Knitted Hoodie

I finally finished a project.  Can you believe it?!

I started this ages ago.  Over a year ago, I think...

Its the Favorite Hoodie pattern by Lion Brand Yarn.

I am proud of myself for actually knitting something, but on the other hand, I didn't quite do that well with it.  the knitting is fine, but the reason it took me so long to finish it was the sewing of the seams.  I'm not very good at it and I don't know what I'm doing and it shows.  My other complaint is that it seems to be rather short.  Perhaps it would fit better for a shorter, fatter baby?  Ha.  My babies aren't exactly thin, though.  It seemed a bit tight on his neck.

I am glad I did it, though.  I feel like I learned with it.  And I'm glad its done.  Ha!

Striped Pixie Hat In Use

Hello again.

I still don't really have any time to get very much done outside the basics, but we're doing well. Little brother is sleeping wonderfully - love that kid! - and eating constantly. Big brother is a crazy little monkey and he makes lots of work for his Mama cleaning things up.

Work is a bugger from December through January, so I'm running behind on everything right now. Here's hoping that we'll sorta catch up soon.

The whole new year thing motivates me to get lots of things accomplished, and it's frustrating as all get out that I never seem to get any of them done. But I have big plans! I intend to clean/purge/organize this house from top to bottom. I doubt that will happen, but I guess we'll see how far I get. I also need to get reacquainted with my treadmill and finish getting rid of the baby weight.

But I thought I'd show you a few more pictures of my little monkey. Here's the little striped pixie hat that I showed you awhile back. I can't get big brother to cooperate for semi-posed photos for the life of me - he's two after all! - so here's little brother wearing his. These are from back when he was brand new, of course. He's grown a little bit since then!


I could eat him up! I'd forgotten just how much I love baby smells. The soft warm fuzzy head and yummy milk breath kill me.

New Arrival

Yes, he's here.

I know its been a little while. Two months, to be exact. Its a little baffling how much time a new baby takes up. Add it to a house with a busy two-year-old, a part time job for me and sometimes crazy hours for The Man and mix in two dogs, and time gets away from you.

Kent Daniel was born on September 19th, one day after his due date. Thankfully, there was no on-again, off-again labor this time, and he was born just 8 hours after labor started. We had an even quicker delivery this time - just an hour and a half after arriving at the hospital. Good thing we live pretty close. He was 8 lbs, 2 oz and 22" long and he's perfect. I'm in love.

These days, I waiver between ignoring everything else and enjoying the ridiculous amount of time spent nursing him, and stressing out about my work not getting done and the house being a giant mess.

Big brother has been alternately adorable and incredibly aggravating. He's getting his two year molars and starting to be interested in potty training. He has gotten up at all hours of the night and rarely stays in bed the first time he's put in there. This is new. He's always been the perfect sleeper. Now he sleeps with a baby gate on his door, both to keep him in at night and to give me a little extra sleep in the morning. This is all temporary, I hope.

The little guy is only waking once a night to feed, so I can't complain. I feel like we're already through the rough start and we can move on. I cope so much better with enough sleep.

I don't imagine I'll be ambitious enough to get any quilting done anytime soon. I've really had the urge lately to make a ripple afghan of some sort (here, and here) although, I don't know why, or when I might have time. I also have a quilt that I've been hand quilting for ages. Maybe over Thanksgiving I can get some work done on it.

My latest obsession is photography, which is natural, I suppose, since I am at home with two little munchkins who are getting bigger every day. The Man told me I can get a new camera for my birthday/Christmas and I'm excited about that. I am hoping to buy the Canon EOS 60D. My Rebel has done well, but it is 5 years old and I'm excited to upgrade. I took a class from nicole's classes last January, so hopefully I've made improvements over the last year and can continue to improve. I've been shooting in manual since the class and I feel like I've gotten the hang of it. I really just need to practice, since shooting a really fast moving target (aka toddler) isn't easy!

So anyway, that's what is going on in my life right now. Perhaps I'll be back every now and then. We'll see.

More Washcloths

Last night I finished up another stack of washcloths for this little one. He's still not made an appearance. I'm starting to feel like he never will, even though his due date isn't until tomorrow. In the meantime, I keep my hands busy making things.

Baby Wraps

Instead of starting my post with a photo of a newborn baby, I should point out that this is not my baby or photograph. Ha ha!

Source: etsy.com via Barefoot on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Barefoot on Pinterest

Found these wraps at the PropShop on Etsy recently and decided to try making them for this new little kiddo. It is super simple and I feel a little silly that I bought a pattern to make them, but whatever. It turned out just like the photo. They are so soft.

Since the stitch is so large, they don't really hold a shape, but as a wrap for a photo, that works just fine. You can tuck it in around them and it will stretch to fit as you need.

