What I'm Working On...

Happy Thursday everyone!
This week I have a few things to show you!

Here is the progress I have been making on my second Hermione Everyday Socks:

I just love this pattern! As you can see I am nearly done with the leg, which I should finish up this evening while I am sitting at the dance studio during Abb's classes. I'd imagine I should at least get through the heel flap and gusset. Now that I understand the basics of making a sock, this one is going so fast! If all goes well I'll have a completed pair by next week. :)

I ordered a yarn swift and ball winder from Knit Picks last Thursday night (at about 11:30pm!) and it arrived on Saturday! Wow! Saturday night I put it all together and wound my first balls from the skeins of yarn I dyed a couple months ago - I love it!

I made a card for a friend of mine who has a birthday this weekend. I am trying to put my organizing tools to use and be better about planning and sending birthday cards. I hope she likes it. :) Facebook notifications are all good, but who doesn't like real happy mail? I have a few more birthdays coming up so I will be working on a few more cards over the next couple of weeks. It's nice to set aside some paper crafting time.

 I used some Basic Grey patterned paper from the Kioshi 6x6 paper pack and a strip of paper from the Making Memories Slice paper pack. I used a bit of gesso and pearl paint over the text paper to tone it down a bit for the stamping. I used a Hampton Arts Celebrate and Thanks stamp set for the front sentiment and a Technique Tuesday Ali Edwards set (Cakes & Candles) for the "Happy Birthday" sentiment inside. The butterfly was a Studio 112 mini set from Joanns dollar bin. I didn't color the butterfly in, but instead I spritzed a bit of Glimmer Mist in Cocoa on the butterfly for a bit of shimmer. I wish it showed up in the pictures! I fussy-cut the butterfly and then mounted it with foam adhesive for a bit of dimension.

Other notes:
I just treated myself to this yarn on Etsy. I plan to make another pair of socks with it, and if I get my act together, I will use them as part of the Knit Girllls Halloweel KAL. They have just the right amount of creepiness to them for Halloween, but I think I could still get away with wearing them the rest of the year. :) Right?

I love this vest pattern. :) And just like the picture, I think it would be perfect with jeans and boots...something to wear to a fall baseball game or hanging out in the dance studio.

I'd love to eventually make this cardigan for my daughter. Probably not yet though...I have some gift knitting to start and finish!

If you are on Ravelry, check out the Knitmore Girls podcast group! Great chatter, but there is also a Martina Behm Knit-A-Long that is about to start...if you are member of the group they are offering a one-time 10% discount on any of Martina Behm's single patterns. You can even get more than one...I have had a few saved in my library for a while now and took advantage of the discount to purchase a couple. I may try the Trillian, although
I'm also loving the Leftie! Decisions, decisions... Oh, you can find me on Ravelry here!

And on a non-craft related note...the camera on my iPhone died yesterday! :( I don't know what is happening with it, but it looks like I have to make a trip to the store to find out what they can do. Fingers crossed it's something fixable!

Follow me on Bloglovin' to stay updated on what's happening in the nest!
 

A few yarn projects

One of the "resolutions" I mentioned in my last post was to do something creative every day. It gives me a chance to learn new skills and techniques, as well as find a little relief and "me time" in the course of a busy day.

Lately, my focus has been on knitting & crochet. It's much easier to put a yarn project in a Ziploc bag and pop it into my work bag than to gather all of the paper crafting supplies I typically need to make a card. And once I start making a card, its much harder to stop midway. With knitting or crochet, I can just finish one line of a pattern and wrap it up. That's not to say that I won't be making cards but it's been nice to take a break.

So on to a few of my yarn projects:

I made a hat & tried cable knitting for the first time! A cable needle could be useful down the road, but I just used an extra dpn here.

I'm working on my first baby cardigan as a gift for a friend. I love this yarn, which is some of the beautiful yarn my grandmother passed on to me!

