Tag Archives: gifts

July 20, 2011 · 5:47 pm

Alaskan Crocheted Rocks

Bring a piece of “Alaska” indoors!

As you know I’ve been crocheting glass covers this summer and I got to thinking about picnics and my daughter’s outdoor wedding coming up.  How do you keep the paper napkins from blowing away?  So……….I’ve been having fun crocheting rocks that I’ve found on the beaches in Alaska!  I soak them, scrub them, and then crochet the rock using 100% cotton thread and sign them.  They are natural Alaskan rocks!  A long time ago I crocheted two rocks for bookends to use in my store (for my Laurel Burch journals) and they are just as pretty now as then.  But this time I’m getting more creative and adding beads, buttons, ribbon, crocheted flowers, and more and having an absolute blast doing it!

Collection of "Alaskan Crocheted Rocks"

One of my collections of Alaskan Crocheted Rocks

Jake and I go to the Alaskan beaches and hand-pick each beautiful naturally flat and smooth rock, which we lug home.  We have a favorite beach but you have to go down and back up a very, very steep cliff to get back to the car.  Of course it is so much easier to do in the fall when it’s cooler outside.  Put them in the back of the car and they help with traction in the Alaskan winters!  My husband is such a good sport!  At first he thought I was crazy, but now he actually thinks it’s really cool and he even uses them at work!

I make my Alaskan Crocheted Rocks to use as napkin and paper weights, book ends, door stops, decorative and conversational pieces like in bowls and windowsills.  Great for picnics and barbeques!  Or decorate your garden!

And they make perfect unique little gifts!  This is the crocheted rock I gave to my dear friend, Rene.

Rene's Rock

Rene's Rock

♥Donna

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June 3, 2011 · 5:55 pm

Beaded Glass Covers and Doilies

Hi!  I’m back to crocheting glass covers!  I’ve been making these for a long time and thought I would share them with you.  Because I live in Alaska, when summer comes everyone gets out of their homes and stays outside until the snow comes again.  Well, we have a picnic bench under some trees and the leaves, dirt, bugs, not to mention the pesky mosquitos fall into our glasses!  So I came up with these colorful glass covers to protect water or wine, or whatever you may have in your glass.  They work well for coffee mugs too!  I also make larger sizes to cover food bowls.  If you don’t want to use them on top of your glass, just slide them under your glass and you have classy glass doilies.  And when they aren’t on your table, they look really pretty under potted plants, etc.

We have been saving all sorts of glass jars and that is what we use for our ‘everyday ware’.  They look really cool on your table!  In fact, we have so many now that our cupboards are literally over flowing!  The glass covers also look quite elegant on wine glasses too!  For red wines I use dark color thread and for white wine, it doesn’t matter.

I love to choose different colors and add the beads on the ends.  The beads look pretty and are functional by weighting the cover down.  I’ve used charms and buttons too.  I’ve tried using plastic beads because they can go in the wash (inside a delicates bag), but they don’t hold enough weight, at least for outside.  I’ve even gotten fancier and made lacy glass covers (like doilies) but I have to keep the stitches tight so little bugs don’t sneak in.

Do you prefer a set of the same color or a mix of different colors glass covers?  Each one is unique even if they are the same color because they are handmade!  You can find the “Crochet Pattern” for it  on my website.

Crochet Glass Covers

Crochet Glass Covers

Wine Glass Covers

Wine Glass Covers

Glass Doilies By Donna

Glass Doilies

Have a GREAT summer everyone and protect your glasses!

♥Donna

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August 23, 2010 · 11:57 pm

Christmas In August

Hi!  Did you know Alaskans celebrate Christmas in July?  JoAnn Fabrics always has a big fabric sale on their Christmas fabric in July and a furniture store gives great prices at their “Christmas in July” sale.  I get flyers through the mail and I see advertisements on the TV.  I never have really understood why?  But the craft stores now have Halloween and Christmas items on their shelves (already!).  When I was in retail business I remember I’d have to start thinking about what I’m going to buy for the store for next Christmas, like right after THAT Christmas (or earlier).  Company reps would come up that winter or early spring to take Christmas orders and if you didn’t have orders in by summer, you were sunk.  I’m glad to be out of that life!

So……….I’m celebrating Christmas in August because  I recently posted some of my “Big Holiday Stockings” on my Etsy shop.  It felt weird taking photos outside and no snow yet, but it was so much FUN! I put a few tree branches in the tops of the stockings and hung them from a tree (a great suggestion from a friend & locker hooker).   I will be making more big stockings and I’ll get some photos in the snow.  We get snow in October and sometimes in September.

It all started when I drew one of my daughter’s names for a Christmas gift.  She had recently moved into a new apartment and I wanted to make her something special.  So I crocheted her own stocking with lots of colors and pretty yarns.  I even crocheted beads into the toe.  I had so much fun making it and used up some of my yarn remnants!  Jake was thrilled saying, “don’t stop now, what a great way to get rid of ALL your yarn!!”  OK, I do have way too much yarn, way too much!

Here are some of my Big Holiday Stockings!  I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!  Thanks!

Donna

One of my "holiday stockings"

Fun with fun fur

Christmas stocking

Had fun with some novelty yarn

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