Boredom is for the birds!

Occasionally...I get bored. I don't mean 'I have nothing to do because all the work and projects around the house are done' kind of bored. I am talking about 'I feel like I am doing the same thing over and over and over' type of bored. When this type of boredom hits, it's almost always because I need to do/make something I have not made before. I need a challenge.

This happened to me yesterday. I was just in a funk. We are just all getting over this horrendous cold/flu season which was pretty nasty this year. We are still not 100% but my peanuts are able to allow me to do things again other than just snuggle and tend to their every need. Poor kiddos! Yesterday was my day to be depressed, crabby, and overwhelmed. I prayed about it and the day continued.

I started making some slow progress in cleaning up the tornado that was our home. I disinfected door knobs, rooms, and anything that had the remote chance of being touched in the last year so as to not ever again get these colds back. Then I had the most creative idea!! In my cleaning, I came across this gorgeous alpaca yarn that I still had for another project but decided it would not really work for what I had wanted to make with it just simply to it's shedding on clothing. I had planned on making a neckerchief but decided against that. The combo of the ones that I happened to have on hand looked like a peacock to me. I ran as soon as Mr. Miller got home and hit my favorite place on earth, Hobby Lobby, and grabbed the last piece of the puzzle. Today I got a couple minutes to sit down and try to figure out a pattern that I wanted to use to make my first Peacock Feather! I plan on making enough of them to create a gorgeous diaper cover for a newborn photo shoot. I also have a design floating around in my head for a sweet little head piece that will go with it.

I think it looks pretty good and the photo of it doesn't even do justice to the richness and depth of this yarn. It looks pretty close but of course that is looking at it through my eyes and my take on the Peacock Feather.

This is the link to the Crochet Peacock Feather Applique that I used to make this feather. I can't wait to post pics of the finished project.

I hope you have a very blessed day!

~ becky ~

New Year 2016...Recap of 2015

The last couple of years have been very busy. It's included lots of time spent having and raising 4 sweet kids. I have also done much knitting & crocheting in order to get better at what I love to do and where I believe God is leading me during this season of my life. It also gives me a small income while staying at home taking care of our children. I also suffer from chronic migraines and knitting & crocheting gives me the opportunity to still be productive at home even when I am feeling awful which was a lot this past year in 2015.

Here are some of the projects that I was able to work on this year. I feel very blessed for anyone who has purchased items from me.

Above are some knitted headbands/ ear warmers with a crocheted flower attached.

This is a beautiful orange leaf design neckerchief that I worked up. I personally love the color and the alpaca that I used made it super soft. The one that I am wearing in the second photo is a different color. 

The colors in this skein I used for this hat and Infiniti scarf is my favorite. I love how the colors worked up in the hat especially. 

My oldest daughter inspired this hat since this mint color is her favorite. She claimed this hat since it didn't sell at my last craft show. She said it was meant to be hers. 

I just made this Elsa hat right over the holidays. I really do need to make an Anna hat. Anna is my youngest daughter's favorite and with the new Frozen short that had been released where there are sunflowers every where (my personal favorite) I am excited to make one with a big sunflower on the front. 

I made 4 different Mermaid Tail blankets for an order this Christmas and I am truly smitten with them. I prayed for each little girl who would be receiving them. Knitting for kids is my favorite kind of knitting. 

I had this design 'floating' around my head for a while and was finally able to make one for a sweet little newborn order. I just love the way the Graphite colored hat allows the butterfly to just pop and be the focus. 

I made several of these owl hats for a craft show. I think they are adorable and I want to make some more by size ones. It's a pretty cable design on the front. 

This caterpillar is for sale in my Etsy shop and is so adorable and cute. He's made with soft cotton yarn that is easily washed for lots of love.

I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to all who have purchased from me and took the time to check out my blog or Facebook page to see what I am up to. When you purchase from me you are helping our family and we are truly blessed! I make all the things that I sell by myself and in addition to all the work and fun that goes into being a stay at home mom for 4 kids. I continue to thank God for all our blessings and that includes you!

May God richly bless you in this new year. 

~ becky ~

Piggy Tail Hat

I don't know about anyone else with small children and especially girls BUT our youngest wears pigtails a lot! It looks cute on her and it totally fits her spunky little personality. Here was my problem. What do I do now that the cold weather is approaching and she will be needing to wear a hat??? They always smoosh her cute little piggy tails. Well when you are a knitter you knit a solution. I had a VERY hard time finding a free pattern for a hat that incorporated piggy tail holes for them to just pop through. This is my design and it is really simple. Knit a hat and add two button holes, one on each side, to create the 'Piggy Tail Hat'. It's so simple.

