Author: admin

Posted on by

A Planning Week; Time to Decide What’s Next

It’s been a planning week here at the Studio. A week filled with stats, numbers, budgets, blogging, planning and lists. There are long lists of yarn, supplies, work to be done and even a list to put us back into some routines. Routines like who has which day for laundry, what we’re having for dinner when, how we’re going to keep the house clean. It’s summer and the summer routine has been upset by home repairs and some much needed painting. Who am I kidding, our routine has been off track since January and it’s been really overwhelming me.

Crocheting What’s Next

A Planning Week includes a look back at these 2 beautiful striped custom scarves I've finished.

The scarves above look beautiful, even though there are ends to weave in. They were a custom job and are already in their new home. I’ve been crocheting on some new jobs and attempting to write a couple of new patterns during all the chaos. As you can see the scarves were some older patterns that I have crocheted longer and I will be adapting the patterns to allow you to create them either short or close to 6′ long. The patterns above are the Denver Scarf and The Sunshine Scarf. I still enjoy working on them and it was really a lovely way to spend several afternoons. The colors just flow. The beauty and calming repetitive work was really needed at the time. You can find the The Sunshine scarf and the Denver Scarf patterns here in the scarf section of the shop.

Deciding how long it will take to finish the blue striped crochet blanket is a part of a planning week.

Deciding What’s Next in New Patterns

A planning week also includes planning these new patterns for the shop. The pretty blue afghan above is a new afghan that I’ve started. It will be finished by September if all goes according to plans. I just realized that there are 4 crochet blankets started right now and I need to finish the one furthest along first. So this beauty will have to rest while I work on the others. It’s turning out quite nice as well and the colors are interesting.

There is also a couple of baby afghans that I need to write the patterns for. It all just takes time. Somehow the home repairs have just absorbed all my time. I have been worrying and it keeps me from thinking logically enough to shoot the process photos while I work. The baby blankets are now finished and I need to go back and write the patterns. It should be a quick job once I get started.

Planning Some New Painting

Planning which new projects to start and which need to sell is also filling my time. I have been painting canvases more than usual and not much of it is terribly exciting. When you start a new hobby your first few projects just aren’t that great! It feels like I am painting the same canvases over and over again.

When the photos are all put together in this gallery though, there has been more work done than I thought there was. The Blessing piano bench has just sold, as has the bench in the middle top photo. The little round table and the painted swirl table are still available while the quilt box is also sold. It is pretty exciting when I look at it this way!

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. You can always find my patterns at www.chocolatedogstudio/Etsy.com as well as here on the website. The painted furniture is starting to show up in the Etsy shop. Let me know if you see a piece you want to purchase. They are for sale.

Posted on by

The Gradient Afghan

The Gradient Afghan

There is so much crocheting happening here. Two baby blankets, 1 regular sized afghan and another in the works. It’s going well and I hope to have it done by next week. Other than that, I have been sewing masks and cooking for the people in my house. Oh, and laundry, lest anyone think that our work is ever done. I’ve received several custom orders.

The Gradient Afghan

The Gradient Afghan is finished, not only is it finished but the pattern is actually written! Yay! It is crocheted out of LIon Brand yarn. It sure makes it easier for U.S. crocheters to find the colors. I believe that most are available in most big craft stores. The pattern is available in the Etsy shop and will be available soon in the Studio shop. It was such fun to play with the yarn gradients that I might try another afghan out of the same yarns.

Gardening

Gardening has been filling our time as we’ve been building raised garden beds and then hauling pick up truck loads of dirt by the garden cart load to fill each bed. It was nothing but seriously hard work. Keeping the dogs out of the vegetable garden has also been an issue. We resorted to a very lightweight fence of garden string and bamboo poles. I do think that this low cost method is working and I hope that the veggies revive after the visits from the big dog paws.Time is flying and our garden is looking good. It is probably the best garden that we have ever had. There has been one funny. At the beginning of the great quarantine, I was concerned about finding onions. Onions are a natural anti inflammatory and we eat a bunch of onions so I bought onions online and then they said that it would be weeks before they would be delivered. Our sweet daughter in law said that they would pick some up for us. Our daughter also thought we needed onions so she ordered and we received about 30 onions sets. I thought sure why not more onions are great. Every garden bed is full on onions and we still have one more set to be delivered this week. The laughs on us as we will “get” to eat onions at every meal. I may get to sell them door to door. Gardening has been filling our time as we’ve been building raised garden beds and then hauling pick up truck loads of dirt by the garden cart load to fill each bed. It was nothing but seriously hard work. Keeping the dogs out of the vegetable garden has also been an issue. We resorted to a very lightweight fence of garden string and bamboo poles. I do think that this low cost method is working and I hope that the veggies revive after the visits from the big dog paws.

