When I was in grade school, my mom started teaching me a lot of 50's housewife skills. Not that she was necessarily pushing me to be domestic, but I was interested and she had the gifts to pass on, so it was a good time! Over the years she taught me how to sew, how to cook, how to iron (but not how to love it. Sorry Ma, I still hate ironing!), and how to crochet. I remember my first attempt at making a potholder in the round. I had finally mastered the chain and was anxious to move on to something "real." My mom gave me some yarn and a crochet hook and left me to work on it while she was making dinner. By the time she came to check on me I was in tears, out of frustration, because I was holding the yarn so tight in an attempt to get my stitches "perfect" that it had rolled up like a small doll's hat! Eventually I figured out how to get the right tension but grew bored with granny squares (it turns out, that was the only stitch my mom knew) and gave it up. Years and years later, when I was dating my husband, long distance, I decided to brush off my skills and make him a blanket as a Christmas gift. He tells me it is one of his favorite things I've ever given him, but truthfully, I find making blankets tedious and after making baby blankets for both our daughters I thought I was done with crochet. Then, last year, a friend started posting pictures of her attempts at amigurumi. I was intrigued. I loved the idea that the projects were so small that I'd get that feeling of accomplishment before I reached the point of boredom. So I purchased a book, dusted off my hooks, and gave it a shot. I was hooked! I loved the little toys and immediately made a couple for one of my nieces and her new baby brother.
Then, with Christmas nearing, I decided that toy food would be the perfect gift for all of my toddler nieces. I bought another book (for all but the sausage links, curly fries, and cinnamon roll which I worked out on my own ) and got to work!
And of course my nephews needed a couple friends...
alligator & lion pattern found here
And who doesn't want a cute glasses case?
After the holidays, my girls were jealous of all the goodies I was making for other people and requested their own. So, I thought, why not try hats?
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| hat pattern found here |
These were fun to make and not too time-consuming but before I could head off on a new crochet obsession, I got turned in another direction: baby gifts! I went back to Ana Paula Rimoli and got her second book. I made baby shower gifts, like these car seat toys:
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| (basic toy idea from book but with components from other projects) |
I liked them so much I made one for my son!
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| (basic toy idea from book but with components from other projects) |
Then, in getting ready for baby boy to be born, I decided to make him some little friends as decorations.
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| these little guys are now hanging from his window valance |
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| made from free pattern on this blog |
And that brings us to the past couple of months. I've revisited hats and found a new obsession! I've been making things for friends in other states, gearing up for another Christmas season and am even considering selling some stuff at a craft fair. I'm hoping that having a blog devoted to my crochet projects will give me a place to share the results with friends while freeing up space in my facebook photo albums! Stay tuned for posts on specific projects as well as a link up with paypal for online purchases.
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