Christmas Cards

Kind of a last minute project I did was to make my family some Christmas cards with the help of my little girl. We had fun!!

Following an idea I got off of Pinterest, we made Christmas trees from Madelyn's feet.



We dipped her finger in red paint to add the decorations. I also used a foam paint brush to add some branches to it. Madelyn got a kick out of having her feet all green, we'll have to do more painting projects in the future.

Baked Goodies

My goal this Christmas was to handmake/bake every gift I gave. I succeeded!! I made crocheted items for my mom, sister, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law. But since I figured my brother-in-law and dad probably wouldn't appreciate a crocheted scarf, I decided on the baking option :)

I made 3 different items, two of which I sampled (since they didn't have dairy).

1.  Ghiradelli brownies (which are dairy free !!!! but do have egg).
2. Peanut butter cookies (which use shortening instead of butter, but again have egg).
3. Fudge (packed with dairy, got the recipe here).

Got it all packaged nice and wrapped a big bow around it.

Told my brother-in-law and dad to hide them from my mom and sister, not sure if they did or not :)

Purple scarf that turned into a cowl

This project was my Christmas gift to my mom. It was supposed to be a scarf, as in this picture.



I got the pattern from this website. It was my first "intermediate" crochet pattern, and although it did take some deciphering at the beginning, I was able to figure it out without too much trouble. The pattern was really neat, it created "strawberries" up the length of the scarf in the stitches.

I was intending to make it scarf length, but this project was unfinished when my hand started hurting, so I decided to cheat and shorten it into a cowl. I liked how it turned out cowl style actually, it was starting to get too thick for a full-length scarf.

This picture you can kind of see the "strawberries."

This was a fun pattern to make, it was neat to be able to make something with more complicated stitches.

Heart shaped hot pad

 (I'm writing this post now--in mid-November--but can't actually post it since it's a Christmas gift for my mom. Actually have a few projects I'm working on that I can't post about 'til after Christmas.)

I made this heart hot pad using this pattern that I found off of ravelry.com. The pattern was very clearly written and easy to follow, and I love how it turned out. Might be too cute to actually use, but that's up to my mom. I used red and white cotton yarn, so it can be used for its intended purpose. 

Note-When making crochet items that are used in the kitchen, you need to use 100% cotton yarns so they won't melt if hot things are put on them. You also need to be able to wash them at high temperatures, and acrylic yarns don't hold up well to that.

Such a cute and quick project! I love how the stitching turned out. The center was made alternating sc with dc to create the clustered look. There's probably a name for that type of stitch, but not sure what it's called.

Mary Jane Slippers

I made these slippers using this pattern as a Christmas gift for my sister. Had some problems with the pattern, mainly with crocheting too tightly around the top edging, but they ended up turning out pretty well.

I'm really not very happy with the yarn I used, I tried out Lion Brand's Wool-Ease Yarn, but I think I should have stuck with good ol' Vanna's Choice. The slippers look a little small on my feet, as they should--my sister wears a size or two smaller than me in shoe size. I tried to gauge how they would fit her by going by how they fit me, hopefully they end up fitting her okay.

Magnets

I made these based on a project sheet from Craft Warehouse. They involve gluing pictures or scrapbook paper to the backs of flat glass marbles, then adding a magnet to the back. They look really cool, they magnify whatever image you use.

I discovered a flaw in the process, however. If the paper you use for the image is not very sturdy, or is very porous, when you glue the magnet to the back using E600 glue, the glue bleeds through the paper. That's what happened with these two dragonflies.

The red ones didn't have that problem as much, a little bit, but not as noticeable from far away.

This cute little doggy was made from a card, so no problems there.

Made these ones for my sister (there wouldn't be any U of O stuff at our house, in this house it's only WSU alumni stuff). I coated the back of the paper with the glue used to initially glue the paper to the marbles, it helped to create a waterproof seal that the E600 wouldn't bleed through. One of the ones I made still bled through, but these four turned out good.



Okay, I take that back, looks like they still had some issues, but I think that was more from the other glue bleeding through, instead of the E600. Might have to try using Modge Podge on the back, that should work.

Simple scarf

Another gift (this one I got done right before my hand gave out). I used this pattern, which was a very simple design, but I loved how it turned out.



