And The Winner Is:

Iris 

Iris, if you will send me an email  and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it  right out to you.  

I love all carols, too, but if I had to pick one, it would be 'Oh Holy Night.'
Thank you to everyone who entered, and I wish you all a very blessed and Merry Christmas!
Love,
Ann

Friday Contest

Are you ready for Christmas yet? I am baking cookies and making candy today, but I have all my shopping done, thank goodness!
But, it is Friday, so let's have a contest!

I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. 
I will select the winner at random, and send out the patterns in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won. 

Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question: 
What is your favorite Christmas carol?

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

And the Winner Is:

Evelyn Smith 

Evelyn, if you will send me an email  and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it  right out to you. 

My heart goes out to everyone affected by the  horrific shootings in Newtown, CT yesterday. Please keep them all in your prayers. 

Friday Contest

Happy Friday, everyone! Are you ready for Christmas? I still have lots to do, but let's take time to have a contest!
I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. I will select the winner at random, and send out the pattern in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won. 

Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)

To enter, just leave a comment answering this question:
Are you crocheting any gifts this year, and if so, have you finished them?

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

And the Winner Is:

Tonni

Tonni,  if you will send me an email and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it  right out to you. 

I love Christmas movies, and it would be hard for me to pick a favorite (just like some of you!)
But, if I had to, I guess I would pick  'It's a Wonderful Life' or maybe 'Charlie Brown's Christmas.' But then again, I really  love Cary Grant in 'The Bishop's Wife.' And 'Christmas Vacation' and 'Christmas Story' always crack me up. And it just wouldn't seem like Christmas without watching the Grinch! Oh, well, lucky for me I don't have to pick just one, I can watch them all!
Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas season so far!

Friday Contest Is Back!

The last few weekends have been very busy for me; a family reunion, Thanksgiving, a wedding, and sadly, the death and memorial service of a dear friend. So, I have not been able to  have my weekly contest.

But, things have settled down a bit this week, so let's have a contest!

I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. I will select the winner at random, and send out the pattern in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won. 

Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question:
What is your favorite Christmas movie?

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

And the Winner Is:

Cherity

Cherity,   if you will send me an email and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it and the Angel of Thanksgiving Doily  pattern right out to you. 

I am thankful for all of you, my friends, fans and customers. You make it possible for me to do what I truly love to do; design. For that, I am truly grateful. 

Thank you, I love you all!

Friday Contest; Win It Before You Can Buy It

It is Friday, so let's have a contest!
I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. In addition, I will give them a copy of my "Angel of Thanksgiving Doily" pattern, pictured above. This pattern will be available for purchase on my website, bellacrochet.com, soon. 
I will select the winner at random, and send out the patterns in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won. 

Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question: 
What is one thing you are thankful for today?

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

Pattern Sale at BellaCrochet on Etsy

I am having a 'buy two get one of equal or lesser value free" sale in my Etsy shop today! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BellaCrochet

Buy any two of my pdf patterns, and get one (of equal or lesser value) free. For example: Purchase two Lovely Ladies pdf patterns for $7.95/ea and receive a third pdf pattern valued at $7.95 absolutely free! 
Here is all you do: purchase the two patterns you want to buy, then during checkout include a note to me as to which pattern you would like for free. 

This would be the perfect time to finish your collection of Lovely Ladies Doilies patterns! Please share with your friends who might be interested. Thanks!

Please share this with any of your friends that might be interested. Thanks so much!
Ann

And the winner is:

Neicee

Neicee, if you will send me an email and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it and the Butterflies and Roses Pineapple Doilies pattern right out to you. 

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Friday Contest

I know that all I have posted lately is contests, and I promise to do some different posts soon.  But for now it is Friday, so let's have a contest!

I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. In addition, I will give them a copy of my "Butterflies and Roses Pineapple Doilies" pdf pattern set, some of which are pictured in this post. You can see the rest here:

butterflies

 I will select the winner at random, and send out the patterns in the morning (Saturday.) 

I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won.

Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question: 
What is the one thing you love most about crochet?

