I’ve written before about the crazy things people knit, but let’s not forget that there are some awesome crochet patterns too! If you love sea creatures, you need to take a look at these:

(Remember, these are all patterns only, not the actual items!) You can find these patterns at Wunderkammer. There are other fantastic sea creatures in the shop, such as an octopus and some lovely coral.

Right now, there are mostly just patterns in the shop, but do keep checking to see occasional specimens and more embroidery. Or, you could buy a pattern and ask a friend of yours very very very nicely to make a sea specimen.

I always think it’s amazing when people throw all their passion and philosophy into their work. It lends their work a certain vibrance and always makes you feel good to support the cause. And it helps that the items are cute, too:

All the items above are the work of Jen at Never Felt Better. Jen is a fellow Sacramento resident and IndieSacramento vendor! She is also a vegan who uses no animal-derived materials in any of her products. Many of the bags and scarves and wallets in her shop are made from acrylic (man-made) yarn, and she doesn’t use wool or silk or leather.

She also uses recycled vintage scraps of fabric for other items, such as the soldered pendants and the appliques on the bags.

Her passion is a bit infectious and Jen hopes to spread that good feeling around. In Jen’s words:

never felt better is more than a catchy phrase! it is a recipe for happiness: a combination of my love for all things vintage*cute*wearable, a pinch of compassionate living, one cup of my decade plus of retail and resale experience, stirred until blended. throw in a dash of silliness and you have all things never felt better!

Well, maybe you’ll feel good (maybe even better) all around shopping from here. Good stuff!

The lovely Tamie Snow of Amazon.com.

Tamie has been featured on indie*galore before for her awesome patterns. Take a look back and read about her here.

How can you resist scrumptious-looking food? Maybe if it was made in a way that you couldn’t eat it.

Yum!

These lovely sachets are from Peep Accessories. Peep is run by a trio of ladies — Sally, Jane and Sandy — from New Jersey. According to their shop profile, the aim of Peep is to “make every home in the world smell like chocolate 24/7, and to find the perfect, personalized ‘it’ bag for every woman in the world.”

Not a bad quest, if you ask me.

In addition to the sweet sachets, there are the knitted and crocheted accessories that are indeed colorful and fun. For example, can you resist a robot?

Or hop along with this clutch:

If you want to take a peep at even more stuff — including knit and crocheted jewelry! — you can also head over to peepaccessories.com.

So the summer is nearing and maybe you’ve got long hair. Long hair in the summertime is always a pain. It gets plastered to your forehead (or your whole face if you’ve got really long hair), you don’t know where to put it, and it’s just too dang hot to have that much hair flying about.

Maybe you need a headband! Fear not, Kathy over at A Cozy Life has a few for you:

Kathy combines sewing and lovely crochet work to make these accessories. She’s got an eye for pretty prints and nice colors. You’re sure to find a headband to match an outfit or add some pizazz to your summery wardrobe. And hey, you’ll keep your hair out of your face!

If you have kids and want to give them a little shade from the sun, there are colorful bandanas for them — like this one:

Sometimes, it’s not about the big and bulky, but the thin and delicate.

As a sometimes impatient crocheter, I’m a fan of big, bulky yarn. But I’ve got a healthy respect for those who work with small hooks and needles and turn out the lace pieces or the things with intricate details that take many hours (and much patience) to do.

Something like this:

This is the work of Irregular Expressions, a family project that comes all the way from Turkey! According to the shop’s profile, the mother makes all the goodies while her son and daughter help run the shop. (Yay for helpful family!)

Everything made Irregular Expressions is completely unique and won’t be duplicated. Since many of the pieces employ freeform crochet, it would be hard to re-make some of the items in the first place!

You’ll find cuffs, neckwarmers, chokers, necklaces and brooches in the shop. There’s a wonderful whimsy to many of the items, from meandering loops and cords to lacy fringes and irregular shapes. Some items also employ small beads. But everything displays a level of attention and detail and craftsmanship that’s beautiful.

What’s a crafter to do when he or she has many talents and interests? Indulge all of them, of course! And excel at all of them.

That’s what Susan of Elbit Enterprises does. She makes jewelry, crochets, sculpts, makes dreamcatchers. Here is a sampling of her work:

Do check out the jewelry, crocheted wristbands and even runestones in the shop. Susan is bursting with creativity and bless her, she’s sharing it with the world! Or at least stop by to see what she’s going to come up with next!

