I got a fun request for an instant gratification monkey and a panic monster (Complete with accessories of a cape, a steering wheel and a banana!) from an old friend who read this article and wanted her own little friends.
It is kind of an interested article on procrastination and why Procrastinators procrastinate, and how to help fix it, if that’s something you struggle with!
I received a custom order for a mermaid costume, and I was so excited to get started on it! I am really pleased with it, and it doesn’t hurt that I had a really adorable model for it! (Thank you, Rachel for letting Ellie model the costume for me!)
If you are interested in buying one, they are up for sale in my Etsy shop!
A custom order for a Skull and Crossbones winter hat with a yarn mohawk!
Can’t say I’ve ever had the opportunity to crochet a skull before! It was easier than I thought it would be, honestly. Sam wasn’t interested in trying on this hat to model it, though. (He thought it was a dinosaur, and I didn’t correct him).
And since I was already all warmed up with my hook (as opposed to my needles!) I decided to finish of this custom ordered bus scarf, too!
How fun is that? A friend of mine drives a school bus, and her daughter rides with her every day, so the scarf is for her toddler to wear as they’re picking up the local school kiddos. I had a ton of fun making it, and Sam was pretty much obsessed with it- (He is very into school buses and fire trucks right now) and he kept trying to drive it around. Unfortunately it doesn’t lend itself to being driven very well, it’s a bit flat and floppy for that! But it was a really fun scarf to make, and I think I might make Sam one, too!
Sam and I got to go to a double-two-year-old birthday party this past weekend for some of our friends Davy and Penny. I’ve been itching to make some monsters for a while, and this sounded like the perfect opportunity to knit something really fun and silly!
Sam was definitely not pleased to give up the “monners”, so he’ll be getting his own monster very soon- since he keeps asking me about them, and whether or not we can go and get them back from his friends. Sorry kiddo!
Knit your way to bingo fever – Two knitting tutorials for the bingo players out there- Knitting has never been a young people’s hobby, at least historically. The times they are a–changin’, though. Just like knitting, bingo has also experienced a surge in popularity among the younger set lately. Maybe it’s a hipster thing, but bingo nights seem to be fast becoming the in thing among twenty- and thirty-somethings.
Consider this: just two decades ago, the average age of a bingo played was in the mid-60s. Compare that to two years ago, when Bingo Reviewer pegged the median at 47, with people between the ages of 18 and 25 making up a whopping 20% of the three million or so bingo players in the UK.
Perhaps it has more to do with online bingo. In the US and the UK, online bingo has become something of a million-dollar industry. It’s very evident in the budgets bingo companies pour into advertising and social media. Cashcade, for instance, has poured a lot of time and effort into CheekyBingo on Twitter, making it an even faster and more convenient source of promos and news than the main site itself.
Since these two hobbies are so successfully getting rid of their classic stereotypes, let’s see how we can mash them up together. Here are a couple of tutorials we’ve come across that bring bingo and knitting together.
Bingo Jacket – A bingo jacket is the unofficial uniform of bingo-playing grandmas the world over. Of course, you don’t need to be a card-carrying senior citizen to rock one. You can make one yourself thanks to a downloadable tutorial from Love of Knitting.
Bingo Bag – This is where you put all your bingo equipment so you don’t run the risk of getting dauber ink all over the insides of your fancy bag. Best of all, you can also turn it into a craft or toy bag depending on the situation. Crochet Geek has a great tutorial that includes videos for the more visual knitters out there.
*This is a sponsored guest post by Ashley Adams, she wrote the article for Knittybutton!*
I have a friend who lives in the frigid tundra of Minnesota, and wanted a Vikings hat. I made sure to make it nice and thick and warm since, well, it’s very cold there! (Makes Idaho look like the tropics.)
I was home alone when taking these pictures, and couldn’t quite get the ‘selfie’ shot down, so you don’t get to see it on an actual person, but instead get to see my handy vase modeling it for you. Also because I was probably still in pajamas and with my hair not done, but ya know, whatever,I’m 7 months pregnant, I do what I want! Ahem, anyhow- Go Vikings!
And I also wanted to add a thank you to my readers who are putting up with my sponsored posts and the video ads at the bottom of the posts- they help me keep the patterns free while keeping the blog profitable. So thanks for that, I appreciate my readers and commenters immensely!
My younger sister Heidi chopped off her hair this winter, and since I drew her name for Christmas I thought I’d help her insulate her head a little bit, since it was bound to be chilly without much hair left! I couldn’t decide on one type of hat, so I made her a few different kinds. This is my Lemon Grass Hat pattern, made with some grey Thick n Quick (Lion Brand), which is a good ultra-quick, super-toasty kind of hat. Knits up fast on large needles with bulky yarn- so if you need a last minute gift, this hat is a great quick knit to whip up in an evening or two.
