KCCO- Spring equinox swap and a sweater for me

 I apologize for being away. Between drowning at work, a sick family and Randy getting into a motorcycle accident I have not had time for creating and crafting. I have missed it terribly and forced some last night which made my heart sing. The Hobbit movies and soundtracks have been on to remind me of a childhood comforting story, something I hope to ingrain in my children on how those stories create such solid memories, or nightmares ( I was always terrified of those dang spiders!).

I signed up a few weeks ago to participate in a spring equinox swap for some new decor as it use to bring me joy and found it hard to get enough approvals. We finally decided on raindrops and clouds as nothing says spring to me more being in Illinois.

 

I have also finally located my missing yarn bag from New Years that had my Wisteria cardigan. As much as I hate using acrylic as of lately I chose Caron Simply Soft as I was too scared to use something nice and expensive for my first "official" clothing endeavor. 

back to work

Some time to reflect on the last week and share some things that have made me grateful.

 No time to be depressed when you are happy for what you have.

**********************


two weeks back to work and surviving...


an oral surgeon appointment....

whipping up some slipper socks the night before pajama day at work...

a morning painting alone, for a bit at least until joined by a little boy in footie pajamas...

 having a husband come rescue me due to a flat tire. Being the first real cold day my body was too weak to barely drag the new tire out of the trunk.

 a new scarf for my birthday.

 providing gifts for our church's toy drive. We were recipients one year and I vowed to try to give back even just a little bit each year.

my boss' faith in my as an employee. I now have 2 managers and they have agreed that I should master yet another job that is not my own. It is extremely stressful and overwhelming however I am trying to keep it positive by remembering that it is because they trust my judgement and feel I can handle it.

as it gets closer to Christmas we were told our company is going to close down fully for 2 3 day weekends in a row. This is unheard of for our company in the 15 years we have been in business. So blessed to be able to enjoy the time off and be paid for it.

What are you thankful for lately?

The winds of change

Some time to reflect on the last week and share some things that have made me grateful.

 No time to be depressed when you are happy for what you have.

**********************

finally learning the crocodile stitch for crochet. It only took me 3 years...

spending a day with friends that truly love my kids.

sleeping babies after unable to breastfeed. I was able to rock him to sleep after his birthday party since he was exhausted.

starting new medication and trying to be hopeful for healing.

our last breastfeeding session and his placenta photo in the background.

two birthday boys.

a visit from Sora the dog the night before the party. Sora was the one friend Ryguy had asked to come to his party but he was unable to attend on Saturday. His owner kindly decided to let us have him Friday night to play and bond with the boys. 

a friend from high school decorating the boys birthday cake with the perfect Scooby Doo colors.

What are you thankful for this week?

My first MCAL {KCCO}

I have taken the plunge and decided to try a new mystery crochet a long{MCAL}. This event is a shorter one, thank goodness for summer called Veronica meets spring. I will be sharing some photos along the way. This is a one size fits all accessory full of color and texture. I am hoping if it turns out well that the girls may all get one to wear to be "matchy-matchy" but in different color combos.

 My gauge is already HUGE even with going down a hook size but since it is a 1 size fits all  I am hoping it will be ok.

Feel free to join us as there is a knit and crochet version and hundreds of us participating all over the world!

The big monster is done...

 

I was asked after Ryguy was born to make a big afghan for my kid's Godfather, DJ. We are going to forget the fact now that he is 3 years old now. DJ had a few requirements: king sized, black and not holey. Well I don't know if you have crocheted ever however crochet is just that. holey. I used a K hook and several Caron 1lb balls. The ones holding it up are my teens with their arms stretched up. It is very heavy and warm. He does like it and hopefully will enjoy it on his bed. 

What have you been crafting lately?

 

Project bags

I am joining One Grey Elephant for her project bag swap. It is a mama swap with a project bag filled with all sorts of goodies. I finally have borrowed a sewing machine from my in-laws and was able to whip it up quickly now that I have a machine that actually works. I am still working on the hearts for Peyton's heart project as well and have a ton to go before Easter gets here.

What are you crafting this week?

New mittens {KCCO}

I decided to whip up some baby mittens for Gid since putting gloves on him is the biggest royal pain. I don't like the cheap nylon mittens from Wal-Mart for the kids as they get soaked easily in the snow.

I crocheted these up quickly in cascade wool and made my own pattern inspired by many others. There are only so many ways to make a simple tube with a thumb hole. I love this blue and I hope he likes them.

What are you crafting right now?

A birthday sweater

I have made an effort this year to have each of my kids get a handmade piece of clothing for their birthday. Nanners got a dress that I ended up buying from Etsy that she loves that included a matching dress for her doll. I did start this sweater for Giddy however it seems HUGE even with the hook adjustment for gauge. I am thinking of just making this for Ryguy and making a new one for Giddy's birthday in 2 weeks. I am using this pattern for the sweaters. It is written kind of confusing for assembly however the individual pieces work up very quickly due to the thickness of the yarn and hook size. I am super excited to see the boys together in their sweaters. Now to pick out buttons!


