I Love...

I love art/office/school supplies. Now that I’m not in school anymore I don’t have any good excuses for buying loads of that type of stuff though. My daughter is still a little too young to really need much of it either, but oh oh oh watch out when she gets older. I’ll be buying the supplies with extras for ME! MUAHAHA Here are two recent sites I love for supplies:

Stubby Pencil Studio based in Portland, Oregon has a wonderful stock of eco friendly supplies. I just ordered some colored smencils and recycled sketchbooks from them and the whole shopping experience was wonderful. Quick, marvelous customer service. I even got a bunch of surprise complimentary goodies! These cutie monkey pencils are currently free with every order! woot! Super Eggplant shared this website last week: JetPens.com. *drool* Pens are my ultimate weakness. Pens… and shoes… oh, and good food… hm, and….(I have a lot of weaknesses come to think of it). They have all sorts of pens there. Artsy pens, serious business pens, cute pens... *drool* I wanted to try one of these scented lead mechanical pencils, but it's sold out now. *cry* They still have the lead though so maybe I could just get that. But, it's just not the same! Oh and I haven't actually bought anything from this site but I really really want to. All the reviews I've read so far about the shop and the products have been good though. (^_^)'

And since I’m sharing web things my husband asked me to share this:

http://cender.net/img/thehoff/hoffkick.gif

What a weirdo.

Everything but...

Everything but amigurumi. Sorry. I didn’t get very far with the whole amigurumi-ing during my midweek weekend. :( I tried. I really did. I got the yarn out, I had my hooks out, I even started something… but… I just wasn’t inspired enough I guess. So instead I started knitting a scarf. I have two skeins of wool ease sitting about and just the right size needles. I found this pattern of an easy cabled scarf at Pieknits. It's at the bottom of the page and is called Ropes and Ladders Scarf. I always wanted to try cabling. And that was that. Sad. Then today I finally painted this little girl. She’s dated 09.21.07. Just over a year later I’ve completed her.

Hahaha Man, I’m slow!

Midweek Weekend

Today and tomorrow is my midweek weekend. I don’t have to go to work, I usually don’t have any appointments, my daughter is in school all day. Life is good. It used to be better in the sense that I had Mondays off. That was great for cleaning up the insanity left by the hurricane over the official weekend. But my schedule has changed and now I don’t have off until Wednesday. There’s more to clean up because of the Monday and Tuesday insanity that got piled on top of weekend hurricane madness that didn’t get cleaned up, but that’s ok. Because I still have all day Thursday. WOOHOO! So you know what that means for you blog readers? That maybe I’ll have a chance to actually start and even complete little amigurumi type projects to post here instead of all this lyrical nonsense. Ok well, not so lyrical more like monotonal (is that even a word???). The point is MORE AMIGURUMI! Yay! YAY!

Rainbows, Unicorns, and Dogs with Stinky Butt

My daughter is fine, by the way. After a very dead to the world three hour nap yesterday morning she woke up spryer than ever.

*BOING* “What day is it? Is it Friday??” she says, no SINGS, as she practically flies off her loft bed all smiles and twinkles like she’s sliding down a rainbow.

Really, it was like nothing ever happened. As if only a few short hours ago she hadn’t been crying and moping and clutching at her stomach like she had a bad episode at a *insert foreign food type here* restaurant. Of course I still had to make the day as boring as possible so she wouldn’t get any bright ideas about more sick days. So who was totally bored in the end? The child who suddenly had unicorns and faeries prancing around her throwing flowers? Of course not. It was me. ME! A totally boring wasted day. I was at a complete loss. After having all my original plans flushed down the toilet I didn’t know how to recompose myself. hahahaHAHAHAHA But that was yesterday. Wonderful, boring, quiet, yesterday.

