greetingarts

appreciating it all

Two weeks ago was teacher appreciation.  I took a few days off work so I could help with setting up posters and decorations at the start of the week, and the faculty luncheon on Wednesday.  It was wonderful to be back in the classrooms, and I was surprised at how easy it was to fall back into the volunteer thing!

I sewed some ruffled streamers for the decor, made Jessica's Chinese Cabbage Salad (again!  I love this dish), and baked three dozen devil's food cupcakes, decorated to look like apples.  I saw the idea on a blog some time ago, but I can't for the life of me remember where now.  Anyway, I thought they turned out quite well, and even though it was super hot, there was a minimum of frosting droopage.  I used mini pretzel rods for the stems and fresh spearmint for the leaves.  The cupcakes turned out quite moist, too.  I love my two-tiered cupcake carrier that I bought years ago.

For our past and current teachers, I crocheted some pencil bookmarks with perle cotton and a steel crochet hook (one I inherited when my grandma passed away, I thought about her as I was crafting), and knitted an i-cord pencil keychain charm.  No patterns, I saw the bookmark online a while ago but just winged it, and then made up the keychain pencil as I went along.  I made five gifts in all, but forgot to take a group photo.

We only have one more Monday left of this school year, and by the end of this month, we'll officially be on summer break.  It's been a very difficult year for me personally at home, at the girls' school, and adjusting to work.  I'm really looking forward to slowing down, enjoying my girls, and clearing out the clutter in my house this summer.  Well, maybe not the last thing so much, but I'm sure I'll be happy *after* it's clean.

heartstrings tutorial (finally)

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted!  I am a terrible blogger.  Life just never slows down, does it?  I guess you can make these fast and easy little hearts for Mother's Day, though, or do you really need a holiday to say I love you, or pass on a little love?  They would be very cute as pins and small enough to stick in the mail, too, just because.

 

For most of the hearts I made for the girls, I used a B hook (2.25 mm).  The yarn was sport weight (DK) I think, a little thinner than worsted.  They finished up about 1" across, but I used a thicker hook (a D maybe?) and worsted weight yarn to make a bigger guy, about twice the size.  Of course, you can make any size you'd like by experimenting with yarn and hook sizes.  This is really good for short odds and ends you might have lying around.  You'll be working in the round and only have to weave in the ends when you're done.  I use one of the ends to sew up the middle of the heart, which probably makes no sense to you now, but hopefully will be clear later...

Heartstrings pattern:

ch - chain
sc - single crochet
st(s) - stitch(es)

Start off with a magic circle.  If you don't know what that is, click on the link (which will take you to a YouTube video) and be prepared to have your crocheting life changed.  Anyway, then ch 1, and make 3 sc into the circle.  Close up your circle, as tightly as possible.

Round 1: Make 2 sc in each sc around.  (6)
Round 2: *Sc in next st, 2 sc in next st.*  Repeat from * to * around.  (9)
Round 3: *Sc in each of next 2 sts, 2 sc in next st.*  Repeat from * to * around.  (12)
Round 4: *Sc in each of next 3 sts, 2 sc in next st.*  Repeat from * to * around.  (15)
Round 5: *Sc in each of next 4 sts, 2 sc in next st.*  Repeat from * to * around.  (18)

Round 6: Sc in each of the next 9 sts, skip the 9 sts remaining.  (9)

Round 7: Sc in each of the next 9 sts (which are ones you created in Round 6).  (9)
Round 8: *Sc next 2 sts together, sc.*  Repeat from * to * around.  (6)  Fasten off.

Weave end through the last six stitches, pulling tightly to gather.  Stuff the heart and stick the yarn tail to the inside, using it as extra stuffing.  You really need very little stuffing if you're making the same size I did.

Now, join your yarn to one of the unworked stitches of Row 6, and repeat Rounds 6-8.  If you have a bit of a gap in the valley between the humps of the heart, just use the tail of this second hump to kind of sew them together and then hide the end back inside the finished heart.  Finish up with two teeny puffy paint dots for eyes, string on some satin cord or glue on a ¾" pin back, and you're done.

You can make a whole slew of these really quickly, much more quickly than it took me to get this post written!  Sorry, and thanks for waiting.

heartstrings

I can't believe I actually did it, I finished all 55 Valentines gifties for the girls' classmates and teachers, two days before Valentine's Day.  Whoo hoo!  Must be a record for us crafters, or... maybe just me.

These little hearts are about 1" across at their widest point, and most are on satin cord for necklaces, continuing the collection from Christmas and Halloween.  I put pin backs on the five for the teachers.  These are crocheted, though, not knitted like the previous ones, but I don't think anyone will notice.  The fantabulous little cards are from the oh-so-generous Jessica of zakka life, and they were just perfect for this project.  Now the necklaces won't get tangled up, turn into a jumbled mess and take forever to distribute.  These will be a piece of cake.

One of the greatest things about this project is that I got to turn lemons into lemonade...  I had a great skein of red wool yarn I'd been saving for years.  When I was going through my stash early in January, I realized I had some unwanted visitors and sometimes it's not so good to save things.

The whole skein had been eaten through, and the yarn was broken up into random, various lengths.  So I turned them into miniature hearts, and used up about half a skein that probably would have gone into the recycle bin (actually, I don't even know if you can do that!).  Win, win.

