hat season!

We had snow fall the other night! It didn't stick around but I love that it's almost here! It's been hat season for a few weeks now, mornings have been cool enough for them (mitts too!).


My oldest has been asking for a hat since I crocheted a pink one last year and a full year later, I finally crocheted one! I used the Natalie Super Slouch pattern. My daughter really likes blue, so I made hers with blue, white and grey stripes.


Hats are such fun, quick projects. There will be more hats made soon, possibly even a knit one!

sleepy owl sleepover

My oldest daughter turned nine on Friday and we decided to let her have her first sleepover party this year. I knew we would be letting her have this party for quite some time, so I had been browsing pinterest for months looking for fun ideas for the party. We decided to have a Sleepy Owl Slumber party.


The invitations were really fun to make. I found a sleep mask template and used Gimp to make a fun invite. I printed them out and backed them with cute scrapbook paper, I sandwiched ribbon between to make a tie for the sleep mask. We then added some eyes, ears and a beak. I loved how they turned out! I tied the ribbon before sending them out.


And of course, I had to do some type of crochet for the party. Since it was sleepy owl themed, I thought some little sleepy owls would be a cute favor for the girls. I used Nel the Tiny Owl to make them. I made them in all the girls favorite colors, so no one would be disappointed. The girls were all happy with them, nine year olds give awesome compliments!


I managed to get everything ready with a few hours to spare before the party. My daughter had a really great time. I'm glad I braved her first sleepover for her.

My second daughter turned seven on Sunday, we had a family party for her that day. We're hosting an art party with her friends next weekend, she wants to do Christmas crafts, so it should be lots of fun! I think I might whip up a small crochet ornament as favors for that party. I'll be sharing that next week along with the fun invitations I made for her.

first craft sale done

Sorry for such a blurry picture, I forgot to take my real camera with me to the sale.
My first craft sale is now behind me! This one was very, very slow due to lack of advertising, there were very few people who walked through. I still managed to make a good amount of sales for the amount of people who came through. Sales went much better than I expected even before I got there. I'm really glad that I pushed myself to do it, it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I even decided that I will do another bigger one in the future!

The shop will be getting an update next week on July 3rd with everything that I have leftover. There's still quite a few cuties that are looking for homes and a few baby blankets as well! I hope you'll check out the fun update!

Also, don't forget to change your blog readers tonight. Google Reader shuts down tomorrow! I use feedly for all my blog reading now and I like to check out bloglovin' sometimes as well too! I know that a lot of people enjoy bloglovin', my followers there have jumped a lot since the announcement of google reader shutting down.

Have a great day!

2013 Goals

Instead of making new year's resolutions, I like to make goals for the new year, that way I won't feel like I failed. Last year's goals are here, I did two of them. I never learned to knook but now that I can kind of knit, I don't really want to learn. I still have the kit, so if anyone wants it, email me, I'll send it to you! (The kit has been claimed!)

I don't have too many goals again this year but I think I'll be able to do all of these. Here's all my craft related goals:

1. Reduce the WIP pile. There are too many of them, hopefully I won't add too many throughout the year!

2. Make at least 3 shawls with one being knit. I've finally decided that I do love a shawl! I've even decided on the first one, it's the Stripe Study (knit!) and as soon as the yarn I want is in stock, I'll be casting on.

3. Make a sampler blanket. I've been gathering a lot of free patterns to do this, so I may end up doing more than one blanket. I'd really like to get three blankets made, so I can give one to each of my kids.

Also, head over to read about a Year of Giving on Lilac Saloon. I love the idea behind it, I feel like it's a good thing for me to focus on right now. This month's category is comfort, which I think is a good one for crocheters, you could make a blanket for a friend going through something or donate one to a charity. There's a lot of different things you could do!

2012 favorites

I thought I would share my 10 favorite projects from 2012 before it's over in a few hours. It's so much fun to look back at projects I made through the year.

RAWR!
ripple towel
my bow bag
grandma love cushion
leaning tower of macaroons
lovebirds for 30 years
lacy baby blanket
typewriter noticeboard
patchwork Scottie
googley eyed monster hat
I hope everyone has a great New Year!!

2012 in mosaics

I actually stuck with the monthly mosaics this year! I really did a lot of crafting this year. I made a lot of ami's and will probably continue to do so next year!

Enjoy a look back at 2012!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

November

Here's a few things that happened on the blog in November.


Added baby blankets to the shop.

Crocheted a cute reindeer hat!

I put up my Christmas wreath and updated it a bit.

Made an indoor snowball fight kit for the kids.

Finished testing a blanket, called Owl My Love Blanket (pattern is now live!)

I crocheted a Christmas Pickle to start a new tradition this Christmas.

