I survived Black Friday weekend!

When did "Black Friday" turn into 4 days? Oh! It was amazing. I am not a big shopper (except yarn stores). I really just love the energy of it. People are all full of food and family love in fancy outfits. I am really big on people watching. I grab coffee and just wander and smile at everyone. They miiiight think I am crazy but they always smile back... so it works for me.

It is funny how late it always feels. It is just so dark so early this time of year.

My big guy was visiting an uncle for the holiday. He had a great time! So, I just had to put the little one to bed and sit the husband in front of his monitor to work through his turkey coma on FFXIV... and away I went.

First, was Walmart. I was nearly hit in the parking lot but that did not phase me. I scored the Nabi 2 at half price. So I am pretty much done for the little ones Christmas. Half price! *cheesy smile* No drama involved either. I walked up, she gave me a wristband. A few minutes later I came back to her and she gave me the box. I grabbed a few other items at irrisistable prices ($4 character jammies...yes, please.) The lines at checkout weren't even long. I was starting to worry about Black Friday. Was it a passing trend?

Next, I hit Ulta. I filled up a bag and then looked at the line and I put that bag down. Don't worry. Black Friday is not a passing trend. The Ulta line proved it. The deals were not beefy enough to warrant that line. Nothing was beefy enough to warrant that line. I could just feel other deals slipping between my fingers if I stood near THAT LINE. It was crazy. So, I left. I hope I find that dirt cheap perfume sampler on Ebay.

I went to a local outdoor mall. It was CHRISTMAS! Christmas music, twinkling lights, people all bundled up. It was right out of a holiday card. *sigh* I wandered. It's what I do. I grabbed some odds and ends over the next two hours and then headed home. I hugged everyone. The holidays do that to me. It's a month of alot of hugs.

This weekend I made cocoa from scratch and finished my shark slippers. See!

These are off to to sit under a tree for a few weeks....just lurking. *insert Jaws music*

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful holiday!

A Walk at Oak Point Park

We got out this beautiful fall day and took a walk at Oak Point park. I have never been. It is very close to home and I look forward to going back. The trees are all bright colors and everywhere you step it goes crunch from the leaves that have fallen. The grass is sparse so the interesting weeds are really making themselves seen. Such amazing nettles and grasses. The sky here in Texas really is just amazing.

One week off...

Its official! Happy Holidays.

The kids are off of school all week. 9 days. Today is day four. I feel the pressure to "do something" with them". Something warm and memorable. It can be a challenge to entertain with kids that are 12 years apart. One is always waiting on the other to finish having fun so that they can start having fun. And neither has anyone to "have fun with" in this situation. Fortunately, they are both really good sports.

So here we are in what still feels like a strange new place and I want to find "nature" and "beauty" to share with them. Not so much cultural beauty or contrived fun. Play-lands like Chuck E. Cheese kind of turn me off. They get plenty of junk-fueled over stimulation without me seeking it out.

So were to find that? I found a book to help me in my seeking.

Thank you, Lune Blog. I have had her on bloglovin forever and she always inspires me by the pictures of her little ones in the wilderness. It makes me want to move. It makes me feel kind of lazy. Darn mommy guilt.

But, I am excited about getting this book. It looks like a bit of a "nature checklist" of things to seek out with the boys. As for now I will be looking into nearby hiking trails and parks.

Wish me luck?
Mel

I Love Yarn Day

Happy Friday! Even more monumental...Happy I LOVE YARN DAY!!! 

Today I am riddled with messy allergies (ragweed *glare*) but I pushed through and after helping out the teacher at my little guys school I went yarn shopping. Michaels and then Hobby Lobby.

Haul time!!! I figure I will divide them up by store in case anyone wants to go get something that they see.

First Michaels!

And now Hobby Lobby!

The driving force behind my shopping was threefold.

Firstly, I have been serial watching "Once Upon a Time" on Netflix this week. I am really enjoying the show. I believe I am on episode 14 now. There is some amazing yarn smut on this show. But, I had to push pause and search Ravelry when I saw this picture:

Its amazing and I need it. So I grabbed some grey bulky yarn today and downloaded a free pattern for it. 

This one is next: 

Here is the free pattern for it. Thank you, movieknitters!

And I will need Ruby's hat, too. (Pattern) I grabbed the red sport weight yarn today. 

Secondly, I am sending three swaps. My main items are all ready to ship but I like to send fun little extras...candy and tiny crafted items. So I got some materials and fun stuff to throw in there.

Lastly, I have a project...moon jars! They are magical and amazing and I MUST make some. (I tried to get everything at Michaels and Hobby Lobby but had to go to Walmart for the solar lights). I will take pics and we will walk down the road of moon jars together.