Today. TODAY?! The dog has the runs. Because this morning I caught her sneaking huge gulps of our cat’s wet food (which we don’t normally give him but because I didn’t get out yesterday to get any cat food it was what we had in the house for him which is better than usual in times of running out of cat food which would be nothing at all. So if it weren’t for the freebie one-serving pack we got during our last purchase of cat food he would’ve starved. STARVED, I say. He certainly was very vocal about it this morning. I thought I was being nice. I thought I was giving him a special treat. But nooOOOOooo he turned his nose at it! How ungreatful.) So now, now our dog has the runs. EW! All afternoon I thought I was smelling some nasty fumes occasionally but I didn’t imagine it would come to this. Thank goodness she’s well house trained. And I almost waited longer to take her out because I was in the middle of typing the first part of this entry.

Mini flashback: “Not now, DOG. ARGH I just took you out less than an hour ago! What is your problem? STOP BANGING AT THE FRONT DOOR!”

Well needless to say I was very happy I gave in.

Thank goodness it’s at least the weekend.

ADMS - Do You Have the Skills?

When I was a kid I remember pretending to be sick and getting away with it. When I was a kid I remember actually being sick and sent to school anyway. And as a kid I was like, “What is going on with your adult decision making skills?”

Hey, I like that. "adult decision making skills". I think it should be official. "ADMS. Do You Have the Skills?" Sounds like an advert. But to appeal to the younger parenting generation maybe it should be SkillZ . yuk.

Today my daughter doesn’t feel well. She woke up at 6 am crying real actual tears saying her tummy hurt. Oh it’s always a bad thing with the tummy hurting. And as much as I wanted to believe her 100% the little voice still said , “eh it’s nothing. How can she be having a tummy ache? She went to the bathroom yesterday all normal like. She’s been eating good food, lots of fruit low on the junk. We all ate the same dinner and no one else is sick! Ugh what’s wrong now?!” (Never mind the fact that there is some weird stomach illness going on right now - just this week three people went home complaining of similar stomach ailments at the office I part time at. No it can't be THAT obvious, I can't be THAT rational). I don’t want to send her to school if she’s really sick but then I don’t want to keep her home if she isn’t. She’ll start to think that making the slightest feign of illness will get her a free ticket home. As a first grader she’s still learning the tricks of the trade – How to Get Mom to Sign Off on Absences. So after I let her sulk a bit and we did some squishing I told her to get ready for school. An hour later all dressed and sitting at the dining table she was still complaining of her tummy ache. She had since then gone to the bathroom and had half a tablet of child’s Pepto-Bismol all to no avail. She had no fever but looked pretty pale. What to do? The clock was ticking. Call or don’t call? Baby her or toughen her up? She’s only 6 years old for goodness sakes. I finally gave in and called the school attendance line. Thank goodness for answering machines because I hate the way the school makes you feel guilty for calling in absences. So straight to bed she’s gone and she actually is sleeping. Poor thing.

Oh yeah baby, I got da skillz.

...who will no longer remain nameless...

How many here remember my little doll "Nameless"? Show of hands?

*crickets*

Ok, I know it's been a long time. I'm ashamed to say that it's been since February that I've done anything with this doll. And I've posted so little since then that I believe you can still see the post we're talking about if you just scroll down a bit on the main page. *shaaaaaaame* (-_-)''

Some of you were even so nice to respond to that post with very cute names for my poor doll. It's only since yesterday that I've finally decided to name her:

Zoe Lily-Belle!

I'm not that crazy about the "Belle" part but somehow it just seemed to fit. So without further ado, here is the pattern that I wrote for her way back then (look at what healthy guilt trips can get ya!). I made it as a pdf document but as I don't have a place to share those types of files at the moment I'm just going to have to cram it all here on this post! woohoooooo!! *cram cram cram* It's all ugly now, too. It was so much prettier in pdf format. *sigh*

It would probably be best if you highlighted the whole thing and pasted it into some kind of word document. That way you can save it to your computer and print it out for writing on or cussing at or tearing up or... or...

Oh, and by the way, if you leave comments with questions be sure to leave some way for me to contact you! I sometimes try to answer them in the comment section or by writing a new entry, so check back. But give me some time. And if I NEVER answer ... well... then I just don't, do I? Sorry.(^-^)*

Exclusive Original AmigurumiGirl Pattern - Free Free Free Free Free Woot!
(I love the word "free"!)

