::boston's monster::

Kelly & Lechelle are in the process of adopting a sweet little baby whom they've named Boston. He's fun and cute--so we hear. It's always a bummer to be so far away from family when special things are happening.
So since we can't come and visit them right now I made a monster for him to snuggle with.



I think he turned out cute. Hopefully Boston will like him as much as Max did. Max tried to keep him here of course.

::another project::

This one turned out pretty darn cute. I made it a few weeks ago for a friend's new baby.
I took the little hippo pattern I've made many times before and modified it so he looked all sleepy like the puppy we made earlier. I would've just made a puppy, but I still can't figure out how to knit well enough. Someday I'm sure.
Anyway, sleepy hippo needed a blanket. So I knitted/crocheted him one.
Max said he needed one--just like everything that I make.
So what do you think?

::giveaway!!::

It's about time around here for a giveaway, don't you think?
I promised my friend Beth like a year ago that I would do one when I won something in one of her giveaways. Lame it took me so long, but oh well at least I'm doing it!

Leave a comment here before midnight on Sunday Jan 31st and you'll be entered into the drawing for 2 pretty little snowflakes!
(one winner, two snowflakes)
Here they are:


The first one is the standard pattern from here. The second one is my own little variation.

They have lots of uses. You can hang them from the ceiling. You can pin them to the wall. You can put them away in your Christmas decorations for next year's tree. You can stick them under your door to keep the cold air out. You can wash the dishes with them. You can use them as coasters. You could sit on them at basketball games. I'm sure the list is endless really.

So enter if you want to! We'll pick a winner sometime monday morning.
Happy friday!

::more little projects::

I had a couple of things I was working on for christmas that I had to keep secret, but now I can show them to you!
First is the project that got me crocheting in the first place.
My younger sister Charlotte loves cuttlefish.
Have you ever seen a cuttlefish?

image from here

I'm not sure if I had or not before we went to Disney World this year. Anyway, we ran across a whole tank of cuttlefish and Charlotte declared her undying love. So I knew I needed to give her one for Christmas. Then I found a really cool crochet pattern for a cuttlefish on etsy. And I knew I had to try it. So after a lot of practicing and a lot of messes I finally created a cuttlefish!!



I think he turned out really cute. I'm guessing I could make an even better one now with all my practice, but I think he turned out wonderful.
Maybe I'll try my hand at creating a sibling cuttlefish for him one of these days, maybe.
Thanks for inspiring me to start making stuff Char!

I made a little alligator for a friend's one year old a couple of weeks ago. He turned out pretty cute too.


It's fun to be able to make gifts that kids actually seem to like. And it's a good thing I have people to give these little guys to, or the house would be overrun.

Lastly here's a bird that I made in december. My mom has a traditional ornament exchange party every year, and I was thinking it would be fun to participate from afar this year. So I made this bird and sent him across the country.


Now I just need to make one for myself! At least I have the picture in case my own version never gets made.

So there are a few fun projects for you. It feels good to make stuff right now. It's so nice to have something to do with my hands that feels so productive so quickly.

::finished::

Check it out:

This is what I did with those cute snowflakes.
My original idea was to hang them from the ceiling of the kitchen. But I needed tons and tons to do that, because I would've wanted them thick. And the ceiling in our house is a bit low, so I was afraid Kris would be banging his head on them all the time.
And there was this perfect overhang at the window that was just begging for some fun.

So there they hang. Those two you see that look yellow aren't really that yellow. They're just kind of off white. When I realized how they looked compared to the other yarns I didn't make any more of those.

I think they're really fun. They make the winter seem just a little more festive. And you can't really tell, but most of them are made with yarn that has a little bit of a sparkle to it.
I like their silhouettes:

I got the pattern from here. They look really hard and complicated, but they're really very simple. And they're fast too, once you make one or two. I cranked out like 8 the other night when we were watching a (dumb) movie. And it's easy to improvise with them too. I came up with two other patterns based on the original that I really liked.
So try them. It's fun!!

In other news Kris has been tying a lot of fly fishing flies. He's getting good at it. He's working on flies for salt water fishies.
They're a lot bigger than the freshwater ones I'm used to seeing.
ALSO, Kris fixed my stained glass lamp. You can see it in a couple of the pictures in the beginning of this post. We got it for our wedding from some wonderful friends and I love it. One of our last moves did it in though. The post was totally broken. It wasn't of the highest quality to begin with, and four moves in four years was just too much. Anyway, Kris attempted to fix it a while back and it turned out badly--gorilla glue + fingers = bad news. But the other day he had an epiphany and fixed the dang thing with a dowel. I'm so happy to have it back! We need it out here in the winter. It's so dark and gloomy almost all of the time.
Anyway, I know my husband loves me when he solves a nearly unsolvable problem for me and doesn't give up on it.
That could light up anybody's january.

::work in progress::

::more mama fish::

So, as if Max didn't have enough fish already, he put in a special request that I make him a mama fish. At first I thought the request was pretty ridiculous, but then it caught my fancy and I started working on it.
I found this pattern that I figured I could start with. I found about four different colors of yarn that I thought sort of matched up with the real fish. And then I went to work.
And then:



I'm really happy with how she turned out. EXCEPT that in trying to be smart I used some rice on her insides to give her some weight. Was I thinking about how if I ever had to wash her the rice would get all gross? NO. Oh well. Too late now.
The colors worked out well though, and my pattern modifications turned out great I thought.
Want to compare New Mama Fish with the original Mama Fish?


Not exactly the same, but pretty darn close.
And the verdict?


He likes her. And I like him. Good deal.

::ode to a walrus::

I made this little walrus:

He's a gift for a small unnamed relative.

Max said he was jealous. He tried to snag the walrus and hide him away so he couldn't be wrapped up and sent.
That didn't work, so he decided to draw some pictures of him instead.
And as usual, they're adorable.


I think I like the last picture more than the real walrus.