I used a skein of some Red Heart Soft Yarn that I found in a closet that was left over from a project a few years ago. I'm giving this scarf as a gift to my mother-in-law, but was really tempted to keep it. The yarn is ssoooo soft, and I love the color and mesh look to the scarf.

My poor hand...

After crocheting obsessively for the last month or so (wait, maybe longer than that, when did I learn? October maybe?), my hand has given out. I've become addicted to it, I seriously have a hard time sitting on the couch without yarn, a hook, and a project going. But after making ALL of my gifts this year, crocheting off and on all day for like three days straight, my right thumb started throbbing.

On one of the prenatal yoga videos I've done, the instructor mentions that pregnant women are more susceptible to carpal tunnel syndrome. I talked to my doctor at my 32 week appointment last week, and she said that it's very common. Swelling in the joints puts pressure on the nerve and can make your hand have sharp pains and go numb. And of course, repetitive movements are not good for it, they just make it worse.

AHHHHhhhh!!! No more crocheting????? What am I going to do??????

I've taken a break from crocheting for a few days, it's been hard, but it hurts too bad. However, the day I cut myself off completely (two days ago), I chopped a bunch of vegetables for a soup, which made my hand SO MUCH WORSE!! It throbbed all that night, and I haven't been able to use it much since. The pain is supposed to go away after having a baby and hormones and stuff go back to normal, but then I'll have a baby and won't be able to crochet. I'm a little broken up about the whole issue.

I'm trying to rest my hand now and not use it too much, which is hard, how do you not use your right thumb? There's a reason we have opposable thumbs... to use them!! Hopefully it won't take two more months (when baby is due) until it gets better. I'm in the middle of the last Christmas gift project, might have to just give them a picture of what it looks like. Until then, I guess I just have to survive the sadness of not being able to crochet. I'll have to think of some other activity to keep my hands busy while trying to rest on the couch until the baby comes. Hmmm... not quite sure what that's going to be. 

Berry Beanie

Just finished another sweet little hat for my soon-to-be-here baby girl. This pattern was from this blog, and was a pretty easy pattern to follow. I made size small, which ended up being on the small side of the pattern's finished measurements, and I also added 2 extra rows of double crochet to the length. I must crochet pretty tightly, seems like I always have to add extra rows.

So cute, can't wait to use it!!

Homemade stockings

After talking through what we wanted to do as a family for Christmas, we've decided we're going to hang stockings and fill them with things for each other, and not do bigger presents. I made stockings for Brandon and I a few years ago, but needed to make Madelyn one. And since I was making one for Madelyn, I thought I might as well make one for Audrey too :)

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake

My little girl turned 2 last week. I wanted to make her a birthday cake, but since we've been doing the vegan/dairy free thing, I wanted to make her something that we could all eat and still stick to our plan.

I found this recipe through googling vegan cakes. Everyone was a little freaked out by the ingredients (my husband especially) but it turned out really good. And I was just excited to be able to have cake that was dairy-free :)

The recipe (from www.joythebaker.com is as follows...

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Avocado

makes 2 8-inch rounds or 2 thinner 9-inch rounds

from Vegetarian in the Middle East

Print this Recipe!

3 cups all-purpose flour

6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used almond oil)

1/2 cup soft avocado, well mashed, about 1 medium avocado

2 cups water

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch rounds. Set aside.

Sift together all of the dry ingredients except the sugar. Set that aside too.

Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl, including the super mashed avocado.

Add sugar into the wet mix and stir.

Mix the wet with the dry all at once, and beat with a whisk (by hand) until smooth.

Pour batter into a greased cake tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks to cool completely before frosting with avocado buttercream.

Avocado Buttercream Frosting
from Alton Brown
8 ounces of avocado meat, about 2 small to medium, very ripe avocados
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peel and pit the soft avocados. It’s important to use the ripest avocados you can get your hands on. If the avocados have brown spots in the meat, avoid those spots when you scoop the meat into the bowl.
Place the avocado meat into the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment. Add lemon juice and whisk the avocado on medium speed, until slightly lightened in color and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and beat. Add vanilla extract until combined. If not using right away, store in the refrigerator. Don’t worry. It won’t turn brown!