Christmas gift making

This year for Christmas I decided to do a little crocheting for a few gifts. I don't have a huge list, I didn't want to go too crazy and not get anything finished. Here's what I've got that I can share without ruining any surprises (one has to be kept secret!)

Howie the Holiday Penguin for my son, he constantly talks about a penguin he received for Christmas a few years ago. The penguin is gone now so I'm going to give him a new one. I'll be making him in the soft Charisma yarn.

Daphne Doll X2! I'm making both my girls one of these. I've already got them mostly finished, they just need some accessorizing. I'll share some better pictures once I have them completed.


Lastly, for the Christmas Eve ornament my kids get every year, I'll be making these adorable teddy ornaments. I haven't decided yet whether I'll be making them all teddies or making the koala and panda too. They're all super cute, it's hard to make a decision.

It's a small, very manageable list! Are you crocheting for anyone this Christmas?

Christmas wreath

Christmas decorations started going up in our home over the weekend, it's not all up yet but it's getting there. I don't have too many crafts planned this year but there are a couple that I'm working on. I'm trying not to overload myself with too much since I'm making so many gifts this year. I'll try to share all that I've got planned for gifts soon!


I got my wreath up on the door yesterday, I made it last year and I am still absolutely in love it! I love the green stripes! I decided to add a little to it this year though.

Instead of using a wreath hanger, I crocheted a ribbon in red to hang it over the door. On the back of the door I have a Command hook upside down and the crocheted ribbon is hooked onto it. The ribbon is just a 55" strip of hdc's. I also added the word "Merry" to it, I picked it up at Michaels last month when they first started putting out their Christmas stuff. I really like how it looks now! It feels a lot warmer than the way it was last year.

Have you started decorating for Christmas already?

October

I actually did quite a bit this month, I haven't even shared all of what I've done. I have quite a bit to catch up on here! Here's what I did manage to share last month though:

I made cute bats and joined them into a garland that I hung over my mirror.

I made my son a googley eyed monster hat and I shared how to make it too. Did anyone make one?

I gave intarsia crochet a try and I really like how it turned out!

Mixtro the Monster was a gift for my son's birthday in September, he's a free pattern from FreshStitches and Knitting Fever. (click to the post to go to the pattern)

I crocheted an Anthropologie (cookie jar) inspired owl.

Made a striped cowl that ended up too small for my taste. I'm making a second one and I should be sharing how to make your own soon too.

intarsia crochet heart

Last weekend, I tried something new! I found this pattern on ravelry called Watercolor Heart Pillow, I wanted to make myself one but decided to try it in crochet since my knitting is still very slow.

The technique I used is called intarsia crochet, it's actually not too hard once you get the hang of it and as long as you don't tangle up your yarns. I found a helpful video on youtube that shows you how to do it and how to read the chart, see it here if you're interested in learning!

I'm happy with how this piece turned out. I have no idea what I am going to do with it, it's definitely not a size that I would make into a pillow. I may eventually make more and stitch them into a blanket. I bought the variegated on sale and loved it so much that I went back for two more skeins, I have more than enough for a blanket now (this block barely made a dent in one skein).

September

Wow, I didn't realize I had worked on so many fun projects this month! Looking at this mosaic makes me really happy!

I started getting into the Halloween spirit by making this "spooky" spider, there's more Halloween amigurumi coming too.

I reviewed a new crochet book called Crochet Boutique and made a bag from it. It was my first time reviewing a craft book, I enjoyed it, I hope I'll get to do more in the future!

I started a new something pretty bag. I am finished but need to get decent pictures taken of it and then I will be adding it to the shop! It turned out very pretty!

My nephew turned one this month and I made him a pirate themed gift!

I made myself a crocheted patchwork Scottie dog using some squares I crocheted last year. I still haven't given him up to my kids, might not ever either!

Finally, I crocheted an owl basket.

September was a good crocheting month! I think October will be too, I have quite a few projects almost completed and ready to share!

lovebirds for 30 years

My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary earlier this month and I really wanted to make them a gift. I made this lovebirds cake topper (that didn't actually make it onto the cake!) for them.

The birds were made using a free pattern from LionBrand, found here. The heart is from Planet June, I embroidered (not too well) '30' on one side and then stuffed the heart.

The top hat I made up as I went, I attempted to embroider a maple leaf onto it since my dad's favorite hockey team is the Toronto Maple Leafs. It doesn't look perfect but I'm still really happy with how it turned out, though it does look better from further away!

For the legs of the birds, I used 18 gauge floral stem wire. This part actually went faster than I expected, it was pretty easy to bend the wire into little bird feet (not so easy on my hands though!) They can even stand on their own but I wanted it to all go together, so I glued them to a piece of light weight wood I bought at Michaels.

I am thrilled with how the cake topper turned out, it's exactly what I envisioned when I started! I wish every project went that way!

typewriter noticeboard TA-DAH!

