My life and some crafty stuff!

Giveaway!

2010-08-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

Want an adorable, handcrafted owl made by yours truly??

Just skip on over to my sister's blog Keep it Simple, and enter for this great giveaway to promote my new etsy shop, HandcraftedJoy.

Meet the newest member of our family!

2010-06-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

This is Quigley! Our 7 week old Teddy Bear GoldenDoodle. He's teeny-tiny right now, but he should get to about 50-60lbs! (just look at those paws)

Quigley is my new obsession. He's the sweetest little boy, just wants to be near you and cuddle. I don't think I've ever met a calmer puppy before either.

I had been wanting a puppy for a long time, and one time I jokingly mentioned to Michael I wanted a puppy for my birthday this year, but not just any puppy- a golden-doodle puppy. I found a breeder in Chewelah (just north of Spokane) and told Michael this breeder's pups were less expensive and we could drive to pick them up! One day he came home and surprised me by telling me he had talked with the breeder and all we needed to do was put down the deposit and we'd get our pick of the litter if it was still something I wanted to do. Of course it was! We went a couple weeks later, picked out our pup (it was Michael's choice we went with) and another 2 weeks later we have him!

Last night was his second night home, and so far no accidents in the house! I just take him out every hour-2hours (inbetween naps). His first night home was pretty traumatic, and I only got 3-4 hours of sleep, but he settled right in, and slept great in his kennel last night! I am so excited to have this dog because Michael, my husband, travels so often. I hate to be alone (see post entitled "Alone") and getting a dog was just the perfect thing to help me feel I have a companion and a little extra measure to keep me safe. Ok, now that I'm sure you're bored reading about him, here's a few more pics!

Tiny teddy

2010-06-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

I have seen these thread bears all over etsy and the internet, and thought it would be fun to give it a try myself. I found a free pattern through ravelry found here: Icicle Mohair Bear and bought some size 10 crochet thread on sale at Joanne's. I used a size 7 hook- that's 1.65 mm (teeny tiny!) and some chocolate brown embroidery floss for the details (his paws, claws, eyebrows and nose).

I had lots of fun seeing this tiny bear come to life, and really enjoyed learning how to make a 5-way thread jointed animal. It's so cool that he is posable! I added a bow for the finishing touch and here's how he turned out:

Please forgive the obscene amount of pictures...I'm just so stinking proud of the way he turned out!

Piglet

2010-06-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been a SUPER long time since I first mentioned this, but I finally finished him!

It's my design for an old-fashioned piglet! I couldn't find any decent patterns online when I wanted to crochet one, so I decided to write my own. Here's how he turned out:

What is my favorite part? So glad you asked! His ears are perfect, I just love how they turned out!

I gave him a test run this weekend with my niece, and she did exactly what I would have hoped for- she grabbed his little hand and walked around with him as if he were her best friend :) Just like what he did in the books with Winnie the Pooh- he's always holding Pooh's hand, and I think it's just adorable to see an 11 month old hand grasping onto him!

Now my dilema is, I have spent so much time making and designing him, I just don't want to put him in my etsy shop to be sold to some stranger. He is 100% original and I don't think they could appreciate that. Is that just silly? Maybe I'll keep him and give him to my child one day...ahh. Who knows?

Happy Father's Day Daddy

2010-06-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Here is the wonderful man who married the beautiful woman who birthed me!

Today my pastor preached on the importance of fearing the Lord and shared how God charges the men of the household- the fathers- to fear him and the many blessings that will be poured out on him and his descendants if he obeys. Pastor Bill used Noah's fear of the Lord in obedience to the command to build an ark as his example, referencing Hebrews 11- it was quite good, but it got me thinking about my dad, Peter James Loeffelbein. I have witnessed many times, my father's obedience to and fear of the Lord when I know it would be so much easier to fear man. And as a direct outcome, I have been privileged to experience many of the blessings God has poured out on our family- His grace never ends!

I thank you Dad for fearing the Lord- for loving your wife, disciplining us children in love and showing all who know you that the Lord of all is worthy to be praised!

I love you!

ETSY shop!

2010-06-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Announcing the Grand Opening of my own Etsy shop!!

I finally did it! You've been hearing me muse about it for months and months, but with the school year finally at a close and life finally at a slower pace, I have picked up my crocheting again, and also opened up shop!

Want to know where you can find such wonderful items such as these?

Just go to http://www.etsy.com/shop/HandcraftedJoy (and please ignore my hideous banner! if someone has expertise in this, and wants to help me out, please do!!) and spread the word!!

I specialize in making things for baby, but can also do custom orders- you think it up, I'll make it!

Swaps

2010-05-03T20:26:00.001-07:00

Has anyone ever done a swap before? How do they work? How do I get involved in one?

Just curious! :)

...

2010-04-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

Please excuse my long absenses. I've taken on a full time job, long-term subbing and it is literally taking all my energy and brain power to survive at this point. Please pray that I can make an impact on these kids' lives!!

Amigurumi Friday!- designing your own amigurumi

2010-04-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I am absolutely not an expert at designing my own amigurumi. I speak out only out of a couple weeks of experience. I have however, been making amigurumi for a couple years, and have been crocheting for at least 6 years. So I do (kind of) know what I'm talking about.

1. Familiarize:
First things first: Get to know the shapes and techniques of increasing, decreasing and magic circle before you ever try to make your own amigurumi. Try some free patterns first- there's tons on LionBrand, FreeCrochetPatternCentral, and Ravelry. Check it out!

2. Visualize/conceptualize:
Once you feel you have a hand on some familiar construction techniques, shaping and such, decide what it is you want to make. I suggest drawing it out. That will give you a more solid idea of the sort of shapes you'll want to make, get you thinking on the construction of your ami, and get you excited to get started!

3. Go for it!
Some people attempt things in a very loose manner, just going for it, and hoping by the time they have their ami stuffed and closed up that it resembles what was in their mind. As a Type A personality, that just does not work for me! I write out exactly what I'm doing, continually referring back to my drawing to make sure my proportions are correct. And if I ever decide to start selling patterns, I've got it all written out. I just need to edit, type, and have someone test the pattern. If I get half way through a feature or body part and realize it's all wrong, I rip it out and try something different. Frustrating? yes! But that way I know my finished product will end up being something I'm proud of. Even something I'd be willing to sell.

4: Don't be afraid to step away
So after all those really specific tips and instructions let me just say one last thing: I crochet because I love the craft, and I love the people I crochet for. 99.9% of what I make is gifted immediately following finishing it. If this whole process gets really frustrating and stressful- stop! Put it down and walk away. It's not worth losing that love of the craft over. You can try it again some other day!

Well, I hope those tips are helpful and inspire to try your hand at designing!
I'll leave you with a few images of the creatures I've designed in the last couple weeks:

Alone.

2010-04-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

I hate being alone. I've never liked it. I grew up the 3rd child of 4, right in the middle of an older and younger sister. I've always shared a room, whether it be with my older sister, younger sister, roomates in college or now- my husband.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm an introvert for sure. It's not that I have to be around lots of action and people like an extrovert. In fact, I hate being around big groups of people. It drains all the energy out of me to have be social and friendly to strangers. But, put me in an intimate setting- coffee date with a girlfriend, dinner date with my hubby, craft time with my sister, and I could talk and be happy for hours!

That's just it. I like close relationships- I don't like small talk and introductions. I want to be intimate, and not in a romantic way (well, only with my husband). I want to feel the warmth and safety of a good friend who knows me well enough to deal with me being real. I feel I have to put up boundaries, barriers and masks of friendly faces with others- they can't handle the "real" me. I guess that's what I'm thinking.

I don't know. It's just hard for me to sit by myself, hop into bed by myself, eat dinner by myself. And tonight that's just what I'm in for. Alone. Hubby's off out of town on business and for some reason this night it is particularly hard for me to not throw a giant pity party for one.

Does any one else know this feeling? Or am I alone in that too?

Teddy bear update

2010-04-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've had to take a break on my teddy bear over the last week and half because I ran out of my taupe yarn (which I suspected would happen), so I started other projects in the mean time.

However, before I ran out, I was able to complete one bottom leg and shape his big bear hiney.

I added felt to the bottom of his foot, handstitched with embroidery floss using a blanket stitch.

I attached his leg using a safety eye as a moveable joint. It's a new technique I wanted to try out. I'm not sure if I really like how much his leg sticks out where the joint is instead of looking like it belongs to the body. We'll see. This whole project has been a great learning experience for me.

I think the biggest lesson I've learned is not to get ahead of myself. There's been a couple times where I've jumped onto the next step, forgetting something crucial -such as, forgetting to put in the leg joint before closing the leg up, having to reopen it, add the joint, and close it back up only to discover, that completing the joint by attaching it to the body before closing the leg up made it harder to crochet. Argh! Oh well. Next time, I'll be an expert...right??

Sneak Peek!

2010-04-07T11:04:00.001-07:00

I'm getting really excited for a project I've been wanting to tackle for sometime, so I thought I'd give y'all a sneak peek of a pattern I'm developing!

Any guesses?? :) Tee-hee! I'm so excited!

My spring break crafts

2010-04-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sleepy sheep # 5 finito! I added a pink felt flower with a button center. She was finished and given to a very sweet little 3 year old for her birthday! Happy Birthday Bella!

Ladybug, I was bored and improvised her. She's got felt spots, felt bottom and legs, and yarn features (eyes and smile).

I also pumped out this flower. No idea what I'll use it for yet.

This one was probably my most fun project. My sister and I recycled a stained sweater (her husband's) and left overs from a pillow case to make these bunnies. We found the pattern here, at Betz White's blog on how to make a cashmere bunny. We didn't have an extra cashmere sweater lying around (who does??) so Nathan's sweater worked just fine! We hand stitched the bunnies adding buttons for eyes (left over from a recycled shirt...also Nathan's....hmm), pink felt lining the ears and stitched a heart shape with a blanket stitch. I made the pom poms for the tail with extra yarn I had lying around, and wa-la!

What I really love is Rachel and I made them and then realized that they face each other. I don't know how we did that, but they look like they're kissing, so I love it!

So cute! and absolutely free to whip up!

