an owl friend. (and crafty catch up!)

hello.

things have been pretty unplugged here for the past few weeks but i'll play catch up a little later. first i want to FINALLY introduce the owl friend i've been spending a lot of my amigurumi-time with lately...

on the hook: shaping up.

well. it's been a long time since i kept up with wednesday wip but i have A LOT on my hook right now i thought i'd take a break and share what's going on in my amigurumi world this week....

an army of duckies.

hello there friends.

i wanted to (finally, i know. more blogging will happen i promise.) share the BIG special order that kept me busy for most of the summer. cute aren't they!

these little guys were a special gift for the ladies of ScrapJammies at their summer reunion crop. i did 22 total! (whew, were my fingers tired!)

hooking for charity: purple stitch project.

hello friends. ♥  

meet my purple ninja... 

i'm calling her Sumire (japanese for violet, like the flower).

Sumire is headed to Camp Brainstorm in Bastrop, TX where she'll become the stealthy (and squishy) bestie to a brave girl or boy with epilepsy.

may got away...

hi there.

may flew by and it's been rather quiet here on the blog...

hooks + needles: how to resize a beanie.

hello there!
today i would like to share how i pretty easily resized the Urban Revival Beanie pattern by Vickie Howell to crochet a sweet spring slouchy for my little miss...

on the hook: chevron market bag

hi there.
it's wednesday and since i can't share my special order which is currently in process i thought i'd finally start on some cotton crocheting that i've been obsessing over.

thrifted + gifted. children's books.

hello loves.

sorry for the radio silence the past few days. i have been concentrating on my little miss who has had a head cold since last weekend. she's a trouper though and looks to be on the mend! 

i'm happy to have a few moments tonight to share a few more of the goodies i thrifted while little miss + i were visiting back home in indiana this easter. (there's a song there i think. back home again in indiana... ha.) 

sweet gifts from across the pond.

i was the super lucky winner of a giveaway at hiphopsideproject and this week some beautiful crochet loveliness showed up on my doorstep...

these sweet crocheted pieces were made by Sian of Strawberry Kitten. i love them so much. the wall hanging is so sweet. i can't decide if it belongs in my room on my turquoise walls or in little miss's room. the wristees are a perfect fit and i've already been wearing them around the house as the spring temps in here keep fluctuating... i think the brooch will be finding it's way onto something of little miss's soon!

(isn't Sian's business card for strawberry kitten SO cute?!?)

Sian has two great etsy shops that you should check out... Strawberry Kitten is her handmade teddy bear shop. her bears are so cute and beautifully made! Hook Yeah is Sian's crochet shop where you can find her hand cozies, wall art, and colorful flower brooches.

thanks so much to Sian and Kim of hiphopsideproject for the lovely gifts!

love.

i'd like to hear from YOU!

image from Dawn Smith Designs

title graphic via Oh, Hello Friend

hello there blog friends!

"rubber" duckie.

good morning!

this weekend i finished up one of my duckie designs!

3KCBWDAY7: im-Balance.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's

a Great Balancing Act.

-Dr. Seuss

3KCBWDAY3: knit + crochet heroes.

hello. it's day 3 of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and we are all sharing our yarn-crafting heroes.

3KCBWDAY2: a "little" help (photography challenge)

remember the elves and the shoemaker? wouldn't it be nice if we laid out our work for the next morning only to awaken to completed projects and a clean workspace? 

i think so. especially this week! what a couple of crazy days we have had.