Needle + thread + fabric + nifty additions = Fun accessories.

Like these:

a crocheted necklace …

a cuff watch …

a beaded bracelet (hey, i bet some needle and thread was needed to make it!) …

All this is the fine work of Amy Rae at Dragon’s Spark, where on her site she says, “I have a passion for the useful and beautiful, and a compulsion to create the things I imagine.”

How’s that for feeding your creative spark?

Amy Rae has plenty of beautiful accessories on her site, many of which incorporate fabric, ribbons or beads. The crocheted jewelry is especially nice, as it’s elegant and simple and makes for a nice, organic look.

There are also clutches, cuffs and some sweet copper wire jewelry. So Amy Rae’s need to create awesome stuff is to your advantage!

This only serves to prove that you can crochet just about anything, and it’s even more awesome when it’s one shop producing the varied body of work.

Observe.

Here’s a cake …

And maybe after you’ve had your cake (say it’s your birthday …), you can wear this out if you like:

This is the work of lubee, a crafty fiber team based in Jacksonville, Florida.

It’s a pretty varied store. There are all sorts of yummy foodstuffs (don’t miss the donut bracelets … or the crocheted chocolate chip cookies). Or maybe the crocheted animals. Or the scarflets and other accessories. Or the handspun yarn, even.

If you have a fiber lover in your life, or maybe are looking for a host of eclectic gifts, it might be a good place to start!

Question: If a bank robber walked into a bank wearing this ski mask, what would you think?

OK, so maybe you don’t have to be a robber to need a ski mask or to appreciate its warmth and usefulness. But you have to admit, that’s the raddest looking mask ever.

This coolness is the product of leethal, a shop that carries all sorts of knit and crocheted accessories and cozies, many of which are creative and absolutely unique.

For instance, did you ever think you could crochet a watch?

Pretty sweet.

Unfortunately, the ski mask is sold. But the watch is still available. And so is a bunch of other stuff. As an added bonus, you’ll get free shipping on all orders through August as part of the leethal’s moving to Portland sale!

With the dog days of summer approaching, you may find yourself feeling hot and bothered. Maybe you could use some ice cream. But if it’s not available, maybe you can crank up your fingers and your imagination and this could carry you through a hot spell:

Too bad it won’t cool you down, but it is pretty to look at.

This bowl of goodness is brought to you by Melbangel Crafts. Note that the actual bowl of ice cream isn’t for sale — it’s the crochet pattern. (Hence the cranking up of your fingers.)

There are a whole host of cool crochet patterns available at Melbangel Crafts — some dolls, some animals — but the food ones are especially cool. If you’re feeling dessert-y but don’t ice cream, you could always try some cake:

You could have a veritable bakery in your house!

In honor of the May flowers that April showers are supposed to bring …

These needle cases are from Textile Fetish, where you can find some pretty awesome aprons, bags and clothing in fun prints.

The black floral case is the deluxe knitting needle case — this particular one has 28 pockets for straight needles, though some of the deluxe cases are configured differently with fewer but bigger pockets. The white print is a double-pointed needle/crochet hook case, which usually has between 20-28 pockets.

They’re nice cases indeed, and pretty sturdy. And it’s amazing what you can fit in one of those rolls. I bought one a couple of years ago (it has a pear print). It’s is fat with needles, DPNs, circulars and a billion other things and seems like it would burst at the seams, yet doesn’t. It’s a vertiable salami of needles and crochet hooks. And it’s nice having all my DPN sets together because pre-case, I inevitably was one of those people who would start knitting a hat and then wonder, “where’s my fourth US 13 DPN?”

If you’re a knitter and/or crocheter, it’s the perfect time for some spring cleaning … give your needles and notions and hooks a nice home. A pretty-looking home at that.

The tagline at Roxycraft is “patterns that don’t suck.”

Well, these turtles definitely don’t suck:

They’re quite adorable. And so are the many other patterns you’ll find at the Roxycraft shop, which include monkeys, giraffes, bees, owls and people.

I actually bought Cedrich the Monkey a little while ago, and sadly, he is no longer available as a standalone pattern. But he is bundled with Radley the Giraffe and Winston the White Lion, for you know, if you want your own menagerie at home or something.

I haven’t attempted Cedrich yet, but I’ll have to post a picture once I do.

Meanwhile, do check out the patterns. The prices are reasonable, and they’re pretty easy to read and follow. Good stuff.