New Shop Inventory

I'm happy to announce several new items in my shop including baby hats, catnip toys, and rainbow heart toddler shirts.

Also this lovely blue baby blanket. I've made a couple so far, and I'm just loving the pattern. One purple blanket was for my niece last year.



Crocheted Baby Blanket - Blue, Navy and White Stripe

Baby Doll Bottle

My son likes to pretend-feed all his stuffed animals, dolls, and even the trucks and tractors sometimes.

So I made him a play baby bottle. Look at the excitement on his face!



He knew what it was for immediately, even when I was only halfway done with it.



Of course he has to 'taste' it himself, too.

Baby booties

I wanted some warm slippers or boots for baby H, so I crocheted some. I didn't have a pattern, but I used the soles of some other shoes for a size guideline.

They're perfect for playing on the deck when it's a little chilly. Of course when I tried them on him this morning, he pointed outside and said "door!" So we put a jacket on over the jammies and took them for a test drive :)


Nice and cozy!


Hoodie time, because it's about 40 degrees. I made that jacket too, just converted a pattern with a zippered jacket into a pullover.


I used fabric paint for the grips, and ran them across every couple rows. Now that he's been wearing them a bit, they're sinking into the stitches, so next I'll try running another set of lines going up and down. Overall I'd call them a success!

Baby blankets and Halloween

Baby has been keeping me busy, but here's what I've been doing in my free time.

My brother and sister-in-law had a little baby girl, so I crocheted her a blanket.


I made little fleece booties for her too, but they ended up running small, and might work for a doll. Here she is with her mamma.


I made a similar blanket for a friend of mine and her little girl, as a trade for a baby food processor and storage system. Win-win!


For Halloween we did a medieval/fantasy thing. Baby H was a little prince, I was a princess and Daddy the bodyguard.


I sewed my dress a long time ago, and A's shirt was his wedding shirt. I copied the poet's shirt pattern and made it small for H in purple satin. The cape is silver satin and purple velvet, and the crown is silver satin with fleece inside for comfort. (Not that he kept it on for long)


And lastly, here's a little felt cow I made for a friend's one year birthday. The "quick I need a photo for my blog before I give it to him" photo :)





He had a farm themed dress up party, and H was a duck.

Hello Kitty

Hello! I'm still here, I've just been busy with baby things lately. My little guy is 5 months old today! Hard to believe; the time has gone so fast. Don't worry, he doesn't get any coffee yet :)

 



 

A few weeks ago I made a Hello Kitty doll for a friend's daughter's first birthday. I used the pattern over at this blog, called Amigurumi Tiny Hello Kitty. I changed a couple things, and tried pattern in the jumper as I made the torso. I might do that part a bit differently next time, but overall I'm pretty happy with it.

 

Diaper Bags and Quick Project

At craft night I made something quick and easy, and useful for me. I didn't have a convenient place for change in my car, so I was always hunting around when I need quarters for parking.

So I crocheted a little green bag o' money.


It holds a decent number of quarters, and now I'll always be able to find them easily!



I've also been wanting a decent little diaper bag. The ones on the market seem to be either ugly and/or very expensive. We have a nice messenger style bag that I love, and I also wanted something small for quick trips.


I have some improvements planned, and version 2 is already in the works.


I used a cotton duck for the outside and a quilting cotton for the interior. It's not fancy or waterproof, but I like it.

I also learned that you can't sew through stick-on Velcro, so I bought the proper stuff for round two. Gummy needles are bad news.

Baby Booties

For Christmas my mom gave me some baby crochet books, including Little Crochet. When I saw this, I knew I had to try making the booties on the front. They're so cute!

My trusty assistant/foot warmer, Herbert, watched and hoped in vain I would drop a scrap of yarn for him.


I think they turned out well. I made the soles green to match the star. When I make them again, I think I'll start the side color one row earlier so it's better defined. Other than that, I love them :)

Herbs models them for me

- Mobile post -

Good Times at Craft Night

Pumpkin Time

We're almost back to my favorite time of year; there's a slight crisp in the air (well, almost, if you use your imagination) and rain on its way (it sprinkled the other day.) Time for spiced cider and pumpkins!

Today at my weekly S&B I made another little pumpkin, even tinier than my original Tiny Pumpkin (the darker one.)



