Mikey Magazine: Dec 4, 2015

Mike y

Dec 4th, 2015

In This Issue

Weaved Holiday Afghans A Snowman Family + others Meet us at Fayetteville North Carolina Dec 12.

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oliday ecorating

You make me smile

Hawt off the Hook with Mikey

Holiday Joy!

Do you decorate something for the holidays? Whether it be your home, office or just somewhere you find special.

I actually like decorating the home. We have a mix of store bought and homemade ideas that come together.

I get this cheap rise, especially in a home decor store, where they will show us an example of how to decorate your tree. I get a bit of a giggle and rolling of eyes at times with home much they can put on a tree. Many examples I have seen, you cannot we see the tree. You might as well get an oversized styrofoam cone and decorate it. I know... RIGHT? Daniel and I have different tastes of decor. Both budget minded but Daniel has this sick ability to wave his fingers and magic pops out of them and suddenly he’s got a bouquet of this or a bling of that. With a twist of wire he can assemble two items together that I would never think belong to together. He makes it look so easy that I’m jealous about it. I should read more home and garden magazines. Daniel is a pinterest-oholic and it shows.

I like the idea of decorating the home with someone, especially Daniel. We’ve been together nearly 7 years now. We already have history with the decor. Neither of us had Christmas decor prior to meeting each other. We built our collection together. Some years I wonder… “Why on earth did we buy this bowling ball size Christmas ornament?”

Our tastes change over time and so does our relationship. Our home decor reflects those changes too. With Daniel, he likes to change the house, it’s a sense of renewal as the ugly part of season is upon us. It’s gets dark way too early and the leaves are all gone. It just feels gloomy and depressing.

The Christmas decorations are a sense of welcoming the winter and giving extra lighting and imagination.

By the time Christmas rolls around, Riverstone has broken a few ornaments. She’s probably shaken the tree a few good times to make sure there is no squirrels or birds. I’m always glad to put it away at the end.

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Contents 3 Yarn Talk 4 Holiday Plaid Blanket 5 Tad O’Plaid Blanket 6 Mikey’s Wreath 7 Holiday Raccoons 8 Jingle Bell Hanger 9 Meet us in Fayetteville, N.C. 10 Facebook Shares Holidays 12 Holiday Decor Baskets 13 Snowman Family 14 Facebook ?s with Jeanne 15 Ticky Tacky Sweater 16 Mikey’s Video Library 17 Spinrite E-Tent SALE 18 The Croc Tree 19 Christmas Fir Tree 20 Open spots left Caribbean 21 Mikey’s Afghan 22 Ideas from Yarnspirations. com 24 Facebook shares 25 Facebook Meme 26 Last Weeks Features 27 Diva Dan! 28 Past Issues

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This week

I have this mental block in my brain. I get further in the slumps approaching Dec 21st for Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. I welcome more sunlight and I know each day it gets a tad bit longer from that day forward. I don’t really notice it until January but my internal clock says… yes… the warm days will be returning and it gets me through.

So the Christmas decorating for me is fun. My goal one year is to have everything on the tree handmade by me! It’s just a matter of finding time. I might just have to resort to the Charlie Brown Tree to cut down how many decorations I can make.

For those celebrating the holiday season in your own way, whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or many other different cultures that have different meanings for this time of year, enjoy the season ahead.

Cheers to the Holidays and to EVERYONE that celebrates in the many different ways that we do!

The *NEW* LookBook just in time for the Holidays

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Holiday Plaid Blanket O

ne of the first gifts we ever got was a beautiful weaved crochet blanket from a fan back in our very early days. She was from Alberta, Canada. We still treasure that blanket today and use it quite often.

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he is not a complicated pattern to do. The beautiful part is weaving the strands of yarn through the blanket creating a stunning texture. That is when the blanket comes alive with that Celtic flare.

Get the Pattern, Videos and Blog

Niamh is currently WIP from Ireland.

Looking Great!

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Tad O’Plaid Blanket T

his is another example of weaving, it’s close to same pattern but with a different approach to the weaving. instead of the whole blanket it was only weaved in the middle creating an abstract look.

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his blanket is perfect for that new temporary interior design.

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sing Bernat Blanket Yarn, it is super soft.

If you have used this yarn before you do know how soft and great to work with.

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sing only 4 colours, pick out your theme and run with it! Love to see what others can come up with!

