Cloth Wipes

Another project complete! Two dozen flannel wipes.

Amigurumi Baby Gifts

It is so hard to buy gifts for people you don't see regularly! You just don't get that same feel for what they might need/want via email/blog/telephone that you would if you saw them in person. Or at least I don't. So I have been agonizing over baby gifts for as long as 11 months. When I started to really get into the crochet animal thing it occurred to me that one of my homemade stuffies might make a good baby gift. So I kicked it into high gear. I was hoping to make eight to honour all the babies born to close friends in the last year, but all I could manage were three. Here they are:

Pink Bunny found her home with Addison

Blue Bunny was made with the same pattern and wool, but a smaller hook and tighter stitches. What a size difference!

Riley has apparently become quite attached to Blue Bunny

Leo the Lion

Koen enjoying Leo

Aerial view of Leo

Georgina, Blacktop and the Smell of Poop

Some exciting stuff happening around here this week!

I finally finished the latest and most intensive crochet project. Her name is Georgina. Overall, I am pleased. Though I think I used the right wool and the hook was even a little smaller than called for, her body seems so much looser than the pattern photo! Which is surprising because historical attempts at crochet and knit showed me to work more on the tight side of the gauge spectrum. But I think she still looks pretty good. Eva loves her. I was planning to give her away but it doesn't look like I'll be able to wrestle her from Eva's grip. It was hard enough to get a photo. I am not inclined to make another giraffe anytime soon partly because this one took me so long! The other reason is because I was embarrassed carrying her around when she was just a head and body. Looked more like man parts than giraffe parts, if you know what I mean.

Our Georgina

The pattern photo

Now I'm making a bunny. It seems to be a faster project, and so cute. I also have a lion project waiting in the wings.

The streets in our neighborhood are being blacktopped. Time to break out the roller blades! Ha ha. It looks and feels marvelous out there. Our shoes are a mess from crossing the street while they were working, but otherwise I am so happy!

It took us a few days, but we finally realized that the water on our driveway + poop smell = raw sewage leakage issue. I put out the word to my Circle of Friends buddies and came away with a reference to a wonderful handyman! He was really terrific. He identified that the source of the problem was serious cloggage. Our water supply has quite a bit of sand and whatnot in it, and when that combines with grease and even soap and detergent, it makes a big wad that plugs things up. We were lucky that the drain thingie on the driveway wasn't sealed up so tight it couldn't let the sewage out, actually, because otherwise it would have been coming up our toilets and sinks.

While he was at it, he noticed that we had a leak where the water comes in from the street, and even reported it to the water company on our behalf!! I was so pleased with his work and would have been happy to pay him whatever he asked.

The Latest Crochet Project

I merged my current obsessions and tried crocheting a wool diaper cover. I knew I'd make some mistakes first time around so I first made one using some old wool I had. Which made for an outcome which, I am first to admit, is not aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, the wool is much heavier than the wool I bought for the real thing...

What I was shooting for

What I produced

... which means that even though I followed the pattern for the size small, the final product is HUGE. Micah was kind enough to model to give perspective.



I am so glad I made these first. I learned a lot! I am interested to see how my next pair turn out and if they will actually fit a real baby. I'm not holding my breath that they will work overly well, since the closest I could come to 100% wool yarn was a 50/50 blend with acrylic. I'm pretty sure that acrylic doesn't have the amazing properties of wool which make it such a great diaper cover material.

Wool diaper covers are highly absorbent and can hold up to 30% of their weight in liquids without feeling damp, are breathable and can help prevent diaper rash. Another advantage of wool is that it has antibacterial properties and is easy to care for.

Crocheting Up a Storm

I'm a crocheting maniac! I finished the monster today and it's a huge hit. By extension, the owl has gained popularity as well. I was so happy with how the monster turned out and with the kids' reaction that I am making another one. Eventually I want to make the giraffe, which is super duper cute. I am going to have to buy some more wool- all of the bits and pieces I have been using are kind of in boy colours...

Adjusted Owl

I fixed his eyes and wings. Nobody around here is impressed by my creation except for me... here's hoping that Wee3 will appreciate it!


This one is next.

Amigurumi Success!!

My first attempt at crocheting an Amigurumi animal was a miserable failure. Eva insisted that black yarn was the way to go (note to beginners: it is hard to see what you are doing when you are using black yarn and working primarily by lamplight) and I chose an octopus (note to beginners: avoid projects that require rounds until you figure out what you are doing). Also I think it was just the wrong type of wool for this type of project.

This is what the octopus was supposed to look like:

This is what my octopus looked like. After I made one tentacle I called it quits. Obviously there was no salvaging this project.


So I chose something a little more straightforward:

And this is how it turned out! I'm pretty pleased with myself. Though now that I look at it (I was working from memory when I sewed on the parts) I should have sewn the wings and eyes on differently. Maybe I'll redo that. But for now I'm just happy I got the crocheting right!!



Thanks to Melissa for the inspiration, and to LionBrand for the free pattern and crochet instructions.

Elefante Eva

I have been working on my sewing skills lately. This week I made Eva an elephant trunk and ears. Not the most exact facsimiles but good sewing practice for me! And fun for Eva.

Sewing Girl

When my parents came in October they brought me a sewing machine. I finally found time, energy and focus to try it out! I am a sewing beginner so I needed to read the instructions and a book that a friend lent me, so I needed to have some concentration power, and by the time I have a few moments to myself my brain is drained.

So I did some experimenting with stitches on a scrap and then converted the extremely ugly "knotted bean bag socks" into 6 lovely "real" bean bags. Andrew and I had quite a bit of fun winging them at each other last night. And maybe soon we'll be able to pick up some extra cash juggling at intersections.

One of Eva's gymnastics classmate's mom is expecting a baby in the next couple of months. My next project will be a pouch sling for her. Good thing I have lots of fabric, because it might take a few attempts to get the size right. :)

I really like my sewing machine!!! It feels good.