Reginal Johnson

 Reginald Johnson has become a real member of the family. He routinely naps with the cat:

Quack!

Tiny Little Beasties

I really like tiny things. I several shelves with miniature critters, like this one:

Eggshell Mozaic Shelf

I like to make miniature books. Like this one:

Miniature Book Made From an Old Record with Music Note Pages

And this one:

Rock Paper Scissors Book With Rock Covers

So, it only makes sense that I'm drawn to crocheting tiny little beasties. Like this little rabbit:

Leapfrog!

Posing with a favorite snack!

Hangin' with friends

 
Quack!

Slowchet

  Sometimes in the evening when I'm sitting on the couch watching TV with the family, Sweet Pea and I will pull out some yarn and the crochet hooks. Most recently we've been focused on little critters - some photos of them are below. But as we go, you may here this conversation:

Me: OK, the next step is to do 12 single crochet, then a decrease, then 12 more
Sweet Pea: OK
Me: 1
Sweet Pea: 2
Me: 2 already?
[pause]
Me:6
Sweet Pea: 12
[pause]
Me: 8
Sweet Pea: 16

That's us counting our stitches. You can see that Sweet Pea crochets about twice as fast as I do. No matter how hard I try to go faster it just doesn't work. I end up dropping a stitch, then have to fix it which slows me down, or I get all tangled up and have to disentangle. We've decided that while Sweet Pea is doing crochet, I'm doing slowchet.

Hey, it works for me. What's the hurry anyway?
 

Quack!

I Don't Think I Stole It

  I'm sure you know by now that I've been crocheting. It's lots of fun. Well I found a pattern for an 'amulet pouch' that I thought was cute. I don't have a lot of amulets laying around, but it looked like a fun project so I made it:

The challenge once it was done was finding the suitable amulet to put in it. I went rummaging through all my stuff and found this:

The genie ball! My sister and I used to argue and fight over this thing endlessly. We both wanted it. I think it's a piece of some old jewelry we got from my mother who got it from who-knows-where. Somehow I ended up with it. I don't remember how but I'm hoping I didn't steal it from my sister at some point. (I'm sure she'll let me know if she sees it here and says 'hey, so that's where that thing went! If I did, oops, sorry! :)

Quack!

For Ninjas Up North - Where It's Cold

So you know I've made quite a few sweaters for the Ugly Doll collection. Well, here is the whole crew - pull-overs, cardigans and ear-cozies:

I think I'm finally finished. Whew! That's a lot of tiny little sweaters. I'm all ready if I ever need to make one for one of those tiny vampires I'm always going on about.

And of course the next logical step after sweaters, was the ninja sweater. You'd think I would have made the ninja sweater for Ninja Batty Shogun, but no. Ninja Batty Shogun is pretty cool and ninjy all by himself. I made the ninja outfit for Picksie. I thought it would be a nice complement to his red eyes. It took me a while to find him for this photo (Ninja's are very good at hiding) but I did eventually find him and here he is.

And of course, for a recent birthday we had to make some Ugly Cakes. Here's a few of them:

Quack!

Maybe I Could Crochet a Backsplash

 I am such a slacker! For 7 months now I've been meaning to tile my kitchen backsplash. But have I done it yet? Nooooo!

 

I mean, it's not like I'm busy with work, family, housework, crocheting, artiness, baking, crafting, homework-helping, paying bills, checking email, grocery shopping, etc, etc, etc, right? OK, so that takes up some time, but what the heck?!? I've got at least 5 minutes to spare each day! Maybe even 6. So what is taking me so long?

I know, you don't really care. But I do! It's driving me crazy that I haven't done it yet! And by driving me crazy I mean, "When I actually have time to take a breath and look at the kitchen I say 'what the - why do the walls look like that??'"

But really, it's not that I haven't made any progress. I did get everything all measured out. I marked each tile where it needs to be cut, then set them aside and ran screaming from the room. I also cut and painted a piece of molding, screwed it into the wall above the stove and added hooks for the measuring cups so they can hang above the stove again like they used to.

It may not sound like much, but it took more time than it sounds like (probably more time than it should have). My next task is to actually get my butt in gear and cut those tile! Cut 'em girl! You can do it! One of these days I will. Really!

Or maybe I could just crochet a backsplash!

Quack!

Ugli Sweaters

 As I said the other day, I've been teaching myself to crochet. And I decided, what better way to learn than to jump right in. I'm planning to start with a nice simple project - a sweater.

I can hear you now - What?!?! A sweater?!? Are you out of your mind?!? Isn't that little complex to start out with?

