Toddler Mutant Stenciled Turtles

Remember back when you were a little kid and everything seemed larger than life? Maybe your house or school seemed huge to you or maybe your older brother seemed like a giant hovering over you?

Events always seemed larger than life too. I have certain memories burned into my brain that are actually pretty mundane, but as a child they seemed so big and important.

About a month ago my nephew "discovered" a large turtle in his grandmother's backyard at the shore. Her house is between the ocean and the bay. Though not exactly a far distance in either direction, it would be quite a long journey for a turtle to make. How did the turtle find itself in her yard? How long did it take to get to her house? How did it manage to avoid being hit by a car in this busy summer season? This out of the ordinary experience was exciting to me as an adult, I can only imagine how magical it would seem to a child.

Since I had already made a turtle stencil, I decided it was only fitting that my nephew have a shirt of his own to commemorate this event. These photos are of Little C's romper. I didn't take a picture of my nephew's, but it looks exactly the same in t-shirt form.

I used plain fabric paint from the craft store (in marine blue--how fitting!) and one of those 15 cent throw- away sponge brushes. Here's a tip: use a straight, up and down motion when stenciling.

I find myself checking my mother-in-law's yard whenever we visit, hoping to see that turtle, or another turtle. If I was my nephew, I would feel convinced that grandma's yard always contained turtles. These events are so big in our imagination because they're not likely to happen again. And that's what makes them so memorable.

Christmas in July

Q: What do knitters and magazine editors have in common?
A: They have to plan their projects six months in advance.

For magazine editors right now it means thinking about pecan pies, roast turkeys, and stockings hung by the fireplace with care. For knitters and other crafters it means creating a list of possible presents to make for a small queue of special people.

I have to confess, I think I started thinking about this year's Christmas presents on Dec. 26th of last year. Ah, so much I want to knit and so little time...

I did find a pattern I am VERY excited about. SUPER EXCITED, actually. It's top secret, but this is a peek.

I can't say much more about it, but it did force me to learn how to make cables, using a cable needle.

It reminds me of the One-Armed Man's hook from The Fugitive or less dramatically*, a plain old fishing hook. Anyway, it's easy to use and I'm having fun making cables now.

I also learned some other new techniques from the pattern, but I'll have to unveil them later...much later. How does Dec. 26th sound?

**************************************************
*On whether a fishing hook is dramatic or not? I guess it depends on who you're talking to...

(a little cartoon sketch made while eating lunch).

Girls Night: June

It was K's turn to host Girls (Boys) Night. She had us applique onesies and shirts. Even though it was very new to me, I'm really happy with how they turned out.

I made a cupcake onesie for my husband's cousin's baby. It was part of a gift for her baby blessing.

K and P helped me choose the fabrics and these really fit perfectly. I love how the striped fabric gives the appearance of a fluted paper cup.

I also made Little C a fish shirt with bubbles.

The bubbles are made out of a batik print.

K and P worked on some adorable initialed tees.

Here's a cute onesie for Baby N.

And another for Baby M.

And one for P's new neice Baby K.

I think we all could have kept making more and more of these, but, alas, Little C was pretty upset because it was waaaayy past his bedtime, and he was starting to turn into a pumpkin. Ditto for all the other little ones.

Mommy duties come first, so we put the crafts away and headed home.

I really loved this craft: you get the instant gratification high, you can make something really cute for a child, the possibilities are endless when it comes to designs...I do need to practice the sewing part. I'm still not completely sure how to use my sewing machine.

A special thank you to K for hosting such a nice gathering; We had a wicked storm trample through our area (downed trees, hail, 90 mph winds) and K had been without power for about 24 hours beforehand.

Happy Birthday

K's birthday was last week so I decided to make her a crochet necklace using gold embroidery thread. It was definitely harder to thread the beads on because of the metallic threads, they tend to unravel. Also, the holes in the beads are too small for a needle to pass through, so it takes much longer to thread them on.  I do like the finished product, but it is definitely fragile. I'm probably going to revisit this idea for my Girls Night in July.

