Another Squibly from Outer Space...

has landed! 'Mmmm.... human food.'

' What are these green stick thingys? They're the same color as me...' Well now I have made two, I have no idea where the first one is.... (sigh.) Maybe he flew back to outer space?

Squibly

I tested this little guy for someone at Crochetville. Our four year old named him 'Squibly, squibly'. (That's what the person at Crochetville called him.) He worked up really fast. Fun for an instand gratification project and a toy for someone... Maybe even yourself. :D I am going to make another one in green for our other son. She said she was going to be posting the pattern at her Etsy store soon. It doesn't look like she has it up yet. So I suppose you could just check there later.

Coffee Can Cozy

Here is something else I have been working on, that won't give me away to my secret pal. It's for the stashbusting CAL. Although the two points I got making this (didn't actually bust any stash with it, did I?) are gone since my secret pal sent me two skeins of fancy fur! :D And, I know I am going out to buy two more (at least) today. For something. I'm not saying what... ;)

Here is the coffee can it goes over. Technically it isn't a *can*, though, is it? When it is plastic? Hmmm.... Is that a stupid thing to wonder about? Well anyway. What do you all think about my coffee can cozy? I think I need to make a top for it somehow, don't you? I think that is where I'm stumped.

Butterfly Bookmark

Well Lucy, I have been searching for that butterfly. I will have to dig out my patterns and see which one it is; as I can't seem to find it on CPC. I am almost positive, though, that this bookmark pattern is what she used for the bookmark. There was some discussion about this bookmark at Crochetville a while ago. I can't seem to find the one (Crochetville post) I am thinking about... But, some kind hearted person (maybe it is the person who sent me my butterfly, although I can't remember who it was...) was sending these butterfly bookmarks out as RAOKs. Everyone loved them and was wondering what pattern she used. I am almost positive the bookmark pattern is the one she used. Here is one butterfly that is very similar. Instead of yarn, you use thread. I found it. Happyghan Butterfly! That is (what I am almost positive she used for) the butterfly pattern. If you make one, I'd love to see it! :) Guess What!!? After I posted this, I went back to Crochetville just to see if I could find the thread that I was thinking of. And I did!! And, it is the person who was making them!! I am so privileged to have one from her!! I can't believe it! :D She tells how she made them, and it is the butterfly I posted. I didn't read the rest, but now you can read it yourself. ;)

Lots of Mail Lately!! :D

And complete surprises, too. First, I got this Valentines' Day card and beautiful butterfly bookmark in the mail as an RAOK from Cordelia (at Crochetville)! It is so pretty, and it is ironic because I was just looking through my drawer the other day, thinking 'I know I must have a crocheted bookmark in here somewhere. I was almost positive I had a purple one someone else made me... (I must be losing my mind.) So now I have this one too. Thank you, Cordelia!! :)

Then, not too long after, I got this in the mail from Mimi. It came as a total and most pleasant surprise!! Thank you so much, Mimi!! This is the shrug pattern that I just posted about in my last post. So even though I already had the pattern on my computer, I now have it in writing, too!!

And, I got my first puffie in the mail from my Secret Pal!! She really threw me for a loop, because somehow (she must have inside info) ;) she put the address to the pal that I am secret to, as the return address. It really confused me. I thought I must be hallucinating or going crazy from this flu. But, no, it really was her, and I wasn't hallucinating. I may be going crazy, though. LOL. :D Thank you so much, secret pal!!

And here are the dishcloths, unfolded. I tried to lighten this picture, but it only came out even darker.... :( They are a really lovely pale yellow and white. Too pretty to wash grimy greasy dishes with!! :0

And, for lack of things to blog about (or should I say, since I can't blog about what I am crocheting, since it's all for my secret pal, and I would give myself away...) :) Here is a shawl I started like two years ago. It's the evening shawl. I always get a pop-up from this site, so be warned. :/ I had put this away for soooo long. I think mostly because it's taking forever, and I don't really like working with Red Heart Symphony. It is soft, and fuzzy. But it's a bear to frog. And kinda hard to see what you are doing. Nothing like fun fur, though...

A kind of close-up. Well KnicKnac had posted about the evening shawl she just finished at Crochetville. And so I dug mine out and started working on it again yesterday.... I'm not as far along on it as I thought. I don't even really know why I started a shawl, since I'm not really a *shawl* wearing person... But, I could be. :D

Shells and Flowers Shrug!

Here is another great pattern I got from my friend Mimi. :D It is the Shells and Flowers Shrug (as the title of this post stated!) This one I worked in regular old size 10 thread. In red. No guessing here. ;) I wore this to church once (it's always freezing in there~or maybe it's just me)... and it kept my arms warm.

The back, so you can see how far down it goes...

And full front shot. The pattern stitch is an easy repeat, and the sleeves are worked along with the body. Very simple schematics (?). I think that's a good thing for me, since this was only my first or second wearable... You can find the pattern here. Thanks for stopping by!

Breezy Bolero!

