Look, Ma! I'm Crocheting!

wrong blog

2011-07-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

oops, wrong blog.

Bird's Nest

2009-05-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

The other night my ridiculously tall husband hit his head on my hanging plant once again. A bird flew out of it and nearly hit the house! Curious, we carefully took the plant off the hook to take a peek. What should we find? A bird's nest! I am constantly surprised at the craftiness of nature; this nest is perfectly made. I'm excited for them to hatch! I love birds and am glad this bird chose my plant to nest in.

Crochet!

2009-04-19T08:52:00.001-07:00

After a time of no crochet, I got out the old hook and yarn and started up again. I made some cute dolls.

R. Dorothy Wainwright from "The Big O."

A cute doll I made for my swap partner for the "make me a doll swap" on Craftster.

I got a new car! Well, its an '03, but you know. Its a Subaru WRX sport wagon. Its yellow! I wanted a Subaru when I originally bought my first "new" car (the newest car I had before that was an '89). The guy at the Subaru dealership was such an ass to me that it completely turned me off and I ended up getting a Toyota. Now, 3 years later, I found exactly what I wanted. So we traded in the trusty Toyota for the cute Subaru. I was still a little peeved at the dealership- its my car but they insisted on speaking with my husband. Jerks. Anyway, its a quick little car and I really like it!

Easter Stuff

2009-04-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a little chick stuffie I made for Easter. Isn't she cute in her bonnet? I made another one for my aunt as an Easter hostess gift. We're going over to her house for ham and weirdness.

Um. I think that's all I have for now. Hopefully I'll be more entertaining next time.

Poppet

2009-03-26T08:55:00.001-07:00

Over in the toys and dolls section of Craftster, there has been an obsession with a little doll named Poppet. Wanting to branch out from amigurumi and try stuffies, I hopped on the band wagon.

Here is my poppet, Violet. This is my first attempt at ever making a doll.

If you're interested in making a cute poppet, here is a link to the poppet along on Craftster: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=205341.0

My husband also bought me a couple of books on making stuffies, so I'm having a blast making all kinds of stuff! I'm glad the books came in the mail yesterday- its snowing really bad here and the roads are pretty terrible. Looks like I'll just have to stay home and craft all day.

Hoo! Hoo!

2009-03-05T08:00:00.001-08:00

Well I finally got out the ol' crochet hook yesterday. And I made a cute owl!

I've been wanting to make an owl for a long time. He's kind of a purple color. The camera doesn't like to photograph purple correctly. He's available on my Etsy shop.

The dog and cat are doing well! The cat is almost back to her whiney, cranky self. Today is the last day I have to give the dog pills, then I have to start up again in 8 days. I feel like a nurse!

No Crochet Love

2009-03-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

It just occurred to me that my blog is supposed to be about crocheting, and lately all the projects I've posted have been needlework. I'm just not in the crocheting mood. Sometimes I get that way and I have to be obsessed with another craft for a while.

Here's my latest project:

I'm trying to decide if I want to list it on my Etsy shop or not. The back of the stitching isn't so pretty, and you can see it every time you open the bag.

On another note, the new dog adventure is going pretty well. I had to take her to the vet after she had a couple messy accidents in the house. The poor thing has giardia. She's on medication and will be fine in a couple of weeks. The cat is adjusting- she's actually touched the floor! She'll now walk downstairs to get food and stalk around a little bit. She's starting to realize that if she bats the dog with her paws, the dog will back off. I think everything will be "normal" pretty soon.

That's all for now. Remember to always buy handmade!

Goggie

2009-02-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

We adopted a doggy today. She's a white toy poodle. We renamed her Fifi because we didn't like the name she had, and I've wanted a poodle named Fifi since I was about 13. The rescue thinks she's about 6, but we think she may be younger. She's so energetic! She's very interested in what the birds are (we don't think she's ever seen pet birds), and she pretty much ignores the cat. She wanted to sit on the cat's shelf to look out the window, but apparently the cat is territorial and hissed. So little Fifi retreated for a bit. Then ever so slyly started coming back to the shelf. The cat ended up sharing- but just a little corner!

I don't have any "good" pictures of her yet. She was so excited to be in a new place!

If you're considering getting a pet, please consider adopting. I rescued my cat from a shelter and she's a great cat. If you want a specific breed you can always go to a rescue. Here in Colorado we have a poodle rescue along with a Golden, Yorkie, Dachshund, etc rescues. Check out www.petfinder.com or your local shelter.

2009-ness

2009-02-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

After crocheting a billion dang hippos (they sold like crazy right before Christmas), I kind of got burnt-out on crocheting. So I started up one of my many other crafts- cross stitch/embroidery. Here are some things I've stitched up.

Super Mario Magnets (available in my shop)

A special cross stitch for my husband for Valentine's day. He saw me cross stitching and commented that cross stitch would be perfect for 8-bit. He's a Nintendo geek, so I'm sure he'll love it.

Cute little redwork birds (available in my shop)

I found this quite hilarious. Some may find it disturbing.

