behold, summer

Howdy, folks! Summer is in full swing here in New Jersey. It's mostly been hot and sunny. Although, as I write this, it's cool and raining. I have been crocheting a lot, and also making some postcards, paintings, and other fun things. The other day, I used alcohol inks to color sea shells. I used Mod Podge and bits of tissue paper to decorate rocks on another day. I recently got LASIK eye surgery, and I'm still paying off the costs of the surgery. If you would like to support me, please check out my Etsy shop, GreenOwlCrochet. I also accept crochet commissions. Thank you!

decorated rocks

painted pineapple magnet

a painted sea shell

a postcard I made

in like a lion

In the past month, I have been crocheting a lot, and writing and making a few pieces of art. My friend, Pepe, commented on a painting I made. He said that it "looks like [Joan] Miro". What a compliment! In terms of my crochet, I made a lap blanket for a friend of mine, Lindsay, and I finished about half of another lap blanket. I am making the latter lap blanket with various scrap yarns. Please do not forget to check out my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. Until next time... Ciao!

"Just Play #1"

close-up of scrap blanket

close-up of rainbow lap blanket

my cat, Callie, models the scrap blanket

rainy day in January

Howdy! It has been dark and rainy all day today. Boo hoo. I dislike rainy days. Do you? I worked on crocheting a hat for an order I received via my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I took a break to make some collages. I will share one of the collages below, along with a close-up picture of a cat bed I made and another collage I made last week. How do you like to spend rainy days? Ciao!

close-up of cat bed

Owl Doodle January 2020

Rainy Day Blues January 2020

more crocheted rock cozies

Hello, beautiful people! Last week, I crocheted five rock cozies. I sell them in my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, as paperweights. They are really fun to make! I am also happy to announce that I even sold one of the crocheted rock cozies. I was delighted about that! I hope everyone is having a good summer. I am definitely looking forward to the fall, though, as I dislike the heat. How about you? Are you looking forward to fall? Ciao! 

March 2019 update!

     Hello, mates! It's the early morning here in New Jersey. I'm awake so that I can feed the baby birds. I figured now is as good of a time as any to update my blog. 
     Last week, I was able to make some art! I made six pieces of art on canvas or cardboard and three pieces of art on 4" x 6" postcards. I was so happy to finally be able to make some art! I'll share some pictures of my art below. Please don't forget that I am @EricaBerrie Instagram. I share more of my art, crochet projects, etc on there.
     I've also been crocheting a bit. Recently, I've made an ear warmer, a wreath (for a customer), and two hats. I also worked on the granny square lap blanket I had started back on Christmas day at my cousins' house. I love having at least one large, easy crochet project going at any given time. If you're interested in buying any of my crocheted goods or commissioning me to crochet something for you, please check out my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. Thank you! 

One of the hats I made! March 22, 2019

Bermuda Circles (mixed-media on canvas)

Angelina and Erica March 2019

Tanager Senna (mixed-media on cardboard)

Yes!! (mixed-media on canvas)

late February crochet projects

I've been hooking up a storm! It's late February and here in New Jersey, it's still nice and cold. We had a snow day last week. I was stuck in the house all day, so I used the down time to crochet a whale stuffie, finish a hat, and start on a cactus stuffie. I still haven't finished the cactus stuffie, due to lack of a dark brown yarn (for the cactus's pot). In the past two weeks, I've also crocheted two cat beds, an ear warmer, and two cowls, and I started on a fall-themed wreath for a customer. Speaking of customers, have you checked out my Etsy shop yet? If not, please check it out! It's Green Owl Crochet. Thank you!

yarn bomb excitement!

I'm thrilled to announce that I was able to take part in my first "real", in-person yarn bomb! I've done smaller yarn bombs by myself and also participated in various yarn bombs by mailing my crocheted pieces to other artists. However, this was my first time doing an in-person yarn bomb that involved wrapping my work around a tree. 

This yarn bomb was held on February 3, 2019 and was hosted by the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey (USA). I decided to go with a winter theme, so I crocheted an aqua background and some white snowflakes, which I sewed onto the background. 

On the day of the yarn bomb, I partnered with two other artists, Brooke and Carole, to cover a tree. We were lucky because we were given permission to cover the tree that's right in front of the museum entrance. What an honor! 

It was interesting because even though Brooke, Carole and I had never met before, we worked together well and our tree came out looking fabulous.  I had a lot of fun! I was also interviewed on video camera. The idea of being on video made me nervous at first, but now I'm so glad I did it. Thank you to Gabrielle Frasco of the Montclair Art Museum for hosting the yarn bomb. 

PS- If you'd like to support me and my work, please consider buying something from my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I also accept commissions. Thank you!

Happy new year!

