Patchwork Bumblebee

Handknit Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T13:12:00.007-05:00

I know it's been FOREVER since I blogged, but at least I had a semi-good reason (well, that's what I've been telling myself). I have been so busy working on Christmas gifts and I didn't want to risk anyone seeing them before the big day. :o) Now that Christmas has come and gone, I can post away.

I decided to knit gloves for each of my sisters-in-law and my mother-in-law this year. Around thanksgiving 2008 one of my sisters-in-law made a comment that it would be so nice if I would make her a pair of gloves. That got me thinking....so I worked all year and made 7 pair of gloves! Can you believe it?!?! 7 pair!

Details on each pair can be found on my ravelry project pages.

I think they really like them! :o)

I also made 3 of my nieces (Jacqui, Anna, and Emily) a pair of fetching fingerless gloves. I personally have never understood why so many people love them...I feel like a hobo when I have them on. But since almost 14,000 pair have been made I figured it must be only me who feels that way. :o) I only have a picture of the pair I made Jacqui...

Finally, I whipped up a butterfly hat for my momma. She picked out this pattern way back in February or March...right after she lost the hat I made her last year. :o)

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas!

I can't wait to get started on all the fun projects I have planned for 2010...you've been warned..........

Baby, it's (getting) cold outside

2009-10-21T12:05:00.005-04:00

My daughter has poofy pony tails every day. EVERY DAY. And since we live in Michigan, it's getting cold. (Of course as I write this, it's sunny and almost 70 degrees, but since it's Michigan, the weather will be below 50 degrees in just two short days. Gotta love it.) Anyways, since she has the poofy tails, finding a winter hat has been a complete chore. I've tried many, many, many hats on her, and of course, she has hated it every step of the way. I finally decided to just wing it and make her a hat...without a pattern. Yep. That's me. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kinda crafty girl. :o) I used some malabrigo yarn that I received in a swap last winter. I've never used this yarn before but I now know why so many people love it. It's sooooooooo soft and the color variations from the kettle-dying process is just beautiful. Now I want to make myself a sweater...ahem...but of course that's going to have to wait since I just might have 4 sweaters waiting to be made...and I have the yarn for those 4 sweaters upstairs in my craft room waiting for me. So...yeah. I'm just going to have to wait before I buy a sweater's quantity of malabrigo. Drat.

I used the heart design from this sweater that I found on knitty.com. Luckily for me the design repeat was 12 stitches, and the hat was 84 stitches around...woo hoo! I didn't have to manipulate the design. I love when that happens.

Now if I can just get her to keep it on her head we'll be all set. :o)

and baby makes four...

2009-10-07T20:23:00.004-04:00

So we're becoming parents again! This time around, the adoption went even quicker than it did with Madelyn. We got a call last tuesday letting us know that a birth family had chosen us to

be the parents of a baby boy that was born on Sunday. !!!!! We were shocked and excited and speechless and nervous and happy all at the same time. We had so much to do within a very limited amount of time, but of course I was able to find some time to make the little guy something special just for him. I found this pattern while searching for ideas on Ravelry. I was able to make it in 2 days...perfect in the amount of time that I had. I really, really, REALLY like how it turned out. I used size 5 needles instead of the size 6 suggested in the pattern since baby Andrew is so little. I think this is just what he needs to wear when we're able to bring him home, which will hopefully be in the next few days...we're just waiting for the judge to sign the papers. Then our busy little house will get even busier! But, you know, I wouldn't want it any other way. :o)

Pumpkin Hat

2009-08-14T10:13:00.005-04:00

I know, I know, I'm a dork. I think we've already established that when I made this bunny hat when Madelyn was first born, or the turkey hat for Madelyn's first thanksgiving. Well, why not keep up the tradition of making crazy hats? That's what I say.

I found a really cute pumpkin hat pattern last fall at my local yarn shop, The Knitting Den. I knew I already had way too many projects going on (but what else is new??) so I bought it so I could make it for this fall. I decided to start it Wednesday and I finished it yesterday, so it only took 2 days! If I'd known that when I bought the pattern, she would have had one last year. I used some Vanna's Choice yarn, which is very out-of-the-ordinary for me. I usually like to use wool but the price couldn't be beat. Plus, it's a kid's hat that won't get worn that often, so Vanna's Choice it is.

Do you think she likes it?

Here is my ravelry link.

where has the time gone?

2009-07-17T15:18:00.005-04:00

My little girl turned 1 last week. 1!! I can't believe it. She's growing so fast!

I had tons of project ideas for her party. One of them was to make a happy birthday banner. I used this tutorial as a guide. I changed the shape of the flags and didn't add extra embellishments to them. I thought the fabric I chose was busy enough. I used an Oh! Cherry! Oh! charm pack and layer cake. I love this fabric line so much that I bought some yardage to make Madelyn a dress (I still need to make it. Hmm.).