I also made another owl. I added wings this time, and now am not so sure I really like them. And his bottom also turned out a lot more rounded than I wanted him to. Now I have to prop him up because he's too round to stand on his own :(

Last but certainly not least is this adorable piggy that came from a suggestion by my sister. I was planning on making a sheep with this fuzzy pink yarn, but my sister suggested the pink fuzzy yarn would be cute for a pig. So I used a familiar body construction and made up the snout, ears, and curly piggy tail. I really like the way he turned out!

Welp, I think that's it for my Spring Break crafting. It seems having time with my family and time to rest made me a rather productive woman!

The Easter Bunny Came!

2010-04-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from my time in my home town with my family for Easter:

Hubby and I on Easter Sunday

My adorable parents

Game time! (sister Rach grinning)

I won this game! (I'm the yellow)

My mom never fails to feed us way too much good food.

Brothers: My hubby, and Rachel's hubby Nathan :)

Molly's first Easter

I think she likes her pretty Easter dress!

so cute!

alright, this is the the last one. At least of my family, I'll do another post for my crafting while I was there! I just had to show you how Molly crosses her ankles like a lady, cause it's so cute!

Hope you all had a very blessed Easter celebrating that our Lord is risen, risen indeed! And that through that truth we know that by grace, through faith, in Christ, we will be risen and know eternal life too!

Thank you Jesus!

Teddy bear

2010-03-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

I've been working away on my teddy bear design and have finished his head so far. I only had to modify my intended design a couple times, 1st because the head was getting to long and tube-like and 2nd because I forgot to add the eyes and nose before closing it up! But I really do like how he turned out.

It is fun to discover that I have the skills to make something that is in my head come to life!

I stuffed the head individually, then sewed the felt face on using a blanket stitch most of the way, and then stuffed that a little as well. I used blush to color his cheeks and ears, and both eyes and nose are those nifty safety features where they look like a bolt and nut.

The rest of the bear is yet to be done, but I do have most of his big butt shaped, and one bottom leg made and attached. The only problem is I have run low on my yarn in that color, so now I have to put it down until I can get into my craft store!

Oh well, looks like I'll be making more owls :)

original designs!

2010-03-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

In the midst of working on my teddy bear pattern, I decided to have my hand at making a tiny little owl.

Here is the result:

Not too bad for a first attempt? I think so! He's so cute and just about 3-4" tall. I posted a picture of him on facebook and immediately got a request from a friend of a friend to purchase him!

So this was my official first sale of my own amigurumi. I mailed him off this morning, and I can't wait to hear what she thinks of him when he arrives! It gets me even more excited to finally get my etsy shop up and running. (I've only been talking about it for months now!) Just had to share :)

Eggs

2010-03-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have the extreme good fortune of living relatively close to my family (my sister, her husband, and my parents all live about a 2 hour drive away). So, I get to visit them on holidays and make regular trips, and it isn't a huge expense or burden to travel! This means that for the entire week of Spring break, I'm going to be with my mom and dad and sister's family! I get to play with my niece and actually contribute to her first easter basket, which is so fun!

This inspired me to crochet up a few things for my family including these two easter egg shaped amigurumi:

the bunny is for my niece, Molly

the egg is for my mom's dog.

I know...pathetic that I crocheted a toy for a dog, but if you knew this dog, you'd understand. Trust me.

I've had a lot of fun whipping up these real short little projects, cause they're just so darn cute!! You get maximum effect with minimum effort and time :) gotta love that, right??

Easter is in the air!

2010-03-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here is one quick project whipped up for my niece's easter basket:

This is before I finished his other ear, but you get the picture...literally. :)

I used blush to color his cheeks and ears, and he's basically an egg with a face and bunny ears.

This a free pattern I found on Ravelry by RoxyCraft blog, called Bunny Boo.

If you're in need of a cute easter project I highly recommend this one!

Amigurumi Friday! (it's back!)

2010-03-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

For today's amigurumi Friday I would simply like to share what I've been working on lately, and maybe ask some advice from you, instead of give it.

For some time now I have been contemplating writing my own patterns for amigurumi. It is a really intimidating thought that has taken me all the way to last night to get over the fears and doubts about whether I could really do it. Because last night I sat down and sketched a little teddy bear, with full intentions of crocheting him into life! I'm really excited to try writing my own patterns, especially because I won't run into the legality of copyrights when it comes to selling my products on etsy! :)

So far, this is what I have:

Have you ever written your own patterns? How did you go about it?

I obviously drew mine out, and am writing down things as I go. Is there a better/more effective way to design an amigurumi?

Update

2010-03-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my absence. Quite honestly I have felt less than inspired to blog, and the circumstance of having no digital camera in the last two weeks has not helped. However, since my absence, I have gotten a decent amount of crocheting done on my granny squares, and have finished a doll for my niece. I have also purchased a new camera to document all the things that you have been missing out on!

It's a Nikon Coolpix L110, and so far I'm loving the quality and clarity of the images! See for yourself on some of my pics I've taken since getting it:

Sorry folks

2010-03-05T17:13:00.001-08:00

Things are running a little behind schedule! looks like we might have an "amigurumi saturday" this week!

Craft time with the sister!

2010-02-26T15:28:00.000-08:00

I had the fortune of being bored out of my mind this week on account of my husband being out of town on business. Why do you ask is this fortunate? Well because it inspired me to get off my duff and make a trip to my hometown to visit my parents and my sister, her husband, and my favorite baby, my niece Molly!

I spent Monday through Wednesday there, and all day Tuesday was spent crafting with my sister in her lovely new house. (This is the sister I'm planning on opening an Etsy shop with) She brought out an old sweater of her husband's that she accidentally shrunk in the dryer. Who hasn't done that before?! And had a wonderful idea to use it as fabric for a pillow cover. She had an old pillow form lying around, just waiting for some love and attention! So she cut up the sweater and an old pillow case for the back, and sewed it all up in a jiffy using a sewing machine my parents wanted to get rid of.

She asked me if I would be willing to crochet some flowers for her pillow, and then I got the idea to use these giant buttons I had bought at the Dollar tree, and crochet flowers that would button on, so if she ever wanted to change the color of the flowers (to match her decor) she had the option! Brilliant!...if I do say so myself :)

Well we put our heads together and came up with a marvelous pillow cover all for 0 dollars, and 0 cents!

We also used embroidery thread and did a blanket stitch along the bottom to close it up :)

Ps. if you're wondering how I made the flowers, I just made it up as I went.

But there is a real similar pattern for a flower like this found for free at Lion Brand here.

And just for posterity, a recent picture of Molly-dolly!

Amigurumi Friday!-using felt

2010-02-26T15:09:00.000-08:00

Remember this sweet face from earlier in the week?

Well today we're going to talk about how to do it!

First off, thank you Harugurumi for the excellent pattern of the sleepy sheep, available free on her lovely blog! This is my version using felt for the face and embroidery. (Her sheep have a crocheted face and yarn features)

Supplies you will need (for face only): Felt, scizzors, chalk or marker, embroidery thread, tapestry needle, and a little imagination!

I crocheted the head of the lamb, then traced onto the felt using white chalk the shape of the face I wanted...somewhat of an oval. You can get super particular here about having a true oval shape, but I prefer the home-made with imperfections look. I think it gives the animal character!

Then you cut it out!
Next, trace onto the back of the oval the shape of the eyelids so you don't embroider blindly- and choose the color you want to embroider the eyes with. Begin!

I went one way with simple straight stitches and then back on the curve filling in the gaps left.

Next add the eyelashes by beginning in the back of the felt, poking the needle through at the eyelid, and stitch out and down, always beginning at the back of the felt at the eyelid.

You getting the picture? good! Now do the other one :)

(Here's a view from the back, so you can see the mess is always on the wrong side of embroidery. That's why you do the face before attatching it to the head!)

Right, now for the nose and mouth. Start at one central point and fan out your stitches to the left and right for the nose. I chose a peachy-pink :)

Ok, once your done with that, put your needle from the back, right into the bottom of the nose and do just 1 vertical stitch down for the mouth.

(Make sure you tie everything off in the back! )

Now, to sew it onto the face, you can continue using a straight stitch as I did with the brown face, or you can choose to do a blanket stitch. That looks like this:

Here's how:

Enter your needle from back, and make sure before you put your needle back into the fabric that your needle passes above the thread left from your last stitch before you pull tight!

I hope those images are actually helpful!

I find it's beneficial to safety pin on the face as your sewing so the features don't move around on you

But that's about all I have for you this week. I'd love for all of you to try your own lamby face, and share how it turned out!

I have decided...

2010-02-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

Craft stores are one of the most amazing places in the world!

I live about 2 blocks from a Joanne's Fabric store, and I find myself making up excuses (which at the time feel like truly legitimate reasons!) to go there at least once a week. Even if the merchandise doesn't change, I still want to go in there, look around, touch the yarn, peruse the button aisle, gawk at the adorable ribbons, and check to see if their home decorating stuff has gone on ridiculous sale yet.

Beyond the stuff in there, I love the people. People in craft stores are just nice. You see Mom's and their line of excited kids trailing behind them, lovely ladies with their adorable kitten sweaters, and anytime you bring your stuff up to the register, the checker asks what you are making, and you get to go off on the latest and greatest project you have up your sleeve to someone who actually cares and knows what you are talking about! It's marvelous :)

*sigh*...maybe I can scrounge up some change and go today!

My husband knows the way to my heart :)

2010-02-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

Starbucks (extra hot!) and freshly made "Donut parade" donuts! YUM :)

Granny-a-day... day...18

2010-02-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

My latest:

I've been struggling to keep up with the "Granny-a-day" challenge. I tend to wait a couple days then make a few...but I guess the point of the whole thing is not to be stressed. You know, no huge commitments. I think it would be easier if I had someone I knew doing it with me. Oh well. Off I go to crochet out of Granny guilt.

Sneak peak for next Friday!

2010-02-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

This is sleepy sheep #3.

Isn't she sweet??

Amigurumi Friday! -features

2010-02-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

My newest amigurumi, just finished yesterday was full of features and techniques I had yet to tackle. So today I would like to discuss how give our amigurumi features :)

Here she is! my lovely fuchsia lady bug.

Safety eyes with simple crocheted chains attached above the eyes in order to give her eyelids; yarn straight stitched for mouth; yarn knotted at both ends to secure antennae.

