Fall is Fantastic

I'm not the biggest fan of the colder weather, but there are some great perks to Fall! The first (and possibly best) is pumpkin flavored everything! I LOVE all the pumpkin desserts in the Fall. The other day I made super yummy pumpkin spice hot chocolate. That stuff was like pumpkin pie in a cup! Except with a bit of chocolate taste. I got mixed reviews from my family though (some thought it was too pumpkin-y). I thought it was the best hot beverage I've ever had. I've also tried Decaf Pumpkin Spice tea from Stash. Great fall tea, but not as strong of a pumpkin flavor as I had hoped for. I've got a whole list of pumpkin recipes I'm waiting to try this fall!

Okay this post is getting to be a little too much about pumpkin than I had anticipated. The next great thing about fall is the scarves and hats and gloves! I love making them and I get more in the mood to make more when it's cold outside. I probably have around ten WIPs right now, and that's just counting the scarves, hats, and gloves! It's bad. I need to finish them. I have a tendency to  get overly excited about new yarn and I just HAVE to do something with it as soon as I get it. So I end up putting off unfinished projects so I can work with my new yarn. I actually do have a couple (adorable) chunky infinity scarves to photograph and get in the shop. Also hats. I have hats I need to photograph, too.

My last, but not least, favorite thing about Fall is the colors. I get so inspired by the changing colors of the leaves. One of my in-progress chunky infinity scarves has beautiful red, brown, and gold tones. It's like a wearable pile of colorful fall leaves. Okay actually don't think of it like that. It's way more comfy than dry, crunchy, fallen leaves. 

I promise I'm going to work very hard to get my chunky infinity scarves in the shop so you guys can see them! They really are great. I just hope my photography skills will be good enough to capture their brilliance.

Love, 

Just Finished...

A New Scarf!!!

Hey all! I just finished a new scarf for the shop! I am sooo in love with these soft infinity scarves! Not only are they cute, but they are also soft and warm! (Click here to get to see it on Etsy.) Here's pics:

This yarn is difficult to work with, but so worth it! It turns out great. Like I said, I'm in love with these!

Don't forget to visit my shop on Friday for the Black Friday discount! Get 15% off at my shop by using the coupon code BlackFri15 at checkout on Black Friday ONLY!!

You can also connect with me by following me on Twitter (link to me) or liking The Quiet Koala on Facebook (link to the page). I will occasionally give out discounts on Twitter or Facebook as well as here on my blog. Keep up with me on all three for maximum savings! 

Goodnight!

Love, 

New Holiday Items in Shop Now!

Hola!

I've just finished stocking my shop with several new items! I am very excited for the Christmas season and your orders! Here's photos and links to all of today's new products:

Remember these? They used to only be available as hair clips, but now you can buy them as pins too!

Holiday colors of my crochet flowers. These are available as hair clips or pins!

The backing and pin are hand sewn onto the flower :)

This is my new favorite! It is a chunky infinity scarf. And it is soooooo incredibly soft!

If only you could touch it! Would would agree with me on how soft it is :)

Remember to use the coupon code BlackFri15 to get 15% off your order from my shop when you order on Black Friday! That's in 5 days! 

Please share my shop and/or blog with your friends! There's no reason to keep all this goodness to yourself is there? :)

Love,

Scarf or Blanket?

Hello World!

I've been working on something new to put in the shop! I thought it was going to be a flowery scarf. As I've been working on it though, it's turning out to be pretty heavy for a scarf. It would be good as a blanket though, but I would have to get more yarn to make it big enough. So the question is, do I keep working and make it a blanket or put it on hold and use the rest of the yarn for a couple scarves? Decisions, decisions... Either way it will still end up in the shop. Take a look:

I've been making a bunch of little puffy flowers and sewing them together.

Here's a close up, the first picture is more true to the actual colors though.

The Christmasy colors a great right? I like them :) And I think the puffy flowers are really cute!

Don't forget to visit my shop Black Friday for some Christmas shopping! Use the coupon code BlackFri15 to get 15% off your order (only on Black Friday)!

Love, 

Shelly Scarf

Good Morning!!

