Kitties...

Since I've been spending more time sitting still than usual thanks to my expanding belly, I've also been doing some embroidery. I have a few wedding presents in the works, which I won't share quite yet, but I've also done a few smaller bits just for fun. Someday, I'm sure they'll work their way into a larger project, but for now, it's just entertainment.

These kitties come from here and here. Cute, huh?

Teeny-Tiny MochiMochi!

I mentioned in my last post that tinier = cuter, which is why I was so excited to receive this book for Christmas:

My sister-in-law knows me so well :)

These little guys knit up really quickly - I have finished most in an hour or two in front of the TV. I've also learned a lot of new little knitting tips and tricks, because when you're making something this small, the little details REALLY matter - so I have been paying more attention to the slant direction of increases and decreases and so forth. There are also virtually NO seams - including for those little tiny legs and arms and wings, which makes for really simple finishing.

Tiny chicken in a tiny basket :)

Tiny fried eggs, by request for Chrissy

Tiny ghost for Halloween!

Tiny cactus...just because.

Tiny cupcake!

AIRPLANE!!!

Tiny gnome, by request for the hubs :)

Why? Because I can. And who doesn't want a tiny creature for their desk? Or anywhere else, for that matter?

Go Pats!

Because tiny is always cuter.

We moved! The new house is wonderful, but we are still in the process of painting and sanding and spackle-ing and whatnot. That's why I haven't even touched my sewing machine since before Christmas - too much to unpack and put away and organize!

However, I have been doing some knitting. I got some AMAZING knitting books for Christmas, including this one:

This book is so full of knitted adorableness it is almost unbelievable. I am not quite ready to share my tiny creations yet, but knitting tiny things has inspired me to look for adorable tiny things everywhere. So I put together a little list of some of my favorites :)

Le Frog Peridot Totem by le ... leanimale $40.00	sterling brontosaurus dinosa... cravejewelryde... $28.00
Rabbit origami Pin hugaporcupine $29.00	blue jay figurine totem ani... HandyMaiden $32.00
Tiny Bunny Charm Necklace in... BLACKSWANJEWEL... $22.00	Tiny bumble bee ornament dec... CraftsByKeri $8.00
Chilly Penguins Stitch Marke... weeones $14.00	Red Fox Clay Animal Totem - ... RoxyStudio $25.00
A tiny Valentine koala LoveableTreasu... $25.00	Extreme Micro Snail - Mini T... suami $18.00
two tiny hedgehogs HandmadeByNove... $10.00	Little needle felt owl, tiny... Lybo $20.00
Baby Elephant Figurine, Tiny... efiwarsh $18.00	Tiny fairy, mushroom house a... MijbilCreature... $38.00
Fawn Pug Dog with Pink Bow -... suami $22.00	Lovely Tiny Silver Whale Stu... YQYJewelry $19.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio. 

 

Happy Groundhog Day!

Monsters, monsters everywhere!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am loving this book.

So, I've made a few monsters.

 I have also mentioned in earlier posts that I have waaaay too much yarn. So, these guys helped me cut down on my stash.

 Perfect for Halloween! Very scary. Or very cuddly. I can't decide.

Rufio dressed up as a bat for Halloween.

A vampire bat!

Hubby and I had to get in on the fun too, of course.

We also had fun decorating cupcakes, but they were mostly pretty ugly.Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

Happy Halloween!

I-Spy Baby Goodness

Two lovely ladies in my department are having babies this fall, and so I wanted to stretch my quilting skills and try a few baby quilts. I have liked the idea for awhile of doing an "I-spy" quilt, but finding all those fabrics and cutting them into tiny squares would be waaaaaay too taxing for me...so I bought some from Sew Together on etsy. They're adorable! I got a set of doubles, so I could make each quilt like a matching game (I'm a teacher, so of course everything has to be educational...)

My first quilt ever was a disappearing nine patch, and I used the same pattern here, based on a tutorial by Obsessively Stitching. (The same blog guided me through my first quilt ever!) Aren't they cute?

Since I've been reading about it so much lately in the bloggy world, I decided to sign them. It was quite tricky, but I figured out a method that worked for me.

It has become somewhat of a tradition in my department that I always knit little animals for my co-workers when they have babies, and I didn't want to disappoint on that front...but I went in a slightly different direction. For the past few months I have been obsessed with this book:

So I made some monster friends:

My mom gave this one as a gift to a friend's son who is welcoming a baby sister. This is my favorite.

After all, what could be snugglier than a giant monster? She's big enough to double as a pillow.

Knitting has been my go-to craft this month because hubby and I have been moving - we are staying with my parents for awhile while we finalize the sale on our (hooray!) new house. I just broke out the sewing machine today, so hopefully I'll have some new projects to share soon!

And finished! My charity project for July...and August...and a little bit of September... for Project Linus.

It feels like I have been working on this forever! But I am pleased with the way it came out.

My charity project for this month will be my donation items to the church fair, which I blogged about last year...I've been finishing up a few small projects, with a few bigger ones to come.

Cute, right? And from a project that I was never satisfied with...

Much better, I think. Cute little slippers.

Hubby and I are moving in a few weeks, so things are a bit scattered...but I have a few projects to share soon. Happy fall!

Vacation Time!

This week is school vacation week. Honestly, I'm not sure I would have survived without it.

Vacation time means I've been able to put in some good crafting time...finishing up a few projects from the WIP pile, and, of course, starting some new ones :)
For my cousin and her husband, who will be welcoming their first little one in a few weeks - a changing pad! Tutorial here. I read all the way through the tutorial...including the part where she said she put the velcro on wrong and had to redo it...and then I did the exact same thing!
A nice little package for welcoming a little girl, don't you think?And, thinking waaaaaaaaay into the future...some progress on my quilted advent calendar. Appliqueing all those numbers is a HUGE pain! At the rate I'm going, I'll have it done in time for Christmas 2015 or so.

And, because I don't seem to be able to stop making these...

They've been a huge hit with my friends' kids!