Pikaboo's Crafty Stuff

Happy Dance!

2011-08-29T20:25:00.002-04:00

I blinked

2011-08-16T09:42:00.006-04:00

Has it really been six months already?!? With taking care of 3 kidlets, moving in temporarily with the in-laws, house hunting and getting ready for kindergarten I've been a wee bit busy. Most of my crafty supplies are packed away in storage but I kept out all the cross stitch stuff and the crochet hooks. I've managed to stay sane by doing as much stitching as I can when I can which is, of course, no where near as much as I'd like!!

This is the Oak Haven SAL, not sure if I showed this one here before.

I'm a bit behind, I think I had the April square started the last time I worked on it.

This one is actually part of a bigger pattern but I just wanted to do the tiny sampler. The pattern is an old one found at a rummage sale and looks like it might have been taken out of a book or magazine.
Better late than never! I finally found a pattern I liked for my son's birth sampler. Peapod Baby Sampler by Bent Creek. As usual I used my own colors instead of the recommended threads.

My current WIP - Rules For Life by Kincavel Krosses. I only have a little bit more to go on this one. I've really enjoyed stitching all the different fonts and the sparkly fabric is perfect for this design.

No post is complete without one of my 3 greatest creations! Emily at 5 months old.

Love!

2011-02-22T11:27:00.001-05:00

Emily Elizabeth

Born on Feb 18th and perfect in every way!

Welcome to the world baby girl, we're so happy you're finally here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T19:32:00.002-05:00

I hope everybody had a wonderful day and hello to my new followers! I'm so glad to know somebody is actually reading!!

I just wanted to pop in to show off my Valentine's gift to the hubby. This cute little freebie is from Plum Street Samplers and I chose it because we're about to have our third child and hubby is such a great daddy.

This is me trying to be fancy with the camera skillz. I really need to remember to turn the date stamp off once in a while.

I spent half the day, with many kid interruptions, trying to get this finished before DH got home from work. I did it with two minutes to spare! For once I figured out the finishing myself without a tutorial and am very very happy with how it turned out. I originally planned to use ric rac on the border but didn't have any, luckily I found some leftover piping which worked out great.

And, in case you were wondering, he loved it!

Hoo are you? plus a few

2011-02-01T20:17:00.003-05:00

1. Are you married/in a relationship/single? For how long? I've been happily married for almost 6 years now
2. What do you do for a living? Do you enjoy it? I'm a stay at home mom and love every moment!....ok maybe not every moment, kids will be kids after all.
3. In what state do you live? Where were you born and raised? I live in upstate New York. I was born in this area but my dad was in the army so we moved a lot so I spent a several years of my childhood in Germany and Japan too.
4. Do you have children? If so, how many? If not, do you want them? I have 2 children with a 3rd due in two weeks!
5. Who is your favorite blogger to follow and why? I have quite a few that I really like but I guess one of my faves would have to be Plum Street Samplers. I originally started following her blog because of her stitching but she also has a beautiful family and I love the stories she shares about them.

I finished the heart/baby sampler last week. I still gotta chart baby's name and birth info (after she's born obviously) I really need figure out how to take better pics of cross stitch.

Yesterday I finally got around to sewing the car seat tent that I've been planning to make for the past 6 months. I bought the fabric way back before I knew I was having a girl so I went with one of my favorite color combos, turquoise and brown. Now baby girl with be protected from the cold and nosy strangers!

Friend Makin Monday!

2011-01-31T14:08:00.002-05:00

A Short Survey

1) What is your favorite household chore? And what is your least favorite?
Is it really possible to have a favorite one? I guess it would have to be vacuuming cause that's usually the last chore then everything's clean and done! My least favorite is picking up the same kids toys over and over and over and over...

2)What is your favorite city?
Frankfurt, Germany

3) Have you found real love yet?
Yes, through my husband and kids
4) What's one thing you eat almost everyday?
baby likes ritz crackers with pepperoni
5) What was your last thought before falling asleep last night?
I hope the kids sleep in tomorrow *they didn't*
6) What's the worst injury you had as a child?
When I was 18 months old I was jumping on the couch and fell, hitting the back of my head on the coffee table and ending up needing stitches. Probably a lot more traumatic for my mom than me. I've never had any broken bones and the only other times I needed stitches was for c-sections so I've been pretty lucky.
7) Will you/have you worked out today?
I'm 9 months pregnant, just about every movement I make is a work out!
8) Do you tweet? If so, what's your name?
I have an account but never remember to use it
9) List three things you wouldn't want to live without:
My family, my computer and crafty projects
10) Hold old were you when you had your first kiss?
17, sad but true. I was an Army brat so between the constant moving and being very shy it took a while!

Stop by All the Weigh and make some new friends!

Better early than never

2011-01-26T17:59:00.002-05:00

Since Baby Eviction Day is Valentine's Day I figured I should get the kids valentines done ahead of time just in case baby decides to show up early. Both kids are in the same preschool class so I wanted to make them each something different.

I thought these would be perfect for Paige since she's always playing with my ipod. Unfortunately the boxes of hearts I bought were too big. I was just gonna deal with it and make it work but then I happened to find this one which was made to fit the boxes I had and also looks more like my ipod! I already had the peanut butter cups for the original idea so I went ahead and added them to these. Wonder if anybody will recognize them as earbuds.

I decided to go with these for Noah (any excuse to break out the sewing machine!) Along with the cinnamon hearts I added little stretchy monkeys I found at Target.

Feels good to have something done ahead of time for once. I must have the crafty version of nesting.

....I really should get that hospital bag packed.

Linked to

Hoo are you Tuesday

2011-01-19T16:53:00.002-05:00

1. Do you use an alarm clock or some device to wake you up, or do you wake up on your own? My kids are my alarm clock. Does anybody have instructions on how to reset them?!?
2. If you could go on any game show, which won would you choose? I don’t usually watch game shows although the hubby likes the new money drop one so I’d probably do that one with him.
3. Do you prefer the weather to be hot or cold? I def prefer warmer weather
4.What color of clothing do you wear the most? seems like most my maternity clothes are gray
5. What is your favorite color? purple!

Check it out at Night Owl Crafting!

Still stitching

2011-01-17T13:37:00.001-05:00

I haven’t had the ambition to break out the sewing machine so I started a new cross stitch instead. These hearts are from a SAL here and are meant to be turned into a 15 sided biscornu. I decided to make a sampler type thingy instead putting them on a 4x4 grid. Since there’s only 15 heart squares I’ll have to come up with something for the 16th. Possibly a baby sampler?

I did do a bit of crochet too, finishing up a mini baby blanket (lovie?) to match the baby blanket. It was actually meant to a part of the baby hexagon sweater but I didn’t notice til I was done with it that I messed up and made a pentagon instead of a hexagon.

I haven’t finished the sweater yet and not sure if I will but here’s a pic anyway. I didn’t think to make the stripes match the blanket until too late so I don’t think it came out as cute as I hoped. It’s also way too big for a newborn so I have plenty of time to finish it if I change my mind.

Yummy stitchyness

2011-01-13T17:30:00.001-05:00

I decided to take a little break from baby stuff *ran out of yarn* and pulled out an old UFO.

I ordered Charleston Lady from The Stitchery sometime in ‘09, started it and then forgot about it. As you can see from the pic (lower left) I didn’t get very far. This pattern is a lot more detailed and bigger than I usually do but I really fell in love with it when I saw it in the Stitchery catalog.

It’s been calling my name so I decided to make it one of my 2011 crafty goals to get it finished by the end of the year. I think I got a pretty good jump start on it over the weekend! Isn’t she pretty?!

I really needed a break from those skin tones so I decided to start my Oak Haven SAL. It’s a year long SAL and my first time joining one so I hope I can stick to it. I finished the January square today and can’t wait for next months! The owl and snow were supposed to be white but I really didn’t want to kill my eyes stitching white on white so I changed them. *Hope that’s ok!*

Now I really should get back to the baby stuff. Only one month to go before her arrival!!!

Happy New Year's Eve!

