Foxy Boy

Auntie Alli made Gus this beyond-adorable crocheted fox hat, with matching mitts.  They were perfect for his newborn shoot (by Fritzi's Photography, of course)!  Love, love, love!

His other aunties had some more crocheted goodness for his shoot, too. A little pod and a diaper cover.  I just love my crafty fam!

stash buster project : yarn scrap basket

I like to think of myself as the opposite of a hoarder--I can't stand to have "stuff" in my house that doesn't serve any particular purpose.  However.... when it comes to fabric and yarn leftovers, I might have a bit of a problem.  Finishing my last project inspired me to delve into my yarn stash for some Stash-Busting.

It does look rather pretty in there though, doesn't it?  (Oh by the way, this is only a fraction of my collection)

I've had my eye on this pattern for quite some time.  The only thing stopping me was that it tells you to work 4 strands together.  I mean....ugh.  So I thought I'd get creative and just use whatever 4 strands and call it good. 

 Ta Da!  It turned out way more masculine than I thought it would.  And it turns out I hardly put a dent in my collection.  More baskets in the future?  Maybe!

old news : a crochet story

this is classic.
Anyone remember this post?  The one dated February 27, 2011 - in which I speak of a cute crocheted dress I'm working on?  Hm. Well, it was sort of supposed to be for sweet Opal, who at the time was 1 1/2.  Well, Opal turned 2, then 2 1/2...and THEN I finally finished the dress.
 

Sorry girlie, this one isn't going to fit you.  Maybe your Cabbage Patch Kid?  But I DID finish it.  I even managed to finish it despite the news that I was having a boy... miracle? Still love this pattern!

little dress

Here's how my latest crochet project is coming along...
At this point I am finishing the skirt...it is SUPER addicting! I just want to sit and work on it all day long.... but sadly my mid-winter break is over now. Back to school tomorrow!

new project!

ahhhhh, the gentle arts! My next crochet project! What will it be????

happiness is...

...this one!

in the hat I crocheted for her for Christmas! The ears were supposed to be more "lamb" than "vampire bat."

done!

Yay, I met my goal of finishing these in one week! So, they are not identical, nor, surprisingly, is the second one better than the first. Wouldn't you think that the second one would turn out looking better than the first one, since I did it all before? Oh well, good enough!

pretties

A while back, someone told me about this ever-so-cute crocheted bracelet pattern she saw on Etsy. Being the idea-stealer that I am, I bought the pattern, and, since I can never make just one of anything, about 6 balls of different colored thread to start making a gazillion bracelets. Roughly six months later, I have finished the first two bracelets!






Credit goes to kellymccaleb for making such a cute pattern!

pic of the day: crochet project

The pic of the day is a shot of my current crochet project. It's a slipper for Miss Pearl (if I can finish them before she grows out of them)!


Here's the thing about knitting or crocheting two things that need to be the same: it's not so easy to make them look exactly alike! Here is the completed first slipper:






Cute, no? I made them from a pattern from this book. It was one of those books I had to have right away once I found out it existed. Craft craving! I'm challenging myself to have these finished in one week. Might be a lofty goal since tomorrow it's back to reality (back to work). I'll keep you posted...

sunshine love

Let's talk about January. Ugh, January. The holidays are over, everything is gray (in Seattle) and each day is the same as the one before. I have been super lazy and unmotivated. Who wants to do anything after work when it looks like it's bedtime as soon as you get home? Yet, just when you think you can't take another minute, the clouds part and you realize the sun is out past 4:00. Like TODAY!

I went searching on Etsy for some sunshine-inspired cuteness, and I found CaitlinSainio. Crochet happiness! Love, love, love her cute hoop framed fiber art.

Looking forward to more sunshine in my life, starting tomorrow.

amigurumi guru

Amigurumi Guru? WWWelll, l that would NOT be my title. But I did score a sweet amigurumi book, plus a ton of yarn, fun fabric, buttons, etc. for my birthday thanks to my sissies and friends who know me so well (see this post!).
I crocheted a bunny for my niece, Pearl, for Christmas. My sister-in-law reported that she knew what it was ("bu") right away. whew!
...so who IS the Amigurumi Guru, you ask? That would be my sister Shannon! I had not been keeping up on her blog, and when I finally checked it, holy crochet wonderful! Here's just a peek at one of her creations:
Go see more of her creatures here!

back to the crochet love.

One day I was learning to crochet. The next thing I knew, I needed an organizer for my crochet hooks! What's a hobby without a cute way to store the supplies? I made the crochet hook case above for myself. Then I made a bunch for my shop!

Owl Party

Tossed Flowers

Brown Kashmir

Organization Love!

i'm obsessed

How did I go through 28 years of life without knowing how much fun crocheting is?? This epiphany sent me straight to Amazon . . . because if there's one thing I like more than crafting, it's buying books about crafting.
I stocked up on some fun crochet books. Crochet Inspiration, by Sasha Kagan, is full of great patterns - fabrics, edgings, and fun flowers like the ones on the cover. I got right to work on some of those:

More to come from this other find: 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet, by Leslie Stanfield !

crochet, continued

The honeymoon was the perfect time for some much-needed crochet practice. The complexity of the shrug pattern got the better of me in the midst of wedding pressure, but now that the wedding was over, I was determined to conquer single, half-double, and triple crochets!

What else is honeymoon for? ha ha. Hey, Jamie knew what he was getting into when he married me (he's the one doing "rock on" in the pic)

This is what I did on the car ride home...take that, granny square!

new hobby

In the midst of all the busy-ness of the summer/fall, why wouldn't I start learning a new craft?

Well, I wanted to make myself a little shrug to wear with my wedding dress (I had delusional dreams of knitting similar shrugs for all my bridesmaids. That was way back in June. I realized quickly that wasn't going to happen. sorry girls).

I found this SUPER cute pattern from crocheteria on Etsy:

gaaa! I was in love! Of course, it was not to be made in lime green. Did the crochet-edging scare me? No way! I would learn to crochet, no problem.

Well, fast-forward to late September, I had yet to tackle the crocheted edging. My family started laughing at me when, on the wedding weekend agenda I wrote "finish making shrug" on the Thursday and Friday mornings of the wedding. No problem!

Time-management master (and early riser) that I am, I did indeed finish the shrug at the finish line, the morning of the day before the wedding. I'm not REALLY proud of myself, because the fancy crocheted edging turned into a simple crocheted scalloped edge. And I didn't block it. yyyyeah. Still, it turned out cute enough. . . and did I mention that the day of the wedding WAS FREEZING, so a shrug was certainly needed. cheers!