Ashley Anklets - My solution to the Socks and Heels Dilemma

    I often think about the silly questions I've asked throughout my life.  When I was a kid, I remember being cast in a production at The Music Room School of Performing Arts and asking if I should wear lacy socks with my heels.  It was clearly ridiculous cause adults didn't wear lacy socks with heels, and I would be playing an adult part in a children's theatre production.  I learned that I should wear tights with heels, and didn't look back. 

Then...

    Roughly ten years ago, I went to England on a theatre tour with my college theatre department.  On our flight home, something magical happened.   Dancer in the Dark had just been released and they played it on our plane. Mid trip we realized Bjork was actually on our plane, in first class and in the flesh.  I will always remember sobbing my brains out as I watched that amazing movie, knowing she was on the flight with us.  Pretty surreal.

    I will also always remember seeing her in the airport waiting for her luggage.  She had little ribbons tied around her ankles. I've seen millions of anklets, but this was different because she had the same ribbon on each ankle. I fell in love with the idea. I know she can be 100% crazy with her fashion choices, but this was super duper cute. 

   A few years later, while working on a cruise ship, I frequently sported this Bjork inspired fashion choice.  Loved it.

Now...

   I've been thinking a lot about this "wearing socks with heels" trend that seems to be back in style.   I busted out a pair of socks to wear with my heels last time I was in New York, and I realized:

A -  It makes heels much more comfortable.  Especially for walking all over NYC.   

B -   It draws attention to the ankle, and therefor the shoe. And... I happen to love several pairs of shoes, so drawing attention to them is not a bad thing.  

BUT... I don't know if I'm always going to want to go for the whole sock in heel thing because:

A.  It covers up a new pedicure (when and if I take the time to get one)

B.   I wanted ruffled socks in a last minute fashion decision and couldn't find them anywhere near our apartment in NYC.  I ended up going with plain ankle crew socks which worked, but left me a little unfulfilled.  (I eventually found them here a few days later and have since seen them all over the internet... but still at the time it was a fashion emergency left resolved)

C.  I don't want to be mistaken for one whose wearing socks with birkenstocks.  

      The cons started to outweigh the pros in the Socks and Heels Dilemma.  

      I needed a solution. 

      I turned to my trusty crochet hook for inspiration, and decided I needed to crochet JUST the ruffled trim of the lacy sock.  Take the childhood sense of sockwear and combine it with what I learned from Bjork so many years ago.  

    While Mulling over this design in my head I read SnaggleTooth'dTrippleStep's recent blog post about socks and heels.  I knew something needed to be done... soon.  

     Knowing that Miss TrippleStep's Bridal Shower was approaching I thought this'd be the perfect time to bring these beauties into existence. So... I put these together for her and I'm totally in love.  

I loved them so much... I even made myself a pair!

Expect to see these in all sorts of shades on the shelves of my shop.

        

Beauty

A beautiful shower for a beautiful bride to be. 

Today was my dear friend Ashley's shower!  She's planning all sorts of crafty goodness for her shower. Handmade napkins, bunting and more.  (seriously check out her napkin post, it's so lovely!)

More photos to come from the photographer and fiance Sean.

Other fantastic photos of his can be found here.

And, what shower would be complete without a llama and...

a goat!

The day was planned by these beautiful maids. Hillary, Jen and Ash's wonderful momma Lulu. Great Job! Can't believe I didn't take more pics and I can't wait to see the photos Sean took.

lovely day

FPSC - A TUTORIAL ON FRONT POST SINGLE CROCHET STITCHES

 I've been working on a pattern for my Dahlia-lightful design for quite sometime now.  It uses a type of stitch that I haven't seen explained anywhere. As I mulled it over, I redesigned the flower a bit, and came up with this sweet little headband/lariat and this vintage inspired fascinator.   I am now ready to publish patterns for both designs. Yahoo! (find the pattern here!)

    In both patterns I use a stitch I would call a Front Post Single Crochet (fpsc) stitch.  It is similar to the more commonly used Front Post Double Crochet (fpdc) stitch.  As I explored this stitch, I was amazed by how infrequently it seems to be used. While fpdc was one of the first "different" stitches I learned (I was quite obsessed with giant fpdc afghans about 10 years ago), I'm currently excited about the possibilities of the fpsc.   

    It creates another level of crochetable stitches that are sturdy and lie flush up against the horizontal fabric with out the space created by a fpdc.  So... here's a little tutorial I put together on a stitch I've been using for quite sometime, that I think can open new possibilities for a new direction in crochet. 


    So get out your hook at try adding a fpsc into your day! : )  


Here's my definition of a FPSC - 


Front post single crochet (fpsc) – Keep hook in front of piece, insert hook from right to left around post of indicated stitch (figure 1), YO (figure 2) and draw up a loop(figures 3 and 4), YO (figure 5) and draw through both loops on hook (figure 6).

   

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

TA DA!!!

Here's a few other pictures that might be helpful as you complete a row of fpsc stitches.

Starting the second stitch in the row.

5 completed fpsc stitches

Starting the last stitch in the row.