2010-12-31T10:38:00.002-05:00

I am looking forward to the new year, especially my new baby due to arrive on Valentine's Day!

So here is my last finished project for 2010 but definitely not the last baby project planned.
A blanket for baby Emily! I love how this turned out and the fact that it took my only 3 days to make. Needs to be washed and blocked still and the colors are much brighter than this pic shows.

Tried to get a close up of the crab stitch border

Linked to
Sugar Bananas!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-29T10:58:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, I was working hard on Christmas presents and didn't want to spoil any surprises! I decided to try the home made route for gifts this year and it seems to have been a hit.

I made these zippered pouches for all the moms, aunts and grandmas in the family using this tutorial. I had to learn how to sew on zippers but it was pretty easy once I figured out what I was doing. It was fun trying to match different fabric patterns while making sure to use favorite colors.
A couple of the insides

Yup, my sis-in-law's fave color is orange, the brighter the better!
Gift card cozys for a couple of the nieces

For the Papas and Grandpas I made these stamped key chains. They look much much better than the pic shows. The top washer has the recipients name and 2010, the bottom washer has "Love Paige & Noah".
Side note: You need a really hard surface to stamp these. The only surface hard enough here was the basement floor. NOT easy when you're 7 months pregnant!

Made this zippered pouch for the hubby's cousin. We both love Gir from Invader Zim so I made him my first embroidery project and sewed him on this pouch. I had to make my own pattern for this pouch since the pleats in the other pattern weren't gonna mix well with the embroidery. It's a very simple pattern but I'm proud cause I was able to figure it out myself even adding a zipper and pocket!
I wanted to keep it for myself so I must have done something right!
This is a baby quilt made for me by hubby's cousin. I love it and wish it was big enough for me! She used purple minky (my fave) and I love that she used black/rainbow fabrics instead of the usual baby pastels.
I also got some very cute hand made baby things from hubby's grandma that I still need to take pics of.

Baby girl is due to arrive on Valentine's Day so be prepared for much baby crafty things coming soon!

Now all we need is snow

2010-11-29T09:24:00.003-05:00

The kids had a blast decorating the tree yesterday. I bought a lot of new decorations on clearance after Christmas last year so getting to finally play with all the new stuff was like..well, Christmas!

Noah preferred to keep all his ornaments close together.

After a wee bit of help from mommy.

Lights!!

Linked to

Go check out all the other beautiful Christmas trees!

2010-11-19T12:38:00.003-05:00

This cute little design is from Daffycat! It was a pretty quick stitch, which I love, and I enjoyed thinking of ways to finish it. Thanks Daffycat!

My second flat fold!

2010-11-18T18:29:00.003-05:00

I learned a lot from the first flat fold I attempted and this one came out a ton better! Definitely more fun once you know what you're doing.
Now who's next? O.0

Happy Birthday Noah!!

2010-11-11T13:06:00.002-05:00

My little bug turned 3 today!! He's grown so fast and it's hard to believe in a few months he'll be the middle child. Don't worry bud, you'll always be my (not so little) baby boy.

Grandma brought over some gifts this morning since she won't be able to make it to party later.

The new toys kept the kids distracted while I made a school bus cake! Obviously cake decor is not one of my strengths.

Yesterday I found this while searching for ideas for school bus decorations so I made one to hang on the front door.
Now I better get my butt moving and get the rest of his presents wrapped!

Romy's patterns

2010-11-07T16:55:00.004-05:00

I discovered Romy's Cross Stitch Patterns blog a couple months ago and went a bit crazy stitching up some of her patterns with plans to do more! If stitching is your thing go check her out! She has a ton of cute patterns (for free!) and now has a book of new designs for sale.

Here's what I've stitched so far. Unfortunately I didn't get these first two finished off in time for Halloween.

My first flat-fold!

Not sure if I'll make this one a flat-fold or an ornament

That last update was pretty appropriate

2010-08-21T18:29:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's been over a year since my last update! Although not completely due to procrastination. I had a bad case of tendonitis for a couple months and wasn't able to do any kind of stitching. Then it took a while for my crafty mojo to come back. So here's some of the things I've made since the beginning of the year. Enjoy!

This is what 357 granny squares looks like and they only took me a month to make! I seriously expected this afghan to take six months at least but I was determined to at least finish it, unlike many other projects. That determination really helped speed me along, no procrastination here!
All put together with a border!

Jasmin guarding the goods

I thought I'd never want to make another afghan like that again, then I surprised myself by making 237 hexagons for another one for my daughter. I have yet to put them together.

A Sue Hillis design. The hubby says I'm not allowed to use this excuse :P

A shawl crocheted for myself!

My current project, a checkerboard baby blanket. I now have five and a half rows of blocks done. This may or may not be for my baby...yes, I'm expecting baby #3 in Feb. 2011!

So true

2009-06-13T21:39:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Cross Stitch Happy for offering these free charts! I enjoyed stitching with beads for the first time and made one other small change. Can't wait to start the next one!

P.S. I have no idea why my text is underlined

My little stitcher in training

2009-05-17T19:42:00.002-04:00

Paige wanted to help me with my cross stitch the other day so I gave her some fabric and floss to make her own. Surprisingly it kept her interest for quite a long time and she didn't need hardly any help. Welcome to the crafty side baby girl.

Still here

2009-05-12T08:34:00.004-04:00

I've been seriously procrastinating with updating here but I have plenty of pics to make up for it!
I finished this blanket just in time for the baby shower. Baby Adrain (no, that's not a typo) will be here any day now! I want to make another in pink.

Noah's Beep Beep blanket. Lightning McQueen approves!

Noah approves too.
I made cards and magnets for my mom and the MIL for Mother's Day.

Willow Tree Sampler. This one only took me 4 days to stitch, that's like a world record for me! I'm thinking about stitching it again with different colors.
Stitched on 28ct Buttermilk Linen. The fabric is a light yellow which doesn't show up at all in the picture.
A freebie from here. This one only took a couple days longer than the Willow Tree. I'm on a roll!! The wings are sparkly but can't really see it in the picture as usual.
Stitched on a linen napkin. Yup, I bought a set of 4 linen napkins at a garage sale for $1 with no intention of using them as napkins. Reuse & Recycle!
This will be a Christmas present for the FIL. It looks like a giraffe at the moment but, trust me, it's a fish.

And just because I can. Here's my two little bugs that keep me busy in between stitches.

Back from the framers!

2009-03-21T19:19:00.003-04:00

My first piece to professionally framed! Click to embiggen.
Hanging in the living room. Please ignore the off centeredness of the frames and wall in need of paint.

You can never have too much stash

2009-03-17T09:45:00.010-04:00

I was able to go on a little shopping spree last month, as if I needed more! I really need to figure out a way to organize this stuff.

First is Growth Rings from Just Cross Stitch magazine. Brown and turquoise threads to match my living room on white 32ct lugana. I started this last week but between the kids and my own attention span I haven't been able to concentrate on it much.

Goodies from 123stitch.com. My favorite stitchy site. These were in my mailbox only two days after ordering!
Hand-dyed fabrics from Enchantedfabrics.com. Full of lovely sparkles!! 28ct Opalescent Lugana in Prairie Skies and Bubblegum.
Charleston Lady from TheStitchery.com. I've been wanting this one for a long time. I'm thinking about switching out the aida for the Bubblegum Lugana.
Even with all this lovely new stash I've been knitting more than stitching lately. I was tired of the boring plastic stitch markers so last night I made some new ones.

Then I made a charm for the dog.
Time to get back to stitching...now where do I start?!?

I'm on a roll

2009-02-25T08:08:00.002-05:00

Bent Creek's Wedding Row
32ct 2 over 2
This was so quick and easy. I love it! Now to figure out how to frame it.

Close up
Not sure what I'll be starting next. I went on a bit of a shopping spree online last week so I'll have lots of new stash to choose from pretty soon.

I can knit!

2009-02-19T18:54:00.002-05:00

I never thought I'd say this but I've been knitting up a storm lately. Beep beep is what started it all. I just had to give it a try for my little man. He's getting quite the collection of Hot Wheels and needs somewhere to drive them. This has been going suprisingly fast and I'm about half done. Would probably be closer to done by now if I'd quit starting other projects. This thing is gonna need some serious blocking.