It feels good to finish some things since it seems like I have a bunch of unfinished projects going on right now: crochet beach tote, crochet nightgown, tailgate sweater...I also have been thinking about Little C's "Big Boy Blanket" a lot lately. Without fail, as soon as the temperature hits the 90s, I feel compelled to crochet a blanket. I don't get it.

Even though I have made some progress on the beach tote, I don't see myself finishing it this summer. My heart isn't 100% in it. Since I like making wool blankets in the summer, maybe I'll feel an urge to finish the beach tote this winter when it's 30 degrees and snowing. That would make sense in Mommisquare land. Ditto for the "light and airy nightgown."

The tailgate sweater is right on track; I know I will finish it. I've also been trying a new pattern I'm very excited about for potential christmas gifts. Who doesn't start thinking about Christmas when it's hot and humid outside?

Like Slipping on an Old, Comfortable Pair of Earflaps

This is the earflap hat I made for my husband's friend's baby. It's crocheted from this pattern that I use over and over. I made a couple flowers using this pattern. There were supposed to be 5 petals, but I lost count somewhere and my flowers have four instead, which is fine by me.

 

Because I have been knitting so much lately, I really loved making this. Dare I say it? Crochet, how have I missed thee? Let me count the ways... There's just something very comforting about returning to an activity that you know so well, it feels automatic. It can be very Zen-like because your mind doesn't have to think about what your hands are doing. This muscle memory reminds me of playing the piano. After practicing a piece of music, your fingers just know what to do; your mind doesn't think of each individual note anymore. Its's almost like somebody else's hands are flying over the keys.

I hope the gift recipient enjoys this hat as much as I enjoyed making it.

The Essential Cardigan

Another white sweater for Little C. This is--yawn--not that exciting but it is very practical. Even though I'm pretty idealistic most of the time, every now and then fierce practically surges in my veins. Little C. already has his white "Boardwalk Sweater" which he wears often (especially in the supermarket, which is like a subzero freezer), but he didn't have a nice, Sunday best sweater. That's where this "Essential Cardigan" comes in.

I used this straightforward, easy-to-follow pattern. I worked with a yarn I had that was leftover from a throw I made my nephew a couple years ago. It's a soft acrylic. I think acrylics work well for crochet afghans, throws, and hats, but now I think I know why knitters turn their noses up at it. It doesn't flow easily on your needles and it doesn't feel good on your fingers. I even got chafing on my thumb and index finger from it...for real! I never had this problem before when I used it for crochet. Go figure.

Anyway, I better get used to it because I have a lot more acrylic yarn stored away in my stash. That's what I'll be using for awhile, since I'm being so practical and all.

Inspired Distractions

Another creative tear is happening over here.

I wanted to try making one of these crochet necklaces ever since I saw the beautiful ones here. I had all the materials on hand. These beads are actually recycled from a broken bracelet I had languishing in my jewelry box. It's very beachy and perfect for summer. Hooray for something seasonal! These are really fun to make too. I see more of these in my future...

I've also been wanting to try my hand at applique ever since K mentioned the subject--maybe a year ago? K makes really cute hand-painted onesies and shirts but wants to try her hand at applique. I would love to try to make some designs for Little C. but applique seems like a little too much work right now. Then I saw this great idea for a stenciled, kind of faux applique look. I've already sketched a bunch of designs (turtle, rocket, radio tower, atom) but I've started cutting out the turtle first to make sure it looks ok.  In a random coincidence, I was browsing Janie and Jack yesterday and saw that they currently have a collection called Sea Turtles in their stores. Turtles are really trendy right now for one year olds, I guess.

These fun distractions are actually keeping me from finishing this white sweater though. As well as the "light and airy nightgown" and "beach tote" I've started. Oh, and my husband's friend just had a baby girl. You know what that means...another baby hat!