Ogre and Monster Hats - Hats and More Hats!

I love making hats.  They are so much fun and work up pretty quickly.  I finally got the ribbon picked out for four more cloche style hats. 

I got a ton of ribbon a few weeks ago using sales and coupons for Michaels and Joann.  Thank goodness they are accepting competitor coupons now. 

I really like the patterned ribbon for hats.  It just gives a little more....something.  I don't know but I like it!

These lovelies are now in my Etsy store!

This morning I finished my first Monster and Ogre baby hats.  They turned out so, so cute!  I wish I had a baby to wear the Ogre hat!  For now I have to settle for this (not so cute) doll.  Thanks Pam for letting me borrow him though.  He does make a better model than my balloons.  His head is a little smaller than newborn though so I end up having to roll up a bunch of the hats.  It works out pretty well though.   

I had seen pictures of the ogre hats from Dayna from On Distant Shores (http://daynasigl.blogspot.com) but her hat was knitted.  So I made up my own pattern in crochet. 
As for the Monster hat, I was inspired by Emily at The Boy Trifecta (http://www.theboytrifecta.com). but again kind of did my own thing following the pictures.  I'm finding that maybe I don't have the patience to follow patterns specifically.  I like to just create as I go.  Thank you ladies for the inspiration!

March Madness - Basketball Hats

If I had a sport, it would probably be basketball.  I like the movement.  Those guys are really working hard.  I like the excitement of the scoring.  It's not like soccer where 2-1 can be a high scoring game.  It's not like football where they play for 10 seconds then talk about it for the next 20 minutes.  And it's not like baseball where it's basically one guy against a whole team and then a different guy against the whole team again.  Basketball is fun to watch.  I don't watch so much since Jordan left the Bulls (has anyone else really moved like that guy?) but I'll still check it out sometimes if I catch it.


So in honor of March Madness coming up, I decided to show my support for the sport.  Basketball baby hats!  Now your little one can root for the sport along with you.  Aren't they cute?!

They are for sale now in my Etsy shop.  They are basically a knit hat with embroidered back stitching for the lines.   Check them out!

And Now For Something Completely Different.....Recycled Pop Top Necklace

A crocheted pop top necklace!  This was so much fun to make.  Once I finally got enough pop tabs - I had to ask around at work.  Someone generously donated these to me!  50 pop tabs went into making this fun necklace.  Recycling at its best! The finished project is definitely classier than you would expect from the sum of its parts!  I wore it to work a couple of times and I get a ton of compliments.  The kids are really interested in trying it too.  I guess I'm going to have to teach them to crochet!

Queen of Sunflowers Shawl

So I finished this shawl and finally got it sent off today.  It is headed to Sweden!  Yay, I'm international!  Anyway, I really love the way it turned out.  It was really simple and this time I added a scallop border to kind of pull it all together. 










This is the second shawl I have made in this pattern but I do prefer the yellow and brown one. I'm glad it was suggested to me! I hope to get the pattern written up and maybe post it for sale on Etsy. 

Rest in Peace my Friend

Remy the Rat passed away early this morning.  He was just short of his third birthday.  He was a happy little guy who enjoyed human company and the occasional spat with his big sister, Gypsy.  He was healthy right up until his death, and passed in his sleep.  Rest in peace my friend. 

Remy as a baby.  He had the sweetest little face. 

Remy looks like a drowned rat....literally.

Poor Remy.  He is getting really old.  He's almost three years old.  He's getting really clumsy and his back feet don't work really well for him.  I need to clip his toenails now and because he is so clumsy, he can't clean himself as well as he used to. 











He gets a bath now periodically when he starts to look scruffy.  He doesn't like it but he tolerates it.  What he really likes is the cuddling afterwards and the toweling off.  He looks so fluffy afterwards.  When he is dry, he begs for treats, eats them, then takes a nap....such a rough life.  My poor boy.  He's so sweet. 

Look at that face!

Christmastime Means Too Little Time to Do Too Many Things!

Yay!  Christmas is almost here.  I love Christmas.  I love the food, the music, the wrapping paper, watching my niece open presents, everything.  Well, not everything.  I hate the traveling.  Why can't my whole family just move to my town?!  It would be so much more convenient.  I also hate the way I never get the things done that I set out to do.  I'm in the middle of 7 or 8 different projects that all have the same deadline looming over me.  And I don't really want to work on any of them. 

I did get one done today though.  This was a special order through Etsy.  I love the way it turned out and hopefully she will too.  It is an original pattern based loosely on another sweater I did a couple of years ago.  I think the color she selected looks beautiful. 











I also finished a sweater for me a few weeks ago.  I am pleased with how it turned out too.  The pattern is from Interweave Crochet Spring 2010.  It's called New Town Swing Sweater.  I get tons of compliments everytime I wear it and I wear it a lot!