Then I decided I must make these socks. Well, they're more like leg warmers since they're toeless and heeless but that's besides the point. So far so good. I pray I have the ambition to make the second one and that it turns out the same size as the first. That's not asking too much is it?

Last, for now, is a diagonal baby blanket for a cousin due in May. I like the stripyness of this yarn.
I haven't completely abandoned my other crafty stuff. I started Bent Creek's Wedding Row a couple weeks ago. I switched to brighter colors and would probably be finished with it already if not for that darn knitting up there getting in the way.

Happy Dance time!

2009-01-24T15:52:00.005-05:00

I finished Noah's stocking last night!! I just need to get a star button for the top tree and then actually make it a stocking but I have the rest of the year to figure that out.

Now what? I think I'll start this for my sister next. We used to play Pooh sticks all the time and this reminds me of that. But there's also a couple things I'd like to crochet and I'm going to attempt this but don't have the needles yet.

I think I need to do some serious stash organizing soon.

I'm still here!

2009-01-15T18:26:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everybody! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. I took a little break from cross stitch to crochet a bunch of hats and scarves for gifts. I also managed to finally finish DH's quilt and framed MIL and SIL's gifts myself.

Noah checking out daddy's quilt. I finished it while DH was at work and surprised him with it on Christmas.

I'm really happy with how this turned out for my first quilt. But next time I'll pick the fabrics myself.
SIL's Christmas gift. I was hoping to find a better frame but had to settle for a plain one.
I love this frame and knew it would be perfect as soon as I saw it.
Close up of frame
My first finish of 2009!
I finally got back to work on Noah's stocking and , thanks to the Facebook SAL group, I FINALLY finished the never ending red of Santa's shirt!!! Santa also now has eyes, train tracks over his head and the beginnings of a train underneath him.

Procrastination can still be productive

2008-09-20T14:33:00.003-04:00

I've been very much distracted by paperbackswap.com lately. Between that and avoiding all that red on the Santa stocking I've managed to finish another Christmas present. Here is It's 5:00 somewhere before the backstitching
And all finished. Now I just need to find a nice frame.

Here's my next project of Santa avoidance. A freebie from Artecy cross stitch. Kinda obvious what this one is!

I've also joined Me, Myself and I Round Robins and am having fun planning my village. I'll have some pics once I get it planned out more.

Happy (day before) Grandparent's Day!

2008-09-06T13:03:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Still stitching

2008-09-05T09:32:00.003-04:00

I forgot to post a picture of the Irish Blessing so here it is. I haven't heard from the recipient yet so I hope she is happy with it. I went cross eyed several times stitching that knot 1 over 1 on 25ct.My latest project is Bent Creek's Santa Train stocking for my son. I've really enjoyed the simplicity of this one, not to mention the huge stitches. 4 over 2 on 18ct! I wonder if I'll have it done and put together in time for Christmas.
This is my progress as of last night. It's gonna take forever to fill in all that red! I still need to go back up and stitch the railroad track above Santa's head. I didn't have the right color so had to skip over it. I'll take a better pic of the whole thing when I take it off the Q snaps to move it.
I'll be taking a break from all that red today to start Post Stitches It's 5:00 Somewhere. This will be a Christmas present for my sis-in-law. So many shades of pink!!

TGIF

2008-08-22T08:46:00.003-04:00

Been continuing the stitching spree. I found this one on spritestitch.com and plan to do more from that site. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish this one off. While stitching the outline of the castle DH walked by and said "Hey, you should make that Mario's castle!"
Me: O_o ....it is

Wine a bit by Post Stitches. I started this on Sunday night and finished it Tuesday night. A new world record for me! I really thought this would take longer and didn't have anything ready to start next. This will be a Christmas present for my mother-in-law and I'll be attempting to frame it myself.
I was going to start a stocking next but I don't really like the linen I was given for it. I have fabric for some pattens but no floss and floss for some but no fabric. Guess it's time to dig out a UFO!

Finishes feel good

2008-08-05T09:57:00.002-04:00

This one is a freebie from here. I made it for DH to put on his desk at work. He loves his coffee. Stitched on blue 14ct aida

Before finishing

After

Another freebie but I have no clue where I found it, it's been saved on my computer for over a year. This one is for myself which doesn't happen too often! Stitched on the same blue aida.

And my current wip. I was asked to stitch this Irish blessing by someone who's mother recently passed away. Stitched on 25ct antique white lugana. I was planning on using 28ct but apparently I had a total brain fart while buying the fabric and didn't realize it until the next day. The lettering is 2 over 2. Underneath will be a celtic knot (freebie from Ink Circles) stitched 1 over 1.

Finally finished!

2008-07-25T09:06:00.002-04:00

After taking about five times longer than it should have, the wedding square is finally finished!! Now it needs to be sent across the country to California. You bet your butt I'll be putting delivery confirmation on this one! Hopefully I'll get to see it after it gets made into a quilt with all the other squares.

Stitching the night away

2008-07-01T10:47:00.001-04:00

The wedding square is slowly getting done. Just a couple more blue swirls to go then the rest of the border and lettering. I've really enjoyed working on this and will be sad to see it go. I hope I get to see a picture of the whole quilt put together eventually.

I crocheted a nintendo ds cozy for a swap partner. After searching all over for a pattern I finally made up my own. It's pretty quick and easy so I'm sure I'll make more! I've been trying to think of a way to add a pocket for games too.

Chunky pages coming soon!

Finally!

2008-06-14T19:31:00.001-04:00

I finally managed to get a bit of crafting done. My little kidlets aren't making it easy lately. I'm sure it's not going to get any easier since Noah figured out how to crawl yesterday!

Oh, before I forget for the millionth time. Thank you Val(yarnigras) for the apron and bookmark!!!! I love them and will try to get pics soon of the apron in action. P.S. I've been behind on my blog reading lately so I'll probably be sending a bunch of comments your way when I play catch up.

I signed up for a Recipe chunky book swap and here is what I came up with. I made the pages pretty big, 6 inch square, so I could fit the recipes on easily. I couldn't find as many cooking embellishments as I would have liked. Well, today I saw a whole bunch that would have been perfect, never fails.

I've also been stitching along on the wedding square (after the kids go to bed). It needs to be in the mail by the end of July so hopefully I can keep up the pace. The light blue is half stitches which helps a ton. I can't wait to see how it looks without the waste canvas!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T07:15:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommy's out there.

Here's is what my kids made me with just a little help from daddy. I think I will attach some ribbon to them and hang them on the wall.

So much stuff, so little time

2008-05-09T15:55:00.002-04:00

I keep buying more and more stuff and then I feel guilty because I never seem to get anything done. I need to get more organized...and a babysitter would be nice. Paige is heading into the terrible twos and getting a lot of practice in with the tantrums (even as I type this she's throwing a huge fit because I had the nerve to try to change her clothes!) Noah is pretty happy most the time but sometimes he wants to be held all day which makes it difficult to do anything, even with the sling.

Anyways, a friend has twisted my arm...I mean convinced me to start an Etsy shop. We'll see how long that takes for that to happen. I already set up the account, now I just need to make something to sell....someday.

To show that I am actually doing something. Here is a cross stitch I started last week. It's for the husband's cousin who is getting married this fall. The cousin's fiance's family has mailed everybody a 12 inch square of fabric to decorate. The squares will be made into a quilt that will hang over the couple when they say their vows. I decided to use the pattern from this kit and changed the colors to the wedding colors. This is my first time using waste canvas so I hope it works out. Stitching on a white grid over white fabric with light gray floss is not easy!!!

Here is the beginnings of a pair of wool shorts I'm making for a friend on LJ. She has recently entered the world of cloth diapering and having entirely way too much fun with it!

And just because I love to torture myself I started a Crochet-along in a crochet group on Swap-bot. The theme is Circle in a Square and each week I post a new square. My goal is to make four of each square. Right now we're on the second square. The four on the right are from the first week. They're all the same size, the camera was at an angle. The other square is from this weeks pattern. It came out a little bigger than the others so I need to adjust the last round a bit.

