Granny square beach bag

I have been working on this bag for a couple weeks. My plan was to use it as a tote bag, especially for the beach. It is made out of acrylic yarn so it should dry relatively quickly (if it even soaks up water) and be washable and durable.
I would also use it as a grocery-tote or carry small books in it.
Because of the colors I wouldn't carry it all the time as a purse. I thought I wouldn't want to use it as an everyday bag because of the homespun vibe (I think clothing and accessories can look a little too homespun), but now that it's done I don't feel that way.
Nate and I talk about me selling some of my crochet, and he thinks this could be a big seller. What do you think?

First big catch

*Spoiler alert for the in-laws, I just can't keep it to myself.*
When I got back from visiting Julia, Nate said, "Are you ever going to make something for G-baby again?"
Its a bluegill.
I made it up.
I don't mean to boast, but it is kind of awesome. I'm kind of proud of it.

In which I get carried away...

So. I have made some more things for baby Julia, and since most of you actually know me in the real world, you know that I just got to meet her for the first time! I had a lovely trip and Mom and I spent a few days with S and T and J. We did laundry, ate, watched the baby, held the baby, and did a little shopping.
The bro and sis-in-law are very proud of their little nugget, and she is as cute as can be. After a total of four great-grandchildren on one side, and eight on the other, the charm of a new baby is still fresh for everyone. It's fun. More about why babies are awesome another time. I have lots of reasons. More about the trip another time too.
I've been busy stitching for that sweet girl, so I wanted to share.
A dress. Pattern here. I started this immediately upon finding out she was a she.

A bear hat. Pattern here. I started this a while ago and added the flowers after she was a she, or, you know what I mean.
Booties. Pattern here. I made some modifications. I made 5 of these booties on my plane ride. Easy peasy, zippity do da.

A wool soaker for use with cloth diapers. Pattern here. For info about wool soakers, go here. I started these two weeks ago, ish.Mom helped me pick out the buttons.
A cotton diaper cover. Because it's cute, not functional in the diapering way. Pattern here. I gave this to Trisha at the shower, did I already show it to you? I don't remember.

And because I'm not ashamed to admit design flaws or when things go wrong...
When her toes popped through, they kept saying, "I am a GI-ANT!!"

Homespun

Homemade things watch: mobile (by me), teddy bear (by G-Aunt Cecelia), quilt (by Mimi), sweet little baby (by brother and sister-in-law).

Now I think the brother is just taunting me.

Baby Mobile Reveal

Post edit: see the bottom for updated pictures!

This is my major crochet project that I've been working on the last couple weeks. I gave Trish a sneak peek of the frog on fb, but I didn't want to give anything else away. Hopefully I can get my hands on some more pictures of it in the nursery so we can see the tiny guys in their natural habitat.

When Sean and Trish told me they were pregnant I asked Trisha to think about something they would like me to make them. Both of our families are very crafty and talented at sewing and crocheting. I was glad to make her a blanket or a little hat, but I didn't want to make the baby's 15th or 16th blanket or hat and booty set.
(Sidebar: I'm glad I asked because her mom and sil made her adorable blankets. They both covered both possibilities [1 pink and 1 blue each] and they were amazing! I told Trisha that this sets up the expectation of them trying for the other gender next. I took pics with my mom's camera, but I haven't seen those yet.)

So, I've told my other two pregnant friends (there are only two for now, we'll see how long that lasts) the same thing, to think about what they would like me to make. It takes away some of the surprise, but I don't mind. I still surprised Trish with a diaper cover and a baby washcloth.
Anyways, I had an idea for little animals and embroidery hoops, but it took me a while to visualize exactly what I was doing.

I found some inspiration here which I loved, but this was a little bulkier than I wanted. I wanted them to be floating in thin air more. And I wanted a smaller hanging apparatus, hence the embroidery hoops.

This one gave me even more inspiration. This lady is so creative and she responded to a question I had for her. I asked her about mounting the mobile. I don't think that I did it the same way, but it was nice to have another point of view. She said that she wanted to make the mobile no less interesting from the position of the baby, hence the circles. I was having the same issue when thinking about my mobile, so I really appreciated her ideas. I didn't want it to look as much like planets (I think the gray in her nursery gave me that impression too), not that there's anything wrong with planets, and I don't think hers is supposed to either. It was just a thought that popped into my head that I couldn't get out. (Nate and I love that nursery, though. Did you see the subliminal baby message posters? Love them!! And I loved that dark gray color as well!! [We are not having a baby.])

Anywho, I feel like it is totally my creation, with a little inspirational help from other sources. Nate helped me hang it. And by helped me, I mean he made it happen. He found me in the living room all tangled up in fishing line and nearly in tears. I went for a walk around the neighborhood and when I came back the hoops were hanging together and he was ready to show me how to put the animals and balls on! Isn't he great?!

He taught me how to tie some indestructible knots with fancy invisible fishing line that holds up to 8 lbs!!

I also strung a pompom at the joining point of all the line to hide it. I love pompoms. I want them everywhere. Pompom mobile anyone?


