New Hats for New Babes

I have had the rare opportunity to work from home this June as my previous band hall is being gutted and my new band hall has not been released to the school district by the construction company. Keeping my own hours is great as I can choose what time of day I work and what time of day I watch Real Housewives! I've been sliding into my normal summer routine of going to bed later and later while waking up barely in time for The View. :) You know you've slept too late if you miss hot topics!

One of my friends, who I am also lucky enough to work with during the school year, just had her first kid. With kids comes the excuse to pull out the yarn in the name of "gifts". Earlier this year I made my nephew this sock monkey hat born from online inspiration. A month or so ago I came across a newborn elephant hat on Etsy that had already been sold that was so dang cute I couldn't help but want to try it myself.

I had plenty of time! This kid wasn't due until nearly mid June!

But then life happens, as we all know it does, and there were just soooo many DVR episodes to catch up on, so many emails to send to square things away with my new school, so many Pinterest recipes to try! When I saw the Facebook update that my friend was in labor, I'm fairly certain that my exact thought was "shit!" I had to start that hat!

I ran up to Hobby Lobby and bought my grey, pink, white, and black yarn, and sat down determined to finish the hat before the kid was born. I used this site for my hat sizing. For the elephant ears though... I just had to stare at the original picture. It looked like the ear interior were two conjoined pink circles with then the grey outlining and giving the elephant shape.

Easier said than done... I remade the first ear 7 times. Seven times I made the complete ear, looked at it, and thought no, that is not a satisfactory elephant ear! Each time I frogged it, the size got a little better, the shape got a little better, and then I started getting inspired to put some curves into the actual form. The end result:

guess who's getting lots of junk made for him since my dogs won't wear sweaters?!?!?!

I was really happy with the result and think my version came out just as cute as the original, maybe a bit cuter. :) The ears have a slight Yoda look to them, but I like it! When Noah outgrows the hat it'll have to get passed around because it is just too awesome not to be worn. ;)

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Wonder what this is going to be...

My "No Skills Necessary" Medusa Scarf

In true bizarre Texas fashion, yesterday we had snow and sleet, and tomorrow's high is a projected 76!

While the snow came down I watched NY Ink and simply crocheted a simple chain using the majority of an extra ball of Wool-Ease. I slip-stiched it together and wrapped it up to form my new Medusa scarf that I think is nice and warm & playful! Today I wore it to school with a black long sleeved cardigan and a khaki ribbon tank I got at Ann Taylor last spring. Again, no skills necessary.

Sock Monkey Hat Awesomeness

 This is a very awkward time for me, and I'm assuming that February will always come with a stigma from now on. I'm doing a good job keeping things even keel though.

To add to this bittersweet time of year, my nephew Liam turns one next Monday. Unfortunately I don't get to partake in the birthday party, but I finished my fancy-fancy present for him earlier tonight. 

I couldn't find the perfect crochet pattern online so I mixed and matched some ideas from a couple of different websites and then winged some of it myself. I used a post from Knotty Knotty Crochet as color/size guide and this post from Easy Makes Me Happy for the toddler sized pattern. I figured it was safer to use the toddler size so that Liam might get to wear it more than once. :) 

My childhood doll Big Baby tried to model my fabulous hat, but she apparently does not have a toddler sized head. 

Yes... I called it fabulous... And it is. I'm super proud of it. :) 

On a completely different note all together, I managed to get this great accidental picture of Scarlet as she inspected my lens Sunday evening. Quite possibly the best picture I've even captured of her. 

Darcy vs. Henbit, plus a sock monkey

Friday evening I came home to a wonderful surprise: my primrose jasmine is in bloom for the first time after 3 years!

Unfortunately, more than just my jasmine is blooming... The whole yard is abloom. The two years of drought that took it's toll on the lawn with the help of the recent rains and warm winter has allowed for a ridiculous crop of weeds to take over seemingly over night. My plan is to apply cornmeal on what is left of my lawn this week before TMEA. Hopefully I'm not too late for the cornmeal to act as a pre-emergent for warm weather weeds.

 All week I've been waging a war against one weed in particular: henbit. I'm willing to bet most of you have henbit invading right now. It's actually kinda pretty with its purply flowers. Once it goes to seed though, that pretty little plant spits out thousands of tiny seeds that then take over ad infinitum the next season.

With some KGSR going through my headphones, I managed to pull up 7 bags of henbit, dandelions, and a few random weeds over the course of about 2 hours. I'm trying to operate under the "weeding IS gardening" mantra, although planting is much more fun. I have about 20 bags worth more in the back, and I haven't even begun to attach the front.