This will be a blanket for Paige. I really wanted to try satin binding on this one but it cost a bit more than I thought so I just got the usual kind. I thought the bunny looked like she was ready to go to bed so I picked out the blue star fabric for the back.

Gotta love sales!! More future blankets, possibly for the Etsy shop. These have binding too, I forgot to add them in the pic.

And finally, the husband has a blanket/tapestry of dogs playing poker so when I saw this kit in the sale bin I had to get it.

You can never have too many blankets

2008-04-21T11:59:00.001-04:00

I saw this fishing flannel at Joann Fabrics and just had to have it for blanket for Noah. I thought the iron on would be perfect since my dad can't wait for Noah to be his fishing buddy. I later went back and bought some binding for it. It's the first time I've put binding on a blanket and I'm glad I did, it looks so much better that way! The fabric on the right was picked out by my husband. He wants me to make him a blanket for the couch. I was going to make it like Noah's blanket but then I decided to be adventurous and cut it all up into 6 1/2 inch squares to make it quilt-like. I've been slowly getting all those squares stitched back together. My machine is being very tempermental lately and doesn't seem to want me to make this blanket! But I will get it done! It'll be far from perfect but I know better to expect that and I'm sure hubby will love it anyways.

I'm not obsessed I swear!

2008-04-20T14:07:00.002-04:00

I had a 50% off coupon so how could I possibly resist?!?

I haven't gotten a chance to play yet. I plan on challenging the hubby tonight!

My first apron

2008-04-12T09:17:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Yarni Gras for the inspiration!! Since I don't have a lot of table space to work on I thought this apron with pockets would be perfect for holding scissors and glue and other random things. I didn't think I had any fabric to work with but then I found some in a bag of scraps that were given to me quite a while ago.

This is the first time I didn't have a pattern or a tutorial to follow so I'm sure I did something wrong but I think it turned out great! ...other than it being a bit too wide since I just guessed instead of measuring. Shhh don't tell!

I think I'll have to make a mini version.

I'm on a roll!

2008-04-08T10:10:00.002-04:00

I kept my sewing machine busy this weekend and finally made a couple things not for swaps. On Saturday I used this tutorial to make Paige a new dress. She was sleeping by the time I got it put together so while I was sewing I was praying it would fit. Amazingly (and thankfully!)it fits her just right! I wasn't too sure about the red ric rac at first. I wanted ruffles but the ric rac was the only thing I could find that was the right color. I think it turned out great! The shirt was my dad's. He gave some shirts he didn't want anymore to my husband but they were too big for him. I hoping this weekend will be warm enough for Paige to wear it to Nana and Papa's house.

I wonder if Dad will recognize his old shirt?

My model wasn't in a modeling mood.

I also bought more of that kitcheny fabric and on Sunday I whipped up some much needed new kitchen curtains!

And last night I made a bag using another tutorial on craftster but my camera battery is dead so I'll have to show that off next time. Possibly with another bag I'm thinking about making.

Happy Anniversary my love!

2008-04-01T07:48:00.001-04:00

Inspire Me Thursday....on Friday

2008-03-28T12:26:00.003-04:00

I decided to try out Inspire Me Thursday. This weeks theme is Two. Since I just got a new camera I decided to take a picture of my two.

My happy mailbox

2008-03-25T10:55:00.004-04:00

I haven't been getting much done lately. My ambition seems to have flown out the window. Not fair! But I have been getting some great stuff in the mail lately so I'll get some inspiration and get my butt in gear!

I got these wooden letters from PiNkPaPeRcRaFtEr for the Make my daughter something swap. I've been wanting to do the same thing myself and she beat me to it! I think they'll look great on the wall in her bedroom.

I received this wonderful package from Keroleen73 for our one on one swap. Lots of fun goodies including two discs packed full of cross stitch patterns!

I joined the Pity Party group on swapbot and signed up for the You've Got Mail drawing. I thought it would be great to send someone a package to cheer them up. I was very very surprised to find out that I won the drawing!! I received my first package from thatzghetto(love that name!) She sent me some great little kits, buttons and paper.

Sunshine9905 sent me these goodies for the YGM. I can't wait to find something to use those tags on!

I wonder what the mailman will bring me today. I think I'll fire up the sewing machine today!

No peeking Yarni Gras!!

2008-03-17T09:05:00.003-04:00

This is most the crafty stuff I bought over the weekend. Don't know why I took a picture of it. I was in a picture taking mood I guess.Make my daughter something swap. Mom2Abby said her daughter likes pink polka dots and I read on her profile that she likes Abby Cadabby. Since her daughter is only 5 months old I decided to make her a blanket. It's a little bigger than crib size so she'll still be able to use it when she moves up to a big girl bed! The flower fabric was the closest I could find to pink polka dots, I hope she doesn't mind! For some reason the only polka dots I could find where all blue, green or purple.

These fabrics are for a one on one swap with Yarni Gras. I hope she doesn't see them here before she gets them in the mail! She sent me a great bunch of cross stitch patterns and extra goodies. I really love the kitchen fabric and plan on going back to buy some for myself!!
I bought this fabric for myself. Now what should I do with it?!? I think this is the beginnings of beautiful fabric stash!
Where woman create swap. I had just decided to buy a new cabinet to hold all my crafty stuff so I decided to take before and after pictures for this swap. As you can see, everything was a mess before and looks a lot better now! I wonder how long it'll stay organized.
I embroidered this bookmark to include in the swap. I really wish I'd had time to make something more. Because of getting behind on my swaps I wasn't able to do as much on this one as I would have liked.
This is for a one on one with Keroleen73. I was originally supposed to send her a special edition cross stitch magazine but we found out later that that magazine wasn't being made anymore. So I sent her a bunch of profile goodies. Again, I wish I could have sent her so much more!

Will I ever get anything done for myself? Oh well, I'm having fun swapping!

Swaps swaps everywhere!!

2008-03-10T11:03:00.003-04:00

I had a pretty busy weekend working on my late swaps and also trying to make sure I get others done before they're late too! I need to quit signing up for swaps that all end around the same time. Anyways, I got a couple swaps sent out on Saturday, a couple more to send out today and a couple more to send out sometime this week!!

These are for the Easter Circle Book swap. I had to make a page for nine partners. I did make an extra one for myself but it's not finished cause I ran out of bunnies. I've never made a circle page before so I hope my partners like them! I keep thinking I should have done something more with them but I had a pretty hard time coming with these to begin with. I bought several different Easter themed embelishments and papers but nothing seemed to go together very well.

The ribbon has bunnies on it and says Happy Easter
Back
I'll probably try these again sometime. I like that I only had to design one page instead of a whole book. I already got five pages from my other partners and can't wait to get the rest. I think the book will look great when it's all put together.

These are for several different ATC swaps. Again, not completely happy with some of these. I just never seem to have the right supplies. Or maybe I'm just being too hard on myself?

Healthy at last....maybe

2008-03-04T11:44:00.002-05:00

Believe it or not, I got strep for the third time in a row! Hopefully it's gone for good now. It's been very frustrating, especially since it has caused me to be late on several swaps. I just sent messages to all my partners and am hoping they'll all be understanding. Three of the late swaps are for ATCs so I should be able to get those done pretty quickly.

No pictures today :o( Hopefully I'll have a lot more crafty stuff to show off sooon!!!

Time flies when your...sick

2008-02-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize it's been a whole month since I last updated. Having strep throat twice in a row really doesn't help with getting the crafty stuff done! Not very fun either.
I'm signed up for several ATC and cross-stitch swaps over at swap-bot but I'm having some trouble finding some inspiration. Hopefully I can come up with something soon before I end up having to just throw stuff together at the last minute.

I decided to make some bottlecap magnets a couple days ago and here is what I came up with. The first two are my kids names and the last one may or may not be an extra for a swap. I haven't decided if I want send it yet.

