Owlishly

Zoe

 

Is the name I decided upon for the newest doll that I made.  The pattern will be released super soon since it's all typed up and proofed, I just need to add pictures and proof it one last time.  I just hadn't shared any of it because it was my mom's Christmas gift and I didn't want her to see it before then.

I'm on my way out the door to have lunch with my grandma and then spend the afternoon with my little sister in a glee-a-thon(!), but I wanted to share a quick picture since I haven't finished any new patterns in a while :)

Bess pattern winners...

and

Thanks to everyone who let me in on some of their favorite names, it was really fun reading all the names and why you love them so much.  I guess I should let you in on some of my favorites too!  I have a little notebook that I've had forever and it has lists of names that I like at any given moment.  Off the top of my head, I really like Asher and Ryan for boys and Rebekah, Kate and Liza for girls.  It's interesting how many names from your favorites are in my notebook though!

So, again, thanks for entering everyone, and Josefin & Alissia check your email for the pattern!

Life is getting in the way

I can't believe how quiet I've been lately, but too many things have been going on that are just sucking up all available time and preventing me from getting anything finished craft-wise.

These are the two things that I've been able to work on in between sick kids, dentist appointments, an emergency appendectomy for my husband, t-ball, preschool and trying to cook & clean more than I like too :)

This doily is something I've been working on for quite some time now.  I like the peacock feather/fan things, or whatever they're called.  Anyway, they're always my favorite designs to look at, and the ones I'm drawn to over and over again.  I thought it'd be nice to crochet & frame for my bedroom, since I think it'll turn out fairly large.  I intended to make it bigger and am using size 3 mercerized teal thread which compliments the rest of the blues and greens in our room.

The doll had been a zebra in my mind, but when I started making it I kept having problems with the stripes.  I changed it 3 or 4 times before deciding that it was never going to be the zebra that I wanted, and it made a better cow girl. Sewing on the felt is what's taking longer than normal, but I keep thinking about working on it when it's not with me.  Or when I do have it around, I have to use the time to do something else. 

I'm hoping to have it finished soon, especially since a couple of the keys on my laptop have decided they'd rather pop off every time I type and I'm going to take my computer in to have the entire keyboard replaced. I have an appt. tomorrow for that, but I may be rescheduling.

Some more randomness to note, last weekend I'd gone to the LA and Costa Mesa Kinokuniya's looking for some Japanese crochet books, but sadly there were barely any that were interesting to me.  It may've been because there weren't very many in either section.  There were a lot of clay, sewing, quilting, jewelry making books, so I'm wondering if they just don't carry as many fiber related ones as the weather heats up, or maybe I was there after someone came and bought up all the good books. I don't know. It was just strange.

Also, my books came in that I'd ordered, or at least two of the three.  The Japanese doily one is perfectly lovely as usual.  I have to spend some time with the Spanish one to see how much I like it, but as noted before, I haven't had time for anything I find particularly interesting of late. Dang it. Soon I hope!

Japanese crochet book seller, Spanish books too!- Crochet Style etc./Creative Yarn Source

English too, but the foreign language books are harder to find I suppose.

I've decided to try the charts for the patterns in Spanish language books, so I'd read about this online store called Crochet Style etc./Creative Yarn Source over at Crochetville & thought I'd try it out.  I've been really busy and uninspired lately without time to crochet, as a result I've been a little crankier than usual, so I thought I'd look for outside inspiration by way of a new book :)

I'd been wanting to get the Pineapple Lace Stitch Doily book by Nihon Vogue too, so I bought one Japanese crochet book and 2 Spanish booklets- Muestras y Motivas Especial Puntillas 5 originales y clásicas, and Especial Paños No. 12.

This Puntillas 5 one is all borders, so hopefully I can use this one to get away with not crocheting an entire thread tablecloth for my mom.

Then this Paños No. 12 looks like it's mainly doilies.  Its funny because I think they're really pretty, but never get around to making them.  Eventually, I guess.

I'll try to remember to report back when I get them, and their ease of use, etc.  By the way, there's an interesting selection of yarns & threads to try too, but I really have to get through more of my stash before buying more!

New puppy ;)

Doll!

