Miss A Learns to Crochet

One of the things that constantly amazes me about crafting, is the share factor. Crafting is not like chocolate: hoarding it does not make me feel more satisfied. No, crafting is something I love to share, it's something I need to share. But simply giving someone the end product of my crafty efforts is not what brings me the most joy.

Sure, I get all giddy when people ooh and ahh over the scarf I made them. And yeah, if someone tells me that the hat I made them makes them smile every time they wear it, I'll probably cry. But nothing compares to sharing my passion for creating by teaching someone how to do it themselves.

Maybe it's the whole "teach a man to fish" thing that makes me so excited. Maybe it's the fact that I'm giving someone new a glimpse inside a whole new part of creativity. Maybe I just love passing on skills to other people, perpetuating the love for making things with one's own hands. Maybe I just want more people to hang out with at the yarn store.

Regardless of the reason, I love teaching people. Especially kids.

She liked my hat a lot, so I had to let her wear it. Who could say no to that face??

On Wednesday, I had the honor of teaching one of the cutest seven-year-olds I know the basics of how to crochet. We started with the chain stitch, and Miss A was absolutely thrilled to stitch along with me.  She was the perfect student. When it was time for me to go, she informed me that I had to come back next week to "teach her the next part." Be still, my heart! I remember when this little lady was a mere infant, and now she's stitching along like a pro.

It reminds me of myself, when I was a little kid: begging my Grandma to teach me to do the magic stuff with the yarn and hook. It's something my Grandma and I still bond over, and something I look forward to bonding over with my kids. While it might not be crocheting my kids are excited about, the anticipation of passing on some skill to my own little ones is indeed thrilling. All the things I have learned from my elders are treasures; treasures I love to share with anyone willing to sit and learn.

Can't wait for next time I get to hang with Miss A and teach her "the next part." Passing along these skills that were passed along to me is a great investment. Plus, she is too dang cute, is she not? Look at her with that rainbow yarn. Can't even handle it.

Who Lives Here? A New Design by Last in Line Shop

My, what a charming little house in a little log. I wonder who lives here!

The door is closed, perhaps I should knock. 

Oh! Hello! A couple of Rabbits seem to be at home!

"Hello!"
"You knocked?"

Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit, you both dress so nicely! And your house looks so quaint.

"Why, thank you!"
"You are too kind!"

Could I come inside for a visit?

"But of course!"
"Let me get the door for you."

 Look how lovely your home is! A yard, a toadstool, and so much room inside to decorate and play!

"We love our house!"
"It's perfect for us!"

It certainly looks cozy!

"But there is always room for friends!"
"We love meeting new people!"

So do I! I love going out on adventures.
"Can we come too??"
"Just carry our house with you, and we'll always be ready to play!"

How perfect! Let's go!!

I present to you, Mr. & Mrs. Rabbit's House, a carry-along playset. I am quite proud of this creation!! Keep your eyes opened, the pattern will be coming soon to Last in Line Shop!!

Blooms and Bumps

Dat baby bump!!

Betchya can't guess which one is me! Oh right, you've seen pictures of me before. And I'm the pregnant one. Right.

My sweet sister takes some pretty amazing photos, and yesterday since it was finally warm out and flowers were blooming and whatnot, she decided we should have a sisterhood/baby bump photoshoot at sunset. This was her fave shot of us, sitting in the scilla in the front lawn. So pretty, and such a nice end to a festive Easter Day.

Hope you had a beautiful day on Sunday and could celebrate the Resurrection with your loved ones!

Shout out to Tara Lea Photography! If you want to see some spiff-tastic pics of people doing things, check out her page. She's great. Love that girl.

DIY: Make Your Own Buttons with Sculpey or Shrinky Dinks!

You can make your own buttons??  You heard me right! Trust me, I was just as excited as you are when I made the realization that yes, indeed, you can make your own buttons to adorn whatever project you choose. Think of the possibilities!! You just need a few simple supplies and an oven. Easy peasey. You'll be a button-makin' machine before you can say "whose got the button"!

Buttonbuttonbutton. Don't think I've said 'button' enough yet. Button.

Two weeks ago, my dear friend Becca from Halfway to Hipster came over to hang with me. We had a smashing crafternoon, and I thought I'd share with you all the efforts of our activities! And give you a few instructions so you can jump on the button wagon with us.

You'll need:
-An oven
-Some Sculpey (or other oven-bake clay) in any color you desire (I did white so I can paint them later)
-Some Shrinky Dink plastic
-Sharpies, watercolors, colored pencils, or other art-devices to color on your Shrinky Dinks
-Scissors
-Hole punch
-A toothpick or skewer

Becca got clever and stuck some buttons to a newspaper to lift the ink and get a cool wordy effect

 For Scupley Buttons:
 Pinch off a little nubbin of clay. Work in in your fingers until it gets soft. Form it carefully into a ball, then flatten it onto some wax paper with your thumb. Rub out as many thumbprints as you can (or leave them for a very rustic look) and poke as many holes as you want into your button with a toothpick. Flip the button over and make the holes clean on the other side as well. Follow the direction on the clay package to bake your button, let it cool and admire your work!

You can get really crazy with the size, shape, texture, and hole placement on these buttons. Be wild!

Becca made some cat buttons!!!!

