Where's the time?!

I have a baby shower for a friend to attend in about two weeks... I'm making her this newborn set for her baby girl-to-be:




...and, really, it should be a super quick project. I've gotten the yoke done, so far, but theres a part of me that's thinking that I'm going to have to buy a backup gift just in case I don't finish in time! Not because I'm a slow crocheter/knitter, but simply because I don't have nearly enough time to sit down and work on it. Or, at least, as much time as I'd like to spend on it. And look at me...instead of working on the stuff I should be working on so that I can relax later with my crochet project, I'm blogging! Now I know where the time is.... :)

Swatching is just as important for crochet

All my crochet experience to date has pretty much just been stuffed animals or puppets...things that didn't really need to match a specific gauge. Although I have made a cute little baby dress in the past, again, I never swatched and, now that I think of it, I've never seen proof that the babies these dresses have gone to have ever worn them. So I have no idea if they fit!
Recently, I made this kitty from Crochet Today!:




She also is supposed to have clothes...one outfit is published with the pattern for the cat, with additional outfits promised in future issues. I didn't swatch...and my first attempt as this cat turned out really squat. Additionally, I had a little difficulty getting the clothes to fit properly. But I persevered and managed to get her dressed.




Now I'm starting work on that darling baby set I posted about previously, and am swatching. My gauge is off, so it just goes to show that it does pay to swatch before starting a project....it'll save me a lot of headache later!

Black Cat Rattle

As mentioned in my last entry, here are pictures of the cat rattle that I made using a plastic Halloween pumpkin container that I'd found at the 99¢ Store. At some point, I'll translate my chicken scratch into a pattern... I may also make a few alterations and, considering the pumpkin containers aren't something that will be easily found at any time of the year, perhaps I'll try making the rattles with either Easter eggs (if you're like me, you'll have a great big bagful of them in your garage or wherever you keep your decorations when they're not being used) or maybe even those eggs that pantyhose come in. Either way, the project is probably low on the totem pole with the Christmas holidays coming up!

In the meantime, after you've checked out the photos, if you really want to know how it was made, drop me a line (or comment) and I'll contact you with the directions. :)

Side bar!

Work on the pirate is coming along... Right now, he's kind of a stationary doll. Meaning his arms will not be moveable nor will his legs. I'm also not sure how much I like how his torso came out. But I'll finish him the way he is and then see about making a revised version of him to work the kinks out. Maybe make jointed limbs...at least as far as the shoulder and hips go.

But this is not the reason I write tonight...er....this morning. I'm up waaaay too late! My neighbors do the "You have been boo'd/ghosted" thing each year at Halloween. We were ghosted the other night, so today I put together the goodie trays to boo some of my other neighbors. I try to remember to include something for each kid in the family plus something for the house (a decoration for the house, little trinkets for the kids) and realized, after I'd put the trays together, that I forgot the newest addition to one of my neighbor's family. Now, she's not quite one, so I didn't think a beaded necklace would be a good idea. I'd found these little pumpkins at the 99¢ store that are sort of like the plastic Easter eggs... They pop apart and you can put goodies inside them.

As I pondered what to put inside a little plastic pumpkin that would be safe for a 7 month old, it struck me that babies pretty much would shake something like that, or slobber on it as they try to stuff it in their mouths. Which caused the proverbial light bulb to illuminate over my head.

I decided to fill the pumpkin with some pony beads that I have a ton of and then encase it in a crocheted "body" to make a rattle. Why stop there? Why not design a couple different rattle critters?

Well, I didn't design more than one so far... All I have so far is a Halloween kitty. However, I do have plans to do perhaps a pumpkin and maybe a ghost... Maybe branch out into other motifs. I think I'll have to go back to the 99¢ store to get more pumpkins!

I'll post pictures tomorrow of the kitty rattle and the plastic pumpkins....

Still Alive and Hooking!

Knew that would get your attention. :) Not THAT kind of hooking...the kind that involves yarn and a crochet hook.

It's been about 9 months since I last posted. Long enough to have another kid! But I didn't...don't worry. However, my youngest HAS started kindergarten this year so it's been kind of nice having each morning to myself.

My creativity dried out a bit over the summer. Things were just too busy with the kids being out of school. Now the cooler weather has been starting to set in, here in Southern California, and it's so nice to sit and crochet or knit!

My most recent project included making a whole lot of cupcakes for my grand-niece's second birthday coming up this month, since her party is cupcake-themed. Enjoy the photos!


