Awwoooo, werewolves of...Salt Lake?

I think I officially have a tween now.  Oh, heaven help me.  My Oldest is turning nine which is a hop skip and a jump away from the days when I am despised and scorned by my own flesh and blood.  Luckily we're still in the days where I am loved and for the most part listened to.  If I think back to when I was a teenager....nope, don't even want to fathom it.  My girls are going to be soooo much better than I was....echo....echo....echo....

I am also still in the days when my children ask me to make them things for their birthdays.  Love it.  Can I always make my babies crocheted dollies and have them like them?  I suppose this day may come to an end and I will have to make amigurumies for complete strangers and hand them out on the street, and like it.

My Oldest asked me for a wolf, this year.  A wolf, right, I can totally come up with a great wolf pattern all on my own.  I mean, I did whip up a African Guinea Fowl for her presentation on animals who live camouflaged. But, turns out, nope.  I couldn't.  Luckily I found The Craftery Cattery, and she has a free wolf pattern that is righteous!  When was the last time you used the word righteous in this context?  I'm bringing it back.

Her pattern is well written, easy to read and results in the cutest little ankle biter.

And its adorably long snout.  My, Grandmother, what a big nose you have.
 

This was a very quick to make and I know my daughter will love it.  If you have any experience with crochet, making amis is fun and easy, all you need is some yarn, fluff and eyeballs and you are on your way. 

Thanks for reading!

Heather


Other amis I've made
Girl Ninja Turtle Amigurumi

God grant me patience...cause I know in my heart this is awesome!

I couldn't ask for more willing pupils.  My girls are eager and excited to learn to crochet, and embroider, and sew using the sewing machine, and craft in any manner I am willing to show them. How eager and excited am I to teach them to crochet? Slightly less excited than they are to learn. There's a reason I am not an elementary school teacher, I lack the patience.  Deep breath.  You can do this, just take it one step at a time. Talking to myself again. This could be a bad sign. Just stop and maybe no one will notice.

Luckily my oldest already knows how to chain.  Phew.  Now, let's just get my youngest on board and then I can think about teaching single crochet at some long distant, future date. Along with sewing machine etiquette, and techniques, and how to bloody not sew your finger into your patchwork.  I need more time.

My baby and the Crochet Chronicles

Okay, first thing you need to hold your yarn and hook correctly, so not like that.

Like this?

Yes, perfect, yarn goes over, under, over.  Now, stick that pointer finger straight out and pinch the yarn with your middle finger and thumb, no, not that finger, this finger.  Now, with your hook go under, around, turn hook, and pull through!

That was easy!!!  Let me do it all by myself.

Wait, you're yarn is no longer wrapped around your fingers correctly. Remember to pinch with thumb and tall one, stick pointer out, get your yarn wrapped...

I can do this BY MYSELF, you know.

Yes, I know you can.

Oh, you've lost your yarn completely.  Let's re-thread. Now, over, under, over... Remember to pinch. Stick that one... okay, got it.... no, stick that one out... pinch with this finger, not that one... okay....

This is fun, huh Mama?

Yes...

*****Never under estimate the power of sticking your tongue out to help steer*****
****Concentrate****
***Really get that elbow working for you, not against you***

Under, around, turn hook and pull through!  Good job!  Oh wait, not that way, the other way. Through there, turn, loosen the yarn just a touch, not that much, and pull.

Mama, Mama, look, I made this ALL BY MYSELF!!!!!

Great job Sweetie!

When can we practice again?

Ohhhhhh, I don't know, in a while?  Someday?  Soon, I promise-ish.

I love to sew!!!!!

Thanks for reading!

April inspired amigurumi....DONE!

The only girl Ninja Turtle needs a buddy.  How about the only other girl on the show TMNT.

May I present, April...

 Aawwwww.

Cute messy buns!

An appliqued heart on her shirt...you know, for added "girlyness".

Best friends, just taking a moment to relax.

Notice the difference in their sizes.  This is what happens when you use a different gauge yarn.  For my April doll I used Caron Simply Soft yarn.  For Nightingale, not....but I liked the color.

Options with her hair!  Some days a girl might want braids instead of buns.

The back.  Love how her hair turned out.

Hope you like my ninja warrior ladies.  Can't wait for the big reveal in a few weeks!

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Nightingale's best friend. Amigurumi fun.

So...My Youngest loves TMNT.  So much so that I thought it would be fun to make her a girl ninja turtle, inspired by the real TMNT.  That's Nightingale.  She almost can't be beat...so darn cute.  But, in talking with my daughter, turns out she really likes the girl, on TMNT.  The girl...The human girl.  In the show her name is April.  Well, I've got to draw some inspiration from the show to make her now...don't I!

