Is Threading Beads Delightful? Maybe! You be the judge.

So I have a video on how to crochet hoop earrings and in that video I used beads with my thread. Now if you use beads when you crochet then you know that sometimes it.s difficult to find. Well in my internet surfing endeavors I came across a Nice lady, Brenda. She commented on the video about a certain needle we could use. My interest was peaked and so I went to her blog and looked at what it could be and this is what she was talking about.

The product she bought was GUM ease. It is a threader for your floss to clean between dentures or braces. Here is a picture of what they may look like.

This is fantastic, I think, since I always have trouble getting my thread through my beads. I have not tried it yet but will definitely be purchasing some in the very near future. For now this is what I also found useful is Beadalon. This is just regular beading wire used for jewelry making. I cut off about 6" piece and crease it in half. Then open it back up and slip in my thread between the two pieces and start threading on my beads. 

I got mine at my local Walmart and it is inexpensive and now has multiple uses. I keep it with all my other needles in my magnetic needle case also from Walmart. (Are you noticing the theme here) Here is a picture of what I have.

Give these two ideas a try and let me know how it goes. Do you prefer one over the other or do both serve equally as well? Until next time. Have a wonderful day.

Spring Crochet Patterns

My Niece is having a birthday this weekend and we will all be attending her party. I decided to make her a few goodies. Now mind you I have no idea her measurements and, I will probably regret not getting them, but I really love surprising the birthday person.

The first item I made was from a book called the "DoubleStitch Designs for the Crochet Fashionista" by Erika and Monika Simmons. I'm pretty sure everyone has seen or heard of them by now. They collaborate with Red Heart Yarn on patterns. I picked this particular book because it has some very cool, and modern style crochet garments.

I must confess that I did goof the pattern up. It did come out nice but I was sort of winging it. I did have trouble understanding some of the pattern so therefore it doesn't look exactly like the original. I do love the way it looks. What do you think?

My second item was this Happy Days Halter. Oh the possibilities with this pattern! It comes in 3 different sizes (small, medium, and large) but can be easily altered to go smaller or larger. My daughters loved it and so I will be making one for each of them and they of course have already picked out their colors. This was a free pattern from RedHeart.com and I have posted a link directly to it.

Happy Days Halter

The third item I made was inspired by another pattern I found in the book I mentioned above from the double stitch twins. I call this my hip hugger cover.
I really enjoyed the process of not having to look up at a pattern and just going with what felt and looked right. I will be posting the pattern at a later date once I have tested it. It was very fun and fast and I really hope she likes all of the items.

http://stitchandunwind.com/spring-crochet-patterns-stitch-share-giveaway