Baby Groot by Twinkie Chan

Hello, friends!

September is here and school is back in session. My oldest is back in preschool and seems to be enjoying it more this time around. There have been no tears and he’s always happy when I return to pick him up. I think part of it is that he knows most of the kids in his class and sees his teachers from before. I’m hoping he keeps it up for a while before the “I don’t want to go to school” thing starts up. *fingers crossed*

Now I just need to figure out what to do with my youngest. They cancelled the Parent Participation class at the school so that’s out… I guess we need to go make some friends!

Anyway, my summer went well. How was yours?

On the crochet front, I worked on several different projects and even fulfilled two commissions which I don’t normally do. One of the projects was from my cousin’s wife (do I call her my cousin? I don’t know…). One of their friends was getting married and she asked if I could make an ami of their dog – I may or may not post about that at a later time. After some struggle, I did manage to finish it and sent it off! I have a little peak of the finished pup on my Instagram page.

The other commission I had was for a Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. A friend of mine from high school has two little girls and she wanted to surprise them with a little Groot of their own. At the time, I didn’t really have it in me to make my own pattern. But I remembered that Twinkie Chan had made a Baby Groot a while back and that she had the free pattern for it on her blog! I sent my friend a link to the blog post and asked her if she approved – she said yes. Yay!

So, I grabbed my tools and made sure I had the correct colors and got to work. Right away I had to make a few changes due to the materials I had on hand. Twinkie Chan uses a tweed for the body/head and a thread-like yarn for the leaves. I don’t own either of those things I used what I had: Red Heart Cafe Latte and Spring Green.

Overall, this pattern was very easy to follow and I highly recommend it if you’re looking into making your own Baby Groot! The vine and leaf placement are entirely up to you so it makes it very customizable. Oh, and did I mention the arms are poseable? Yup! The magic of pipe cleaners. The only thing I was missing was a cute little pot to put it in. As you can see, I only had a larger terra cotta pot which kind of swallowed him up!

When I completed the plushie, I posted some photos of it on my IG and another one of my friends asked me to make one! This time it was for a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary. Awwww…

Definitely check out Twinkie Chan’s pattern if you’re looking to make your own Baby Groot! I might just have to make one for myself – it’s so dang cute!

See you soon!

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More photos of Baby Groot:

For more details, check my Ravelry project page here! 🙂

Sandy the Sea Dragon

I got to test a pattern! Yay!

I haven’t had the chance to do this for anyone in a while (I did try but the slots filled up QUICK). I’m always making and re-making my own patterns/designs, so following someone else’s pattern is a nice change!

This time around I had the pleasure of testing the Sandy the Sea Dragon pattern by Emma at Emma Crafts Designs. This pattern was tested by myself and three others. We all finished our projects by the first weekend, I believe.

I think that one of the best things about having others test your patterns is seeing the different colors people choose for their project! For this amigurumi, for example, all four of us chose different colors for our main color: green (mine), black, red(dish), and blue!

To be honest, we hardly had to do any pattern changes because it was already almost perfect! I was able to suggest a minor edit involving the tail fins which made it slightly more efficient. 🙂

Thank you so much, Emma, for letting me test your pattern!

You can find the final pattern for sale on Ravelry! Enjoy!

WIP – Monster Blanket Pt. 1

Greetings, dear readers!

As promised, today I am going to share my progress on the pattern I am currently testing. I haven’t been given the opportunity very often to test out a pattern, and I came upon this one quite by accident!

The pattern I am testing is for a monster blanket. We are given the pattern in four parts to prevent others from spoiling it for those who fall behind.

( Note: I’m not spoiling the surprise! We’re all aware of the final outcome. 😉 )

I don’t want to go into too many details, so here is my progress so far:

At the end of the first part.

The end of the second part.

For this project, I used Red Heart Super Saver in “Spring Green,” “Lavender,” and “Turqua.” And also white and black. I wasn’t so sure about the lavender at first, but after a few rows I thought it was a good decision. It’s definitely colorful!

I had to make notes on where the teeth started because, as the pattern is written, the background and teeth are the same color. Most people used white or beige so it worked out in their favor, but I didn’t want my monster to have green teeth!

If you’re interested in seeing the finished blanket, you can head over to the artist’s blog here. If you’d like to check out the testing forum on Ravelry to see the various yarn choices, click here.

My little photo bomber.

Those Slippery Slippers

Happy Monday! I hope everyone’s weekend went well.