Self Quarantining

We are still all here at home and I think we are all beginning to get on each other’s nerves. I seem to be the one that most everyone is unhappy about, while I am unhappy that the dishes never seem to be completed and the counters are never cleared off crumbs. I guess it is a matched set of issues and we are at an impasse on solving this issue. It is finals week so I am giving us all some much needed grace on these issues, providing good food and allowing us to be ok with slightly lower standards.

Painting

I am starting to paint furniture again as I recently bought 5, yes 5 matched chairs and I am over the moon excited about them. I can’t wait to bring them inside but there is no where to put them. The paint is on order and should be here in several weeks for at least one of them. Two of these lovely chairs sold straight off, which makes me smile.

A tray table that will works as a tv tray or computer desk as needed.

Work

We keep hearing bad news on the work front for many of our friends and family. We do live in Oklahoma where oil has so much to do with everyone’s employment. I know that the job front for many people is at risk or over. I am sorry and am praying daily for everyone’s employment to kick back in strongly.

Talk to you later,

Karen

p.s. This was written before the worries about killer hornets.

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Life in Quarantine Mode

Life in quarantine mode means crazy days are here. Like everyone everywhere we are doing life in quarantine mode due to the covid-19 virus. We watch the numbers climb for cases in town, the state, our country and across the world. The road in front of our home is empty of drivers as people stay home to stay safe and protect others.

All our kids’ college and cosmetology courses are now being conducted online. So far in the past three weeks, I have had a manicure, a spa day, been a model for diy sugar waxing (on my arm) and been a first haircut. It’s been fun. Last week, I was the recipient of some beautiful nail art.

Sewing Masks

This week I spent some time learning how to sew surgical masks for non-virus medical workers. I hate to say nursing staff because I’m not really sure. I broke out the sewing machine, elastic, fabrics and interfacing. It is a way to stay busy and focused. If I think too much then my mind tends to panic. It’s a horrible photo but I was focused on getting them sewn rather than taking good photos. I will make more later this week.

Yes, you do see a Star Trek mask there in the mix. I did sew some little ones for the grandkids. I’m not sure why but I did have little scraps and it worked out. ( I wrote this a week or two ago and now the stores are requiring masks if you are going in to shop.) I haven’t seen the grandkids in ages and it hurts, but precautions are being taken to protect the newest little Stewart, arriving in August.

photo of handmade virus masks on ironing board.

Crocheting New Blankets

The two baby blankets are finished and a rainbow afghan is started. My ability to concentrate is down and I’m not sure why. It feels much like waiting for major surgery. Busy hands are happy hands or at least less anxious hands. This pattern is being a problem. I’m still having difficulty writing the squares to come out right. The border is blocked and it looks beautiful. Photos of the finished product still haven’t been taken, but that will happen soon. You can see the yarn as it arrived here.

This photo shows you the dots baby blanket.

The Cotton Waves baby blanket just feels so good. I love the colors in it. The definition of the stripes is so much clearer than in an acrylic or a wool blanket. I think it will just wash softer and softer; like a good pair of jeans. It is also finished all the way to weaving in all the ends!

Photo of the partially finished cotton waves baby blanket.

Photo of the new rainbow afghan 1/2 finished.

Another rainbow blanket is in the works. Did you remember when I bought a ton of yarn in February. I am thrilled that it is getting used so quickly. This is 4 gauge yarn and it is working up quickly using an H hook. Originally I was by trying to use yarn from U.S. yarn manufacturers and translating one of my other patterns to Lion brand yarn. It didn’t work out well at all so this is an entirely different rainbow blanket. The bright colors are cheerful and help keep my spirits up. There will be a pattern up for you as soon as I finish the blanket and take the photos.

Painting in quarantine

Painting is one thing that I’m trying to do more of during this quarantine. It seems to center me and it is my mental health exercise every day. Nothing is earth shatteringly great but I’ve discovered some great tutorials and new skills to try out. I’m also painting two pieces of furniture; a piano bench and a chaise for the patio.

Life is crazy

I’m out of step or out of sync. My schedule keeps shifting all over the place and Life is crazy. I would tell you how grocery ordering is crazy but I’m sure you know all about it personally. Life in quarantine mode is not easy but you know that.

Today, I need to clean the house or at least dust and vacuum.