Keep on tranglin'! And remember, always buy hand-made.

http://www.etsy.com

http://amigurl55.etsy.com

More Crocheted Goodness

2008-11-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

I'm recovering from gallbladder surgery, and I finally felt well enough to crochet the other day.

Bunny wedding cake topper

Sushi and fortune cookie catnip toys

FYI, both are available on my Etsy site. http://amigurl55.etsy.com

That's all I've got for tonight.

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-26T20:30:00.001-07:00

I'm not very fond of Halloween. In fact, it's my least favorite "holiday." However, I enjoy carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds. My husband's family has a tradition that I am happy to have been a part of ever since we started dating. Every year before Halloween, we go to the local pumpkin patch, choose our pumpkins, and all go back to the in-law's to carve them. I'm happy to say that I started a new tradition of saving and roasting the seeds.

My husband and I chose to do super-geek pumpkins this year- I did Homsar and he did Bubs from the "popular" website Homestar Runner (http://www.homestarrunner.com). Even though no one knows who the heck is on the pumpkin, I'm proud to say that this is the best carving I've ever done.

Homsar (my pumpkin)

Skull (dad-in-law's), tigger (sis-in-law's), and creepy dripping jack-o-lantern (mom-in-law's)

Homsar and Bubs (my husband's pumpkin)

Roasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Note: it is best to use seeds that are fresh from the pumpkin.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Rinse seeds in cold water, making sure to get rid of all the pumpkin guts. A pasta strainer works great. It's very hard to work with pumpkin seeds in standing water.

2. Dry seeds well (I put down a couple layers of paper towels, put the wet seeds down on them, then dab with another paper towel).

3. Place seeds in a bowl and mix with 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 1/2- 1 teaspoons of salt. How much oil and salt you use depends on how many seeds you have. It's best to start with less. You can always add more salt after roasting.

4. Place seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until seeds are golden brown.

I hope you all enjoy our geeky pumpkins and yummy seed recipe. Also, have a great time trick-or-treating with the kids, going to parties, or staying at home passing out candy. And remember to eat some candy for me, because I'll be at home recovering from gallbladder surgery and won't be able to have any.

Some wedding pictures

2008-10-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't been crocheting much, so here's some pictures from our wedding.

Chucks and heels

Hee hee

The Wedding Party

It was a very small, simple wedding. We had about 40 people there. We had a delicious sheet cake from the local grocery store (cheaper and better tasting than traditional wedding cake), and had the reception catered by Qdoba. I made all the center pieces and favors. We had sparkling grape juice instead of champagne. And everyone commented on how much they loved that we didn't have dancing.

It's a Zoo in Here!

2008-10-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

I made this cute little lion for my cousin's birthday. I won't be there to see her open it, so I hope she likes it.

And, for fun, a frog.

That's really all I have tonight. I'm not feeling very well.

Bored

2008-10-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

My husband is at his parents working on his car. I'm lonely. The cat is concerned about him. "Why isn't Dad home?" she asks. "He's usually home by 6 and it's after 9!" She's so restless!

Isn't she a doll? Her name is Sally. I adopted her from Boulder Humane Society. I am a firm believer in animal adoption. But Sally is a good example of how you never know what you're going to get. She is a very well behaved, sweet cat- however, she feels the need to pee on random stuff when she's angry. Also, she'll worry herself sick and get a bladder infection- and we all know that cats pee on stuff when they get bladder infections. The vet put her on some meds and gave her a special food, and she's as good as new. I have never regretted adopting Sally.

If you're thinking of getting a pet, check out pet-finder: http://www.petfinder.com

And, as always, buy handmade! http://amigurl55.etsy.com

I made something other than amigurumi

2008-10-12T09:12:00.001-07:00

Yep, it's true. *GASP* I know how to crochet stuff other than cute little animals.

Those pink things are wristwarmers. They are great when the weather gets cold because they keep your hands and wrists warm and leave your fingers free to do stuff. Like crochet.

The hat looks kind of terrible seeing as how its green and is on a red mannequin. But its super plush and very soft and incredibly warm. I have a black one for myself.

In other news: I finally get to have my dumb gallbladder taken out. I have an appointment with a surgeon on Tuesday. Yesssssss. And I'm sorry Dad and Grandma. No matter how much olive oil I take with my meals, it's not going to magically cure my gallbladder.

So I finally got a blog

2008-10-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

What is a blog, even? No one has ever explained that to me. Blog is such a weird word. Blog, blog, blog.

Anyway, I guess I'll start off by saying a few things about myself: I'm cranky, I like crocheting, I'm married, and I live with my husband and 3 kids: Sally the cat, Kiwi the budgie, and Marcel the cockatiel.

My favorite type of crochet is amigurumi. That's the Japanese word for "crocheted doll or toy." This is my latest amigurumi- just in time for fall.

Aww, isn't he the cutest? I can tell you that I won't be eating this one because the stuffing might be a little dry. Ha ha ha.

Here's a shameless self-promotion: check out my Etsy shop! http://amigurl55.etsy.com