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birthday crafting

Last Friday was Brady’s birthday, and in keeping with my pledge, he received some handmade goodies from us. I had made him some Peanuts bibs for Christmas (which I forgot to take a picture of for the blog — you can see one in action here) and I decided to stay with that theme.

snoopy and ball

The ball is a pattern from the Purl Bee and was really fun to make. I used some leftover fabric from the bibs. I think I’m going to do the same for M with the leftovers from her bibs. She really liked it!

Snoopy is a pattern from Chibi Ami. I found it on ravelry. I think you can find a pattern for pretty much anything on ravelry!

It’s a great feeling to watch someone enjoy a present that you made by hand. Brady had a huge smile on his face when he pulled the ball out of the bag, and when we left, he was chewing on Snoopy’s ear. I’m pretty sure that’s a universal sign of toddler approval.

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Shop update: more felted heart coffee sleeves are up in my etsy store.

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more felted wool coffee sleeves

I am overwhelmed at the response to my coffee sleeves on etsy. They are selling like hot cakes! I listed my last one yesterday. All of the others have sold out and I just finished up a custom order for three. I’ll be making more this weekend. I’m glad I went out and stocked up on sweaters last weekend. Thank you to everyone who has purchased one!

coffee sleeves

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bella’s blanket. finally!

There are lots of reasons why this blanket took so long to complete. When I was pregnant, most of the time I was too tired to knit. Plus, my wrists hurt from wearing sea bands to help with the nausea. Then, when M was born, well, you know how it can be with a newborn.

bella's blanket

The blanket got tucked away in the closet for awhile. I had terrible bouts of startitis. My projects were scattered all over the place. I knit a lot of socks. I knit a hat and mittens for M. I knit squares for charity blankets. I knit an afghan for my parents. I discovered sewing.

bella's blanket

Then I found the coolest fabric. It was the perfect colors for the back of the blanket and M loves monkeys—especially Curious George. I ordered it instantly and made a commitment to finishing the blanket. No other knitting would come first.

bella's blanket

It’s much bigger than I had originally planned, but M is a lot bigger now. What was once a baby blanket is now a toddler blanket. Maybe I thought that by not finishing this blanket I could keep M from growing up so fast. I’m glad I got it finished before she went to college. That would have required a lot more yarn.

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handmade holidays

I’ve been trying to write this post for awhile and figured I’d better get it up before Valentine’s Day! I took the Handmade Pledge last year and have to say that all of my birthday/baby/holiday gifts were handmade. I’ve been posting them throughout the year and here’s the final gifts of the holiday season.

holiday gifts

Sweater Scarves from my own pattern.

holiday gifts

Coasters from Joelle Hoverson’s sewing book. Bar towel from my own pattern.

holiday gifts

Zipper pouches from 24 Hour Sewing Projects.

holiday gifts

Mason Dixon Warshrags.

I also made lots of loaves of friendship bread (with mini chocolate chips and chopped craisins. YUM!) and tree ornaments.

holiday gifts

Tiny stockings from Joelle Hoverson’s knitting book.

holiday gifts

Tiny stars from Shh, I’m counting!

I plan on posting a tutorial for the sweater scarves. I also have fiddled with the friendship bread recipe (when do I not fiddle with a recipe?) trying to make it a bit healthier for every day snacking. I’ll try and post that, too. Right now I’m working on baby gifts. They’ll be revealed soon!

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felted wool sweater coffee sleeves

I think I have officially made use of all of the sweater parts I recycle into felted wool accessories. Here’s my latest, made from the leftover cuffs of my sweater sleeve scarves. More photos in my shop. I have a few more I’ll be posting over the next few days. These were fun, small projects to do after finishing up M’s blanket. I also have one more project idea up my sleeve (ha, ha) that uses the neck ribbing of the sweater. Stay tuned!

felted coffee sleeves

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glow in the dark ghost pattern

A few weeks ago I totally got sucked in by Halloween marketing. “We’ve got glow in the dark yarn!” screamed the ad. “Wow! That would make a cool amigurumi ghost!” I thought. I marched off with my 40% of coupon, got my yarn, and then came home to look for a pattern. But I couldn’t find any I really liked, so I just improvised. You’ve already seen the first one.* I like this one a little better, especially with the picot ruffles at the base. This little ghost is for sale in my etsy shop, but if you know how to crochet, don’t buy it from me unless you’re really busy saving lives or something because it takes no time at all to whip one up. Heck, crochet a whole pile of them and string them together to make a Halloween garland!

*By the way, when T turned out the light and the little ghost started to glow, M handed it right back to him. It’s sitting on my windowsill now keeping my pumpkin and apple company.