DISCLAIMER: or maybe REMINDER: I suck at pattern writing. Please please keep this in mind as you do this pattern. There are mistakes. I've corrected some. And others are probably better left alone. Use this as a guideline and let your inner creativity lead the way. You'll be fine. Any little "mistakes" can be looked as your own added charm. Good luck!

PS- for further insight and notes on this pattern from a completely unbiased source please check out House Full of Monkeys. I think her post will help you a lot with this pattern.

Zoe Lily-Belle

Materials:

Hook size D - 3.0mm
Tapestry needle

Black safety eyes (Darice Solid Black 12mm)

Yarn Color A – beige (“skin”)
Yarn Color B – leaf green (shirt)
Yarn Color C – chocolate brown (skirt and shoes)
Yarn Color D – white (underpants)
Yarn Color E – wine (hair)

Note: I used Red Heart Soft Yarn – medium worsted, Red Heart Sport in white, and a mystery double knit in beige for this project (sorry there was no label on the skein). Although next time I’d choose something much more light weight for the hair I think.

Embroidery thread – black
Embellishments – beads, ribbons, etc (although I didn’t use any this time around I have some ideas...)


Stitch notes:

Magic ring – this is a neat way to start crocheting in the round that offers a tight closed hole in the center. You can find a visual tutorial at PlanetJune . Lots of good stuff there in fact so be sure to go poke around!

Bobble Stitch – work 5 hdc into 1 sc (the number 5 is really “adjustable”. You can do less for a smaller nose or more for a really good sized honker. You can also use dc instead of hdc. Experiment to get the look you want.)

Hook the yarn through (in hair section) - by this I mean fold your piece of yarn in half. Stick your hook into one sc and out another. Hook the folded yarn and pull it through. Then reach through the loop you’ve created and pull through the ends of the yarn piece. Pull taught.


Beginning at the top of the head:

Using Color A
Start with magic ring of 6 sc (this is my preferred way to start working in rounds but you can use whatever way you’re comfortable with)

Rnd 1: 2sc in each sc (12)
Rnd 2: 1 sc in first sc, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (18)
Rnd 3: 1 sc in each next 2 scs, 2sc in next sc * repeat 6 times (24)
Rnd 4: 1 sc in each next 3 scs, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (30)
Rnd 5: 1 sc in each next 4 scs, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (36)
Rnd 6: 1 sc in each next 5 scs, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (42)
Rnd 7: 1 sc in each next 6 scs, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (48)
Rnd 8-10: 1 sc in each sc – 3 rows even of 48 each
Rnd 11: 1 sc in each sc - somewhere (anywhere, really, but preferably not too close to the beginning or the end) in this round work one bobble stitch for a nose
Rnd 12: 1sc in each sc (48)
Rnd 13: 1 sc in each next 6 scs, 2sctog * repeat 6 times (42)
Rnd 14: 1 sc in each next 5 scs, 2sctog* repeat 6 times (36)
Rnd 15: 1 sc in each next 4 scs, 2sctog* repeat 6 times (30)
Rnd 16: 1 sc in each next 3 scs, 2sctog* repeat 6 times (24)
Rnd 17: 1 sc in each next 2 scs, 2sctog* repeat 6 times (18)
Rnd 18: 2 sctog* repeat 6 times (9) - originally I got 12 as the final count which I'm sure it should be but how it got there I can't remember... 1 sc, 2sctog repeat 6 times? prehaps.

Switch to Color B (optional: work one row of slip stitches – this is an uncounted row and purely to make the switch look neater. If you don’t want to do it you really don’t have to, but I do say it does lend a nice finished look to your work.) Here we are at the neck and the top of the shirt/dress.