Fresh, the cake and frosting was awesome. It turned out to be such a pretty green, too. The cake was very moist, one family member said it could have been more chocolaty, maybe using more cocoa powder might solve that. The frosting was really good, somewhat citrus-y with the lemon juice added. After a couple days in the fridge the frosting turned a little slimy, I actually ended up throwing the rest of it away.



Madelyn got a piece (a very small one) to eat for herself, she really liked it of course.

Beret crocheted hat

 Made this beautiful blue beret for my sister-in-law. I was maybe going to keep it, but I knew the blue would look pretty with her blue eyes, and she's more of a hat person than me. I gave it to her over Thanksgiving, she really liked it :)

I used this pattern to make the hat. I chose the beret version instead of the beanie version. I loved how it turned out, but I have to say, it was one of the hardest to follow patterns I've done yet. I restarted rows multiple times, and came very close to giving up completely once or twice. I'm glad I stuck with it though, it turned out really cute. 

I hate taking pictures of myself modeling stuff. I was going to take one with my sister-in-law wearing it, but I forgot.

I sewed a couple buttons onto the side.

If I get brave I might make another one for myself. Hopefully the second time around the pattern will make more sense.

Snowflakes

 Ever since seeing crocheted snowflakes on a friend's Christmas tree, I've always wanted to learn how to make my own. The ones she had were made using thread, which I haven't attempted to crochet with yet (I've read it's more difficult than just using yarn). I found this tutorial which was very easy to follow with lots of good pictures. I found a red-heart brand yarn from Joann's that had some sparkle weaved into the yarn.

The smaller snowflake was made using a size g hook. I wanted them a little bigger, so tried one size up. I liked the look of the h hook better, so I made the rest of them using that size. I also realized I only made 5 points on the first (smaller) snowflake, when you were supposed to have 6 points. Whoops, guess all snowflakes are unique, right? :)

Close-up of the sparkles in the yarn, so pretty!

After crocheting the snowflakes, I pinned them all out on a piece of foam, then saturated them with spray starch. This helped them retain their shape and hang nicer.

Once they were dry, I used fishing line to hang them on our tree. So pretty!! 

The whole tree. I realized my star was crooked after I took the picture, grrrrrr... oh well.


This year my tree is very kid-friendly, which is kind of necessity with a toddler running around the house.

• The balls are shatter-proof, even the shiny ones, I think they are made from foam. I got them at Target last year on clearance.
• Red bows made from a roll of sparkle ribbon, then just placed on the tree.
• Twinkle snowflakes/stars made from wire forms with beads strung on, then the ends bent into loops.
• Little gingerbread men and women that I got on super clearance a few years ago from Craft Warehouse.
• Tree skirt I got on clearance last year.

Flower Potholders

This is another project that I'm blogging about in November, but can't post until after Christmas. I made these potholders for my sister based off of this pattern. The pattern itself was kind of hard to read (the blogger said she originally wrote it in Norwegian, than translated it to English, but it's still in UK terms) but I was able to decipher it. I actually re-typed the whole thing and saved it so I wouldn't have to keep deciphering.

My sister's kitchen is red and black, so I picked out those colors, along with some white, in cotton yarn. I alternated the colors and number of rows of each color to make them all a little different.

After finishing them, they were a little wonky, so I decided to follow the advice from this awesome crochet library book I found (which I kind of want to keep) and blocked them.

Blocking (I learned from the library book) involves using some type of moisture to help the crocheted item flatten out after being stretched during crocheting. I pinned them all to my heavy piece of foam, then soaked them with a squirt bottle. After letting them dry completely, I unpinned them, and they were perfectly flat.

I hope she likes them. I bought some orange cotton yarn on sale at Fred Meyer the other day, so I might try making us some too.

Ruffles and Dots Blanket

This has been the longest running and biggest crochet project so far. I got the idea from Maybe Matilda and the tutorial for how to do the bobble stitch from here. I used quite a bit of yarn (I think I got up to 6 skeins) but it turned out really cute and I hope to use it with our next baby.

I used Bernat Softee Chunky yarn, which is thick but really soft. The blanket turned out pretty thick, somewhat thicker than baby blankets normally are, but it will be nice and warm.

I used a size J hook and some math to figure out how to work out the bobbles so they would all be even. The blanket ruffle was supposed to have two rows, but I went around the whole thing with a row of single crochet before I started doing the double crochet ruffling, and ended up cutting it so close with one row of ruffle (I had literally 12 inches or so of yarn left over, I didn't think I was going to make it) that I just decided to leave it at that. Besides, I think I like how it looks with just one row, another would have been too ruffly. 