Quick update

2008-01-12T09:41:00.000-05:00

I finally got a chance to do some stitching while both kids were napping at the same time the other day (how often will that happen?!?) I didn't realize that I haven't updated on Star Light since I started it in October. As usual, colors are a bit brighter in real life and don't forget to click for a bigger, better pic.

See, I haven't abandoned everything for the sewing machine!

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-03T13:38:00.000-05:00

My first finished project of the year. I've been wanting a baby sling since my daughter was a baby but never seemed to have the money spend on one so I was very excited when I happened to find this pattern.

I think Noah approves! Paige will also fit in it and now DH wants me to make one for him so we can each carry a kid when we're out.

My Christmas Goodies!

2007-12-29T10:38:00.000-05:00

My precioussssssss. I've never used a sewing machine before so it's been fun(frustrating!) trying to figure it all out. I think it needs a name. Any suggestions?
MIL gave me all this fabric "to practice with" plus two others not pictured. It's all flannel except for the pony and snoopy ones. Guess I'll be making a lot of PJ's and blankies!
My very first sewing project and (amazingly!) it fits!
Also from the MIL, plus a Christmas scrapbook which is buried somewhere in the mountain of Christmas toys in the kids room.
DH's grandma gave me all this yarny goodness!!! What should I make?!?
And since I'm really crazy I decided to (attempt to) make a quilt for Noah because Paige has about 5 or 6 handmade blankets but no one has made one for Noah. I have no clue what I'm doing, wish me luck!

Other peoples craftiness

2007-12-11T13:04:00.000-05:00

Not much craftiness going on around here lately but hopefully that'll change soon! It's taking a while to get used to juggling two kidlets but I'm hoping after the holidays things will finally settle down to some sort of normalness. Actually, I have been doing a little bit of crochet lately so hopefully I'll have something to show off soon. It's a bit slow going though because I have to wait til Paige is sleeping to work on it. She's worse than the cat when it comes to yarn!!

Speaking of the holidays. I'm loving all the Christmas cards I've been getting from swapbotters, only half of them have been for swaps too! Oh, and I wanted to show off this card my hubby's aunt made. She makes some beautiful cards, I'll have to dig up some other ones we've gotten from her. I wish I had some of that creativity!

I think I mentioned in another post that I was crocheting beaded trim on socks for a one on one swap. Well, here is what I got in return. Knitting Cateling knit this lovely sweater for my son. She did a great job! I love the colors and stripes. I'll get some better pics of the sweater itself when I take it off him later.

My "little" guy

2007-11-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Noah Robert

Nov. 11 '07
10lbs 11ozs
(no that's not a typo, even the dr's were surprised!!)

A hat!

2007-10-30T13:36:00.000-04:00

I whipped this hat up yesterday just for something different to do. The pattern said it was for newborn to 12 months (which is a pretty big range in my opinion) so imagine my surprise when it fit my nearly 18 month old perfectly! And no, she's not a tiny little thing either. My gauge was probably off...a bit, no big surprise there. I've been wanting to make her a hat anyways so isn't that convenient?! I think I'll make her a stripey one next.

I think she likes it!

Btw, the pattern is the Festive baby set from the Nov/Dec issue of Crochet Today

SBQ

2007-10-26T13:54:00.000-04:00

This week's SBQ is:
Do you railroad?

Nope, I had to look it up to see what it was! I may try it out sometime just to see how it looks but I doubt I'll make a habit of it. It takes me long enough to finish things as it is!!

I've been tagged!!

2007-10-26T11:46:00.000-04:00

Thanks Littlewanda for tagging me!

This tag is in honour of the clocks going back one hour in the UK this Saturday. Answer the following questions and tag six people.

Well, I don't live in the UK and our clocks don't get changed until a week later but who am I to argue with getting tagged?!? ;o)

1. If you could have the last hour prior to reading this tag again, what would you do differently? I would probably have spent more time playing with my daughter and less time on the computer before putting her down for her nap.

2. You can go back in time for exactly one hour, where and at what time in history would you go? Just one hour?!? I'd love to relive some time in my childhood, probably when we lived in Germany, just not sure exactly when.

3. You have one hour to make a handmade item, what would you make? Again, only one hour?!? I don't think it's possible for me to do anything in just an hour, I'm too easily distracted. Maybe if I were in a nice quiet room all by myself I could put together a little ornament kit.

4. If you could lose one bad habit, what would it be? my procrastination! I could get so much more stuff done if I didn't procrastinate so much.

5. In less than sixty words, describe your perfect Saturday night. Me and hubby at home having a delicious dinner then playing on the floor with our daughter and watching a good movie.

6. List sixty things you could do with that extra hour. I really don't know what I'd do with an extra hour. I wish I was more productive with the hours I have already!

2007-10-24T11:15:00.000-04:00

Not much going on here since I've been trying to avoid signing up for swaps for now. Key word - trying! I couldn't help myself and signed up for some of the Christmas card swaps. I figured those would be easy enough since I'll be mailing out cards to family and friends anyways. I love getting Christmas cards in the mail and hanging them all over the wall. Not to mention my mailbox has been seriously lonely lately!!

Speaking of Christmas cards, I took a quick break from stitching star light to do this cross for a friend's card. I was planning on making it into a card but now I think maybe I'll make it into an ornament instead.

And now I need to take a break from stitching to finish up some crochet for a one on one swap. I really want to get that finished up soon. I'd feel bad if it got delayed because of the baby coming. Only 3ish weeks to go!!

New starts and firsts

2007-10-15T12:30:00.000-04:00

I've cut waaaay back with swap-bot due to the new baby coming sometime in the next month or so. I know most people are understanding there but some aren't and I don't want to be called a bad swapper or get stuck with a bad rating because of having to deal with a new baby, a toddler and the holidays. Shame on life for getting in the way of swapping!!! ;o)

Anyways, with no matchboxes or biscornus to make for anybody I've been able to get some things started for myself. Yes, you read that right, I'm finally making something for myself!!
I got this pattern and fabric from a local shop called A Stitcher's Garden. They have classes and stitch-ins and the ladies there are always very helpful, unfortunately they don't sell online.
I decided to go with this pretty hand-dyed purple fabric instead of the blue suggested by the pattern so I hope it'll look ok. The only thing I know about the fabric is it's 28ct and the color is called Beach Plum. After much indecision I finally decided to do this one 2 over 2 and my eyes are very greatful for that. I've never stitched on anything other than white/off-white and let me tell you, stitching purple on purple is very rough on the eyes!!
Started on Oct. 13th
P.S. I need to invest in a set of bigger QSnaps!

I plan on making 3 of these ornaments. One for me and DH and one for each of the kiddies. I decided to try out 1 over 1 on 28ct evenweave. I like how it looks, but again, a bit rough on the eyes. I need to win the lotto so I can buy one of those OTT-Lites!! Another first for me will be doing the finishing on these. Anybody know of any good tutorials?

I want to make a wips progress list thingy on the side of my blog. I'll have to play around and see what I can do....and hopefully not screw anything up.

Purple biscornu

2007-10-01T17:34:00.000-04:00

For another swap. Maybe someday I'll make one for myself!

My first ATCs!

2007-10-01T10:25:00.000-04:00

These are my first ATC's. Well, the first ones I think are decent enough to be sent out into the world. I'm pretty happy with how the turned out and even made some extras. I used Snow Accent to get the bumpiness and wooden buttons for the starfish.
My first late swap :o(. My list for the I love Lists #7 swap is getting sent out a day late cause I had a brain fart and didn't realize the send by date was a Sunday...and cause I procrastinated too long with putting it together. I had some serious crafter's block with this one. All that was requiered was a list but I really felt like I needed to add something. I had fun putting stuff together once I finally got some ideas, wish I had time to do a couple more.

My hero!

2007-09-29T12:02:00.000-04:00

As usual I waited til the last minute to package up a swap. It was due today and since I don't drive I planned on having the hubby take it to the post office. What I didn't plan on was him waking up with a migraine this morning!!! So while he was trying to sleep it off I was quietly freaking out about having to send a swap late. The stupid part is the stuff has been sitting around finished for at least a week now(see that little pink biscornu down there?), for some reason I always procrastinate when it comes to packaging stuff up.

