Supplies Chasing

The hunt is on. My 8y/o son has a special project for Reading class due Oct. 15th. He has to pick a book to read then create a collage depicting said book. So we’re doing our best to come up with a list of supplies he can use to come up with his masterpiece. The subject for the book he picked? Star Wars, which isn’t all that surprising, really. So far, this is what we have:

• sequins
• ribbon
• felt scraps
• fabric scraps
• construction paper
• hole punch and brightly colored paper (we’re recycling his school newsletters)
• paper clips (plan to make “droid” mock ups with these)
• 4 crocheted circles he can put faces on for character “heads”
• lace (not sure this one will be used, but I have it anyway
• glittery pipe cleaners
• pencils (plan to make light sabers with these)
• paint pens
• markers
• colored pencils
• crayons
• colored foam sheets
• glue/glue sticks/hot glue
• yarn (as if THAT one wasn’t a given, LOL)
• embroidery floss
• plastic canvas
• rubber bands

I have no idea what else we’ll come up with during our search. I’m not done trying to come up with supplies. Anything I come across that could be useful, I put in a bag with his school supplies. We plan to sit down and start working on it this weekend, when we’ll have plenty of time to focus on it. That is, after hubby’s company picnic on Saturday. Free games and prizes and ice cream and food. What’s not to love about it? Wish us luck that hubby wins some cash this year rather than more golf balls, especially considering neither of us cares for the sport.

I’ll be sure to post a pic of the collage when it’s done. He’s eskited (excited, though he used to say psychic, I kid you not) about the whole thing. There’s no telling what this will look like once he’s done, though. LOL

T&T: Makeshift Stitch Markers

If you’re like me, you despise the little round, plastic stitch markers they sell in the hobby section of the store. I cannot stand the things. I don’t like how they attach, not to mention, they just look and feel cheap. I refuse to use them, even though, yes, I do own some.

So what do I do for stitch markers when I need them? I use makeshift ones, that’s what I do. I use safety pins. They come in all sizes and different colors or, as my husband is threatening to do, you can spray paint them. I use large safety pins as stitch holders and smaller ones as stitch markers. Saves me a headache, and they’re quick and simple to use. They’re also small and easy to carry plenty of. I just pin them to my crocheted hook case, which makes toting them around really easy.

I tried making myself a stitch marker, but the fasteners I bought aren’t quite right and they ended up catching on the yarn. Since I can’t find the type I’m looking for as replacements, I’ve given up on that idea. What’s left of the supplies I bought to make stitch markers will be used to make myself some bracelets and maybe some necklaces, because I really like ones made out of beads, and I bought some rather nice beads.

So, if you find yourself in the same boat I did and don’t like those cheap things from the store and maybe never thought about safety pins, give them a try.

Halloween Costume

Halloween will be here before we know it, and well, costumes are quite pricey. In fact, I buy my son’s costume the year before when everything goes on sale. *grin* He’s going to be Megatron from the Transformers this year, btw. I have no idea what he’ll be next year, since it depends on what we can find on sale after Halloween and what will fit him out of what’s left over by the time we get there.

Anyhow, my gorgeous 3y/o nephew, Logan, is a Super Mario Bros. game nut. He LOVES this game, especially the character Luigi. The costumes are priced $20 and up, and IMO, don’t look all that great. So, I sat down one night and decided, I can make one. I dug through my stash and just happened to have the two primary colors I needed:  green and blue.

Here’s what I came up with.

And here’s a pic of our boy wearing it. Ain’t he adorable?

Loganigi

I didn’t use a pattern to come up with this, just sat down and whipped it up. The hat was partially done from a pattern and partially made up as I went. Have I mentioned how bad I am about following patterns? I either forget I’ve got one or I go off and forget to take it with me, which is what happened in the case of the hat.

This is my first attempt at a pull over sweater and pants of any type. I think they turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I know the sweater is supposed to be long sleeved, but I didn’t want the poor child to burn up in it, because crocheted items can get very hot in a hurry. It’s a size 4T. The great thing about it? They can be used as a regular ole shirt or pants because without the hat, you can’t really tell it’s a costume. In fact, I bet a lot of people still wouldn’t know it’s a costume even with the hat!

Everything but the “L” on the hat is crocheted. The “L” is done in plastic canvas and sewn on. Why the change up in crafts for that one bit? My crocheted “L” left much to be desired, so I had to come up with a alternative that looked good. Plastic canvas was it.