Chevron Cowl

Its Fall!!!!

Wow...you know I love fall. I have done posts just on the different flavors I like to hunt out in the fall. This year I have been digging my heals into a brand new goal: debt killing. So I will there will be less "what I like to buy" and more "favorite recipes" this season.

Saving is really amazing. It is amazing how little things really do add up. I am guilty of thinking that penny pinching is thankless. But no. Its so freeing to find more than you expect in the bank at the end of the month. It also appeals to the puzzle player in me. Hunting deals and seeing how little I can spend in a certain amount of time is just fun.

I think the trick to all things in life is to see it as a lesson and keep it positive. Life is too short to not keep your heart and mind in the moment and count your blessings.

Oh...and I crochet!

So this little chevron cowl is on its way to keep a good friend warm and add some color to her winter. I think I need to make one for myself with some yarny fringe. What do you think?

Here is an action shot:

Its abotu 24" long. I think I would make mine just a little longer so I can loop it. She loves tangerine and turquoise but I would probably opt for some purple. I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby/ You can buy it online if you dont have a local Hobby Lobby. It feels alot like Red Hearts "With Love" yarn...except this doesn't pill like theirs does. So "I Love This Yarn" is great for smooshy items like cowls and baby blankets. It washes great, too!

This is the pattern I used from Crochet In Color. Its for a scarf but I just crocheted for 24" of the pattern. Then I used a metal yarn needle and sewed it up the side with a whip stitch.

Booties!

Today has been a day of booties. Yes! Just a bootie-ful day. Just full of yarn and tiny, pretty buttons and flowers. It was so nice.

I have crocheted many booties and today I mixed and mingled all my favorite parts to make some booties for baby girl that is on her way soon.

Aren't they precious?!

I have had my babies and I am happy to be past that point in my life. Still things like this just make my ovaries do a cartwheel.

I wrote up a pattern in case you would like to make some yourself. But, if not I will be happy to make something for you over at my Etsy shop in a custom order.

Winter Is Coming!!!

Winter Is Coming!!!

My girlfriend and her family are stationed in Alaska this year. The kids are going to have recess outside even when its SUPER cold. I made this for her little guy to stay at the school and keep him warm.

Balaclava is an old fashioned name for helmet liner. It stems from long ago during the Crimean War. The British soldiers were not getting their warm clothing quickly enough while they were fighting in Russia. These were handmade from wool yarn.

This balaclava was crocheted from a paid pattern from Ravelry but I can definitely see writing a few balaclava patterns of my own. Such a convenient item for the little ones. I never would have expected my five year old to be this comfortable in something like this. It is usually such a struggle to get hats and scarves on him. It was super soft. I used "I Love This Yarn" from Hobby Lobby. A nice, easy care acrylic. The hook was a Clover I hook which made this work up really quickly.

The pattern works up in one piece and then you sew it on the side of the head and below the chin to form the shape. This is actually the toddler size on him.

My husband liked it so much that he asked me to make him one for when he is working in the cold this season. His will be two strands of Patons Classic Wool and a Clover J Hook.

Here are some more pics of my little guy in the balaclava!

Little Red Riding Hood

I have been crocheting. Quite a bit really. It kept my hands busy during the move.

This was for a swap last month. I sent Gozer a Little Red Riding Hood for her to wear.

I used the Ruadh pattern on Ravelry. It turned out beautifully. The pattern is fabulous. BUT...the stitch the body is in took much longer than I expected. So this is not a quick project.

 

 

This picture shows a little of the detail around the edge. It went all the way up one side, over the hood and down the other side. That was a long strip of crocheted cables. I got VERY familiar with the pattern.
But I am very happy with how it turned out. Hopefully it keeps her warm for a long time!

We are (finally) in Texas!!

I have so missed blogging. Since my last post we sold the house in California. It went to the most amazing young couple. I just loved them! We weren't sure that the deal would go through on their end but we gave it a try and the stars aligned just so. It was wonderful. We loved that house and our neighbors there. We are so glad that they will all have one another now.

We packed up a car, a truck and a tiny trailer and traveled from Southern California with our two boys and our two dogs...and everything we own. It took three days of driving through summer rains, dropped bags (we aren't big on boxes. We move with totes and bags). But we arrived on my brother in laws doorstep and got everything packed into a storage unit. They took us in for over a month and a half! It took a few weeks to find the house and then we had to wait for the sale to go through. Brother and Sister in law are angels. And their dogs are awesome. We had such a wonderful time getting to know them better. The boys just love them now.

My oldest is no longer homeschooling. He is in public school and just LOVING it. He never loved school in California. Not since 3rd grade did he love school. That's why homeschooling was such a blessing when we found it. But so far he is doing just great. So now its just me and the baby for one more year until he starts school, too. That opens up a huge new world of "what next" for me, too. The options are vast.