For her party, I also made layered jello and a watermelon bombe from justJENN. (I love her blog. You should check it out.) In all of my party-planning craziness, I forgot to take a picture of them. Our 50 guests loved them though, along with my strawberry cupcakes. All in all, it was a great party and I'm so happy to be a momma to this little girl. :o)

Watermelon Dress

2009-07-13T12:17:00.002-04:00

So I had this great idea one night a little while ago while I was trying to go to sleep. I pictured this way-too-cute a-line dress that looked just like a slice of watermelon. I knew I had to make it. I was heading to visit a good friend of mine on the other side of the state and she also has a daughter who is just a few months younger than Madelyn AND she's a big crafter too, so I told her about my dress idea. She loved it! We decided to go to the mall and we went into a children's clothing store and then I saw it. The dress. MY dress. I was so bummed! But I knew I could make it for a lot less money than what they were charging. Plus, I'd be able to make it how I wanted. :o)

So, here's what I ended up with. I didn't use a pattern. Nope. This one is all from my noggin. It's fully lined and it snaps up the entire back.

At first, Madelyn didn't know what to think.

But then, she liked it! I had to fight to get it off of her! I'm so glad she likes it!

What? Organization? Me??

2009-06-23T20:57:00.003-04:00

Yep. You read that correctly. I, Amy, have made something that is kinda sorta organizational. Whoa! That's totally not me! But I'm tired of stepping over Madelyn's toys in the living room so I thought it would be a good idea to make a fabric box with my leftover curtain fabric. I found this tutorial from all buttoned up, which is another really fun blog (seriously, how many fun blogs are out there?? I find tons each and every day! And I'm loving it!!). I had to change the dimensions A LOT to make it functional for a toy box, but otherwise I followed to directions pretty closely, which is another thing that's weird for me to do. :o) It was a fun project and I was able to complete it in 2 hours, or a whole naptime for Miss Madelyn.

She had fun helping Momma put her toys away. See? Ahhhh. My feet are happy! No more plastic-y landmines in the living room!

Madelyn's new best friend

2009-06-20T21:21:00.004-04:00

I don't know why I haven't blogged lately. I guess I've been busy getting ready for Madelyn's birthday party. Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! She's going to be 1 in less than 3 weeks! Where has the time gone???

One of the many projects that I have been working on is Molly Monkey from one of my all-time favorite blogs, mmmcrafts. Larissa has soooooooooooooooo many cute ideas! If you haven't checked out her blog before, you really need to. Did you hear that? YOU REALLY NEED TO! Especially since she has most graciously offered the pattern for Molly for FREE!!!! The pattern is really well written and very easy to follow. I was hoping to give it to her as a birthday present, but since the pattern was so easy to do, I made it in under 2 days. And being as impatient as I am, I just had to give it to her early. She loves it! When she sees it, she starts kicking and clapping and laughing. It's too cute!

I haven't sewn the beret on yet, mainly because it covers up the little sprout of hair I added. When Madelyn plays with it, of course the first thing she does is take off the hat. Oh well. Molly is cute with or without the beret!

Happiness Is....

2009-05-11T14:33:00.003-04:00

...buying beautiful yarn with your birthday money!

I turned 30 (eeeek!) on April 18. I have to say I was not really thrilled with the idea of turning 30. But it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think that the fact that my in-laws giving me birthday money helped out. :o) Usually I don't do anything special with it. I just put it in my wallet and end up spending it on groceries or whatever. But this year I decided to do something just for me, something I don't normally do. I decided to spend it on yarn and make a nice sweater for myself. I did a ton of research and decided to make the February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne. I am using dream in color classy yarn (which is bad news because now I have a FAVORITE brand of yarn...look out, wallet. You're gonna be gettin' a workout at the yarn store!) in the happy forest colorway...very pretty.

I ordered the yarn from my local yarn store, The Knitting Den. They told me that it usually takes a while to get yarn from dream in color because they hand-dye everything themselves. I was okay with that because, come on, I have tons of projects going on ALL THE TIME. After a few weeks I called to check on it. The lady said she had just talked to the dream in color lady and it was still going to be a few weeks. Two days later, the Knitting Den called and said my order was in!!! Woo hoo! Of course, I rushed right over and picked it up. I swatched and got gauge right away and then cast on. Here is my progress so far:

I have fallen in love with this pattern and yarn. It's such a cute sweater. If you haven't made it yet, you should. I'm just sayin'.

Felted Bag Swap

2009-04-27T07:47:00.003-04:00

A while ago I joined in a felted bag swap on Ravelry. I had just figured out how to felt in my front loading washer and I became obsessed with felting. I thought this swap would be a ton of fun and it has! My partner had a list of felted bag patterns she liked and this was one of them. It is a really pretty bag, plus it's even a free pattern, which makes it even better. It knit up pretty quickly and I like how it turned out. Here's a picture of the finished bag:

I added a lining with a pocket since you can never have too many pockets! My partner really likes the bag. That makes me happy! :o) I'm still waiting to get the bag made for me. It should come within the next week or so. I'm so excited to see what it looks like, especially since I have no idea what pattern or yarn was used. Yay!

Test Knitting

2009-04-14T22:32:00.004-04:00

I found two fun groups on Ravelry called "the testing pool" and "free pattern testers". Basically, a designer can find people willing to test their patterns to see if there are any issues with them. I've done a few test knits, but one of my favorite ones was for Abstract Fiber. They sent me a skein of yarn and I could knit whatever I wanted to with it. I then send the item back to them to display in their store. How cool is this? And that's not even the best part...once they receive my item, I can pick out any skein of yarn for FREE!!! Yay! I love free yarn!