This first one is made from Moda Dea Dream yarn in Pecan. Its my favorite. Nice and neutral. It was done as crochet. Its really just that you need a very large hook. Nothing difficult. I found it hard to see my stitches though, since they were so large and the yarn is fuzzy.

The second one is Moda Dea dream in Leaf, I think. I did this one as knit. I had the super-large needles already, so I wanted to try it that way. It was easier to knit, since there's really no missing stitches when they're sitting on your needle.

I had to search around for the yarn a bit, because it seems to be discontinued. In fact, Moda Dea doesn't even exist anymore, does it? Its too bad, because its so lovely and soft.

Striped Pixie Hats

I made these awhile ago from a pattern I got from Etsy. I don't have any pictures of them on, cause the Little Man doesn't leave hats on very long and of course, the other little man isn't here yet. But the idea was that perhaps I could get a photo of the two together wearing them. Wishing thinking, I'm sure.


But it was interesting to learn how to knit them. These two were knit on regular needles and sewed together. I don't like sewing knitted stuff up - mostly because I don't know that I'm doing it right. But since these hats won't get a lot of use, it will be fine. I just procrastinated on finishing them for a long time because I was too lazy to sew them shut. Sad, I know.

Anyway, I'm stockpiling a few ideas and trying to think how I'd like to photograph the little guy when he makes his appearance. I'd love to hire a photographer, but I don't think I can justify it. So I will try my hand at it myself. I've got a few other things made up, like this, although I'm not sure if I'll be brave enough to try it. I guess it depends on how big this baby is when he gets here! Ha!

Second Babies

So its true what they say about second children not getting the same attention. I'm already not paying the same amount of attention to this little guy. I'm working on it, however.

I wanted to make him a blanket of his own, but I can't find any different yarn that I like at JoAnns. I really should find a real yarn shop with nice yarn, but who has the time? I found this gray on clearance at JoAnns the other day, so I bought all they had and made him a quick blanket out of it.


I used the same seed stitch as for the washcloths and the same crochet hook as well (N). Hopefully it won't get all wonky-looking with a loose stitch, but I wanted it to be soft and drapey and honestly, it was not enough yarn. I needed a large stitch to make the blanket big enough. Its not quite as big as I would have liked, but it will be a good stroller-sized blanket and work well while he's little. And its nice and soft.


Now I need to make him some washcloths of his own! Soon . . .

Washcloths

My little sister is expecting her first baby in May. We had a baby shower for her a couple weeks ago with rather little notice to prepare. I wanted to make something for her, so I started with these washcloths again (like I made for my little one). I used the Nature's Choice Organic Cotton yard again because I like the texture and softness of them and I think they look so nice brand new. They work up nice and quick and you can get 3 per skein of yarn.


I've used them now for more than a year and a half with my little guy and the only problem is that they don't look as nice as they do when they're brand new. They don't stay perfectly shaped and there is a little bit of pilling. I don't mind, though, because they are still quite a bit softer than any baby wash cloths that you normally see.

I did make her a quilt as well and failed to get a picture of it. How pathetic is that? It was rather rushed and I was just happy to have it done and completely forgot. I'll find one and show it to soon.

Bookshelf for The Little Man's Room

I'm going to just jump right in and start all over again here. I don't know that I really have time for blogging, but who does, right?

So I'm trying to think of things that I've done in the past year that I could post about. Funny thing is, there probably aren't many.

But if you happen to remember waaaay back last year when I posted about a bookshelf under a window that I saw in Cottage Living (I think), well, here's the update.

I did get The Man to build them for me. I happened to find Ana White's site not long after I saw that picture. She posted plans for a very similar shelf, so we modified it a bit, but its basically the same thing.

What are we doing, Dad?

Hey, its just my size!

The Little Man has loved his bookshelf, so it was well-worth putting up. He has easy access to his books - he can see most of them and can reach them all. Being the control freak that I am, I put them all back in the same place and he knows where to find the one he wants. Ha! I have since added a couple big storage baskets underneath the shelf for his toys, so it works out well in such a small room. Unfortunately, there's still too many toys in the room, but what can ya do?

It's based on Pottery Barn's Collector's Shelves, so if you don't have the inclination to build yourself one, you could buy these. They're pretty cheap to make, though.

**if you're anything like me, Ana White's site can be a huge time suck! You were warned!

I Just Found The Cutest Thing

I wish I had found them before the Little Man was born. Month stickers for onesies. They are transparent, so they look like they are on the shirt...CUTE!

image from pickysticky etsy shop

I have a friend who is due in a few weeks. Perhaps I'll get them for her, since its a bit late for me at least this time around. Is it weird to buy this now for a future baby??

They also have belly stickers for pregnant moms.