Well here it is. I have actually had this done for a while, but am just now getting pictures for it.... I got the pattern from my friend, Mimi!

It is called the Breezy Bolero. I made it with a size 10 thread, in a size medium. I used two skeins of a big ball of variegated thread (I can't remember the name of it, my bad... I will look to see what it was next time I am in Michaels) to finish this bolero. But you could order the size 8 cannon threads for it here.

Here is the back. I crocheted mine a little longer than the actual pattern called for, I think. (Excuse my gumpy butt.) :0 Who left the door open? Were they born in a barn? :D You can read more about and purchase this pattern here!

She's Done! She's Done!!

I haven't decided what to name her. Mostly because I am sending her to my Grandma. So I think I will let her decide if and or what she wants to name her. (But, if I was going to name her, I would name her Lily.) :D Maybe I'll make one for me, just like her, and name her Lily. Here she is sitting next to my Jade plant. I know, I know, it isn't a eucalyptus tree, but...

And here she is with her new friend, Blossom!! I know these pictures are not the best. My husband did something with our computer and now I can't crop or fix the lighting on my pictures or anything.... :( But, I thought I would share them with you anyway. (You can click on the picture for a bigger view, though.) Thanks for stopping by.

A Baby Koala!

Well I have finally gotten around to working on the Koala pattern I bought from Cupcake a while back. :D I have already made two mistakes (that I know of). One, I made the adult inner (fluffy part) ear. :( So the ears look a little bigger. And, I made the adult legs, too... (sigh). That's what happens when you don't get enough sleep. I still think it is turning out cute. I haven't decided if I want to do the nose and eyes in black, or in purple... I am thinking purple, though. Stay tuned for a finished Koala! Blossom can't wait! :)

I Joined Another CAL

Yup. This one is kinda like a given though. I just have a picture and a link now. ;) It's kinda fun. You get points for each skein you use up or if you use up half a skein and make it into a ball. Or if you use up a ball... Then if you buy yarn you get points taken away. That won't be a problem for me anyway right now. I'll be adding the button in my sidebar soon...

Another Bear

Here is another bear I finished for the teddy-bear-a-long... I am on a teddy bear kick anyway. Even if there was no such thing as a teddy bear a long... I like how this one came out. The pattern is "Pat's Teddy Bear" from the 2006 Crochet-Pattern-A-Day Calendar. It looked pink to me in the picture. So I made a pink one. (I was going to anyway.) I totally winged the scarf. I tried to make it look like the one in the picture. (For which there was no pattern.) And I didn't feel like coming up with one of my own. This is for my friends' little girl. She'll be three this month. Hmmmm.... Two down, ???? to go.... At least two more maybe four? (That I can think of people to make them for.)

A Hat. To Go With a BICO...

I finally started and finished a hat to go with this sweater. 'Bout time, seeing as how the baby was born last night.... This is a size 12 months sweater, though. So it's no rush. The hat actually came out a little bigger than the measurements for a 12 month head size. But I guess it's better a little bigger than a little too small.

Here they are together.

Uh Oh... Not Another One... (BICO) ;p

This is BICO #6. I made this one out of Homespun and Simply Soft for the trim and the hat. It still doesn't have any buttons on it yet; I have to go buy some since I didn't have any in my sewing box that would go with it... The hat pattern is the same one I used for a couple of other BICO sets (out of the Family Circle Easy Crochet magazine). I did make (one) mitten, but I could tell it was waaaay too small. So I might just send the sweater and hat. It's going to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Even though I am no longer in the yahoo group Crafting for a Cause, I still write back and forth with someone who lives there. She just wrote me and told me she has a new grandson so I made this set for him. It's a size six months so hopefully it will fit in a month or so... (he's three months old). I am also working on a preemie hat. I accidentally did one already (trying to make a hat to go with this sweater, actually.) I am sending it to someone who works in a neonatal nursery. I should make a bunch since I haven't sent any to the Preemie Protectors group in a while, either.... Oh well. They do go pretty quick.

A Couple Baby Items (Gifts)

Well the hat I have had done for a long time. I finally decided maybe I should look for a bootie pattern to go along with it. I found Emma's Baby Booties and thought they would be perfect! They even used the same exact yarn I used for the hat and they are newborn sized (which the hat is, too.) Although it does look huge next to the booties. They are both the exact measurements they are supposed to be for a newborn size. They are going to my SIL. She and her husband are having a baby girl next week. Doesn't that sound funny? 'Oh yeah, I'm having my baby next week.' Strange. Anyway she had said something about how it would be great having a newborn hat from Tina to take her home from the hospital in. So walla.. These aren't the only things I've made her.

I also finished up these booties tonight, too. They have been done for a while, too. I just needed to tie in the loose ends and sew up a hole on each side... They are knitted and are in the 'Socks, Socks, Socks' book, edited by Elaine Rowley. They are called 'Sockies', and are my favorite baby bootie to knit. I have also made her a BICO which I've already posted about. I just need to crochet a hat to go with it... Then I will be done.