24 cupcake party favors


A bigger cupcake for Grace to cuddle



A cupcake hat for Grace to wear


A cupcake purse for Grace to carry

Blogger Down!

Wow.... It's been a looooong time since I've posted anything to this blog. I'm really sorry about that...I know all one of you who is following this blog must be really chomping at the bit in anticipation of this newest posting!

Ok, silliness aside, here's a quick rundown of what I've been up to:

1. All those projects I mentioned in my last post? I did two out of four of them. The cabled purse got completed and the end product was given to my sister-in-law as part of her Christmas present. The doll backpack got finished in time for my great-niece's first birthday in October 2009. Both items turned out really cute! I may post photos here... or, alternatively, you can check them out on Ravelry: mo3insd's projects

2. My oldest nephew and his wife had a baby! So now I've got a great-nephew, too. I knit him a really cute sweater and hat....

And I'm also planning on visiting him and the rest of my extended family at the beginning of February, so I've crocheted him a blanket....

...and I'll probably try to squeeze in another sweater before I leave for the trip.

Really, I have been keeping busy with my crafting... Mostly knitting and crochet. All of my recently completed projects can be found on Ravelry.

I'll try to keep things updated here! Yet another New Year's resolution..............

Projects Galore!

I've got a lot on my plate... There are SO many wonderful patterns that I want to make and only so much time in a day. :)

This posting is pretty much just an update on what I've been doing, since I haven't been posting lately. So without further ado, here we go...

• I'm test knitting a pattern for a purse. Because this isn't just a "for me" thing, I'm actually committed to finishing it in a timely manner. So at the moment, the purse is the only project I'm really working on. And I'm a slow knitter... Plus I really try to limit when I spend time working on my knitting/crocheting until the night time after kids are in bed and I'm too tired to do anything else housework related (she says as she blogs instead of doing housework!)
• I just bought a pattern! First time ever...Other than pattern books from the store, I mean. I bought this super cute baby doll and doll backpack pattern from Kristie's Kids and can hardly wait to start working on it. There are several little girls our family knows who would LOVE to receive one. Excited!! :)
• Both of my kids tote their paperback bibles with them to church...and both of their bibles are getting pretty beat up in the process. They NEEEEEEED bible covers! But will I go to the store and simply BUY them each a cover? Heck no! I'm going to make them each one. :)
• I'm trying to get the kinks worked out on the Blue Jay pattern, too. I'm up to version 3.0 of the pattern and I have to admit, I'm ALMOST completely content with it. I think one more version will nail it, then I have to try to crank out 12 of them in a couple of weeks' time for Little J's baseball team (a bunchof 7 year olds). :)

There's also several other really cute patterns that I've stumbled across, lately, that I really want to make, but I haven't put them on the docket because there's no reason for me to make them other than I just want to. I'm sure you understand....

Ian the Rhinoceros

Little J's friend, Ian, asked me to make him a rhinoceros the other day, so I obliged! Here is the result of that endeavor and I offer to you, for the low-low price of merely $1.50(US) the pattern for Ian!

You could also modify Ian to be a hippopotamus by leaving off his horn, if the mood strikes you. :)

To purchase Ian, please click 

(A Paypal account is necessary)

Blue Jay 2.0

Worked on him some more and came up with Blue Jay 2.0. :) I think there'll be a Blue Jay 2.5 before I make the pattern available. There's still something about his wings I'm not crazy about.

The differences with Blue Jay 2.0:

• His beak is wider - I think I like the original beak better
• His wings are shaped differently - Still not content with them
• He has yarn knot eyes - My feeling is that the plastic/shiny eyes are a better fit
• His tail has been reshaped - I like this tail a lot better
• His body is crocheted all in one piece - The original was two halve, sewn together, figuring that it would make for a cleaner transition between the two colors. Sewing his tail over the transition point, though, camouflages it nicely.

Stay tuned! :)

Evolution of the Blue Jay

Well, I must have made about six different tails for this little guy before I ended up with what you see here.

But I'm still not happy with it. I looked at some pictures online of real blue jays and realize that I've got the shape completely wrong. I think the tail I ended up with might be more suitable on a sparrow or something. So I'll be going back to the drawing board later today.