Since I love to make hats, I decided to make one for this project. The only problem was that I had to find a pattern that used sockweight yarn. Hmm. I eventually decided on this pattern from the Spring 2009 issue of Knitty, a pattern called Reverie. It was a lot of fun to make, especially using the awesome yarn I had. :o) I have never used handpainted yarn before and now I know what the fuss is all about. It is absolutely beautiful! I can hardly wait to get my hands on more of this stuff! Luckily I'll be getting more soon, with getting the free skein and all. ;o)

Here's what the hat looks like:

Isn't this yarn beautiful??

a few firsts...

2009-04-04T18:13:00.006-04:00

.....not only for me, but for Madelyn as well! This is her first Easter and I was excited to make her something special. I decided a while ago to make her a bunny blanket, similar to this one I found on the Oh, Fransson! blog. I guess I got a little too excited when I bought the fabric to make it because I had a lot left over, enough to make her a dress. I have to say that I'm not very good at sewing clothes, mainly because I don't like to follow instructions. But the pattern I chose was very straightforward. I didn't even need to call my seamstress sister once to help decipher the sewing jargon! :o) Here's what the dress ended up looking like:

I added the ribbon trim along with a piece of fabric that I cut out from a coordinating fabric. I also made the ribbon rose with some leftover trim I used on the bunny's skirt. By the way, here's the finished bunny blanket...

...complete with a signed back...

...and one happy little girl! :o)

Happy First Easter, Madelyn! :o)

Little Tote Bag

2009-03-13T14:10:00.004-04:00

My 7 year old niece Peyton asked me if I could teach her how to knit. Well, of course I can! But a girl can't knit without her own knitting bag, am I right? :o) I found this tutorial from The Longest Year (which, by the way, is an excellent blog) earlier this morning and I whipped one up in under 2 hours. I used my stash, which makes it even better. But, of course, I couldn't leave it plain. I added some applique designs to the front. I just printed off a "P" from Microsoft Word in a fun font and used that to trace onto some fusible web. I found the flower applique pattern here. Can you tell what her favorite color is? :o) I'm going over to her house this Sunday to start teaching her. Wish me luck!

I even put a pocket on the inside. I love pockets!

Secret Pal 13 Finale

2009-03-08T16:31:00.003-04:00

I got my final package from my secret pal, Jane Schumacher. Here is what she sent me:

I got 5 skeins of yarn, some crochet pattern books, and a fabric covered journal. Thank you!

I had a lot of fun doing this exchange. I can't wait to sign up again. :o)

felting in a front loading washer

2009-03-01T12:49:00.003-05:00

It works! It really works! I have always liked felted bags but I never thought I could do them since I have a front loading washing machine. But something got into me a few days ago. While I was on ravelry, I found this really cute pattern for a little purse with beads and I just had to make it. I made it for someone, but I can't say who yet because it's not time to give it to them yet! :o) I used some cascade 220 and my 10 1/2 dpns. It knit up really fast. I have never knit or crocheted with beads before. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Here's how it turned out:

Pretty cute, huh? Now I wanna find a pattern for a bag for myself, maybe to use for my knitting. Do you know of a good pattern? If you do, lemme know!

progress...

2009-02-21T19:25:00.006-05:00

Remember a while back when I wrote about wanting to make this blanket for Madelyn's first Easter? Well, earlier this week I finally found some time to get started on it. Of course, I had to change it a little bit, mainly because they aren't supplying the pattern anymore. That's okay. Here's what I have so far:

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It's just an applique with layers of clothing on top. I must admit that the skirt was a little more difficult though. You can lift it up and see her legs underneath. I am also planning on making an Easter basket filled with colored eggs. Hopefully I'll find some time this week to work on that.

Whaddyathink?

:o)

Ribbon Tag Monster

2009-02-04T15:48:00.005-05:00

Madelyn is really into getting her hands on anything she possibly can. I made her a ribbon tag blanket when she was first born and she loves it. I found this pattern for a ribbon tag monster a while ago on CraftSchmaft but I was busy doing other projects. I finally found some time this morning and I was able to make it while Madelyn was napping. Here's how it turned out:

But could I actually follow the pattern? Of course not! I added arms and made it look more girly with eyelashes and fuzzy pink minky fabric. I also added some jingle bells inside. I like how it turned out. I think Madelyn does too. She hasn't let go of it since I gave it to her!

Secret Pal Package

2009-01-31T15:09:00.004-05:00

First off, I'd like to apologize to my secret pal for taking so long to post about the latest package. Sorry!

I received the latest package from my secret pal when I got home from vacation. It was perfect timing! Here is what I got:

I got a really cool crochet pattern book, 5 skeins of yarn, and a knitted book cover. There are lots of cute patterns in the book that I would love to make, but they are going to have to wait a little while. I have other projects that need to get completed before I start ANOTHER one. :o) Thank you secret pal!