Hallo! I'm Sheila!

"Remember me? I've had my hair done and now I feel like a new troll!" :p I finally got brave and put her hair on today. I wanted to wait until I got some "feathery fluff" yarn, but it is so expensive and I didn't feel like waiting til I had enough money for it. So I just 'used what I have'. Just plain old Red Heart worsted weight black. I pulled each strand apart so there were two plies of two. I think she looks really cool. I am sending her to my cousin who is going to Australia next month. (I don't know if I mentioned this in my last post with Sheila...) She used to have all the old 'Wishniks' (troll dolls), back when they were just coming out. She still has some of her originals and collects them. So for those two reasons I thought she would really like this. I hope she does. I want to make one for me, now. :) Blossom really likes her. ;)

I Told You Today Was Going to be a Crochet Day... :p

He's finished! I am really happy with how he turned out. (Yes, it is a *he*.) :p He even has a tail. I took a picture of it, but you couldn't even tell in the picture... I took about fifteen pictures trying to get the color/lighting right. It still isn't exactly right, but pretty close...

This is a more accurate color. A little too bright, but.. And a close-up of the nose and eyes.

And finally, here he is by the first one I did (terribly wrong, I might add.) It must have been waaaaay too loose of crocheting for the scs to be that big. Well I don't think this will be my only bear for the Teddy-a-Long. I might make some more of these guys for gifts, too.

And More Progress...

It's starting to look like a bear now. :) It's almost done, actually. I am working on the last leg now and then just have to embroider the nose. Did you know you can click on the photos and you can get a bigger view? I just recently figured that out (woo hoo). Shows you what a computer dummy I am. :p I decided after looking at the state of the living room and dining room this morning (yesterday I cleaned all day...) that I am not doing anything today. I am on strike. Why should I waste my days cleaning up everyone else's mess? I am so sick of it. (It only took me fourteen years to come to this...) Soooo... I officially declared today 'Crochet Day' for me. I *might* make dinner. We'll see.

Progress so far...

Here is what I have done so far. I finished this up last night. (I might have been a lot farther than this by now, too, if I could just get off this computer! LOL)

Here it is next to the first one I made... See how much better it looks? I think I have gotten a lot better at crocheting toys since then... (four and a half years ago, not bad...) :) I'm also using 12mm eyes that lock in, I think they look 100% better than the buttons I used before....

Grandma's Scrappy Bear

Well I searched the internet high and low last night trying to find a link that would work for the bear pattern to share with you all in case you wanted to try it, too. :( To no avail.... Then, this morning I headed on over to Crochetville to see what was happening and woolcat had found an archived link!! WOO HOO!! Thanks, woolcat! The picture doesn't show up, but maybe it is just my computer??? Here it is folks, Grandma's Scrappy Bear! Yay! I was thinking about making one of these for my nephew as a 'Big Brother' gift... What do you think? If you want to wait until I post the picture of my latest bear it looks a lot better (so far) than the other (ratty looking) one I posted... I am crocheting a lot tighter. I don't know what I was thinking before... But now that I have a few crocheted toys under my belt, one thing I have learned is that tighter is better with toys. I was used to just crocheting doilies, afghans... I didn't really pay much attention to *gauge*, either... ahem.. Someone once said about these bears, "They look like something you would see in 'Gap' "(a really nice clothing store here). So I was thinking it might be a hit with a 7 year old Spiderman loving, Gameboy playing, type kid... ??

I Joined the Teddy Bear CAL

at Crochetville. So I thought I would post all the teddy bears I have made. I've made two of some of these. (Like the one above.) I made one for Mimi, and one for Lene`. :) Both of whom were swap partners of mine through Crochetville in the past. :D

Well technically this isn't a teddy bear; it's a polar bear. Oh well. He wanted to get in here, too. ;p This was a pattern I tested.

Now these are some older bears I crocheted. The one above I do not have the pattern for anymore. I remember hating crocheting this one, and I am almost positive I threw the pattern out in disgust. But... I wish I had kept it now. Because I am a lot more patient with my crocheting than I was back then. And, you can see how well this bear has held up over the years! (It is about ten years old.) Especially compared to this next one:

Which is about four years old... This is another one I made two of. One for each of our older sons. Right before I had their baby brother and had to go into the hospital for a few days.... I made them each a bear to snuggle with while mommy was gone... He still has this bear on his bed so it must mean something to him. (Because look how ratty looking it is!) This pattern is still on the Stargazer site, but every time I click on the link it isn't available. I think it is one of the Denise Augustine patterns or somehow linked to it... I can't find the other bear like him that I did, but I know it's around here somewhere, because I just saw both of them the other day.. I do have the pattern printed out though. If I decided to make another one I think I would crochet a lot tighter or use a smaller hook (or both). So the stuffing wouldn't come out like that again... I haven't decided what teddy bear pattern I want to do next, but stay tuned... :)

We want a new crocheted friend!... and some clothes would be nice, too... :p