Turning out so cute.  A bit bald.  Adorable.  She will have hair.  It's coming.  Soon.  I think.  Stay tuned.

In the cartoon, April doesn't actually wear a pink skirt...unless she does and I just haven't seen that episode, but if you ask My Youngest, she'll tell you there is only one color worth wearing.  It's pink, in case you couldn't figure it out on your own.

She's got cute knees.

This is what best friends do...they are always there to lend a hand.  tehehehehe

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Nightingale...Done!

Any time I can claim a completed project, I am thrilled!  It doesn't happen all that often.  Usually the things I am making...take months.  Even Nightingale has taken about a month.  I don't like to rush myself.  I like to take my time and really enjoy the process.

But, I sure am happy when something is done.

May I present....

Nightingale

I have two iris in bloom...figured I better show them off cause they're so pretty...but only for about a day.

I've given her a gi belt.  Girl's for real!

Don't you just want to squish her face?  Loving her eyelashes and coy little smile.

Sassy little flip-flops!

And her patchwork shell...alright, granted the shell is a little wonky, but it was hard to keep it straight.  I still like it.

Here's how I made the shell...I just sewed together a little patchwork square, cut it into an oval and then I sewed a gathering stitch around the edge.  Pulled in the gathers, stuffed it with fluff and....there you go.  A sort of shell shape.  Then I simply used needle and thread and stitched it on her back.

Don't mess with this ninja.  She'll take you down like she did this flower...the flower had it coming.  Hi-Yaaah!!

Mmm hmmmmm...she's a toughie. 

Thanks for reading!

Heather 

Nightingale (I think), The girl Ninja Turtle

There's been a lot of pondering and thinking about My Youngest's girl Ninja Turtle.  I knew she needed a mask.  Pink, of course.  I knew she needed a yellow torso and green rest of her body.  I knew she needed a shell...still in my brain...yet to be figured out.  I knew she needed to look spunky and as gorgeous as a crocheted, turtle action figure can look...

 Ohh la la.  What a lovely lady we've got going here.

Her exotic gaze.  I am going to add eyelashes for that feminine touch.

Pink flip flops...coming soon.

 

The shell might pose a problem for me...I am thinking real hard about possibilities.  I think it might be a trial and error kind of thing.  I think I'm going to make a quilted shell...for dazzle.

She's also going to get a karate...belt...excuse my lack of karate terminology knowledge...and some sweet weapons.  I'm thinking of throwing stars.  Oh yes, this girl's a bad A...make no mistakes.

My Youngest has already been talking about her TMNT party and how the girls need pink ninja turtles and the boys get blue.  I am so excited to give this to her!!!  

Arms, shell and feet bottoms...coming soon.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

 

Busy, Busy, Busy

I am not the type to remain faithful...to a project that is.  wink wink to The Mister  I love to have options.  I die for the chance to one day put something together with my sewing machine, and the next to crochet something fun.  And then to abandon everything for several weeks and just hand quilt something I have in the works.  I'm a fickle woman.

But...there comes a point when you have too much going on!   I've got The Mister's Man Quilt and My Youngest's Hopefully it's pink enough quilt as well as working on my next Inspiration Cafe project (it's a surprise...you'll just have to wait) as well as the desire to just make...whatever whim comes my way.  So, it's too much.  I have to buckle down and FINISH something.

This is my priority at the moment.  It can change on a whim.  But, My Youngest is going to freeze this winter...which is rapidly approaching, and so this must be quilted.  I would like to say that I am over half way done quilting it.  There are 11 rows down and 8 across.  I am done with six of the eleven and have started on the 7th.  Phew.

And of course, The Mister's quilt that is using all neutral colors...ahem.  You know, I still maintain this is a neutral quilt.  And, I am loving it.  I would like to get one of these done a day.  HA!  It's more like 1/4 of a block done a day...if that.  Busy times, busy times.

I actually do have one more crafting priority.  This one.  She told me the other day that she wants to learn how to make her crochet fatter.  I told her, she needs to work on her chain a little bit more and then we'll learn how to make it fat.  She loves to count how many bodies long her chain is.

Can you imagine crocheting this way?  Yeah...I don't think so. 

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Proudest??? Crafting Moment of My Life

And it has nothing to do with something I made. Scratch that, it has everything to do with something I made, and that would be my daughter.  I made her, after all.  She has wanted to learn to crochet for about a year now.  Last year at this time we tried and she was hopeless.  She didn't have the patience to learn to hold the yarn properly and couldn't conceive of what to do with the hook.  A year later and she is making chains like you've never seen a kid chain!  And what do you think she did with her handy work?