Get The Pattern, Videos and Bernat Blanket comes in very large size balls. You a lot for it’s value!

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Mikey’s Holiday Wreath T

his is one of our favourite wreaths! Using a coat hanger and your favourite yarn, this pattern willl create a fluffy looking wreath.

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iva Dan decorated this wreath shown in the picture and, of course, he calls it ‘The Squirrel has gone Nutty!

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he pattern for the Squirrel can be found HERE.

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ikey has a video to do the wreath and the pattern written out for you to start making your own fun and creative wreath.

Get the Pattern, Videos and Blog Wreath by Jeanne Patterson

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Holiday Raccoon T

his raccoon is too cute not to have around the fireplace for decoration or even at the table. Add a little scarf and the raccoon is ready for winter. We even thought of winter skates!

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e love to decorate the house with a woodland theme. Bring nature indoors.

After if you are cold so are they, well just kidding....

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hen Mikey made the Raccoons, he did two sizes but do keep in mind the tighter you stitches are, the better to stuff the amigurumi character.

Get The Pattern, Videos and Blog Raccoon Family by Jeanne Beverly

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Jingle Bell Hanger A

little jingle door hanger is a great way to bring in the sounds of the holiday season.

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e also have a gallery of a previous challenge we did with this door hanger. The ideas to decorate the door hanger may inspire you!

There is a lot of creativity in the gallery.

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h a little note, Make sure the jingle door hanger is on a door that does not get used often. The bells might drive you crazy!

Get The Pattern, Video and Blog

Jingle Bell Hangers done by Loraine Schmidt

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Set your Sights on some Christmas lights and bring your holiday cheer to see the biggest stocking of the year!

More information has been released!

Check out TheCrochetCrowd.com for the latest updates 9

Shares of Holidays

This are super cute cup holders

by Katherine!

Maiah is in the festive mood making this snowflake afghan.

Catherine used one of Mikey’s older videos for a stocking. Well done!

Danielle learned this Stocking from one Mikey’s Videos

Emily is almost done her holiday wreath

Sharon did the Fir Tree and added her Decorations. So Festive!

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Monica’s added crochet snowflakes to her tree. Nice touch!

Rosie’s tree skirt with some added jingles!

This little baby set is cute as a button

by Mary!

Shares of Holidays

Lovely single crochet glued on foam balls for a fundraiser by Sharon.

Jinty’s first attempt at a stocking!

You know this is great for a first attempt Jinty!

Natalie’s Santa is ever so funny!

Love it!

Aimee made these slippers for a friends daughter. Adorable!

Love the cuteness in this picture.

Great Santa hat by BiBi.

These are many samples of what The Crochet Crowd Community is doing for the up coming Holidays.

Lisa made Mr Jingles. A pattern she Many of these patterns are ideas and inspiration created by the crowders themselves. Also you can go to our Facebook Page, Click found on Ravelry. LOVE HIM!

‘Photos’, them ‘Photos Posted by Others’ and scroll down to find what you are looking for. Don’t forget to say you love their Creativity!

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Holiday Decor Baskets J

eanne’s little decoration tip for this week is making a holiday basket. Bernat Blanket has come out with some festive and creative holiday colours that would be so much fun.

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eanne mentioned that you can put pine cones as she did, even holiday scented potpourri, candies, Christmas cards, or even make a lovely floral centre piece using this basket.

Honestly, there are plenty of ideas to fill them. In her example she left out the handles for personal taste.

Get the Pattern

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Snowman Family T

his would be probably the simplest snowmen family you would ever make.

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n general, you just make a pill and give a snug, pull and tied with a string to form the neck. Covering it with a scarf. How much simpler can that be?

Get The Pattern, Videos and Blog We asked Laura Jean what she would place as decoration for the table and she suggested the Snowman family. Well, she is such a sport she finished her family is less then a day but she forgot one thing.

Have you NOSEtice?

They still look awesome Laura Jean!

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Facebook ?s with Jeanne I see a lot of people using crocheted yarn around tea lights or around mason jars that holds candles...is it safe, or does the yarn potentially melt or burn? In short, how safe is it? Same goes for Christmas tree ornaments made from yarn...what if they get too close to a light? from Deborah A.

I purchased an online pattern and found the written directions were full of errors and I had to figure it out by the diagram and/or my own knowledge of patterns. Is it best to avoid these patterns on other websites/FB pages and where are the most accurate patterns available? from Marge C.