Abby turned my ghetto yarn bowl into an impromptu swimming pool for her Monster High dolls. :) I should get a proper yarn bowl some time...I truly hate when my yarn rolls off my lap! This little box is working for now, though I wonder how it will look in the middle of the summer with snowflakes all over it. Etsy has some beautiful bowls, like this one or this one.

Here's a closeup of the chevron pattern on the bottom half. Pretty, no?

A view of the back of the cardigan. A few more repeats of the chevron pattern, sleeves and some finish work and it will be done!

Decided to try out another cable pattern, this time a pair of mittens! Still no cable needle, and yes, it would have been even more helpful this time since I was knitting in a smaller round than my hat. But I managed!

These bad boys are long! No worries that a draft will give me goosebumps! :)

I love them - they are so thick and warm thanks to the bulky weight yarn I used. I didn't have enough of the same colorway in my stash so I had to go to the store and pick up new yarn for these. I finished these on Saturday, when it suddenly went up to 50 degrees! In Michigan, 50 degrees in January is not glove weather! But in true Michigan weather yo yo tradition, we have a high of 25 degrees today, so they were perfect for the drive to work this morning!

Another thing that I like about them? They prevent me from checking my phone at a red light on the drive. I don't text and drive - no way! But it's become super tempting to take a peek at Facebook or Instagram while I'm waiting at a light. Not a habit I want to get into!

I made these on Sunday. My last attempt at baby booties was a disaster so I was a little gun shy about trying again, but one of the things I love about crochet is that I can rip it out to the point I need and start again. Which I had to do a couple times with these, but in the end they turned out very cute! As you can see on the right bootie, they have button holes and the flap wraps around the ankle. They are destined for a baby girl, and mom isn't a huge fan of traditional pinks (I can sympathise, I felt the same way when Abby was born. She came home from the hospital in a lovely blue outfit. But pink is her favorite color now, so that didn't last long! lol). But I have to make these a little girlie, so I'm hoping to find some sparkly buttons for the cuff. I honestly think pink rhinestone would be really cute with this soft gray, but we'll see what I can find.

I'm thinking of making a pair of baby mitts to go with these booties and perhaps a little hat too. I have plenty of this gray yarn from my stash to work with so it wouldn't be a problem to add that to the gift. Maybe add a bit of pink ribbon to the mitt cuffs or a tiny pink bow on the hat? Just a touch so they all tie in together? I guess it all depends on what I find for the booties.

All of these pics came from my Instagram account, so if you're interested in following along with the progress of these and other random bits & pieces, feel free to follow me!

Crochet Bunny Peeps!

I wanted to share one of my favorite Easter/Spring crochet projects. Crochet Bunny Peeps!

This pattern is not mine, but was shared by Ryan at Scarlett Design in 2010. I LOVE this pattern - so easy to follow and the project came together for me really fast! Swing by her blog and check out her great patterns and other goodies!

My favorite yarn for this project ended up being Simply Soft by Caron...it's easy to find, has lots of bright colors (you need bright colors for that Peeps look!) and is really soft. It also helps that I have quite a bit of it in my yarn stash so it was a great way to use up some of the yarn that was piling up. I also used other worsted weight yearns...really anything will work!

For the eyes I used the plastic safety eyes that you can find at any local craft store (I got mine at Joanns). Quick tip - put them in your project before you put in the stuffing and reduce your rounds so much you can't get your fingers inside to attach the back. Not that I know this from experience of course... *wink*

Anyway, go check out Ryan's blog, which also has links to her Etsy shop.

By the way, how is it possibly only 6 days till Easter? I have done NOTHING to prepare! Work has been too crazy, but I made it through the weekend in one (relatively unscathed) piece and am really looking forward to my day off tomorrow. How are your Easter/Spring plans going?

Diaper Cake!