I want you to try and imagine my utter joy paired with horror when my daughter came down the stairs, proud as a peacock and announced herself and her rat tail. 

Ladies and Gentlemen may I present MY RAT TAIL!!!!



I'm sorry, what did you say? 

Then she turned around, biggest grin of her life to show me her handy work, and Mama almost cried with joy.  That's right, she crocheted herself a rat tail!!!  Are you having a horrible flash back to 1988 and the nasty boys who had rat tails? Ahem, I'm looking right at you Mister.  And what do you know, I love it.

I never thought the day would come when I encouraged my daughter to bring the rat tail back into fashion, but I'm going to do it.  I think it's due for a resurgence.  We will make it what it was always meant to be, a girls' fashion statement, and a crafty one at that. My baby took a skill I taught her and made it her own.  She was as crafty as they come and made something she was thrilled with.  You might wonder why she even knows what a rat tail is. Well, I blame that on our little town's festivities. She went to the fishing booth and came back with a rubber rat tail as her prize.  We thought it was quite hilarious at the time, but it obviously made an impression on her.

So everybody, let's embrace the rat tail. Let's show those boys of the 80's how a rat tail really should be worn.  Crocheted.

Thanks for reading. And my oldest is now taking orders, so if you want your crocheted rat tails, just drop me an email. We'll work out the details.

Lizacorn...a new and unique breed of mythical creature.

It is good...I think...to have a husband who is a former D & D nerd...well..I mean, did I actually say it was a good thing....yeah, ooookay, we'll go with it.  I fancy myself to someday be an author, and nerd that I am myself, I quite enjoy Science Fiction Fantasy.  In fact, someday I hope to write a Harry Potter-esque type book.  So I was discussing mythical creatures with The Mister, aka Lord Riclamin Gemviper the Loremaster...he's a dwarf who is also a master swordsman...at least that's what the "create a D & D character generator" told me...ahem...so here are some of the creatures my loving husband feels are absolutely necessary for any Science Fiction/Fantasy book that is worth it's weight in cursed golden coins...in order of importance...

1.  Gelatinous Blob  ***Correction, The Mister says that it is a Gelatinous Cube not a Gelatinous Blob.  My mistake.***
2.  Sleztak...no wait, that's my brother in law...I feel bad for myself and My Sister
3.  Lich
4.  Bugbear or Bug Bear (my husband refuses, now that he knows I am mocking him to give me the correct spelling)
5.  Mindflairs
6.  Nightwalkers
7.  Mimicks

So, I feel that my lizacorn will fit right in with the (imagine I am having a violent coughing fit here)...

Reject Mythical Creatures

Cough....cough....ahem.  No, they're good creatures....if you're a complete nerd.  Anyway....I feel that my lizacorn will fit right in with my future story about the above mentioned creatures...except it's way cuter than any gelatinous blob will ever be!  So, what is a lizacorn you might be asking yourself?  Well it's a cross between a unicorn and a lizard...which just so happens to be the amigurumi that I made for My Youngest!

So, here's the actual truth, I must have miscounted somewhere because my lizacorn has a definite twist in it's body...but I kind of like it.  It gives it movement and allows it to hold itself up!

As you can probably tell by the mane and tail, I spent a good portion of my night yesterday, hooking.  Unlike my Aunt Sherry, I am not an expert hooker so it took a couple tries to really get it right.  :-)  But I think in the end the mane is super awesome!!!

So cute I could just squeal right now!  I quite enjoy the little tail.  I put a bow in it!

My Youngest quite enjoys her lizacorn and My Oldest has declared that she wants her lizacorn to be EXACTLY the same.  Too bad for her I don't have enough of the same yarn. 

Turns out I think my little mutant creation is super cute.  I especially like that it looks like Lizzy the Lizacorn is wearing a sweater.

She is quite dedicated to her work out routine...as you can see by the above picture of her doing push ups.  I've heard that horses are quite difficult to draw...and I think that they are also a little difficult to turn into ami's as evidenced here. 

So, a quick review of the pattern.  I think it's quite well done, besides a few mistakes here in there...an entire row was missed in the body, but I improvised...and it turned out very well.  I think as far as free patterns go, I cannot complain about this one very much.  So, excellent pattern if a lizacorn is what you want to make.

Thanks for reading everybody!

Heather

p.s. this may have been my favorite post to write to date!

