November happenings!

Hello, dear readers! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy. I have been working on crocheting more tree ornaments. I crochet covers (aka, "cozies") for pre-made plastic bases I buy online. I am planning on hanging the ornaments somewhere in our yard at some point in December. Last year, I did a similar installation called Holiday Cheer 2020. In fact, I may incorporate the same tree ornaments I used last year, along with the new ones I am making. I have also been making some collages and writing a bunch of poetry. I will, of course, share some more poetry eventually. Ciao! 

Green Stamp Gold Insect (collage on canvas board)

So Much Depends Upon the Bird (collage on cardstock)

two of the tree ornaments I made last week (crochet)

watercolor class and crocheting my heart out

      My public library hosted an online watercolor class last week. The class was taught by Swetha Shenoy of The Paisley Corner. The class was a lot of fun! We started out with practicing some brush skills. Then, we made shapes like flowers and leaves. We concluded the class with a final project. The final project was a freehand-style bouquet of flowers and leaves. I did not like the way my final project came out. However, I will share a picture of me doing the preliminary work (such as the brush skills). It was a delightful class. I highly recommend Swetha's classes.

     Of course, I've been keeping up with crocheting. I made a bunch of hats and scarves that I mailed to my friend Kai back at the end of December. Kai lives in Rochester, NY and distributed the hats and scarves to folks in need. Below you can see a picture of me crocheting a scarf while I watch YouTube on my laptop. Also, I have been crocheting more hats and scarves, and slowly but surely been working on a yarn bomb. Below is a picture of some yarn scraps from the yarn bombing project I am working on. As always, if you would like to support me and my work, please peruse my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I also accept crochet commissions! 

Holiday Cheer yarn bomb

I am happy to announce that I was able to participate in another yarn bombing project for Yarn Bombing Los Angeles. Their "Alone Together: a socially distant public art project" encourages yarn bombers to create public art installations while practicing social distancing. I was delighted to see that fellow yarn bombers have been able to flaunt their creations even during the pandemic. Here is the blurb I wrote for the Yarn Bombing Los Angeles website: "For this yarn bomb, I crocheted five tree ornaments. I installed them on a tree in my front yard, where passersby can see them. I hope my yarn bomb will bring a little bit of cheer in this otherwise rough year." What has brought you happiness lately?

Caron Cotton Cakes review

     Hi, all! I hope everyone is doing well despite the pandemic. Here in northern New Jersey, our grocery stores are running out of supplies like toilet paper, bananas, laundry detergent, etc. On the bright side, I got a commission via my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, for a granny square lap blanket. The customer wanted an acrylic and cotton yarn. I chose to use Caron Cotton Cakes. I love this yarn so much that I wanted to write a review about it. 
    I bought two skeins of Caron Cotton Cakes for a commission. The customer wanted a soft, acrylic/cotton yarn. I went to Michaels (the craft store) and they had a lot of a yarn called Caron Cotton Cakes. I love Caron Cakes, so I figured I would enjoy using their Cotton Cakes. Sure enough, I love them! This yarn is 60% cotton and 40% acrylic. It comes in 8.8 ounce (530 yard) skeins. It is a worsted weight yarn and Caron recommends that you use a size H/8 (5.0 mm) hook with which to crochet this yarn. The yarn is soft and luxurious-feeling. I usually dislike cotton yarns, but again, Caron Cotton Cakes is soft and lovely to work up. 
    I bought two skeins of Caron Cotton Cakes in the colorway Fruit Tropics. Later on, I bought one skein of the colorway Blue Hawaiian. I am not sure what I will do with the skein of Blue Hawaiian. However, as I previously mentioned, I am using the two skeins of the Caron Cotton Cakes in colorway Fruit Tropics to crochet a granny square lap blanket. I am using a size K/10.5 (6.5 mm) hook to work up the lap blanket. 
     Have you ever worked with Caron Cotton Cakes? If so, how do you like it?

the granny square lap blanket I am working on

Fruit Tropics (left) and Blue Hawaiian (right)

another view of Blue Hawaiian

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

discount code for my Etsy shop

If you have always wanted to purchase something from my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, I have good news for you! I am offering 15% off anything in my store with code "AWESOMESAUCE". The code works from now until November 1, 2019. I also accept crochet commissions. If you are interested in commissioning me to crochet you something, my email is ericalaurend on gmail. Thank you!

cat bedding donation

Hello, lovely people! As you know, I love to crochet. In the past year or so, I have crocheted maybe 25 beds for cats. I  donated some to an organization I heard about through a woman from FreeCycle a while ago. Last week, I donated twenty of these cats beds to the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland, New Jersey (USA). These beds are all created by hand. It takes about two hours to crochet each bed. I pay for all the yarn myself. It's quite an investment! However, I know that the bedding I make helps the cats at the shelter, so I'm happy to do it. Did you know that I also have an Etsy shop? It is called Green Owl Crochet and it's really cool! I also accept crochet commissions. Cheers! 

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! 

Spring 2019 update

It's mostly been a cold, rainy spring here in New Jersey. We have had a few nice days, though. I went to the park one day to read and write in my journal. It was fun! 

Our baby birds have gotten so big! In exactly one year and a day, we had six babies. That's virtually unheard of for hyacinth macaws. We feel incredibly blessed. 

Speaking of blessings, my dad finally helped me get a book shelf in my bedroom. Finally! Now I can display some of my books, which makes it much easier to peruse my collection than if they were in boxes. Can you tell I love books?

I've still been crocheting up a storm and making art, of course. I made a few paintings this month. I also crocheted a bunch of cat beds, a mason jar cozy, a headband, and some other items. 

It would mean a lot to me if you would check out my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, where I sell some of the items I crochet. I also accept crochet commissions. Thank you!

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!