How was your holiday? Mine was fun! My mom, dad, and I drove to Massachusetts to see my aunt, uncle, cousins, and my uncle's brother. I got a bunch of cool gifts, including lots of yarn. The car ride home was really tough, as it made my leg pain much worse. Of course, my fibromyalgia pain is always bad, unfortunately. I was even in the hospital two weeks ago. Anyway, I spent much of the weekend crocheting a bunch of snowflakes. I think I made fifteen of them. I used a pattern by London Kaye. Also, I donated some of my handmade cat beds to a local animal shelter. One of the volunteers was nice enough to take a picture of one of the kitties enjoying my handiwork. Bliss! I have a bunch of cool stuff in Green Owl Crochet, my Etsy shop. Please check it out. 

Hats 4 the Homeless

For the past 2-3 weeks, I've been hooking up a storm! I made some holiday gifts for friends and family members. I also made a bunch of items for an organization called Hats 4 the Homeless in nearby Hackensack, New Jersey (USA). For this, organization, I made 7 ear warmers, 5 hats, and 2 scarves. One of the scarves still needs the ends woven in, so it is not pictured here. I hope everyone is doing well. Happy holidays! 

PS- If you would like to support me and help me pay for yarn, please visit Green Owl Crochet, my Etsy shop. Thank you!

Big Hook Rag Crochet

      I bought Big Hook Rag Crochet because I love working with large crochet hooks. I crochet a lot of items (cat beds, ear warmers, etc) using large hooks and super-bulky yarns. After crocheting about 25 pet beds for the local animal shelter this year, I’m officially tired of making cat beds! So, I turned to Big Hook Rag Crochet by Dedri Uys for ideas about what other projects I can hook. 
     I love that, in the beginning of the book, there is information about each designer. I always find it interesting to read blurbs about crochet designers before I actually see their their patterns. 
     Almost all of the projects in the book were made with fabric yarn that was created by the designers themselves. I, however, am not patient enough to sit down with scissors and cut my own fabric yarn. I admire that the designers in Big Hook Rag Crochet made their own yarn, but I’ll buy my yarn online. That being said, there is a helpful tutorial on how to make yarn out of fabric in the back of the book. I love that making your own yarn out of recycled materials is eco-friendly.
     The projects themselves are super fun! The projects in Big Hook Rag Crochet range from a garage can to a cat bed to jewelry. Much to my surprise, I love the beautiful, chunky jewelry included in the book, even though I often dislike crocheted jewelry. 
     If you love to crochet larger projects, I highly recommend you get yourself a copy of Big Hook Rag Crochet!

deep fall crochet goodness 2018

Hello, beauties! I've been having a lot of bad days, due to my severe pain and fatigue. However, I've still been able to crochet a lot. In the past month, I've made a scarf, a blanket, and two hats. One of the hats is for my dad for one of his Christmas gifts. Speaking of Christmas, what are you all doing this year for the holidays? My mom, dad, and I are driving to Massachusetts to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I love going to see them! Alas, car rides make my fibromyalgia pain much worse, so I hope the pain won't be too bad this year. As a friendly reminder, I have an Etsy shop where I sell items I crochet. I also accept crochet commissions. I would greatly appreciate your patronage. Ciao! 

I heart you... (November 2018 update)

I had a huge fibromyalgia flare-up in August and ended up in the hospital. My chronic pain and fatigue have been kicking my butt, frankly. Most days, I have to spend hours in bed. It's awful. I have, however, been able to do some art-making and crocheting! I've made some hats, ear warmers, scarves, and more. I'll donate some of these items to Hats 4 the Homeless. I've also been helping my dad care for the three baby parrots, writing poetry and journals, participating in activism (such as mailing postcards to politicians), and engaging in some street art activities. I've gotten some sales in Green Owl Crochet (my Etsy shop), which is so great! It's always encouraging and uplifting when someone buys something from Green Owl Crochet. If you can, please check out Green Owl Crochet. Also, I accept crochet commissions. Just email me through Etsy and I'll see what I can do. Thank you!

birds, birds, birds!

     I've been living at my dad's house for the past four months to help him care for his parrots' babies. They are hyacinth macaw babies. We now have two! The oldest is Angelina, a girl. The younger baby is temporarily named Carolina. We may, however, change the name, especially since we don't yet know if it is a boy or a girl. 
     When the babies are first hatched, they need to be fed every hour, around the clock. I have a sleep disorder and am often awake at night, so it made sense for me to take over the nightly feedings. My dad does the daytime feedings. We also have a woman who comes in a few times a week to take over one of the feedings. It's exhausting! 
     Between feedings, I've been keeping myself occupied with my usual hobbies (crochet, reading, and mail art). I've also been writing a fair amount of poetry. Last week, I wrote thirteen poems in about three days. It was fun! I'm still doing my volunteer tutoring "job" through Project Literacy. So, yes... the exhaustion is real!
     In the past few months, I've crocheted a large heart, a small heart, a large rainbow, a rock cozy, a stuffed toy pumpkin, a hat, a mason jar cozy, and lots of cat beds. The cat beds are mostly for the local animal shelter, but I also mailed some to friends and acquaintances. I'm currently working on a cowl and a drawstring pouch. My friend Joshua commissioned the pouch from me. Yes, I accept crochet commissions! If you're interested, please email me at ericalaurend on gmail. Also, please check out my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet!

