The Trove

 It's WIP Wednesday!  One of my favorite days of the week is when I get to show off all my projects and ogle at your pretties! I've been doing a lot of pattern testing since September and am currently working on three tests and one personal project. First up is this beautiful knit project, the Aurisma Cowl is full of gorgeous stranded colorwork that is a fast knit! Each section of geometrics took me roughly 2 days to do, I still have two more sections to go and then it will be finished! Check it out though! How pretty is this?  Don't worry, when the pattern drops I'll do a special blog post on it! Project 2: Here's my most recent test, I just started yesterday. I give you the Oma Shawl. I'm using Lion Brand Ice Cream yarn in the color way Cookies and Cream! I'm super excited for the fade with this pattern specifically because of all the delicate stitch details! Never mind my little photo bomber, but how pretty is that fade? Seriously, I can't wait to wea...

 As I said in my last post, things have been crazy. I got married and had a baby and life has been happening full speed! But I still make time to play with yarn. Afterall, I have to have some sort of a crafty outlet or I'd absolutely go crazy. I've recently discovered the beauty of Crochet and Knit testing, and fallen in love with the community. Yes, I knew pattern testing was a thing but I had kind of forgotten how much fun it could be. One of my most recent projects is this beautiful shrug from Okie Girl Bling and Things. It's a free pattern over on her blog, I'll give you the link so you can check it out for yourself. It's cozy and perfect for cuddling up with a cup of hot tea on a cold wintery day.  Well, at least it WOULD be perfect for a wintery day. Here in Oklahoma, the weather has felt more like late summer instead of the final days of fall! That hasn't stopped me from my cozy makes though, or dragging my husband and baby out to the lake to document the...

 Welcome to The Trove! As y'all might have noticed, I've been MIA for the last few years. Well I decided to pop on and check out what the blog looks like today, and let me tell you... I was totally lost! You really don't think things change that much until you take a five year break and then come back. Oh goodness, did I just show my age?  Anyway A LOT of things have happened since my last post! The biggest being, I got married and now have a baby boy!  It is my hope that I'll do project updates with this blog and be much more consistent than I have been able to be. So be on the lookout for my project post coming up! Ya'll are still absolutely loverly! Dorothy

Hello Loverlies!!! I'm so bad at writing regular blog posts when life gets busy... This morning I got a friendly reminder email from a follower that I promised to post a certain knit hat pattern last fall. Today I make that all right and give you the Port Royale Cabled Beanie! PORT ROYALE BEANIE Skill level: Basic and easy! Things needed: -just over 81 yards of bulky or super bulky yarn. I used Hometown USA Solids in Portland Wine from Lion Brand. -US size 15 needles -A tapestry needle Let's get started: Cast on 58 stitches! R1: (RS) k1,p1 *k10,p4,k1,p2,k1,p4* rep to last 2 stitches p1,k1 R2: (WS) p1,k1 *p10,k4,p1,k2,p1,k4* rep to last 2 stitches k1,p1 R3: rep row 1 R4: rep row 2 NOTE: If you are working this project in the round just repeat row 1 three times! R5: k1,p1,*c5f,p4,k1,p2,k1,p4* rep to last 2 st p1,k1 Repeat rows 2-5 this 5 row sequence until hat measures desired length (mine was 7½” at this point) ending just before a fifth row....

Hello Loverlies! I hope everyone is having a fantastic time decorating for the upcoming spooktacular season! Mr and I have been quite busy doing just that. We've got our carved pumpkins near the front steps, a garden full of tombstones and a few ghosties lurking nearby. My favorite thing to do is crochet cute Halloween decor for inside the house. Here are two cute and easy projects that whip up super quick and require minimal amounts of poly-fill! First is the Jack Skellington wreath from Love to be in Stitches! This is a simple and straightforward pattern, all you need is some black and white yarn and the know-how of single and half-double crochets to make this project your own! I added a few crochet roses to mine for an extra symmetrical look, but you can add all sorts of festive decorations for yours! You can find the ravelry page for this project HERE Next up... something for all those Wizard of Oz fans. Witch Legs!!!! Once again, a basic pattern that results in an a...

Hello Loverlies, This is without a doubt the most personal entry I've ever written for this blog, as in most of my stuff I try to be witty and lighthearted while showing you cute little DIY projects for your home, this post is something entirely different. Today's post isn't related to crafting or decor, it does include baking... but the true meaning of this post is much more than that. Today my little brother would've turned 24, but he passed five years ago and will always be eighteen years old. My brother was everything to me... he was my safe haven, practical joker, and movie trivia buff. He was all those things and more. He was my best friend from the time he was born. I can still remember seeing him for the first time in the nursery window while I pointed to him and proclaimed to anyone who would listen that "THAT ONE is my brother". We shared eighteen years of laughter, sibling squabbles, and countless memories. He had an infectious smile and gi...