I think I might start sewing again. Ken bought me a new sewing machine for Christmas but I don't know much about the features. I was supposed to take a "getting to know your new machine" class earlier this week but they cancelled it due to the snow we got. Now I won't be able to take the class until February 10. :o( I don't know how to attach the walking foot to the machine (that's the main reason why I want to take the class). Once I learn that, I want to make Madelyn a blanket similar to this one for Easter. The pattern used to be available on oh fransson's blog but it isn't anymore. That's okay. This gives me more room for creativity. Maybe I'll add a little basket to the quilt top. Hmm. We'll see. Now I just need to find some Easter fabric. That's turning out to be a lot harder than it sounds.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a little girl that needs some attention.

happy (but cold) at home

2009-01-27T13:00:00.005-05:00

My hubby and I survived our first vacation with little Madelyn. We drove to Florida (yes, that's right...DROVE) from Michigan with a 6 month old. Yep. We're that crazy. It took us two days to get to Orlando. We didn't have that many stops the first day. The second day was another story. Madelyn was getting tired of being in the car seat (but who can blame her??). We had to stop a few times more but overall, Madelyn was SO good! Ken and I are really lucky to have her as a daughter. Of course, we knew this way before vacation, but spending 9 days with just the three of us really hit home to me. We are a family. I love both of them so overwhelmingly much that it takes my breath away.

While it was cold (by Florida standards...it was in the fifties most of the time we were there), we still had a great time. We went to Seaworld and Madelyn LOVED Shamu. :o) We went to Longboat Key to visit Ken's parents. Madelyn had a good time sitting with Grandpa on the beach and getting her toes wet in the Gulf. I wouldn't have traded this time with them for the world.

Of course, driving to Florida gave me lots of time for knitting. I haven't had time to take pictures of what I made yet...mainly because of the laundry that is begging to be done. I'll be sure to get the pics of it up soon though.

relaxin'...

2009-01-23T15:51:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to do a quick post to say that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...we're on vacation! I'm busily working away on some knitted projects that I'll post about when I return home. I better get back to the sunshine! Don't be too jealous...

Shhh....it's still a surprise........

2009-01-09T21:37:00.004-05:00

So my friend Jo had a birthday this past Monday. I won't say which birthday it was, but that it was a pretty big one and she's older than me :o). She's an avid scrapbooker (she actually is to blame for dragging me into yet another craft) and while she doesn't knit herself, she appreciates the work that goes into it.See? She likes the turkey hat I made Madelyn this year for Thanksgiving. A little while ago she requested me to make her an earflap hat. I thought her birthday would be the perfect opportunity to do just that. The day she asked me to make her the hat, I had on a pair of fun socks (I just LOVE fun socks...just to wear...not so much to knit) that were red and white striped. She told me she loved them! I thought it'd be fun to make her a hat similar to my socks. Here's how it turned out. I won't be giving it to her until next Friday. So if you see her, try to keep your mouth shut, okay? Okay! :o)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T19:42:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! I sure did. It was my daughter's first Christmas and it was just wonderful.

I got to spend a lot of time with family and to just relax. I really didn't work on that many crafty things, which is really odd for me. But now that all of the holidays are over, I'm ready to jump right back in. I just received my first issue of Interweave Knits and there are sooooooo many good patterns! I want to make myself this sweater but I should probably finish up the gloves I started to make myself and the hat I promised to knit for a friend of mine first. I guess I better start knitting!

Finally, I'm DONE!!!

2008-12-22T21:25:00.004-05:00

My mother-in-law Marie is a very nice woman. But she's not the easiest person to buy for. She has EVERYTHING (I'm sure we all know someone like this). Every year since Ken and I have been married I've made her a small gift for Christmas. The first year I made her a quilted wall hanging of the Nativity. Last year I crocheted her an afghan. In January of this year, I decided to make her a counted cross stitch of a Thomas Kinkade painting because she loves his stuff. I used to do cross stitch a lot when I was younger. Well, I found out I don't really like to do it that much any more. After about 2 hours of working on it, I couldn't bring myself to make another stitch. Hmm. Then we got really busy with the baby and before I knew it, it was autumn. I had no clue what to make her. I was making quilted table runners for my sister gifts so I thought I'd make one for Marie. I did. Nope. I didn't like how it turned out. Then I got busy making stuff for swaps and getting ready for the holidays. And then it hit me. It was December and I still didn't have a gift for Marie! Eeek! I thought I could probably get away with not making her anything because of Madelyn and no one else makes her stuff. But that wouldn't be right! I found some really pretty patterns of scarves on ravelry so I thought I'd make one for her. But again, I didn't like it. I tried 3 different patterns only to rip them out and start again. I decided to pull out the table runner and work on it. I ended up appliqueing trees in the center square. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Whew! And I only have 2 days to spare!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmasy Secret Pal Loot

2008-12-20T16:59:00.003-05:00

Just when I was bogged down with everything I still need to do for Christmas, I got a second package from my secret pal the other day. It came at a perfect time, reminding me that I need to take a break and breathe! It was in just a tiny box, but there sure was a lot crammed in there!

I love this pretty purple yarn. It has a sparkly multi-colored yarn mixed in. I have two whole skeins of it! Now I'll have to spend even more time on ravelry looking for patterns to use with it! (Like I need an excuse to be on ravelry!! :o) ) The little album is made out of cd's! It's very cute and it will be perfect to remember Madelyn's first Christmas! The chocolates are very yummy and already are gone. Thanks secret pal!

Secret Pal 13 Question 2

2008-12-17T17:03:00.002-05:00

Part A:
Are you doing any holiday knitting?
Yes, I have done a lot of knitting actually. Most of it was for various swaps that I was in, but there were a few gifts for my mom and others :o).