I also want to make the wings differently. The right wing turned out nice with its shaping, but in order to have the left wing show the "right" side, I had to do its shaping a little differently and it didn't turn out as nice. I'd like to come up with something that can be interchangeable...as in it doesn't matter which side of the body you sew the wing on, it'll look good.

I think, too, that I'll change the beak a little bit... It's a bit too long and skinny.

Strangely, this is really the first of my creations that I haven't been completely happy with by the time I'm done! Does this make me a "real" designer??? :)

Blue Jay Progress

Progress is being made! I stayed up far too late last night working on my little blue jay. I got as far as making his body and one of his wings before I had to finally admit I needed to get some sleep. I thought about taking pictures of the WIP, but I was too tired. :) By the time I get around to taking pictures, he should be done. Stay tuned!

In other news, the kids are all still home today. It's spring break, officially, for the two older kids. But K is still sick (day 7!) and Little J seems to be a little under the weather still despite his fever being gone. T is supposed to have pre-school today, but he, too, seems to be coughing with a runny nose a little more than I'm comfortable sending him to school with, so I kept him home.

More laundry awaits...as does my blue jay (that I really can't wait to get back to, but I'm being good and trying to get my housework done and tend to the kids before picking it back up!)

Keep It Simple

I spent a good portion of last night just trying to wrap my mind around how I want to do/shape the Blue Jay ami. I drew sketches....I tried to visualize the shaping...I contemplated how to achieve the shaping I want....I stayed up way too late just....thinking.

I also spent time surfing the web, looking at pictures of real blue jays, and pictures of blue jay toys. Inspired by casbahkitten's Fatberd Cat Toy, I realized I should just keep it simple! So I've got my inspiration and I think I've figured out how to make a simple, but cute, blue jay.

I can't wait to get started...In fact, I tried to get started and then the kids sought me out and made me get them breakfast. :)

Sick Kids & Free Pattern Download Links

All three kids have been sick, now, for about 4 days. Fevers, coughing, sore throats...the works. I took them all to the doctor yesterday and was pretty much told they just have colds and we have to wait it out. I kind of knew that, but considering they'd had fevers for 3 days at the time, I didn't want to go into the weekend not knowing if they needed to be on antibiotics for strep throat or something. Better safe than sorry!

Hubby is currently out of town, somewhat, as well. He's about a 90 minute drive away at his family's cabin, doing maintenance. So it's just been the kids and me since Thursday night.

One "good" thing about them all being sick is that they just don't seem to have the motivation to fight or argue as much as they do when they're healthy! But having all three of them in a room, taking turns coughing...it's chinese water torture!

I've been able to do my crocheting and such in the evenings after they go to bed. In addition to the amigurumi patterns I've created (see the download links to the left in their own little sidebar section), I've spent some time whipping up some little bunnies for the kids' Easter baskets. I've got two done...one to go. They all know they're getting them because they're all nosey and have seen them. :) I'm making them wait 'til Easter to get them, though.

I've now set my mind to coming up with a Blue Jay amigurumi pattern. Little J's coach pitch baseball team is the Blue Jays...I thought it'd be cute for them to all have their own little blue jay to commemorate their season at the end of the season party next month. Guess what I'll be fiddling around with tonight?? :)

Ollie the Sea Otter!

I'm just tearin' it up with designs, aren't I? :) I can't help it... amigurumi is very addicting.

I present to you, Ollie the Sea Otter. He was created in response to an "Under the Sea" challenge on the Amigurumi Doll Lovers forum on Ravelry. 

The pattern is available for download on Ravelry right now, and eventually I'll have a link to download the file from here without needing to go through Ravelry. Have fun!

Roadrunner

I decided to try a more "actual" roadrunner design than Warner Bros. version. And this is what I ended up with....

The pattern is available through Ravelry and will, eventually, made available for download via a link here on the blog, as well!

To Meep or Not to Meep....

....that is the question. :)

Little J has asked me to make him a Roadrunner. Being the indulgent mom I am, I said "Of course, honey!" and proceeded to try to find a pattern for a road runner. Can't find one. I can find lots of filet patterns, afghan patterns...anything flat. But he actually wants a stuffed one...you know, like an amigurumi! :)

Therefore, I'm scheming to come up with a pattern for one myself, after my "success" with creating the Amigurumi Buddies. I'm trying to decide, though, whether I want to go with a more "lifelike" design:

Or the "traditional" cartoon design... 

Which do you think?