If anyone ever wants a tutorial on the hearts, let me know.  I can do them with my eyes closed.  Really. 

more temptation

Oooh, this one looks fun, too!  And it eats yarn, which I think might be useful... 

angry crochet

The girls went to an Angry Birds birthday party last Saturday, and I had a lot of fun making the gift for the birthday boy.

 
Red Bird, of course.

 
Black Bomb Bird.

 
And the birthday boy's favorite character, Green Pig.

 
Here they are, all together.  Jessie wants a full set, with the yellow, blue and egg birds, too.  And now some of the other kids at the birthday party want them, too.  Thanks so much to the generous and talented Nikki C., who made the three patterns I used available for free on Ravelry.  I don't know her at all, and she has no idea who I am, but I so appreciate her willingness to share.

 
I became an Angry Birds addict this summer (a little late to the ball game, I know, but hey, I knew it would suck me in.  Don't even get me started with Plants vs. Zombies...!), so I got carried away and even decorated the plain red gift bag with a free printable from the internet.

Look at the birthday boy's pinata, and his T-shirt!

 
And I have to show you a picture of the cake... is that not amazing?

 
The characters are all marshmallow/rice cereal treats, covered with fondant.  And I absolutely, positively did not make that.  An incredibly talented co-worker of the hostess created that, and her made-from-scratch carrot cake was absolutely heavenly! 

crocheted notebook paper

Every year, on the first day of school, I send my girls with a little handmade token, something they can hold on to if they get nervous, to remind them that Mom loves them, misses them, and wishes them good luck.

Here's what I came up with this year, crocheted notebook paper to go with the pencils I gave them last year.  It's all made with just single crochet and some embroidery.  The trick is that there are two rectangles back to back, crocheted together to form a pocket that you can use to tuck a note inside.  I took two hearts that came from Build-a-Bear (my girls always ask for the ones that fall on the floor and the workers just let them have them), wrote little quick notes in ballpoint pen, and stuck them inside. 

Want the pattern?  You seriously don't really need one, but here it is, in all it's simplicity.

Crocheted Notebook Paper

Using white, worsted weight yarn (I used 100% cotton Sugar 'n Cream) and an F hook...
(Make 2)
Row 1:  Ch 9, sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across.  Ch 1, turn. (8 sc)
Row 2-10:  Sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn.  (8 sc)
Row 11: Sc in each sc across, fasten off.  (8 sc)

Using embroidery floss and a tapestry needle, turn your sheet of plain white copy paper into a piece of notebook/binder paper.  I separated my DMC floss and then used two strands of #817 (red) and #3847 (blue) for the lines.  I used mini scrapbooking brads for the eyes, but you can use French knots or puffy paint or beads.  I only embroidered one of my two pieces of paper, but it might have been nice to do both.

Join, wrong sides together, by attaching yarn at upper left corner with a sl st through both pieces.  Sc evenly down the left side, make 3 sc in the bottom left corner, sc evenly across the bottom, make 3 sc in the bottom right corner, and sc evenly up the right side, ending with a slip stitch to the top right.  It's not rocket science, you're just attaching the two pieces together and leaving the top open so you can put in your cute little note.

Hope it's not too confusing or too simple, and that you got a smile out of my design.  The girls did.

back to school

First day of school!

 
The teachers, past and present, all got red apples in crocheted apple cozies (used to be a free pattern, I think, but now it's $3.50).  I made a leaf-shaped miniature card wishing the teachers good luck, letting the new ones know I'm available to help and looking forward to the year with them, and reminding the old ones not to forget I'm still around.

This summer was the first one where I didn't feel like I needed a break from the kids, even though I'm with them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We went camping, hiked, visited relatives, crafted, swam, finished the summer reading program at two different libraries, picnicked at concerts in the park every week, sewed together, stayed up late every night and never worried about when to wake up in the morning.  I already miss their sweet company.

But now, it's time to switch gears and get back into the school routine... packing lunches, doing homework, and the early-to-bed, early-to-rise thing.  That last bit really isn't going to be easy!

pick of the litter

This little fella is going to live with another family today.  Rebecca's classmate requested him before school got out, and now it's finished just in time for his birthday.  I used the labrador retriever pattern found here, and added a little felt collar.  He stands just about 4 and a half inches tall.

at the close

Two weeks ago, Rebecca finished the last page of the Harry Potter series, and I had to make something to mark the occasion.  I used this free pattern and scrap yarn, holding a glittery chain yarn (no ball band) together with a Berroco Smart Cotton (in Butterscotch) for the body of the snitch, and just white Sugar 'n Cream for the wings. 

It was a joint effort, with me reading at least a chapter out loud every night, and Rebecca reading for hours on end at every spare moment.  She absolutely devoured the huge volumes, and now, understandably, feels a little bereft.  Suggestions for a new reading obsession are welcome!

tea time

 
I finished up all 10 teacups and saucers and delivered them to the school's receptionist yesterday.  An improvement over my original, but I think next time (if I get another order for these next year) I may play around with the cup shaping.  Something more flared at the top might be cute, like an upside down bell shape?  Overall, I'm happy with the way these turned out, though, especially those teabag tags.

Jessie was quite dismayed when she saw me packing them up.  "What?!" she proclaimed indignantly, hands on hips.  "All that work and I have... NOTHING?!"

That's right, honey, I'm sorry. 

But Mommy's got a check to take to the bank...