Toys for kids

Thought I would post a few pics of little stuffed animals I've made over the past year. They all go into a toy box until the kid is born (4.5 months and counting). Our dog always seems VERY interested in these, so we will have to be on guard for toy-chewing.

Below: raccoon sewn out of a pair of old corduroy pants. I saw something similar in Stuffed Magazine, so I attempted to copy it as best I could. This was just drawn freehand and sewn up and stuffed, then extra bits were embroidered on.



Bunny Crochet: my own design. His head is too big to really stay up on its own, however.

Crocheted Raccoon: from a pattern I bought on Etsy. Too cute:

Carrot scarves and cupcakes

As a way to save money, I've started using the library again. You know, that place that has books you can borrow? I remember having a hard time finding new or hard-to-find titles when I was younger and living in a much smaller town, so I was pleasantly surprised by the public libraries in Sacramento. The on-line search and hold service is frickin' awesome. My latest find:

Twinkie Chan (http://www.twinkiechan.com) makes some adorable crocheted scarves and other accessories. From the few I've made, the patterns are really simple too. After seeing the carrot scarf, I had to make it. But I only had half a skein of orange left, so I made a kiddie-version:

I am working on making the cupcakes (see scarf below), but they seem to turning out smaller than in the picture (too small of crochet hook?). So I've altered the pattern, and am thinking of making a cupcake-banner for the kitchen. The husband will have to deal with the girly-ness of it. Yes, it is pink and yellow. Maybe if I make him the bacon-and-eggs scarf he will be happy?

Craft-tacular!

In my last post, I mentioned starting a crocheted rag rug. Well, here it is, all finished! It turned out a little smaller than I had anticipated, but the colors turned out great. The pictures don't really do it justice, so you will either have to see it if you come over or just trust me.

I used a simple circular crochet pattern that has increases each row, keeping it flat. It is the same starting pattern for most amigurumi patterns (row 1: 6sts; row 2: 12sts; row 3: 18sts....etc.). The last three rows, I used a double-thickness of Lion Brand Thick 'n Quick and added a shell pattern.

The dog was occupied with trying to smell underneath the rug. Not sure why....

Also, I finished (yay!) my first knit amigurumi project. I am not a very strong knitter, so I started with an easy pattern: eggplant.

Ta da! EGGPLANT:

Now, what do I do with a knitted eggplant? Ya got me... There are other veggie patterns in the same book (Amigurumi Knits, by Hansi Singh), but I'm not too excited about knitting another vegetable. I suppose they could sit together in a bowl and look clever. Perhaps I could knit up some insects that could be attacking the veggies....there is also a pattern for ants that would be cute.

Crochet updates

Bunny is not for sale...yet. I haven't yet decided to sell him. His face is a little lopsided and he is a sad bunny.



Weiner dog amigurumi. His nose is so long, and it kind of looks like he has a booger sticking out. He isn't for sale, but I will be modifying and trying to come up with a hairy version of the doll.


These three ARE for sale. They are now on Etsy, too, so please check them out. I try to keep prices down, and they are according to the materials/time it takes to make each item.



Baby booties: organic cotton and vintage buttons. I will be making a few sets of these, more if they sell quickly.

Why do I do this to myself???!!?

My husband and I were married almost two years ago, in June. At the same time, I was working part-time, attending college full-time, preparing to take both the GRE and the biology subject GRE, finishing and writing my biology honor's thesis, and traveling around the country to present the final product at several research competitions. Looking back, I remember it being hectic and rushed and I was not sleeping or eating as much as I should have, especially in order to maintain my weight for the wedding. My husband may remember his future wife going slightly crazy. I thought I would never do so much at one time again, but, alas, I may have just gotten myself into that same situation again.

In my attempt to leave graduate school for a normal life with my husband, my advisors have realized that I am 1 unit and a thesis project away from getting my Masters. I have been working on a project for the past four months, so, in theory, I could get it done this summer. However, it would mean that over the summer I would have to:

1. Get a full time job (I am waiting to hear back on an interview and some applications I have been working on over the past month or two).
2. Find a committee. <-- not as easy as it sounds.
3. Resume my life with my husband, dog, and gecko.
4. Bring all of my research materials from graduate school.
5. Convince an unsuspecting but reliable undergraduate to help obtain data from the lab AND process it AND email it to me in a timely manner.
6. Analyze the data and get a result (ha!).
7. Write the thesis.
8. Travel back to graduate school and defend it in front of the committee. Without going insane from the pressure.
9. Try to fit in the anniversary trip my husband planned.
10. Get this all done by the end of summer quarter.

So is it worth it to complete my masters? That is what I am trying to decide right now. Being so close, it is tempting to power through this next summer and get it done. But there is the fear that my project won't work or my thesis won't be approved by the committee. Arg! I guess if I try and fail, then at least I tried.

In the meantime, I will try to keep my sanity by working on more crafts and trying to get tomatoes to grow.

Shopping bag that I crocheted: For the first attempt, I didn't pay that much attention to the pattern, and the handles suffered. I thought it would make a nice gift, so on the second try I followed the pattern and changed the color. Not too bad of a result.

Second attempt:

First Blog

You will have to forgive me, as this is my first attempt to blog. It will be awkward, but hopefully, I will improve with time. I have had much free time lately, so I have been working on several projects, including improving my sewing skills, learning how to crochet adorable amigurumi animals, and trying to grow some summer vegetables in an apartment. Below are some pictures of my projects.

Amigurumi rabbit (not my design) and owl (my first design!).

Close up of the sexyman fabric on the wall organizer.