Crocheted Halloween Cozy

I know that the Halloween was over, but this Halloween Cozies are a fun way to dress up party treat cups. After the party's over and the goodies are long gone, these cup cozies can be used to hold all manner of kids' treasures. Make the same cozy patterns in different colors and embellish them in a variety of ways to create other special themes or decorative looks for any time of year.

Yarn in Vietnam

I have been to Vietnam twice and both were for business. I went only to two cities, Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. Although I went there for business, I managed to do some sightseeing and some shopping as well. If you like handycraft things like me, you would surely fall in love with Vietnam. Along the street you will find small shops that sell handycraft things like smocking dresses, crocheted dresses, embroidery bedsheet, etc. You can even find cheap yarns if you diligent enough to ask around.

Several times, when I was walking in various cities, i would see a woman knitting on the street. They were all right-hand throwers, some knit, some purl, one twisted all her stitches. After asking several people, I found a market which some of the stalls sell yarns. Each of these stalls is about 6-10 feet wide, somewhat deeper, and cheek to jowl up against its neighbor. In this market, there were many stalls that sold yard goods. Interesting to watch. Anyway, the yarn booth had a bunch of yarn, each color packaged tightly in bundles of about ten or so. The light in the market wasn’t bright, so I wasn’t sure at the time if the yarn was good quality. It seems to be good quality.

If you are planning to travel to Vietnam after reading this post (grinning), Accor hotels offers "Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific". Travelers will be able to take advantage of savings when they book on-line between 27 - 30 October 2009. Over one million room nights will be on sale, with rates starting as low as US$30 per night. Stay period Dec 2009 till Apr 2010.

So what are you waiting for, book your hotel now!

Crocheted Christmas Character

It's the little things that make a holiday special. Decorations all around the house make a cheery welcome for guests of all ages. And they don't have to be expensive or time-consuming either. By spending a few evenings with a basketful of yarn scraps, you can create a cast of Christmas characters to make your yuletide season bright. These little ornaments can be used to trim a tree or a wreath, or they would even make a clever gift embellishment that the recipient could use later on his or her own tree. A dozen of these in a Christmas gift basket would make a great gift and become a part of someone else's holiday tradition. For pattern, you can click this.

On Demand

Nowadays, there is always a fight everyday in my household. It is a fight to get a remote control between my daughter and my husband. During the day, normally my daughter can get to see her favorite programs on the Disney channel since I don’t like to watch TV (I prefer to do my sewing project). However, when my husband comes back in the afternoon, he doesn’t like to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einstein or Pocoyo. He will switch the channel to AXN or cooking channel much to my daughter dismay. Probably it is my fault that I resort to entertain my children with TV when I am busy, but who doesn’t?

Recently, I read that if you have Charter digital, you have On Demand and it’s free to access. Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services, by the way.

There are over 6,000 movies and shows to watch anytime you want. No waiting, no schedules. Missed one of your favorite shows? There are many of your favorites the day after they air on TV. Free!

Your kids probably don’t understand or have the patience for TV schedules. When they want their Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, they want it right then. With this “On Demand”, they don’t have to wait anymore. You can learn more at charter.net/ondemand or you can get updates and fun extras on Charter’s Facebook page.

Raised-Shells Crochet Bag

If you are a big fan of shell and in the need to change your bag, then probably this Raised-Shells Crochet Bag is a perfect project for you. Made using a basic 5-dc shell with no space at the center, but with an added element to give the shells extra dimension. By working into the back loops only when creating the shells, you get a deeply textured pattern. Were these shells worked in rounds rather than back-and-forth rows, they would be worked in back loops only and then in front loops only on alternate rounds.

There is an interesting development when the raised shell stitch pattern is worked in two or more colors; the color that's the main color on one side becomes the contrasting color on the reverse, due to the projecting and receding pattern rows. So, if you use this pattern to make something like a scarf, for example, you'll end up with a reversible, two-for-one design!

One really cool element to this bag is the rulers that adorn the top edges. What a clever embellishing idea! The rulers not only give the bag a unique, eye-catching look, but they will certainly come in handy for quick measurements while working your projects. Click here for the pattern and enjoy your new bag!

The Power of Internet

Internet is the most important invention ever. Because due to the invention of internet, people are experiencing more advantages than before it’s invention. I learned how to crochet when I was 5 years old. I learned it from my auntie. Sadly, she didn’t know how to knit and I didn’t know anybody that knit. Only 2 years ago, when I was searching for something, I stumbled across somebody’s knitting blog. From there, I found a link to a site where you can learn how to knit.

Barack Obama understood the power of connections on the Internet. In February of 2007, Obama met with Marc Andreessen, Netscape founder and Facebook board member, asking for tips on how to utilize social networking for his campaign. Rather than invent a totally new product, Obama tapped into existing systems. His organizers published thousands of videos on YouTube. Obama and his wife, Michelle, both had personal pages on Facebook which they updated daily, and his staffers created and formed Facebook groups. The campaign created a website for its supporters called mybarackobama.com which utilized familiar tools from other sites such as Linkedin, eVite, Google Maps, and Facebook. Obama embraced existing communities and websites and used them to his advantage.

There’s even a report out called Obamanomics that studies this phenomenon. If you are interested to read more detail about Obamanomics, you can click on the link.

Ruffled Sachets

If you have a lot of leftover thread, here is the perfect project for you. This is a pattern for three beautiful Ruffled Sachets that will make elegant gifts for the special ladies in your life (or for yourself, because you're special, too!).

Combined, all three designs use just one large ball (400 yards) of cream, 50 yards or less each of peach, pink and green, and only 10 yards of yellow. For those who prefer working with yarn, I'm sure with a little bit of trial and error the round and square sachet patterns could be crocheted in light or medium weight yarn to fit ready-made pillow forms for gorgeous sofa or bed accents. Worked in larger-size thread or fine weight yarn, they could even be transformed into beautiful little purses. Whatever your stitching pleasure, I hope you will enjoy making these pretty projects!

Online Shopping

I find internet is the most wonderful tool to find things. Not only you can find any information online, but nowadays we can buy almost anything from the comfort of our home. With internet you will often have access to options that you never knew existed. You will also have many more choices and can often find a better deal on items online than in a brick and mortar store. One of examples that are advantageous to buy online is buying car parts. With the ability to search millions of websites and many different stores, you may be much more likely to find the right part for even the most obscure type of vehicle online than in the offline world. You may also find a better price at the same time. Visit the link and you can shop with confidence and get free shipping.