Crochet Earwarmer and Infinity Scarf

One of the tricks you learn as a crochet addict is how to pawn off all of your creations on unsuspecting friends and family members.  Unless you have a particularly chilly neck, there's no way you could possibly need all of the scarves you end up making.

I usually choose to give away my creations as Christmas and birthday presents to give a purpose to my craft.  Ahem, hence those hats... This year, I was inspired by Mrs. Micawber's Ribbonberry Stitch and decided to make an infinity scarf and ear warmer for my soon to be sister-in-law.

This stitch looks complicated but it's actually really easy.  Compared to some of the other patterns I've attempted recently, it was incredibly fast to complete.  

For the scarf, I followed the ribbonberry pattern exactly, crocheting until it was a nice length and then using a slip stitch to connect the two ends.  For the ear warmer, I started with just two slip stitches, and added another stitch each row until it was sixteen stitches wide.  Then I followed the ribbonberry pattern, except leaving 2 slip stitches at the beginning and end of each row instead of 4 slip stitches.  

Once the ear warmer was long enough (I may or may not have used my own head to measure) I started decreasing one slip stitch each row until I was down to two stitches.  Then I chained on about 15 to make the loop.  I finished it off with a button from my button jar.  What, you don't have a button jar?  Does that make me the weird one or you?

Personally I love this stitch, it makes everything look much fancier than your basic crochet stitches but is still really easy to do.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have a blanket to finish that I've been working on for, you know, the past eighteen months or so. Somehow it isn't even halfway done...

Want // Need: Delicate Jewelry

Statement necklaces and big, bold bracelets have been everywhere this year, including just about all of my outfits.  Lately though, I feel myself drawn to smaller, daintier pieces.  After the bling overload, they seem like a breath of fresh air.  The femininity and delicateness of the jewelry I'm craving below seem like the perfect addition to the spring wardrobe I've been dreaming of.

1. Arrow Charm Necklace - F21 / 2. Engraved Snake Double Wrap Ring - House of Harlow / 3. Delicate Heart Silhouette Ring - Ariel Gordon / 4. Sun Gold Bar Bib - BaubleBar / 5. Pave Ring - Ariella Collection / 6. Pink Arrow Ring - BaubleBar / 7. Mini Letter Bracelet - BaubleBar / 8. Tiny Arrow Stud Earrings - Etsy / 9. Gold Arrow Ring - BaubleBar / 10. Forget Me Knot Ring - FredFlare / 11. Wee Heart Ring - Anthropologie / 12. Skinny Mini Bow Stud Earrings - Kate Spade / 13. Chevron Cuff - Madewell

Quick Fix: Lengthening a Necklace

I've been having some serious jewelry struggles lately.  Necklaces tend to look best on me when they're shorter and hit completely above my bust line.  Sadly, this means that almost all of my necklaces are too short to sit under the collar of my button down shirts.  In yesterday's post I was wearing the only one of my necklaces that could work with a collar.

Necklace - LOFT

Instead of buying new jewelry or giving up, I decided to use some of the resources I had laying around my makeup table.  By adding a couple of safety pins I quickly extended one of my favorite necklaces.  Since it was going under a shirt with a collar, it was impossible to tell that the necklace had been extended.

Do you use any quick fixes to make your wardrobe work?

Ensemble: Dots & Chambray

Good Monday readers!  This outfit is actually from a couple of weeks ago.  I had some stitches in my leg, so I had to rock my flare jeans for a couple of days while they were healing.  I realized that I haven't worn them on a regular basis in six or seven years.  Oh, the joy of pants just slipping off instead of fighting to unstick them from my calves! 

Shirt & Sweater - Old Navy, Jeans - Gap, Flats - Payless, Necklace - H&M, Bracelets - LOFT

My brain actually had a hardish time coming up with ways to wear flared jeans after all of these years, but I ultimately decided most of my regular combos worked just fine, hence chambray and a sweater.  

Of course, once the stitches came out I went right back to my trusted skinnies, because really, they're much easier to wear with boots.  And boots in the winter in Chicago are important for ensuring you don't end up with little feet popsicles.  But perhaps my comfy flare jeans will come back into play once Spring decides to roll around.  Have you found any older pieces in your wardrobe you want to start rocking again?

Big Time

Quote - Jim Rohn

2013 is bringing some pretty big changes to my life.  The most important one?  After two years of dating, my boyfriend just started following me on Twitter.  I haven't yet reciprocated.

I tweet about all kinds of important things, like what I ate for dinner and my dreams.  You can follow along at @yesitskris.  Or not, that's cool too.

Free Download: 2013 Calendar Template

Do you remember my desk calendar I had framed?  I love my 2012 calendar, but for 2013 I decided I wanted to design something myself.  I created a template in InDesign and then pulled some photos I liked from Flickr and inserted them in.  Since they're from Flickr, this calendar is strictly for personal use only.  But, I thought I would share a free download of the InDesign template for you to insert your own photos into.  I chose nature images, but I think this template would also look great with your favorite artwork or with personal photos.  To download the template file, click here.

P.S. The font I used is SkarpaLT, for a free download click here.  

Since I've Been Gone...

Today I have to go back to the real world after a great week and a half off.  My little Christmas break was great - relaxing and fun.  I spent some time with my family, with the boy's family, and with my friends.  Here are a few photos from my break, get prepared for a photo overload.  

At Zoo Lights with the boy.  Somehow I've never been before!  It was actually way cooler than I expected.  

Most of the animals were asleep, but a few were getting ready for bed - including these monkeys that were giving each other good night kisses!  Super adorable.

Remember the little piggy I wanted?  Well I may or may not have ordered him while writing that post.   We don't have any bookshelves to put him on yet, so he's been assigned to another task in the meantime.

 This is a terrible picture but I saw the Christmas train go by me!  Unfortunately it was on the other side of the tracks so I didn't get to ride, but I did get to wave at Santa.  

Dessert with the boyfriend - I've never had a dessert that came with two little cups of hot cocoa before.  So adorable!

Relaxing with the boy after opening our presents - he got me the best one!  

The watch I've been dying over for ages and ages!  I may or may not have sent the boyfriend an email with the link and the subject line "BUY THIS FOR ME!"

Christmas at my parent's house - we did a great job with the color coordinating, yes?

The fireplace at my parents' house.  Fun fact - I made the painting on the mantle in art class in elementary school.  I'm pretty sure I copied it off of a postcard.  

Craft time with my brother's fiance for their wedding.  This is a wine bottle we wrapped with twine, I think these will be used for centerpieces.

My parents' new dog, Sophie!  She's great at laying, right?  My parents are so sweet to have adopted her, she's 12 years old and was returned to the shelter because her owner had to move into a retirement home.  Now she has a new home and a new family!

 I was at JCrew after Christmas and somehow resisted this coat.  They only had one left and it was in my size, marked down to only $50!  But I already have tons and tons of coats, so I left this baby behind.

Middle Sister wine, yes please!  I think my role as middle sister could be categorized as mischief maker, but my siblings may disagree.

A reunion dinner with my college roommates!  Love these girls!!

My NYE mani, I decided that super bright was the only way to go to compliment my super sequins-y dress.

Being silly with the boyfriend on NYE.  Apparently this is the "Kristina" pose, which my family teased me about and then copied for all of our Christmas photos.  

Happy New Years to all of my readers, here's to a fantastic 2013!