Endless Summer

When my dad was a teenager he lived in Oceanside, near the beach, and was part of the surf community down there.  He and his friends used to go to watch Bruce Brown's movies, back when that meant that Bruce himself would narrate the film footage from the back of the room with a microphone.  If you haven't seen The Endless Summer you should check it out.  It's a peek into the surf culture of the '60s.  And I particularly enjoy it because it's funny to think that my parents were ever that impossibly young...

Myself?  I was never part of that beachy lifestyle.  I loved the beach, still do in fact, but I am too fair to be able to enjoy it without 70 spf sunblock, a hat, and an umbrella.  Some of us were just not made for sun worship... I think that I've joked on here before that I'm part vampire, since my skin seems to catch aflame with the tiniest bit of sun exposure.  I'm still rockin' a painful (and bright red) sunburn from our 3 hours at the craft fair last weekend.  And I was wearing sunblock! LOL!!!

Still, I love the laid-back beachy vibe.  Even though we live about 10 miles inland, in the heart of Disney, the beach and surf cultures still seem to permeate much of the fashion and music in this area.  I don't get dressed up to go out, I wear flip flops year-round, and Mims listens to Jack Johnson for bedtime music.  And I love, love, love beachy bohemian jewelry.

So, inspired by the beach, I've created some jewelry that every surfer girl needs (even if the only thing she surfs is the internet).  If you want to make some too, this is how you do it:

Surfer Girl Necklace/Bracelet

approx 23" long

Supplies:
Beads (I used some potato-shaped freshwater pearls that I picked up on sale.  You're going to need at least 20 for this project)
Hemp Cord, about 3 yards (The back of the package said that it was 10# cord, which seems to be about the same weight as size 10 crochet thread.  It's stiffer than cotton crochet thread.  You could also use Super-Lon #18 nylon thread for micro-macrame, which would make the necklace/bracelet virtually indestructible.)
Size D crochet hook (I used a Boye hook after I discovered that my Susan Bates hook what noticeably larger than the Boye.  If all you have are Susan Bates hooks, use a size C hook.)
Ruler (Pardon the scribbling and general crappiness of my little wooden ruler.  Mims got ahold of it a couple of years ago and decorated it for me.)
Scissors (Not shown in picture.  Because, come on, it's a pair of scissors...)
Tapestry needle (Kinda sharp would be helpful.  Kinda small is also good, as long as the end of the cord goes through the eye...)

Thread all of your beads onto the hemp cord.  I wouldn't cut the cord off the ball of hemp (or card, as it is in my case), even if you were planning on making several necklaces.  Just thread all of the beads on at once.  It's easy enough to keep sliding them down, it a pain in the butt to keep worrying if they're going to slide off the end of your cord.  **Tip!  I snipped the hemp cord at an angle, to give the end a sharp point, versus the blunt end you would get with a straight-across cut.  That way I didn't need a needle to thread my beads onto the cord, and if the end got too 'dull' I just re-snipped it a half inch lower and it became pointy again.**

Once all of your beads are on, make a slip knot in the front end of your cord (the end you were just using as you put the beads on).

Slide the first bead snugly against the knot.  Using your crochet hook, yarn over (from the other side of the bead) and pull a loop though the slip knot to make the first chain (this bead will become the first half of the fastener for the necklace).  Chain 4 more times.

Slide the next bead up snugly to the chain.  Yarn over from the other side of the bead to pull the loop through and attach the bead.

I used a pattern of 5 chains between beads, which was almost an inch, so that my necklace would be about 23 inches long.  If you would like a longer or shorter necklace, you can adjust the number of chain stitches between your beads.

This is what mine looked like once I got all of my pearls added to the chain.

To make the closure, I made 8 chain stitches from the last bead.

I slip stitched the last chain to the 7th chain from the hook to form a ring.

I made 2 single crochet stitches around the remaining stitch in front of the bead, and then I fastened off the cord.

I used my tapestry needle to weave in the ends.  They were pretty easy to hide along the chain.  Snip off any extra cord once the ends are sufficiently woven in.

This is my finished necklace.  It's a good length for my wardrobe.  It also wraps around my wrist 3 times for a stacked bracelet look, which is a trend right now.  A 16 inch necklace would wrap twice around most wrists, and a 34 inch necklace would wrap five times as a bracelet.  A 34 inch necklace would also make a cool doubled-up 17 inch necklace, which makes it super convertible and a perfect choice if you were going to make this as a gift... in my opinion...

