Seriously Cute Crochet Project!

Happy Friday! I hope this finds you doing well, staying healthy and having fun preparing for the upcoming holidays. I know I've been quiet again. That's the one thing with doing all these knitting/crocheting projects...I'm sure you don't want a play by play of how much I've gotten done in a day, so I have to wait until I have finished something. I'm still working on the fringe for the poncho, but getting closer to being done. I'm even almost done with the neckwarmer (just a round and a half left, plus the bind off). But I DID start and finish this crocheted dog...ummmm...yesterday! And I giggled and grinned just about the whole time I was creating it. The girls enjoyed helping me stuff it, too.

I can't remember if I mentioned that I wanted to do this type of project for the kids that we hang out with after school each day. It's called Amigurumi, which is Japanese for crocheted stuffed doll. I've picked up three books with patterns for these types of projects. The one I am using for now is called Amigurumi World~Seriously Cute Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli. You can find it at Michaels (for sure) and Hobby Lobby (I only saw the one copy at the one by my house).  I hadn't seen it at HL until this week and used a coupon to get it.

Okay enough talk, here you go. It was kind of hard to photograph, so I hope you can tell how cute this thing is...

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used Red Heart Super Saver Worsted Weight yarn. He measures about 7 inches long and it's all single crochet. My only semi-complaint is I was supposed to use 9mm eyes and I could only find 6mm locally, which one would think isn't too far off in size, but he might have been even cuter with the right size eyes! LOL I'm planning on hitting that craft store I recently found on Saturday because I know they sell the eyes there. These are safety eyes that you snap on with a disc on the back, so they won't come off.

Maybe I'm the only one (along with my girls) that thinks this is so very cute. And that's okay. I'm working on a penguin right now. Amy has requested an octopus and Jessica would like an egg with a chick in it. Walmart sells this yarn for a great price and I keep buying up different colors. Too bad my fingers can't work faster...

I had to stop my projects for a bit today as I volunteered to go in to the school and help with some parties that a couple of classes earned. The school has a fundraiser every month or so, where we are invited to go to Chick-Fil-A (fast food restaurant) to eat dinner. A portion of the proceeds from that night's sales goes back to the school. The girls love going as do I (because I don't have to cook). Well, they  have contests to see which class has the most students in attendance. Apparently last month both Jessica's and Amy's class tied! So they each got a party as a thank you. Jessica's class chose chicken nuggets and lemonade and Amy's class chose sundaes. I went in to help the Chick-Fil-A representative get the food out to the kids. It was fun! All the kids enjoyed their treat!

Okay, that's it for now. I'll be back when I finish another project to share. In the meantime I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Jeanne

All Better-Whew!

Just thought I'd pop in here to say that Jessica was much improved by mid afternoon on Sunday and has kept everything down since then. She went to school yesterday and did just fine, so I think we are in the clear. Whew.

Thanks for all the well wishes for her. I really appreciate them.

I meant to write yesterday to tell you, but the day got away from me. One of my brothers' wives is in ICU at a hospital in CA. She had a bad reaction to diverticulitis that required surgery to correct. During surgery she aspirated into her lungs and has pneumonia. To complicate these serious issues, she also has Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Every day sees a tiny improvement, but it's going to take a while. Add to that, another brother just had surgery on his back. I think he said on L2-L5. He has a narrow spinal canal and tissue had built up in it. He also had two bulging discs. So, in his words, they roto-rootered the canal and filed down the discs. Thankfully, he didn't need rods or screws, so the recovery, while painful, will take less time than it could have had taken.

So, in addition to my projects, and Jessica, I've been just a tad distracted. But it sounds like everyone is on the road to recovery. Yea!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jeanne

Long Night...

This is a first for us. Jessica has been up all night, just about, with an upset tummy. She seems fine other than not being able to keep anything down. I'm not sure what it is as we all had the same dinner last night and she ate it all with gusto. She was fine when she went to bed, but then around 11 or so she got sick again and again and again. I apparently slept through the first part, but woke up around 1am to find her in the bathroom. I told Steve I'd stay up with her and so I have. She's been a real trooper and isn't freaking out about the actual act of throwing up (which I admire, because I don't do so well with that). She likes me to rub her back as it comforts her. I've got her parked on the couch with kid shows on the tv and she's finally dozing. Very strange and as I said, we've not had a situation like this before. I'm sure she'll be fine and we'll muddle through. I'm just not sure if I will make it into my corner today.