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Great question! You should take extra care when having an open flame anywhere in your home and especially sitting on a flammable cloth. Yarn, if cotton will burn and if acrylic will melt, so either way, but sure to keep the flame away from it. Keeping your candles in a glass container where the cloth isn’t near the top should be safe.

But of course, never leave a candle unattended. What you may not know is that wax is highly flammable and I have even had a fire inside of a glass container. When wax turns completely to liquid, it can ignite.

So far as the lights on a Christmas tree, those are pretty safe these days. If you can touch the light and there is no heat, then you are safe.

Sorry to hear that you had a hard time with your purchased pattern, but happy you figured it out. I buy lots of patterns myself. Most of the time I’ve been pretty lucky, but occasionally you can get a stinker. I try to stick to sites that appear more reputable. Ravelry is a great example, but of course you could get bad patterns there also. The way I would decide it to see if Have you ever tried to join squares using sewing thread? Would others have made the pattern and I read their notes to it lessen the bulk at the joining? I am making a tablecloth using see if they have complaints about the pattern. Search cotton thread. from Lucetta S. out for reviews as much as you can ahead of time.

Also, the personal photography before you purchase a I have never thought to try that, but I think that is a great pattern might be a clue as to the quality of the pattern. idea. I would think it would work just fine. Our fabric I have seen patterns for sale where there are misspell- clothes are held together by a single thread and they hold up ings in the description and that is another clue of a pretty well. I was recently sewing together a couple of cropattern to avoid. Jeanne is looking for questions cheted pieces made with Bernat Mega Bulky yarn and wished

on Facebook to answer.

I had tried this. Next time for sure!

Let the Party Begin!

So it Started! What will your TICKY TACKY sweater Look Like!!!

What kind of Fun can you create!

We hope you can come up with something as fun as this. Remember the due date to send in your photos of the Ticky Tacky Sweater is December 15th! Then we have a live event with Karen Ellis and ourselves over the Tickiest, Tackiest sweater! It will be a lot of laughs!

Stay Tune!

Get the Details to have a Bit of Creative FUN!

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Holiday Ideas Tutorials by Mikey

Rainbow Zapp Scarf

Take it from the Top Sweater

Funky Placemats

Granny Stripes Hat

Cozy Posy Scarf

Queen of Heart Blanket

If love the teaching, the patterns and the down to earth nature of Mikey, then take the time to subscribe to the Crochet Crowd’s YouTube Channel. You will get updated with all the latest videos that could spark your next project!

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Don’

t mis

s out !!

Bernat Zapp $3.00 bag of 3…

8 colours to choose from…will be gone after Dec 31, 2015

Enter to Win… Place an order on the E-Tent and your name will be entered into a draw!!

More purchases / more chances to win! Win 1 of 2 boxes of yarn valued $50.00 each.

Draw will be made at 5:00 pm on December 31, 2015 Winner will be contacted.

Order online for amazing discounted or overstocked yarn through

Spinrite’s E-Tent Try out these patterns from Yarnspirations.com with your new order!

Rainbow Scarf

Pop the Top Hat

Super-Slpash Scarf (knitted)

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The Croc Tree T

his is one of Mikey’s Signature designs and ideas.

The Crocodile Stitch Tree. We have used in countless festive seasons, such as fall, Christmas, Easter and even summer for displaying on the table.

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great looking tree that any yarn, solid or even variegated works.

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ave a look at some of our examples of this tree.

Easter was when Diva Dan went a little over board decorating for the season.

Get The Pattern, Video and Blog

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Christmas Fir Trees G

reat as table toppers, these Fir Trees are a great way to add some festive cheer to your decorations.

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onsisting of single crochet and chaining, you generally make multiple size circles and slide them down a styrofoam cone.

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on’t forget to add some decorations to the tree if you wish. We have even seen people adding micro lights to them.

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ake them dazzle with a good sparkling yarn like Caron Simple Soft Party!

Get the pattern, video and read the blog and tips.

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Crochet Cruises Update

Caribbean

Sherry our Cruise agent has suggested that there are some last minute cabins available for the March 2016 Crochet Cruises in the Caribbean.

If you are interested in a last minute vacation and be part of a wonderful group of friends and crocheters. This is a great opportunity.

For more information on the last minute opportunities. please click here.