Embroidery thread straight stitched down the middle for wings; felt sown on with embroidery thread, and a simple chain-stitched heart- also with embroidery thread. (sewing done with tapestry needle instead of my usual plastic yarn needle)

Here is a clearer image of the chain stitched heart. I wanted her to look like she had a sweet tattoo :)

As you can see, I have incorporated a little embroidery, a little felt, some yarn, and also safety eyes.

Throughout my process of learning and improving on my craft of making amigurumi, I have sought to make the features more interesting, more kid friendly, and more cute! The techniques of using embroidery floss, tapestry needles, safety eyes, and felt were all new to me this time around. Up until now I've only ever tried using yarn or simple sewing thread to embroider/stitch on facial features and other details.

So now that I've tried all these techniques, what do I recommend? Anything and everything! It's all great. As long as you feel comfortable and happy using them!

A word on safety eyes:

Though they are pretty darn secure, safety eyes used in amigurumi can still pose a choking hazard to kids under the age of 3.

If you would like to try them, check out your local craft store! I found mine next to the googly eyes :)

You can purchase them in different sizes. Mine are 9mm.
They come with a front part (the black screw like thingy) that goes through your crocheted object from the front to the back, and a back (the circular, clear plastic thingy) that secures itself onto the post of the front part from the back of the crocheted object. It is important that if you want to use these that you plan ahead! You cannot attach safety eyes once the object is stuffed and closed up. You must do it before!

Well folks, before I leave you, I thought I'd look over some of the lovely faces I have made with these simple techniques throughout this blog:

Happy crocheting!

Help!

2010-02-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

I'm stuck with no project to crochet! I have so many options, but nothing really stands out to me! I'd like to make a cute thing for baby- booties, amigurumi, sweater, cap...something that works up fast and turns out really cute.

I feel so lost for inspiration. Any ideas??

Babysitting Molly

2010-02-13T10:49:00.000-08:00

Today I am babysitting my niece :)

Amigurumi Friday! -stuffing

2010-02-12T09:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to this Friday's segment of "Amigurumi Friday"

Today we will be discussing the fluffy white stuff that brings our amigurumi to life- stuffing!

Some people like to add pellets to the bottoms of limbs and torso's of their amigurumi to give it a weight, but I prefer the simple, uncomplicated poly-fil fiber. It's non-allergenic, easy to use, and somehow I keep managing to get practically new bags given to me by friends and family! A lot of them buy a huge bag like this one (in the pic) for a small project and then don't know what to do with an entire bag of the stuff. So to me it goes, and I welcome free supplies!

If you're not as lucky as me, you can actually purchase a bag of this fluffy fun at your local walmart next to the pillows or local craft supply store. If I remember correctly, I think a bag of this size is about 12$.

Do you use any other product other than polyfiber fill for your amigurumi?

Day 7 of Granny a Day

2010-02-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

Stocking up for Etsy!

2010-02-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

One trip to Joanne's with 50$ and one hour later, I have 9 new skeins of Vanna's choice, 5 sheets of felt, 4 star buttons, 6 embroidery floss colors, 6 tapestry needles, 1 "Handmade with love!" stamp, one stamp pad, and 2 sets each of safety eyeballs and safety noses.

What will I do with all this loot, you ask? Why, I'm going to have a LOT of fun! :)

New find!

2010-02-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

I found the most amazing blog the other day with incredible crochet and cross-stitch tutorials! It is simply a beautiful place with beautiful photos and very helpful, inspirational things to peek at.

So please, head on over to Carina's Craft Blog.

Here's just a sampling of the wonderful things you can see here:

Thanks Carina for letting me use your photos! Now go check it out!

My new obsession:

2010-02-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

BUTTONS :)

What I did during the superbowl:

2010-02-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

Yay Saints! (I just like it when the underdogs win!)

Introducing: Elephant

2010-02-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

This is my latest crochet creation, and I just love him! He worked up super cute and super fast too!

(The trunk is made pliable by placing a pipe cleaner in the trunk. I chose not to stuff it, as well as the ears. )

Another excellent FREE pattern from Lion Brand found here.

I just am having a difficult time trying to decide whether I should give him eyes. I kind of like him plain... do you agree? I'm contemplating using embroider floss and giving him eyes like this:

What do you think?

Granny day 5

2010-02-06T18:09:00.001-08:00

I've made more than one a day... but that's ok, right?

These 4 are my latest. I love the daisy pattern one! It just looks so cheery :)

It's also a free pattern found here!

They need to be blocked cause they're horribly wonky right now, but we'll get that all straightened out...later.

Amigurumi Friday!- working in rounds.

2010-02-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the week again! Time to talk about our favorite stuffed, crocheted toys!

For this week we'll be discussing some tips on working in the round, since this is how one works an amigurumi.

In general, you begin with a magic circle (see this post for details on how!) and however many stitches the pattern asks you to make on round 1. This might look something like this:

Ch. 2
Rnd. 1: sc 6 in 2nd loop from hook. (6 sc)

When you see the chain 2 instructions, ignore them. This is where you make the magic circle. You work all 6 single crochets into the magic circle, and pull tight.

STOP! Mark the end of the last round here by getting a spare piece of yarn that is a different color than the one you are working with (so it's easy to see) and pull it through your last stitch. I recommend to have the piece be at least 6 inches long so it won't fall out so easily.

You can see here that I've marked my round with white yarn. No need to fuss with buying those fancy plastic markers at the craft store!

(Round marked with black yarn)

On the next round, they generally ask you to increase by one, and same for the following rounds. This will look something like:

Rnd. 2: 2 sc in ea sc around. (12 sc)

Do NOT turn, do NOT ch.1, simply continue to work in your circle around, putting 2 single crochets in each of the previous rounds single crochets until you reach a total of 12 single crochets, and have made it back to your marker. This is working in the round. Move your marker up to the end of the round you just finished, and move onto round 3.

Round 3 will be just as Round 2, without turning, simply work the stitches as the pattern calls for, and so forth.

I hope this is clear, and if it isn't, please feel free to ask questions! I will try and get more pictures for our next weeks addition which will be discussing the ever so illusive increases and decreases! :)
Come back and visit

Update: Granny a Day

2010-02-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

blocking- I steamed them with my iron.

my first square my friend Jami's color picksmy favorite

my husband's color picks

my friend Drew's picks- he's a very patriotic army guy :)

Waiting

2010-02-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else ever eager to get on to the next "phase" of life? Wanting to push the boundaries of time and circumstance to visit something you hope to happen in the future? Well right now, that's where my heart is at. I long to be out of the newly-wed, newly-graduated, don't know what I'm going to do with my life, subbing in other people's classrooms, holding other people's babies, everything is not yet, or just over.

It is so hard at these times to remember that this process of waiting on the Lord is often what makes the actual circumstances, when they come, so sweet and enables you to truly appreciate them.

For now I meditate on Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;"

First one down!

2010-02-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

I'll get a better pic later, just had to show you I'm really doing it!

Granny a Day

2010-02-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

I have just joined the Granny a Day Challenge hosted by Meet me at Mikes.

I doubt I'll actually finish one a day, but I'm certainly gonna try! I've really wanted to make a granny square blanket for a while, so I figure now's the best time, or I'll never do it!

Thanks to Craft Matters- Granny a Day post, I too am in for the adventure!
As inspiration, check out Flick'rs A Granny a Day pool- it's pretty incredible to see all those beautiful squares in so many lovely colors!

I'll leave you with one of the fabulous images from the Flickr pool:

Pretty amazing huh?

New Hair

2010-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's just nice to get a fresh look- even when you are attempting to grow your hair out... :)

p.s.- I'm feeling a lot better since my last post! I think I just ate something bad.

feelin blue

2010-01-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't been feeling so hot lately. I went to bed with a stomach ache, woke up with a stomach ache, and am sure at some point this morning that an alien was trying to force it's way out of my stomach like that stupid movie from the 90's. I don't know if it's my diet or what, but I hate this feeling that I have to stay close to a bathroom.

:: Harugurumi ::: Sleeping Sheep 2nd Birthday giveaway!!

2010-01-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

:: Harugurumi ::: Sleeping Sheep 2nd Birthday giveaway!!

Check this out! :)

Favorite websites to visit

2010-01-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on the internet researching and utilizing the many wonderful website that exist for crocheters. My obsession began around the time when I wanted to learn how to do stitches other than single crochet and chains, how to read crochet pattern abbreviations and how to find free crochet patterns. I went online and was absolutely shocked to discover an entire culture, a wealth of knowledge and lovely people that were just as (if not more) excited about crocheting as I was!

So, over the past couple years I have compiled this list of wonderful websites, blogs, and other resources on the web I visit almost daily for inspiration, learning, and just plain fun!

1. Lion Brand - it's simply an amazing resource with over 3000 free patterns to use (all you need to do is go through their free register process, and you can download all you want)! Not only that, but there are tips, explanations of stitches, a customer gallery where you can share what you've made and oggle at other's creations, and you can request their free catalog. Basically, I love this site. Almost any amigurumi I've ever made has been from a free pattern, from this site. Thank you people of Lion Brand, you are awesome!

2. Ravelry - equally amazing site. I doubt there is any other resource out there that could immediately connect such a large community of knitters and crocheters. Another quick and simple free registration, and you are ready to view all sorts of projects, ideas, yarns, patterns (many of them free and available for download!), links to excellent blogs, and it's all connected in this wonderful way! Any pattern that is in the ravelry data base that is added to someone's notebook as a "Project" is immediately added in a collection of other projects that were made from the same pattern. Why is this awesome you might be asking? Well, because if someone in Denmark has an amazing idea to modify the pattern, colors, yarns, etc. they will often display it, maybe tell you how they did it, and you can absorb so much creative juices that you just might explode! Can you tell I love this site?

3. Etsy - This site is all about buying, selling, and loving handmade goods. I love it not just because you can sell your crafts and find some really neat things here, but because, once again, it is a community of people that love what I love! One of my favorite things to do is to type in something that I'd like to make -say a giraffe amigurumi, and see what the sellers have listed. They are all artists with wonderful talent, so I love to just take a look around and be inspired by their creations. If you have never looked at, purchased from, or even talked with anyone who knows about Etsy, I urge you to do it! You will love it!