This was a really fun blanket to make, it went together pretty quickly, and it was a very mindless crochet project, you didn't really have to count much, just had to look at the blanket to find out where you were.

Now I want to start on another crochet blanket... hmmm... maybe an afghan this time...

Hat for Baby Audrey

Just finished a baby hat today, I think this just might be the cutest thing I've ever made :)

I used this pattern that I found off of Pinterest (I love that website, if you don't have an account, get one!!). Instead of making the newborn size (I've realized I crochet pretty tightly, so if I follow the pattern exactly it turns out too small) I made the 3 month size, but also added 3 extra rows to make sure it would be long enough.

So cute!! I love the flower, a close-up below.

I tried it on Madelyn's monkey, she thought that was pretty silly.



Quick and easy and Oh-So cute. Now if this baby would just get here so I could try it on!! (I've still got 3 months left, it's going to be a little bit of a wait).

Maternity Jeans

 I'm getting to that awful point during pregnancy where you feel huge and nothing looks good. I have literally 1 pair of jeans that look good on me, one that are too big but comfortable so I wear them, and 2 that are awful, but I've had to wear when my other ones were dirty. And I'm cheap, so I don't want to shell out $30+ on a pair of jeans that I'll only wear for another 3 months. Thanks to this tutorial from the blog grosgrainfabulous I finally got inspired to make my own. I followed the tutorial for the main idea, but changed a few things and cheated a little :)

One of the problems I have with maternity jeans is that they are never long enough. I have to routinely buy jeans in size long because average is always too short. And maternity jeans in long, while they do exist, are very difficult or expensive to find in stores. And like I said, I'm cheap, so while I know they are sold new, that's not really an option for me. So instead, I found a pair of regular jeans at Goodwill for $8 that were cute and flattering, and most importantly, long enough. I made sure they fit well in the butt and hips, but obviously wouldn't zip.

The tutorial said to cut out the zipper completely, but since this pair of jeans were pretty low-riding as it was, I didn't really want the top of the stretchy band to start that low. So I tried them on and zipped up the zipper as far as I comfortably could, then marked it with a pin.

Then from that pin line, I cut off the top of the jeans at an angle to the first belt loops on the sides. The tutorial had you cutting all around the back too, but I wanted to leave the belt loops on in the back so I could use them to help put on the jeans. I tried them on again to make sure it was a good fit so far.

Okay, here is where I cheated. Instead of buying a piece of stretchy jersey, I used a belly band that I've had but didn't really use this time around. I knew it fit well, and I didn't feel like buying some jersey that might/might not fit and might get awkward as it stretched out. A stretchy cami would probably also work really well, something you wouldn't have to worry about serging up the sides (since I don't have a serger).  The tutorial also had you only doing a half band, and after about 20 weeks or so, I really think the full panel maternity pants are much more comfortable, so I wanted to make sure I made that kind.

I tried on the jeans with the belly band, then carefully pinned the band to the top of the jeans. This was kind of difficult, I actually had to have my husband help in the back where I couldn't reach. I also pinned the front part to my underwear in a couple places, so be careful of that too. Once everything is pinned, carefully try sitting down and moving a little bit, to make sure they are comfortable. Then carefully take off the whole thing and finish pinning it, making sure the band is stretched evenly around the edges of the jeans. (I really mean carefully, I poked myself a few times getting these on and off).

Then I used a zig-zag stitch to sew around the edges, making sure to not catch the bottom of the band in the stitch. I went around twice, since there will be a lot of pulling on those stitches. Around the front I did one line of stitches right below the edge, then one right on the edge to help prevent some of the fraying. (The tutorial had you pinning the two pieces wrong side together, but after getting it how I wanted it, I didn't feel like trying to do that. It would have made for a nicer front, but since I left the back uncut, it might not have worked as well that way.)

Once it was all sewn together, I trimmed off the bottom of the band, and voilà!! A new pair of pants!!

 Yes, that is my ginormous belly. 27 weeks down, getting close to the end!

They are so cute, and I actually feel good in them. I have one more belly band, might make one other pair so I can make it through the last 3 months of winter before this baby comes.