Amigurumi Two!: Crocheted Toys for Me and You and Baby Too

A while back, as in before Bennett was born, I borrowed Amigurumi Two!: Crocheted Toys for Me and You and Baby Too from the library and actually made some projects!  (Don't worry, I returned the book.  I took these photos about two years ago and never shared!). It has seriously been so long since I've completed an amigurumi project, I now wonder how I ever spent my time on cute little things like these. Maybe one day when I'm eighty I can finally do it again. And maybe even get more than five hours of sleep, too.

He's so so so super-cute.  The author actually includes a pattern for a large momma turtle that these little babies (and some egg shells) can nest into.  Cool, right?  Yeah, I never made the momma.  My attention span just didn't allow for it.

It was a cute book and the author created very clear and concise patterns.  I just love amigurumi.  The counting is soothing and it's nice to be challenged occasionally by actually having to pay attention to a pattern.

I'm thinking about using this little toadstool in some yarnbombing.  Like this:

{Source}

That'd be awesome to see on a park bench, right?!

Much love! 

Tristin

 (And if you want some yarnbombing inspiration, check out my Yarnbombing Pinterest Board.)

Insta-Update 3

Melbourne, Florida is one of the loveliest places I've ever lived--and I've lived in a lot of places.  It's quaint but developed, big enough to have a Chipotle (finally) yet small enough to not have bad traffic.  The beaches are quiet and awesome, the rivers perfect for cruising, and the locals come from every walk of life though they're rarely actually from here.  Anyhow, I snapped the river scene at a local boat-ramp/playground that we occasionally visit after I was just in awe of the beautiful place that we call home.  I feel truly blessed to be here.

And the rest has to do with food.  HA!

I finally tried that whole "boil a can of sweetened condensed milk" to make Dulce de Leche and I'm happy to report that not only did it not explode like my husband predicted, it actually tastes pretty dang awesome.

Due to Benji's food phases (translated: for the last few months she starts her mornings with a banana, but now refuses and wants "my cheer-eeee-ooooh") I was left with enough bananas to make 3 loaves of banana bread.  I tried a new-to-me recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread (courtesy of the wonderful Money Saving Mom) and I totally found a new go-to recipe.  It's awesome and freezer-friendly and since making it, Benji has now phased out the cheerios and simply requests "my cookie" (aka the banana bread).

After the girls longingly stared at a cake-dome full of doughnuts until my in-laws arrived for a visit, Benji got to have her first Krispy Kreme (an event worth noting, in my opinion).  I think it took her about 4 bites to devour it. I should have kept her in ignorance a bit longer. If she's anything like her momma, this is the beginning of a life-long love affair.

Anything awesome going on in your world?  Share!

Embroidered TOMS

Before Elliott started preschool, I went on a search for the "perfect" everyday shoes.  She's a Florida girl through-and-through and lived in jellies up to the point that she was required by school rules to wear close-toed "tennis shoes".  Her narrow feet (SO unlike her momma's) don't agree with most kids tennis shoes on the market, and throw in the whole laces vs. velcro debacle and as it would turn out, picking shoes for your four-year old isn't so cut and dry.  Not to mention, this girl has her own preferences.  Sheesh.  

After much research and time spent reading reviews for all the shoes that hit my criteria (had to be able to be put on independently, option to wear without socks, breathable, good for romping on the playground, would look good with a variety of types of outfits, E likes the look) we settled for Toms. 

I may be a bit biased, here.  I have a pair of Toms, too, that I adore.  Navy blue, in fact.  Are you seeing a trend?  I think it's cool that for now she's excited to have matching shoes with me.  That day will pass, so I'm digging it while it lasts.

Elliott was SOO excited for school to start, but continued to voice one concern.  

"Mommy, what if you forget to pick me up?" 

