in the future

I made a lion for a friend who had a baby. Then I decided to make a blanket to match. It can't be too hard to find cute lion flannel, can it? Uh. Think again.

I looked at a few too many stores (oh, I don't love shopping), and spent more than I wanted to, but in the end, I think it turned out well. Next time, I'll find cute flannel then make a toy to match.

I hope he's happy in his new home.

a small bag

I had a friend of mine email and ask if I could make her a bag for her iPad. She sent a picture of one she had seen and loved. So I made one, based on the picture. I borrowed an iPad to test it out, and I took a few pics. However, those pictures turned out blurry. Bummer.

Another friend of mine saw what I was working on and fell in love. She said she wished she had an iPad. I decided to make her a bag in the same pattern. It's a little larger and, because I don't ever do any two things the same, the handle is slightly different. Also, because this one is a purse-ish bag, I lined it with a remnant I got at Hobby Lobby. I love it and so did Suzanne. (at least she said she did!)

Now I'm working on another similar bag for my daughter's laptop, which she has to have for school every day.

Wool socks in August

I know, perfect season for wool socks, huh? Oh well. I started these forever ago. They are for a friend. I can't believe it took me so long to knit them. Soon (hopefully Tuesday) they'll be stuffed in an envelope and on their way to an exciting new life.

I used my favorite sock (non)pattern. It is pretty much the same as the ones I would make for Tessa when she was a little thing, only bigger. C/O 60 stitches over four needles (I think I used size 2 needles for these), K3 P2 rib for as long as I want to make it, heel, continue K3 P2 across the top of the foot until sock measures 8 inches from the edge of the heel, decrease toe & finish. Easy-peasy.

bugs in a bag

I have two daughters with birthdays in July. One is turning 11. The other, my baby, eight. Seriously, where has all of the time gone? Thankfully my Tessa still likes little girl things. So, for her approaching birthday I made these:

Five little finger puppet friends, a butterfly, a bumble bee,

a blue bird, a daisy and, of course, a ladybug.

Tessa has always had such an amazing imagination. My mom jokes that if Tessa is playing in the other room, there's no way to be sure if she's alone or having a party.

She also has a wonderfully tender heart. Often she talks to me about Lucy and how she wishes her cousin were here on Earth with us. No bug collection is complete without our ladybug.

I was going to make just a plain old bag for the bugs,

but then I had the idea to make a tree.

I can't wait for T's birthday.

flip-flop socks

I made these for a friend. I think I need to make some for me. They were very simple, I c/o 60 stitches on size 2 needles. I knit in a k3 p2 rib for three inches. At that point I ran a piece of yarn through the last 20 stitches to save for later and continued around the remaining 40 for five rows. I like to bind off (loosely!) alternating knit and purl (that makes the last row on top instead of the side, and I like that look better). Next I put the 20 st from before back on needles and knit them for five rows using the same binding off technique.

Make some. Be happy. Flip-flops can now be worn in April & May when we're not sure if it's going to be warm and sunny or cold(ish) and snowy.

hide-a-bed

My daughter was invited to the birthday party for a little girl she babysits. We went to Target for a small baby doll. I learned my lesson making these beds last fall, always buy the doll first. I made several but couldn't find babies small enough to fit, never mind that we had a million that size when my girls were small(er).

I based this on little doll bed purses I bought for my daughters at a craft fair before Easter many years ago. I know the concept is an old one. When I showed this to a good friend of mine she started gushing at the memory of her own doll bed when she was young.

(the blanket is a separate piece)

another activity book

My nephew had a birthday. I made him an activity book, similar to the one I made before.

This book would be great for the car or church or wherever.

The girls colored the first page for him (but used different crayons so these stay pretty). Because he has a two-year-old brother (Elliot is turning 5) we included washable crayons, you know, for the sake of the benches in the chapel.

Elliot. My boy. He's such a boy too! He loves trucks and cars but doesn't like getting dirty. He has a full head of adult-like hair and a great, big smile. He blessed us almost exactly one year from the day our hearts broke when his older sister died. I love him.

schrute farms beets

I tried something new, freezer paper stenciling. I was nervous. It took longer than I wanted it to. But in the end, I am happy with my results.

Thankfully my fussy printer worked well enough for me to print off "Schrute Farms Beets" exactly how I wanted it. I taped the printed paper facing the waxy side of the freezer paper and cut around the letters with a blade. I didn't do a very good job. Oh well.

Then I removed the printer paper and ironed it, wax side down, onto my washed t-shirt.

Next I dabbed on fabric paint I had leftover from our 4th of July t-shirts, then left it in the sun to dry.

I peeled off the paper & heat set the paint with the iron. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I decided to use the brown paint instead of the white I had because I wanted a more subtle look. It's a gift for a fellow fan of The Office. I hope he likes it!

