Oh my, how the time flies! I certainly hope this post finds you happy and healthy and enjoying the season. Keeping my fingers crossed for my mother and I, so far so good. My mom did come down with a relatively mild case of the flu in November (she had gotten a flu shot) so she wasn't able to enjoy Thanksgiving with the family, but things are looking on track for Christmas.
This year I crocheted a little something for my family, but I can't show you what I made because I do have a couple family members that read these posts and that would give away the surprise. It will just have to wait until after Christmas - but that doesn't mean I don't have something to show you. I found this adorable elf, and being in the spirit, I decided to give her a go. The "Free Pattern: Small Christmas Elf" from Kristi Tullus is so cute, but I saw a couple photos of what other people created and decided to give her a little more finished look with white edging on her hat, dress and shoes. I also put pipe cleaners in her arms and legs so they could bend a little.
I've said I'm making stuffed animals for all my mother's great grandchildren, and two of the six have been completed. And now - just in time for the holidays - Ta Da! - the Ballerina Bunny for Emily. Emily is the newest addition to our family, being born just last June, so she won't be getting this bunny for quite a while. I'm sure when her parents feel she's ready, the bunny will be given a warm welcome.
I bought the pattern for "Bunny Lilu" from Tanya Kostochenkova of Crochet Friends Lab on Etsy. I lucked out because she was having a half price sale; at this writing she has a 25% off sale going. For the most part the pattern was well written, and I was able to figure out the couple of glitches without too much trouble.
Bunny Lilu from Crochet Friends Lab
My Ballerina Bunny turned out a little larger (16" versus almost 12") because I used DK weight yarn and a D 3.25mm hook, but that was fine with me. I wasn't a fan of the two little bows by the ears, so I used the "Crochet Hearts" hair bow from Katrina Payne at Rebel Skein (don't you love that name?). I did use joints for her legs, but if I make another I'll follow what the designer had in mind. She created the joints by putting buttons on the outside of the "hips" and sewing through the
body and both legs.
My version of "Bunny Lilu"
Well, this is my last post of 2019. I hope you all had a terrific year; I wish you a wonderful holiday season and an even better 2020! And of course, Happy Crocheting!
At the beginning of this year I promised myself that I would post every week and become much more involved in social media to try to promote my store's patterns and products. For a while I wasn't doing too bad. But for those who have been paying attention, you know I totally fell off the wagon mid-April. Well, there was a very good reason for that.
On April 11th my mom fell and dislocated her hip replacement. This is the second time she's done that, and the third time she's fallen. Of course she went to the hospital and they put her hip back in place, along with three weeks of rehab. She came home May 1st and I have been living with/taking care of her since (I flew out from CA to Chicago the last week in April). But I guess when you're as old as my mom (92 yrs - and yes, she still lives in her own home), the medical oversight can't stop there. The past four weeks have been a whirlwind of physical therapy, occupational therapy, home nurse visits, personal care visits, and doctor appointments. Tomorrow we go to her orthopedist, where she's wants to get the ok to take off the massive hip brace she's wearing. Let's hope!
Of course, all this has meant that I have had to put any crochet on hold. After the last baby blanket I made, my hands (particularly my thumbs) were complaining loudly, so I decided to take a little break and try my hand at a beautiful counted cross stitch butterfly. I now realize how important it is to be AWAKE when you attempt counted cross stitch. I do believe that I've messed up part of the butterfly. I decided to put it aside and practice with other simpler counted cross stitch projects, hoping that these will get my brain in gear for the butterfly.
The Wire Whimsy kits are copyrighted 1995. Could it be possible I bought them THAT long ago?!! Anyway, I think I was in Joanne's after Christmas one year and these were on sale for 75 cents each (normally $4.49), so I picked up eleven of them. They have been very patiently waiting in a box for me - with a couple of other projects (that I haven't touched either) to keep them company. So far I've managed to finish the one Santa. I didn't like the stars on his goodie bag so I didn't include them, but I do want to put something on the bag because it looks a bit plain. I'll figure something out, but suggestions are welcome.
My version of Santa
When I was packing for the trip, I wanted to bring some yarn with me but just got the hooks in the suitcase. The plan was for me to stay until Mom got the brace off (6 to 8 weeks), and packing for such a long stay is daunting! Anyway, I packed the yarn and the suitcase ended up two inches too large. If the airline wanted to get picky they could've charged me an extra $200. I chose not to risk it. The yarn had to be left behind, but I brought all the cross stitch ornaments.
I broke down, though. I am going through a severe crocheting withdrawal (yes, really!!!) and I couldn't help myself - a company offered $1.99 shipping and I ordered five skeins of #1 lace yarn. It's Lion Brand Amazing Lace, and I'm so hoping I won't be disappointed. The reviews were good - keeping my fingers crossed. I already have at least two patterns I want to make with the yarn, so I'm ready!
At this point things are up in the air as to whether I'm going to stay here with my mom or go back to CA. Much depends on how well she can do for herself on a daily basis. My SIL has been a Godsend - taking care of the shopping and driving her back and forth to appointments - but that's the limit for her, considering she's still running her own family. I still have another month to go, so we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, I'll post when I can - and as always, Happy Crocheting!
Yes, after many years I have FINALLY completed one of my New Year's resolutions. This has nothing to do with crochet (register astonishment here), but it was a Martha Stewart Christmas craft project from at least 2008, if not before. Yes, I am talking about none other than Fabric Balls!
Many moons ago Martha Stewart would have a half-hour craft show in the afternoon, and I loved it! (Some people do yoga, some meditate; I watch Martha.) I saw the program showing how to do the fabric balls and I was hooked. So I went out and bought the styrofoam balls - smooth ones are best, fabric - stretchy works best, and wonderfully elaborate ribbon. Then I became distracted with life...for a long time. However, I lovingly packed up the materials and promised myself I'd get to them some day.
My husband and I don't give presents to extended family, but I began making ornaments to give away. A couple years ago I made one of Oombawka Design's angels (free pattern here), and last year I made crochet baubles (free pattern here). But this year I steeled my determination and tackled the fabric balls.
Of course it wasn't nearly as easy as I thought it would be. The main issue was that the template to cut out the fabric didn't print out to the correct size, so there was quite a bit of adjustment to do. If you read the comments you'll find I wasn't the only one with this problem. The second issue was what to cover the ribbon ends with. I chose to order end caps and then flattened them with a hammer - you need at least 14 to 15 mm to cover and mine were a little small; or you could follow the suggestions given on the website.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with how these turned out - I just hope the people receiving them feel the same way!