Not too much to report at the moment, but I will be doing a blog post later on about a pattern I am currently testing. It’s being sent out in multiple parts and I’m still on the second portion (I think there are about 4 all together). When I get a bit more done I’ll start to share some photos!

The other night, I felt the urge to make some slippers. Why? I don’t know. I don’t even like slippers (perhaps I felt that if I made some, I’d be more likely to wear them?). So, I searched through the Ravelry patterns to find a good candidate to cover up my feet. I found 2 or 3 patterns and I even considered making a blog post sharing my top five choices. In the end, I chose a winner but decided against the post.

The pattern I chose was the “Lizzie” slippers by Lisa Gutierrez from GoodKnits.

Here are my completed slippers:

And another (without my feet):

And a close-up of the toe area:

It’s a very nice pattern and pretty easy to follow. Like others who’ve finished this pattern, I did have a little difficulty in understanding the right slipper directions. Each slipper is one piece sewn at both the heel and the toes, but the right slipper is flipped inside out and sewn/crocheted opposite.

For these slippers I used Red Heart in “Real Teal” and “Buff” and a size “H” hook. They only took me between 1-2 hours to finish (closer to 1) so it’s a quick project to do. Even though they turned out okay, I don’t know how often I will wear them. Let’s just say that these slippers are quite… slippery… on our hardwood floors. I’ll need to put something on the bottoms of them if I decide to use them more often. Also, they make my feet look fat. Haha! AND… and… I’ll have to add a little strap to go across them to keep them on (slip-ons don’t stay on my feet very well).

That’s all for now!

Stay tuned for a post on my pattern testing coming up later this week. 🙂

Fresh Friday 3/6/15

Happy Friday! How was your week?
I’ve got some cute patterns for you this morning. It’s a little amigurumi heavy today so I hope you’re ready to make some plushies!
Let’s get started! 😁
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1. Here’s a cute amigurumi Easter bunny from AmiguruMEI!

2. Gir from Invader Zim! My sister would go nuts for this!

3. I love this Red Riding Hood pillow. It may just be because I’m a lit major, but wouldn’t it be awesome to have a bunch of story/fairy tale pillows?

4. Who wouldn’t want a hamburger keychain?

5. What a cute little Pegasus! (And if you’d rather have a unicorn, there’s a link for that, too!)

6. Yum! Pancakes!

7. Such a unique slouch hat – check out the star it makes in the back!

8. I wish I had seen this pattern for granny square hearts before Valentine’s Day! Maybe next year.

9. A Tonberry from Final Fantasy! So cute! 😀 (Includes video!)

10. And, finally, my list wouldn’t be complete without a scarf pattern! Check out this easy crochet scarf!

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Fun stuff today, right?
What have you been working on? I’m in the middle of another baby blanket. Pics to come. 😉
See you next time!

Oh! And don’t forgot about Daylight Savings Time on Saturday night! Don’t wanna be late to your Sunday plans! 😀

Fresh Friday 1/30/15

Happy Friday to you all!

Welcome back to another Fresh Friday!

This week we have a little bit of everything: clothes, amis, accessories, household goods… quite a good selection if I do say so myself.

I didn’t get around to crocheting anything this week. Maybe this weekend I can get something done? We shall see. I need to pick out something from one of my (many) lists to make. Hmm… another scarf? Or maybe a plushie?

Or!

Or.

Or maybe I can get around to making one of the many things I owe my hubby. The list is never-ending, I swear. 😉

Onto the list!

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1. Pretty sure I need to make some of these chevron pillow covers.

2. Check out this cute Diglett!

3. A little tiny dino. I like small amis – they are quick and take up very little space!

4. A simple pom pom beanie to keep our ears warm!

5. I love these super hero finger puppets! How cool!

6. Yip yip yip! I thought these were the cutest little aliens when I was little! Do they still have these aliens on Sesame Street?

7. Check out this awesome chinese dragon! It reminds me of Spirited Away.

8. I wish I had the patience to do a project this large. This pineapple mermaid dress is amazing.

9. I tend to put a bit more intermediate/advanced patterns on these lists. For the beginner crocheters out there, take a look at this simple slouch pattern! The addition of the little ribbon/tag is a unique touch.

10. When a pattern is listed as the perfect scarf, you can’t help but take a peek and make it for yourself!

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Well? What do you think? See anything you like? What is your favorite?

I hate to cut this off so quickly, but I don’t have much to say. 🙂

See you next week!

Fresh Friday 1/23/15

Welcome back, friends!