(Schrute Farms & Dwight. Also, my shirt was inspired by this shirt)

more hair pretties

For my sister's birthday, I made these:

Although her birthday was earlier in the week, I haven't given them to her yet.

Why?

Oh, because she's been on a fancy European vacation.

And she gets home today.

I'm only a liiiiiittle jealous.

Love you, Sissy.

PS the adorable model is my Mikay

the year of the water bottle sling

turns out that's what everyone is getting from us/me. if you're on the list, please pretend to be surprised!

end of the year teacher gifts

For our teachers this year I made water bottle slings, except for Birdie's 3 male teachers. For them, she made chocolate chip cookies.

This year brought new things into our lives:

Children in two different schools; one in jr. high, three in elementary.

All kids gone all day.

Our baby learned to read.

Our oldest earned a national math award.

And became a teenager.

Also some not new, but still exciting things:

State projects

County projects

Art projects

Field trips

Spelling tests

Math tests

And always, of course:

Teachers who give of themselves with their motive being making better the lives of children.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the school year was about a month ago when I picked Birdie up one day and asked, "What was your favorite thing you did today?"

Her answer came thoughtfully, "Probably the test we took in algebra."

We've been blessed.

another shoulder bag

I made another bag for a girl we know and love who is turning eleven.

I crocheted the bag using yarn I had on hand. Trying to cut down the stash a little before buying more, you know. Some of it is TLC, I think - another is Caron. The last one, I have no idea!

I lined this bag like my other one, using a remnant piece I bought at Hobby Lobby.

(my Birdie)

lil rabbit

This afternoon I made this little bunny for my mom out of flannel,

fluff, a couple buttons, some cotton yarn and a little bit of felt.

We had an enjoyable dinner with family.

a felt book

Because I'm pretty sure we have the most awesome pediatrician around, I made a felt book. He really is amazing. I had a whole post listing all of the wonderful things we love about him, but it didn't work right, everything kept messing up. So, because I'm on day 3 of a migraine, you'll just have to take my word for it.

I've been wanting to do something for his family for a while now. When I saw a felt book on my friend Kalleen's blog (At Second Street) I knew that was it.

After finishing the tic-tac-toe page I started with the people but didn't really like making them, so I abandoned them for a while to make a sea. I don't know what made me think of it, but I seriously love it. Behind the waves are pockets to hold fish, seaweed, clouds, etc.

In his family they have four children, 2 girls and 2 boys. They recently adopted their baby from Ethiopia.

I realize he probably isn't going to want to play with a felt book much, but I know his kids, and I figured they would like it.

love

My brother and his wife welcomed their fourth child, third daughter, in January. While at Hobby Lobby a month ago I found a sweet little iron-on that said it was for babies. I bought it and a pink onesie.


It read "loved" - perfect, I thought. Except no matter what I did I couldn't get the iron-on to transfer (and for once in my life I even followed directions!). Then I started thinking that if I were to finally get it to stick, how secure would it be? What if the little dots came off and made it look ugly, or worse - choked my sweet little niece? So I formulated another plan. I remembered one of my favorite remnants.

I went to work. (if you can call it work - it was very fun!)

I made the heart big enough to cover the indents left by the crappy iron-on which, by the way, I'm glad didn't work out because I love this a lot more than I would have loved that.

it occurs to me

I remember I was going to share a picture of the rag blanket I made for Doug. It is similar to the ones the girls got for Christmas, only this one is a little bigger.

If you know Doug you know he's a talented musician. He plays piano, and very well. When I saw this musical note flannel at Joann's before Christmas, I knew it was for him. He loves it but unfortunately so does the cat. Tiger thinks it's her wonderful new bed.

a few gifts

For some young friends of mine:

Bubble Gum, for a little girl who reminds me a lot of my girls when they were preschoolers.

Caramel Kitty II, for my nephew's birthday (brother of the nephew who received Buster II)

Dots, a birthday gift for my adorable niece who just turned one.

Buster II

cat parts

***

For my nephew's birthday, Buster II - in memory of Nephew's first cat (who is actually still living as far as we know, Buster just didn't want to move when my sister did and the family who bought their house was happy to let him stay and continue catching mice in the very large field/backyard).

cheetah

My daughters are crazy. One might argue that they get it from me. Not this time, folks! They LOVE hot cheetos. Oh. My. Sometimes when a friend is over to play (or rather, hang out, since I think they might be too old & too cool to 'play' now) they'll ask if they can take a walk up to the gas station to get a bag of those evil snacks. I usually let them.

Today was Mikay's friend's birthday party. I asked if she wanted me to make something for her gift and my daughter wondered if I could crochet a guy like Chester. I said I would try. What I ended up with isn't as much a look-a-like as it is a look-similar:

(the glasses look far more glasses-ish in person)