4. Crochet Pattern Central - They have an entire library of free patterns, all organized by category. They take any and all free patterns posted on the internet, and organize them into one central location. You can go there and then be redirected to other sites and blogs where the patterns were originally posted. This one is always a little more of a search for me to find good patterns from because 1. they don't have pictures of the posted patterns on the page where all the pattern names are listed, instead you have to go to the link, and then sometimes have to search for a link to a picture posted on yet another page. 2. They don't have "designers" for this site, they simply take what is available and post it. This means, sometimes you get really amateur pattern writers who simply wrote up a little diddy on their blog. They might be difficult to understand, they might not have a picture of the finished project, and sometimes the finished object just looks...weird. Though I love this site, you have to really want a certain type of pattern for free to really utilize it.

5. Crochet Me - their slogan, "Linking the crochet community" is quite accurate if you choose to really utilize this site. They have free patterns, links to great blog posts from their writers at Interweave crochet magazine, videos, photo galleries, forums to dicuss all things crochet, and even a glossary. They are a great group of people, and it is a wonderful place to get ideas, tips and more than enough information! All you have to do is become a member through their free membership sign-up.

6. Free Crochet.com tons of patterns, articles, tips, and more! The only downside to this free membership, is you are bombarded with lots of offers to purchase things and sign up for all these "deals" they offer. Otherwise, it is wonderfully useful!

7. Crochet Spot - an excellent blog by Rachel, a passionate crocheter. She also has a store with all her original patterns. I am signed up for her weekly newsletter, and I just love reading her ideas, tips, and general musings about crochet! If you ever download one of her patterns- know that she is the kind of person that just cares so much, I know she would offer her personal assistance if you ran into problems...not that you would! I have an earlier post where I linked to a free pattern for a rose from her site. She is awesome :)

There are many more lovely places to visit, but these are my top. I hope you enjoy, visit these sites, learn and most importantly, be inspired!

Sleepy Sheep

2010-01-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

Free Pattern from Harugurumi Blog- Sleepy Sheep

Sleepy sheep will soon have a new sleepy sheep friend

Want to make your own? go to this site!

Amigurumi Friday! -sewing

2010-01-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's that time again! Yep folks, time for the second installment of "Amigurumi Friday"- the series that's all about our favorite crocheted toys!
For this installment, I wanted to talk about everyone's least favorite part of making amigurumi. The sewing together of all those little pieces. I want to offer a few tips that make it a little less arduous and a little more successful using a project I just finished: Lion Brand's Pond Friends Stacking Toy.

As you can see, this little toy, has a LOT of separate parts and pieces, even facial features and antennae to sew on! So, lets get started!

(I'll be using the bee ring as my example)

Here are the tools you will need:

That's right! Safety pins and a yarn needle (which you can find at a craft store in the same section as knitting needles and crochet hooks, normally right next to the stitch markers!) I recommend a round yarn needle because they seem to go in smoother than the square ones. If you have a knifty knitter, you'll have a square needle, and those just don't seem to work as well for such tight crocheting.

Tip #1: Once you finish an individual part (say a wing for the bee), finish off the end by pulling the yarn completely through your last stitch, and leave a good amount (10-12inches) of yarn on the end to sew with. This way you don't have to attach any extra yarn (extra work!) and you already have the right color yarn to sew with ready to go! You will be left with only one end of your yarn to hide after sewing as well.

As you can see here, I finished the white wing, then left a long tail to sew with.

Tip #2: Saftey pins are your friends! How many times have you crocheted up everything perfectly, but after sewing it all together the amigurumi just looks wonky? I know I've had that experience, so now I always safety pin on all my pieces and parts before sewing them on. This has several advantages, the first being that you get some idea of what it is going to look like after you sew it on. If you start sewing without holding things in place, the pieces can slip and adjust their position-ending up in a completely incorrect or weird place. That leads me to the second advantage- You don't have to struggle to readjust and hold the dang piece on while you're sewing! It's marvelous! Lastly, if you have a lot of pieces that need to be balanced out with each other -lets say an arm looking even with another arm and not to far from the neck, or in the case of the bumble bee- wings that are even and a head that is directly across from a stinger- then you can check the balance and get everything proportionate before it's too permanently affixed.

Tip #3: Use the stitches you have to sew evenly. If you try to match up stitch for stitch in what you are sewing on (assuming that you've kept an even gauge in both pieces) you will have no problem in spacing out your stitches evenly and making sure that your piece is sewn on in a sturdy and even-looking manner. I normally go into the piece I'm attaching the new piece onto before picking up a stitch on the piece I'm attaching. (Sorry if that doesn't make sense) For example- here I went down into the bee ring with the white wing yarn, then up the wing.

Tip #4: Hide your ends within the amigurumi! Once you've finished sewing, take the extra end, and pull it through the amigurumi to another side. Then just stuff in the extra yarn. No need to tie knots. Your piece is secured by the stuffing.

Wa-la! You are done! There are no visible knots because one end came from the piece you just sewed on, and the other was hidden within the amigurumi!

Here are some more pictures of the process with the head of the bee:

My last Tip #5: is that sometimes is best to stuff as you sew. In this case of the head, it was hard for the head to stay on, even while pinned with the stuffing in it. So I approached it as I would a pillow. I went around 3/4 of the way, then stuffed the head in the finger sized hole left to sew.

I know that it can still be a rather tedious process, but hopefully with these tips your toys will come out marvelously!

Happy crocheting!

Valentines Day

2010-01-29T10:03:00.000-08:00

As you all probably know Valentines Day is coming up so I figured now is a great time to feature some cute "Valentine themed" decorations in my house. This idea came to me because my dear sister just bought a house and now has an amazing built in hutch where she can display her seasonal decor. Her blog "Keep it Simple" featured some of the decorations she came up with (all without spending a dime!) for her hutch and I was inspired. You can see her lovely decor here. So here are my results:

Everything was pulled from things I already had around the house, including a red frame with "Love" across the top, and a picture of Michael and I in it, a couple red boxes that normally hold my jewelry and trinkets, fake bright pink flowers (Dollar Tree purchase), and some hearts I cut out of scrapbooking scraps pinned on to extra pink curling ribbon I had laying around the house.

I encourage you to "shop" your house for seasonal decor and find ways to make your house just a little more beautiful :)

Molly is 6 months!

2010-01-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe my niece is already 6 months old! And she's huge!

I made a pair of booties for her for Christmas, and they were too small, so I had to make a second pair. Now I just hope I can get them to her before those ones are too small too!

A really good day!

2010-01-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a fantastic day!

First off, my husband and I got a car for me to drive around. It's a 2001 Honda Civic with just over 75,000 miles, and it has been taken very well care of. I think it's super cute and am so happy I don't have to drive our crappy other car anymore! YAY!

Then, the mail came. Now, just so you understand a little something about me, my husband would say I am obsessed with getting mail. I check the mailbox probably half a dozen times daily. I love getting mail! So imagine my complete elation when I got the mail and received my diploma that I've been waiting for a month and a half to arrive! There's something so wonderful about having the physical proof, the actual document in your hand, to make the accomplishment real. So folks, here it is!

I graduated Summa Cum Laude!

AND not only that arrived in the mail, but the latest Lion Brand magazine arrived! YAY! more pretty patterns and lovely yarns to look at :)

But the wonderfulness of this day did not end there, oh no! Next amazing thing to happen, I got a job!
The school district that I student taught in is hiring me as a sub, and I made an appointment for Monday to fill out all the paperwork to make it official. This is awesome because it means that anything I make from subbing goes directly towards paying off our new car, and then saving for a house!

Then to end my fabulous day, I ate at what I deem to be the best dining experience I have had in months! My husband and some friends and I went to this hole-in-the-wall place some friends had recommended called Laguna Cafe. First off, as we drive into the parking lot, they've got a sign outside that says "Live Jazz tonight," seriously? Could it get any better than good live jazz? It was wonderful :) ...just a little combo, drums, guitar, bass, and trumpet playing some of my favorites like, "My Romance" with such taste and skill! Then we sat down only to have the owner personally seat and greet us, recommend some amazing drinks, and welcome us. We all ordered something different but were blown away by the quality, taste, and reasonable prices of everything. I had a strawberry lemonade smoothie that was the absolute best smoothie I have ever drank, and we all left saying it was an extraordinary place!
All in all, I went to bed wondering if there will ever be a day so unexpectedly lovely like this one anytime soon...

Amigurumi Friday!

2010-01-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start a segment I'm going to call "Amigurumi Friday." And this segment, posted (hopefully) every friday will include helpful tips, tutorials, free patterns, etc. all about and for amigurumi!

In this first installment, I would like to recommend: The MAGIC Circle.
All amigurumi's are made in the round. That is, the pattern makes continuous spirals on to the previous round you have just made. Therefore, it is easiest to start off your project actually using a circle instead of the silly Ch. 2, sc 6 (or whatever #) in 2nd ch from loop on hook. Trust me, once you start using the magic circle to begin your amigurumi, you'll NEVER go back!

How do you make a magic circle? Well as much as I could explain it, I think it's best I just show you some of the excellent resources out there that have already done excellent tutorials on the subject!
First, check out this video, or you can visit this site, although I think the video is clearer and a more effective way of learning.

What makes this so wonderful is that once you have your allotted # of stitches in the circle, you simply pull on the tail to close the ring tight, and you're ready to go!

Michael's Sale

2010-01-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

Michael's Arts and Crafts store is having a big sale this weekend!

Get coupons for 25% your entire purchase (including sales items), and 40% off a regular priced item here.

Quick! Go stock up! :)

Teddy Bear

2010-01-21T16:26:00.000-08:00

(I love his little bum!)

I usually am against purchasing patterns, simply because there are a plethora of amazing free patterns online. My thinking is, if I can get something just as good for free, why pay for it? The problem with my obsession for free patterns is that sometimes, there simply isn't a good enough free pattern online for the object you desire to create. This is the problem I ran into when trying to find a cute-enough teddy-bear pattern. I wanted it to actually somewhat resemble a teddy bear, and it seemed that although there were plenty free patterns out there, nothing looked right. That is until I came upon a pattern on about.com under their crochet section. Sandi Marshall has designed a teddy bear, and a good sized one too that is super cute, and I finally had myself a pattern worth making! (You can find the free pattern here)

My friend's baby Josiah just had his 1st birthday so he was the lucky recipient of this adorable bear! Now all I need are pictures of him playing with it!