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Mikey’s Afghan Colourful, Textured & Adventurous

Order Here

For More Information

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Get Your Own Card Imagine free shipping anytime exclusively for members of The Crochet Crowd! Need an emergency order of yarn, get your code and keep it on file! Only at Yarnspirations.com.

Does not include any sales from the Spinrite E-Tent.

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Ideas

Christmas Tree

Santa Basket

Layered Leaves Wreath

Elf Dishcloth

Reindeer Dishcloth

Santa Pillow

Merry Christmas Wreath

Candy Swirl Hotpad

Crochet Ridges Tea Cozy

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Shares from Our Community

Laura! This is one lucky baby. I think I would love to be is cart full of yarn!

Lisa will making more of this pattern! Love the matching hat!

Tricia made an extension to her crafting cart. Cool idea!

Sherry’s baby niece is getting an adorable blanket. This is really cute!

Kati’s Afghan is absolutely stunning! Really Amazing

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Stacie’s Oreo cookies and milk afghan! Can’t get any sweeter then that!

Made from a yarn stash Lavern’s parents bought for her. OK! that Entrelac Afghan looks amazing!

Maree’s star afghan is for a friend’s first grandchild. A beautiful gift!

Love the colours and shapes of Fatma’s afghan. Circles, squares and triangles!

Check in with us, we will post on Facebook, the photo Meme of the day.

We like you to come up with something clever for the photo. We will pick the one we like, then add it to our Magazine!

What would your meme say?

For YOU Honey...

Anytime.

It’s quite lovely!

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Our Features from Last Week’s Magazine Edition Sandi worked on the Openwork Scarf and LOVES the Pattern and so was Christine working away on her project Evelyn has done the Simple Textured Blanket before, changing the colours. Nicely done Jason has been working away at the Easy Pleasie Blanket from our last week’s Edition.

He is using Bernat Blanket. It is so great to see men work on crochet projects.

To see our last week edition.

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Diva Dan! What an exciting week this is! We finally get a chance to meet Sherry, our Crochet Cruise Agent and Group Planner, for the first time in Florida! We started working with Sherry back in March of this year. Sherry has been beyond the best we have ever had for a travel agent! But what’s even more exciting is that we get a chance to see the Celebrity Silhouette cruise ship for a half day tour. We are gearing up for a March 2016 Crochet Cruises. We have lots to organize but mostly we want to make sure that 200 or so crocheters will have a seamless and enjoyable cruise packed with fun and lots of crocheting!

Sherry in the blue shirt has a passionate love for parrots!

It is exciting for us. Three years ago we had our very first vacation on a cruise and we hated it!

Yes we hated it! So we decided to try again but this time we did a call out on our Facebook Page to see if anybody would like to do a cruise with us and crochet your dream vacation on the high seas!

The response was awesome and today it is a tri-annual event for us! Our second year of the Crochet Cruises was like meeting old friends, laughing and enjoying the times while at the same time meeting a lot of new friends. It is all about meeting people, developing lasting relationships, and sharing the love of crochet.

It may seem like the dream life but it is a tremendous amount of work! Michael, Jeanne, Sherry and I are in constant communications to ensure everything is set. And then it starts all over again! For Michael and I, we are like the cruise ship entertainers but without the break! We love our group of crocheters! We spend time with everyone, chatting and throwing the yarn jokes! Fun times!

We also can’t believe that the holidays are around the corner. Where has the days gone? Well, these next few weeks were are going to give you ideas right up to Dec 24th. If you are like us, we will continue to do the last minute projects. Why not, sometimes the best ideas and projects come at the last minute.

As we finish this year, we have our 8th birthday of The Crochet Crowd. Eight years already!

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Past Issues

To join our newsletters for our latest Magazine

You can download our newsletters from our website anytime you wish.

If you decide to print, the links will be not active.

In any case, most of all the patterns can be found again through our website.

TheCrochetCrowd.com

This newsletter is produced by Michael Sellick and Daniel Zondervan, Creative Directors of The Crochet Crowd. While we try our best to provide a grammatical error free newsletter, a few errors most likely will slip between the stitches. We are a very small company with a creative thirsty crochet following. If we are to produce a newsletter that has no errors, we would never be able to send one out.

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Our team is also propelled by Colleen Barden - Samples & Show Support, Laura Jean Bartholomew Community Info Seeker and Jeanne Steinhilber - Community Chaperon. Š 2015 TheCrochetCrowd.com