 

Yarn doll

Many times I am commissioned to crochet projects for a family friend.

I got a message from our friend and she asked  "Can you make this for me?"

I of course had no idea what it was. After some looking on the internet I have become knowledgeable about Enderman. He is a character from the Minecraft video game. He is a bad guy and destroys things.

 I looked for patterns around the internet and did not like any of them. Most of them had square bodies and round arms. In a pixelated world round arms don't work well.  I did sit and create my own pattern for him via the photos on Google and unfortunately it took  much longer than I anticipated

due to my arthritis.

 

Yay for Enderman!

Kcco: another crochet lesson

 As always I am working with a coworker to teach him to crochet. For awhile he has asked to make a beer koozie. I told him to hold tight and learn some stitches so he made his bunny from a square and a scarf for his girlfriend.  Finally I felt he was ready and we created this together on our slow day last week.

Update on our rainbow unicorn hats from Repeat Crafter Me. Got 1 base done and 5 more to go since Nanners wants one as well.

 

What are you crafting? 

Keep Calm and Craft On...

 

I am currently elbow deep in Shrek. Working on the production team I have been selected to come up with costumes. My biggest challenge currently is making Dragon. The prototypes for the head were shot down however as they want them BIGGER! We formed them around milk containers and the jumbo sized dishing soap bottle. Our new form is going to be made of wire coat hangers, chicken wire and paper mache. Here is to crossing my fingers I can pull it off.

 

 

I did get the pattern from these at cRAfter chick however the link is not working at the moment. Hopefully it will be back up soon if you would like to make these for your little ogre at home.

I am also going to make some fingerless gloves for the big green man from this pattern. Lots to do!

 

This whole production will take up a good chunk of my time but I did sign up for a Waldorf Swap with a rainbow birthday theme so I will have those started soon too.

What are you crafting?

linking up with KCCO and Yarn along

KCCO: a birthday gift

 My littles have a birthday party coming up for a friend. This friend is the only one that does birthday parties so our kids are always excited. The family is a bit more mainstream than us so we are the oddballs that give handmade gifts. This is going to be a troll/ogre house when completed. I'm still unsure if I will stuff the roof to give it more shape or leave it flopping depending on time constraints. We will be painting a peg guy or 2 to go along with it.

Since we can't have only one project at once I am practicing me knit and purl stiches for washcloths with some cheapo rainbow cotton from Walmart.

 

What's on your hooks/needles today? 

Granny Stitch Fingerless Gloves

So I finished crocheting a granny style shawl a few weeks ago from this pattern and felt that I needed some gloves to go with them. I used this pattern as an inspiration however modified it heavily to make it into a granny squares vs the lacier look. Below is the pattern I created so I can make them again for gifts.

Yarn: Worsted weight

Hook: 4.5mm/U.S. G

Abbreviations

Ch: chain

Sc: single crochet

Dc: double crochet

Sl st: slip stitch

Cuff

Ch 28, join with sl st, being careful not to twist the chain,

Round 1: Ch 1, sc in every stitch around, join to ch 1 with sl st

Round 2-4: Ch 1, DC in each around

Glove

Round 5: Ch 3, 2 dc in same stitch, *skip 2 stitches, 3 dc in third stitch, repeat from * around until there are only 2 stitches left, join to ch 2

Round 6-10: Sl st in middle dc of dc cluster, ch 1, 3 dc in same stitch, *3 dc in every open space*

Thumb space

Round 11: Repeat Round 6 until the last dc cluster, skip the last dc cluster, and join to 3rd chain of ch 4 with sl st

Round 12-14: Repeat Round 7

Round 15: Ch 1, sc in every stitch around, join to ch 1, fasten off.

Weave in all ends

Bit o' Spring- Grateful Sunday

Finally finished a bit o spring to go on our fireplace. Kool-aid dyed yarn for the flowers and some Patton's blue wool for the chain. I've had it sitting for weeks so glad to be done.

Here is the flower pattern in case anyone else would love to make it too!

Other things I'm grateful for:

Nanner's having learned and respected our rules for dressing and remembering to apply them at all times, even when its her dance costume.

Finding a breast milk donor for Giddy so that although I am not producing as much as I use to that he can still get breast milk.

Koda finally turning 18 and getting the ambition to take her driver's test soon. *crossing fingers*

Ryguy finally talking more.

Randy is able to go riding a few times with his cousin and enjoying having a motorcycle buddy again.

What are you grateful for?

Pure beauty

I ordered a mystery box of yarn and was so excited to see this inside. This will be used as a special treat for me!

New Crochet stuff

Well one of my old friends from highschool just had a beautiful baby boy. She asked if I could come up with a small blanket for him.  She gave me free reign and said blue,green, yellow and make it cute. I can totally live with that.

Enter the pattern from here - totally cute and adorable

I have also been making some toys for our little Booger for when He/She/It arrives in October. 

this cute rattle from here

I cant wait to get everything finished!