3KCBWDAY1: Inspired by Color

  

hello.

today is Day 1 of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and it's all about color...

a little body work...

makes a much happier little whale!

at the zoo: summer in april?

yesterday we took little miss to the bronx zoo...

thrifted + gifted. part one.

restyle: spring dress to easter skirt

hello there!

happy easter!!

this easter eve i'd like to share a super quick restyle project. 

sweet + simple easter inspiration.

hello from northwest indiana!

little miss + i got here safe and sound and have hit the ground running, well at least she has, ha. she's LOVES all the space at grandma and grandpas house to run and all the fun breakables to touch and carry around.

a good start.

sunday was our monday so i already feel ahead for the week. love that.

not. happy. happy whale.

whale attempt #1.

while i wouldn't call it a horrible failure (the perfectionist in me would and has several times over the last few hours) i'm not thrilled with how my first whale turned out. normally i wouldn't share something that i wasn't 100% in love with but i thought someone somewhere out there might appreciate hearing the story of how this little guy evolved this week.

and the winner is...

wednesday wip: easter swatches + a new underwater friend.

hello friends. 

whew. what. a. wednesday.

today has been a little crazy but why waste time being stressed when there are so many beautiful spring projects on my table just waiting to lift my spirits? 

a fishie giveaway!

i promised and here it comes...

but first a new finished squishie fishie to share....

knit + crochet design week: finished design.

happy monday!

i apologize for missing out on the final day of knit + crochet design week but major spring cleaning was necessary this weekend so i had to put my hook and yarn up and keep the computer off for a few days to get caught up again around here.

i had a great time taking part in knit + crochet design week and will definitely take part again next year if Stacey decides to host it again. it was fun taking a design from sketch to completion and seeing how other designers worked through their own design process! lots of great information was shared and i learned so much... be sure to check out all of the designers that took part and see what they created!

knit + crochet week: proportion problems.

and it's day 5! (and friday too!)  knit + crochet design week has been great so far and i'm so happy i decided to participate. all of the designers have been working on such unique projects and the information on design process shared has been awesome.

knit + crochet design week: stitching up!

 

it's Day 4 of Knit + Crochet Design Week and it's time to show our progress! i am really happy with how my 'puffy' fish is stitching up so far...

knit + crochet design week: daily reads.

yesterday for day 2 of knit + crochet design week i mentioned wanting to share my favorite knitting + crochet daily reads, so now that i have a few minutes let's run through a few...

knit + crochet design week: yarn selection

good morning!

the past few days have been so absolutely gorgeous here... it's spring! and fancy that, i have lots of fun spring colors to share today for Knit + Crochet Design Week Day 3!

knit + crochet design week: technical support

hello there.

i don't have a ton of time today because little miss seems to be having an 'off' day. the time change is catching up with her a teenie tiny bit and so our sleep schedule it just a little wonky. but we're getting through it! 

today's prompt for Knit + Crochet Design Week is technique. i'm so super new to the crochet + knitting world and feel very unqualified at this point to throw my weight around in the technique department. BUT i thought i would share my favorite resources that i turn to whenever i'm in need of a little technical help (which is often!)

knit + crochet design week: sketching.

first off, i want to welcome all of the newcomers to my little piece of the internet! i'm excited to be participating in this blog week and can't wait to check out everyone's posts!

if you came to my blog from somewhere other than the linky list for Knit + Crochet Design Week be sure to check out all the designers participating by heading over to Fresh Stitches.

knit + crochet design week: sneak a peek.

hello! happy sunday afternoon!

i'm thoroughly enjoying my afternoon sketching and getting things prepared for Knit + Crochet Design Week... so much so that i had to give a little sneak peak at the little sea cuties that are appearing on my page. i started rough sketches awhile ago and am now picking a few out a few to focus on for the week. i'm kind of already in love with these little guys ♥

Knit + Crochet Design Week

hi there!

i'm very excited to announce that i will be participating in Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches Knit + Crochet Design Week! i've only been designing my own crochet projects + patterns for a few months (a little longer with knitted things) but i'm jumping at this chance to get in on the fun and test myself a bit.

