365 Blanket - Day 1

Yay! I have started my first afghan, and it happens to be my first crochet-a-long!

I started out wanting to make a solid granny square, but I could not get them to look right, no matter how hard I tried (if anyone knows of an easy pattern, please let me know).

I eventually found a pattern here that I love (for the square that I made above).  Maybe I'll still try to make some solid ones and incorporate them into the blanket.  Well see what happens.

I have no rules for this blanket.  It's just going to be whatever color I'm drawn to that day.  It's a little out of my comfort zone, as I'm very much a planner.  I mean, I have a planner for work and a planner for home and I also have to have everything synced on my phone!

Sorry, off topic...

I have tons of new yarn to choose from, though.  My SIL gave me a huge supply for Christmas!  I think my favorite color is the one I used today. It's Boysenberry by Red Heart With Love.  The one I'm doing tomorrow is going to be in Daffodil in the same type of yarn.

I'm interested to see what you've come up with.  Link to my blog or Instagram or Twitter using #TCLcrochetalong.

I'll post more of my progress on the blog in a few days, but I'll post to IG and Twitter daily.

Thanks for following along on my little adventure!

~Amanda ~

"365 Blanket" Crochet-A-Long

2014 is fast approaching, and I think this year I want a big project (not that I don't have enough big projects going on).  I find myself taking on many jobs as of late, and I love them all!

In the past few months I have made a couple of blankets and I'm working on a very special one right now for my brother.  I haven't made a blanket for myself, though.  I love blankets, so it seems logical that I would have one that I make.

So, if you would like to join in, I'm going to host a crochet-a-long, where we'll be making a granny square each day (or week, if you don't want to do one every day) and then making a blanket from them.

So, basically, you pick the style of square you want to make (our more than one style of you want), as well as the number of squares, and we make a blanket.

We can check in once a week to see about our progress.  There isn't much structure, no real rules.  Just be creative.  Also, please link to your blog or Twitter or Instagram feeds so we can see how it's going (if you want to post to Instagram or Twitter, please use the hash tag {TCLcrochetalong}.

I'm excited to have you on this little adventure with me and I can't wait to see what we come up with.

So, join me on January 1, 2014 with your first square to kick off the new year with a year long crochet-a-long!

~Amanda ~

2014 Year Long Project

Perhaps I'm ambitious.  Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment.  Perhaps (and I believe this might be closer to the truth) I'm crazy.  I am about to embark on a year-long project (like I don't have enough going on)
See, I try to make every year different. I like to have a theme each year.  I come up with something that I want my year to reflect, and I try to live by that theme.
2013 is the year of adventure.  I wanted to do a bunch of fun stuff.  I wanted to have an epic year, really.   Well, it fell kind of short.  There wasn't much in the way of epic this year.
So next year I'm going to try a slightly different approach.  I don't want to have any high expectations any more. This one seems like it will be simple, although, if you know me then you know simple isn't always simple for me.  I inevitably make things difficult.
Well, for 2014 I'm going to create.  I'm going to crochet one granny square each day and put them all together to make a blanket.  Sounds pretty simple to me.  I'm going to pick a couple different colors every day so the color scheme won't be the same.

Like I said, it sounds pretty simple...  But things aren't always simple with me.  I'm pretty excited to see what I come up with.  I'll try to put together a post every week for the blog, but I'll post the new square every day on a Instagram (@amandaropp).  I'd love if you followed along!


See ya,
~Amanda~

Big Plans Until...

I had such big plans today.  I wanted to go to McDonald's and get a White Chocolate Mocha, then come home and work on some little Christmas bobbles to put in the shop.

Nope...

I don't know if any other crafters out there have run into this problem, but I sat down, picked up my hook and thread, and proceeded to screw up everything that I touched.  I looked at my loving husband and said "I just can't seem to get it right!"

His response?  "Then put it down."

So I did.  That's why I'm sitting here, blogging instead of crocheting the cutest little glittery thingys to hang on the tree or on the mantle, or to wear somehow.

Putting down the mess I was making did give me some time to think about what I wanted to accomplish with these little Christmas-y things.  It also gave me a moment to realize that I probably wouldn't get them done and in the shop in time to ship to someone to enjoy them for Christmas.