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

And the Winner Is:

Gramma Rita

Rita, if you will send me an email and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it and the Double, Double Toil and Trouble pattern right out to you. 

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Friday Contest

It is Friday, so let's have a contest!
I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. In addition, I will give them a copy of my "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Doily" pattern, pictured above. I will select the winner at random, and send out the patterns in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won. 
Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question: 
Have you ever become so frustrated (or confused, or fed up) with a crochet project that you just gave up on it? I have a friend (hi, Pamela!) who has actually cut doilies up with scissors when she got frustrated with them. 

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

And the Winner Is:

Patti-Rocky Mtn Stitcher


Patti, if you will send me an email and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it right out to you. 
I am still mourning the loss of America's Best crochet thread; it was my favorite for years. When I heard that the mill was being sold and that the thread would no longer be manufactured, I stocked up on some of my favorite colors (mostly the greens.) 

I now mainly use Aunt Lydia's, or one of the other Coats/Red Heart brands of size 10 thread. I order it online, since I am very limited (as are most of you, it seems!) in the colors I can find locally. 
Thanks to everyone for entering!

Friday Contest

It is a beautiful Autumn Friday, so let's have a contest!

I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. I will select the winner at random, and send out the pattern on Monday morning (I will be out of town this weekend, so the contest will run a little longer than usual.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back on Monday morning to see if you won. 
Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question: 
Do you have a favorite brand of thread you always use, or do you use whatever brand  that comes in  the colors you need? I often find myself limited by the selection of  colors available. 

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

And the Winner Is:

Vikki Hooks

Vikki, if you will send me an email at:
bellacrochet.info@yahoo.com 
and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it and the Ribbon Booties pattern right out to you. 

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Win It Before You Can Buy It: A Contest!

I was having computer problems last week, but everything seems to be working now, so let's have a contest!

I will give one person a copy of my new pdf pattern, Ribbon and Lace Baby Booties, which will be available very soon on my site, BellaCrochet.com. I will also give them their choice of any one of my other pdf patterns. I will select the winner at random, and send out the patterns in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won. 

Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)

To enter, just leave a comment answering this question:
Have you ever crocheted a special item for a baby?

This contest is now closed. 

Please check back next Friday for my weekly contest.

And The Winner Is:

Debbie Kos

Debbie, if you will send me an email at:
bellacrochet.info@yahoo.com
and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it right out to you. 
I was thinking of changing the contest so that it runs all weekend every week. What do you think?  It would give more people time to enter.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Friday Contest

 I was not able to log into Blogger last week, so I was not able to post.  But everything seems to be working now, so let's have a contest!

I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. I will select the winner at random, and send out the pattern on Monday morning (I will be out of town this weekend, so the contest will run a little longer than usual.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back on Monday morning to see if you won. 
Also, if you post anonymously, please be sure I have a way to identify you (at least give your first name or a nick name in your comment; I have no way of knowing who is posting.)
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question:
Are you crocheting any gifts for Christmas this year, and if so, what are they?

This contest is now closed. Please come back next Friday to enter my weekly contest.

And the Winner is:

 Stitchy Mc Floss

Stitchy, if you will send me an email at:
bellacrochet.info@yahoo.com
and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it right out to you. 

Thanks to everyone for sharing your wonderful tips! I can't wait to try some of them. No matter how long you have been crocheting, you can always learn something new!

Friday Contest

It is Friday, so let's have a contest!
I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. I will select the winner at random, and send out the pattern in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you won. 
To enter, just leave a comment answering this question:
Do you have a favorite crochet tip to share? Or do you need a tip or two?

This contest is now closed. Please come back next Friday to enter my weekly contest.

Downloading PDF Patterns to an IPad or other Mobile Device

I have received several emails lately from customers asking if it is possible to download my patterns to their IPad.
Since I am technologically-challenged, I turned to my computer expert, Joanne, who built and maintains my website for me.
She gave me the following information, which has been added to the information on ordering on BellaCrochet.com.