This is some of the construction of the teddy bear. I used worsted weight yarn on all his features including his nose and eyes so he is completely baby-safe!

Handmade Joy

2010-01-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

What do you think? Does that sound like an online store you'd buy from?

I got a LOT of great feedback from my friends and family and came up with this as a possible name for my store. I can just picture it on a tag in some cute font with a cute heart or some other decal next to it. :)

Baby Blanket

2010-01-20T11:22:00.000-08:00

Remember this from WAY back? It was one of the first squares I made for a baby blanket I had originally planned to gift to my niece Molly. I then found the ever so cute Sweet Pea Afghan at Lion brand's website and decided the pink and green design was perfect for Molly. Since then, the fluffy, pink blanket with stars has been utterly disregarded until, my dear friend announced she was expecting a girl. So I set off to make more squares and bought the same yarn in white to make a checked pattern in the blanket. After months and months of picking up and putting down this blanket, and as my friend's pregnancy quickly comes to a close, I have finally finished the blanket!

This blanket also is a free pattern, "Twinkle Little Star Blanket" one that came off the back of a yarn label from Bernat Baby Coordinates. It can be found online here (keep in mind that the only thing required to access this free pattern is a free membership sign up that is super simple!).

What I love about is that the stars are subtly hidden. It's super soft and warm for baby, and I added a custom trim from the stitchfinder section on Lion brand's website- a trim called Eyelet braid. It sort of echos the way the design shows the stars by leaving a pattern of holes in the crocheting.

Booties

2010-01-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Sylver Designs, I now have an adorable baby bootie pattern that I plan on using over and over! It is a real simple but lovely design that comes in sizes 0mo, 3mo, 6mo, and 9mo. So far, every pair I have made has turned out so well!

Branding

2010-01-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

I am very seriously considering opening up a shop on etsy.com to sell my crocheted goods, but am having a hard time conceptualizing what I will call myself and how to make a brand for myself that symbolizes who I am and what I care about in my crocheting. I want to stand out and be known for high quality stuff made with lots of care, and am thinking about purchasing actual tags with my shop name/brand name and logo on it for my items to be more distinct. The only thing is...I am stuck. I don't know what to call my shop/brand. My brain juices could flow for days on crocheting projects to do, but how to start a successful online business? That is where the juices stop flowing.

I am sending this blog post out as a cry for help to all who know me and my work to please help me brainstorm on how to brand myself and my product. Ideas? .... Anyone? ....

Crocheting for my Molly

2010-01-06T17:14:00.000-08:00

What can I say? The girl inspires me!

Hitting a crochet rut? Throw a Crochet Party!

2010-01-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

Last month, after having talked about getting ladies together to craft several times and having a few friends ask me to teach them how to crochet, I decided to make up a party surrounding the craft I love best: Crochet! Whether it was for inspiration, learning new techniques, patterns or how to crochet for the first time, I asked several of my dearest friends to come and enjoy a night of crochet, refreshments and fun!

Some ideas:

Send out E-vites, they're free and normally you can reach nearly everyone who you would contact on a regular basis through email or some social-networking site, such as Facebook. Most E-vites have some sort of feature that allows you to post the invitations or access your contacts on that site.
Don't worry about whether your invitation will be welcome to non-crocheters, you'd be surprised how many people are interested in learning how to crochet, and if you offer to teach at the party, they're more likely to show up!
Offer to teach how to crochet at your crocheting party. I asked everyone who wanted to come and learn to bring a light colored worsted weight yarn, and a hook between G-J. Anyone who was apprehensive of obtaining those things I offered to supply those things for them.
Ask those who do crochet to bring their projects they're working on, patterns they love, and so on.
Display your goods! I set out several of my finished products from the past few months, along with their patterns, and nearly all my yarn, hooks, and supplies for my friends to see, use, be inspired by, etc.
Use the party as an exchange: Bring your yarn you never use, see if someone is willing to trade from their stash! Bring your patterns and share with others the projects that you loved making! Share techniques and gift-giving ideas!
Provide refreshments and an atmosphere that is comfortable. Winter is the best time to cozy up in a house with your yarn projects, there's usually loads of holiday food available for parties, and you have every excuse to play holiday music and have your house looking particularly lovely in it's holiday splendor. I let some of my friends who asked me if they could bring anything to bring goodies- cookies, a veggie platter, crackers and a cheese ball and I provided drinks! Tea, coffee, lattes, and water for those who didn't want something hot.
Don't let this be your only party! Chances are, those who didn't come, simply had a time conflict, so schedule another! Maybe make it a monthly affair that those ladies can look forward to. Let your first party serve as a learning experience to throw better parties along the way!
Don't let it become a burden. Let your friends help! Parties are supposed to be fun, so if you're stressed out about providing food, divvy up the load and have a few friends bring one dish each. Don't have enough room at your house/apartment? Ask a friend with a little more room to host, and maybe make something fabulous as a thank you present for her time/effort. Ask friends for ideas for what to do at the party, how to make it better.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

Just a quick tip for those crafters out there who are low on supplies following the Holiday rush of crafting for family and friends, there are a lot of sales going on right now at craft stores such as Joanne's Fabric and Michael's. They have incredible mark downs on Christmas supplies, and I was able to get my favorite brand of yarn, Vanna's Choice at 2.49 a skein! I love that! So, go restock up for the New Year 2010!

My apologies

2009-12-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

It seems the holidays, student teaching, and the fact that my digital camera broke have been very efficient in keeping me away from my blog. This is something I wish not to become habit as I find blogging can be very stress-relieving for me. I hope to come back and stay consistent in my blogging! My apologies for staying away for so long!

Life lessons.

2009-10-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Life is so silly, how one simple thing can poke and prod at our hearts disturbing our default mode of simply slipping through the day to day with little to no change. This evening I was gently reminded (certainly by the Holy Spirit) of what a prideful hypocrite I can be, and I am so thankful the Lord stopped me through one simple moment raking leaves to humble me.

You see, my husband is out of town on business and I am left to do all the nasty laborious chores he normally takes while he is here. Today, it was raking the yard. Leaves were everywhere, and I had some gloves, a small rake and some kitchen garbage bags. I jumped into the job with enthusiasm and as I made my way from side yard to the front, I thought to myself, "My neighbors must see me out here raking. I wonder what they must be thinking." My first guess was that they would wonder why Michael (who usually does the yard work) isn't raking the yard or carrying around a leaf-blower or doing something manly.

But my thoughts didn't stop there, as I noticed other neighbors out walking/playing with their children, carrying in groceries, etc. I sat there (piling leaves into bags) thinking they must just love having me as a neighbor! From what I've heard, the last tenant was not respectful of the property and ended up costing our landlord a lot of money. I figured the neighbors must love having a pretty yard to look at and love the fact that my husband and I are generally quiet, we don't do drugs, and don't have yappy/aggressive/big/stupid/whatever kind of dogs to poop in other people's yards. Furthermore, I thought, I'm not like this and such neighbor with this and such problem, and I went on and on in my head justifying what a wonderful person I am and how wonderful it must be to live next to me.

As I told myself that I respect my yard more than the neighbors across me because I'm raking my yard, I looked up to see the mom of that house handing her boys rakes. Conviction shot through me as I gaped at the little boys serving their mother by helping to pick the leaves/fruit that had fallen from their trees. I felt a push on my heart that what I had just been saying to myself was a pack of lies, that something evil, my own sin had been speaking to me, stroking my ever dangerously-large ego. Judgement had taken over because of some leaves accumulated on a person's yard, so very quickly I had elevated myself for the very purpose of looking down my nose at the "less worthy" neighbors that must be "such a burden" for their landlord.

Oh shame. Shame, Lizzy, that you do not love like Christ. Shame that you do not desire to serve, but only desire to be noticed and called great. Shame that you are impatient, so far from the Lord, our God, slow to anger and abounding in love.

These small things in life that bring me to a low place, these are the discipline of the Lord. Thank you Lord for your loving discipline! For disturbing my every day pattern of exalting myself.

A weekend with the fam :)

2009-10-18T21:54:00.001-07:00

I love time with my family :) This weekend, I drove home by myself (hubby's out of town on business for the new job) and just relaxed, crocheted, held my adorable niece and ate yummy food! It was very restful and wonderful to not spend the majority of a weekend sitting by myself alone in an empty house! I made two amigurumi this weekend- a pumpkin, and a candy corn for the fall/halloween season. Both were featured on my weekly Lion Brand email updates so I downloaded the (*free) patterns and made them up in a jiffy! My sister loved the pumpkin so I gave it to her, and the dog, Piper got my candy corn. He (the dog) always loves it when I come, cause usually I make him a toy. He tries to dig through my yarn bag and steal my creations! It was really cute to see him with the candy corn cause it was just the right size for his mouth :)

Well, I hope you all had just as lovely of a weekend as I did! May your week be productive and full of good people!

OH! p.s. My sister and brother-in-law bought their first house! They close on Friday, and I am very happy for them, so congrats you two!

I love fall :)

2009-10-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

I love when it starts getting cold outside, cause it just seems the time to curl up and crochet lovely things like hats and scarves! And that is just what I have been doing! Here's a beret I finished last night, and a lacy cap w/flower I just finished this afternoon. The flower I added to give some pizzaz to an otherwise rather plain skull cap.

The Joy in my life

2009-10-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

Molly Joy 10 weeks old

I get to see Molly today!

2009-10-03T13:03:00.001-07:00

I love this baby girl SO much, and today I get to see her again for the first time since before I started student teaching a month ago! She is so lovely and sweet, and I get to hold her :)...oh yeah, and I get to see the rest of my family today. (I love them too, just not as eagerly anticipating them because they aren't the cutest baby in the world!)

It's been a while...

2009-10-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

My recent crafting endeavors. (baby hippo, booties, a card, and my finished blanket).

some of the sweet men in my life...and Molly :)

2009-09-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Molly with grandpa, both sporting their awesome fohawks.
smiling at her daddy 7 wks old

Molly comes for a visit!

2009-09-01T16:00:00.001-07:00

My Squirrel Friend

2009-08-29T10:35:00.001-07:00

This squirrel keeps coming up on our porch and licking the pavement...