 For Shrinky Dink Buttons:

Trace a circle approximately 2" in diameter. Cut it out , and go nuts with decorating the button. When you are done, punch some holes with your hole puncher (standard size hole punch results in perfect button holes). Bake your Shrinky Dinks according to the directions on your package. I love to act like a small child and sit on the floor of the kitchen to watch them shrink. MAGIC YO.

All my Shrinky Dink buttons I did with watercolors. They turned out so spiffy! I prefer the way they look from the "wrong" (aka, shiny) side of the button once shrunk. So vibrant!

The blue one looks super cool in person, but crappy on my camera

 A quick disclaimer, I have no idea how these buttons stand up in the washing machine. My bet is you should PROBABLY handwash any project you use these on.

Nekkid buttons! Can't wait to paint them.

Are you going to make some buttons??

Windschief Hat & Snow

Remember way back in December when I visited Yarnology in Winona? I scored a sweet skein of black and white twisted wool and the Windschief hat pattern by Westknits (who I adore, btw). In the hustle and bustle of holiday crafting, I never got around to making myself that hat. Then, before I knew it, we were packing and moving and crazy stuff, so the hat got put aside again, before I ever cast it on.

Well, after the sadness of my Baby Sophisticate sweater fail, I decided I needed a little distracting happy project. So I dug the Windschief pattern out and got to work. After four hours of dedicated knitting with watching Law and Order SVU on Netflix, the fruits of my labor were ripe for harvest.

Or....binding off and weaving in ends. Since....you don't really harvest hats.

 Now, this is not the yarn I purchased to make this hat. No, no. I was silly and decided that since it's Spring time here, I ought to make this hat in cotton. Creamy colored cotton. Because cotton is warm enough to fight off the breeze, but breathable enough to keep my head from sweating. Because in springtime, it gets warm out.

HAH.

It snowed yesterday. At least I have a cute hat.

 I've also been on a "sort stuff and make a mess while pretending to be cleaning" spree. It's like Spring Cleaning for crazy people. The down side is you make a bigger mess than you started with, but the plus side is you find some random pink cotton flowers you crocheted who knows how long ago and are able to make a cute pin for your new knitted hat.

My head will be bloomin', even if it's snowing in APRIL here. BLARG.

 I really really enjoyed the pattern. It was easy enough to do while watching Olivia Benson kick some bad guy butt, while still being interesting enough to make me feel like I was doing something clever with yarn. And it looks hipster-tastic when it's done!

Dat twisted rib section. Mhhhmmhmhmhmhhh.

So, here's hoping your week is less snowy than mine is so far!! BUH. WINTER. Needs to be over. I want flowwweeerrrsss!

Okay, I promise I'm done whining.

STUPID SNOW.

LOOK AT HOW EVIL IT IS!!!

Okay, now I'm done.
Happy Tuesday, yo!

The Windschief Pattern is also available online.

The Narwhal Hat Pattern is LIVE!

It is finally available!! Now you can be the envy of all your friends with your very own Narwhal Hat that you made yourself!! Joy of joys!!

The pattern is available for instant download via Last in Line Shop on Etsy.
(Also, look! I'm a big kid now with a Ravelry Designer page!!)

I was very hesitant to jump in and finally offer patterns for one of my most popular hats, but I am incredibly excited now that it is finally up! It's especially invigorating since I've been working on updating my Ravelry page, and now I'm a bonafied designer! With a pattern available!

In other news, I'm working on another pattern. It is a LOT more intricate than my beloved Narwhal Hat, which makes me even more excited to offer it for sale. Soon. Ish. Once I get it all typed up and edited and pretty.

That's all. Just wanted to let you guys know that I feel pretty spiffy with this pattern up for sale.
Hope your day is warmer than mine! After a weekend of 50+ degree weather, it's snowing today.

SNOWING.
IN APRIL.

-sigh-

Regardless, happy day to you all!

Baby Sophisticate; or Not Everything I do Turns Out Okay

 Remember when I bought all that cotton with visions of baby stuff dancing in my head? Well, I started working on the baby cardigan before we moved, and got pretty far on it! I was feeling pretty proud of myself, but I had to put it on hold until we got somewhat situated.

When I pulled it out again, I was disgusted to find that what I had previously seen as a perfect beginning of a darling garment...was a mess.

I kept telling myself it was okay...it wasn't.

Wonky. Distorted. Stretchy. Lumpy. I was so distressed, I took a quick photo to show some of my other crafty friends. I was hoping that they would calm all my fears.

"It'll block out!"
"Oh it looks fiiinneee. You are just being harsh on yourself."
"Cotton always looks like that before it's washed."

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if anyone said any of those things to me, I'd think they were lying. Because they would have been. My baby cardigan was weirdy shaped, and there was no denying it. When I showed my internet crafty group the pictures, my go-to knitting guru and favorite Norwegian citizen Liz (of Lizzy Knits Day By Day) confirmed what I had already accepted as truth: there needed to be some major changes if I wanted this cardi to look normal.

So, unfortunately, I'll be frogging this baby. If you hear screeching or uncontrollable sobbing coming vaguely from the direction of the midwest, it's me, ripping the sweater apart. Good thing it isn't an adult sized sweater! I'd be inconsolable if that were the case.

Really, it's not so bad. But if I want an heirloom baby piece, I want perfection.

What your worst gotta-rip-it-out story?