Part B:
Have you finished?
I was all done...and then I decided to start knitting a scarf for my mother-in-law TODAY! I only have 1 week to complete it, plus finish up all the other Christmas stuff (wrapping presents, baking cookies, etc.), plus take care of Madelyn. What am I thinking? It's a really pretty pattern that I found here, but I'm not that good with lace and I can't read charts, so I had to print the word pattern in different colors for each row because I kept mixing the rows together. Ugh! I only had to frog it 3 times now, and I think I might have figured it out enough to actually knit it! I don't think I'll have it done in time for Christmas...I guess time will tell..........

Tis the Season

2008-12-10T16:24:00.005-05:00

I finally got my house completely decorated for Christmas...well, almost completely. We're having a few friends over Saturday night for a party so I thought I better get cracking on some decorating and baking. Here's one batch of cookies that were good enough to win a cookie bake off. I won a beautiful cookie jar and a cookie plate. They're called chocolate peppermint cookies and I found the recipe here. They remind me a lot of thin mint girl scout cookies, only maybe better because they have peppermint crunchies on the top!

I still have one more batch of cookies to make today but they can wait until my hubby gets home from work. Madelyn needs some mommy time.

Secret Pal Loot and Question of the Week

2008-12-03T13:48:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry that this post is so late, secret pal. I've been super busy with finishing up my Christmas presents.

I received a package from my secret pal last week. I was soooo excited! In it were 3 bars of goats milk soap from Hidden Haven Homestead. I've never tried goats milk soap but I've always wanted to. It suds up really well and I love the scents my secret pal picked out. Thanks, Secret Pal!

Here's my answer to the first question of the week:

What are you most thankful for?

I have soooo much to be thankful for that I don't even know where to begin! I'm thankful for my husband Ken and our beautiful daughter Madelyn. I'm thankful that I'm fortunate enough to be able to be a stay-at-home mom. I'm thankful for every day that I wake up. I'm also thankful to be able to do what I love...making tons and tons of crafty things!

Butterfly Hat and Handwarmers

2008-12-02T16:42:00.010-05:00

I have been patiently waiting to do this post. I sent out my back tack package last week and my partner Emily received her package. Now I can finally write about a few of the items that I made her. I knit her this hat:
I know, I know, you really can't see the butterfly stitch in this picture, or any picture for that matter. The yarn I used made it difficult to photograph. But believe me, you can definitely see the butterfly stitch in person. I found the pattern here on ravelry. I tried to find a pattern for matching hand warmers using the same stitch. I couldn't find them anywhere! So, I had to come up with my own pattern. Here it is. It knits up really fast and the whole set only took 1 ball of yarn.

Butterfly Hand Warmers

1 skein of Patons Classic Wool Merino, dark gray mix colorway

size US 5 needles and size US 7 needles

Abbreviations:
yif = yarn in front
yib = yarn in back
s = slip (when slipping stitches, make sure to spread them out, so that your floats are even and don’t bunch up)
make butterfly = With your right needle pick up the 4 floats by inserting the needle under the floats from the bottom up, then insert the right needle into the next stitch on the left needle. Knit the stitch and the 4 floats together.

Cast on 40 stitches onto smaller needle. Work 2x2 rib (k2, p2) for 4 rows. Switch to larger sized needles. Knit in stockinette stitch for 2 inches, ending with wrong side row.

Rows 1, 3, 5, 7: [k5, yif, s5, yib] repeat to end.

Rows 2 (and all even rows for pattern sequence): purl.

Row 9: [k7, make butterfly, k2] repeat to end.

Rows 11, 13, 15, 17: [yif, s5, yib, k5] repeat to end.

Row 19: [k2, make butterfly, k7] repeat to end.

Repeat this sequence once more.

Work 2 rows of stockinette stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row). Switch to smaller sized needles. Work 2x2 rib (k2, p2) for 4 rows. Cast off, leaving a 8 inch tail. You will use this tail to sew up the sides. Put right sides together and sew about 2 inches down (this will be the top of the warmer). Leave about a 2-3 inch hole for your thumb. You can adjust the size of the hole to fit you. Sew up the rest of the warmer. Taa daa! All done! Now all you have to do is make another one and you are finished!

I hope you like this pattern. Let me know if I left anything out or if anything doesn't make sense. This is the first pattern that I made so I hope it works out well for you!

Gobble Gobble!

2008-11-24T19:46:00.003-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I love Ravelry? Well, I do! I was killing time looking at the free patterns and I found this one for a turkey hat. Yep, that's right. A turkey hat! I thought it was too funny and that Madelyn needed it for her first thanksgiving. I started making it Saturday and I finished it this morning. It knitted up very quickly. I used some acrylic yarn that I had in my stash. I know, I know, acrylic yarn isn't my favorite either, but it was free so I used it. Here's how it turned out:

It's a little too big for her. Luckily, it fits me...but I'm still not going to post a picture of me in it! :o)

Baroness Beret

2008-11-21T17:43:00.005-05:00

I have a confession to make. I have yet another addiction. I am now addicted to Ravelry. I signed up with the website a few weeks ago and I haven't looked back. There are sooooo many cool patterns and people on there! If you knit or crochet, I highly recommend checking out this website. I found this pattern for the baroness beret from http://www.knittherapy.ca/. I'm making it for my mother for Christmas. I am also making a few other items at the moment but the people that they are for use the computer and my mother does not. I feel safe to post my progress on her hat. Here it is so far:

I am using Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends yarn in the color sky. It's very nice to work with. This pattern calls for a tubular cast on method which I have never done before. Luckily, I found a tutorial here that really made it easy to master. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

all those years of honors English just might have paid off...