Molly Joy

2009-08-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

She is so beautiful and has captured my heart! I cannot believe she is already 5 wks old. She makes this furrowed brow look 80% of the time. It's the same face I made as an infant, not because I was unhappy, but because I was trying to figure things out. I still make that face when I'm concentrating (especially when counting my stitches when crocheting!).

End of summer

2009-08-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

I feel my summer is quickly coming to a close, and the peace and general slowness of life that I have enjoyed is soon to be stripped out from underneath me. I will be starting student teaching in just over a week, and I have also just been hired (the results of my job search from the beginning of the summer have finally caught up!). So I will be working part time at YMCA in their child watch center at night, and student teaching in the day. Thankfully this is my last quarter of school- and after this my life will get more of a normal rhythm without having to reorder/reorganize my life after every quarter to the new class schedule and whatnot.

In the hurry to do everything I desire before summer ends, I have been frantically throwing together projects (in anticipation of not having time to crochet with life getting much busier). Included in this project list: a bunny blanket for a friend's daughter. She lost her beloved stuffed bunny that has been her object of comfort since she was a baby. This was my effort to offer a replacement(her mom's replacement, a monkey her dad had as a child, has not been very well received)...we'll see how she reacts when I give it to her!

Next on my list of projects was this cute little giraffe. I made one just like it for my niece. I'm hoping to add this to my ever growing collection of things I can eventually sell...I don't hold much hope that I won't just give it as a gift to someone. I'm finding I have a habit of doing that. Oh well.

The good news is: both of these patterns can be found for FREE on LionBrand.com where they now offer ALL their patterns for free! That's over 2000 patterns people! Get going :)

Happy 2 Year Anniversary!

2009-08-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

My love and I celebrated 2 years of happy union this week, and I just thought I would reflect on what a blessing it has been to be married to this man!

First off- marriage is a wonderful creation made by God to reflect his glory. Woman was created to complete man- to make God's creation finished and "good." It is a wonderful task to live out a reflection of the relationship God shares with himself in the Trinity as well as the relationship Jesus has with his Bride- the church.

It has been an especially edifying experience to share my life exclusively with one man- to be so vulnerable, to be so very humble in a relationship that I choose to honor their good and happiness before my own. I have learned through being married what a wretched sinner I am and how I cannot hide that fact from someone I am so close to. Marriage has taught me how wonderful grace is and how horrifying bitterness can be.

Marriage to Michael, my wonderful husband, has challenged me to grow more towards extroversion than my default mode of complete introversion. He has gently pushed me to speak more, to love lots of company, and to not be so afraid of new adventures. He encourages me to be creative and share my ideas and creations with others. Marriage to Michael means I am not ashamed to be myself, to be silly, and to play my music shamelessly. Marriage to Michael is lots of prayer, time in the word, humble correction, a life with Godly friends and their awesome wisdom, service in ministry, lots of practice and service for Worship team, and a general understanding that the direction of our life is completely in the Lord's hands.

Here is the card I made Michael for our anniversary. I think it looks very bridal

And here is the flowers my amazing husband brought home from work on our anniversary :)

And now for the story of the thank you card in my last post: We were invited over to a friends house (from church) the night of our anniversary for dessert and a little dip in the hot tub. When we got there they discovered it was our anniversary, and insisted they serve us, make us lovely cocktails and have the hot tub to ourselves that night. It was so sweet of them to do that, and we were so blessed just to have time alone that night with our drinks and lovely jets. So we simply had to thank them profusely and my husband asked me to make them a card with a ribbon for "Friends of the Year." I didn't think that would all fit very neatly into my little circle, so I just put a big 1, and told them they won 1st place for the coolest friends.

It is just so clear to me that they understand how important celebrating marriage and the milestones in it is- they clearly showed us by their service they long for God's glory in our marriage and desired that we strengthen it by an unexpectedly romantic evening to ourselves :)

And to cap off the celebrations: We're having a very fancy dinner tonight at a floating restaurant over the Couer d alene lake!

Recent crafting endeavors!

2009-08-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

a thank you card for friends (claiming they made first place as the coolest friends ever- you'll find out why in my next post!)

birthday card for sister-in-law. (front and back view)

Hat w/flower

More flowers :)

The incredible miracle of life

2009-08-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Have you ever sat and pondered about the miraculous event that is called life? All the intricacies that must join all at once in the perfect order and place to create a tiny human being...not just an amalgamation of flesh and bones, but a living breathing being with a soul. The weight of that realization was almost too much to comprehend as I held my adorable niece sleeping peacefully on my chest. This little creature that has entered the world will one day make a choice for life or death and live out the rest of her days on this earth according to that choice. For me to watch and (hopefully) guide her along this journey of discovering her creator is an incredible blessing and very high calling. I only hope I can truly represent Christ to her showing her both love in my care and servitude to her as well as in my careful discipline of her. I know it will require of me lots of prayer and humility to be the best aunt to her as I possibly can be. Thank the Lord that while I have a responsibility to show her Christ, it is not my duty to choose Christ for her, that it is her decision and I can relax knowing God has her in His sovereign hands.

Molly

2009-07-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

This is Molly Joy, my niece, still in the hospital enjoying the blanket I made her. My sister loved the blanket and made sure to tell me how many compliments she got from the nurses on it. It's just so incredible to have her finally here so I can hold her and see what a gorgeous creature she is!

Here is the first family picture-Brother Nate, Sister Rachel and Baby Molly. Here also is my first picture with Molly, as you can tell, I am so proud!

I'm an Aunt!!!

2009-07-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

My older sister gave birth to my niece, Molly Joy Dowd 7lbs 14 oz, today through c-section! They are both healthy and doing well! yay!

Stove

2009-07-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Before:

During:

After:

...not perfect but I was done scrubbing. I ended up not using any harmful chemicals- just some baking soda, hot water, vinegar and LOTS of elbow grease! (got to get that deposit back!)

Crochet it up!

2009-07-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

This is a bunny I finished last weekend made from a pattern on Lion Brand's website. My favorite features are 1: the adorable pink tail, and 2: the addition of wire in the ears so they are shapable! (That was my idea :o) ) This is one of many I'm adding up to a collection I hope to sell. I would love to get a more accurate idea on how much I should/could charge for something like this. Please let me know if you have any ideas.

I also made this cute little penguin-(modified from a pattern found on Lion Brand) to add to the collection, he's laughing :) This bone was made for my mother's dog- Piper. He's a little guy that loves toys, and every time I visited my parents and brought my crocheting stuff, he'd go crazy to try and get to my stuffed toys/amigurumi. So I knew I'd have to make Piper a toy to enjoy! He loved the bone and then also stole a turtle I made.

I also made a cute doughnut with pink frosting and chocolate sprinkles. It made me crave doughnuts really bad, so I hope someone else sees it and is equally tickled at the thought of a crocheted doughnut. The sprinkles are embroidered with dark brown yarn, and the frosting is simply sown on to the doughnut.

Birthday days

2009-07-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today I turned 23. It was a weird birthday in that, this is the first time I wasn't super excited thinking, "Ooo! presents, and treats, and birthday cards..." It sort of feels like this is my first real adult birthday, where it's cool that it is my birthday, but it's simply not that big of a deal.

Though it didn't feel quite that celebratory, my husband did an awesome job making me feel celebrated because he snuck into my scrapbooking supplies and made me a card! I was so proud of him, I had to post it!

On the inside he made an anagram of my name. My favorites are the Z's - the first one says, "Z is for ZAP. You zapped me with your voo-doo love and have me under your spell." and the next one is so sweet "Z is for Zero- the number of days I have loved you perfectly. Thank you for your grace!" I am so blessed.

moving...

2009-07-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some change of address cards I have made to send out for when we move in two weeks! I can't wait!
I like this one :)
...as you can see, we've got boxes piled up to the ceiling!

Life consists of trying to clean the last two years of dirt off our apartment, packing, and sitting on our living room floor where we no longer have our couch (sold it on craigslist for some extra cash so we don't have to move with it). The good news is some friends of ours knew we needed new couches, and got us some free couches from their parents. I feel it's just that time in our lives when we will take the charity of others, fill our home with hand-me-downs and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

I guess that's what our education is for- so we can own our own furniture some day and give our old couches to some young crazy newly-wed couple.

Amigurumi fun!

2009-06-26T10:16:00.001-07:00

This is my newest creation, don't have a name for him yet...

He came from Lion Brand Yarn's free pattern collection- they've got a huge selection of amigurumi creatures that are super fun to make, fast, cute, and great for beginning crocheters!

Next is a little bear I made yesterday, again from Lion Brand- she's holding a heart, which I adore. This one doesn't have a name either, come to think of it...

If anyone has ideas for names or how I might begin making my own business to sell these fun little toys, please let me know!

It's Finished!

2009-06-25T11:03:00.001-07:00

I Finally finished Molly's(my niece due July 20th) baby blanket! It's pink and green granny squares, and I just love the way it turned out! Her nursery colors are green and pink, so when I found this pattern, I was elated and inspired to make it.

The pattern, posted in a previous blog, is from Lion Brand Yarn's collection of free patterns.

Isn't it just so girly and cute? I love the way it turned out! Now I've moved on to crocheting a little amigurumi turtle (pics of that later). I've decided I'm just going to start making a bunch of things to get a selection I can maybe sell. Everyone I know has been telling me I need to start an account on etsy. Anyone have advice?

my new home :)

2009-06-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

We got the house we looked at to rent! This will be our home as of July 24th, and I'm super excited to no longer share walls with strangers! (we've lived in an apartment for as long as we've been married)

It's a little 2 bed, 1 bath bungalow, and I cannot wait to move and make it my cute little home :)

choices, choices, choices

2009-06-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

So, as you know, my husband and I are searching for a place to live (come the middle-end of July). In the last two weeks, we have seen several floor plans in 2 separate apartment complexes, and one house for rent. All of our feasible options have at least a second bedroom/den of some sort, with at least 1 full bath. The really difficult decisions left to be made have to do with balancing our wishes with our budget. The house is more expensive when we take into consideration that utilities aren't included as they are in the apartments. But we would much rather have some distance with our neighboors...and the apartments give us just a little bit more room and a dishwasher. I'm definetly torn.

What do you think? Would you prefer to rent a house over renting an apartment?

Job hunting

2009-06-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

Oh! I forgot to mention in my last blog that I got the job I interviewed for last week! So thanks for the good thoughts and encouragement!

