want to make list: christmas crafts

A nice long weekend with cooking, eating, shopping (Joanns was everything I was hoping for on Friday!), playing, and crafting! It is official...Christmas crafting has begun!

(she really was having fun, that is her concentration face)


Lills and I worked on this ornament ball wreath. The tutorial is great but I don't love our final product. I needed more ornaments, I only got half as many as the tutorial suggested (I didn't see that before I went to the store) but it was fun for Lills and I to do this together and we got all the ornaments from the dollar store which it made it cheap.


This list will grow and grow with all the new ideas around blogland for the season...Yay!!

for the tree

wooden ornaments
stuffed house ornaments
felted tree ornaments
snowflakes
crochet birdies
felt birds
granny stars (done!)
granny trees (done!)
polaroid ornament

for the wall

ball ornament wreath (done)
pom pom wreath (done and just for everyday!)
framed trees
crochet garland


for the table

table runner (no need my mom made me one!)


I hope you had a long weekend too!

turkey cards

Not too much to share in the way of finished crafts for me this week. I am knitting away on a sweet sweater for Lills. We sat together looking at possible sweater candidates and she died with excitement for this steggie sweater. I have the back and two fronts done, next up are the sleeves but I need to get some yarn for the scales. A few more blanket blocks are also in the works for the Schuyler Blanket Project. I am also planning my attack on Joanns and possibly Michaels for Friday. I have had my wish list ready for weeks, now to sit down and see what is actually on sale!



Lills made some turkey cards to send to our family but of course we are late and they are just getting mailed out today. She was such a little rock star with this project. We got the idea here but instead of that cool painting technique, we were lazy and cut circles(ish) from past art projects for the turkey body. We showed her how the turkey needed feathers, a head, and legs and she took it from there. Is it wrong that I wrote in the card that the crazy looking thing on the front was in fact a turkey?


wishing you a happy Thanksgiving! I think the Christmas craft season is officially ON on Friday, don't you?

sophisticate and pom poms

I was itchin' for a cute quick baby knit. the baby sophisticate!


so wonderful this little pattern (Rav download link) and quick quick quick I tell you! I started last Friday and it was blocking by early Sunday. and nope I didn't even ignore my family to get it done that quick. I am not going to add buttons for awhile, I have no idea what sweet baby will be gifted with this so I will hold off on the buttons. Lilly wants one for her baby doll, "my baby not have a sweater, you make her one?" yeah right kid.


(I bound off too tight! dang it, I am always too loose and the one time loose is good...)

The yarn (cascade eco yarn) came from the flower shirt I was working on for Lilly. It was first going to be a flower baby dress, then I realized that the dress would be way too big for a baby so I made it a shirt for Lill's but no way that was going to fit her for like 10 years so I decided to make myself a shirt (yes that is how big it was!) but then I was going to run out of yarn. So I decided to find another project for this yarn. I still have a bit left not sure what it will be enough for though. I still want to make that cute little baby dress just cast on less stitches. I got gauge for the project I just need to be better about measuring my project and thinking about who it is for.

okay on to the pom poms!! I think there are about 40 or so pom poms on this thing. I stopped counting and I am SICK of making pom poms and the fuzz oh all the fuzz that is around my house. I have been too lazy to vacuum and that fuzz is everywhere! As soon as a vacuum and I feel like making pom poms again, I am going to do this with them. Isn't that the prettiest?! We are sending all our Christmas presents home this year since we aren't traveling, and I think those pom poms would hold up so well to shipping not like big ribbon bows. okay anyway back to the real pom pom project...




doesn't it have a lovely 80s log cabin feel? I think all those shaggy pom poms and those wonderful colors give off that vibe. (I am serious about those colors, I love them). I still like it, even more than me though is Gregg. He freakin' loves it. I really like when he likes what I make. At first I added a few pom poms in different spots around the wreath and I really liked the look of a few bright pom poms with the soft muslin wrapped wreath. I might try another one with less pom poms. I used almost 5 skeins for vanna's choice in brick, olive, kelly green, terracotta, and pea green. I think mustard would have been really nice in there too. Actually, I had planned on making this for Christmas but when I got to the store I just couldn't help get wonderful everyday colors. anyway, tutorial here!