I’m praying for you and your family that all will stay healthy and well.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on by

The 2019 Catalog

The 2019 Catalog is full of painted furniture and art and they are all on sale and deeply discounted. The painting is moving in different directions for 2020. Furniture painting is taking a new turn. I’m ready to begin painting the new collection. While I have loved painting all the bright colors it is time for a new twist on the furniture. Look for more muted shades in coming pieces. The bright colorful furniture from last season is in the catalog at drastically reduced prices for hand painted pieces. It’s time for you to pick your piece and bring them home. You can find them here. http://bit.ly/2vxM6iF

Yarn

The yarn I ordered the middle of January finally came in. I am so excited. It is planned for so many things, but mostly baby blankets.

The 2019 Catalog

I must be crazy but there is a new Grandbaby on the way and I’m rewriting a few patterns using more commonly available yarn brands. Three yarn orders in less than a month my stash is overflowing. I already have the pattern for the baby blankets designed so it is just the crocheting that is waiting. Crocheting better start filling my evenings again or I will need to do some serious stash busting! I’m also working on transposing my patterns to yarn more readily available in the U.S.

Furniture

Several furniture pieces have sold this week and I am beyond pleased. The 2019 Catalog is on sale and furniture is moving quickly. So pick the piece you love and let me know via facebook.

The two denim chairs are finding a new home and I know that they will be greatly appreciated. The giant pub table and 4 pub chairs are also sold. I’m so pleased.

This small dresser is next on the list of furniture to be painted and it is going to look so good. Can’t you see it in the entry with a very large mirror above it. Think about all the storage inside for winter gloves and hats. It will be a perfect piece in a perfect size! This dresser is the perfect start to the 2020 furniture range.

Posted on by

Yarn and the Foot Stool

It’s been a strange week with lots of yarn and the foot stool. It has been hard adjusting to being back to the daily routine. Ours changed drastically when we went from having 5-7 people here for a good portion of December and then about 3 days of 14 people and at least 4 days of 10. It has been a month since everyone went back to their regular schedules and it’s nice to be back to work. I love having family in, even with the stress of added people.

Yarn

This yarn…. oh this yarn is deliciously soft. I have used one like it before but this surpasses what was used last time. Velvety soft, it is so easy to crochet. The more I work with it the more I like it. It is called Chunky Velvet by Loops and Threads Yarn.

Yarn and the Foot Stool

You can probably tell that I bought some yarn recently! It has been months since any new yarn made its way to the studio. This stuff is wonderful. It is a new pattern just for you. It’s in the works and not finished yet but it is coming soon.

In fact, several new patterns are coming soon. Several crochet pillow patterns and then some other smaller projects. I am working on a new afghan pattern but afghans just take time and time is in short supply.

The Footstool

Yes, the paints were out in the studio! This footstool is being painted and I am checking into waterproof coatings for porch furniture. I’ve been checking with my experts and finding out what the perfect finish should be before I start.

Yarn and the Foot Stool

Taking a month off in the studio is a great idea but really hard to implement. So much peace and quiet comes from being in the studio up to my elbows in painting. I prefer it so much to any of the other projects that I have been working on.

Yes, yarn and the footstool have been keeping me busy, but I have to admit that it seems as if life is too crazy to spend time in here working. Also the last several days the weather has been beautiful and it is keeping me out of the studio. We did sort all the Christmas decorations and get them away. Normal is good.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on by

A Memory Afghan

THe Memory Afghan

The Memory Afghan planning

The only thing better than a Memory afghan is two. A friend asked and I agreed to crochet her Mother’s yarn stash into two different memory afghans. It was a huge project and the first step was to sort the yarn into two different groups. One for her daughter’s Memory afghan and one for her granddaughter’s (or her Mother’s great grand daughter’s) memory afghan. 4 generations of women, the youngest a baby, including a daughter, a mom and her mother.

We added some white to the neutrals and light colors for the daughter’s afghan. Pinks were added to the baby’s afghan. It was created adult size to get the most use out of the yarn and longest life for afghan.

A Great Grandma's yarn stash.

They all started at this point. A wide assortment of yarns from a Great Grandmother’s yarn stash. She crocheted with worsted weight and has a variety of yarns here from Red Heart to Caron and others. The colors were a bit blah so we added a huge skein of white and then also 3 skeins of pink plus a skein of teal to widen the range and create a more girly blanket as one of the blankets is for an infant.

The Farmhouse Style Memory Afghan

The farmhouse style was crocheted for the Granddaughter who is now a Mom. A more sophisticated selection of neutral colors was chosen. Using up the beige, off white, yellow, powder blue, and grey yarns plus a few of other shades. The squares are all sewn together to create a softer look. The afghan is surrounded with a lovely scalloped chocolate brown border. The crochet blanket is 5’x 6′ before the border was applied.