Send some healing vibes our way if you are of a mind to. Thanks!

Jeanne

Potpourri of Projects

Happy Saturday! It's been a good day for working on projects.

I finished my third neckwarmer! (Okay, technically, I finished last night, but I'm sharing today). It's hard to get a good picture of it since it's a dark yarn, but here it is:

Jessica wants to give this one to her teacher. I hope she likes it. I'm now working on another, longer one. Hopefully when it's done it will be the right length to either wrap twice around the neck or pull one loop over the head like a hoodie. We'll see. Speaking of knitting, I went back to the same shops I visited last weekend (the craft and yarn stores), and I found a product that is designed to help keep knitters/crafters from getting sore fingers! It's called Thimble-It and basically it's a clear oval plastic sticker that you put on your working finger. I tried it earlier today and think it's got to be one of the greatest inventive uses for clear plastic stickers EVER! I never would have thought of it in a million years. My pointer finger is thanking me. LOL

As much as I've been knitting/crocheting this week, I felt like I had to give my hands a bit of a rest and worked on a couple of other things.

My friend, Kelly and I (well, more her than me) give each other ornaments for the Christmas tree each year. She also sends one for each of the girls. She finds hers at craft shows/fairs she goes to. I haven't been going to those, so I look for ornaments that reflect their personalities. This year I saw a beaded angel ornament kit at Walmart and they were birthstone colors. I picked one up to make for Kelly. At the time I didn't think to pick up a couple for the girls and regretted it because they have sold out. (But my trip to the craft store this morning was productive because they had the similar kits!) This afternoon, I made the one for Kel. Here's how it turned out:

I think she'll like it. It looks a bit lopsided in the photo, but it isn't in real life. The girls noticed it right away when they got home from an afternoon of shopping and fun with Daddy. I think they will be excited when they see theirs (after I make them).

 

And I stamped a little today! I know! Shocking, isn't it? I saw these gift card holders  on Mish Mash's blog and loved how they looked. I give gift cards to Kelly's boys and they look forward to seeing what I do to "decorate" them. I'm always on the look-out for unique ways to dress them up. Here's what I came up with for the first one:

If you look at Michelle's, you'll see I pretty much followed what she did, but with my own papers. I chose not to sew on mine, though. It's basically a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 piece of cardstock folded in half. I then decided to trim off 1/2 an inch so it looked more like a pocket and rounded the corners. I picked up the bells and pipe cleaners at Walmart. The pattern paper is from Basic Grey's 6x6 paper pack called Wassail. The striped ribbon is actually stamped in Desert Sand using an image from Kitchen Sink Designs stamp set called Plaids Plus-I bought it online a while ago and hadn't used it yet, but I love it to make this striped look. The felt snowflake was found at Joann's by the checkout and I got a little tube of them for a dollar (there are blue ones in the tube as well)! I added the bling myself. The ribbon is American Crafts and I found it at Michaels. The pocket is made with Bamboo cardstock (CTMH). I really like how this one came out and it just sort of evolved. I ran out of time to make any others for now.

So there you have my crafty efforts for today. I will most likely be knitting or crocheting tonight. Miss Over Ambitious here has decided to crochet a poncho like the one I made for Amy (in the fall colors with the fringe) for Amy's best friend~only hers will be in blues. Hattie commented when she saw Amy's that she wished she had a mom who crochets. Both mom and daughter should be surprised at this gift! And the poncho will come together quickly, since I'm faster at crocheting than I am at knitting. LOL

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday!

Jeanne

I'm Still Here!