One of the Kindergarten teachers at my son's school is having a baby (actually she was induced last night, so we're waiting for news right now!) and since Tuesday was her last day we wanted to give her a little gift on behalf of the PTO. Being the "crafty one" (lol), I was in charge of making a diaper cake. I've made a few of them and usually keep mine pretty simple. This one used one package of Pampers and was decorated with some very cute ribbons and a little stuffed lion. He of course needed a touch of color too, so I tied a bow around his neck with the same ribbon. :) Thankfully one of the PTO members snapped a picture of it, because I didn't have a chance before I had to rush it up to the school...elementary schools have lunch so early in the day! After he took it I realized that the top ribbons had shifted so I straightened it before the mom-to-be came into the room. Whew!

I've seen some massive cakes, and one day I may have to attempt it, but for now this 2-layer version works out quite nicely! In fact, it has become one of my go-to baby gifts!

If you've never made one before they are relatively simple. The diapers are usually arranged in one of two ways: individually rolled and formed into a "cake" shape, or by fanning a stack of diapers into a round shape. I prefer the second method...while it take a bit of patience to fan them evenly and shape the circle, individually rolling each diaper seems mind-numbing to me. Some people use a tube in the center to help form the circle of diapers, but I don't bother. I can usually coax a good circle with some patience. I always top mine with some sort of stuffed animal...in fact I usually let the stuffed animal decide how the rest of the cake will be decorated. I tried finding an animal to match the cake and it was nearly impossible, so I learned my lesson! This little lion was perfect. To add a bit of color I tied a matching ribbon around his neck (think a cute stuffed animal is even cuter with a giant bow!). I then added a little note card with a die cut lion on it with a little message from the PTO.

One of the other members (who is equally as crafty!) made a sweet little onesie. She used fabric paint to recreate our schools eagle logo on the front and put little eagle "foot" prints on the backside. We rolled it up, tied it with a ribbon and added it to the top of the cake.

Here is another I made last year:

Do you have any special gifts you like to make for babies/weddings/etc?

A very kind gift

I work with some wonderful people.

My department has basically every working age group in it; from our youngest who is 17, to the eldest in her mid 80's. It gives us a unique perspective on our guests and provides a great environment where we can learn from each other. As different as we all are, we pull together and help each other when the time arises. I love that.

I recently attended the funeral of the wife of one of my staff. Sadly, she lost her battle with cancer. Her husband is a very kind man and I know this loss has been hard for him.

I was visiting the cashier area he and others were working in and as we were chatting I mentioned that I was working on some new craft projects. I have been knitting & crocheting baby hats. He mentioned that his wife used to do the same and wondered if I would be interested in any of her supplies since no one in the family had need for them. I told him I would happily use anything he might want to give me.

Yesterday he came in with a bag. He showed me a few things inside and said I could have everything inside. Wow, what a treat! When I got home I had a chance to really look through it and was amazed at what he had given me!

Dozens of knitting needles in various sizes...regular as well as double pointed!

Lots of crochet hooks, kept in two different zip up bags:

There were also a couple smaller bags filled with other supplies like a tape measure, 3 tiny sewing scissors, pins, needles, counters, rubber tips, etc! And the tube with the red & blue embroidery in the first picture is a holder for all the knitting needles! It's packed full, and that's just with the unpackaged needles! I was overwhelmed by his kindness. I really can't wait to use some of the supplies for my upcoming projects and will think of Nancy and Dave whenever I use them.

I really work with wonderful people.

Pencil Vase

As we get ready for the first day of school I can't help but think of the line from "You've Got Mail": "If I knew your address I would send you bouquets of sharpened pencils." Sigh...no wonder Meg Ryan fell for Tom Hanks with a line like that. :)Ok, enough sappiness.