Note:
Rnd 19 is worked behind the row of slip stitches into color A of Rnd 17

Rnd 19: 1 sc in next sc, 2 sc in next* repeat 6 times (18)

At this point you may want to stop and put the eyes in. Place them on Rnd 11 spaced evenly apart from the cluster you made for the nose. This would also be a good time to embroider in the eyelashes and eyebrows and/or any other facial features you’d like. Stuff the head firmly.

Rnd 20: 1 sc in each next 2 scs, 2sctog* repeat 6 times (24)

Rnd 21-24: 1 sc in each sc - 4 rows even of 24 each

Switch to Color C Work one row of slip stitches (optional again – see previous note). This begins the skirt.

Note:
Rnd 25 is worked behind the row of slip stitches into the front loops only of color B in row 24. We are working into the front loops only here because we are going to come back with Color D and work into the back loops later. Depending on your tension while you crochet this can be a bit tight, but it can be done! Persevere!

Skirt

Rnd 25: in front loops only work 1 sc in each next 3 scs, 2sc in next* repeat 6 times (30)
Rnd 26: 1 sc in each next 4 scs, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (36)
Rnd 27: 1 sc in each sc (work more even rnds for a longer skirt if you like!)
Rnd 28: skirt edge – 1 slst in first sc, 1 slst, 1hdc, 1 slst in next sc, 1 slst in next sc* repeat to end.
BO weave in end.

Switch to Color D

Going back to Rnd 24 into the back loops work 1 sc in each sc (30)
Rnd 25a: 1 sc in each sc (30)
Rnd 26a-27a: see note

26a: 1 sc in each (15)
27a: 1 sc in each (15)

Work a round of slip stitch. Switch to Color A.

Note: you need to eyeball things here. You are going to work sc until you get to the middle front of your doll. At this point you are going to put your hook through two scs at one time; the one you are on and counting to 15 stitches after that, therefore pinching the front and back together in the center with one sc. You should now have two “circles” of 15 sc each (hello leg!). Continue working 1 sc in each around then work one row of slip stitches. This is one leg of the shorts/underpants. Make a super long tail and pull it through that center sc you made earlier. You can use this tail to finish the other side of the pants later. Or, if you prefer, you can BO and pick up new yarn later on. Confused yet? Whew.

Legs

Rnd 28a: with Color A work in round 27a behind slip stitch row. 1 sc in each (15)
Rnd 29a-33a: 1 sc in each – 5 even rows of 15

Bind off.

Pick up Color D at Rnd 26a work 2 even rounds of 15 each. Work an uncounted round of slip stitches and proceed with leg 2 as done for leg 1. Bind off.

Shoes

Using Color C
Start with magic ring of 5 sc

Rnd 1: 2sc in each sc (10)
Rnd 2: 1 sc in first sc, 2 sc in next sc* repeat 5 times (15)
Rnd 3: ch 2 (counts as first hdc), skip one sc, 1 hdc in each sc after that, join last hdc to ch 2 with slst
Rnd 4: 1 sc in each hdc (15)
Rnd 5: 1 sc in each sc (15)

Bind off leaving a looooong tail for whip stitching shoe to leg.

Stuff the leg firmly. Stuff the shoe a little bit - just enough that you can still handle stitching the pieces together. You can stuff the leg/shoe more after you’ve stitched the shoe on part way. And then after stuffing to your satisfaction, finish attaching the shoe.

Attaching the shoe: whip stitch shoe to leg. Then wind the remaining length around the joining edge twice. On the first pass I stitch the yarn in at the half way pt, just for some stabilizing, then continue around to finish that round. On completion of the second round simply stitch the end in securely.

Arm (MAKE 2)

Start with magic ring of 5 ch or however you like to start your spiral/circular shape using 5 ch

Row 2: 2sc in each ch (10)
Row 3: 2sc in first ch, 1 sc in next* five times (15)
Row 4-6: sc in each (in the first sc on row 5 make a cluster – this is the “thumb”. I used a 5sc cluster I think. experiment to your liking)
Row 7: 1 sc in next 3, sc2tog in next* repeat three times (12)
Row 8: sc in each
Row 9: sc in next 5, sc2tog in next sc* repeat (10)
Row 10-11: sc in each
Row 12: switch to shirt color and sc in each.