4th and goal.

designing a monster. wiggle monster.

hooks and needles: a snoopy for my mom.

weekend wip: finishing up.

hi there!
happy friday!

i'm loving how quick this short week went. it's a little strange to say that because on the one hand i look at little miss and see how she's changing everyday, getting bigger and so much older, and i want time to stand still for a little longer... on the other hand we really look forward to weekends with daddy (he's pretty fun to hang out with ♥).

designing a monster. little lulu.

spring colors + friendly monsters.

our valentine's day.

love. from our heart to yours.

happy valentines day (evening) ♥

i only have a few minutes before i completely pass out after our crazy flu-bug valentine's day... and before the sick husband beside me starts really complaining about the light still being on and me tapping away (he wouldn't ever do that)... but while i'm still vertical i would like wish all of my friends, family, and all of the visitors to my little piece of the web a very happy heart day. and more than that, i wish that we all continue to be thankful for the love present in our lives (in every form) and remain constantly open and giving of our love in return.

i am so thankful each and every day for my little family... my incredibly supportive, encouraging, and loving husband and best friend who works so hard to give us an amazing life (and to allow me to stay home with my little miss, such a gift!) and my little girl who makes every day an adventure and gives the best hugs and kisses ever! 

goodnight. and as always...

love.

p.s. the cute little lopsided pop heart i whipped up was a free ravelry pattern from MyGurumi that you can find here...  it was pretty quick and is so cute. i might do a million of these for next vday. (or close to a million.)

hooks and needles: an owl for valentine's day

hi there!

i'm so happy to introduce a new owl friend for little miss! i'm calling her val for now (really original i know, but nothing else has sounded right so far...)

i really love this little cuddly cutie and i can't wait for little miss to get her arms around her on valentine's day morning. i've asked joe three times this weekend if i could give it to her early, but i've been good and for now she's hiding...

this owl pattern was created by Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches and i absolutely love it. Stacey is a phenomenal amigurumi designer and sells the cutest little animals and monsters in her etsy shop. she also sells patterns and kits to create your own amigurumi and has joined the new Craftsy.com team teaching great workshops and classes online.

i took the Nelson the Owl Workshop on Craftsy and let me tell you it was more than worth it! i highly recommend checking it out... it was very reasonably priced and it was so nice to be able to chat with the designer, ask questions about the pattern, and to share with others making the owls. the directions were easy to follow and very well explained.

now my little val...

she's actually not so 'little' - she measures almost 11" !! i made her using stash yarn left over from little miss's newborn blanket... her body, wings, and eyes were made with Lion Brand Baby's First which is a chunky weight. i didn't have any yellow in the Baby's First so for the beak and feet i used a double strand of some Lion Brand Baby Wool, also from my stash scraps. (yay for using up some of my stash, yarn shopping time!)

my owl follows the pattern exactly except for the wing construction and the addition of the cross-stitch heart...

for the wings i had to come up with a plan that would accommodate one wing's worth of pink yarn, cuz that's all i had. i obviously had a bit less than a full skein of my main color to start out with and the wing is where it caught up with me, not bad. i basically split the original wing pattern in half and crocheted it flat, 2 in each color, and then whip-stitched the two pairs together (right sides facing each other, then turned right-side out).

i have been wanting to do cross-stitch on crochet for awhile but hadn't quite found the right project... i thought this would be the perfect opportunity (and it was an easy peasy way to make it a special ♥ day owl!) i sketched out a quick grid and used some more leftovers bits.

overall i'm quite happy with how she turned out and am eager to make a few more. i think a snuggly owl would go great with a matching quick knit baby blanket as a go to newborn set. i'm so excited to see abby's reaction to it... tuesday morning is going to be so much fun!

be sure to check out Stacey's workshops, classes, and patterns available at craftsy.com - i really like everything i've seen on craftsy so far and i look forward to what's in store for the site. if you haven't checked it out, you should. there is something for everyone! i just signed up for Amigurumi: Design Your Own Monster class taught by Stacey and can't wait to start (hopefully this week after i've gotten a little more work on this done...)

love.