Have a good weekend! Are you doing what we are?: Thanksgiving grocery shopping! Lilly's daycare is having a Thanksgiving party today with ALL the fixin's, we are bringing yams covered in butter and brown sugar. The cook started roasting the turkeys in the wee morning hours, I bet it is going to smell really good in there when I drop her off!

coziness

a few cozy knitting projects

:: mittens for my girl in her signature blue color.


She loves them. She really likes that they match her hat. Whew, she wears both now! I think there is something penquiny about her thumbs. I think next year I might try a different pattern for her.

Pattern: family of mittens from Holiday Knits
Size: smallest child size
Yarn: lion brand pound of love in denim


::Flip Top mittens for me!


I love these babies. See the mods on my raverly page.


Pattern: bulky flip top mittens
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds in earthy brown


::and finally an apple cozy!


I really love my apple cozy. I wash and dry my apple at home and then at work my apple is ready to go and bruise free! I think this would make a great gift but I can't think of anyone that I know for sure packs apples around. Gregg does and but I already asked and he declined an apple cozy.


Pattern: apple/pear cozy
Yarn: noro kureyon

I am knee deep in a pom pom project now. I can't wait until its done, so excited!

Crochet Heart Ornament Pattern: UPDATE

I had a few requests for the heart ornament pattern to be written in a chart format. I can barely read crochet chart patterns let alone write one. After months of putting it off I finally did it and I think it will make a heart! I hope it will make you hearts and it is not just made up jibberish. All you expert chart readers please let me know if I can improve it at all.


other views of this chart can be found here. I should say that the large circle the stitches surround is indeed the 4th chain from the hook I just made it huge to write all the stitches around it. Geez I hope this makes sense!

Again, as stated in the original post with the pattern, the beginning of this heart is not my pattern it comes from Suzie's Crochet, post here. I made sure to ask her if it was okay to post the pattern here and lucky for us she agreed! Yay! happy crocheting!



this heart is going on our Christmas tree, I have so many plans for ornaments this year. But I am not doing any supply shopping until Black Friday. I get just giddy thinking about all the deals that Joanns and Michaels will have. I can't wait for the sale flyers to come in the mail!

my stocking!

I did a snowflake pattern around the top. Although my idea of the snowflake did not get into my chart pattern. I forgot to add two rows in for the horizontal middle. Lilly said they look like spiders. Nothing screams Christmas like little white spiders!


Pattern: Traditional Christmas Stocking in Holiday Knits

Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Chunky in lettuce and natural

Mods: detailed on my Rav page.



I am so glad I started these stockings last summer. All three are done and waiting for December 3rd to decorate, the official green light for Christmas decorating.

Schuyler Blanket Project

apple pattern (the music note pattern is on that same site)

I just became apart of the following group on ravelry. I heard about this group by total coincidence. I had a nice comment from a blogger whose name I hadn't seen before. I tried to email her back to say thank you for her comment but her email wasn't linked up to her comment so then I went to her blog to leave her a comment. At her blog I came upon her own sad story and learned about the Schuyler Blanket Project (rav link):

“The Schuyler Blanket Project:

Group to make blankets for parents who have lost their children in childbirth or early infancy, and to provide them with a tangible symbol of support and love.

The Schuyler Blanket Project began life as The Tammany Blanket Project, as a group of Ravelers came together to provide support for Tammany, a fellow Raveler who lost her baby girl less than an hour after she was born. Members of this group created a blanket for Tammany by making individual squares, providing her with a warm soft hug that she can wrap up in on the bad days.

The original Tammany Blanket is complete, and Tammany herself requested that we carry that mission forward in baby Schuyler’s memory to create blankets for other bereaved families and to provide them with comfort and love. Do you have the time and heart to make a few squares for a blanket that can change a family’s life? Please join us and see how a few hours on your part can bring light and love to a family who is experiencing their darkest hours.”