Download to mobile device

1. Install an app like Download Everything (D/L Everythn) for iPod. It needs to say that it can unzip files like PDFs.
2. Purchase a pattern from BellaCrochet.com per instructions (test with a Free Pattern).
3. On the page with the link to the download, click download.
4. Click on "Open in D/L Everythn" (top right) or the "Open in..." (top left) and select desired app.
5. In D/L Everythn Download window. Double click the zipped file and choose Extract.
6. Select the PDF and email to yourself as a back up.
7. Select the PDF and Open in iBooks (or other desired program.

This information should work for any PDF, not just my patterns. I hope it will help those of you with IPads and other mobile devices.

And the Winner is:

Linda Crochets
Linda, if you will send me an email at:
bellacrochet.info@yahoo.com
and let me know which pattern you would like, I will get it right out to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered! 

Friday Contest

I was told last week that it is against Facebook rules to have contests, so I am moving my Friday pattern give-away here.
I will give one person their choice of any pdf pattern on my site, bellacrochet.com. I will select the winner at random, and send out the pattern in the morning (Saturday.) I will post the name of the winner here, so be sure to check back in the morning to see if you are the winner. 

To enter, just answer this question:
Have you ever won a contest? If so, what did you win?

This contest is now closed.

~My Wish~

Autumn Leaf Doily

 

One of my favorite things about designing is seeing what other crocheters do with my designs. I love it when folks add their own creative touches to a design. Here are a few examples:

This is my Autumn Leaf Doily, which is one of the "Autumn Lace Doilies" set.

Look at this beautiful version! Karen, of Mishap'sOdd's and Ends on Etsy  used three different colors of thread to create it.  I love it!
Karen's doily is available here:
Leafdoily

And look at this stunning doily, made by Valarie of VJF Crochet Doily Patterns on Etsy. This beautiful shaded thread gives it a whole new look.
Valarie is a very talented designer. I love her doilies! You can see her original designs in her Etsy shop here:
vjf25

Valarie also used the doily pattern to create this amazing rug. She used three strands of yarn held together as one, and a size P hook. She omitted the edging, and says it is about 54" across and took about 39 oz. of yarn to complete. Now I want to make one for myself!

Here is my pattern set, which contains the leaf  pattern:
autumn

If you have any pictures of items you have made from one of my patterns that you would like to share, I would love to see them!

New Designs and a Facebook Contest

I have added two new patterns to my site, bellacrochet.com:

This is the Autumn Lace Doilies. They are available here:

http://www.bellacrochet.com/index.php?main_page=document_product_info&cPath=3&products_id=52&zenid=crr83505o113tipi0gvh6pv3g5

And this is my new Town and Country Wrap. It is available here:

http://www.bellacrochet.com/index.php?main_page=document_product_info&cPath=4&products_id=51&zenid=bj5qa2djr3fghkcm0o71tu24c3 

I am having a contest over on my Facebook page today (Friday.) I will be giving away a copy of any pdf pattern on my site, including the new ones. I hope you will stop by and enter:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BellaCrochet/195106893710
Sorry about the long links; I can't get the shortened versions to work today.

Billions of Bullions: A Look At a Vintage Doily

I thought I would share one of my favorite vintage doilies with you today. I did not make it and I do not have the pattern for it, nor do I know if there even is a pattern. A friend gave this doily to me many years ago. He said it was made by his grandmother, probably in the 50's, and he thought I would appreciate it (which I do!) It needs to be washed and blocked, but even in this state, I think it is beautiful.

It looks like it is made from size 30 thread, incorporating not only bullion stitches, but hairpin lace as well. It is about 11" across.

If anyone recognizes this pattern, I would love to hear from you. I have never seen it in any of my old books. 

Anyway, while I do not enjoy making bullion stitches, I certainly think they are lovely, and I cannot help but admire the talented lady who made this doily.

Okay, so maybe there are not quite a billion bullion stitches in this doily, but  there are a lot!

I count 25 bullion stitches at the center.

Some of the little motifs around the outer edge have 18  bullion stitches, but most have 19.  There are 15 of  these little motifs. Each one is about an inch across.

I love hairpin lace, too. But I have never tried it with thread, much less thread as fine as this. 

I can only imagine how many hours of work went into this beauty!