Bind off leaving long tail for attaching to body.

Note:You can attach the arms whenever you’re ready. I did mine at the end. Whip stitch them to the first row of the shirt, placing them as you see fit. ;) When attaching them, just make sure the thumbs are facing the “right” way; facing forward if you wish for her to seem relaxed with palms toward her sides.

Hair

Making a hair cap...

Same process as making the head, just stop halfway. Since I used a yarn that was a little heavier for the hair than what I used to the head itself, my figures might seem ... strange. If you’re using the same yarn throughout the project then your cap should be “bigger” than your head. You’ll see here my numbers seem to stop at a smaller point, but it works for me because of the yarn and change in hook size.

Using hook size E - 3.5mm

Start with magic ring of 6 sc
Rnd 1: 2sc in each sc (12)
Rnd 2: 1 sc in first sc, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (18)
Rnd 3: 1 sc in each next 2 scs, 2sc in next sc * repeat 6 times (24)
Rnd 4: 1 sc in each next 3 scs, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (30)
Rnd 5: 1 sc in each next 4 scs, 2sc in next sc* repeat 6 times (36)
Rnd 6-7: work even rounds 36 each round

Bind off leaving long tail for attaching to head.

Place the cap on the head at a tilt with the back edge dipping down closer to the neck line. Once it’s positioned as you like attach it lightly to the head. Now comes the fun part. Cut equal lengths of yarn, I did about 5 inches (I think??). Cut a lot. Depending on the style you’re going to do this number will vary. Now simply hook the yarn through scs throughout the cap. You don’t have to hook through every sc. I did about two scs apart and staggered. At the top of the head you’ll have to experiment and see what works best; thinking about how real hair grows. After all the yarn you want is put in, style it!


Creator’s Notes:

Well, I hope this was decipherable. If you use it as a loose guideline and let your own creative juices flow, I’m sure you’ll have success and an original doll of your own! Remember to just have fun!

In retrospect I should’ve taken more in-progress photos. I’m sure a lot of my directions are mind boggling. (@_@)’

I’m happy if you make these dolls for gift giving or sharing with friends. However, I ask that you please do not duplicate this pattern or make the dolls to sell for personal profit. If you are interested in using it for charity or some special event, I’d love to hear about it. Please contact me at amigurumigirl@gmail.com and I’ll try my best to help. (^_^) Thank you! *whew*

Great Ideas and Guilt

So my husband has been saying for ages, "You should totally hook up your amigurogimimi (he calls it something different everytime) site with our paypal dealio and try to get donations!!" This he says with a huge grin and that wild eyed look.

me: *like deer in headlights* Donations?? For what? My one frog pattern?

him: Don't forget the pear.

me: And my pear pattern?

him: And other entries...

me: My wonderful writing skills full with wit and charm that you find in my oh so often entries? ha!

Yikes. That's a lot of pressure. Never-the-less he was determined and now lo and behold we have a "donate" button. Please know I'm not expecting anything for what I put up on this site. But as my husband says, "You never know when someone might be feeling a little generous." Ok, maybe those aren't his exact words. I'm trying to get him to write an entry here himself to explain it because it's really funny what he's telling me - you should see him gesticulating and articulating right now.

Alas, it seems I can not convince him.

Sigh. I guess this means I have to up the site maintenance. (*_*)'

Busy or not...

I think I've been too busy. But then when people ask me what I've been doing I don't seem to have much to say. Do you ever feel like that? It seems like I feel like that a lot lately. Day to day that's how I feel. They'll say, "What did you guys do today?" and all I do is stare blankly back. *blink blink*

In May we moved. ugh. Moving sucks. And that seriously set me back in a lot of ways. I have been keeping busy here and there, however not much with amigurumi. I DID make one monkey but I don't have a photo of it and it's already been shipped off to its new owner. sorry. That's how scatter brained I've been!