Last night I finished a cute hot pink scarf! I found the pattern for the Shelly Scarf here, and just fell in love with it immediately. I love the shells! Here are some pics of my creation:

I just love this scarf! Unfortunately this won't be available in my shop. The creator of the pattern asks that it not be used for personal gain and I am going to respect her wishes. I'm not keeping this one for myself though either, it's for my sister. I've made scarves for all my siblings, this was the last to be completed. Now that I have practice, I will be making near-identical scarves as the ones I made for them to put in my shop. I'll let you know when they're available!

Also don't forget: use the coupon code BlackFri15 to get 15% off at my shop on Black Friday only!!

Love, 

Etsy Shop Now Open!

Good Evening!

I have good news. My Etsy shop is now open! I don't have much available yet, but I will be working on building my shop inventory and finding new things to provide for you. Here's pictures of what I have available in my shop as of now:

The Treble Scarf (Pattern in previous post) 

Crochet flower clips (in set of 3 or individually)

Here's the back. It's all hand sewn onto the flower. 

Crochet bow clips (okay this pic is just the bows, just to show the color options) These come in set of 3 or individually

See? It's a hair clip. Hand sewn.

And the front of that looks like this. 

And last but not least, custom paintings for decor. The customer (you) chooses the color and word. These are custom made to order.

So come check out my shop! Click here or search for The Quiet Koala on Etsy. Any updates about new items, sold out items, new color options, or sold out color options will be posted here as well as at my shop. I would love to hear about any ideas you have or things you would like to see in my shop!

Love,

Treble Scarf + Free Yarn Giveaway!!

Bonjour!!!

Today I'm going to give you a pattern for the Treble Scarf. It's super easy and cute! But before I do that, let's get to some exciting stuff. A yarn giveaway!! What's better than free yarn? Not much! So if you want to enter, follow this link: http://spunkyrealdeal.blogspot.com/2012/10/artisan-yarn-by-elysa-wooly-review.html#  and hurry!

Alright now to the pattern. I haven't written a pattern before so bear with me. The gauge doesn't matter, use whatever size hook your yarn suggests. Note that a thicker yarn will result in a thicker, warmer scarf and a thinner yarn will make a lightweight, airy scarf.

Start off with a chain of around 20 or as wide as you want your scarf to be (not long). Make it a little longer than you think it should be (it doesn't look as wide as you think it is once you start building a few rows on top of it). Chain 1 more. Turn

Row 1: single crochet in each stitch. Chain 1. Turn. Repeat twice, but after you finish the second row chain five times before turning.

Row 2: double treble in each single crochet. Chain 1. Turn.

Row 3: single crochet in each stitch. Chain 1. Turn. Repeat but after the second row chain 5 before turning.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the scarf is as long as you want. Add an extra row of single crochets at the end of the scarf so it looks just like the beginning. Tie off and weave in ends.

I like to vary the treble stitches I use. For example, in one row I might follow the pattern and use double trebles, but the next time I might use a normal treble or a triple treble. The first time I made this scarf I changed the size of each row randomly. The second time I used an ABACA pattern, that is my rows were double treble, treble, double treble, triple treble, double treble, treble, etc. (for tutorials on the treble stitches see here or here or here or even just Google it)

Here are some photos of the process to help you along the way:

Here it is with Row 1 (the chain and single crochets) and part of Row 2 (the treble stitches, here they are double treble stitches).

After you finish a row of trebles, especially the first row, it might flare out like this. Don't worry, just keep going. It will straighten out when you do the single crochets back across.

See! All better :) This was after I finished 2 rows of single crochet.

Here it is with a few more rows. Keep going until it reaches the length you want. 

Since this scarf is very simple, you can change it up in lots of ways. Some of my favorite additions to scarves include rosettes (as seen in my prior post) and fringe/tassels. You could also add any other shape crocheted or cut out of felt. Cute things like hearts, stars, animals, etc would be great for children's scarves! 

I am selling the finished scarf in the pictures once I open my Etsy shop (this weekend!!). Aren't the colors just lovely? It's very warm too, great for winter. Check back for a link to my shop! 

You may use this pattern however you choose. Although if you make this (with or without variation) I would love to see it! Post a comment with a link to your work. 

Happy crocheting!

Lots of Love,