Once again, it’s Friday and that means it’s time for a new Fresh Friday! If you haven’t joined us before, thank you for taking the time to look. Basically, every week I gather up my top ten favorite (free) patterns that have been recently added to Ravelry. I also (sometimes) include updates on what I have been working on.

This week I worked on this:

I used this Cube Infinity Scarf pattern that I included in this Fresh Friday post. I used Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn in Soft Rose. I followed it exactly but added one extra cube section to make it just a bit longer. Oh – and instead of finishing the last section completely, I skipped the last row and slip stitched the two ends together so there isn’t a doubling up of two rows of double crochet. So… I guess I can’t say I followed it exactly since I changed two things. 🙂 Anyway, once you get the hang of it, it takes no time at all! Very nicely written and designed. I’m going to wash it first to soften it up a bit – then I will be wearing it often.

What have you been working on? Did you happen to use any of last week’s finds?

Onto this week’s list! Enjoy!

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1. Even though I still haven’t finished the never-ending blanket, I think this bold chevron blanket may be my next one. I will cut it down in size and skip the flowers because I’ll be making it for my son.

2. I know I just finished a scarf… but I like this infinity scarf, too! You can never have too many scarves, am I right? I said, am I right?! Okay… maybe you can.

3. Want to add a yummy snack to your outfit or bag/backpack? Check out this little pizza applique!

4. So… I’ve never even attempted to crochet letters or numbers – let alone punctuation! Over at Moogly Crochet you can find all of these things! Have at it! (Link goes to the punctuation page but the other links can also be found on it as well)

5. Twinkie Chan recently added two cake patterns from the Tissue Box Bakery – Loopy White Cake w/ Strawberries and Yellow Cake w/ Chocolate Frosting. They both look sooo yummy! If you are unfamiliar with the Tissue Box Bakery, check out their About page.

6. Hey… do you remember the Pink Panther? Now you can make your own! I wonder if it’s on Netflix…?

7. A cute turtle pincushion! I need to learn to sew… maybe someday.

8. Sometimes you need to add that little extra something to your suit or sweater. These cuffs would be the perfect accessory and you could make them in any color to match your outfit.

9. I wanted to include this Yoda lovey last week but it was taken down. It’s now back up again in all its splendor!

10. Little piggies! Yay!

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Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week. Hopefully I’ve given you some inspiration or some ideas for your next project(s). 🙂

See you next week!

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Fresh Friday 1/16/15

Oops.

I may have temporarily forgotten I had a blog.

I said I probably wouldn’t post the Friday after Christmas and I didn’t. BUT – I also didn’t post the two Fridays after that! I totally forgot! Well, I remembered… but then I forgot again. Duh! I am so absentminded sometimes. I blame the baby! 😉

I don’t really have too much to say or have any updates. Aside from the Etsy orders I had leading up to Xmas, my crocheting has come to a standstill. I haven’t even looked at Ravelry until now. Too busy with our little bambino. Well, I suppose I do have a tiny update – our little cutie pie has his second little tooth coming through and he started saying “Mama” on Monday. Although, it’s more like “Mamamamama” so who knows if he’s actually saying it or not. But we’re going to go ahead and say he is. Haha! We’ve also started him on solid foods and that’s an experience all on its own.

So… about that lack of posting. I guess I’m just going to post more patterns than usual to make up for it! Here goes nothin’!

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1. This cute Baby Bear Hat is adorable! I’ll need to make one before winter leaves us in So. Cal! Though it’s for a newborn so I will need to adjust it. (Even if you aren’t interested in the beanie, you should check out the picture of her new grandson wearing it – so cute!)

2. Want your child to have the best backpack in their class? Check out this Puppy Dog Bag.

3. Are you a TF2 fan? Then you may enjoy this Balloonicorn pattern!

4. I’m liking this slouch hat. There is also a matching cowl!

5. Though I prefer not to include patterns from companies, I really liked this School of Fish Blanket from Red Heart.

6. OMG Tree Trunks!! XD

7. What a cute little HootHoot.

8. I’ve seen a lot of minion patterns out there, but this Stuart minion is the best I’ve seen.

9. My Mom is a huge fan of Snoopy, so she’d love this Woodstock.

10. Check out this awesome Tom Servo plush from Mystery Science Theater (MST3K)!

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Well, I didn’t get more than my usual ten links. At least I made it a point to post this week! I’ll try to stay on top of this… maybe I should draft out a few weeks worth of posts?

Have a great weekend!