Hello Loverlies, It's that time of year when we start feeling a chill in the air, paired with the urge to wear chunky knit sweaters and drink pumpkin spiced anything while sitting around a bonfire. It's almost like there's something genetically programmed into the human race to love fall. The changing of the leaves, the smell of the crisp earth... the decorating for Halloween season! Ever since I was I little girl, I loved everything about Halloween. I loved the spooky pranks neighbors would play on eachother. I loved the candy that was given out in abundance. I loved watching ABC's yearly airing of the Charlie Brown classic, "It's the Great Pumpkin!" Most of all, I loved that it was the one night a year that no matter how old, or young you were everyone was given the opportunity to be someone else for a night! In celebration of the holiday, I've decided to do a series of posts about Halloween! These will be about things such as decorating, fall fun...

Hello Loverlies, As always it has been far too long since my last post, but I've been busy crafting my own halloween costume and other cute things. One of my latest finished objects is a project that was not only fun and simple to make, but it turned out ADORABLE and will become very handy when it's time to take Christmas card photos. Have you ever wanted to dress your best friend up as a deer? By best friend I'm talking, of course, about your dog... now I'm imagining my bestie wearing this hat... excuse me while I climb out of the floor and resume my typing! "Okay, Mum... can I stop with all this cuteness?" If you know one thing about me, it's that I LOVE to make things for my furbabies... Well I've knitted and crochet countless sweaters for Maverick, when I suddenly came to the relalization that I had not made anything for my lovable Rottie mix, Maxwell. This was my first project (hopefully of many) for my big boy! He's a super cute model...

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3... is this thing on? Hello again loverlies! As many of my ravelry followers know, I've been hard at work revamping some of my older designs. The Tequila Sunrise beanie was the first to have a facelift with the help of my fantastic boyfriend! I had forgotten how much I love the simplicity of the cabled beanie until working through it a second time, and was completely inspired to write a new cabled beanie pattern! Introducing the Port Royale Beanie! I cannot wait to release this pattern! It's simple, beautiful and would make a great gift for yourself or anyone on your Christmas list. There's one issue, however, I have no desire to repeat the sloppy pattern-writing of the Tequila Sunrise Beanie (I've learned my lesson) SO... I'm searching for a few good knitters to test my pattern before it goes live. Requirements are: You must know the basic stitches of knitting, cabling decreasing, and minimal sewing. The pattern is quite basic and ...

Hello to all the pretty faces out there!      My beautiful girlfriend has been running this blog for some time now and has entrusted me with some posting responsbilities. Now if that isn't trust, I don't know what is. Considering that this is my first post, I will introduce myself to the masses. I am Cory Sivo, born and raised in Rhode Island, joined the Air Force and have served 6 years thus far. My girlfriend has recently involved me into knitting and crochet, but I'm not a foreigner to crafty projects. I like to make paracord bracelets, fold origami, paint (Wine and Palette's are awesome, B T dubs!). Other things I make on my free time are Pepakura masks. (Shoutout to Steve Wintercroft and his amazing designs) and build with Legos. I have a few of Jack Streat's models from his book Heavy Weapons. Very soon, I plan on melting metal to form little aluminium ingots to make metal masks for the future.      Now for the real reason I'm here tod...

Hello Loverlies! It's been far too long since my last craft post (over a year) so I thought I'd fill y'all in on my most recent projects in preparation for Halloween! I've been knitting and crocheting like crazy since the end of June so I'll have these projects done in time! Whew! Now I know how Cinderella must've felt getting ready for the ball. The first project is the "Christine Corset", it's beautiful, simple and FREE on ravelry. Overall this was a quick and easy pattern, the hardest part was probably the picot edging.  Here's the pattern link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christines-corset And if you wanna give my project, specifically, some love and check out my other crafty projects here's that link too! http://www.ravelry.com/projects/AmethystMermaid/christines-corset Happy crafting!

Hello lovely readers! I've had some amazing adventures lately, most of them in the kitchen! For those of you who bake you understand the joy and nostalgia that certain recipes can bring upon you. The smells that unlock memories from long ago. For me there is a special place in my heart reserved for pineapple upside down cake. It's much more than sugar and calorie counting; it's a memory of countless summer days with my grandmother, learning tricks of the kitchen from her hands. I made it tonight for my boyfriend and he asked me if this is what heaven tastes like... Yes! I'm convinced that this recipe is a gift from an angel, so in a word..  Yes! Here's an easy recipe that she taught me. You'll need a 10" cast iron skillet (that's the key) Ingredients: -3TBS Butter - 1/2C packed brown sugar -1box super moist yellow cake mix -1/2 C. Vegetable oil -3 eggs -1 can pineapple slices -1 C. Pineapple juice (from earlier mentioned can) Let's get bu...

Hello Everyone! My recent projects have kept me quite busy, to the point of often forgetting to update everyone on the latest endeavors. So it's remedy time! First up there's this lovely little necklace that I found from Creative Yarn. It's quite basic and as long as you know how to chain and SC you can make this necklace! Just grab your favorite yarn and get hooking, I used Red Heart Super Saver in Aran. Cotton would be dreamy though! The flower part is completely up to you, as the pattern doesn't include one. I used a curlicue pattern from Ravelry. It was super easy and turned out great! I added a small pearl for some extra detail and tada! Necklace Pattern  HERE Curli-Q Flower Pattern (Free Ravelry Download)  HERE Next on the WIP is this gorgeous Fairy Tale Poncho from Tamara Kelly over at Moogly. (Another craft blog that I adore, btw... Seriously check it out!) This project has been on the queue for a while and I have no idea why I just now sta...