I know it’s a month early, but I’m going to say it anyhow.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

LOL

Heather

WoW

I am floored by the amount of traffic this here little blog has pulled since I opened it up to the public. Who’d have thought a sleep mask pattern would be so popular? Then again, I am sometimes easily amazed and amused. :p

I’m still working on the pet taxi pattern. Unfortunately, life seems to keep tossing things my way that interfere with getting it done. I have it partially completed, but still have quite a bit to do on it. Why’s it taking so long? Well, for starters major fit of insomnia and it’s quite hard to count stitches and such when bleary eyed. Two, I have a book I really need to be working on and can’t seem to focus on the darn thing. Three, it’s summer break and wow, do I need to find something for the kiddos to do to occupy their time. The youngest can drive a person batty in minutes! And four, I have a new baby in the house who needs a lot of attention. No, not a “real” baby. A “fur” baby. Penelope is settling in nicely, but I want her to be VERY social so that requires a lot of one on one time. Add in all the aches and pains I’ve been dealing with lately that the meds don’t seem to be taking care of and well, life ain’t so easy right now or crochet friendly. I do have it all bundled up in a handy, dandy backpack and within easy reach for whenever I do get a moment to work on it, though.

I’m updating the Screen Protector Alternative post today. I’ve played around with it some more, and thought I’d share those results. I’m also going to add to the Robe Belt pattern a bit, to add some variation to it for those whole like a bit of flair to things. I’ll work on writing up a few or my more simple patterns sometime or another and try to get those posted as well. As I said before, there’s just a lot going on now that summer is finally here. Have I also mentioned that I don’t handle the heat well? It plays all kinds of havoc on me and adds to the number of meds I’m required to take, as if I really needed to take MORE.

Some time soon I have to sit down (on the floor *pout*) with the 8y/o manchild and build a Hot Wheel city out of Legos with him. I did promise, though all I can think right now was what in the world was I thinking when I agreed to this? Although, I do enjoy building with Legos, it’s just super hard on me to get on the floor or rather back OFF the floor. Getting down there is a bit too easy from time to time. He’s excited over the prospect, though. Building with Legos is one of his favorite things and he’s come up with some quite interesting concepts lately. He LOVES to build space ships and airplanes and for a ADHD/borderline Asperger’s child, he does some pretty amazing work. His artistic side is really starting to express itself, too. My whole front porch and front of the house is currently covered in brightly colored side walk chalk in the form of arrows, signs and of all things, alligators. He also has a rain gauge right outside his bedroom window. It really wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be a weatherman when he grows up. He LOVES to watch the weather channel, though he used to call it the “Whataman” (weatherman). He’s just too cute.

We’ve downsized the zoo. It was taking over and we simply didn’t have the room for that much stuff in here. Currently, the 40 gallon fish tank is leaned against the kitchen wall. What happened to the fish? We turned them loose in my FIL’s pond. They were all bream, so it’s not like I condemned them to certain death by agreeing to this. Shadow the Crawdad is now safely tucked away in the cichlid tank, where he seems to be doing well so far. However, they did kill a smaller one a few months back, so we’re keeping a close watch on them just in case, although they are fewer in number now than they were then. Trilby & Penelope’s cage is now occupying the space where the 40 gallon was. Not a lot more room in here, but it is easier to get around and feed everyone now.

And I suppose I’ve rambled on enough for one post. Happy crafting!

Heather

T&T 3: Losing Count

Ever have problems remembering what number line you’re on when crocheting? I have a hard time counting rows when it comes to single crochet and frequently forget how many rows I’ve already done or which one I’m on, so I’ve devised a plan to help me keep up better with how many rows I have going. This can work with crochet or knit or anything else where keeping track of rows is necessary.

Materials Needed:

Pen or Pencil

Notepad or scrap piece of paper

Each time I start a new row, I put a line on the paper. When finished, I count the number of lines to see how many rows I ended up with. This is very helpful when trying to write out a pattern and exact numbers are needed. For any rows after that, you can either continue with the one line per row method or switch to numbering the paper and crossing off each number as you complete the row (example: 23 rows; number the page 1 – 23 and cross off as needed). It’s saved me a lot of headaches when it comes to keeping up with how large a project is getting, because there are distractions all over the place around here between the hubby, kids, and the wide assortment of pets we have running around.

Hopefully, this will help a fellow count loser in keeping track of what he or she is doing.