My other project for the weekend is about half way done. I'm in the process of making a sock monkey hat for my nephew's first birthday. With nothing that I am remotely interested in watching on tv tonight, I should be able to finish it very soon. :)

Yarn & Kleenex - a weekend project

This is weekend #2 I have felt like crap. I'm going on two full weeks of battling a cold that insists on lingering, thanks in part to the fact that I admittedly don't take good care of myself. I stay up too late. I eat badly. Frozen blueberries and V8 is literally the bulk of my fruit and vegetable intake. I've never made time to take care of me. Until recently (which isn't all that recent anymore) Roger was the one that forced the issue of going to bed, nursed a sickness with fluids and all that stuff they tell you is good for you, even reminding me I should probably take time to eat lunch at work.

Let me save you the trouble by telling you the results of my recent experiment: purposely dehydrating yourself does not stop snot production.

When you actually put that into the written word, it sounds a lot dumber than it did in theory... I finally broke down and bought some sign-your-life-away-give-them-your-drivers-licence Sudafed today which says a lot because I can almost guarantee I won't sleep tonight because of it. I'm one of the lucky 5-10% of the population that Sudafed causes insomnia. woo hoo.

Instead of sleeping my cold and weekend away, I chose to start a project that ended up taking most of the weekend due to trial and error. My project of choice - a sleeve for my MacBook Pro. I already have a fancy case/bag for it, but sometimes I don't want to carry that and just want a semi-protective sleeve that will fit in my school bag or my fancy new giraffe print purse (thanks Joan!). I was inspired by this sleeve, but my stitch pattern and actual construction is unique.

I think I may hate the colors. I like the red, but I've been going back and forth on the edging... It was between a variegated taupe and this sparkly black. It's current state is a bit too Texas Tech for me, but the taupe looked very... "homey"?.... to me originally. If I change my mind I can easily replace the edging, but I am kinda fond of the crocheted "d" on the back. :)

Thoughts?

3 Day Weekend = Pinterest Projects

cowl pattern

right cowl pattern

wreath tutorial

A Year in Cell Phone Pictures

This is totally not an original idea as I stole it from another blog I frequent, but I love the idea of the story my random pictures tell. Here is a sampling from 2011, the year that should have ended a hell of a lot sooner.

I started learning to crochet (this was my SECOND project ever).

I researched ideas for what my next tattoo might be. Never got this one.

Roger and I started hardscaping our entry way. That Texas stone has never looked good in the way we envisioned it. My nephew Liam was born this same day, and 3 days later Roger died.

Shanna sent me this picture of Liam in the hat I made him (my first crochet project) the day we made the funeral arrangements. He was 5 days old. 

Not knowing what to do with all of Roger's white t-shirts, I found this awesome way to up-cycle them into t-shirt yarn.

I found that keeping myself busy with projects, like this scarf, kept me sane.

I visited the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art on Spring Break.

I learned how to turn that t-shirt yarn into a necklace.

My car was "dolphined" by a couple of ninja pranksters.

I researched more tattoo ideas...

...and decided on a more "calming" and "centered" design.

 We recorded for the Seattle Convention, were selected, and started thinking of t-shirt designs.

I did my first Painting with a Twist piece and was instantly hooked.

The golf balls... If you know, this needs no explanation...

I learned to make light catchers with mirrors and beads. 

 

And I crocheted some more.

I found a raincoat for the upcoming Seattle and Ireland trips.

We made it to Dublin, Ireland to spread the ashes.

I found out I secretly brewed my own beer...

...and visited dilapidated castles in Northern Ireland.

The view from one of our B&Bs...

...and we visited Gallaghers Boxty House, not the Alamo.

I came back to Texas and completed my second PwaT painting.

On a painting high, I painted the bathroom... and then repainted it because I hated it.

I learned to do some canvas paintings of my own with frog tape and the wall paint that sucked.

No idea why Scarlet was sitting with me on the bathroom floor.

I crocheted some more, sometimes with the assistance of the doglets.

I worked in the yard.

I went with friends to see Paul Simon.

I did my third painting.

We gave our Send Off Concert, and I actually wore a dress...

... and then we finally made it to Seattle with the band!

We accidentally left the travel agent at our hotel so we had to find another one. 

As a "treat" for the band kids, I straightened my hair. It never fails to be more disruptive than it is worth.

I decided that I would decorate for Christmas this year (since we didn't last year), 

and found these lights at Ikea.

I made the girls some bling to wear on Christmas and then forgot about it.

My sister and I made Christmas cookies.

Then we went ice skating at the Galleria in Dallas. No one fell. But if someone had fallen, it totally would have been her. :) 

Scarlet wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

Santa brought me super nerdy insult cards. 

And Liam pretended to be a seal with my gloves on his feet.

As much as I thought 2010 sucked, 2011 managed to start absolutely horrifically and end surprisingly okay. Here's hoping next year's pictures tell a story of hope, completed projects, and a bright future.