I'm looking forward to making many more of these!

Lunch Totes

I finished the handles for my little sock yarn lunch tote!

Isn't it cute?

I was very happy with how it turned out, so I made another with cotton/acrylic worsted weight yarn leftover from a baby shower gift.

This is one of the first projects where I've mixed fabric and crochet, and definitely won't be the last. I have to do some fine tuning for the handles, but then I'm hoping to put these up in my craft booth. That's right! I'm getting ready to sell my things in a holiday craft fair. Check back in six months or so for an update on that =)

Halfway through sewing the fabric on the sock yarn tote, (the color is called "clover") my sewing machine started jamming. I had to disassemble the needle portion to get it moving again, but I'm afraid I didn't put it back together exactly how it's supposed to be. Good thing the Bernina just came back from having its motor rebuilt! Eventually I'll have two machines that work, at the same time.

Lunch Bag

I finished the main part of a shopping bag this morning, so I used it for buying lunch.

Who needs handles, anyway? ;)

I ran out of this colored yarn, so I'm planning on making a cloth edge and handles for it. In the meantime, it works great like this because it has large loops.

I plan on making more of these, and I'm loving the self-striping sock yarn. This is Kroy Socks FX, which has a decent amount of stretch.

And I will resist tagging this under "finished projects" or making a new category for NEARLY finished projects =)

Christmas Trees and Scarves

Our power came back on, after 4 1/2 days. Not enough time for me to exhaust my candle collection, but long enough to thaw everything in the freezer... Oh well :) We have our tree up, but haven't had a chance to decorate it since the power outage.

I think 25 days of Christmas was a little too ambitious for me =) I hope to have many holiday-themed posts this year, but I can't promise all 25.

Yesterday I put up my office Christmas tree, which I've had for 6 years now. It's a tiny little thing, less than a foot tall. I used to decorate my cubicle walls and put lights up, but this year I'm in a shared office, so I don't have as much space. While I'm not complaining about that, I kind of miss my old decorations.

I think I'll get some new ornaments for the little tree, and maybe put up a festive background. I also like putting up a little greenery candle ring as a mini wreath. They smell so nice!

For Thanksgiving we had a great visit with my husband's parents. My mother-in-law also loves working with yarn, and she gave me this beautiful mohair, which I made into a scarf.



I love the colors, and it's SO warm! The iPhone white balance is a little off, but this one is more true.

I call it my Very Hungry Caterpillar scarf =) 

Bags by the Dozen

I've been in the mood to make bags, purses and totes lately. One great inspiration is that Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties are banning plastic shopping bags starting next year, and are charging for using paper bags. Whether or not you or I agree with the ban doesn't matter as much as what to do about it.

I'm going to start by making some more market bags like some of the ones I did last year.

I was planning on putting together a list of great bags to make, but someone beat me to it over at whipup.net. This is a great list of bags. Go check it out, really! Very inspiring.

Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order. There is a lack of pictures on my part, because I want to spend all afternoon sewing, not downloading and re-posting photos.

Quilting for Peace has a great little shopping bag tutorial. I think the shorter handles would make them easier to fill. Sure, the longer handles can go over your shoulder, but I've found that the grocery store clerks have trouble holding them open.

Skip to my Lou's boxy zippered bag is a classic.

For adorable little zippered felt purses, bluegirlxo is quite inspiring.

I love the recycled cargo pants  messenger bag over at noddlehead.

Craft Nectar links to an ingenious grab bag design. Definitely want to try these.

I've been looking for a good yoga mat bag, something simple to make and easy to use. Pickles has a great crocheted bag that looks perfect.

BurdaStyle has a nice looking purse that looks like it would be fun to make.

There's a great beach bag tutorial over at obsessive crafting disorder (what a cute name!) I love the mesh panel idea.

Here is a cute crocheted tote from Classic Elite Yarns.

Lastly, here are three shopping bags to inspire you:

The Jane Market Bag

A simple grocery bag pattern

And a cute crocheted bag.

Enjoy!

Pumpkins

Continuing with my love of all things autumn, I started sewing some fabric pumpkins. I haven't decided how I'm going to sew the leaf yet, but I'll probably add a crocheted stem, and maybe some tendrils. I have ideas on how to improve the shape, and I'm looking forward to making more of these.