So, what's the plan?  I have a baby blanket that I need to get done in time for Christmas, and I promised my boys that I would crochet a Minecraft Creeper for them by Thanksgiving.  I'm also going to start thinking about getting some stuff made for spring.

I'm still taking special orders and maybe putting some scarves up in the shop, but it will give me some time to get things going for 2014.

I am also going to double down on my real estate career.  I want to rock it next year.  Shameless plug:  If anyone is looking for a Realtor in Georgia, contact me!

See ya later, guys!

~Amanda~

New Store!

I have some exciting news.  I just opened a new store! I had one on Etsy, but I wasn't thrilled with it, so I looked into Storenvy. I love that site!

Come check out my hand made goodies.  I also take custom orders for just about anything crocheted you could want!

http://heartshapedcloud.storenvy.com/

I'm also on Facebook. Just look up Heart Shaped Cloud.  It should take you right to me.

~Amanda ~

My Very First Crochet Pattern

If any of my dear readers know me very well, they know that I am addicted to Instagram (please feel free to follow me @amandaropp).  Recently I posted a picture of some of my little crochet goodies, and someone asked for the pattern.

Well, this little creation (pictured above) was purely accidental, so I had to remember what I did so I could write it down.

This isn't the best pattern ever written, but here goes:

Boot Cuffs
Measure your leg where the top of the boot will be.
Chain to that length
Join to first chain with a slip stitch
*Chain 2
Double crochet around, taking care to keep the chain from twisting.
Join to first dc with a slip stitch*
Continue from * until the cuff is 6 inches tall.

Scarf/Necklace
Make a chain to 60 inches
Connect to the first chain with a slip stitch
Chain 2
dc in each ch (Here is where mine messed up, I must have let the chain twist once or twice, because it ended up curling up on itself and making a tube.  If you want a tube, let the chain twist a couple of times during the first row, if you want one that lays more flat, try to keep it from twisting.  I'm going to say that results will vary.)
Connect to the first stitch with a slip stitch
*ch 2
dc into each stitch
connect to the first stitch with a slip stitch*
Repeat from * until it is the desired thickness.
Once the Scarf is completed, double it up and secure it together by wrapping yarn around it.   Attach flower, and add button to the center of the flower.

Flower
The flower is from the pattern Irish Rose Purse by Rise Pirrone.

Button (for the center of the flower)
I found the button here.

Sorry for all the links.  Those parts were not my patterns, therefore I can't take credit.

I hope this want to confusing.  As I said, this is my first pattern I have ever written.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment on this page, or you can find me on Instagram.

I hope to make more patterns, so if you like this, please let me know.  Give me a little confidence boost :)

~Amanda~

Identity Crisis

So, I think I'm in the midst of an identity crisis.  I want so badly to have one of those cute Etsy shops that actually has sales (mine, unfortunately, has been neglected, so I have views, but nothing new to offer the masses).  I crochet all the time.  That's what my little shop is centered around (Click here to check out my little shop).
Now for the crisis.  I am super busy!!  I have a new business (I am now a Realtor, yay!!  Check out my website here) that is super exciting, and takes up quite a bit of time, and I have my awesome family that takes up the rest.  I'm trying to make sense of this craziness, and I feel like taking my frustrations out on my blog.  I keep  thinking of changing the name, maybe trying something new, but I always come back to This Charmed Life.  I guess, mainly because my life is charmed.  I have a tremendous family, a great job, and a hobby that I'm trying to turn into a second (or third, depending on how you look at it) job.
So, all in all, this post has just brought it all full circle for me.  I will keep going with This Charmed Life, I will keep pursuing Hook, Loom, and Yarn, I will embrace all of the out of the box (I hate that term, by the way) thinking that I have to start doing.  I love my life, and I feel so much better, just having written this!
You're probably wondering why I even bothered to post this, since it made up my mind and I no longer feel like I'm having any issues.  It helps to talk it out.  Even if no one reads this, even if I think no one's listening.  I've spilled my guts, I've shown my vulnerable side, and guess what...
I LOVED IT!!!

Thank you for being there to listen to me rant and whine.  I'll pick myself up, dust off, and get back on track.  This is exactly what I needed!  Thank you.

~Amanda~