It pretty much broke my heart.  I couldn't convince the girl that it was impossible for me to forget to pick her up, because when I am away from her, it's like a piece of me is missing and that I'm counting the minutes until it's time to get her again.  (Oh, I sound so sappy, but it's SO true!)  I decided I wanted to give her a symbol that would remind her that Mommy loves her and would always be back for her.  This symbol came in the form of a simple heart that I embroidered into the side of her shoe.  When she's sitting with her legs crossed, as kiddos in preschool do, she sees the heart that reminds her that Mom loves her and will be back for her.

Those worries have since left her tender heart, but my reminder remains, just in case they creep back in.

{Project deets: It's literally a freehand heart, backstitched with pink embroidery floss, a needle, and my hand. Cost is like 20 cents, if you have to buy embroidery floss.  Lucky for me, I have unimaginable amounts of embroidery floss, thanks to a momma who cross-stitched a lot in decades past.}

5 Blasts from the Past: Valentine's Projects

1. Sharon's Recycled Heart Garland

2. Gap Knock-off Ladybug Tee

3. Felt Blanket-stitched Heart Garland

4. Crocheted Heart Garland

5. Sharon's Crepe Paper Rose Tree

Recently I was feeling sentimental and started going through the years of old posts that Sharon and I have shared.  Oh, the crafts we've crafted!  It's funny because when I look back I laugh at my yarn choices and the dumb things I say.  Sharon's posts, I'm never critical of, though.  She's just a super-cool girl and always has been.  And yeah, I'm back to posting here and there, but alas, she's still busy with pharmacy school.  She's in her third year and it feels like (to me at least) she's in the home stretch.  We still get to hang out and maybe we don't craft like we used to, but there's just as much laughter as there ever was.  So, that's a Sharon update.

I have this sinking feeling that I'm not going to get anything awesome made for V-day, and  I'm totally cool with that.  Since it has been like three years since we've posted Valentine's crafts, it seems like it's perfectly legit to share with you some links to blasts-from-the-past V-day crafts (a.k.a. I am just not one of "those" awesome bloggers who's on top of the holidays--so sue me).  Enjoy.

{Copy-Cat} Capelet

Sometimes I don't even know I want to make something until I find irresistible yarn.  In the case of this capelet, I pinned it as a project idea but never intended to actually make it because, well, my style is a lot more plain.  Enter Paton's Lace yarn in Dove Grey.  I was walking down the aisle of Hobby Lobby when my eye caught this lovely little skein of soft, delicate, delicious mohair-blend yarn.  It was irresistible.  And it was on sale.  I paid somewhere in the $4 range for one skein, which was enough to make a classy little capelet.  Something I'd never have dreamed I'd wear, but I totally do.  

The idea came from this pin, and here's a picture of mine next to the Pinspiration:

{Original Source}

The website is written in German, but the author has a diagram on graph paper, and whenever graph paper is used, I know that someone's speaking my language.  It's really not hard to decipher the concept from her diagram.  MY only advice is when making your inital chain, you may want to make it smaller than you may think.  Mine is a little drapier around that shoulders than I'd prefer because my foundation chain was a little long.  No biggie, though--nothing gaining a few pounds won't solve.  And I am totally up for that challenge.  

Just kidding.

Lessons learned by a first-time quilter.

A million years ago, when I shared my first quilt I promised a "lessons learned" post. Well, here it is. Let's jump in...

Lessons Learned:

Quilts can be expensive. Maybe the quilts of the pioneer days made use of fabric from old clothing and such, but the typical modern quilt is expensive.  It's been a while since I did the math, but my first quilt cost somewhere between $150 and $200 (but a fraction of the supplies, like bent safety pins and extra bobbins can be reused).  It's funny because I was planning on getting Elliott a duvet from Pottery Barn for her bed, but I thought it would be too expensive by the time I purchased the duvet cover and a reasonably priced duvet (from Ikea).  I'd have been better off with that purchase, especially when you consider the unknowns of making your first quilt (i.e. Will it even be usable?).  However, no mass produced duvet cover, no matter how classy it may be, can compare to even the most humble of homemade quilts. That's a fact, Jack.

Move fearlessly forward.  Go ahead, bite off more than you can chew--you are smarter than fabric, after all. Go big or go home, y'all.  And get acquainted with your seam ripper, if need be.  No biggie.

