Wintermade Crocheted Animals: Don't look if you're my niece!

The small bear pattern is from Crochet Today! May/June 2008 and is CRAZY fast to stitch up. I made it with stitched eyes to make it totally safe for our first baby that we're expecting in February.

The owl pattern is the Cutest Little Owl pattern from Crochet Today! Sept/Oct 2007. It wasn't as small as the name implied, but it was cute. Totally should've used a smaller hook, you can kind of see the stuffing peek through a little.

The bears are also from a magazine pattern, can't remember which one off the top of my head. I changed the legs a bit, otherwise they're the same pattern and same hook: the size difference is just because one yarn is a bit thicker, although they're technically both worsted weight :D The blue bear is for one of my nieces.

Stuffed Owl Plushie Prototype

So I finished this May 3rd, but can't post it until now because I was in a bird swap and I didn't want to give anything away! I made more, if you know me irl, just pretend you didn't see this post when your birthday rolls around!

I got it a thrift store ...

It was plain, rough wood. Begging to be painted. Begging to be turned into something. Then I stumbled on something that only a BRILLIANT aunt would think of: give the pointy stick thing to your nephew who might be in a stabby mood from time to time!

So:



Maybe he'll like the Raiders. Maybe he likes pirates. Maybe he likes pirate movies. Anyway, I hope he'll like this:

Now I can post Christmas presents. First, what the newest nephew got

The Seija Blanket from Happy Hooker in a lovely green/black/offwhite for my new nephew:


as modeled by the fiance


and onesies!


yeah, that IS a mustache on that onesie. what's it to ya?


and a helephant!


and on the elephant bootie:


That's all for now! More tomorrow.

January 17th: hearts and hearts and hearts

I want to have a Valentine's card and cookie making party. Sugar cookies, red crystal sugar, piped frosting, tiny glitter, cardstock, hole punches, ribbon scraps, letter stamps, octopus stamps, coffee, old friends, new friends...


Also, I made these last night:



I know it's not the glamorous Xmas present ever, but I'm wrapping 'em up and giving 'em to the fiance. He needs them, he will think that they're funny, and he understands it makes me happy to make things and that we're workin' on saving money. uh, other than the XBOX360 that we bought on the cheap off craigslist. The pattern and post about it is here. I think I mentioned it yesterday on HybridHopes.

I'm going out to breakfast with some lady friends from work. We're eating at Cup & Saucer, some of us for the first time. One of the girls lives across the pond in the 'Couv. I'm actually not sure who's all going, but I can't wait! I love breakfast. We'll be hitting up the Hawthorne for last minute gifts (seriously, I'm a crafter. Anything purchased in December for Christmas is "last minute.") Uh, what else. Today's my last day off, then I work three days, and then I'm back to my 7 off, 7 on.

Sweet Sugar Scrub: How Tuesday

Hiya folks. I heard that phrase (How Tuesday) first on our dearly beloved etsy. I'm stealin' it until I can think of something cleverer.

So. I'm a nurse. I wash my hands all the time. Sometimes they need a little TLC. Maybe you know a professional dishwasher. Or a parent. Or a mechanic. Or somebody else that needs a little hand lovin'. Oh, hush. You know what I mean. Only my readers would take "hand lovin'" to mean something ... like that.

So here it is, a recipe that's a conglomeration of lots of other recipes.

Sweet Sweet Sugah Scrub
***********************
1 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup oil (I like olive because I always have it, but you can use almond, grapeseed, hazelnut, coconut, anything non-allerginic. NOT essential oil though, 1/8 cup is way too much)
smidge Essential oil (I like tea tree oil - its antimicrobial properties are well-known, and it smells clean. I like lavender too. Use whatever you like as long as it isn't contraindicated).

Combine the sugar and the oil in a large jar with a lid. Add something less than 10 drops of the essential oil. If it's summer, it's not a bad idea to keep this in the fridge. The coolness will feel extra good. It tends to keep a while, but I'd use it up within a month. You can also add a bit of vitamin E oil and keep it a bit longer. Shake all your ingredients up in the lidded jar, and treat your body to a little happy time. Double or quadruple the recipe and make some for your buddies for a holiday treat!

You can also add other things, like a bit of cinnamon.

I'm not very good at writing these things. Aren't recipes supposed to be more like "do exactly this?" Am I a laissez-faire craft teacher? Yeah, I pretty much am. That's how I learn, by trial and error. That's how I cook, and do a lot of my little life experiments. But seriously, it's hard to eff up this scrub. I should caution you on citrus oils though. I haven't tried it with this scrub, in part because I'm a bit afraid of citrus oil mishaps. I put a tsp or so of mandarin orange essential oil in my bathwater once. I didn't think about it all floating to the top, coating my lower back and sticking to it since it was dry as I got in the bath. Then, the burning happened. Good times were not had by all. Hot water, dialated pores, citric acid, eff that. Make sure you don't use too much essential oil, or the wrong kind for you, and don't expect it not to float when you put it in water.

ChristmaHanaKwanzSolika

Wha?

Yes, kids, that's right. It's mid-July, and you know what that means.

Time to get crackin' on the Christmas crafts. Yep. If I'm gonna get everything done, I gotta start now.

I have to be somewhat vague since I have a reader or two on my Christmas Gift list. However, I am making a whole bunch of washcloth blanks. 8 inch by 8 inch single crochet in solid colors that I can later embellish with cherries or skulls or flowers or the F word. I gotta do a bit of a assembly line style this year or I'll go crazy. Or maybe the uniformity will make me more crazy. We'll see!

