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...

halloween 2001: stitching up a home.

 

 

 

just another quick project to share. i'm finally getting some time to catch up on the blog and will hopefully be done and ready to start with the november fun by tomorrow! 

i stitched up this web while my mom was visiting us. it's not perfect, mostly because little miss was VERY interested in my progress and enjoyed grabbing the thread as i pulled each stitch through. i like the imperfections though, gives it character, right? 

i used a 14" hoop and started by tracing the hoop onto the fabric. the fabric was just some leftover linen remnants from another project. i think it started as a rolled fat quarter or something from a bargain bin somewhere. i chose an off-center center and divided the circle by eighths, connected the lines with webbing and stitched away.

i didn't trim the excess from the hoop so that next year i can re-use the web in a different way if i choose to. i am thinking about making the web into a sofa pillow and making another smaller pillow with a spider to match it... i can't believe i'm already sketching ideas for next halloween. this one did get away from me so i'm hoping next year we'll be able to pull out all the stops, be in a new home (that hopefully gets real trick-or-treaters), and have a little miss who is much more interested in dressing up! 

a little 'vignette love' coming up later today...

love.

halloween 2011: little miss ghosties.

good morning monday!

i know halloween was LAST week but i wanted to share a few of the little projects i did. my lofty goals of totally decking the house out this halloween didn't quite pan out but it was nice to be able to fit in a few crafty days where i could!

first up are the 'little miss ghostie' cards that i sent out from abby to the family...

 

 

 

 

these were a very simple project. i know feet ghosts (and other mutations) have been plastered all over pinterest and other blogs so they are definitely nothing new - but they are such a great, easy idea to send a little growth milestone out to family and friends.

for the base of the card i used Halcraft blank white card & envelope value packs that you can get from any Michaels, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, JoAnns, etc. i love these value packs. i'm not a huge card maker (trying to change that this year) so having a pack of easy cards and envelopes that i can design on top of is so nice. i've used these value packs for abby's announcements, thank yous, and so much more over the years.

other supplies:

white paint
black cardstock
american crafts remarks: moma
scrapworks motifs: boo stamp (halloween)
versacolor: orange
misc. halloween ribbon from stash

tfl!
love.

happy halloween: quick knit.

hello.
bad blogger. bad bad blogger.

i'm a day late but it's nov. 1st and i'm ready to really commit to sharing on this blog again so i thought i'd start off with the cute and quick little hat i knitted up for abby's halloween costume yesterday.

it was a working weekend for joe and we only had sunday to be together as a family so we decided to keep it low-key. i knitted these mouse ears for abby while we watched movies and abby used the opportunity to show her daddy how good she is at rolling all over her playmat.


the ears we super easy to make. i used wool-ease chunky (it was what i had in my yarn basket in black) with size 11 straight needles. the hat was knitted on two needles and then sewn together.

i didn't work off a pattern, so here is a really basic outline of how i made the hat... you can experiment with changing it up based on the weight of yarn you want to use. i really like how thick the hat was, reminded me more of the felt & plastic ears from the old mickey mouse club & it helps with the structure of the ears.

based on abby's head circumference i casted on 40 stitches for the hat. i worked about 1.5 inches in garter stitch and then switched to stockinette. i did two rows stockinette (K on RS, P on WS) and then started with my decreasing. this was my decreasing pattern:

K8, K2TOG, K8, K2TOG, K8, K2TOG, K8, K2TOG
Purl Row
K7, K2TOG, repeat to end of row
P6, P2TOG, repeat to end of row
K5, K2TOG, repeat to end of row
P4, P2TOG, repeat to end of row
K3, K2TOG, repeat to end of row
P2, P2TOG, repeat to end of row
K1, K2TOG, repeat to end of row

8 stitches were then left on the needles. break yarn and pull through 8 stitches. make sure you leave a tail that is at least double your seam edge. sew the hat edges together. i usually sew it together inside out so if my whip stitch gets messy it's more hidden.

the decrease is 4 evenly spaced stitches per row so you can adjust it based on your own cast on (changes with different yarn or different size of work).

for the ears i casted on 11 stitches (be sure to leave a long tail to sew ears to hat):

Row 1: K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K
Row 4: P
Row 5: K
Row 6: P
Row 7: SSK, K to last 2sts, K2TOG
Row 8: P
Row 9: SSK, K to last 2sts, K2TOG
Row 10: SSP, P to last 2 sts, P2TOG
Bind Off

then attach your ears and you are all finished! i added the ribbon to make them minnie ears.

hope everyone had a great halloween!

love.

p.s. lots of things coming up. going to get back on my inspiration posts... and i'm looking forward to sharing my diy christmas list & holiday projects. i have big goals this season and for 2011!