The new house!! Oh my gosh...we just love it. Its bigger than we wanted and sometimes that stinks. We are used to close quarters. Our last home was just over 900 square feet. We are used to being in the same room and hearing everything one another are up to. Hear we all have more space than we are used to. Two living rooms, two bathrooms and split bedrooms. We have slept with Izzy since he was born but he is now happily sleeping in his own room. Plus, my husband and I moved up to a king size bed from a queen. Even more space. It feels so weird!

The house is newer than our house in California. 2001. So it didn't need much work. But, it didn't feel right. So we painted the almondy-cream walls all bright white. I love bright white walls. Except the boys bedrooms. They are grey. We ripped out every inch of carpet and replaced it with vinyl plank. It looks like wood but it will hold up to our boys and the dogs much better. And us. The husband and I would be no picnic for a wood floor either. We left EVERYTHING behind in California so we got to pick out new furniture and appliances. Lots of fun! We have gotten all of this done in the week that we were waiting to have our internet put in. (Yesterday! *throws confetti*)

I have my craft area almost set up. Its all where it belongs...but not yet organized and usable. I will be DIYing some shelves. :)

Ten random things:

• I got a haircut and I am not loving it at ALL
• Izzy has been biting his nails and his little fingers are all red. Im thinking about trying that stuff that makes their nails taste bad.
• Last month Izzy had TWO weeks where he was exploring tantrums. Tantrums unlike anything I have ever seen. But, we got him past it.
• We went to Shreveport last week and met up with Joelle. We had the best time and went to SciPort. Izzy played and played. It was adorable.
• The sky is just gorgeous here in Texas! Day and night.
• I started a 9 day juice fast. Letting go of what no longer serves me and cleansing. Today was day one and its always the hardest day for me.
• Errol joined the culinary program at school. He is really loving it.
• My new neighbors are all awesome.
• We got our Texas license plates!!
• I recently learned that at homecoming time they have a tradition here in Texas. They call them mums. They are huge, decorative, glittery, embellished corsages with streamers and ribbons hanging from them. They are everywhere here! They look like this:

Yeah...I don't know them. That was a random google'd picture. But you get the idea. They get bigger, too.
Until next time!

Mel

I would like to send a huge thank you to ChemKnits. In 2009 she made a cactuar chart. This was my first knitted character hat so not having to make a chart really helped me! Here is the link to her chart.
This hat is for a guy. He is in our linkshell on FFXIV and likes cactuars.
Yarn: Black is Impeccable Yarn, Green is RHSS in Spring Green, White is Impeccable Yarn, Brown is Simply Soft.
Needles: Size 8 Circular Neeles...16", Boye I believe.

I cast on 88 stitches using the long tail method.

The inch of the hat (6 rows) I k2 x r2 for the ribbing

After that I knit around (88) 1 time before starting the chart. The chart 5 1/2" tall x 4 1/2" wide. Its really sizeable. After finishing the chart I only needed to keep knitting around for one more inch. I then k6k2t1 around until there were 20 stitches left. Then cast off and sewed the circle closed on the inside.

The close isnt perfect and I have some gapping at a few places where the black and green meet on the chart.

 But I am getting better really fast. I have been knitting for about a month now. I love colorwork so I will be keeping at it.

Triceratops Amigurumi

I crocheted the cutest triceratops amigurumi my little boy! He worked up fast and the pattern was simple to follow. I bought the pattern.




I am really pleased with him. I made him out of Red Heart Super Saver...that means he will probably live forever. Unlike his relatives.
Happy Easter everyone. I hope that you each have a warm and beautiful holiday. We will be visiting the in-laws tomorrow. I am hoping that we all waking up feeling great. The whole family has been fighting a germ this week. SO gross.

I met a girl. She did not like some people where she worked and it was no secret. So she asked me to make them out of yarn so that she can bring them into meetings with her and tell them that they are voodoo dolls. I never would have thought of this but I really enjoyed the project! I had no pictures...just what she told me to go on. I hunted down some patterns and tweaked them alot. She was SO pleased with how they turned out.
For the man I used Snuffikins Pattern. I improvised for the suitcase and the hair. She wanted him to look really old and cranky. Thats why there is so much going on with his face.


And for her...
I used a Talkshow Host Pattern. It was from the writer of this fine blog. Allison Hoffman and Crafty is Cool. I want to make all of her patterns now. I got the biggest kick out of the high heels, I think. I have never crocheted high heels and I was not sure how that was going to work out. I did not follow the pattern exactly...her patterns are posable and I didnt add any wires.