There will be:
washcloths/dishcloths for most of my family
embarrasingly matching hats for all the kids (2 nephews and 2 nieces by then)! From this book from my sister. I've got a bit of a twist on the pattern though :) and I won't tell you which pattern, but it's easy enough to guess if you're so inclined.
more hats: for brothers, cousins, etc
plants in decorated pots for local family
notebooks: either embellished or made from scratch for the creative types.
earring holders: for the folks I know who are jewelry fans. hot damn, I love Crafty Chica for many reasons, one of which is this tute

I think that's all the assembly line stuff. Maybe I'll make the nieces and nephews stenciled shirts too. Hmmm.

In other news.... HELLBOY II TOMORROW!!!

aw man, it's May

and I haven't posted yet.
I have a just over half knitted baby blanket on my lap.

I wasn't sure how big I could make it with these four skeins of chunky yarn I have, so I knit it on the diagonal, with an increase on either end of every other row. When I got through two skeins, I began switching to a singular decrease at both ends of every other row. It makes more sense if you can SEE it. I'll take a picture for ya later.

I know this entry isn't the coolest ever, but I couldn't keep leaving you with nothing

etsy's incredible eye candy

Hello. I've got the day off today. And rather than be productive, I've spent the last hour or so jumping around reading craft journals and enjoying etsy shops. Damn you, interweb!

Craftchi's blog, with instructions as well as links to Craftchi's shop is here. From that site, I jumped to Free People's site where I found this crocheted headband. Kinda cute.





However Free People, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie, all owned by the same group, use non-union, sweatshop labor. This is important. Don't be a douchebag. Don't drop your hard earned money on sweatshop produced stuff that puts dollars in the pockets of CEOs


From WireTap Magazine:
"Free-market economists and spokespeople for big business do their best to portray sweatshop workers as grateful for any work at all, and applaud themselves and each other for their humanitarianism. Urban Outfitters founder and President Richard Hayne, who acknowledges that the company and its affiliates -- Anthropologie and Free People -- use non-union overseas sewing shops to make their ueber-trendy clothing lines, has argued that some of the women sewing clothes for him in India had no other potential source of income aside from "selling their bodies." When asked why workers can't be paid more for their labor, the response is always that higher wages would necessarily lead to layoffs and skyrocketing consumer prices.

But the executives overseeing the abuses take home salaries amounting to thousands of times more than the wages paid to the factory workers. Sweatshop Watch reported recently that workers making Levi's jeans in Saipan (a U.S. territory in the Pacific) earned $3.05 per hour, while Levi's CEO Philip Marineau was compensated to the tune of $11,971 per hour -- almost 15 times what he was paid in 2001. Even by simply freezing Marineau's salary at its 2001 levels, Levi's could have given each of the 7,500 workers in Saipan earning minimum wage a 50 per cent raise. "

So get off the poison beacon of sweatshop labor and make one yourself. If you're not a crocheter, check out etsy.


A hippy stylee hair wrap crocheted out of natural fibers:


a cute mustard colored headband that would totally match some socks I have <3

My pals at ChristopherAndTia Christopher and Tia got me a violet hued version of these pretty little ears. Nothing says Xmas like an Ear Scarf. And, alright, ChristopherAndTia are relatives AND pals. Hopefully you can find someone who loves you enough to get you a pair/one of your own!


and on to non-headband merch...

Who doesn't need raven cards? Your sister, your neighbor, your Edgar Allen Poe fan, your weird coworker, that crazy lady who owns like 17 cats that lives down the block... Disclaimer: these are made by the aforementioned ChristopherAndTia, relatives and superstars. And you can totally use 'em for other things: letters, notes to roommates...

Cherry hair triangle

So I need to work on exact placement a bit, but feel free to use this general idea:


Arranging the embroidery so that it's visible both as a hair band, and unfolded as a bandanna style.

If/when I do this again, the back detail will be bigger, and the embroidered bits around the face will be done AFTER I do the seams.

Cherries on one side, "hot mama" on the other



Unfolded:


The back view (the text bubble's pointing out that I still need to wash my drawing off the fabric):


Easy Tutorial forthcoming.

high top booties, crocheted

I'm just about done with the finishing touches of some high top crocheted baby booties I started last week. Poor neglected things, I should have them done by now. Unfortunately, I didn't check the gauge and they are MASSIVE. They might fit a two or three year old, but not a kid who's closer to three weeks. Now the question is - do I hold on to 'em until the kid's older, or give them to the adorable, monster sized toddler of my cousin?

Here they are with a large magic marker for comparison:

and the both of them:


I found ... or rather BLOGGER found some of my old blogs. I haven't decided if I should leave them, change them, or destroy them. :\

Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter

My sister got me the book as a Christmas gift. I figured I oughta make her something as a thank you, and since she just had a beautiful baby boy, and I needed something QUICK, the elf hat was perfect.

I started it at the PDX Crafty Vixen get together today, and finished it... later today.



It's a quick knit that's easy for beginner knitters. It's all garter stitch with easy finishing. I think I might make more hats that are based on the rectangle. While I stitched this hat for the little one, I realized that the rectangle was the basic shape of the hat that a friend's mom had made for my fiance years ago. Only THAT hat had pompoms and was stitched together slightly differently :)