It was a big hit with Trisha's little nephew, the official baby-tester. If S and T's loves balls as much as him (very good chance), then the baby will love it!
(That little guy totally stole my heart. I told Nate, "That's the kind of baby that makes you want to have babies." Nate said, "Aren't they all?" And I said, "No, not really" (lots do, but many don't, you know?). I should add that all the young'uns at the shower were very, very precious and fall into that category.)

So that's it! The animals are waving at the baby, the monkey is upside down, because that's how monkeys roll. The frog is not waving at the baby, because, I don't know, it just didn't seem right.
Like I say, I hope I can add some pictures from the nursery, when they will be in their natural habitat, delighting the baby, matching the decor.

**The following animals are not kid friendly due to pipe-cleaner skeletons: frog, monkey, elephant. The lamb, hippo, and balls may eventually be cut down and used as toys at parents' discretion.**

Where was I?

I'll tell you where I wasn't: The Ozarks.
Nate and I were skiing with my family last week.
I have been skiing before, most notably in New England, and I am from a beautiful state, but boy oh boy, Colorado is amazing! Or, maybe I should say the Rockies are amazing. We had a great time! Nate did a great job skiing, and the skill came right back to me like everyone said.

It was my first time to Colorado, so I was extra excited about experiencing that for the first time. And I know my family was excited as well. We went with my bro and sister-in-law, their bun in the oven, my parents and my aunt and uncle. My aunt and uncle have been winter vacationing in Steamboat for a long time (they counted up and told me, and I think the number is > 15 years), and they have been trying to include me in this outing for a few years. Our clan officially took over their vacation, and they claim that they were happy about it. All that to say I was so excited to go to this place I had been hearing so much about!

The whole family has been obsessively checking the weather for Steamboat Springs all winter, and the amount of snow they had was outrageous and did not disappoint. It was beautiful all week, and it snowed a lot on our last day of skiing (Thurs.) and the whole 3 hr drive back to the Denver airport (Friday morning), which was a little scary. But everyone made it to and fro, safe, sound and on time (truly amazing, as there were 3 different airlines and flight itineraries for 4 different families).

This is what it looked like west of Denver.

This is what it looked like in Steamboat on the slopes. So beautiful!

This is me skiing, rather, getting ready to.

This is me and Nate on the snowy day.

This is Dad and Brother.


This is me on a break headed down the mountain. It was so, so snowy. It was not cold enough for all that snow to stay frozen when it hit our bodies, so it was hitting us, melting, then freezing again. Needless to say, I was a little deflated here. Getting cold and thinking about the heated tile floors in the condo.

What was that? Did I hear you ask about my head and neck gear? I'm glad you did because crochet has been woefully absent from the blog lately, although it has not been absent from my life.

I made a pointed earflap hat to match the jacket mom and dad got me for skiing. Nate named it "Tree-elf bomber." If I ever open an etsy crochet shop, this will definitely go in it. It truly came from my brain, and I was excited about the spike stitches along the bottom. I also made a cylindrical neck warmer (on the planes on the way to Steamboat). These all fortuitously matched my jacket, even though all the yarn was just from my stash. Cheap and exciting. Here's a close-up of the ensemble.
It was all acrylic yarn (cheap!), but it kept me very warm.

The next two pictures are the hats that I made for Dad and Brother for Christmas. My SIL took this picture of them a couple weeks ago when my parents were visiting them to show me that they used their Christmas presents all the time. (Brother requested the pom-pom.)

This is a shot of the hats in action. There is nothing I don't love about this picture.

I also made this hat for Nate around Christmas time. I guess it was sort of his present. I made it out of Fisherman's wool (he picked out the yarn, and he instantly connected with that), and lined the entire inside with polar-fleece because it was itchy on his head and the double-crochet is pretty open. He has a scarf to match that I finished before we left. I'll see if I can post another/better pic of it. I was pretty proud of the final product.

Upcoming topics:

• gardening (lettuce be excited!)
• crochet (afghans, babies, and mobiles, oh my!)
• sewing (it truly will be a parade of follies, I can't wait to give it a shot. Patterns? We don't need no stinking patterns!)

Gift Parade

We had a great Christmas: safe travels, great food, fun with family and friends! The kitty really missed us and when we returned he was reckless with his affection. Even as I write, the kitty has climbed on my lap and is sitting half on the laptop, touching the mouse pad, staring longingly at my fingers as they type wishing that I would use them to scratch him. He's pathetic. We think he periodically forgets that we're back and he walks around another part of the house squawking (if you have a cat you know what I mean), until we call him, he remembers we're here, and comes running.
But I digress, this is not a kitty blog*, it is a make things blog, and boy did I make things this Christmas.
In addition to the crocheting I did for around the house, I also crocheted gifts for my side of the family and our Christmas gift to Nate's nephew was an afghan.

So, I have been putting this post off until after Christmas so I would not give anything away.
1. I made my sister-in-law granny-square slippers. I got the pattern here (I love the gals over there, so many great ideas). I have had my eye on this pattern and was waiting for a good time/person to make these for. Since the SIL will be a stay at home mommy soon, I thought that maybe she could use some new house slippers. As a side note, it turns out that my great-Nanny (my dad's nanny) used to make slippers as an annual Christmas gift for the family! And she did granny squares once! What a coincidence.