2008-11-19T12:11:00.001-05:00

Movie Reviews

Brittany Jumper

2008-11-16T15:07:00.004-05:00

I love, love, love baby clothes, especially baby girl clothes (go figure, huh?). As soon as we found out that we were going to have a daughter, I went a little crazy buying knitting patterns. I bought Minnow Knits Too by Jill Eaton because my local yarn store had a sample of a jumper hanging up. I knew that I just had to make it for my daughter to wear for Christmas. I worked on it for a while, but of course I got sidetracked with other projects. Then about a week ago I realized that Christmas is coming up and if I wanted Madelyn to wear that jumper I better get back to work on it! Nothing like a little time crunch to get yourself into gear. Here it is so far:

I just need to finish up the back bodice and buy some buttons. I bet that if I got off of the computer I could probaby get the knitting done today. Hmm...

Secret Pal 13 Questionnaire

2008-11-08T11:04:00.006-05:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love angora/mohair kinds of yarns. I'm pretty inexperienced with non-acrylic yarns (gasp!!) so I'm sure my secret pal would know better than I would about good yarns that are available. Help me learn about them!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Nothing. Yep. I'm probably the most unorganized person alive. I would love to change that. I never know what needles I have. I already have a crochet hook keeper that I actually use so I'd love one for my knitting needles.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
My cousin taught me how to crochet when I was 12 and I'm very advanced in crochet. Knitting is a different story. I taught myself how to knit about 4 years ago and I can pretty much figure most things out. I'd say I'm at the intermediate level in knitting.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, I have a wish list on Amazon.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I don't like the cookies, vanilla, baked-good scent candles. I like apple, cinnamon, and floral scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. I love chocolate and caramel. I don't like any kind of nuts or peanut butter. My favorite candies are mallo cups, cadbury eggs, basically any kind of milk chocolate that doesn't have nuts or peanut butter.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do not spin. But I basically do any other kind of crafts. I sew, quilt, paint, and cross stitch. Lately I've been into quilting, knitting, and crochet. I also LOVE to bake.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like country and rock. My computer can play mp3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like reds, pink, brown, and purple. There really isn't any color that I don't like. My winter coat is red.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am married and have an infant daughter. We have no pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I love scarves, hats, and mittens. I'm not really into ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Lately I've been into knitting hats. But I also like to knit stuff for my daughter.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I'm making my mother a hat for Christmas.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I love it. My 4 sisters and I exchange handmade gifts every year. They always end up being my favorite gifts that I get because I know how much work was put into them.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer any and all needles. I don't have many needles and I'd love to add to them.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I don't even know what those are.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I started a quilt top about 4 years ago that I still need to put together.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
Christmas by far!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I used to collect bumblebees but not really any more.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don't have any magazine subscriptions. As for the books, yarns, etc, yes! Everything! I'm very easy to please. I like quick projects because I don't have a very good attention span.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Right now I'm teaching myself how to make lace. So far, so good.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I've knit myself one pair of socks. I would rather knit something else. It took too long for me! I wear size 10 shoes.

23. When is your birthday?
April 18

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes! I just signed up last week! My ID is patchwrkbumblebee.

new inspiration...

2008-11-05T21:21:00.002-05:00

I love finding new crafty blogs. I just found another one that you should check out. Koala brains has lots of cool ideas.

ribbon tag ball tutorial

2008-11-04T11:56:00.014-05:00

Okay guys. I've read a lot of tutorials...apparently enough to make me think that I can now write my own. We'll see. I've had this idea of making a ribbon tag ball floating around in my head for awhile now. My daughter loves her tag blanket and loves squishy balls so I thought I'd combine the two and see how it turns out. I think it came out pretty well but we'll have to wait and see what Madelyn thinks of it because she's napping now...shhhh.....

Ribbon Tag Ball Tutorial

Use this pattern to cut out 6 pieces of fabric (I used 2 different fabrics - 3 of each).
Cut your ribbons into 3 inch pieces. I used 3 different kinds of ribbons so I could have 3 loops on each side. You could put more on if you wanted to.

Fold your ribbons in half and pin in place.

Sew the ribbons in place. Make sure you stitch inside the 1/4 inch seam allowance so it won't show through.
Lay another cutout piece of fabric on top of the piece that you just stitched the ribbons onto, keeping right sides together.

Stitch down the side that the ribbons are sewn:

It should look like this:

Repeat this for the other 4 pieces of fabric. You should now have three parts that look like this:

Now you begin to sew these pieces to each other, making sure that your corners line up. Here's four pieces:

And here's all six pieces sewn together:

Make sure you leave an opening so you can turn your ball right side out. Now it's time to stuff with fiberfill. I also added some jinglebells.

Sew up the opening by hand and you're all done. Taa daa!

help!

2008-11-04T10:31:00.003-05:00

I really need to quit looking at these craft blogs! I have waaaaaaaaay too many unfinished pitiful projects that need my attention. But then I found this scarf pattern. I think I'll be heading to my local yarn shop very soon to pick up the supplies. Sorry, sad little unfinished craft projects. It looks like you'll have to wait yet another day before I finish you.

maybe I'm a little crazy...