Anyways, I sent my partner an email telling her I'm soooo sorry for her stuff being sent late and then the hubby woke up, said he felt better and asked where that stuff was I needed mailed. He made it to the post office with time to spare and even brought me back a milkshake from McD's. My hero!!!

Then I emailed my partner again and told her to ignore my first email. She probably thinks I'm crazy now. Maybe now I'll learn to not procrastinate so much.

....probably not.

PS. I think the milkshake gave little baby boy the hiccups.

Family is dear finished

2007-09-23T13:34:00.000-04:00

Just finished this today. A Christmas present for my brother and sister-in-law who live too far away. I really enjoyed stitching this one and can't wait to get some more Bent Creek designs.

This was stitched 2 over 2 on 28ct evenweave. My first time using non-aida fabric. I really liked it and will probably have a hard time forcing myself to go back to working on the other wips on aida. I also bought my first set of q-snaps to try out with this project and I lurve them very much!!

Sad little cupcake

2007-09-22T08:49:00.000-04:00

This was meant for a swap but I seriously screwed up on the sewing and would be embarrassed to send it. Not sure what I'll do with him now.

Hey!

At least somebody thinks he looks tasty!

Small pink biscornu

2007-09-17T16:05:00.000-04:00

For yet another swap.

On 18count aida. Before stitching and stuffing.

After

A bit smaller than I was planning but I think it's cuter that way.

2007-09-12T17:13:00.001-04:00

And now for something a little different.

2007-09-12T16:59:00.000-04:00

Check out my Flickr page for pics of all the crafty stuff I've been doing for Swap-bot. Somewhere in there is also a bunch of pics of the custom ponies I used to make, I really wish I had the room to make them again! I've also been doing a bit of crochet and cross stitch. It's hard to find the time for it all. Hopefully very soon I'll have something good to show off.

2007-08-24T14:33:00.000-04:00

I made these postcards for another swapbot swap. They didn't have to be homemade but they had to have a favorite quote on them. I decided to be adventurous and make them myself so I hope my partners like them!! My camera didn't pick up the colors very well on the first two, they're actually much brighter. The third one is on it's way to Belgium which for some reason is very exciting!

I also received my first postcard in the mail today. It's very cute, I'll have to scan it later. I love getting mail, I can't wait to see what comes next!! It's been a lot of fun buying and making things for others. The person I sent the stitch markers and goodies too loved it all which makes me so happy! Which also makes DH happy. He's glad that I've found something to keep me occupied during the day and likes seeing all the different crafty stuff I'm trying out. We'll see how he feels about going to the post office to mail things for me every other day!!

2007-08-19T18:38:00.000-04:00

Overdue Update time as usual.

I've barely touched any cross stitch in about 2 weeks. Not sure why, just can't seem to get motivated to work on the wips or even to start anything new. Earlier this week I got some loverly stash from 123stitch and today I got the supplies to start one of the charts. Several of them are for Christmas gifts so I really need to get in gear!! I'm going to attempt stitching on 28ct evenweave for the first time. Wish me luck!

I also started a small crochet project to work on while in the car. I haven't crocheted in at least 6 months, it was nice to finally do it again. I tried to do cross stitch in the car but it's hard to count squares when the road isn't very smooth. Also with crochet it's just one continuous piece of string, no separating strands of floss and rethreading the needle.

Ok, one reason I haven't been stitching is because last week I discovered swap-bot.com. I've really been enjoying seeing all the different crafty things people there like to do and trying some things out for myself. I finally have a use for all the random bits of craft stuff I have laying around!

I made these stitch markers for one of the first swaps I signed up for. I'm really happy with how they turned out. I have a lot of beads, I see a lot of stitch markers in my future.

I also decorated this matchbox to put the stitch markers in. The receivers favorite colors are purple, pink, gray and brown so I tried to use them all.

I have several more matchboxes in various stages of decoration. Who knew decorating matchboxes would be so much fun? Now if only I could find a use for all those matches!

2007-08-02T14:26:00.000-04:00

I haven't done enough stitching on any of the wips to bother taking new pics but I did manage to make my first biscornu. It was pretty quick and easy and I already have the supplies set out for at least two more! I got the patterns from here.

I don't really like this one as much as I thought I would so it'll probably end up being a gift. Seems like most the stuff I make is for gifts anyways! This one was done on 14count but I'm going to try some 18count for the next two. I also see myself establishing a button jar.

2007-07-26T09:27:00.000-04:00

WIPs and Finishes...kinda.

So you know that thing I said about not doing more than two patterns at a time? Did anybody really think that was possible?!?

Anyways, here's the blackwork. It pretty much sat neglected since my last post but I've worked on it a little bit the last couple days. It's about one thirdish done but I have a feeling this one is going to be hanging around for quite a while.

This is a lapghan I crocheted for my mom's birthday about 2 years ago. It now lays across the back of her recliner and she uses it all the time. So imagine my extreme excitement when I happened to stumble across a cross stitch chart for the very same pattern!!!

This will be an easy one since there's only 3 colors. It'll just take me forever to get around to having the patience to do that blue border. I might attempt to make it into a cushion if I can find some good instructions on how to do that. I'm planning to give it to my mom for Christmas.

This is my dad's Christmas present. He owns nearly every John Wayne movie ever made so I thought it would be fun to stitch this black and white pattern of The Duke. This one will be a bit more of a challenge since it consists of about 12 different shades of gray...and of course black and white.

Since I had no clue what to get my husband for his birthday and not much money anyways, I stitched this up for him at the last minute. He loves it and plans on putting it on his desk at work. It's nice having someone who appreciates the handmade stuff!

This is for my daughter. It just needs a couple more little stars on the bottom and then it'll be done. I left of the bottom third of the pattern, changed the 3 middle motifs on the top and also changed to the blue on the lettering to purple. I was thinking about putting something on either side of her name to fill in the empty space a bit but I don't know what.
So that's what I've been up to lately. I don't have any plans on starting anything new yet, though I do have several more things on my want to do list. Mostly trying to find patterns for Christmas gifts for now.

I was very happy last week to find out that there's a needlework shop to too far from here. I've never been to a needlework shop. I was very surprised at the prices of a lot of the stuff there. I know stuff isn't cheap but $20-$30 for a chart by itself, not a kit, seems like a bit much to me. It was hard to find anything that I really liked and could afford but I did end up getting a Christmas chart for $5. Then I found the charms that go with chart were $19!!! I'll most likely go to my usual crafty stores and find similar charms for a lot cheaper. Next time I go there I think I'll make a list of charts I've found online that I want(and can afford) and see if they have them. That way I'll at least save myself the cost of shipping...assuming that their prices are about the same is online prices.

Wishful thinking? O_o

2007-07-05T14:43:00.001-04:00

Update on the cross stitching. I've been moving right along on the birth record so hopefully this is something that'll keep me interested for quite a while. I was starting to get bored with it at one point but then I realized that was because I didn't really like the bottom half of the pattern. So I'm leaving that part off, problem solved! I'm also going to change the motifs the are supposed to go in each of the boxes on top. The rubber ducky is staying because I already had him stitched in before I decided to change everything. That's ok, I like him anyways. I'm also changing the border because it just doesn't match anymore with what's left of the pattern. ...I think that all for now.

I also couldn't resist starting another pattern. This one is a blackwork pattern I found online for free. I'm doing it in dark blue and there's little hearts that go in the big ones that I'll most likely be doing in red. I started this one because I wanted something to do that I wouldn't have to worry about constant color changes and for when I don't feel like working on the other one.

I'm trying very hard to stick to only doing two at a time so that I can actually get something finished for once. I've found a couple patterns I want to make for Christmas gifts so we'll see how that goes!

2007-06-22T08:03:00.000-04:00

I told you I was a procrastinator! Anyways, after finally finishing the Whitney-ghan I was kinda burned out on crochet. Yes, you read that right, I finally finished something!!! The centerpeice is so close to being done you'd probably slap me if you knew how close. The baby blanket is also a lot closer to being done though I don't remember how close at the moment. I haven't touched any crochet in months. I think I used up all my ambition on the Whitney-ghan and then my procrastination went into hyperdrive.

