Announcement

Well, I'm starting to recover from being exhausted constantly. I'm not ill or fighting some infection,...I'm carrying a bun in the oven! First trimester, like the first time around, has been nothing but exhaustion. This time around, though, I also have a lack of appetite. Most foods are gagging me and when something sounds good, I better eat it before the window of opportunity passes. Within this past week I've finally started getting some energy back. Last weekend we cleaned the house after about a month of neglect. All I could manage to do was go to work, come home to the sofa, then go to bed for twelve hours. The dishes piled up, the toys spread everywhere and ALL the crafts got crammed in the corner.

I did manage this cute little nightgown and robe ensemble for my friends daughter who got a new doll for Christmas. I had several 18" doll clothes patterns, but her's was a 14" doll. So I cut the pieces out that I wanted and photocopied them down to hopefully the right size. By my calculations, if I shrunk them to be 77% of the size, they would fit a 14" doll. Laying them next to Cowboy Bob makes them look like they would fit him perfect...

He wasn't too thrilled at the suggestion and because I woke him from his nap. He's still not happy that I haven't made him any jeans, he's embarrassed about the boxers. Cowboy Bob is another Knitted Babe that I made last summer for my son. He really enjoyed hanging out with Suzy Q while she was here. I recently learned that she is enjoying her new home and has been name Heidi. However, Cowboy Bob's idea is from the other book by Claire Garland Dream Toys. This was another book I fell in love with at first site, mainly because I had to make the mermaid from it (another to-do on my list).

Is it odd that after I took this picture my son insisted that Cowboy Bob had messed his shorts and needed a diaper? Well, that was the case and we made him one only to have it removed shortly after that because Cowboy Bob needed to use the potty. It was all a new and interesting experience brought to me by my 2-1/2 year old.

Now that first trimester is ending, I'm hoping to get back to crafting....my latest goal is to create an amigurumi character. I started this one last fall, it's pattern is from the book Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden. I fell in love with this book the moment I saw it...I just don't know what this little guy/gal wants to be. I think I originally was going to make the amazon warrior, but now I want to do something a little different. I gave it Cowboy Bob's winter scarf because it's still chilly around these parts. Hopefully I'll post more projects soon! We have to see how my energy level is doing.

A fun girl outfit...

Here's a fun little outfit any little girl would love to have by Grosgrain: New Year's Eve Sweater and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!! She always makes simple elegant girls clothes, they're so inspiring. I wish I could have the time to sew as much as she does. She's also giving away an adult top, it looks fun to wear. I just don't think it would fit me, so I didn't try for it.

Survival

I survived the holidays...barely!!! This year they ended up being so exhausting before they even started, for reasons I can't explain right now. :) I started out with so many ideas in my head on what I was going to make and for who...EVERY person on my list had a handmade gift floating in my head. I only accomplished a third of them and I managed to get a pic of only one before I gave it away! So disappointing. I made these for our friend's kids, a 2-1/2 year old and one year old, I didn't get a pick of the 1 year olds. I had a pattern for some fleece pants, then I added their initials in fleece to the behind.

They didn't turn out perfect because of how stretchy the fabric was, you can see in the close up the corners are not that great, I had better success with a similar project when I sewed cotton quilt fabric to fleece. Our friends loved them though, they were a perfect gift! The boys were a grass green fleece with white letters and royal blue thread. I also completed a knitted hat that fits my husband perfect, although it was made for his cousin. I finished it while we were away for the holiday, so I'm holding on to it for next year. It was made in Washington State University colors, hopefully next year she will be attending and it may be a more appropriate time to gift it! I'll post pics of it when I find it.

We're also surviving this insanely crazy weather we've been having for almost a month now. Our yard still has up to 30" of snow and we're expecting another 5-9" overnight. GO AWAY!! Everytime it snows, I must dig out my car and the driveway, hope that I'll make it over the burm at the end of the alley and that the roads have been plowed or I can't go anywhere. Then once I get to work I have to hope and pray that the parking lot has been plowed and that there is no burm to go over to get into the parking lot. This whole process is just so time consuming that I think that's the most frustrating part. If I didn't have to leave the house, I would be enjoying this weather SO MUCH more! I would want to sled, I would want to try my new snowboard, I would want to walk the dog in it. We even had snow for Christmas day which is unheard of on the western side of the state at the in-laws. We got almost 12" or more, and this is in a city that never gets snow. When they do, it shuts down because they have no snowplows. We were one of the few people driving in it, probably because we had been driving in it for more that a week in our own home town already. Here's my wee one helping shovel on Christmas day. He helped by shoveling it BACK into the shoveled area, it was so cute!