While I was searching for pumpkin leaf designs, I ran across this lovely cake at Hurry Up, Cakes. Of course, now I want to bake some cakes =) Wouldn't this be perfect for a Halloween party?

And, speaking of Halloween, here is an adorable crochet pattern costume from Darncat Crochet.

Sock Yarn and Roots

Currently I'm on a sock yarn roll, but I haven't made any socks (yet) =)

With this gold and orange yarn I'm making a set of fingerless gloves.


I love striping yarn, and the way it's always changing colors and keeping things interesting.

This project is also a test of patience, because normally I would pick a thicker yarn and be nearly finished by now. But I know in the end I'm going to have a beautiful project.

I've made a couple of coin purses lately, which are fun and easy, and very rewarding. I made one for my dad for father's day, since he had requested one awhile back. Sadly, I didn't take a picture.

Then I made one as a little giveaway for my friends. It was a prize for the person who could guess closest to the value inside the piggy bank that came with our new car, cleverly disguised as a stereo system.

Note: Don't leave kids unattended with a cd player and change! They're not getting any candy out, and it would be an expensive lesson.


The zippers were fun. Definitely want to make more of these.



While gardening last weekend I pulled out this poppy and got a pretty little surprise. I've never seen roots this uniformly shaped that it looks like a rusted metal rope.



-- iPhone post

Crochet in the Car

The other day my husband and I carpooled into work. It's a little under an hour each way, and I usually bring crochet that I don't have to watch too closely, as it's a very curvy road.

On the way there I made most of a water bottle tote, but then on the way back I got the idea to try washcloths.

I thought rather than a flat one I'd make it 3D, kind of like a loofah.


It turned out ok, but next time I'll use cotton/acrylic rather than the 100% cotton.

The idea was very simple, I started with a magic ring with 6 sc, then did two sc in each for 12, and then a one-two for 18 to make the center. Then I did 3 dc in each, and then 2 dc in each for the last few rows to finish the ruffle.

Our kitties continue to take turns going to the vet. This time it was Casper with a foxtail in the eye (ouch!) He's doing much better now but is still squinty and requested no photography ;)

Mouse, however, is always happy to pose.


And here's a rare shot of Spook lounging in bed. She reminds me of a resting dragon in this pic.



-- iPhone post

Kitties and Quick Projects

I think I'm making up for my 3-4 years last decade where I didn't have any cats. In addition to our 4 kids, we've been fostering some kittens. The first pair (we named Luke and Leia) just went up for adoption and now we have three little grey and white boys, yet unnamed.

Also, Mouse had a little lump taken care of, so here's the obligatory recovery cuteness :)


This afternoon she gets the cone off, which I'm sure will make her very happy.

As usual, I have many projects in the works, as well as a big exciting reorganizing of the craft room.

In the meantime, here's a pretty little washcloth that I'm going to enjoy making with my scraps of cotton and cotton-ease: (Lion Brand reg required)

Along with my craft room cleanup, I sorted out over 50 skeins of yarn that I no longer need, and will never use, and hauled them down to Goodwill.


I'm loving our new car, and all the storage space =)

Lastly, here's a BBQ sauce recipe that I haven't tried yet, but has rave reviews. Fire up that grill!

Hope everyone has a great weekend =)

Turtle and Scarves

First off, here's a present I made for a friend who loves sea turtles. Her birthday was back in November, and I ALMOST had this finished in time, but unfortunatelyit didn't get delivered to her until recently.

This was so much fun to make, and now I want to make others in different colors!

Last weekend was an engagement party for some friends of ours. I made them matching scarves. Yes, it's nearly summer here, but the party had been postponed and originally it would have been cold when they received them.

At least our Pacific evenings are still chilly =)

Speaking of scarves, here is one I made for my mother-in-law for Christmas. It's made with Caron's "Country" an acrylic/wool blend, which I had never used before.

And the final scarf for this post is one for me! This is from some beautiful wool yarn that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas (I won't say which year,) that I made into a scarf in the beginning of winter, and have been enjoying immensely.

Also it seems that I was playing with shallow depth-of-field when I took this picture. Yep, digging into the archives, of which there is plenty that has never been posted.