Almost done
Finally finished!!....now what do I do with it?
Reverse single crochet edge

So now my latest obsession...hobby is cross stitch. While looking for a quick and easy little cross stitch kit to try out I picked up a crewel embroidery kit instead. In a way it's easier than cross stitch because you don't have to count all those little squares, you just fill in the spaces like a paint-by-number. You probably won't believe that I finished it in less than two weeks!I've already started working on a new cross stich project. See!

2007-01-24T16:21:00.000-05:00

Here's what I've been up to lately. I've been working on this baby blanket off and on. At one point I was gonna frog it but when I unburied it I decided to keep on going with it. It's almost half way done now. Not sure if it'll be for Boo or one of her cousins. The pattern is from Crochet Today magazine.
The Between Meals Centerpiece. After about 3 months of not touching it I've finally started working on it again a couple days ago. See all those loopys towards the outside edge? There's 92 of them and they each have 15 dc in them. That's 1380 dc in that one round!!! It took an excruciatingly long time to do that round. I'm sooo glad it's over. There's only about 8 more rounds to go!!
Thanks to the Bedspread Cal at Crochetville I'm finally getting somewhere with Whitney's afghan! 3 weeks ago I only about 6 squares done(after over a year of frogging and starting over and over with different patterns) Now I have 9 squares joined together and another 5 more made. I was really frustrated cause they wouldn't sit flat at all but they look so much better aftery they're joined and I'm already trying to decide how to do the border. Now the only problem is I'm almost out of yarn!! I bought this yarn over a year ago so I'm praying when I buy more that the new stuff will match the old stuff.
I finally got around to finishing the second sock! These are for my sister-in-law's birthday in Feb. She loves crazy colored socks. I hope they fit her....I hope she likes them!! I love how the stripes came out. I was planning on making a second pair but don't know if I'll get around to it. I definitely want to make some for myself...someday.

I also finished the knit scarf for DH but didn't get a pic of it yet cause it doesn't like to lay flat at all. That sweater I started is on hold and might not get done cause there's some issues with the pattern. It's very frustrating cause I spent a lot of money for nicer yarn and I really don't want it to end up buried in my stash and never used. Maybe I'll be able to find another pattern to use it with.

Other than that I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with crochet. Now if only I could find the time to do all the other crafty stuff I've been wanting to do!

2007-01-09T08:55:00.000-05:00

I haven't been able to update in a while cause there's no power in the computer room (Don't get me started on that!) Extention cords are a wonderful thing.

I'm surprised at how many pics I have to show off cause I always feel like I never get anything done! Anyways, I made this purse for myself for my birthday last month. It's a bit lopsided but it works. It's supposed to look like a sweater. It's a nice change to carry around something so small when you're used to carrying a diaper bag everywhere you go! I can't find the pattern link at the moment. I think it might have been on Crochet Me but I'm not sure. I tought DH to crochet last year and he keeps "borrowing" my hooks. Since I really don't need any help losing my hooks I made him a hook holder for Christmas and bought him his own set of hooks. He loves it! As usual, pattern link is MIA.

These were supposed to be done for Christmas last year but I didn't get them all done in time so they waited for this year. There were 5 altogether. My blocking skills are not the greatest and it's not a very good pic of them anyways. For 2 of them I got "Ooohh how nice" in that tone of voice that I'm not really sure if they really liked it or if they were just being nice. My mother-in-law absolutely loved hers and is having the father-in-law make a frame so she can hang it on the wall where it will be seen when you walk in the front door. The other 2 haven't been recieved yet.
I made this dress for my baby Boo's first Christmas. I searched all over for the perfect pattern. I finally found it but then couldn't understand the directions. Then I found a booklet by Annie's Attic called Beautiful Baby Boutique. I started out with Red Heart Supersaver and quickly figured out that it was going to be too stiff and scratchy not to mention it was working up big enough to fit her for next years Christmas. I started over with Caron Simply Soft which worked out much much better. When I got to the skirt part I didn't like how it was looking so I switched to a different pattern in the book. I had to add more rows so it wouldn't look like a mini skirt and was finally able to put the bow and buttons on it on Christmas eve. I almosst gave up several times and was very worried that it wouldn't fit but didn't want to try it on her ahead of time in case she spit up on it.

It fit!! Everybody loved it. I think any future children will either wear the same dress or get a store bought one.After New Year's I started the Bell Sleeved Tunic from the BH&G Simply Creative Corchet magazine. Other than a couple things for Boo it's the first wearable I've made. I haven't gotten very far on it yet but hope to get it done in time to wear it a couple times while it's still cold out. There's a CAL over at Crochetville for it some come join me!! Here's what I'm planning on using.
I made this scarf for my cousin's birthday. I used some simply soft in purple and light blue from my stash. Pattern is here.
And as if I didn't have enough crochet wips already, last weekend I started learning how to knit. So far it's pretty easy but then I've only done knit and purl. Don't know when I'll try more. This is going to be a scarf for DH if I have the patience for it.

2006-11-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

I've finished 3 of the family filet names for Christmas so far. Only 3 more to go. The last one went pretty quickly considering it was one of the longer names. I'm determined to get them all finished this year!!! The only problem is I realized after finishing the last one that I for some reason used a much bigger hook than I should have on the first 2 I started last year. They're very loose and floppy and I don't know if they'll look much better after blocking. I'd really like to redo them o_O

To prove I've either gone crazy...or am finally getting organized, I already have two afghans picked out to make for next Christmas. I just bought yarn for one of them yesterday and plan on starting it as soon as I can.

And just to help myself to never get anything done I've been thinking about learning to knit.

2006-11-21T07:39:00.000-05:00

Not much to talk about lately. Still trying to get Christmas presents done in time and not start anything new until after. It's not that easy but I really don't want to end up decideing it's not gonna happen (again!) and then have to go out gift shopping at the last minute with no clue what to get anybody. Time is running out!! I can't believe Thanksgiving is in just a couple days.

Anyways, since the first one I made just barely fit Boo I decided to make another BICO in the 12 month size. It is way too big but, at least this one she can grow into. I'm sure my gauge was off on both of them since I've never made anything that it mattered with before. Anyways, most the guys in my family are all hunters and my dad said once that my daughter was going to be his little hunting buddy. I was going to make her a camo bib but decided a camo BICO would be much better!! ...with purple trim, of course. I finished it just in time to go to my dad's birthday and completly forgot to get a pic of her in it. She was swimming in it but everybody loved it!

I'm also attempting to crochet Boo's Christmas dress. Lets just say it's not been easy. From the very beginning I've had problems with finding the right pattern to finding the right yarn. After 3 (4?) restarts I think I finally have it figured out. It's now going along pretty good. Hopefully it'll be done in time.

2006-10-29T09:54:00.000-05:00

Pics are clickable...I think

My first sock! I plan on getting the other one made tonight. My Sis-in-law loves crazy colored socks so guess what she's getting for Christmas. When I bought this yarn I didn't really care for the colors at all and almost got something different. As soon as I started working with it I decided I love how the colors change and was very excited to see it lining up in pretty rainbowish stripes. It's amazing how different the colors look before and after. I want to make some for myself now! They're actually pretty comfy. Hopefully her feet are about the same size as mine. Got the pattern from here.

I've started many doilies but never really finished any. On Friday I finally got my butt in gear and finished 2 and blocked one. It's my first time blocking anything and probably could have been better but Boo decided to demand my attention while I was adjusting the pins so I had to leave it like it was. It's about 6 inches across.

I wanted to make something with beads and found this pattern. I thought the pony beads looked way too big for the lustersheen so I was going to use some good old red heart instead. Except I didn't have enough pony beads so I decided to be real adventerous and use size 10 tread and sead beads. The only other change I made was to add beads to the last row on the top. I really like how it turned out. Was going to use it for a change purse but I think it's much to nice for that. Don't know what to do with it now but I may have to make some more for gifts.