Fresh Friday 12/19/14

Hey, y’all! Happy Friday! 😀

Hope everyone’s week was great and stress free. Are you finished with your holiday shopping? I’m just about done. I ordered most of my gifts online (since it’s too hard to go out with the baby) and only have stocking stuffers left to pick up. Still waiting on one delivery though…

Business was booming last week for orders in my shop! I had posted a “deadline” for orders but still ended up getting a couple afterwards. Luckily, each time I received one I had just finished up a previous order so I was able to complete them on time. Yay me!

Before we get started on this week’s finds, I want to share some FOs!

First off, you may remember from this post that I was attempting to follow a basketweave beanie pattern but was running into a few problems. I finally ended up adjusting it a bit by increasing for another row and adding more rows. Here’s the finished beanie:

I also made a couple more ornaments to add to our tree. I made a few more of those spiral ornaments, two little stockings, and a bell.

 

The stockings are so cute! They’re so tiny. The pattern called for a little bow to put on the trim but I decided not to do it. I also made a chain loop for hanging it on the tree. I ran into a few problems with the bell pattern. First of all, I was using the wrong hook. Second, I kept reading the pattern wrong so I was ending up with these weird shapes! And third, the yarn was driving me nuts. But I finally finished it!

I also finally made my hubby’s Mr. Saturn! This was my prototype:

I wanted to use up some scrap yarn instead of my good stuff. Hence the rainbow sherbet. 😉 I liked how he turned out and was able to see right away what needed to be adjusted.

Here’s the FINAL one:

 

He’s pretty awesome. At least I think so. And so does my husband and that’s what matters since I made it for him. ❤

That’s about it for my recent FOs! What have you been working on?

Onto this week’s Fresh Friday!

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1. If you follow the crochet tag here on WordPress, then you may have already seen this adorable donkey. So stinkin’ cute!

2. From the same artist who gave us the spiral ornament pattern, recently added were these awesome snowflakes.

3. This set of Totoros and Soot Sprites are super cute!

4. This spiral rose heart would make a great embellishment to any project.

5. Need a gift idea for the Pokémon lover in your family? This Spinarak is great!

6. And after you make that, add one of these yummy Pokepuffs to it.

7. The design of this infinity scarf is quite interesting! You know I love a good scarf pattern!

8. These wide ear warmers would be  nice stocking stuffers.

9. Need something festive to wear outside while looking at Xmas lights or caroling? This Santa headband would be awesome!

10. Looking for a small accent piece to complete your outfit or for your office party? Try this cute elf hat!

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That’s it for this week’s finds!

I may not have a post for next Friday since it’s the day after Christmas. We’ll see what happens during the week!

I hope you all have a great weekend and (if I don’t have a post next week) Happy Holidays! 😀

Fresh Friday 12/5/2014

Hello, everyone!

Hope it was a great week for all! We’ve had some rain the last few days which was nice. Except when I had to drive in it – then it wasn’t so nice. People seem to drive worse when it rains – and considering they drive terribly to begin with, that’s saying a lot. Tsk tsk.

Oh! So, I have a little news… Sort of.

Remember my last post about the items I couldn’t sell? Well… I sold one! 😀

See ya later, alligator!

You wouldn’t believe how pleased I am. As much as I’d like to think it was due to my post, I can’t really say if it was or not. There wasn’t a link from my blog to Etsy so I don’t know… it could just be a coincidence. But I won’t complain! A big “thank you” to you, whoever you are! I appreciate your business! 😀

Enough about me. Onto this week’s patterns!

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1. My mom would go crazy over this cute dachshund.

2. I like the look of this tunic! The color used is just lovely!

3. What a fun rainbow scarf!

4. This little elf is just too cute! Kinda like if Link dressed up for Xmas. 😉

5. I’m thinking this C3PO plushie may be a must for my dad!

6. Aww… widdle piggy wiggies!

7. I don’t often wear them, but I like how this cabled headband/wrap looks. Plus, I haven’t done any cable stitches before!

8. I just think this mini Charles Darwin is so adorable! Just look at that beard!

9. I’ve been trying out these basket weave beanies. They are a cinch once you get used to it!

10. I’m not one for mug cozies, but these reindeer cozies would be so cute at a holiday party.

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Those are my picks for the week!

Did you find any new patterns that you loved? Please share them with me! 🙂

Have a great weekend!

PS – As mentioned in the list, I was trying out some basket weave beanies. I didn’t realize it asked for bulky yarn so it came out really small. This is what happened:

He’s in disguise…

It looks like a wig! Haha! That’s what happens when you don’t check the gauge!