And More Animals

I've been hard at work making more animals. I may be slightly obsessed. The Little Man isn't too terribly interested in stuffed animals right now, but perhaps he'll like them better later. I'm enjoying myself, anyway.

I like the giraffe best, so far. Isn't he cute?

The monkey is cute too, although his face didn't quite turn out the way I wanted.
The giraffe and monkey patterns were from Roxycraft.

Turtle is quick and easy.

And the oversize duckling is meant to be felted, but I didn't bother.

Busy, Busy

Things are hopping around here right now! Wahoo! We finally got someone in here to rebuild our basement bathroom. Yes, that was April that I mentioned it. It took us up until about 2 weeks ago to get anywhere on it. I'll show ya that later. Its not finished yet.

We also have a new garage door coming on Monday. We ordered that over 2 months ago and what should have been 2 weeks turned into 10ish? Apparently we weren't the only ones looking for a new door right now. Figures!

BUT . . . I did find a bit of time to be crafty lately. I have been working on the little crochet animals in the evenings, but I managed to make a quilt top. Yay! It was super easy and came together quickly. Wonder how long it will take me to get it quilted??


It is my version of a quilt that is included in the Amy Butler software. I didn't quite get the colors I was going for, but it will do. I would have liked the gray a bit darker and the yellow a little more subtle. Oh well. I guess that's what happens when you buy fabrics online.

I do like it, though. It is intended for the Little Man. If I ever do finish it. Wish me luck!

Jellycat Plush

I found these stuffed animals from Jellycat awhile ago and contemplated getting something for the Little Man. Aren't they cute? These are the bashful animals.

I find myself torn between wanting to buy him everything and wanting my house less cluttered. What?! Those don't go together?? It is Christmas, though...

Amigurumi Elephant

Have you ever tried amigurumi? I've thought about it, but I always assumed it would be more complicated than it looks or would be too time-consuming. I decided to give it a go the other night, and make some little animals for the Little Man.


It wasn't hard at all. The hardest part is sewing all those little pieces on. That hurt my fingers, but I didn't have the right needle and it was a giant pain in the butt trying to get it threaded with the yarn.


Isn't this little elephant adorable? I hope he likes him! Now I have to decide whether or not to save him for Christmas... I realize the Little Man won't remember either way, but I should give him something for Christmas, don't you think?


I'm envisioning a little galvanized bucket filled with amigurumi animals, handmade by his Mama for his first Christmas. Perhaps I will do that. Now I need to make a run to grab some more appropriate colored yarn for these animals. I actually picked the elephant because I had gray on hand.

Patterns are from Lion Brand....elephant here and lots more here.

{Behind}

Is it sad that I've discovered some cute pictures of the Little Man that I don't remember taking?? I'm running about a month behind in editing my pictures and I found some last night that I'd forgotten about. Ack. That's what I get for taking so many, huh?

I guess I'll get to them all eventually . . . Too many is better than too few!

New Hat

I made a hat for the Little Man this week from this pattern that I tried for myself awhile back. It took me several tries to get it right. I had to undo it and add more rows and use a bigger hook than called for to fit him. I crochet rather tight and maybe he has a big head. I don't know. But it fits and its done and since it doesn't take too long to make, I didn't mind too much. I think it looks much better on him than mine does on me! Perhaps its the lack of hair.

Mobile Modifications

I've been wanting to do something else to the little man's mobile for awhile now, but couldn't quite decide what. I tried just punching out circles and hanging them in there, but it wasn't doing it for me. Then I remembered Martha's bird mobile. Perfect.

I printed out the template and cut one out of black cardstock. I liked it, so I made more. You can get 8 out of one sheet of paper and it doesn't take very long. My kind of crafting, these days . . .

I made the birds last night after he went to sleep and hung them up this afternoon. I think I like it! Unless you consider that the black birds are slightly creepy, but I still like it. You could always do it in patterned paper or other colors or shapes, for that matter, I suppose. Come to think of it, robin's egg blue might be even better.

For now, anyway, it satisfies me. Its nice and simple.

Pumpkin Hats

I always thought those pumpkin hats were quite goofy, but then I saw this. . .

Oh good grief. Might want a pumpkin hat for Jack. I need a photo like that.

Iron On Onesies

Seen via Decor8......

Animal iron-on onesies at Cookie Mag using fusible web & animal font from Da Font.

Great Idea

I saw this over at Making It Lovely and I think its a great idea for taking photos of your baby every month. She used felt and ribbon with an interchangeable button center and will use to pin on her baby's shirt and take a picture of her each month in the same chair to see how she grows.

image from Making It Lovely

Sheesh. Jack is going to be 4 weeks old on Sunday. I need to get my butt in gear and see what I can come up with to use for him.