Amigurumi Buddies

I finished the good-bye present for T's friend, Yuki. I wasn't at the school when the gift was presented to him, but according to T's teacher, Yuki and his parents were very surprised and pleased with the little buddies. Luckily, T doesn't really understand that he won't be seeing Yuki at school anymore, so it hasn't been too terribly sad for him.

The pattern is available through Ravelry, and I'll add a link for it here, as well, eventually. It's a little long to post, as there are several different parts to the project.

The Amigurumi Craze Continues

I can totally understand the draw of creating amigurumi. So far, in my limited experience, they seem to be quick, easy projects. Great for near-instant gratification. The projects I've done so far can usually be completed in one day. Sure makes it feel like you're getting a lot accomplished quickly!

The dragon is done and he turned out really cute (I think). I don't know how the recipient liked it, as I haven't gotten any feedback and we weren't there to watch him open his presents after his party at a local video game arcade. But Little J (who's 7) thought it was cool.

Gumball kitten is also complete, although I had some trouble with its ears and I think it looks more like a mouse than a kitten. Plus, something went wrong with the gauge or my tension or something because it seems the body is a lot fatter than it should be. Three-year-old T wanted it, so he's now the proud owner of Gumball.

Not wanting to be left out, K requested a kitten, too. And she wanted it to look like our real life kitty. So, not to be one to disappoint, I made a sitting-up (hind legless) version of Gumball. I did the ears differently, so they're a little more pointy. And I used safety eyes for this one. What a wonderful little invention! Love the safety eyes!

Little J has yet another friend's birthday party to attend this weekend and he's requested that I make his friend a dog. Therefore, I present to you, Lollypup! I had the alphabet beads left over from an old Girl Scout project that I thought made a nice personalizing touch.

Little J wants his own Lollypup that I've started.

Finally, T's best friend in preschool, Yuki, is returning to his home country of Japan this Friday. T was sick for Yuki's birthday party a couple of weeks ago, so I'm making little amigurumi pals (one that represents T and one that represents Yuki) for T to give Yuki. I'm making the pattern up myself as I go along! So far I've got most of one of the little pals done. I'll take pictures tomorrow of my progress thus far and, once the pattern is complete, I'll post the pattern, too.

Critters & Stash Depleters

I've been in a crochet mood lately. More specifically, critter crochet. I've been hearing/reading a lot about amigurumis and thought I'd give them a try. So far, they seem to be fun, quick projects that are great for using up my stash yarn! Plus, with the economy the way it is, and having three kids who go to various birthday parties, it seems like a good way to make hand-made presents for the kids.

I have two toy projects in the works. First is a dragon for one of Little J's friends, whose birthday party is this Sunday (3/22). I'm making pretty good progress. I just started it yesterday and so far have the body and two hind legs complete. Still need to make the front legs, wings, spines and ears...then assemble it, of course. I'm also going to embroider eyes and claws on it. Thanks go to Angry Angel for her pattern.

I've also got a Gumball Kitten started. Just the head (stuffed) and the body (unstuffed) done on that one, so far. Thanks go to falwyn for this pattern. I'm looking forward to completing both and making more! 

In fact, I went to Michael's today to get some safety eyes for future critter creations. The Michael's I went to is in a shopping center that also has a JoAnn's. All I can say is, I'm really glad I chose to go to the Michael's I did because this particular Michael's didn't have any safety eyes. All they had were tons of wiggle eyes (which I have plenty of already). So I took a quick walk over to JoAnn's and was relieved to find all sizes of safety eyes. Yay! So I picked up a bunch, and also bought a new size E crochet hook made by Clover. It has a nice little handle. The Susan Bates one I'd been using was really thin and making my hand hurt.

All in all, it was a successful craft-shopping trip!

K's Shrug is Done!

Okay, it isn't my own design. But it worked up really fast. Less than a week from start to finish. And I successfully reduced my stash by completing this project. In fact, I ran out of the off-white yarn I was using. Luckily, I had a little hat that I'd goofed up on big time that didn't fit anyone and was able to frog to get the rest of the yarn I needed. Yippee!

The bad news is that I also ran out of the tan/mustardy yarn that I used for the ruffles. Unfortunately, I didn't have any goofed up projects I could frog to reclaim more yarn to finish it. So I ended up going to Michael's and getting another skein of the Vanna's Choice I'd originally used.

I found the pattern on the Moda Dea website here. This is the crocheted version.

K is really happy with it. She plans on wearing it at her piano recital this weekend.