Here's some photos of other things I've been up to...

I made two baby blankets. The scalloped one is from the book Bend the Rules Sewing. Love that book. Cute fabric isn't it? There was a Joann's near by doing a moving sale. heh heh

The other blanket is just scraps put together. I also made some baby bibs from the same book. I bought quilting squares so I could get more variety without the crazy left over yardage. Each square made two bibs with a good size strip left for some future project. ;) Cotton on the front, cotton flannel on the back with snap closures. Fun.

Then I made a necklace and a box to go with it. The box is just your regular cardboard box that I wrapped with handmade paper my mom brought me from Thailand a few years ago. The embellishments are store bought rub-ons. AND I got into making bread. LOVE LOVE LOVE this book . It really is easy and the results are yumMAY! Here slathered in butter with left over lasagne. So that's it. There were a lot of other activities crammed in between. It's summer vacation after all. Gotta keep the monster busy. Hm, I guess I have been doing a lot. It helps to see it all laid out like this. WHEW. I'm tired. (^_^)v

Good things do happen while you're gone...

I haven't been on much at all. :( I have a lot of reasons/excuses but, really, who wants to read those?

I got a nice surprise today when I finally did login however. Little Z has given me an "award"? wow! The fact that some total stranger out there who is so very awesome in their own right as a crafter thought well enough of me to give me an award. Thank you so much, Little Z. I truly am honored. If you haven't heard of or seen her website, you really must go see it. I don't know if i really deserve this award, because I've been sooooo slacking in all things creative lately and I certainly am not even on the edge of the league that the five I'm going to name are in (wow what a confusing sentence).

The Arte y Pico Award (Art and Peak). I had to use my Google to translate the page to English and then try to make out what the translation read, but it was limited so I still have no clue as who to specifically thank for making up such a nice award. Anyway, THANK YOU!

So now it seems the rules are that I must also give out 5 awards. These are sites I visit almost daily (even more often than my own) to be inspired, awed, and humbled. I don't leave many comments though - shame on me! - so they probably don't even know I exist. haha Hm I guess this means I'll have to at least go leave a comment about this award...

1) Angry Chicken: Not only the super author of bend-the-rules sewing but a great blogging mom as well. She makes awesome stuff, takes great care of her family, and still has time (or maybe more importantly the energy) to share it all with us. Same goes for my next awardee...

2) Molly Chicken: These two sites are mainly sewing projects and that's probably why I love them so much. I can't sew worth a poop myself but I really want to learn. Love her cute bears!

3) shimandsons: Another blogging mom and simply stylish. I love her photos. And what cute cute sons!! Be sure to visit her shop for all the goodies. heeee

4) Supereggplant: I first found Mariko through a candy swap thing. I've only done the swap once sad to say (not her fault! my own lack of motivation), but I love visiting her website still. Try some of the recipes she shares! Especially this one - Supernatural Brownies. yummmmm.

and last but not least

5) Posie gets cozy: I really find it comforting somedays to sit and browse through her blog. She brings us so much into her life that when I can't find serenity in my own I feel I can turn here for a breather. From wonderful projects, to beautiful photos, movie reviews, recipes... and OH their little puppy Clover Meadows. Sweet sweet Clover (though I do miss that darling Audrey). You can also find her here!

Now I guess I'm supposed to post the rules of how this all works. Because it is a little like tagging (which happened to me once and I have still yet to tag someone else. oops. sorry).

For you five if you ever see this, here are the rules:

• 
  
  You're to pick 5 blogs who you feel deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and who also contribute to the blogging community no matter what language it's posted in.




• 
  
  Each award has to include the name of the author and a link to the blog so that eveyone can visit it.




• 
  
  Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link of the blog that has given it to him/her.




• 
  
  Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of the arte y pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.




• 
  
  Show these rules!