School starts the day after Labor Day in Michigan, so this week the teachers are back in their classes getting things ready for the adoring little faces who will fill the halls next week. I was elected Secretary of our PTO this year which will bring it's own set of challenges as I add it to the list of things that fill my day. But I am excited by the idea of helping my sons school as much as I can. We decided to treat the teachers to lunch today...nothing too fancy, just some sandwiches, salads, a little dessert and some drinks. I made a fruit salad, which the kids were very happy to help with (though I had to check that they did get all of the stems off the grapes! ha!). I also made these vases to decorate the tables. I found the idea here.

The teachers loved it and we plan to raffle it off to them. For the lunch we just filled them with some silk flowers, but they will look so cute with any kind of flowers.

Here's a video I posted at YouTube about it:

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp_QjQ7dvyk

Enjoy!

I made a tent!

I mentioned yesterday that I was searching thrift stores for sheets (and ended up finding lots of other goodies!). I wanted to share what I needed those sheets for. I found this great A-Frame tent on the blog by cakies and have been itching to try it out.

It's so simple to make, and perfect for little kids to dream away an afternoon. I'm proud to say that I built this myself (with my hubby holding the moulding down while I drilled) yesterday and today it went off to the home of a little girl who was celebrating her 3rd birthday. I was happy to see her crawling into her new tent as we were leaving the party. :)

If you are looking for a fun, easy project you should give this a try! I have another to make...my daughter was enjoying this one too much not to give her one of her own. :)

Flower Pens!

What do you do when you wake up at 7:30 (on your day off!) realizing you left the hot glue gun plugged in all night? Well, once you've determined that you haven't burned the house down, you realize since it's hot anyway, you might as well do some more crafting! :) Or is that just me....?

We're (the PTO) preparing some goodie bags for the teachers at my son's school. I think I mentioned that I'm the designated crafty one in the group so I was given the task of making some flower pens. I stopped at the Dollar Store yesterday and found the rest of the supplies I needed, so this morning I sat down to work. Here is how I did it:

You will need:

• Pens
• Silk Flowers
• Floral Tape
• Glue (Hot glue is great for this!)
• Sissors
• Wire Cutters

Start by taking the top off the pen to give access to the tube. I didn't think about this when I bought my pens so I had to cut the tops off. It's a pain and does slow things down, so maybe keep an eye out for pens that have a tip that pops out (i.e. Bic Stik is one I know of). If you have to cut the tops off, just know they fly everywhere if you aren't careful so don't aim it toward anyone.

Now cut your flower buds off the bunch. I prefer using wire cutters for this rather than sissors since the wire in the stems can damage the blades of your sissors. I actually had my son help me with this. With supervision, a 6 year old is perfectly capable of doing this and he had a lot of fun. Just leave enough of the stem to fit into the tube. I didn't want it to interfere with the ink chamber, so I'd say I had about 1/2" to work with.

Now it's time to attach the flowers. I added a bit of hot glue into the pen tube (It won't need much) and pushed the flower into the glue. Hold for a moment and it should be set. If it oozes out of the top of the tube you can wipe it off, but remember that hot glue is HOT! I'm convinced that it's even hotter at 8am...

Then take your floral tape and begin at the bottom of the pen (the writing end). Stretch the tape a bit to activate the adhesive and then wrap the tape up the length of the pen to the flower. When you tear or cut the tape and roll it at the top the end will blend in nicely with the rest of the tape so you really shouldn't be able to see where it ends.

And that's it!

What I learned:

• This is a super fast craft. I made 2 dozen in about 2 hours. With a different pen it might mave been a bit faster.
• Back to school time is a great time to find pens cheap.
• I really don't care for silk flowers. Some people make amazing floral arrangements, but it's just not my thing. Which is good...I have enough other supplies to keep me busy for a very long time. :)
• My cat will find a way to cuddle when I craft no matter what.
• This would be cute in arrangements for showers or somewhere where pens have a tendency to disappear. This doesn't tuck into a pocket too well without the person knowing. As an accidental collector of pens it would help me!

Have you tried these out before? What was the occasion? Did you make yours differently?
Have a wonderful day!