2008-11-02T09:51:00.004-05:00

...but I've joined a few swaps. Okay, more than a few. I've joined 4. Yep. And they are all pretty much going on at the same time. The first one I joined is:My partner is Emily. This should be pretty interesting because we are pretty different in the crafty stuff we like to do. I think it will be fun to see what we come up with. I'm almost done with making stuff for this swap.

Since that swap was going smoothly, I decided to join Secret Pal 13. This is a swap that I'm very excited about. I love secret pals! We did something similar to this in a hospital that I worked at a while ago. When I got my office job I was really hoping that we would do secret pals but we didn't. I was very disappointed. Oh well. At least now I can do one! Yay!

Then one night I found this swap. I've been trying to figure out what kind of cookies to make this year since my husband's family decided to have a cookie bake-off. I thought that this swap would be fun to see what kind of recipes other people really like.

Today I signed up for the last swap. It's:

I found this swap through homemade by jill. I'm kind of a Christmas decorating freak and I love getting new ornaments for the tree. I have a pretty good idea of what I'll make.

Whew! I have lots of crafting to get done now...not to mention the homemade sister gifts that my four sisters and I exchange every year. I better go get started........

misnomer

2008-10-28T12:05:00.005-04:00

When we found out we were having a baby, the only girl name we could agree upon was Amanda. I had always had my heart set on the name Madelyn, but Ken didn't really like it. I needed something to occupy my mind while we waited for the baby so bought this book and I decided to knit this panda, thinking it would be cute for our daughter Amanda. It knitted up pretty quickly and I was pretty proud of myself for actually finishing a project before starting another one (as I always seem to do!). The joke was on me because when we first saw our daughter she didn't look like an Amanda at all...she looked like a Madelyn. Even Ken thought so. Oh well. At least I finished a project!

taa daa!

2008-10-26T17:33:00.006-04:00

I'll admit it. I'm an amateur seamstress at best. I can do just about any kind of craft but when it comes to following a sewing pattern, I usually end up covered in threads and leaving the room with a pounding headache. But Joann's was having a sale last week and their McCall's patterns were only 99 cents. I decided to check out what they had. I found this pattern, and since Joann's was also having a big sale on their polar fleece, I decided to suffer through it in the hopes I'd come out alive. Not only did I come out alive, but Madelyn now has a way too cute winter hat! It's a little big yet but that means she should be able to wear it for awhile, and since we live in Michigan, she might need it until May. Pretty cute, huh?

Mini Pincushion

2008-10-22T12:04:00.004-04:00

I am beginning to need more and more pincushions. It must be because of all the little sewing projects I have lying around. I found this cute idea while shopping in a little town near where I grew up. Instead of taking the easy route and just buying one, I took the harder route and came home and tried to make one. Luckily for me, it looks like it turned out pretty well. Since it uses a golf tee, it fits perfectly into a spool of thread. I think I need to make some more!

Candy Corn dress

2008-10-14T14:46:00.005-04:00

I joined the candy corn contest a little while ago and I was inspired by one of the entries by ella bella baby. She made the most adorable candy corn dress and I just knew that Madelyn needed one too! Here is my attempt:

I think Madelyn makes a fantastic model! :o)

ribbon tag blanket

2008-10-13T14:13:00.003-04:00

Even though my daughter Madelyn is still young (she just turned 3 months last Friday), she knows a good craft project when she sees one. Case in point: the ribbon tag blanket. She just LOVES this thing! I made it after seeing similar ones in the stores. I made it using minky-like fabric that I got at Joann's. I made a triangle patch using 3 different kinds of fabric...a white striped fabric for two of the triangles, a pink fabric with a star design for one triangle, and a pink fabric with a raised heart design for the other triangle. I found 3 different ribbons that were sold by the spool...I know I could have used a bigger variety there. Believe me, I wanted to. But I had little Madelyn with me when I was buying the supplies and she was getting fussy so I just got the three ribbons. It still turned out pretty cute. I backed it with a pink and white striped minky fabric. I also used a low loft batting, but I don't think it really needed it. It is the perfect size for her carseat. I have to be sure to tuck it in whenever we leave the house.

Pumpkin Squares

2008-10-08T10:56:00.002-04:00

I love to bake. A few years ago, I found a recipe for pumpkin squares and I made them probably twice a week for all of my college roommates. Everyone loved them. But then I moved a few times and, of course, a few things got misplaced, including my recipe for pumpkin squares. Last week during one of Madelyn's naps I was searching online for another pumpkin square recipe. Luckily I was able to find one that was pretty much the same one that I used to use. I made them yesterday and my whole house filled with a yummy scent. When my husband Ken came home from work he made a beeline for the kitchen. Needless to say, he gobbled one up. Did I get a kiss hello first? No way! But that's okay. Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Squares

***Crust:***

1 (2 layer) yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)

1 egg lightly beaten

***Filling:***

1 can (29 oz.) pumpkin

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon ginger, ground

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

***Topping:***

1 cup reserved cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional...I didn't use it as I don't like anything nutty...I'm nutty enough!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Remove 1 cup of the cake mix and reserve for the topping. In mixer bowl beat together the remaining cake mix, butter and egg until it is evenly mixed. Press into the bottom of a greased and floured 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Combine pumpkin, eggs, both sugars, milk, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon; pour over crust.