I finished the doll this afternoon while hanging out in bed and nursing a horrid cold.  I'm really pleased with the little collar, for some reason that's my favorite part.  There are so many different types of dogs, and I was hesitant to make one since I wanted it looking like a dog (obviously), but I wasn't ever sure what kind. My own childhood dog was a dachshund, and I love them so hopefully this resembles our old Zoe. Or actually, hopefully it looks like a puppy! I have all the pictures for the pattern taken except the main pictures of the completed pup.

I'm hoping to get some good ones outside tomorrow but I'll be pretty busy.  I have to go register my little guy for kindergarten & pack because we're headed to Iowa on Tuesday- my husband's grandmother passed this morning. It's very sad, but after all the pain she was in, we're thankful that she's finally gone home.

Addi comfort grip hooks & a giveaway

One of my favorite local yarn stores has sadly announced that they will be closing the store because of what's been going on in our economy.  It's sad because I really like that shop, it's close to a shopping/entertainment center, but still has that main street sort of feel to it.

After (yet another) dentist appointment to finally get a crown on my tooth, and right before I had to pick up my little boy from preschool I stopped by to see if they had any hooks left. I guess depending on the way you see it, luckily there aren't a bunch of crocheters, so there was still a good amount of hooks left.

I have some of the addi comfort grip hooks already, but I thought I'd fill in the gaps. I couldn't remember exactly which ones I had, so I bought some of the smaller ones, and some of the larger ones.  Unfortunately, I was hurrying and didn't go over the hooks to make sure there weren't doubles and ended up purchasing 2 5.5mm/I hooks. 

Fortunately for you, I have no reason to have 2 of the same rarely used hook size, so I'd like to give it away :)

Here are the rules:

• Leave a comment.
• Comment on what your favorite hook (brand and size would be nice) is.
• Do this by April 16th 10pm PST.

Thanks for participating!

Free amigurumi Easter eggs pattern- Huevitos

These are a quick little project that you can still make in time for Easter if you're so inclined :) I hadn't realized that Easter was this Sunday, so I wanted to do something fun and quick for my little one's Easter baskets. 

As usual, make as many as you'd like to give away, but don't sell the eggs or pattern :)  Please feel free to link here, and if you try out the pattern let me know how it works out, or you could add pictures to the Owlishly flickr group!

Download Owlishly- Huevitos easter egg pattern

Happy crocheting!

Owlishly Flickr group

Hi everyone! I'm so excited that so many of you are interested in the Brisa pattern.  And it's really fun reading about your favorite vegetables, I keep reading the comments and simultaneously salivating :)

I just wanted to let you know that I started an Owlishly Flickr group.  I love seeing dolls and toys that you've made from my patterns, and I'm sure that others would like to see them to get ideas as well.

I've invited some of you who I've found by searching for "owlishly" on flickr, but don't feel left out if you didn't receive an invitation from me.  Please join the group and add pictures of the dolls and toys that you've made from Owlishly patterns, it'd be great to have them all in one place! 

Brisa the ballerina amigurumi pattern available & a giveaway!

Her pattern's finished!

The pattern is 9 pages long with 30 images to help you out. 

The pattern ended up being so long because the hair instruction is in detail, with 2 pages dedicated to hair :)

This little girl is made of worsted and DK weight yarn, with embroidery floss for the mouth, perle cotton for highlights, 9 mm craft/animal eyes & polyfil stuffing.

She's quite leggy, at 7 1/2 inches tall, and while her pattern is more advanced beginner, it is also very detailed.

As I previously mentioned, if you leave a (1 per person) comment on this post, you'll be entered to win her pattern!  All you have to do is leave a comment on what your favorite vegetable is.  A random question, I know :) Oh, and if you can't wait, and purchase the pattern but still want to enter, go right ahead.  If you win, I'll refund your purchase :)

Comments to win the pattern will close in 3 days- March 28th at 11:29 pm PST.

Her pattern is available at Etsy & Ravelry (buy now) for those interested.

I hope you like her!

Bunhead

She's almost ready to make her first appearance!

I've just finished adding the perle cotton to her hair to give some textural difference, and soon I'm going to be able to sew her together and write up the pattern.

I'd forgotten that my brother-in-law and his partner are going to be coming from Dallas for a visit this weekend, and I've been neglecting my housekeeping in favor of working on my doll so I'm going to have to be scare for a while to get the house in order again!

Hopefully I can get it done quickly, that way I can get back to the things I enjoy doing.  The little astro-boy was starting to come along too. dang it. Okay, I've seriously got to go clean while I can...