Thank you, thank you!! (^_^)v

Nameless

I finished her not too long after my last post actually. I haven't posted her because I feel there's still a lot missing.... details, if you will. But I feel bad for not sharing what I have with you so far, so here she is. I wonder, what should I name her?

p.s. ~ Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo (^_^)'

WIP

I've been slowly working away on a new amigurumi. She's my own pattern so it takes longer that way. You'd think it would be faster since I don't have to keep stopping to check a pattern, but in fact, I have to keep stopping to reshape and rethink things. Ah well. Here's a peek for you all. Anyway, I hope to be done soon. I'm actually a lot further along than this photo suggests. (^_^)v

(By the way, how do you like the new blog template?)

Happy New Year!

Not a very happy beginning to a new year when the whole household is sick mind you, but I still wish you all a happy one. (~_^)

My daughter got sick the Friday before Christmas then miraculously recovered for the special day and promptly got sick again (fever and all) the day after. Then after a week of that my husband caught it (fever and all) and now that he is finally on the mend I am coming down with it. *sigh* No fever for me as of yet, and I hope to escape that fate, but I have such a bad cough and horrible congestion. ugh. Anywaaaay, you must be thinking, "but what have you made?!?!"

Not much time for crafts when sickies around I tell you but I did manage to whip up quite a few scarves for gifts; both crocheted AND knitted. (Me? Knit?? I've been practicing. *hee*) I will only bore you with photos of one, however.

I love blue. And I love soft. So this was just heaven to me. The yarn is Baby Alpaca Brush. I bought it here in town but you can see it at Plymouth Yarn's website. It looks MUCH better in person I assure you (not to mention anything of the FEEL of it. yum!). The pattern is from The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches - 1983. If you have the book or know of it the pattern is Diamond Lace in the All-over Lace Patterns section. Mix in some garter stitches for a border and BAM a scarf is born. I don't have a scale to weigh my yarn so I can't tell you exactly how much I used. One ball was 50 g. I used a little over one and a half it looks like.

The little puppy looking thing is a travel tissue pack holder I made from the scraps. Yes, I had the same yarn in white that I used for another scarf that I crocheted. Its body is in stockinette and its ears are crocheted.

Well, it's time to get back to movie land. All I've been able to do is "lay" here and watch movies. Yesterday I just watched the newest remake of Pride and Prejudice, over and over and over... I love the A&E production of it made in 1995 but my copy of that is so scratched I have to get a new one. This remake with Keira Knightley isn't half bad though. Quiet enjoyable. I still can't stand the mother. And although I still don't think anyone could take Colin Firth's place as Mr. Darcy I think Matthew Macfadyen is a very good runner up.

Today's movie is Emma. (^_^)v

Detours can be good.

We were detoured off our very usual routine this weekend. Just in time to deal with the daily grind blues we were transported to ... Disneyland! And Disneyland at Christmas time is just the best. This year our daughter was brave enough to ride all the "big kid" rides as well (Last year she was only four years old so we gave her a break. She could've though because amazingly she was tall enough to!) So what a blast we had! Her first "big kid" ride was Thunder Mountain. After that it was a sinch getting her on Matterhorn and Space Mountain. In fact, it was hard to keep her away from them! She wasn't too keen on Indiana Jones though. Although she said her favorite part of that was the boulder at the end. Too cold for Splash Mountain so maybe next time. Oh and the newly decorated Haunted Mansion was pretty cool! They did it all up Nightmare Before Christmas style. Very cute. *sigh* I love Disneyland.

I managed to crochet two scarves before I left. Identical except for the color scheme and made from a novelty yarn I got two years ago in Carmel - a mohair/acrylic blend. Here are some awful photos.

I gifted it while we were in the LA area. I have a dear friend who lives in Long Beach and was nice enough to drive out to meet us at our hotel. She also brought yummy yummy home made goodies!!!! *drool* Decadent brownies, super moist carrot cake, and chocolate chip laced zuchini bread/cake. Oh, was I supposed to include photos? Maybe next time I'll remember before I eat it all. muahahhaha

I was also trying to knit this scarf before we left. I was having the hardest time after the garter stitched area so I showed my mom who came along with my dad to dog/house sit for us and when I came back she had done a good 7 or 8 inches. Woohoo. Now I should have no problems continuing it. Ha, we'll see.