Happy Friday Morning to you! I thought I'd better pop in and let you know that I really haven't fallen off the face of the blogosphere. I just haven't made it into my corner most of this week because I am knitting every chance I get. And I have the sore hands to prove it. LOL

Actually, sore pointer finger on my right hand. I'm sure I shouldn't do this when I knit, but I tend to push down the needle to finish a stitch and these circular needles I'm using have a sort of sharp point on the end and the repetitive pushing is making that finger hurt! So, in addition to every thing else, I've been looking for some sort of protection for that finger in the form of a thimble of some kind. I'm also working on learning how NOT to push with my finger and instead, slip off the stitch. Sigh...

Here's another neckwarmer I've made, just to show that I have been knitting and purling like mad:

On this one I tried to do a little bit different number of rows of knit rounds and purl rounds. Again, because of the variagated yarn, it's hard to capture in a photo, but it's there. It looks neat in real life, if I do say so myself.

I'm working on another one using the same yarn I used for Amy's first poncho. Because it's a bumpy yarn, I'm getting used to not splitting the yarn with the needle. LOL

Now, in addition to these neckwarmers, I got the bright idea to try to knit/crochet teddy bears for the girls and these little dolls called amigurumi (which is a Japanese word for small dolls). Since I can't work on these when the girls are around I'm trying to work on them while they are at school or after they are in bed. It's kind of slow going, but I am making some progress. I am honestly not sure if I will be able to finish them off in time. We'll see.

In addition to the knitting marathon, the other day I had to do a clean out of the lower shelves of the bookshelves that are behind our couch. Why, you ask? Because there is another mouse! That's number three and I am really hoping Erin is wrong when she tells me when you see one mouse there are really ten! Add to that, is the paranoia I started to feel after my friend, Susi, told me her sister didn't know they had mice in their couch until the little babies ran across their laps while they were sitting on it. So, I cleaned out the bottom shelves where I kept hearing the sucker behind my head (and I saw the makings of a nest...yuck). Because you can't see the lower shelves, this is where we kept our warranty papers and assorted junk. Well, the mice love the paper, so I could see just what they have been rustling about in-where they have torn off the paper. Then I turned the couch over (gingerly) and could see a hole in the netting on the bottom. Oh joy of joys! No evidence of a nest or anything (thank goodness) but, let's just say the couch is VERY clean right now... And I have tons of traps that the sucker is avoiding! Grrrrr....

Then there's swim lessons, Brownies, Daisies, and the shoveling of the driveway I had to do a couple of times yesterday (because we actually got our first significant snow) and volunteering at school and now you know why I haven't been posting much!

Calgon take me away....LOL

It's the most wonderful time of the year...isn't it?

Thanks for your patience! I'll be back when I have more to share, promise!

Jeanne

Moebius Neck Warmer

Happy Tuesday!

Last night I finished my first Moebius Neck Warmer and I have Nona Davenport to thank profusely for her help in getting me started. A few months ago, I came across this post on her blog, Nona's Pearls of Wisdom, where she talks about this cool new scarf/neckwarmer she'd found and started working on. I thought it looked cool and a great idea to try to raise money, but didn't think too much more about it. Then she modeled the neckwarmer here and I thought...those are REALLY neat. This is when I started getting a niggling urge to knit, but still didn't do much about it. Then she posted these neckwarmers and I thought...I want to make one. However, I knew she was knitting these for selling to raise money for their adoption. I felt a little funny asking her for where to locate the pattern, so I hesitated for a while. But I couldn't get them out of my mind, so I took a deep breath, wrote an email and sent it to her. She couldn't have been sweeter and she kindly let me know of the book The Treasure of Magical Knitting by Cat Bordhi and so my quest began to find the book (and a pair of 47 inch long circular needles-the ideal length needed to make the neckwarmer). Which apparently is either very popular or not so much because I had a dickens of a time trying to find it. I knew I could have ordered it off of Amazon, but remember my dog with a bone personality? I decided I wanted to make some as Christmas gifts and I wanted to start yesterday! Anyway, I finally found a shop called Showers of Flowers that actually had the book in stock. Whooo hoooo! When I had just about resigned myself to having to order the book, I was doing some sleuthing on the internet and came across this video by Cat Bordhi which shows how to do the cast on (Moebius Cast On video). Because it's out there, I thought I would share.

