linky do's!

Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toys. Show all posts

Thursday, January 5, 2012

belated knits

i knit a hat.  and it's (almost) perfect.



what the heck - i got to model it too:



somehow i messed up the swirl and at one point had two extra stitches, so i double decreased those.  it made the swirl a little wonky, but it'll be sitting on my head and shouldn't make a difference anyway.

ravel'd here...i knit the brim on size 4 needles for two inches.  increased to a size 6 needle for the body.  i so hope that codex returns at some point - i loved the silkiness and it's lovely to knit with.

and...i finally finished the doxies!  ravel'd here!



backside...



this one has a stork bite on the butt, just like petunia's!  it was the only way to differentiate between the two!



i wish i knew why i took me so long to knit these guys.  the bodies and tails were done, all i had to do was make arms and ears then assemble.  i think i slogged becos i had to make two of them.  that seems to be the theme for making things for the kiddos (see also:  the owl sweaters).

Thursday, June 9, 2011

woof

doxie (rav linky) #1 is born!  he's for the boy.




knit with kp swish worsted in black and tan, on size 4 needles.  it was a pretty fast knit.  rebecca recommends knitting this boy up with the magic loop technique, which i dreaded a bit considering my weird aversion to it dating back 3 years.  but i took a breath and knitted forth, and knitting ML was just like getting back on a bicycle - a little rusty at first, but then breezing through.

i used buttons found in my new button jar, becos i didn't have any of the safety eyes/nose that rebecca recommends, and i couldn't be bothered to run to michael's to look for some.  i think the brass button eyes and black button nose give him a certain something something.

the boy wanted a black and tan dog (which is weird considering my folk's dog is a red/brown and all doxies we've owned were red ones) but he's adorable nevertheless.



i tucked the dog in with the boy while he was in bed nearly asleep (i finished him before bedtime but showed him off at my knitting group.  he loved him i can't remember what he named him (he wanted to name him spotty - eh?)

dear bob, these pictures are pathetic.  i'll try to get better ones when i take pictures of the kiddos' FOs.


i started on the kiddos' doxies, and i'm knitting them ML two at a time.  bold one, i am.  :P

Saturday, June 4, 2011

three puppies



this box contains 3 doxie puppies.  and ravelry soak.  and 2 baggu's.  

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

freddie beans


a new sock monkey for fredster, knit with online supersocke 6-ply-6-fach.  originally bought to knit the kiddos sweaters (fair isle without the work) but decided the yarn would be better used for a sock monkey.  pattern is easy - i knocked this off in less than a week.  now i just have to settle down and knit petunia's hippo.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

the tunie bug and the bee

took a bit of a break from the kiddos' log cabins to make these:



a lady bug for my little tunie bug.

and hot off the needles...


a sweet little bumble bee for my little fredster.

these are my first alan dart projects. he is a prolific designer of knitty toy goodness.  his patterns are featured in simply knitting, a british knitting publication.  the subscription costs and arm and a leg (roughly $150 per year, in american dollars), but i split the subscription with my knitting/yoga teacher.  i am downsizing a lot of my magazine subscriptions, but i refuse to drop this one, simply becos they have many beautiful and unique patterns, pages devoted to showing off FOs and answering knitting or crocheting questions, and coolest of all, they send a goodie gratis every month.  i've gotten measuring tapes, counters, knitting needles, stitch markers and project bags from them.  their patterns are pretty user friendly too;  this is no vogue knitting.  

the bug project had 3 patterns:  the lady bug (or as they called it, a ladybird), the bumble bee, and a sweet green and yellow caterpillar.  the project called for sirdar snowflake, which i couldn't find stateside, but i found a good alternative in red hearts' moon and stars.  i'm not a red hearts fan, but this yarn was pretty easy to work with, much to my surprise.  i started the lady bug earlier in the week and finished it yesterday;  started the bee yesterday afternoon and finished up this afternoon.  i have the green yarn to make the caterpillar - maybe someday. while the patterns aren't tricky, i found assembling the bugs a bit of a challenge.  first, i can't sew to save my soul, and b, i can't embroider features either.  the assembly instructions were a bit confusing to me, but i winged it, and they came out pretty cute!  i have tons of yarn left over - i could always make a set of toys for a baby shower gift or something.  

i have one more strip to knit on the log cabins, then the cream and blue/pink squares, then the border!  i finished a gold strip last night at the movies (alice in wonderland, it was okay).  i would love to get these blankets finished so i can start working on this beauty:




i fell in love with the this beautiful knitted quilt.  actually, i fell in love with the baby afghan version, but since i'm tired of knitting baby blankets (it's not very practical, it's made with wool of the andes and not kid friendly).  this kit was cheaper, and i think it will look beautiful in the living room.  knitpicks also had a book sale happening, so i got knitted socks east and west and amigurumi animal friends.  not that i'll be knitting socks any time soon, but i admired the patterns and i love sock books.  and someday i will knit an amigurumi.  it's hard to find knit patterns - most are crochet.