Well, yes, but this isn't any just any sweater. This is a sweater for Nandy Bear. Nandy Bear is one of Doodlebugs Ugli Dolls.

"Now what the heck are you talking about?"

Well, Ugli Dolls are these cute little monsters that Doodlebug and Snickers discovered on a trip to Toys R Us a while back. They've managed to get quite a little collection of them via various holidays (birthdays and Christmas and such). But the poor little guys get cold at night. So the boys spent some time a few weeks ago making sweaters for them out of felt and staples but they got discouraged when
I casually remarked that they should be careful not to get poked, cut, scraped, scratched, torn or ripped by all those staples. (Mom always ruins all the fun!)

But when I started crocheting, their eyes lit up and now I have a request to make some little sweaters. I figure it's a good thing to work on. I'll get some practice and if I mess up, the Ugli Dolls won't complain. I bet they won't even notice if one sleeve is longer than the other.

Quack!

A Slightly Crooked Pouch and a Half of a Purse

  As you may know, I'm teaching myself to crochet. I'm getting better with each stitch I make. Sweet Pea and I have all sorts of plans! You wouldn't believe (or maybe you would) all the free crochet patterns that are out there on the internet. I could spend days just looking at patterns and never get any actual crocheting done. It's kinda like my art - I spend almost as much time rearranging art supplies as I do using them. So far I think I've spent way more time looking for free patterns

and browsing crochet books than I have crocheting.

But I have made a few things - a few bookmarks, a slighly crooked pouch to hold coupons in my purse and 1/2 of a purse. I'm still working on the purse. It's small, cute and once I'm done I'll probably wish I had lined it and added a pocket. But we'll see - if it comes out nice enough and if I'm sufficiently motivated, I can add that.

But it's very exciting, so many plans!
Quack!

The Crochet Workout - Grunt, Swear, Snap, Sweat

So, my latest hobby is crochet. I'm just getting started and am still learning. After practicing some basic stitches I decided to jump right into making a scarf.

I knew something was wrong when I snapped a fairly thick acrylic hook. My hands were all cramped, I was getting blisters and every muscle in my body was sore. On top of that, my scarf was curled up like a sleeping centipede.

I did a google search and decided that maybe my tension was off. Apparently, when you crochet, it's not supposed to involve every muscle in your body. You shouldn't have to struggle to jam your hook between stitches, swearing and sweating and snapping hooks. The floor was littered with them. I considered getting some steel hooks, but they just would have bent.

So I ripped out the entire scarf, unravelled it across the floor like a sweater that a had a run-in with a caffeinated cat.

And I started again.

I watched Sweet Pea first - with even less practice than I have, she hasn't had the problems I had - she's a ntatural and is farther ahead with her scarf than I am. I made an effort to relax and to make my stitches looser. It wasn't easy. But after a bit of practice, I'm finding it to be so relaxing - like floating on a cloud - a cloud of fluffy fuzzy pink yarn - not a sore muscle or blister in sight, no hook-schrapnel littering the floor.

It's actually becoming enjoyable. But it isn't as much of a workout.

Quack!

Crocheting Squirrels

  Since I don't have nearly enough hobbies, I thought I’d take up another one. Sweet Pea and I have decided that crocheting sounds like fun. And not necessarily because you cause can make useful things like mittens, slippers, sweaters, afghans and tea cozies, but because you can make completely useless things like cat sweaters, nose warmers, squirrels, turtles, cupcakes and so much more!

So, I set my sights on teaching myself. I got some books from the library and after staring at the pictures and reading and re-reading the instructions for about 20 minutes with yarn wrapped up around my fingers, my thumbs, my crochet hook and eventually my neck, shoulders, torso and legs, I gave up and signed us up for a class.

I may not be a genius, but let me tell you, after failing to make it past the very first step in the book - the step where you make the knot prior to doing any actual crocheting, I wasn't feeling real confident about my ability to work magic with the hook and the yarn.

So, early on a Saturday morning we set out for our class. And while I'd love to say the class was super helpful, that I loved it, and that I'm now a crochet expert, I can't quite do so. You see, the instructor never bothered to show up.

Sigh.

So, after getting my refund I got online and watched a few youtube videos. Literally within minutes I had a chain going and my first few rows of single crochet stitches. I felt much better.

I have a long way to go before those squirrels start magically forming out of hook and yarn (I mean, who doesn't want to make a crochet squirrel?) but I'm well on my way now.

I just know that my dear sweet grandmother is looking down on me from the ever-after, shaking her head in disgust and thinking about all of the doilies I tossed a year ago. But I stand fast - I have no regrets! And I have no intention of ever ever ever making a doily!

It's time to crochet a ginormous duck!

Quack!