Crochet Fun

It's winter here...at least some of the time.  My Oldest decided that she wanted to buy some beautiful yarn with the money she got from the Tooth Fairy so that I could make her a scarf.  See, Mama has some scarfs and she wants one as well! 

The question is...do I let her choose her yarn all by herself?  Without any input from me? 

Naaaah.  Of course not.  But, I did try to only provide minimal input.  For example, have you seen the Eyelash yarn...that's immediately what she was drawn to.  Mama pointed out ever so gently that it wouldn't make the best scarf.  It would get up her nose and tickler her neck and not be terribly warm.  She looked at a couple more and found some she liked when...

The heavens opened, light shown forth in a heavenly display of loveliness and this yarn made it's presence known...

It is called Party Yarn and boy is it a party.  Look closely and you will see glimmery silver streaks in the yarn.  Oh yes!  It is beautiful!  Of course My Youngest took one look at the sparkly goodness that had descended from heaven and knew she needed a beautiful scarf too.  Pink.  Of course.  It's always and only Pink.  So today I get to make them scarfs using this...not particularly soft yarn.  Would I have chosen it?  Noooooo.  But, I'm not a 6 year old and 3 year old girl.  And this yarn is EXACTLY what girls of those ages would want.

Speaking of crochet...I have been in the process (also known as stalling and procrastinating as much as possible) in making My Beloved Sister an amigurumi doll for her Sister in Law...well....it's getting there..

This little Ami makes me particularly happy.  It's because I made her real hair!!  It was quite difficult and I didn't do the best job ever, considering I've never done it before, but it was fun!  And I can't wait to make hair on another ami soon.  I also like that she's kind of evil looking.  She has these cruel eyes...I didn't intend on her looking cruel, but now that she does, I think she's kind of kick ass.  So, I will endeavor to make her look less evil and more loving so that she doesn't give her intended nightmares.  I mean, her intended is after all a 6 monthish old baby.  That would be bad.

I am quite close to having her done.  I've just got to finish the left leg, give her the rest of her face and soles to her shoes.  Yay for evil dollies!

Do you see this?  This is only a third of the buns I have from a shindig this weekend.  What in the world am I to do with so many buns?  I cannot eat hamburgers and hotdogs every day.  Blah!

So I made these for my girls for lunch.  Thanks to my Sister who found this on Pinterest.  Ahem.  They weren't most delicious.  Every time I make something different now My Oldest asks me accusingly, did you get this out of your cookbook?  No.  You have your Auntie to thank for this one.

In case you're wondering why my Young are wearing swimsuits in winter...they were just delivered and they had to try them on!  Both were skeptical of their lunch at first.  My Youngest liked it quite well...but only enough to eat one half of the bun with the peanut butter on it and not the "hotdog".  My Oldest declared it disgusting and requested something less weird.

This bun delight they have The Pioneer Woman to thank for.  She had a stratta on her website, I had an ungodly amount of buns...Voila!  Breakfast for dinner.

Mr. Because I Can loved it!  I made it using ingredients I had on hand.  So instead of sausage I used Canadian bacon and I didn't have kale, but I didn't have mustard greens.  I thought it was yummy too!  The girls...well I mostly had to bribe them to eat it with these...

Homemade blueberry muffins.  But not just ANY blueberry muffins.  They are Ina's Blueberry Muffins!  Which means awesome.  But not only that, do you want to know what they taste like?

Oh yes, they taste like the blueberry muffins I remember as a kid.  The Betty Crocker ones that have the little tin of blueberries that you have to rinse off before using!  Like, exactly.  So, this means they are quite sweet.  But oh so tasty!

Here's the recipe...slightly adapted by me as I didn't have sour cream on hand so I used Fage 2% Plain Yogurt

Ina's Coffee Cake Blueberry Muffins
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (I had to microwave my butter for 15 seconds and used salted)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature (my eggs were not at room temp)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream (I used yogurt)
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 half-pints fresh blueberries (I just guessed as I had a Costco tub of blueberries.)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Prepare muffin tins with paper liners.  Cream the butter and sugar in mixer with paddle attachment on medium until fluffy.  Approximately 5 minutes.   Reduce speed to low.   Add the eggs in one at a time until they are incorporated.  Add the vanilla, sour cream (or yogurt) and milk.  Mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix.  Then add slowly to the creamed mixture and mix until just combined.

Fold in the blueberries.  Spoon into muffin tins.  Now, per Ina's instructions, she recommends filling the batter all the way to the top.  I do not recommend this as my muffins spilleth over in a most insightly way.  Still tasty, but not beautiful.  So I would say fill them 3/4 full.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until lightly brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Yum!

As always, thanks for reading everybody!

Heather