today is my wedding anniversary.  hubby and i have been married for 11 years, and together for more than 13.  where did that time go?  it seemed to fly in the blink of an eye.



feelin' the love in philly, 2 years ago.  a homeless guy took our picture with the iconic love sculpture on our anniversary.  we gave him $5.  hope he spent it well.  we're taking a delayed mini honeymoon later this spring, to cooperstown new york.  yes, we are getting away and leaving the kids with the grandparents!  hubby and i earned a well earned vacay, don't you think?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

reality bites

there are a lot of reality shows on tv.  i don't watch many - jon and kate, table for 12, little couple, and real world/road rules.  sometimes supernanny.  i'd rather watch a crime or medical serial or craft show.  reality shows are the networks excuse for laziness.

anyway, i find it amazing how many people want to be on these shows.  apparently the balloon boy's family was angling for a show.  why would someone want to be on tv at their child's expense?  look at what happened to the gosselins.  there has to be a better way to make a buck than being on a tv show.  i wouldn't want my kids on tv.  we don't need the money that bad to sell their souls to the devil.

i'm starting another prayer shawl for MIL.   i tidied up the stash over the past few days, and found skeins of red lion brand homespun that i used for different projects (originally bought to make my dad a stole, i started making a small blanket before i frogged it.  now it's going to be a shawl.  anything to stash bust).  i need to make the boy a winter cap.  i like VH's feel good beanie (i made my KDO hat with this pattern).  i found black yarn, and i'll use avocado green and the rust yarns from the pumpkin cap to make the stripes.  the boy's new coat is black and green, so the hat will look really cute.

after i finished the poppin blankets and the pumpkin hat, i was at a loss as to what to knit next.  i should really tackle my WIPs.  i have 2 panels left on the tree skirt plus about a dozen flowers and a few pairs of socks.  i bought yarn at michael's to make sock monkeys for the twins.  i also got fluffy yarn to make their bug toys.  cottonease was on sale at michael's last week, and the yarn knit up so nicely for the VSKP squares that i went and bought more yarn in different colors.  at first i thought i'd make the squares for warm weather blankets for the twins, but then thought how cool it would be to make log cabin blankets for them instead.

so much yarn to knit, no time to actually do it.

the babies have been especially fussy this week.  yesterday i fed them every 2 hours (and naturally not at the same time).  i held them, put them in swings, in bouncers, gave them pacis, and nothing helped.   since they were born 5 weeks early, some of the developmental milestones are arriving later (technically they would be 6 weeks old if they went full term).  so a normal 6 week old baby would have this fussiness.  it's not easy when 2 babies are fussing, but we deal.

last night we went to title 1 reading night at the boy's school.  i thought it was a discussion about the reading program.  turns out it's a new program for students who need extra help with reading.  WHY DON'T THEY JUST CALL IT WHAT IT IS...REMEDIAL READING.  so hubby and i are totally freaking out - how could we NOT know that the boy was in special reading?  not that there's anything wrong with that, but for a kid who went to library since he was a year old, was read to, and has a mother and grandfather who devour books with gusto, how could he have trouble reading?  turns out, the event was more like an open house, with all students and parents invited.  we talked to the reading teacher who assured that the boy was merely tested and NOT enrolled, and secondly, the majority of kindergarteners CAN'T read and won't officially start this program (should they require it) until later in the school year.  it was a load off our minds, and the event was interesting, but had i known it was for remedial reading, we would not have gone.  with the babies fussing so much, we were pretty exhausted.  but the program does sound pretty promising.  and we did get to suck up to talk to the principal for a while, and even scored a free pizza.

today i got my doll porn american girl doll catalog.  i can't wait to order the twin dolls for the pixie and monkey ears.  i have one criticism.  for the price of these dolls, you think you'd have more choice in designing the doll.  the twins only come in either blonde or brunette hair, dark or light skin.  the boy will be easy - brown hair, brown eyes.  the pixie has red hair - don't they think that twins can have red hair too?  i'll prolly have to order a brown haired girl.  we have no idear how the pixie's hair will develop.  but right now it's strawberry blond.

the bigger dolls are worse.  i wanted to order a doll with my specs - dark reddish brown hair, brown eyes, freckles.   i can order a brown hair/eyed doll with light or medium skin, or a blond/red head with freckles.  actually, if i remember correctly, i can't even order a dark brown haired/light skin doll.  dark brown hair is for only medium/dark skin.  and i won't go there with straight/curly/wavy hair.  the doll i'd want would have dark reddish brown wavy hair/freckles/brown eyes.  i guess i'm not an american girl after all.  international mutt, perhaps?