Glow in the Dark Ghost with Picot Ruffles

materials:
glow in the dark yarn or any worsted weight white yarn
size G/6 (4mm) crochet hook
two black beads for eyes
black yarn for smile
tapestry needle for beads and weaving ends
optional: polyester fiberfil

sc: single crochet
sl st: slip stitch

R1: chain 2, sc 6 in second chain from hook
mark the beginning of your row, move your marker up on each completed row
R2: 2 sc in each stitch around (12 stitches)
R3: *sc 1, sc 2 in next stitch* around (18 stitches)
R4: *sc 2, sc 2 in next stitch* around (24 stitches)
R5-7: sc around
R8 : sc 9, sc with bead, sc 3, sc with bead, sc 10
R9-15: sc around
R16: *[sl st, chain 3, sl into same st] sc* around for picot edging

Tie off, sew on a little smile, and weave in your ends.

I didn’t crochet a base because of the picot ruffle. Not to say that it couldn’t be done. This is more decoration than a toy, so I stuffed it with fiberfil to give it shape, but it’s open on the bottom.

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i made it myself: slip stitch scarf

Yay! My dad’s scarf is finally finished. He’ll be so happy. I bought him this yarn last year from Liberty in London. It’s Rowan Cashsoft and is super soft and cuddly! He got a hat for his birthday and this scarf was his Father’s Day present. Since it was hot in June, I gave myself until Fall to finish it. It still needs to be blocked—the edges could use a good straightening. You’re probably thinking, oh no, not more Halloween colors! Well, just so you know, they are Orioles colors. Heh.

dad scarf

It’s a simple slip stitch pattern I pulled out of my stitch calendar. I think it’s the same as the Mason Dixon burp cloths (from their first book). Work in multiples of five:

Row 1 (ws): k2, *p1, k4; rep from * to last 3 sts, p1, k2
Row 2 (rs): k2, *sl 1, k4; rep from * to last 3 sts, sl 1, k2

Repeat these two rows.

dad scarf

Other specifics:

I knit both sides at the same time from the stripes up and then grafted them in the middle with the kitchener stitch. I did that because I wanted to use up as much black yarn as possible and I figured it was the easiest way to make sure the stripes matched up at the bottom.

I also practiced weaving in ends as I knit. Kind of tricky, but I think I finally got the hang of it.

Finished size: 8 inches x 1 1/2 Bellas

Did you make something yourself? Post it here!

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i made it myself: amigurumi pumpkin

I feel silly posting about this little pumpkin. It looks almost the same as last week’s apple. But, I got all excited yesterday and posted my trick or treat bags and Halloween cards and totally forgot that today was I Made it Myself Day. (I have to support my fellow crafters!) So, here it is.

It will be up for sale on etsy later this week. I was thinking about writing up the pattern and posting it on the blog, but does the Internet really need another How to Crochet a Ball pattern? Aren’t they all the same?

In the meantime, I’m designing some new felted sweater bags for Fall. Hopefully, I’ll have something new to post next week!

Did you make something yourself? Post it here!

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only 47 more days until halloween

Around here on the blog, though, you’d think it was already October! I’ve been busy sewing up some orange and black goodness that I wanted to share with you. It all started with a doodle.

Then, M and I were sorting through (playing with) fabric, and I got inspired to make her a trick or treat bag.* It turned out so cute, I made a bunch more.

Then I sewed up a stack of Halloween cards. I’ve been trying to do more things with my left over stash from paper trade shows. I made these cards out of Fox River Confetti paper. (Love, love, LOVE this paper!)

There’s more coming. Remember how I said I was becoming slightly addicted to amigurumi? I’ve got two little pumpkins on my windowsill looking for a new home. I hope to get a picture posted soon. I also may have possibly bought some glow in the dark yarn for a little amigurumi ghost. Oh, and I was thinking a little black cat might be cute to make, too.

All in good time, my little pretties.

*No, I’m not taking her around this year to collect a bunch of sugar. She’s still too young. She’ll probably just stash her keys, phone and baby Elmo in her bag. What? Like you don’t have a baby Elmo in your bag.

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undead dolls

Here are the little dolls that I poured my heart and soul into for my daughter. They sit on her window sill practically untouched. She got a “Thomas the Choo Choo Train Coloring Book” the other day so the dolls’ heyday is officially over. Although she now knows four new words: vampire, ghost, skeleton and zombie.

undead dolls

They are an early Halloween present. I say that because it sounds much more on the ball than calling them a late birthday present.

If you don’t know me all that well, you may think it’s weird that I would make these for my two year old. I’m a pretty big horror fiction freak. My favorites are Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and her Mayfair Witch books. I have watched every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel too many times to count. (When I was in labor with M, I watched almost all of season seven.) I’ve seen most of the Jason, Michael and Freddie movies. I own the Bela Lugosi and Gary Oldam versions of Dracula (love them both!) and my favorite horror film of all time is The Hunger.

Not that I’m going to encourage her to watch or read any of these. I simply fell in love with the pattern and it seemed too self-indulgent to make them for myself.

Occasionally I find find them in her bed after nap time or in her Lego bin. I’d really like to put them on the window sill in my office, but they were a gift. I’ll just sneak in her room and visit them every once and awhile.