You don't need a whole lot of special supplies. You may want to make sure that your sewing machine is serviced and in great working order and that you have the necessary feet to make quilting easier, but other than that, I'd try to make the best of what you have.  I am still feeling silly for buying a million bent safety pins when oddly enough the large-sized plain ones I already had were actually easier to use and yielded great results. (One reader has said that this safety pin thing was not true in her case and that the bent ones were worth using.  So, take my thoughts with a grain of salt!  I am a total noon after all, sharing only lessons from my first quilts.)

Learn the capabilities of your machine and be prepared to buy a new foot or two. If you plan to free-motion quilt, you'll need to make sure your machine is capable of it and that you have a proper foot.  For my vintage machine (Singer 401A) I had to buy the darning/embroidery foot which, including shipping, was under $3. Straight line quilting would also be awesome for a first-timer (in fact, that's probably a better route to take) and a walking foot makes it a cinch.  But fancy quilting gloves, specialized cutting rulers, etc. can hold off be purchased if your passion grows (and don't be surprised if it does).

Take time to think about what {you} value in a quilt.  I wish I'd know that patchwork is more my style, not so much the route that I took with my first quilt.  In fact, I'm currently saving all of my girls' cotton clothing (not knit cotton, more like the stiff quilting-type fabrics) to make a quilt with once girl #2 has grown out of the clothing.  Laura Ingalls Wilder-style.  I think it'll be super-cool to make a quilt from clothing that both of my girls have spent their first few years wearing. Live and learn, right?

Read about Leah Day and be confident.  In a few short years, this young woman has revolutionized free motion quilting.  Certainly us newbies can figure this out too, at least to a small degree.  She's amazing, and I'll bet she doesn't even have a gray hair yet.  Lucky.

{Wavy Line Whole Cloth Quilt}

Consider whole-cloth if you want some fun practice but you're not ready to tackle something massive. Whole cloth quilting is basically sandwiching two pieces of uncut, un-pieced, unharmed fabric and quilting away.  I found it to be good practice for the actual quilting process, as well as binding practice. Goodness knows I need more binding practice before I tackle another massive quilt.  I've now made two whole cloth quilts as baby gifts, and I'll definitely make more in the future. Whole cloth quilting is significantly less expensive than traditional quilting because there's no waste--so it's a smart choice if you're on a budget and don't have access to scraps.

{Intersecting Lines Whole Cloth Quilt}

So, those are my thoughts. Hopefully it's been helpful if you're considering starting a quilt.  If you're an old pro, maybe you disagree.  Feel free to lovingly share in the comments!  Gone are the days of the quilting bees where us can learn under the wing of the pros, so the Internet proves useful in connecting novices and seasoned professionals.

Go forth and quilt!

Tristin

{Gray & Rainbow} Granny Poncho

With as much creating as I do (seriously, my hands always stay busy with something) you'd think I'd be better about sharing what I've done.  I don't always think my projects are worthy of being shared or perhaps the effort of documenting is more than I'm willing to put forth at the time.  This granny poncho, however, is one worth sharing.  Almost anywhere it goes, it receives attention and granny-love.  There's something about muted grays and vibrant rainbow stripes that is just oh-so-appealing!

The method of making this poncho came entirely from Le Monde de Sucrette. Don't let the name intimidate you; it's a blog that's written in plain English.  Does anyone else ever feel like the majority of the awesome free patterns you find on Pinterest are written in another language?  Oh, the huge problems we face.  ; )  With the "pattern" you can make a poncho of any size to suit any age.  Pretty dern awesome.

I used yarn entirely from my stash.  The colors are all Lion Brand Vanna's Choice (it's my go-to budget  friendly yarn) and the gray is almost an entire skein of Red Heart Super Saver (one of my least favorite yarns, purchased a few years ago when I was just a wee grasshopper, learning the ancient ways of crochet).  Unlike the first poncho I made for Elliott several years ago, she LOVES this one.

And now I kinda want one, too.

-Tristin