Crochet Produce Bag

Ok, let me just say ....
I LOVE THIS!!!

I found this fabulous pattern on a Blog called Oh the Cuteness and boy is it cute! I made it in just a couple hours, literally and it took only about half a skein of Peaches & Cream 100% cotton yarn. I used 4 Ply Worsted Weight in Black Cherry. And let me just say here - I'm totally in love with this yarn! I've been waiting to use it (I bought, like 4 skeins of it that have been sitting in my Yarn Box) until I was finished with the projects I had already in the works. It's really great yarn! I love 100% Cotton. It's so Amazingly different than anything I've worked with so far.
So I knew this yarn would be perfect for the Produce Bag when I stumbled across the pattern. When it's not being used, it takes up no space whatsoever in your tote or purse, so you can keep it with you all the time! Take it out at the grocery store when you go shopping or better yet, to the Farmers Market. It's wonderful as an alternative to all those plastic bags at the grocery that you just end up throwing away as soon as you unload your groceries. Drop in your oranges, apples, a head of lettuce, and a bundle of asparagus. It's made up of pretty much of just chain and slip stitches and the pattern is very easy to follow. And the end result? Fabulous!! It's so perfect! I love it!!

Me Working on the Produce Bag ;-) Wennie Helping LOL

Bart Simpson-Inspired Mini Bag

Well I never make one of my children something without making the other one something as well. So when I made the Pokemon Bag for Younger "D" I asked Older "D" what kind of bag he would like. He didn't think for long before he answered "A Simpson Bag!" He just loves the Simpson's ;-) He told me he wanted:

1. For it to have a Red Bottom
2. For it to have a Blue middle 
3. And for it to have a Yellow top (like Bart's hair)

It took less than a day - I made it the evening I finished the Dinosaur. And I'm very happy  with how it came out!
I decided to add another White Crochet Circle to this one as well, so that I could place a black B in the center of the bag (for Bart) LOL Just because I thought it was cute :-)

More Dinosaur Amigurumi Pictures

 I just thought I'd add a few close-ups of my Dinosaur so that you could get a good idea of the details and the amount of work that I put into this project.
The eyes are 100% crocheted.
The "jagged spots" are embroidered with yarn - in Dark Green on his head, ears, back & tail; in Medium Thyme on his belly. His nostrils are embroidered with black yarn, as is his mouth.
Each of his toes have a Brown Nail crocheted on the tip and his hands as well have a nail embroidered with Chocolate yarn.
His "fingers" are made by Popcorn Stitches when crocheting the arms.

Amigurumi Dinosaur

Ok, first off, all I can say is .... 
WOW !!!
When I planned to make this dinosaur, I had no idea he was going to turn out to be SO BIG!!! Of course as I was making him and he kept growing and growing and growing ... I caught on! LOL He really surprised me though. By the time I had finished I had had to make 2 trips to the store for yarn! First time doing that on a single project for me. I had to stop a few times to regroup just because the amount of work it took to do him was more than I was use to! But I pressed on! And like all my projects, I love him! I'm glad I finished him and am very proud of how he turned out :-) 
I found the Pattern at a store on Etsy and am very happy with the instructions!
I used Red Heart Yarn in Patty Green & Medium Thyme. 
The embroidered yarn teeth were a bit too much for me though, so I ended up (after the 3rd try) cutting triangles from white felt and hot-gluing them into place. It's the only thing I did different from the original pattern. 
From Tail to Nose: 24 inches
From Head to Foot: 20 inches
From Hip Bone to Hip Bone: 12 inches
Yep, like I said: WOW!!
Hope you like it!

 

Pokemon Bag

This entire concept was thought of by my youngest son.
He loves Pokemon! He collects the cards and has the toys, movies, books ... you name it! He's been keeping everything Pokemon in a tall tin I'd given him. But after seeing all the crafty things momma can make, he asked me to crochet him a bag to put everything in.
He requested:

1. It have the colors of a Pokemon Ball (red, white & black)
2. It be 1/2 the size of my hot water bottle cozy
3. It Tie closed at the top

Easy, right?
Right! It was very simple, fast, and fun to do! And it was my very own pattern!! YAY! I'm learning to design my own patterns and that makes me very happy!
So thank you "D" for the special order and great ideas!
Here's what we came up with:

More Scrunchies

I've been working on an HUGE project lately - which is why my posts have been so few - and it has really been taking a lot of my time. But I take a break here and there to do other things. That way I don't get too tied down to one thing and get bored with it LOL
So in between dinosaur toes & arms (more on that when it gets completed) I try to fit in little do-dads for my shop. I figured out that I can comfortably make 2 Scrunchies a day ... 3 if I don't do anything else that day ;-)
So here's a few I've done recently

Silver Scrunchie

White & Red Valentine's Scrunchie

Red & White Valentine's Scrunchie

Gold Scrunchie

Getting Organized

Being the Creative Creature that I am, my work station is usually a BIG MESS!! :D
So I've decided to Get Organized!
As soon as Christmas was over, I cleared off a spot on a bookcase in the dining room for things I could stack neatly away when needed - actually I had to clear off 2 wide shelves, as my baby is quite the creative creature as well! He has as many projects going on any given day as I do!
Well just that shelf (wide as it may be) was not nearly enough, so I've had to find other places to put things away ... But keep them visible and easily accessible whenever I need to get at anything. So to help me out, Hubby & I have been buying tools to assist the organizational process - A Label Maker, A Printer (great big YAY to best husband ever!!!), a Large Binder, a 3-Prong Hole Puncher, a Plastic Container for Yarn - see-through so that I always know what I have on hand - and a lovely Tackle Box with many compartments for all of my small items. Whew! With all that, who couldn't be organized!

Last night I gathered all of my printed patterns, punched holes in them, and stored them away in my large pink binder - divided properly by the nice Tab Seprators I also purchased. WOW do I have a lot of patterns!! But it's so great to have them all in one place, right at my fingertips. And I love that I can also make any notes and markings on them if I wish. Sometimes when I'm working on a Cross-Stitch pattern (for instance), I hate to have to mark in the expensive book the patterns come in. A wonderful lady who also has a Bog - Loredana - suggested that it's much easier to scan your pattern and print it out, so that you can make as many notes on it as you like without messing up your original pattern. Thanks Hun! It's working great!
A good cleaning, a little rearranging of furniture, and few stacked hat boxes and I'm no longer working in a great MESS!
I just love being organized!