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....

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.

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.

a good start.

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

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 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!)

4th and goal.

designing a monster. wiggle monster.

hooks and needles: a snoopy for my mom.

spring colors + friendly monsters.

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.

making christmas: ornament wreath diy

 

hello again...

i'm back with part 2 of today's 'making christmas' diy!

for wreath #2 i wanted to make an ornament holder for a set of disney princess ornaments that little miss got for christmas last year. they are pretty heavy so i feel confident that you can recreate this without fearing for the lives of the ornaments you decide to showcase.

 

supplies:

wreath form

5/8" cup hooks (hardware)

ruler & pencil

glue (tacky or liquid nails)

 

let the glue dry overnight before crocheting the wreath or hanging any ornaments... preferably 24hrs but i totally could wait that long! then crochet the wreath as normal... simple statement wreath pattern by Good Knits! i used 1 skein of Lion Brand's Hometown USA in Monterey Lime.

when you get to each hook cover the hook base by crocheting around the hook. if you are following the pattern step 4 would be on the right side of the hook and step 5 is pulled through on the left side of the hook.

i started this wreath with an additional hook in the back to secure a ribbon for hanging but because of the weight of the princesses pulling it forward i decided to scrap that idea and just hang it directly on the hook on little miss's door.

if you have any questions let me know! please feel free to share wreaths that you've been working on or any crafting you've been doing this weekend to get your home ready for the holidays!

back tomorrow with this weeks review and plans for 'making christmas week 3'!

love.

making christmas: simple statement wreath

good morning!

who's excited to be getting into all of the christmas decorating? i know i am!

i'm very happy to be sharing my first 'making christmas' diys, and today it's all about this beautiful crocheted wreath pattern from Good Knits. if you are a knitter or crocheter the Good Knits blog is a must-read, must-follow! Lisa has so many great patterns available (for free!) and the items in her etsy shop are gorgeous. (check out her newly released pattern book Love Lace if you are into vintage lace patterns, it's so very lovely!)

i made this wreath with the 'simple statement wreath' pattern shared on the Good Knits blog.

did you miss that link? here's another... GET THE PATTERN!

once you get into a groove on this wreath pattern they are so quick to finish up! i maybe spent 3 hours or so on this one, in between chasing little miss around this past week.

i love this wreath pattern so much. it's so simple and pretty and so quick and cheap to make! i chose to use a 12" green styrofoam floral wreath form so that white wouldn't show through in case i didn't cover it 100% (i did, see troubleshooting in a min...) and the for the yarn i used Lion Brand's Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Cilantro. the red ribbon i used was recycled from a christmas gift one of us received last year that i saved. (free! reuse!)

troubleshooting. i'm a crazy tight, crazy overboard, all around crazy yarncrafter. i probably squeezed 3-6 (ok maybe 9) more single crochets than were really necessary on this first wreath to cover it. so in my opinion the loops look a little over crowded when i sit and stare at it, but my husband and everyone else who have seen it disagree so, you know. us crafters are always hyper critical of our own work.

i really hope you try out this pattern! it's so fun and easy... i think it'll be a great craft to do with kids too if you bought a smaller wreath form that was easier for them to handle. it's a great beginning crochet project.

i'll be back in a couple of hours with wreath #2 and how i turned this 'simple statement wreath' into an ornament holder!

love.

p.s. post-thanksgiving weekend was always the big decorating weekend at my house growing up... i'd love to hear how you spend your weekend OR how you have started decorating this season so far! ♥

busy week.

so once again i put off my daily blog schedule this week.
but at least it's been a busy week so i have some things to share and new projects starting.

here's the recap.

monday i knitted my little fingers raw to finish joey's scarf. i had it about half done and wanted to make sure i got it finished for his birthday because we were supposed to be getting another temperature drop and some snow this weekend. i didn't finish until tuesday becasue i had to search and search for my container of yarn needles and stitch markers which had mysteriously stayed packed in our luggage after my trip home for the holidays.

here is the finished scarf. sorry for the crappy photos, took them super late tuesday and haven't seen the scarf in good daylight since. which i think means he likes it!

i didn't measure it, just used two skeins of lion brand wool-ease chunky in charcoal. it's 36 stitches per row and a ribbed 2k 2p pattern. crazy easy. i was really happy with how the ends were able to be stitched into the gutter of the first column. this is probably a no-brainer for veteran knitters but i wasn't super pleased how my fingerless gloves were stitching up and i wanted to make this scarf as perfect as possible so no little ends started pushing through.

tuesday was joey's birthday and we had a sonogram appointment to see our little girl again! we've decided on a name but haven't agreed how to announce it yet so the family is just going to have to sit tight for a little longer. anyway, she's absolutely gorgeous and doing so well. we are totally and completely in love with this little lady already.

yesterday i took the opportunity of one last nice day in the mid-40s to head into the city and spend all day shopping with my best girl. we went to greenwich letterpress, purl, anthro, and lions brand, and then finally got our boys together to meet and chit chat. it was a very good day. and i made out pretty well all things considered...

i picked up a few things i needed for the quilt & some new burp cloths for the babe (batting & terry cloth), found this gorgeous blue & sage willow printed fabric for a set of sheets for the nursery... also got this gorgeous yellow printed flannel for the nursery that i'll probably be using to make some warmer winter sheets for her too... some bundles of fat quarters for little projects and my next knitting project and the yarn for it too at lion brand studio.

since i have finally finished joe's scarf i'm now beginning on my baby knitting spree. my goal is to knit my way through itty bitty toys by susan b. anderson. the patterns start out really easy and i'm going to be finally mastering some techniques that i've really just played with up until now. hopefully our little girl will have this amazing basket full of handmade yarn toys to play and learn with when she's born. i have this dream that her first and most beloved dolly or rabbit plush be something i made her and that she can pass down to her little babies.

eek, that's thinking WAY too far ahead, haha.

today i'm going to:

finish my quilt top
send out some family emails
start a knitting project
stay warm!

have a great day!

love.