I'll probably still look for another job on the side part time- something simple, but I made it though my first ever interview with a job! Praise the Lord!

In the meantime...my husband and I might be moving, so be praying for that if you could.

My attempt at being fit

2009-06-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Today I had some errands to run, and all that was left for me for transportation to run those errands, with my husband at work with our good car, was our untrustworthy car or my bike (which I hadn't ridden in...months).

Looking at my two options I chose the healthier one- both because I would get exercise, and because I knew it was more likely I wouldn't be too hurt if I crashed my bike as opposed to a crash in the car with failing back brakes...

This turned out to be not so good of a choice. I thought, I'll ride down the hill, wear my cute sneakers, look all "fit", run my errands, and bring my water bottle in case I get tired. This line of thinking completely left out a very famous law Mr. Newton wrote...what goes up must come down, and just the opposite is true as well in this case. I rode down the hill and that was great! I got a little nervous going so fast so I feathered my brakes and did just fine. Going back... that was a different story. I found myself stopped halfway up the hill nearly dying from my asthma with no inhaler in sight and hating life and anyone who dared to stare at me panting on the side of the road, halfway up the hill.

The good news: I'm not dead, the errands are done, and my husband will be home soon with the car so I can stop pretending I'm one of those fit people who ride their bikes everywhere.

Hating finals

2009-06-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

As a student in the last official quarter of classes before my student teaching experience, life has been pretty crazy lately. I've had absolutely no time to craft with all the things I must get done, and I can tell it's creating a block for the rest of my creative expressions. I'm trying to finish up my senior thesis paper right now- it is a paper discussing all aspects of my senior recital- yet I find I'm somewhat "backed up" from not using my creative side in a while. I even tried to start writing a song last night during my "brain break" from writing, got some decent progress in the chord progressions, yet got frustrated when I found myself stuck, and dropped the whole thing. I probably don't even remember the chord changes anymore.

Also on my plate is the search for a job. It's rather frustrating because I have little experience in the working field to call on, and though I almost have my degree and teaching certification, I don't have anything except my high school diploma and some college to note. To add to those drawbacks, I only need work until the end of summer, because I'll be student teaching in the fall. I know I would be way too overwhelmed and overworked if I tried to keep a job while student teaching full time. So I look at all those negatives and wonder how I'm possibly going to sell myself off as someone who must be hired by anyone in an interview situation.
...and my first interview is today. Hopefully I can summon up some self-confidence by then and prove to my interviewer that I'm worth hiring.

In the meantime, no crafting... just lots and lots of typing, editing, and filling out job applications.

FREE chocolate fridays!

2009-06-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

Don't know if any of you bloggers have heard about this great deal, but if you like free stuff, and you like chocolate- you're in for a super treat!

Mars Brand, makers of candy bars such as Twix, Snickers, M&M's, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, and Dove are giving America an opportunity for a free candy bar, every Friday, beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST by going to RealChocolate.com- happening every Friday until the end of September! First come, first serve- so be ready!

For more details see the above website or this article: http://www.csnews.com/csn/cat_management/confections/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003971129

What a fantastic idea! :)

In the absence of my love

2009-05-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day!

The hubby is off on a 4 day back-packing trip for Memorial Day weekend with some close guy friends. So I'm left to my own to catch up on some projects (including blogging!).

Here he is all excited the night before the big trip with his pack ready and his new water-proof hat on. (He was like a little boy ready for the first day of school!)

I thought I would share some of the stuff I have been working on since I have had so much time to catch up.

This is the beginning of my very first afghan! I've been scared to do such a big project because I get bored and impatient of doing the same thing. That is why I chose a pattern where I could switch colors often enough that it just might keep my interest.

I'm super excited about this project because I actually intend on keeping and using the afghan. Rarely do I ever make anything to keep for myself- almost 100% of the time, I crochet for gifts.
My husband was shocked when I told him it was for us, and I wasn't planning on giving it to anyone. So, let me know what you think- I'd like to maybe try this again with another color combination as well. This is from Bernat's website collection of free crochet patterns- called the Zig-zag afghan.

This friendly little owl is going to be a gift for my sister-in-law for graduation. The pattern for him is from Lion Brand Yarn's website. (found here- http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80282AD.html?noImages=) I need a name for him though...I was also thinking about making a tiny little diploma for him too.

What do you think??

Lastly I'd like to give a little advice to those crocheters who aren't so good at making up their own patterns for things- Go to Bernat and Lion Brand Yarn's websites. Get signed up as a member- IT'S FREE! And you can start downloading hundreds of free patterns! Trust me, there's a lot of great stuff out there. :)

A Means of Grace

2009-05-07T09:58:00.001-07:00

I thought I would share a very special story that recently had a beautiful ending in mine and my husband's life. About 2 months ago Michael and I were thrown a terrible curve ball as Michael got terribly sick and ended up in the ICU within 8 hours of first showing symptoms.

It all started with me leaving town to help my mom with her private voice studio. I drove 2 hours away to my home town and was about to have dinner with my parents when I got a phone call from one of my husband's good friends. He simply said he was in the emergency room with my husband and needed his social security # because Michael was too busy puking to fill out the necessary paperwork. It turns out Michael had been vomiting for 3 hrs straight at this point and the friend couldn't fill out the paperwork not because Michael was puking, but because Michael had no idea what his address, social security number, phone number and other things were- he was incapable of answering such questions

In the mean time, I assumed it was some sort of really bad case of food poisoning, packed up and left my parents for the 2 hour drive home. This whole drive I tried to keep calm, thinking he must just need an IV to rehydrate, and we would be home that night. Michael got hooked up immediately to all sorts of things including an IV as well as different antibiotics to fight the doctor's number one suspicion at the emergency room- that he had meningitis. He was given a spinal tap, draining his spinal fluid to test for meningitis, and also an MRI by the time I arrived at the emergency room.

It was such a strange thing to see the man I loved so very far from how I left him. He was on a bed, writhing in pain from a migraine, puking every 5 minutes, and speaking as if he had just had a stroke. At some points he was better than others, but there were times when his motor skills to speak the thoughts he had were completely gone and he couldn't ask for something as simple as a paper towel to wipe the vomit from his chin. I was terrified, overwhelmed, and so confused as to why this was all happening to us- so quickly and so scary!

The doctors came in to inspect his symptoms, and said they had suspected it was meningitis, but the spinal fluid came back normal, so now they were just puzzled. The moved him to ICU for overnight, and I called both my mother and mother-in-law asking them to come help me. I had absolutely no idea what to do, what to tell the doctors, and I was the closest relative.

After the first night in the ICU, another MRI and a CT scan, Michael improved. Around 3 in the morning I was able to go in and see him, and he started speaking more like himself. One of the first signs that he was going to be alright was when he looked over at me and winked. I knew he was still in there somewhere. Nurses were great to us in the ICU, and while I was very relieved that doctors thought he was well enough to be moved to a regular hospital room, I was sad to leave the wonderful care of those nurses.

In the meantime, we had a huge outpouring of love, prayers and concern from family members, friends, and our church. My mothers both came to keep my company and help me stay sane in the hospital. Doctors still had no idea what suddenly struck Michael, but after one more night in a regular hospital room Michael was released with no diagnosis.

His official list of symptoms included a terrible debilitating migraine, nausea, vomiting, fever, elevated white blood cell count, and confusion.

Doctors best guess- A complex migraine?

We went home and I did my best to convince Michael to take it easy and take as much time as he needed to fully recover. We prayed knowing that eventually the bills from that horrible 72 hours would arrive and begin to pile up. Many were very worried for us because we do not have health insurance. My husband works as a paid intern at a farm credit union, but gets no benefits, no health insurance, not even vacation days. So, we put our faith in the Lord and asked all those who prayed for Michael's health to pray for God's provision for the bills.

Sure enough, in the coming months, bill after bill after bill arrived in the mail. We contacted the hospital to ask if there was anything, any program that could help people in our position. First the bad news came that we weren't eligible for State funding. Next news was somewhat hopeful as we were informed that there was a program- "In House Funding" from the hospital itself, we are eligible for with our low income. Now came time for filling out the application, coming up with the necessary proof of income, and then the long, arduous wait for the application to go through committees.

In the meantime, our community gave us so much support and love. Several times we were given money, a couple times anonymously from our church. Our pastors prayed faithfully that our bill would be forgiven.

We waited as patiently as possible for the news to arrive until about 2 weeks ago- the letter arrived just as we were heading out for a bbq with some friends from church. I'll never forget the joy and relief I felt as I skimmed to see the words "forgiven 100%" and "bill: O$". In total, around 20k just wiped clean. God is SO faithful to provide! Not only was my husband healthy, but now we owed not a penny for the whole horrible event.

So why is this blog titled, "A Means of Grace"...? Well even though that whole ordeal was frightening and stressful, the Lord has been teaching me a lot about how his grace is most sweet when we truly need it. I love this quote from a commentary on Ruth: "It is the grace of God, which directs the outcomes of those decisions and events according to his sovereignty and good purpose for his people. That grace is not always evident to the players in the game at the time. But it is always there, whether acknowledged or unacknowledged. Ultimately, for Christians, the grace of God is always the defining element of our lives."
You see, because of this event in my life, I now have an increased measure of faith in God as my provider, healer, and comforter. I have seen his grace working to bring me to a low place where I have nothing and do not know what else to do but fall upon his grace.

I praise the Lord that he is more than capable to use the bad for good. He is always working for the good purpose for his people.

Romans 8:28
" And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are callen according to his purpose."

my trip to Michaels

2009-05-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

When one starts having dreams about using their Michael's craft store gift cards to purchase yarn and scrap booking supplies, you get the idea they might be a little obsessed. Well that's me. The other night I had the glorious dream that a gift card I had for Michael's in real life and in my dream was worth 55$. I had to find out by making a conservative purchase...I think it was 3 skeins of yarn for 3 bucks each and check the balance left on the receipt. When I did this, I found out the value of the card and promptly freaked out realizing I also had a 40% off coupon (which I had in real life too). I went down isle after isle throwing yarn into my basket and found myself to be immensely happy.

I woke up only to realize it was a dream. However, the real part- that fact that I did have a coupon, did have a gift card (still didn't know how much was on it), and was going to Michael's with a friend- made me feel a little better.