To make topping, combine reserved 1 cup cake mix, sugar, nuts and butter by crumbling them together with a fork. Sprinkle over pumpkin filling.

Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 1 hour or until set and lightly browned.

Candy Corn Contest

2008-10-07T11:19:00.005-04:00

I love fall. I love the crisp in the air. I love the sound of leaves crunching under my feet. I love fresh apple cider and other yummy fall goodies. So it comes as no surprise that as soon as it was cool enough to wear jeans, I started thinking about decorating my house for fall. Last year was our first year in our home. I guess you can say I went a little crazy buying fall decorations for our new house. When I got out the decorations this year, I was so excited! I forgot about some items that I purchased last year on clearance. It was so much fun putting all of my little pumpkins and acorns out! But I was missing something...something fun to put on our new coffee table. Hmmmm....then I came up with a fun applique idea. I started working on my candy corn table runner right away. But I can't work on any project for too long before I get antsy to start another project. So I put my runner away to work on other stuff. Then not too long ago, Amanda Jean from crazymomquilts posted this entry about a candy corn contest. Now I had no excuse to not finish my table runner. I just completed it last night. I love how it turned out!

Can you say excited???

2008-10-06T18:12:00.004-04:00

I just got the mail and I found my order from http://www.quiltsomething.com/. I have been looking and looking for the Moda Daydreams charm pack and they had it! I was so excited! I was even more excited to get it in the mail! Woo hoo! I plan on making a quilted jumper for Madelyn that I found in this entry from crazymomquilts. I'll keep ya posted!

WIP

2008-10-03T23:31:00.003-04:00

I haven't blogged this week because I have been working on a candy corn table runner that I actually started a month ago. I really wasn't working all that hard on it because I've been busy with Madelyn and other boring household stuff. But then I stumbled across a contest mentioned here. They are having a contest for all candy corn related items! Woo hoo! Now I have to get in gear and finish the table runner before the October 31 deadline. I should probably go work on that now while Madelyn is sleeping! I'll post pictures of it once it's all done......

family traditions

2008-09-29T14:49:00.003-04:00

Ken's grandmother was very crafty. She made lots and lots of things...she crocheted and quilted the most though. I was able to meet her the day we got engaged. She was a very sweet lady. She was very excited to hear that I like to crochet and quilt. No one else in the family really does that. We talked about the stuff we were working on and our favorite projects. You could tell she really enjoyed making things. Her face lit up when she was able to describe her projects. Sadly, she died a few weeks later. I was very happy to get the chance to meet her.

When we were visiting Ken's parents after we found out that we were going to have a baby, Ken's mother went into the spare room and came back with this quilt. She said that Grandma made it for the next baby in the family. She got a little teary-eyed when she handed it to us. It wasn't finished...the quilt top, batting, and backing were pinned together. I quilted it and put the binding on. Now Madelyn has a very special quilt. Every time I look at it I think of her and all of the beautiful things she must have made throughout her life. I feel very lucky to have this last quilt of hers. We will miss you Grandma!

and another hat

2008-09-27T09:56:00.004-04:00

I just couldn't help myself. I love to make hats. Madelyn, on the other hand, isn't that big of a fan. But I'm hoping I can convince her to change her mind. Who wouldn't want to wear this?

my first baby quilt!

2008-09-26T12:08:00.004-04:00

I found this fabric online at http://www.thequiltshoppe.net/ and I fell in love with it. It's Bella Baby by Michele d'Amore for Marcus Brothers fabrics. I wasn't thinking when I bought the fabric...I only got 1/4 yard each of 4 prints and 1/2 yard of the brown dot! I didn't know what to do with it so I just decided to make a simple patchwork quilt. It was very easy...it only took me an afternoon (but that includes taking care of little Madelyn!). I still have to hand quilt it and put the binding on...but at least I got the quilt top done! I'm pretty happy with the results. Here's the close-up of the fabrics....I just love them!

boppy

2008-09-24T10:10:00.005-04:00

When we found out we were having a baby and only had 7 weeks to prepare, we were lucky enough to have family give us lots of baby essentials. One of the things we got was a boppy pillow, complete with its own travel bag. I was excited to have one since I've heard great things about them. The only problem was that I didn't really like the fabric it was made out of...it had giant letters all over it with creepy little kids. Eeew. I looked all over for a cover and I didn't like any of the ones that I found, especially when I saw the price of them...who wants to pay $20 for something that you could make for waaaaaaaaaaaay less? So I found a pattern online here. It was so easy! I had some fabric that coordinated with Madelyn's room (I love bumblebees!). Of course I had to embellish it too. :o) Here is the finished project. I like it so much more now!

here we go...

2008-09-23T13:45:00.004-04:00

So I found this website while I was searching for free baby craft patterns and I stumbled upon the blog "homemade by jill" and I instantly became addicted! I followed her burp cloth pattern and made 4 of them for my newly adopted daughter Madelyn. :o) I am now making about 3 different craft projects for her because I found some really cute patterns, but also because I can't seem to finish one project before starting another one. Here is a picture of my favorite thing I've made so far...a bunny hat. Pretty cute, huh? I found the pattern here. It was very easy and quick to knit up. It calls for 25 gram ball of angora, but I only used a teeny bit of it. I guess that just means that I can make more of these hats for my friends' babies!