The Memory Afghan for the Grand daughter's created out of her Grandmother's yarn stash.

The Floral Afghan

The Floral Memory Blanket is crocheted using the same basic floral square. Crocheting the whole blanket in the 3-d Flower Garden Pattern was our first idea. Weight was going to be a huge problem with a blanket out of all of the 3-d flowers. It would have weighed 10+ pounds, too much for an infant, too much for me! Such a huge crochet blanket would be a problem. Suggesting instead that we use a few squares of an adapted 3-d flower and then filling in with squares that were the same design as the one above. They look similar but are different enough to add in personality and age differences. The crochet blanket is

The Great Grand daughter's Memory afghan created out of her Great Grandmother's yarn stash.
Another photo of the Memory afghan for the Great Granddaughter.

So much fun to crochet and so many memories are tied up in these Christmas gifts. I have waited 6 months to show them to you. What a great gift idea and way to use up yarn stash!

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas, and are working on a Happy New Year.

talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on by

and Zoom…It’s October

and zoom…it’s October and so much of life has passed by that it is almost impossible to catch up. Hang on to your hats, here we go on a visual tour of how I spent my time.

Painting

The last two or is it three months have been filled with paint, brushes and furniture. I have been lucky enough to ruin almost all my jeans, shorts and t-shirts due to painting. Thank goodness we are at the end of the hot season and I won’t need to replace them any time soon. I usually look like I lost a fight with a three year old after finger painting. Lots of painting and different pieces of furniture. Pricing small vintage bits and pieces to round out the Chocolate Dog Studio version of Vintage Market Days here in Tulsa has also been filling my time.

The 60’s chair has had a complete reupholstery job.
and Zoom...it's October
and Zoom...it's October
and Zoom...it's October
and Zoom...it's October

I paint each and every piece freehand. There are no stencils or decals used in any of these pieces. Each piece of furniture is coated with a clear coating to make it durable and useful.

and Zoom...it's October
and Zoom...it's October

These are most of the pieces that will be at Vintage Market Days here in Tulsa. There are several others that for one reason or another didn’t make it to the photo shoot. A nice large pub table and 6 matching chairs. There are also room dividers, a china cabinet and also an old radio cabinet that was needing a makeover. It has been so much fun to paint so many different types of furniture in such a short time frame but I have to admit that I couldn’t have done this without my trusted assistant Angie who sands and primes almost all of the furniture pieces before painting. She does a huge amount of work for me and I want to make sure that she gets due praise and credit for all of the work that she does.

and Zoom...it's October

I hope to see you soon at Vintage Market Days October 18-20 in Tulsa.

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. Thank you to Jenny Thomas for taking my studio photos! She does an awesome job.

Posted on by

Unveiling the Vanity

(This post contains amazon affiliate links and I make a small percentage of any purchase you may make.)

The Before

The vanity started out like this. Antique blue and worn. The veneer is all chipped and unglued. It was missing a mirror and needed some help. Truthfully this vanity was in worse condition than I thought and it was intimidating. The photo below is one of the options that I considered. I was going to add sheet music to the areas where the veneer was missing. However, it just never seemed right.

After gluing the veneer down and filling all the spots where veneer was missing. it rested for several months. I was beginning to think that it needed a name since it had been at several family dinners. Painting furniture isn’t always easy. Like all work it can be hard to get started. Then there was the week while it was going to be grey, a very pale grey. The damaged veneer was a problem. Every imperfection showed up terribly.

The Halfway Point

After a week or two of looking at the grey I couldn’t stand it any more. The base coat went on and it started looking much better.

The Finale

Here is the final product. I am so glad that it’s finished. The vanity is available via the facebook page.

Details

The drawers are painted inside and out. They are lined with a coordinating liner. The drawer pulls are original. The gold tone finish was removed to show the natural silver tone beauty. As with all vintage furniture small nicks and bumps are inevitable. The damaged veneer no longer shows but you can still find it if you look hard. It has character. It also has dove tail joints in all of the drawers and is a solid wood construction. It looks great and I am so pleased.

The mirror is new and you can find it in many stores and also on Amazon.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on by

June-Finishing Up

June-FInishing Up is a reality. It’s hard to believe how many projects are on the verge or finished already! June is more than 1/2 way through? If I work hard I can finish another 5-6 projects and really clear the work list. Work and fun have been happening the past two months. I haven’t written or talked to you in several weeks now and so much keeps happening. Life is just like this, it seems to be flying past.

June-Finishing up the studio move

Finally the studio is beginning to take shape. There are a few more boxes to take back upstairs- Now that I can see them. I’ve recently moved about 8 painting projects out of the studio and into the living room. Which makes the living room cramped for a few days. The biggest two projects will go home this week which makes a little extra elbow room in the studio. Also several of the sewing boxes moved back upstairs which makes even more room.