Here's the neckwarmer I made: It's kind of hard to see the ribbing because of the variagated yarn I used, but it's there. I had started one with a different yarn, but I determined it was actually too itchy to be worn comfortably around the neck. So I found some softer yarn and started again. This is the yarn that gave me fits the other night getting all tangled up. I discovered why last night.

Most skeins of yarn have an end that you can pull from the side of the skein which is tucked into the skein and when you search for it, you sometimes pull a clump of yarn out with it. Well, apparently this yarn I selected (a type I've not used before) they make it easy for you by not tucking the end into the side of the skein and instead wrap it around the skein and tuck it under the wrapper! Not noticing this the first time, I bungled the whole skein that night. But last night when starting a new project with a different skein I happened to see it. Whew! Who knew? LOL

Now, I'm sharing quite a bit of information with you on where to find the book and how to cast on yourself and I am happy to share, but at the same time I don't want to take away from Nona's efforts to raise money. I want to really encourage you to check out Nona's Neckwarmers on her Etsy shop, where you can purchase one already made for you and you'll also be helping her family raise money towards their adoption. Nona's Etsy Shop I truly think you'll be pleased!

I've asked Nona for permission to share all this information, because I honestly don't want to take away from her efforts to raise money, and she is fine with it. While I've never met her in person, I can tell you she is super talented and super sweet. She is a Close To My Heart Consultant and as you can see, if you check out her blog, she is VERY crafty. She has an adorable daughter, Sammie, who is featured regularly.

Thanks so much for reading all of this if you've gotten this far. I'm working on another neckwarmer and will be trying something a little different with this one. I'll share when I'm done, if you like.

Thanks again, Nona, if you read this! I SO appreciate all your help!!!

Jeanne

Jeanne

Wow! I'm Posting a Card Today!

Can you believe it? I actually made it into my corner today to create. This is in amongst the 87 loads of laundry (slight exaggeration) I ended up with after 5 days with the whole family home. What's sad is I worked on laundry for a good chunk of yesterday, too. But those were sheets/blankets. I also cleaned the bathroom! Whoa!

So anyway...I'm way behind on reading my Google Reader, but I did see Kathi's gorgeous butterfly card and I wanted to play, too! She inspired this one completely, but I used one of the new Basic Grey stamps (called, appropriately, butterfly) I got at the new Michaels. Are you ready? Sure? I know it's been awhile and maybe you think I forgot how to make a card. Okay...here goes:

TA DA! LOL

What we have here is a card very, very similar to Kathi's, but with my own little changes to it. I tried out my new Versamark Dazzle Champagne inkpad. (which I picked up at Hobby Lobby for 50% off-shhhhhh It wasn't supposed to be on sale per the ad, but the checkout gal said they were just ringing up all the stamp pads half off-score!). I had heard about this ink, which has a glittery look to it, and wanted to see for myself. I chalked the image and then I cut it out in two pieces because the body isn't attached to the wings on the stamp I used. I noticed I could still see some of the glittery-ness after I chalked, but I'm sure it doesn't pick up in the picture. Very cool. You can see the sparkle I added with Orange Peel Stickles. The rest of the card is very self explanatory, but if you have any questions, fire away.

Stuff I Used:
Stamps: Butterfly (Basic Grey), Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Versamark Dazzle Champagne (Tsukineko), Grey Wool, Sunflower, Cranberry -for sponging edges, (CTMH)
Paper: Bohemia 6x6 pad (Basic Grey), textured black (Hobby Lobby)
Accessories, Tools: Black Organdy ribbon (CTMH), tag (from stash), jewel (Hobby Lobby), Vintage die, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities Circle and Scallop Circle, glue pen, pop dots

I wanted to make a gift card holder that I saw this morning on my Reader, but I ran out of time before I had to leave to pick up the girls. Maybe tomorrow.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Oh, if you want to see some really, and I do mean really, awesome digi layouts, click here. Look at the Jump one and the one with the tree and the two walking. Anke has grown into a superb digi scrapper. She blows me away with her talent and productivity!!

Alrighty, that is it for now. See you again soon, I hope.

Jeanne