Most Popular Posts

Friday was the  last day to enter my first ever Giveaway. I will post the winner on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. Good Luck!

Looking back over my three years blogging, I was curious to see which were my most popular posts. I quickly realized I didn’t know what that meant. There are different analytics to look at and I wasn’t sure which one to use to measure what a ‘popular’ post was.

For example, I was going to write about my most popular post on Instagram based on likes. The problem was that the current posts are the ones with the most likes because I have more followers. I realized that I wasn’t really getting any real information there so I’m going to skip Instagram.

It can be kind of the same thing on the blog in terms of likes. The newer posts would have more likes because I have more followers now. However, I think the ‘likes’ on the blog do give a better indication of what my more popular posts are with my followers. I also looked at how many views each post had and think that is a broader measure of its popularity in general. My posts on Pinterest are all grabbed from my blog posts and I wanted to see which ones were saved the most and if there was any overlap.

So here goes:

My Blog: Most LIKED

1. Student Corner-Crochet Heart Key Chain with 31 likes.

Hearts!

If I had to guess, I would not have thought this post would have received the most likes but it turns out my ‘Student Corner’ posts are well received and that makes me happy. 🙂

2. Crochet hook cases and holders with 30 likes.

My favorite hook case.

This was more expected. I could totally see this post being more popular since we can all use cases for something.

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Eli the Firefly

I love crochet challenges. Crochet challenges have been lobbed at me from family, friends, the kids at work and me. A recent challenge came from my hubby. He is a graphic designer and has many samples of products he’s worked on laying around. One of his current projects included a cute toy called Eli the Firefly. His client is a dentist who created a book and a plush lighted toy that inspires kids to brush their teeth properly. Hubby asked if I thought I could recreate the toy in crochet. As if there was any doubt, of course I could! What kind of question was that? And if so, would I? He thought it would make a nice gift for his client. It was a fabulous idea and I accepted the challenge.

This is a sample of Eli that shows what he looks like.

Freebie Friday – 2nd crochet tooth

My second attempt at a crochet tooth is more in line with the vision I had for the project. I shall call him Bumpy.

First off, I made sure I had plenty of yarn to finish him. Plenty of yarn! Bumpy was done in a similar way as Prototype but I added an extra stitch to my increases and had some strategic decreases. So instead of two single crochets in one stitch, I had three. To keep the pattern as I did with Prototype, I had to decrease some stitches in the next rounds. This had the added bonus of making the fabric pucker in just the right way. It was looking pretty good. I was falling in love with Bumpy. I added the face, made the chains that divide the head (for making the roots), added some stuffing and then started on the roots. I was still in love with Bumpy.

Freebie Friday – My Design Crochet Tooth

In looking for ideas to make a crochet tooth for my son’s dentist, I looked over the patterns I found and  thought them confusing. I probably could have figured them out if I had invested more time but I was busy (lazy). I watched some videos to see how others made a tooth.  I was inspired but decided to go my own way. I wanted to work in the round but didn’t want the rounded look for the molar. What I ended up doing was clustering my increases together instead of evenly distributing them as you would typically do when crocheting in the round. I was hoping to get four bumps on the top but what came out was a more square top with no bumps. I still like it better than if I had just crocheted in the round in the usual way (even though it still looks pretty round in the picture :-)). Ultimately, my tooth looks a lot like the other teeth out there but I think my pattern is simpler than what I was looking at. One video I saw was pretty easy but I thought it was too easy. I’m satisfied with what I created.

I’m Prototype 🙂

Modus Operandi

Modus Operandi: A particular way or method of doing something, especially one that is characteristic or well-established. 

I have a modus operandi. That would be running out of yarn, a yarn I can’t replace, when I’m close to finishing a project. It happens so often, I don’t get alarmed anymore. I would even argue it keeps my mind sharp. How, do you ask? Am I spinning it so I don’t sound disorganized or unrealistic about how much I can stretch a ball of yarn? Nay, I say! I have many balls and skeins of yarn I’ve acquired in varied ways. There were yard sales, donations, thrift stores, and the collection I received from my mom. It’s almost impossible to get more. Sometimes I CAN get more yarn but unless the project is mission critical (it almost never is), I’m usually too busy (lazy) to run out and get more. This naturally forces me to come up with a solution to my dilemma. I have to rethink and regroup and find another yarn in my hodgepodge stash that would make my project just as good if not even better. Sometimes I fail but sometimes I come up with something I  love even more than what I originally planned. It keeps my mind sharp!

Talking about the crochet tooth (who was talking about the tooth?),  once I figured out the design I wanted, I got to work…and ran out of yarn. At least I was able to finish the top portion of the molar. This is a yarn (off white) I could get more of, but this was a prototype anyway, so being busy (lazy), I didn’t bother.

Go get some more yarn woman!

Freebie Friday – Crochet Tooth

Recently, I’ve been brainstorming unique gift ideas for my son’s dentist. I started taking my daughter to her pediatric practice when she was six years old (she’s 27 now, yikes!) and then started taking my son to her when he was three (he’s now 16, double yikes!). His next appointment will probably be his last with her. Firstly, he’s ready to transition out of going to a pediatric dentist and secondly, she’s added two new dentists to her office and her availability has decreased dramatically. They didn’t say it but it sounds to me like she’s planning to retire from her practice.

I feel so fortunate to have found her. I always felt she had my children’s best interest at heart and not her pocket-book. I trusted her. Best of all, my children never feared going to the dentist when they saw her. Even when we moved out of the area, I drove the extra hour to her practice. My kids have been going to her for 21 years and I want to give her something special to let her know how much was appreciated her.

At first I thought I might make her a doll but then I came across these cute crocheted molars.

All Photos courtesy of Pinterest

This one is my favorite one. I love the toothbrush. This is a paid pattern (not my pattern) but it’s a great picture for inspiration.