In the mean time we're revving up with all sorts of Christmas time engagements so there's not much time left for crafting unfortunately. Hopefully I'll have more to share come January. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! (-_-)zzZZ

So... I changed my mind...

You know how I made that humanoid for a certain little girl... and I was so excited about it with all these plans for clothes, etc. Well, I changed my mind. I wasn't 100% happy with that doll. Sure, it was pretty good and not bad looking, but you crafters out there will understand when I say I wasn't 100% satisfied with my work. Sooooo, she's still there waiting. In the mean time, I made him instead. He's ready for a little trip in the cold with his removable pompom topped beanie and matching top. The top is not removable, however you can lift it and see that he has on some whitie tighties which accomodate his tail nicely in the back. heehee He was too shy to let me take pictures to show you, sorry.

His handy messenger bag is snap closure and has a strap that can be unbuttoned on one end for easy use.

It's the perfect size for his favorite bone and possibly some little books/magazines. I know he's waiting for the latest issue of Cat Friendly. It was too small for his ball though...

I won't be putting out a pattern for this one. I know it. I just don't have time to write it out and I suck at it anyway, but I will give tips and hints and try to answer questions if you leave your email addies in the comment section. (^_^)v I can say now that it's very similar to working an amineko. In fact, the arms and legs are exactly as such! See you soon!

Boo!

Happy Halloween!!

Front of costume pre-ears.

Back of costume pre-tail. (^_^)

My daughter decided she wanted to be a white puppy with brown spots this year (last year she wanted to be a pink yoshi... the dog costume was much easier). So I bought a white sweater and white skort... voila!

Sorry!! Here I am!

So sorry I've been gone quite a bit. Things have been a little busy around here, but that's no excuse really is it? Here's a couple photos of the hat and vest I made for my humanoid. There's no pattern... I think I wrote it down... so hopefully one day soon (like before the end of the year) I can have something posted so at least those of you who are interested can try your own.

I'm also working on the Punk Bunny from ElizabethD's Amigurumi book. It's been very challenging so far (probably because I keep straying from her instructions hee hee). We'll see if I can stick it out. My husband requested it as a Christmas present for his friend. The other "thing" keeping me very busy and too tired to do much crafting is this little girl. Awwwwww. I'll be back with more soon... (~_^)v

Our New Family Member

I'd forgotten how much work it is to have a puppy around... sigh, but she is a sweety. So you'll excuse me if I go M.I.A. for awhile. (^_^)'

Little Bo Peep

I haven't had much time for crocheting this past week or so. Although I did make a hat and vest for that humanoid I recently made - I'll have to take a pic soon and post it! In the mean time, I drew this quick sketch tonight of Little Bo Peep. My friend asked for a simplified Bo Peep design to help her envision her daughter's halloween costume. It's a horrible photo, sorry. I just snapped a quick shot with my Exilim. maybe I'll paint her one day... (^_^)v

She's done!

Yay! She's done! I borrowed the hair and eye ideas from ElizabethD's Amigurumi book (ooooh yes. I FINALLY purchased it. And I can't wait to try making a Punk Bunny. heee) I couldn't use buttons though because this is intended for a three year old. So... anyway... She's 9 inches tall. I used Bernat Satin Sport (beige), Red Heart Sport (white), and some pinkish purplish eyelash yarn who's label was lost eons ago - sorry. You have to understand, I get a lot of hand me down yarns and they don't always come in full skeins nor with lables. Hey, beggars can't be choosers. Hook size I used Clover 3.0mm (D). I think for the "hair" I actually used a larger hook... like the 3.5.



Details are with crochet thread and she's stuffed with polyfill.

She even has ears...

Pardon the blurry photo. =p

Now I just need to make her some clothes....

To you pattern-wanting-crazies - (i say that with affection. really. because i myself am one hee hee) - will be glad to know that i actually did take notes on this one... soon... soon...