Hi to all my lovely followers out there in cyberspace! Earlier this week I promised y'all a pattern for the sunflower kindle cozy that I recently made It's been a while since I posted a free pattern, so here it is! Enjoy! Things you'll need: 5mm Crochet hook (size H) Worsted weight yarn in your choice of colors.        I used Red Heart Super Saver in the colors of Gold, Thyme and Aran. The brown was a stash yarn that I've had forever so I'm not sure of the actual color, although any deep brown should work for this project. Tapestry Needle for sewing it all together! Alrighty, first things first. You're going to use a simple granny square pattern that features a sunflower in the middle. I found this great one from MAZ KWOK'S Designs  HERE!  (Bonus, she also has one for a Daisy granny, in case you wanted to substitute.) You'll follow that pattern until you have about 4 rounds of the actual granny square, or a square that measures approximately ...

Hello Loverlies! You've gotta give me credit, this is my third blog post in the last few days... I'm trying to keep on top of the craftiness for once, but we know what happens when I start making promises of posting more frequently. So I'm not even gonna go there. Seriously guys I have emails that I haven't replied to since before going on vacation to Philly in May! I'm really quite terrible at communicating, just ask my pen pals. Anyway I'm not sure how long this posting frenzy will continue but let's just enjoy it while we can! I finished a few projects since my last post. The first is a shawl for my boyfriend's mother, whom I'll be meeting for the first time in March. Yep! I believe in being prepared ahead of time. My grandmother always said to never show up to a party, or someone's house empty handed. I'm using those words of wisdom and bringing a gift of a handmade shawl. Keep your fingers crossed that she likes it and more important...

I almost forgot to show y'all the cute hat I made for my man! I used a super simple pattern from Sarah Zimmerman's Repeat Crafter Me! I was actually making it for my cousin who's expecting her first child in February, but something happened and the hat ended up being adult sized... So of course my Air Force boyfriend offered to take it off of my hands for me. I obliged with the strict stipulation that I get to post photos of him wearing the hat whenever and wherever I want. This includes advertising, my blog, and any random moment I might feel like a little blackmail. JK! Haha! My head is more than just a pretty hatrack. All kidding aside, he really was a great sport about the whole thing and even put it right on and struck a "Driving on a mission" pose! Plus he makes a pretty dreamy head model, of course I'd never tell him that because he might get the idea that I'm just dating him for his head. (wink, wink). But you know that one day I'm gonna h...

Hello Crafty Followers! It has truly been too long since I've posted about my crafty endeavors. Since my last post I've been to Philadelphia for the wedding of my best friend. While I was nervous about flying, it was an adventure that proved to be a delight! I saw some incredible things and was introduced to the most amazing store... ahum... LUSH! "Louis this could be the start of a beautiful friendship" perfectly describes my feelings toward the trendy vegan/ environmentally friendly haven! Anyway, moving right along from my discovery of the witchcraft that is the FUNbar and Twilight bath bomb! I also met some pretty amazing people and bonded over Bacon, because who doesn't love bacon (... no offense to my vegetarian followers). To sum up a story that could one day be turned into a romantic comedy by Hallmark... I shall suffice to say that I had a wonderful time! You wanna know more? You'll have to wait twenty years and buy my memoirs! LOL! Anyway... Let...

"Let them eat cake!" These immortal words are accredited to Marie Antoinette, I have been known to use this quotation a little more often than any one human should in her lifetime. Birthdays with me are never dull, especially MY birthday. It's possible that I act like the doomed queen, but that's neither here nor there. Le Cake!   Anyway when I found a pattern for a kleenex box cover that looked like a delicious piece of cake... well I couldn't resist the urge to make one. I DID resist the urge, however strong, to powder my face with massive amounts of cornstarch and break out my horse-hair wig from the theatrical closet! Just kidding, I don't have a horse-hair wig. If I did, let's face it, it would be utilized almost daily. True confession, don't judge. I would look rather dignified in one of those, no matter how itchy! Here's the pattern details. It's free! Yay! You can find the pattern by visiting the Tissue Box Bakery's website ...

Hello wonderful readers out there! Well it's Wednesday and of course we all know what that means... HUMP DAAAY! Well actually it's more than that. If you check your favorite crafting blogs or instagram you can find tons of WIPs for this day! It's always inspiring to see all the projects that fellow crafters are working on. So I thought I should share my current WIPs with y'all and keep the creativity flowing. My Miette in progress! Knit faster!!!! The Miette Cardigan!  First up is  a lovely project that I've started specifically so I can wear it on Easter Sunday. A darling little cardigan in Robin's Egg Blue! It's very retro inspired, I can't help feeling a little like Mrs. Frank Sinatra while I knit it!Of course there might be a little crooning along to my favorite standards (Guilty sigh)... Anyway the pattern is a free download on Ravelry, it's called Miette and you can find it  HERE This next project is actually not a WIP at all, ch...

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