This is a dc being worked into the previous fpsc.  Because fpsc's are shorter than fpdc it could be tempting to go into the st from 2 rows before (where my thumbnail is).  Make sure you go into the stitch that looks like it is in the back.  

See how the fpsc rows add a flat vertical playing field. You can now start crocheting a whole new piece of fabric right to these fpsc stitches. 

 These stitches were worked into the previous row of dc stitches.

In the middle, I alternated a row of fpsc with a row of dc. 

Again the fpsc rows add a flat vertical playing field. 

 These stitches were worked into the previous row of sc stitches. 

This swatch is made with 3 rows of sc, 6 rows of alternating sc and fpsc followed by 3 rows of sc. 

***This is my first tutorial and it is dedicated to Ash who didn't know how to do a fpsc. I think there are a lot of people out there who don't know how to make a fpsc. I hope this helps.

Time to Kiss the Sunset Pig

I've been seriously MIA and here is why...

WE'VE MOVED TO CALIFORNIA!

Exactly one month ago we drove a packed U-haul and drove across the country.  I have officially spent the past 4 years living out of a suitcase jumping from theatre to theatre and it feels so great to know I'll be in one place for awhile.  

We pulled from our vast knowledge of living on the road to make this trip as easy as possible.  Here's a few of the choices that made this trip the most bearable (even enjoyable) yet.

1. PRICELINE PRICELINE PRICELINE!   - We mapped out the cities we wanted to stay in and then "pricelined" a hotel the night before.   If the image of William Shatner has scared you away in the past... Put it behind you and use Priceline for last minute trips.  It was a lifesaver!  We bid 1/2 price on 3 star hotels and every single hotel was spectacular. 

2.  WHOLE FOODS - After my minor breakdown on our last trip (which JD lovingly calls the onion ring breakdown). We decided eating at Burger King twice in one day is no longer an option.  So, we googled Whole Foods and stopped at their salad bar when possible. A giant tub of sesame kale left us much happier than burgers and onion rings. 

3.  AUDIO BOOKS - I mean, this is a no-brainer... but it really does help.  We listened to Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.  So glad to have finally experienced both stories.

4.  A NEW CROCHET TECHNIQUE - I knew I had loads and loads of time to dedicate to a new knit or crochet project.  I'd been playing with Linked Stitches which lead me to dive back into figuring out Tunisian Crochet. I have played around with Tunisian Crochet, but never completed a project.  I ended up making a shrug that I really love! The trick to making this technique appealing to me was using a much larger hook than usually used for the yarn. It took some time for me to find my own Tunisian style... but time was the one thing I had. 

It's taken me awhile to come back to the online craft community but I'm back and I have lots to share. 

(Inter) NATIONAL CROCHET MONTH

Happy Crochet Month!

      In honor of my favorite yarny art form.  I've decided to take on an idea inspired by Robin at CrochetByFaye.  She suggested adopting a fellow crochet designer. You can read more about her idea here... try it!

       I am really bad at following patterns. I mean, I know how to follow patterns. But, I just don't take the time to sit down and stick to it!  So... I'm setting a goal.  I've picked two hats, that I am going to sit down and make by the end of the month.  I'll be posting pics once they are finished.

        I bought both hats on Etsy and you can too!  The first is a popular pattern written by Eileen Tepper.  I've seen loads of these hats and they are always a fantastic hit. You can find this pattern and other goodies she's created in her etsy shop.  www.TepperWear.etsy.com

The second is a hat by Jocelyn Sass from CuteCrochet.  I really love creating chunky messy flowers so I'm interested to see how she works hers up.  You can find other patterns in her etsy shop www.TooCuteCrochet.etsy.com.

Adopt your own Crochet designer this month! : )

       Happy Hooking!

I tried...

I really did. I said, "Winter!  I am going to crochet you away!  Snow! Begone!"


           But, it didn't work.

                          The snow continued to fall.


                                          Yes, I know! I know! It's pretty.  But it's also TOO DARN COLD!

Can you tell I'm over it?


     There is one thing that will cheer up the face of a cold girl...

    

A NEW SKOODIE! 

This pic was taken backstage in our greenroom and it's a little silly - but you get the idea. I really love that I am sitting next to a pile of toilet paper!  (ooops) This new piece this made with 2 different types of yarn and it is so squishy!  I don't want to give it up!  It's a custom order bday gift.  I hope she loves it as much as I do!

As soon as I took my Skoodie's off of my etsy site - custom orders started rolling in.  So I gave in. Skoodie's are again available here in my shop.  You can't fool mother nature.  It's a cold one out there and we still need help staying warm for at least another month or so.

Springy

I officially just shipped 3 giant boxes full of yarn and chunky knitwear to California.  Once this show closes we are headed to NYC, packing up our apartment and MOVING TO CALI!  We'll still be back in NYC often, so don't you worry.

In an effort to make the transition as smooth as possible... I've decided to slowly clear my chunky winter items from the Molly Made shelves. I'll be replacing the skoodies and neckwarmers with light springy pieces of wooly wonderment.

Keep an eye out for Felted Flowers, Ladybugs, and Cherries  like these from last year...

And... Look for my new crocheted Lariat Headband/Necklaces - they are already a hot item in my etsy shop!

BRING ON THE SPRING!