Later that day I had asked the friend who gave me the gift card how much it was worth. I nearly died laughing when he told me 50$. I thought, my husband must have told him about my dream. So I asked, and of course, he was serious. I really had 50$ to spend at Michaels!

All this to say- my dream was very accurate! I ended up spending 54.92 and went away with a huge lute of goodies for me to craft away! Here is all I bought:

And, I've already started my next project with the yarn I bought. It's going to be a blanket for my neice. I got the pattern of Lion Brand's site.

Lion Brand^® Vanna's Choice^® Baby

GAUGE:

One Square = 4 in. (10 cm) BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR GAUGE. When you match the gauge in a pattern, your project will be the size specified in the pattern and the materials specified in the pattern will be sufficient. If it takes you fewer stitches and rows to make a 4 in. [10 cm] square, try using a smaller size hook or needles; if more stitches and rows, try a larger size hook or needles.

Square A (make 28)
With A, ch 4. Join with a sl st in first ch to form a ring.
Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc here and throughout), 2 dc in ring, *ch 1, 3 dc in ring, rep from * 2 more times, ch 1, join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off A.
Round 2: Join B with sl st in any ch-1 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same sp, *ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-1 sp, rep from * 2 more times, ch 1; join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off B.
Round 3: Join C with sl st in any ch-2 sp, ch 3 (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same sp, *ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, rep from * 2 more times, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1; join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off C. Square B (make 28)
With C, ch 4. Join with a sl st in first ch to form a ring.
Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc here and throughout), 2 dc in ring, *ch 1, 3 dc in ring, rep from * 2 more times, ch 1; join with sl st at top of beg ch. Fasten off C.
Round 2: Join B with sl st in any ch-1 sp, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same sp, *ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-1 sp, rep from * 2 more times, ch 1; join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off B.
Round 3: Join A with sl st in any ch-2 sp, ch 3 (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in same sp, *ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) in next ch-2 sp, rep from * 2 more times, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1; join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off A. FINISHING Strip 1 (make 4)
Beg and ending with Square A and alternating Squares A and B, sew 7 Squares into a strip.
Strip 2 (make 4)
Beg and ending with Square B and alter nating Squares B and A, sew 7 Squares into a strip.
Sew strips together along long sides, alternating Strip 1 and Strip 2.
Edging
From right side, join C with sl st anywhere along edge of Afghan. Ch 3. Dc evenly around, working 3 dc in each corner; join with sl st in top of beg ch. Fasten off.
Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS / REFERENCES Click for explanation and illustration
beg = begin(s)(ning)	ch(s) = chain(s)
dc = double crochet	sl st = slip stitch
sp(s) = space(s)

So here's some of my progress on it. It actually crochets up really quick!

My battle with a beret

2009-04-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

There is nothing that can compare with the feeling of completing a project coupled with the positive feedback from the one who received said project.

I started this beautiful beret for my sister, Hannah, and was super excited because she had begged and hinted for a while that she wanted it for her birthday. Meanwhile, I had already started one….tee hee! However, this was not one of those projects where you follow the pattern exactly and come out with the same thing as the picture shows. No, no, no, this was much different. I made this hat the first time, and the thing turned out as big as a pizza! It was giant…then I thought, “Well…she really wants this hat, just take it apart until you reach a reasonable size and modify as you go along.”

The second try seemed to be going smoother, it was all looking more like a beret than a giant doily, but then suddenly I was finished and it still wasn’t right. I put it on my head and it fit like a skull cap. Darn it.

Third try. Starting to become impatient, agitated, yet determined to get it right. This time I was so very careful to watch my increases in each round, and to modify only when I thought it was going to maybe be too big. At that point I started the part of the pattern that decreased, and finished the hat.

Final score: Beret- 2 Lizzy- 1!

One victory was all I needed- I had conquered the horrible pattern and had come out with a beautiful hat anyways! AND, I got it all done in time for Hannah’s birthday Here she is, wearing the hat with my mom, and my mom’s dog (she takes that thing with her everywhere…the dog, not the hat.)

And here she is with my cousin, Eilish. They’re both so beautiful

I think it turned out pretty good. It’s got this lacy look to it, and fits pretty floppy like the style is these days.

And the best part, the part like I mentioned before, is that she loved it. That was the reward :)

My last little little blurb is just to say that the cat toy I made for a friend was a huge hit! They next time I saw her, she showed me pictures of her kitten, Benny, playing with it. He had it wrapped around his body and had the ball in his paws. Guess he liked it:)

As promised...

2009-04-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot!

I've finished crocheting my Amigurumi Panda!

He's not completely done, cause I still have to sew one arm, eye balls and the black patches around his eyes on...But he's mostly done. I've got him stuffed and he's SUPER cute!

What do you think?

House of cards

2009-04-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

I'm not the kind of person that likes to run out to the store and pick up a card from an isle full of over-priced, pre-written sentiments. That is why, for several years now, I have been making my own cards for any and all occasions. It's become a wonderful way for me to "de-stress," and spend some time thinking of the person I'm making the card for and why I love them.

I think it means so much more when it's handmade and it's just fun! I got a wonderful compliment from my mother-in-law the other day when she told me her husband's mother (my husband's grandma) loves the cards she gets from me and wondered where I was finding such wonderful and unique cards. My mother-in-law told her that I make all of them from scratch, and Grandma drew back in awe :)

Now that I've built myself up to sound like something incredible...haha.

This first one is for my sister-in-law. She's going to be the lead character, Millie, in her high school's musical production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie." She always gets mad when someone says "good luck" to her before a show, because she's a theater nerd and no-one is supposed to wish you luck, or it somehow curses you. Anyways, that's why you wish theater people to "break-a-leg" before a show- like you're trying to fool the luck/fate.

My brother-in-law is a
HUGE
Seattle Seahawks fan,
so I knew he'd appreciate this design!

It's simple, masculine, and yet
still crafty!

This next card was a request of my husband- he asked that I make a thank-you card for a wonderful family from our church that had us over for lunch on Sunday after the service. It was such a blessing as they were such gracious hosts and showed us such hospitality and love. I loved the yellow paper with crazy circular designs that somewhat resembled flowers (Part of a set I received as a gift from my sister-in-law for Christmas- my FAVORITE present)
I used that as my inspiration and incorporated a lot of handstitching in the design.

Here's a closer pic of
the flowers :)

And here is the detail for the back of the card. I always try to incorporate part of the design in a little decal/logo of some sort for the back of the card. Then I initial it, and put a heart <3

This next one is pretty obvious what it is for...but I got the idea from some really cool cards on Esty. (Designers don't worry! I'm simply making them for family and friends) I just loved the idea of the mommy and baby birdie.

The top left photo includes the decal with my signature mark for my cards.

And here's the other one I made (Gotta make 2 now that I'm married!) I think this one's my favorite.
...just wish my cursive was prettier. oh well.

Well folks, I think that's all I got for you. I hope you are encouraged and inspired to make some very special cards for your family and friends. Please let me know if you do! I'd love to see pictures. And as always, you are more than welcome to steal any of the ideas I've posted- as long as I can steal some from you!

More projects

2009-04-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I would love to show you the finished project of my second bunny blanket :) This one turned out exactly like I wanted it to. His eyes are adorable, and the smile is perfect! All I have left to do is wash it to make sure the fibers loosen up a bit- it's stiff and kind of scratchy right now. The best thing is that the other one (the brown one from my last post) was given to a friend's baby, Hannah, and she loves it!

So here's the finished product:

I changed the pattern up a bit for this version. This time I followed the directions to use two strands of yarn throughout the pattern which immediately made him bigger- but I modified the ears to go down off the side of his head instead of straight up, changed the shape of the mouth, and made the blanket part itself longer by extending the increases of the pattern for a few more rows before adding his hands. I love the way it turned out!

This is an excellent idea for a baby shower gift (mine is going to be given to my niece at my sister's baby shower) because the gift functions both as a toy and as a small blanket for the baby to cuddle with! Plus it's just cute...:)

I also was inspired to make a gift for another friend after visiting her house after church for lunch. She's got two adorable cats that love to play. Her kitten Benny loves to jump around and attack things! So I told her I would make her cats a toy, and although I was sort of joking, I decided to do it when I found the pattern for this fun thing on the Lion Brand Yarn free crochet pattern section.

Isn't it fun? I changed up the yarn at the ball for the really fuzzy stuff, and I love it!

I've also been inspired by a pattern given to me by my friend Nicole, a fellow crocheter. It's an adorable baby blanket pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, called Sweet pea, if you want to look it up. It's pink and green granny squares, and I can't wait to get the yarn and get started! It will be perfect for Molly's nursery because her colors are pink and green

Last night I started an adorable amiguri panda pattern, once again from the Lion Brand site. It's been a wonderful learning experience to try this pattern because I've never tried felting before, and this panda is supposed to be felted. I found out felting only works with yarns that are not supposed to be washed. So of course, I used the wrong kind of yarn and ended up with a non-felted project after attempting to felt for some time. Oh well, live and learn. I will post a picture of him when I finally get him stuffed and sewn together.

Hope I have inspired some of you to go and make something homemade and special for your loved ones!

My first Post!

2009-04-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome all to my blog!

I thought I would share with you some of the things I have been working on. First this is a bunny blanket I originally wanted to make for my niece who should by arriving in July! However, after finishing it, I was not satisfied, and have started another one with white yarn, and modified it to have a bigger blanket portion. I'll post that when it's done as well.

I'm very excited to have started a blog- it is my hope to use this as a way to get connected with other crafters and crocheters, to get ideas, share stories and inspire each other!

I'd like to share some other things I have done in the past few months, and as I get them done and get the pictures I will post them. Besides that I have a picture of a blanket I have started on for Molly Joy (my niece's name)- this will be sown together with other rectangles in a checkered pattern so the stars will be every other one. It should look pretty neat whenever I finish it... :)
I am most inspired to have so many wonderful people in my life- and it is for them that I crochet. Mostly things like baby shower gifts- booties, hats, toys, etc; christmas gifts- scarves, hats, other fun things like this snow flake:

Lastly, I wanted to show you a fun little rose I have made from Rachel Choi's crochet blog- crochetspot.com
Here's a link to the pattern if you would like to try it yourself!

http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-flower-pattern-rose/

Thanks all for reading, and please comment if you have any ideas for other projects I could do!