I've finally got my typewriter noticeboard finished! I'm so happy with it! I had a lot of fun working on this one, even with all the small back stitching details.

Instead of stitching words on the paper, I decided to cross-stitch a heart. The inspiration for that is from the typewriters in the Ruby Star Shining fabric line. It's a little bit of a wonky heart (on purpose), I love it!

I wrapped my design around a canvas that I bought on sale forever ago and added ribbon that would match the heart. TA-DAH!!


I got my pattern from issue 248 of The CrossStitcher but there is a how-to for this noticeboard and a link for the pattern (you have to buy it) right here.

I changed the colors for my typewriter, I used DMC 3705 for the main color and DMC 353 for the shading. For the heart, I used DMC 964 and DMC 959 to line it.

cross-stitch WIP

I've been making good progress with my noticeboard, my iron is going to have a lot of work to do once I'm finished!

I went with a melon color for my typewriter, I'm using DMC 3705, the lighter color is peach DMC 353. I wasn't sure about the color when I first started it but it's grown on me and I'm happy with how it's looking!

June

Almost forgot about June's mosaic!


I tested the Choose Your Own Dragon Adventure pattern for Fresh Stitches. I made two dragons, a girl and a boy, both turned out super cute!

I was on a dishcloth kick for a little while and ended up with a nice stack of dishcloths, crocheted and knit!

I caught up on my dessert of the month again, now to get July done! It's a strawberry shortcake, yum! I may have to reward myself after I finish it with a slice of cake.

I made a tabby cat door stopper for my daughter's room.

And I started a new blanket of roses!

tabby cat door stopper

My parents have a cat door stopper at their home and I've always wanted one too. I found this pattern forever ago and just never got around to actually making it until I saw one done that looked like a tabby cat, I knew it had to get done finally.

I bought Vanna's Choice yarn in charcoal print and got to work. I'm thrilled with how it turned out, it looks just like a tabby cat! I wasn't so thrilled with the yarn, it really hurt my hands when I was working with it. I was told to try washing it afterwards but never actually got to doing it, I couldn't wait to finish this. I probably won't bother with Vanna's anymore though (after I finish grannies & ripples anyway) it's so hard to find soft yarn from her, a lot of it makes me cringe when I touch it!

To make the cat actually work as a door stopper, I sewed together felt circles and filled them with rice. After the rice bag when in, I finished stuffing with polyfil and then embroidered on a face. I wasn't sure whether the eyes were going to work but I think they turned out looking great in the end.

This cat is living in my oldest's room, I may make another cat someday but I really want to make this house into a door stopper first.

field of yellow roses

I had a really good birthday on Friday, thanks for the kind birthday wishes! I spent a good chunk of my day cross-stitching this noticeboard like I had planned. I settled on a melon color for my typewriter, I'll get some progress pictures soon, I'm loving the color I chose!


Yesterday, I started a new crochet blanket. I saw this pattern and I just could not pass it up! It's called Rose Field Baby Blanket. I'm making my blanket in one color (Bernat Waverly's butter) and using a bigger hook (6.5mm). I'm already so madly in love with it, it's seriously squishy and so soft! I'm going to try to end up with a decent sized throw to snuggle under.

Happy Canada Day!

flower bookmark

I made myself a super simple crochet bookmark using this pattern from Lulu Loves. I used Bernat Handicrafter cotton in lavalamp for this one and a size 3.75mm hook. I made the chain at the end a little longer so that it would hang out of my books a little more.


I took the picture using the latest book I've read, I'm having a hard time picking a new one to read. The last book I read was Divergent, it was a good book but I didn't go running out for the second, I'm going to wait on paperback. This book was no Hunger Games!

Have you read any good books lately? I love some reccomendations!

May

I feel like May just started, this month has really flown by! I've managed to get a lot of crafting done still though. I'm happy with all the cuteness I managed this month.

I finished knitting my dish towel, I love it with its aqua crochet border. I've even been using it, I more expected it to sit and look pretty since it's so light in color but I like using it.

I tested a pattern called Granny Hoot for Michelle! It turned out so cute, I have her koala one half finished right now also, I should have that finished and ready to share soon I hope, I keep getting side tracked lately.

I made a cute hedgehog pillow for my daughter, it's small but useable for a 5 year old. She definitely likes it, it made it with us on our family trip a couple weekends ago!

The grandma love cushion is another pattern from Michelle, this one sat in my ravelry queue for far too long, I love this pillow!

I finished up a cute cross stitch for my kitchen, it's a leaning tower of macaroons.

I added my Chair Socks pattern to ravelry just this week and it's already gotten over 100 favorites! The pattern was also added to AllFreeCrochet.com this month too.

Now bring on June!