I also made some leg warmers for Boo's Halloween costume but I gotta wait til Halloween for those pics. She has a bad habit of spitting up all over at the worst possible moment and I don't want to get the leg warmers all yucky before we absolutely have to!
Yes, I realize nothing I've shown lately is on my Wip's list. Do you seriously know anybody who sticks exactly to thier lists?? I really have been working on most the Christmas stuff on the list too, just haven't finished anything yet.

2006-10-23T12:13:00.000-04:00

I joined the Baby, It's Cold Outside CAL at the 'ville. When they said it was a quick and easy pattern they weren't kidding!! I started it saturday night and finished it sunday morning. I'll surly be making more of these for Boo and her cousins.

I used Bernat Soft Boucle that was left over from other things. I just happened to have Christmas colors, unfortunately I don't think it'll still fit her by Christmas. She wore it yesterday while out visiting and everybody loved it. My favorite comment would have to be from Boo's great grandma "You could make $50 on Ebay for that!!!" But I won't cause it's not my pattern.

My camara doesn't seem to like the dark colors, even with the flash on.

2006-10-15T07:37:00.000-04:00

So after making that hat I want to make some more stuff with beads on them. I found a couple patterns with beads that I might try, nothing too fancy, and one without beads that I think I could add beads too it I can figure out how many to add. Now all I need is more beads. I have tons from a couple years ago when I thought I'd make some jewelery but never did. The only problem is they're mostly seed beads. Way too small for yarn. I wonder if they'll fit on #10 thread, I have plenty of that. I'll have to see if I can convince dh to give me a ride to the crafty store, we were just there yesterday, but it won't be for yarn this time I promise!!

2006-10-12T11:36:00.000-04:00

My reluctant model is wearing a hat I made for myself with a pattern from yarncat. That was my first attempt at crocheting with beads. I know, not that impressive, but a girl's gotta start somewhere. The thingy on her lap is a toy I made for her. As you can see she is very impressed with mommy's skillz.
The scarf is for my husband's grandpa for Christmas. I used the tunisian stitch for the whole thing with a sc border. I was planning on putting fring on the ends but I think I like it just the way it is. It's almost 8 inches wide and 6 feet long. Hubby assures me he will love it. Gramps is known to give his gifts away to whoever's sitting next to him if he decides he doesn't like it (I've seen him do it!). I'm very happy with how this turned out so I'll be very not happy if he does that with this scarf.

This is the beginnings of my ambitious star for the star afghan CAL at the ville. I say ambitious cause the plan is to make it big enough for our queen size bed. We'll see how long that ambition lasts. Yes, it's just coincidence that it matches the scarf. The scarf was actually started last year and meant to be for last Christmas (see what I mean about ambition?!) I ordered the yarn for the star before I even dug out the scarf from its year long hiding spot to finally finish it.

I've been looking all over for Christmas yarn and finally found exactly what I wanted at Walmart last night. It's Red Heart Holiday. I bought some Aran/Gold to make some angels and Holly/Silver to make some garland and a stocking for Boo. I bought some Sugar and Cream Mistletoe a couple weeks ago for the garland but there's just too much white in it for me.

Anyways, time to get some crocheting done before Boo wakes up from her nap.

2006-10-09T10:43:00.000-04:00

New and improved list...maybe I should spend some time sewing on buttons
*= for Christmas

WIPs

Whitney's afghan - 6/24 squares
Centerpeice - 48/60 rounds
MoEz graphghan - 75%
*Family names filet - 1.75/6 done
*G & C - 80%
*Surprise #1 - 99% (needs button)
*Surprise #2 - 20%
*G. Sellen's scarf - Done!
2 bibs - first one 99% (needs button and patch)
Poncho/shawl thingy - 99% (needs buttons!!!)

CALs

Star blanket - started 10-4
Skipping stones circular afghan - need yarn
Doilies

1 12inch
4 10inch
3 8inch

UFOs

Pony - will finish someday
Celtic afghan - my tension has changed a lot, frog and start over?
Shawl thingy - leave as is and finish off or continue going with original idea

WIMs

Baby blankets

Paige - purple
Averi - cream
Steph's baby - green

2006-10-03T11:08:00.000-04:00

Been working on a lot of random projects here and there. Don't really have a lot to show off since a) I have yet to finish anything and b) half of it is for Christmas. But, I did take a couple random pics just have something to show off.

<-- This is my humble stash, most of it anyways, minus a couple wips that are in the living room. The green bin is empty, the black bin is full of mostly lionbrand homespun and a couple other random yarns, the blue bin has some odds and ends that I don't know what to do with and the clear bin is my filet projects. I also have stacks of magazines and booklets all over the place waiting to be organized....someday. The kitty is my first baby girl, Jasmin. She likes to hang out with me in the computer room.

The Between Meals Centerpeice from Annie's Attic. There's only about ten rounds left to do but it takes soooo long just to do one round that I haven't touched in in a couple weeks. Been working on Christmas stuff remember?
The beginnings of my friend Whitney's afghan, and it only took
me about 2 years to finally get it going. The squares are supposed to be 12 inch but they're only coming out 10 inches. For some reason I'm crocheting these pretty tight and have to remind myself to loosen up when I work on other projects.

Sorry for the cruddy pics. Thank you to those who have commented so far! It's nice to know there's some people checking out my blog already and I love getting comments. Now can someone please tell me there's an easier way to post pics in this blog! Everytime I add an image it sticks them at the top of the entry and it's a pain to move them down to where I want them in this little box they give you to type in. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

2006-09-24T08:31:00.000-04:00

The other day I put Boo in her excersaucer and sat down on the floor next to her. I figured I'd get a couple rows of crocheting done before she decided she didn't want to be in the saucer anymore. After a minute or two I realized she was being very quiet and I looked up at her and she was just watching my hands. She must have sat there for about 10 minutes after just quietly watching me crochet. This is the girl who wakes up talking and squealing every morning and makes noise all day long just cause she can. She did it again last night, Adam was trying to play with her and she was completely ignoring him and watching my hands instead!

So, how early is too early to put a hook and yarn in her hands? Maybe I should start her stash now so she won't be stealing from mine!!

FYI - Boo is my 4 month old daughter, her nickname changes almost weekly tho Boo seems to be sticking the longest

2006-09-15T13:37:00.000-04:00

I was cleaning this morning instead of crocheting (what was I thinking?!?) And I found what I guess would be my first attempt at designing. I wanted to make an afghan and had this "super cool idea!" I made 3 really long stips of just one row each of dc's then braided them together and sc around to hold it together. I really liked how it came out but then realized, since it's only maybe 2 inches wide and 5 feet long, I'd have to make a bazillion of these these strips to make enough for an afghan. My ambition completely deserted me. So a year later I find this poor forgotten thing in the bottom of a bag of yarn and have decided that if I add another round of sc to the border it'll make a super cool scarf!!

I think for now I'll let other people do the designing.
Speaking of patterns, yesterday I found the Blue Ribbon Crochet book by House of White Birches at the grocery store of all places for only 5.49! Add another couple patterns to the mile long to do list.

2006-09-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

WIP's

Between Meals Centerpiece - 80% done
Baby bibs - 1st one 40%
Gwen's 12 inch doilies - 0/2
Ryan's 7 inch doilies - started 1/6
Whitney's afghan - 1 half done / 6 squares
Celtic Lace afghan - 30%
Family names in filet - 2/6
Pony - 70%
Grandpa's scarf - 50%
Surprise afghan - 70%

2006-09-13T09:40:00.000-04:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog!! This is mainly going to be about my crochet adventures. I've been trying to get a bit more organized with my many projects and hopefully this will help. I can now show off my many works in progress and hopefully someday show off some finished projects!! Someday I'll get back into customizing my little ponies and will most likely show those off here too. Please excuse my randomness and PLEASE excuse the lameness of my blog name. This was a spur of the moment sort of thing and that's the best I could come up with.

And just in case there's any confusion,
FadedBlue is my crochetville name
Pikaboo is the name I use just about everywhere else
I was going to use FadedBlue for this blog but it is apparently already in use by someone else.

K, enough excuses!! Time to make some lists.