My heart goes out to these other woman and families that have lost their babies. We found out our baby had died at 13.5 weeks into the pregnancy but some of these women just have awful stories...loosing babies after 40 weeks of pregnancy, miscarrying their first baby, finishing the pregnancy knowing their baby wouldn't be able to survive outside the womb, loosing teenager children...stories that are just awful. I just can't imagine how great their heart ache must be.

I haven't talked much here about my own sad miscarriage just a few short months ago. I felt kinda silly having mentioned the pregnancy possibly too early here but I had been to the doctor, I had seen that precious heart beat, I thought we were well on our way to a sweet baby in February. Plus it is so hard to keep exciting news like that a secret. I have never been one for secrets, especially babies, it is just SO exciting. But then the 2nd baby appointment came on August 3rd and all that excitement was to stay in the past. To help keep my mind busy while healing I did a lot of crafting. Could you tell? I did a lot! It kept my mind busy. If I stopped I could get sad and I am soooo tired of being sad. So to help me continue to heal and look forward to the future I made these blanket squares.


two regular old granny squares, yellow one is butterfly garden square, blue and daisy pattern

I hope this post is not too heavy, I like to keep this place happy and journal my ups and downs of different projects (mostly so I can remember what the heck I did and why). I debated for awhile on this post but this is a big UP and I wanted to share especially if anybody was looking for a project such as this to contribute too.

I will be back soon to share my FINISHED stocking!

craft hope

Boy was I frantic when Craft Hope posted last week that project #5: quilts for Margaret's Hope Chest was in need of boy quilts. I hadn't made my quilt for them yet but my plan was for a nice girl quilt. So this weekend after playing around with some red and blue, I went to my green fabric drawer. That baby is PACKED. Last year my mom went through her green fabric and gave me a ton. So I figured green might work...



a real live boy quilt from my drawers!! who knew all these would work. I like the fact too that it is not juvenile at all so it could go to any age boy. Gregg and I decided it had a real jungle or swampy feel to it so I tried to quilt some long bamboo shoots. I am not sure how they turned out. I think I should have done more of them. or made them more even.



I used invisible thread for the top and cream thread in the bobbin. The backing is mostly cream cotton with 3 large solid rectangles.



This thing took me NO TIME to make. I started playing around at Lilly's naptime on Saturday where the fabrics and the pattern just made itself. Most of these pieces just needed a little straightening trim and went in as is. The brown I cut to fit in. After Lilly woke, I left the fabrics spread out and didn't go back to them until after dinner. By 10:30pm, I had the fabric top and backing sewed, and the whole darn thing pinned ready for quilting! I was even taking breaks because OREGON was stomping the crap out of USC. I guess that is what happens working with those big pieces of fabric. I have never made a quilt like this before. Only one thing I would change is the binding. I wanted to try machine sewing the binding. EEEEK! I don't like it. It is just a tad too messy and there is something about hand sewing that binding.



Gregg was so excited about this quilt. He wants it BAD. I told him who it was for and he didn't ask again for it but when I was whining about how bad I didn't like the binding and how I felt bad that some poor kid was going to be stuck with crappy binding, he did say well give it to me and make another one! I am sure if I mentioned I would have to go to the fabric store in order to make another one he would have changed his tune. man is he cute!

So now on to the next blanket project. I have one barely in the works for Lilly, she requested a blue blanket. But more importantly, I want to make a few blankets for the Mountain Baby Blankets project. Andrea suggested this project to me, so I finally took the time to read about where and why these blankets are needed, SO SAD! I am giving myself until mid December to get a few out to their organization.

fit for a real garden artist

Gregg's mom celebrated her birthday today. She loves to spend time in her garden. Thus, this garden artist apron was perfect for her.


(geez iron much?)

This project is in Simple Sewing with a French Twist. The book requires you to take all small pattern pieces found in the back pages and enlarge them at a place like Kinkos, no thanks what a pain, but I found this pattern that gave measurements to make the apron instead. So I did that but followed the books instructions the rest of the way. It just needed a brooch to dress it up a bit.


We grouped it with some new gloves and tulip bulbs.


Happy Birthday Karen! I think Lilly said it best after we got off the phone with you this evening "we all love Nonni!"