I still have all of the tools and attic type storage type boxes. These will find their way to another place soon. I was even able to use the carpet sweeper since I could see it. Yay for me. Carpet sweeper because vacuums do not like the chunky bits that end up on the floor. Also the long strings of yarn and thread tend to clog up the vacuum works.

The photo below shows it shortly after the move. It is looking so much better. I’ve added an rug to catch the paint drips. It’s a great photo of one of the between stages of the vanity shown below. The painted version is so much better.

June-Finishing Up

Finishing Up Paint Projects

Several different paint projects are completed and while I’m waiting on the photos to do a big unveiling. They moved out of the studio and so today was a big day of computer work and nothing but computer work. It appears that when we changed web servers for the blog we lost all the patterns in this shop. Today I spent the day adding as many as I could back. The free ones are a bit more ify. They have vanished and I’ll need to do back up from the hard drive.

The newest paint project is staring me in the face. While the base coat is on, I’m not quite sure what needs to happen next so it is incubating while I dream up the right designs for the next step. Another idea that has been in the works is a pattern flip book. Reusing the detail patterns adds some continuity in my work and giving them names helps me remember the basic design. Creating a flip book out of 3×5 cards might be the inexpensive way to keep designs at my fingertips.

June-Finishing Up

Finishing up the Crochet Memory Blanket

The last memory afghan is well under way. I’ve started sewing the squares together so that I can stretch out the boring bits with the fun parts. I’m not much into sewing squares together. It will also tell me if I need to buy some more yarn. While this isn’t an issue for me. It is better for the client if I don’t load her back up with yarn! The purpose of the project was to use up as much as possible. I might write up a pattern for this afghan it is turning out pretty. It also makes good use of stash yarn! Do you want a written pattern for it or can you figure it out?

June-Finishing Up

You can find the basic floral granny square pattern like the white squares here. Let me know if you want me to write out the 3-d flower squares.

Three cheers for June-Finishing Up! I’m so glad that it is happening. I’m beginning to be able to breathe with the to do list getting smaller.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Posted on by

Saying Yes

I found myself saying yes to the craziest idea in January.  It wasn’t a great idea but it was a very cool idea. A new and interesting idea. Do you ever say yes and then regret it? I know that I did and there was really no reason for it. It is a really common problem. Are you a “yes”  person? The book shelves are full of volumes telling us how to stop saying yes so often. Put up boundaries, set limits, organize your life better, plan time off, fence in your time, schedule time for yourself.

This chair is on consignment at one of our local art stores and finished in this same time frame.

Saying yes, was to crochet not one but two custom crochet blankets and paint several different custom pieces of furniture. Now you know that this isn’t something that happens often at the Studio. A chance encounter with a Facebook marketplace purchase became a custom order for two custom crochet blankets and a coffee drinking friend. There is a pretty generous deadline as she understands that there are also custom painting orders in place.

The crochet blankets are using her Mother’s yarn, which is a brand I don’t use often. The colors were varied and some of it decades old. The yarn was still in great condition but this seemed like an incredible challenge. Rebelling, at first; the crocheting was concentrated on the colors that were added to fill in the missing colors needed to make one of them brighter and more suited for a child. The other was for the client’s daughter. The brief was to crochet two afghans 1. for the grand-daughter of the original yarn owner and 2. for the great -granddaughter of the the original yarn owner. What a great idea! How could I not do this? Family love and memories mixed in with another’s yarn stash, a chance to make something out of nothing.

This is just part of the yarn stash I’m working from.

Then the math began, how many squares to create the afghans. It became a monstrous project. Ta Da – 180+ 5′ granny squares later. This is the current adult granny square afghan. Sewing each square together rather than using the joining as I go method is slower. It is creating a beautiful finished product. Is this afghan finished. Nope, they’re not finished but I’m not afraid of either of them any more.

And also Painting…

These custom painting orders have also been happening in the middle of crocheting these two blankets.

The curio shelf from the hCrochet and Painting post and then also this table are all custom orders from this time.

It’s been a fun and busy time. The Studio is looking full and it needs cleaning from top to bottom in the worst way. The good news is that it’s been incredibly stretching. I love what I’m doing and saying yes was the right thing to do.

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. Painting will show up in the blog from now on as it seems to take up just as much time as the crochet. It hasn’t been healthy for me to sit and just crochet. Painting furniture requires me to move around more and keeps the creativity flowing. Oh, I also accept custom orders for painted furniture just leave a comment here or on the facebook page.