OK- so I know this weird snood/hood thing is really weird. I tried to replicate something I saw she had pinned on Pinterest, but there was no pattern for it, so I just decided to wing it. Um, yeah. So, I know it’s ridiculous looking, but kudos to Heidi for being a willing participant to model my silly creations, whether or not they actually work out. I ended up giving it to her even though I know she won’t wear it, just because I thought it was kind of hilarious looking and just funny- so, here ya go. This is made of some unknown yarn that was in my stash, but said 100% wool.
Here is my Lemon Curd Slouch pattern, made with KnitPicks City Tweed, DK weight, color is Blue Blood. I’ve gushed about how much I love the City Tweed before, it’s seriously the perfect yarn for just about everything. The merino/alpaca blend is so deliciously soft and wonderful. Mmm. Yes. And you get a bonus little photo bomb from my nephew Ezra in the background!
I have a few small items ready for this little girl, just finished finding the perfect buttons and weaving in ends. This is the Puerperium cardigan that I am absolutely in love with.
I made it with Knit Picks City Tweed, which is deliciously soft (It’s a merino/alpaca blend!). The colors are kitten (white) and orca (gray) in their DK weight- and a plus, it took just barely over one skein of the gray, and just a very tiny bit of the white for this cardigan, which made it pretty affordable, since I took MAJOR advantage of their huge sale a few weeks back when the yarn was on sale for $2.99!
I can’t wait to wrap up my baby girl in this adorable cardigan. I have extra yarn, so if it’s still very cold when she is born I can always add longer sleeves, but I figure as an April baby she’ll the weather will be warming up within a month or two, (hopefully, although this is Idaho, and sometimes it snows in June.) so a sleeveless cardigan would be the way to go.
Raveled here.
I’m getting so anxious to meet her. We’re just a little past 28 weeks, and feeling pretty good. This has been my least “barfy” month of pregnancy ever, so that’s super exciting! And, as you can see below, I am rounding out quite nicely. No real weight gain yet (but I did gain back what I lost in the first trimester, so that’s good!) I’m measuring a few weeks ahead, but that’s not unusual for second babies.
Got to go to the chiropractor this morning and get an adjustment, which has made a HUGE difference in my hips. Due to my spinal fusion my hips definitely take the brunt of pregnancy more than my back, but it’s all just sort of messed up back there- but I had a great adjustment today and am feeling better than I’ve ever felt during any of my pregnancies. It’s nothing short of a miracle!
So here we are in the home stretch, trying to gather and prepare everything for birth and hoping for a less-stressful event this time around. We’re attempting a home birth, we have a wonderful midwife and doula lined up and I am very excited to be attempting a water birth. Now we just have to figure out which tub to get and buy some supplies and birth kits and finish nesting and get this house ready for a new baby!
Just a few snapshots from around the house today. It’s quiet in here right now, Sam is down for his afternoon nap, I’m sitting drinking some coffee, and the house is mostly clean.
I’m trying to take advantage of the quiet that nap time brings, knowing full well that in 80 days (give or take a few) we’ll have another little person around here who probably won’t be napping at the same time and my free-time will be significantly shorter than it is now.
I’m feeling mostly prepared. She has some clothing, a bed, diapers, swaddling blankets, so I guess we’re just about set. We still have all of Sam’s newborn stuff in the garage (swing, toys, etc) and I’ve been working on a few sweaters, since it’ll still be fairly chilly upon her arrival, but I am ready to do this thing! Sleep is becoming difficult, tossing and turning a lot at night trying to find a comfortable position, but she is really active from about 4-6am.
But since the house is so nice and quiet for now, I think I’ll lay myself down and see if I can sneak in a little catnap, while the sun is streaming in through the windows!
Disclosure: I am writing this post as part of the NUBY Mommy Blogger Program. I did not receive compensation for this post, however, I did receive items to sample or review. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.
I know for a lot of parents (Paul and I included) meal-times can be stressful. Sam’s lately been going through some fun times with saying he “dun yike it” (I don’t like it), even if it’s something he asked for and has eaten 100 times before. He does seem to do better if he can eat it himself without help, and we have found that he doesn’t like having the tiny forks or spoons, and would rather use full size ones. This Nuby Sure-Grip bowl is great because it won’t slide around on the table, which makes scooping up his food a lot easier than it is with our full-size bowls, or with the really tiny lightweight plastic bowls which tip over if you put any pressure on the side of the bowl.
The deepness of the bowl is really helpful, too, it means less spills. Sam is not a fan of spills- he gets very anxious if something spills on the table, or on his clothes, so anything we can do to avoid spilled food is good in my book.
It also works pretty well as a snack cup, because the side has the logo on it, which makes it pretty easy to grip. We still prefer the Snack Keepers for around the house for smaller snacks like cheerios or goldfish crackers, but when he has something like chips or bigger crackers this bowl is perfect.
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