Lion Brand London Kaye LKYC yarn and hooks

     Hello! As I've stated before, I've been working with super bulky yarns a lot lately. I've mostly been crocheting cat beds and cat mats for the local animal shelter. So far, I've made eleven beds and six mats for the kitties. I've also made some other fun projects, like another large rainbow and two mason jar cozies. 
     I first heard about Lion Brand's London Kaye LKYC yarn and hooks through the JoAnn website. I visit their website about once or twice a week. In late March, I noticed that JoAnn's website had a special advertisement featuring London Kaye's work. I had heard of London Kaye before, because of her yarn bombing pursuits. I clicked on the advertisement and it brought me to a page with Lion Brand's London Kaye LKYC yarn, yarn packs, and hooks.
     I needed some more large hooks, so I decided to buy the set of her three crochet hooks. The pack is currently 9.99 US dollars on JoAnn's website. However, when I bought them back in March, they were on sale for 7.99 dollars. The set contains all three of London Kaye's crochet hooks: a 9 mm, an 11.5 mm, and a 20 mm. They are lime green, hot pink, and electric blue, respectively. 
     These hooks are great! I love the way the lightweight plastic feels in my hand. The plastic is light, but does not feel cheap. The ergonomic handles do not tire out my hand,wrist, and arm as much as some other kinds of hooks. However, I have to admit that London Kaye's crochet hooks do not allow yarn to glide as smoothly as Clover's Amour hooks. Also, a small complaint I have is that there was a rough plastic nub on the tip of the 9 mm hook. I was able to file the nub down with a nail file, though. All that being said, I'll stick to using Clover's Amour hooks most of the time. I will, however, keep the London Kaye hooks for when I teach crochet, or for when I want a little variety. 
     Now let's talk about the yarn. The yarn is super bulky and 100% acrylic. It comes in twenty three colors. At first, I bought three of London Kaye's yarn packs: London Eye Blue, Roy G Biv, and Spread the Love. I used these packs to crochet the London Eye, two rainbows, and a heart. I got the idea for these projects from Lion Brand's video tutorials, which feature London Kaye herself. The yarn packs come with five skeins each. Plus, each yarn pack comes with an inspiration booklet. The inspiration booklet is interesting eye candy. However, it would be better if there were few patterns, or even just some yarn bombing and/or general crocheting tips, included.
     After quickly using up all the yarn from the packs, I went on to buy twenty one skeins of Lion Brand's London Kaye LKYC yarn in the middle of April. I feel conflicted about the yarn. I appreciate that the price is low, the yarn soft, and the colors vivid. I also love that I am supporting London Kaye, whom I admire. I do not, however, enjoy that the skeins are so small (only twenty yards!). I've also found that almost every skein I've used has one or two knots in it, which is such a pain. 
     All in all, I'd recommend Lion Brand's London Kaye hooks. I'd say that the yarn collection is worth buying, with some reservation. I'd especially recommend Lion Brand's London Kaye yarn if you're looking for an affordable yarn in small amounts, say, for yarn bombing or another project that could benefit from the yarn's attributes. 

the tale of the super-bulky yarn

On Saturday, I received a package I'd ordered from JoAnn's. The package had some large hooks and yarn from Lion Brand's London Kaye line. Since then, I've been crocheting up a storm! In the past, I haven't used super-bulky yarn much. Now, I'm loving it! Here are some pictures of the items I've made. Please don't forget to visit my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. Thank you! 

November Excitement!

If you know anything about my life, the title of this post may seem like somewhat of a misnomer. However, despite the limitations imposed on me by my disabilities, I'm finding ways to have fun and to be connected with my community, friends, and the world in general. And I think this is exciting! 

Of course, I've been keeping up with crocheting and mail art. Recently, I made an autumn wreath, a cowl, an ear warmer, and a chicken sweater. The chicken sweater is for a chicken rescue in the UK, but the rest of the items I got paid for (yay!). Also, I've been writing letters, keeping my journal current, and writing a few poems. Outside of my usual home life, I've been going to support groups, doing volunteer ESL tutoring, going to church activities, taking a Spanish class, volunteering at an animal shelter, and doing yoga.

Enjoy the pictures of a recent piece of mail art, a jar cozy, and the autumn wreath!