I made this one out of glass beads and glass pearls, with some dyed jasper (although turquoise would have been nice too).  I only used 2-3 chains between beads.  The end pearl is 10 mm.  I love it.  It's so beachy and fun.  I made one for Mims, who wore it swimming and declared it to be perfect mermaid jewelry.  I made one for my sister, who declared that she was absolutely not going to wear it swimming, despite my assurances that it was completely water safe/waterproof.  But I found out later that it was just because she wanted it to stay beautiful and perfect to bring her good luck at an appointment she was going to the next day.

If you make some surfer girl jewelry, I'd love to see it!  Send a quick picture to CrochetDynamite@gmail.com and I'll add it to the Dynamo Gallery!  Mahalo!

xoxo

Oh, and Karen, Nancy, Charlotte, Leah and Laura were the winners of my giveaway.  I had my  91-year-old grandma pull the names out of a bag. Thank you all for playing!

National Iced Tea Day!

My morning iced tea, because it's National Iced Tea Day, Dynamos!

What? You did not know that iced tea is the official beverage of CrochetDynamite.com?  It's true.  I'm obsessed with it.  

The cool part about my obsession is that I want you to be obsessed too!  So I made you a present!

Hemp Mason Jar Cover 

Supplies:

A ball of Fine Hemp Twine (I bought mine at Joanns in the beading section. It's with the macrame stuff. )

Size D crochet hook

1/8" Ribbon (I used turquoise, but you can use any color that makes your heart sing! I used about 30 inches, because it's easier to tie a bow with too long ribbon, then cut it too short to begin with and have a too-small, weird-looking bow...)

R1: 13 sc in a magic loop, pull tight and sl st into first sc to close round (13 st)

R2: ch 1, (2 sc in next st, sc) 6 times, 2 sc in next st, sl st into first sc to close round (20 st)

R3: ch 1, (2 sc in next st, 2 sc) 6 times, 2 sc in next st, sc, sl st into first sc to close round (27 st)

R4: ch 1, (2 sc in next st, 3 sc) 6 times, 2 sc in next st, sc, 2 sc in next st, sl st into first sc to close round (35 st)

R5: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 4 hdc) 7 times, sl st into first hdc to close round (42 st)

R6: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 5 hdc) 7 times, sl st into first hdc to close round (49 st)

R7: ch 1, (2 hdc in next st, 6 hdc) 7 times, sl st into first hdc to close round (56 st)

R8-12: ch 1, hdc in each st around, sl st into first hdc to close round (56 st)

R13: ch 2, dc in each st around, sl st into first dc to close round (56 st)

R14-15: ch 1, hdc in each st around, sl st into first hdc to close round (56 st)

Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Fold the ribbon in half, and use your crochet hook to weave the doubled ribbon through the posts of the dc row (R13). Tie in a bow!  Trim the ends so that they look cute.  You can run a match, or lighter, over the cut edges to seal them so that they won't fray.

A brief observation about working with hemp fibers:

Crocheting with hemp is not like crocheting with cotton or bamboo fibers.  It's rough.  Your stitches won't be even.  The thread/cord itself isn't smooth and even.  It smells like hay.  It's really stiff.

BUT, it looks super cool.  The uneven stitches make it look handcrafted and expensive.  It smells like summertime.  Just use some hand lotion afterwards and you will be good to go. 

I have made a lot of mason jar covers.  I think this one turned out just perfect.  I am in love...  

Also:

Perfect Mason Jar Iced Tea (updated 1/7/13 to make it even better! )

Using a quart sized mason jar, add 3 tea bags to 2 cups of water, plus a pinch of baking soda (! I know, right?!  The baking soda keeps it from tasting bitter!  But only use a tiny pinch, a little goes a long way. Try it, it's amazing) .  Microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Let it sit an additional 2 minutes in the microwave to steep, so you don't burn your fingers.  Pull it out very carefully. Discard the tea bags.  Add ice to fill the mason jar. Add additional water to fill jar to the top if necessary.  Put your lid and your jar cover on, and you're good to go for the day!  

Have a really, really awesome Iced Tea Day!!

xoxo