2. Ski cap for my brother.
My brother called a few weeks ago to ask if I thought I could make him a hat. I was thrilled, of course. The only stipulations were that it be Mountaineer colors and have a pom-pom. I think our dad had one fitting that description when we were little. Anyways, I used this pattern for a hat I made for my uncle last year while he was going through some nasty chemo (it's all nasty, right?) and I really liked it. The pattern calls for very bulky yarn and its in single crochet, so its very dense and I would imagine, pretty warm. The pom is my favorite.

3. Surprise! A ski cap for my dad.
Nate and I liked Sean's so much that we figured that Dad would be pretty excited about one too, so I just used opposite colors. I think it was a hit! By the way, Nate was a great head model for these, they turned out just right.

4. A scarf for my mom.
I looked and looked for a pattern for my mom. She wanted something simple that wasn't super long, and it just seemed like everything I found on ravelry was really lacy or decorative, so I just made this pattern up. Maybe sometime I'll write down what I did, but I would have to look at it again. I made it with my favorite cotton, so it is very soft. It might pill and shed a little, we will have to see. I whipped it up a couple weeks ago while Nate and I watched Millions. (I highly recommend that movie, especially during the holidays, I think its so sweet.) Here is the scarf being blocked. Maybe mom can take a better picture and submit it to the blog.

5. A baby blanket for Baby G.
Nate and I picked out this yarn for The G (his awesomeness cannot be contained to one moniker). Nate is really good at picking out yarn. For real. This is one of my favorite baby blanket patterns, I think Special G is the 3rd child to receive a blanket from the round ripple pattern. I will do it again, I'm sure. Nate was dead on with the colors because Little G's parents said, "Oh wow, these are the exact colors in his nursery." I kid you not, Nate's awesome.


I also made assorted ornaments for family members. I do not believe these were photographed. I also made some dishtowels/hotpads for an extended family White Elephant gift exchange. I think they were popular, they were stolen once!
I did not get pictures of any of these, but if anyone has one I'll put 'em up.

I really enjoyed making these things and Nate and I had fun planning out colors and thinking up things that people would like. I hope I can always find homemade gifts that people want, because I love making them!

Not a Christmas present.
My dear friend and one-time roommate was married on Thanksgiving Day this year, and although this wasn't a Christmas present per se, it certainly seemed like it and it is linked with the holiday in my mind. They live way up north where it's cold, so they need all the blankets for snuggling they can get. When I started with the colors I did the brown up against the green and it looked like camo. I had a panic attack**, but kept going and I think the white broke it up nicely. This is a super pattern and I will 100% use it again.


Obligatory cat picture. He snuggles like this fairly often. Like I said, ridiculous.


Upcoming things:
My other SIL (the newer one, new to me I mean) commissioned me to make an infinity scarf, its like a long cowl-scarf. We bought the yarn over Thanksgiving, and I think I have FINALLY decided on a stitch I like. Again, couldn't find a pattern I loved, but I'm excited about it and from what I've already worked with the yarn I'm a big fan.

I might do an afghan for my aunt. We discussed meeting at a mutually convenient Hobby Lobby to get yarn that will match their new favorite room in their house. I have ideas.

I have also been brainstorming ideas for my bro's bundle. I'm sure baby crafting will have a large place on the blog in the coming months.

Stay tuned for a post in which I sing the praises of both of our parents. Mine for sending lots of meat home with us. Nate's for sending the fruits of their garden. Especially for the stuffed peppers, hallelujah (that's how I felt when I ate them). So far we've been to the store for half and half, and some fruit, that's it. And there's more where that came from.

*Feel free to make fun of me if I post too much about the kitty. Some days its just me and him and I forget that not everyone talks to their cats like a human, I don't know why they don't, but apparently they don't.

** There's nothing inherently wrong with crocheting camo, its just not what I was going for in this particular project. And its probably safe to say that it would always be wrong for this particular friend... Unless...no, I can't think of an instance.
But I totally would do it for someone else, perhaps if my father took up bow hunting.

Christmas decorations

To kick this off I am going to post the various decorations that the husband and I have made to get in the spirit of the holiday season. We are not going to be around our house for Christmas so we did not go ALL out, but we did some things that were easy and consists mostly of things that we already had lying around.
These pictures are not awesome, so you'll have to fill in with your imagination.

1. Front door wreath
First up, the husband makes things! He made a beautiful wreath for our front door out of cedar branches and pine cones. I was so impressed.2. Our china cabinet.



I just put Christmas bulbs, fabric scraps, and pine cones in bowls and glasses on the shelf.

3. Christmas boughs in a vase, with a side of kitty.

"Oh me? I'm doing nothing up here."

4. Christmas yarn projects.

I made a yarn wreath using a styrofoam wreath and balls, all covered in yarn. I also crocheted a single poinsettia blossom (pattern from The Fabled Needle) and mistletoe, from my brain.

I also made a garland with granny square inspired shapes. The star I got from here.