There is not one time that goes by I am not stopped running errands that someone wants to tell me how cute this is and what a great idea! I also get, "You should start selling those!", and yes indeed I should and will. This design may just be one of the first additions to my Etsy store along with a Rapunzel and see how they do.

I hope you have a blessed day! †

b

Heart on a String Hat

I have made the cutest hat ever. I can't take credit for the pattern but it really is beautiful. It's called "Heart on a String" and it's a free pattern on Ravelry. I love it. It's so cute! The only issue I had was trying to knit the heart. It was impossible for me. I didn't have the right needle sizes for it and the technique was very new to me. I tried it about three times and finally decided on crocheting the heart instead. I think it turned out nice. It was gifted to a little girl in my son's class for her birthday. I hope she likes it!

I am working on another hat right now as well but this one is a newborn hat for our soon to be newborn baby girl. I am due February 28th and wanted to make sure our newest addition had a cute little hat to keep her warm. I will be posting that one soon since I am almost finished. I love the way it is working up!


Hope you have a blessed day! †

b

Bluebeary has arrived!

I had decided yesterday to tackle something I was dreading which was making a stuffed animal. I also decided to crochet it which I literally just learned how to crochet so I am still trying to get used to the abbreviations and techniques. I never said I was the brightest bulb in the bunch however I have to say it actually looks like a stuffed animal.

Our oldest daughter loves stuffed animals. In her mind there really is no having too many of these plump, cute little things. I decided if I was going to attempt one I might as well take her request for color, etc since the test case was going to be hers. I started with the head. If anyone is looking for a great tutorial on how to do this I have posted it below. It's an 8 part YouTube video that someone made on how to make these little guys and it was invaluable. I started with just going by the pattern but really didn't understand the abbreviations so I hit YouTube for some help.My brain, of course, was on overdrive while making this little guy thinking of all the possibilities now that I can make and different versions and colors. It was almost hard to finish because I wanted to start trying different things. HELLO?! First things first!!!! You need to FINISH this one first and make sure it looks like a bear. Yikes. That is so me and how my creativity flows. I get quite obsessed about things and then have a hard time finishing things.

I think my little bear turned out cute. She's about the size of my hand and my daughter has decided to name her 'Bluebeary'. She already took her to bed last night. The pattern calls for felt for the muzzle but I decided to crochet it. I might try making the next one with the felt muzzle and see how it turns out. I also made mine a little bigger than the pattern this time partly by accident but I do think the size is perfect.

Here's the video I used:
Amigurumi for Beginners Episode 1

Here's the pattern I used for the bear:
Amigurumi Tiny Bear.

Here is a better idea of how big she is in my hand. Alright...I guess she's a little bigger than my hand but perfect snuggle size. (o:

I should be posting today or tomorrow a new hat I worked on. It's a charcoal grey with a big, beautiful yellow flower on it. Yellow and grey seems to be a big hit right now. I think it might be one of my first ones that will be hitting my Etsy shop. I'm so nervous about that but if I can do a craft show I can do Etsy.
(I hope!)

I hope you have a blessed day! †

b

Toddler Flower Beanie v 2.0

Our youngest daughter was sick over this weekend and wanted to be super snuggly with me. All us moms know what that leads to. Yes. Now I am not feeling well. The bad thing is that I am sick but the good thing is in my inability to sleep but too tired to do anything around the house or otherwise I have learned how to crochet a new flower. I made this lovely little hat which I am totally in love with right now. I am already thinking about all the color combinations and new possibilities for it. This combo makes me want to hit Starbuck's up for a nice, hot drink right now...or send the hubby out! (o:

b

Smitten Kitten Hat

I have been just loving making fun hats for my girls. Our oldest daughter had asked for a kitten hat. She loves all things kitten lately probably because we added a little kitten, Penelope, to our growing family. I was a little nervous since I had never knit such an intricate seeming hat before. I was a little nervous on how to cast on stitches to a project once it was already finished off. It was much easier than I thought and I really enjoyed it. I ended up learning some really cool techniques I am going to need to know. My brain of course is on overdrive now with all the possibilities that I could use these new techniques for. Now I think I will make a lighter grey one for our younger daughter. She loves walking around with big sis' hat on her head.