts

Welcome to post # 2 in my Kid-Free Catch-Up Blog Series!  Gosh, that makes it sound so official, doesn't it?

I have some super cute and super quick crochet hearts to share with you today.
I made these to give as gifts to my students at the end of the school year (yeah, before this summer started--told you I was in catch-up mode!)

I found an adorable and colorful quote on Pinterest

Then it was just a matter of sitting for a couple of hours (listening to podcasts, of course) and hooking up 85 of them.

To make them even easier, I left the tails on (can I get a boo-yah for not having to weave in ends!), tied them in a knot and stapled the hanging part to the top of the printable. 

 After telling the kids how much I love them and how fabulous they are going to rock the second grade, I gave them a tip for those first-day-of-second-grade-in-a-new-school jitters: 

Put this heart in your pocket and remember how much all of your teachers at ___school love you!

The pattern is simple:

In a magic ring, ch3, 5dc, ch1, 1trc, ch1, 5dc, ch3, slip stitch.

That's it!  How easy is that?

crochet : baby booties

Hi there!

So I am enjoying 2 whole days of kid-free creativity (and cleaning and catching up and organizing).  Part of my catch-up is to write a few blog posts of projects and ideas that have been fluttering around here--things I have not had time to post with three boys home with me for the summer.

Here's the first in this series I'm affectionately dubbing "kid-free catch-up!"

Baby Girl Bow Booties:

I used the same pattern as the booties in this post, but added a strap.

Here is the pattern that I adapted from this pattern at Croby Patterns.

Use an E hook (3.5mm) and DK weight yarn.

Foundation for sole: ch 11, in 2nd chain from hook make 2hdc, hdc in next 8, 6hdc in last stitch.  Working up the other side of the chain, hdc in next 8, 2hdc in last chain (26)

Round 1: 2sc in next 2, sc in next 5, hdc in next 3, 2dc in next 6, hdc in next 3, sc in next 5, 2sc in last 2. (36) sole complete

Round 2: in back loops only, sc in each stitch around (36)

Round3: hdc in each stitch around (36)

Round 4: sc in next, sc2tog, sc in next 8, hdc in next, dc2tog 6 times, hdc in next, sc in next 8, sc2tog, sc in last (28)

Round 5: sc in next, sc2tog, sc in next 4, hdc in next 3, dc2tog 4 times, hdc in next 3, sc in next 4, sc2tog, sc in last (22)

Strap: slst in next 7, ch 11, in 4th ch from hook, hdc in each ch across, slst to next stitch on body of shoe. Use chain space at end of strap as button hole.  

Bow: Leaving a long tail for stitching, in magic ring work ch4, 3trc, ch4, sc, ch4, 3trc, ch4, slst.  Use tail to wrap around center as desired and stitch to top front of bootie.

Stitch a button to body at open end of strap. 

For right bootie, ch1 and turn to do slip stitches of bootie up the opposite side of shoe body.

I hope you enjoy this pattern and hook up some cutie little booties for the babies in your lives!

granny blanket : heat wave

Good Monday Morning, friends!

Please don't fall off your chair or spill your coffee, but I actually have my square done and ready for posting on time.  

And when I say "done" I mean finished, not correct.  Honestly I don't know what the heck was going on when I was hooking up this square last week.  Maybe it was the fumes of the pool chlorine and sunscreen.  Maybe someone slipped something into my lemon water.  Whatever it was, I messed this square up and didn't notice until I was photographing it this morning.  Take a look:

WEEK THIRTY FOUR || Heat Wave

by April Moreland

 Do you see it?  It's in the yellow round of dc on the left.  What the what?!?  And it threw off the entire rest of my square.  Case in point for counting stitches my friends (I'm so bad about that sometimes!).  Guess I know what I'll be doing while the boys swim today.  

It's still a beautiful square with an easy to follow pattern.

Edited to add: corrected square

granny blanket : pavo square

Good Morning!

So this week, I was bound and determined to get my square posted in time.  I sat poolside on Sunday afternoon hooking away while the boys swam:

lifemadecreations A little poolside #crochet while the boys swim. These #summernights are dwindling and I am determined to do two things: enjoy them while we have them and get this week's square posted in time for tomorrow morning.
2 days ago (Aug 09 2015 17:47:57) | Photo Filter: Normal | delete

Then exactly 4 minutes and 43 seconds later I ran out of grey yarn, 6 stitches from the end of the round.  Ugh!
No big deal; I've got this.  Ill just run to the craft store after dinner and pick up some more.
Except the craft store closes at 7:00 on Sunday and I arrived at 7:09 Ugh!

So here is this week's square, late again.

WEEK THIRTY THREE || Pavo Square
by Chris Simon

I did notice an error in round 5, noted below:

granny blanket : wheel lattice

Good Morning!  I'm squeezing in a quick post before I head off to school this morning (seeing as I'm already 4 days late).

WEEK THIRTY TWO || Wheel Lattice

by Dayna Audirsch

I did make one minor change to round 8, switching the dc around to sc around.  I also ended the square after round 10 to fit my blanket.

Have a fabulous weekend!