Blog hiatus

I faithfully read my blogs a few times a week, but I haven't realized that I didn't post in over 2 months! Wow.
Time is really flying these day. Between work, my MBA classes (which have been CRAZY!), and my husband's back injury and work schedule, I've had no time to sit and breathe!

The kids are keeping me on my toes and I've been trying to crochet as much as possible. Simply Hooked by Amanda is going slow & steady, I've gotten a few regular customers now and I'm buying lots of new patterns that I'm hoping to find the time to try out one of these days!  


The current "hot" item is the elf hat. Everyone seems to love them and I have a bunch that I need to finish up.  I'm traveling to San Francisco for a conference next week, so I hope that I can spend some of my "quiet" time getting projects done. 


Here's a few photos of my elf hats and some of the kids too! I hope all is well with you all!

Candy Corn Beanie

Double Shell Beanie with Flower

Go State! PSU-inspired Elf Hat

My adorable monster on Halloween night

My Beautiful Snow White

Christmasy Elf Hats waiting on their braids

Simple crisscross scarf

I got an order for a scarf from a friend of mine and I was given freedom to create.
Well, I looked around for patterns and decided to combine two elements that I found to make up my own scarf. I couldn't think of a clever name for it, so until then it's just the simple crisscross scarf!

Here it is:

I really like it!  I use the cross-dc method (not really sure what it's called!) and hdc rows.

I'm not really good at writing up patterns.. if I can write it out in a coherent way, I'll be sure to share. Basically I did a row of Hdc, a row of the "X" stitches made with dc, a row of Hdc - change colors and repeat.

To make the "X", I skipped one st and dc in the next, then dc back into the skipped st and repeated this across. I assume if i use a chunkier yarn, the "X" will be more pronounced and look less like a V.

Ta-Da: Pink, Cream & Green Dream blanket

In early June, a good friend of mine had commissioned me to make a blanket for a friend of hers who just had a sweet baby girl. We looked over the bedding the baby had and decided to go with pink, cream & green colors... my friend dubbed it the Pink, Cream & Green Dream blanket and I loved the name!

This blanket has been a slow going process. While making it, I had an order for 10 boutique bags with flowers and a few other bags scattered throughout... Overall, it took me 7 weeks to complete. I love the color combo and again, I used the Granny Stripe pattern from Lucy with some slight modifications.

The color pattern was simple: pink, green, cream, green, pink, green, cream...and it continued.

It is 68 rows long with a cream hdc granny first-round border topped off with a pink scalloped edge.

It measures approximately 44" x 38"


Isn't it gorgeous?!

Boutique Bags

I just love making these bags!  Thanks so much to Sara at Tangled Happy for sharing the pattern and giving me permission to sell them!

<3 these colors!

Pretty flowers!!

Simply the best little bags around!! Such a joy to make.

My first "bulk" order of Boutique Bags all ready to get shipped!

Hooking Happiness

It's been a while since I've shown any of my projects and I'm hoping to get back on track, because crocheting is one of my best stress relievers. 

Right before I started my MBA program, I was a bit crazy and thought it would be great to start a small side venture, Simply Hooked by Amanda.  Well, it hasn't really taken off yet... I've made a baby blanket for the SGK auction run by Cathy's Creations and I donated a boutique bag to that auction.  Now I have an order to make a baby blanket for a friend and 10 boutique bags for another friend.  It's getting busy!  I was also contacted about a potential partnering opportunity with another creative mom, so we will see what it brings.

Anyway, I thought since I originally created this blog to share my crafts, it was time for some photos of my current WIPs:

I adore making those bags... and I'm enjoying a nice, girly blanket too!  I really need to give the blanket some attention soon though, the bags have taken over all of my crafting time, but I'm finishing them up and shipping them out this week!

Ta-Da: Adam's Blanket

Wow, this is a long overdue Ta-Da post. I didn't realize that I hadn't shared the photos of the finished blanket I made for our friends who are waiting the arrival of their first child, baby Adam.

This blanket took about 2 months to create, but between that time I also made the Power Pink blanket, so I would say maybe a month in reality.  

It measured about 42" x 42" or so and was worked in the granny stripe pattern that I can now do in my sleep :) I can't wait to meet baby Adam and see him all snuggled up in his cozy granny stripe! 

Hello, June! Revisiting my craft goals for 2011

Wow, it's June already?! Where has the time gone?!

Once I started school in March, a lot of things have changed. My time for blogging has gone out the window and my time for crafting has been severly limited - though I am producing things, which always makes me feel like I've accomplished something.  I was thinking about the list of Craft Goals I made back in January and thought it would be fun to look back and see what I've gotten around to doing and what other things I've added in!

Here's the list with updates:
1. Finish Teddy's Star, hopefully by the end of January I completed this project in January, you can find more info in the Ta-Da post

2. Finish Derek's wool scarf that has been terribly neglected lately - It's still negelected :( But getting some more love lately as it grew at least 2-3 more inches in the last few weeks.


3. Make 8 Tangled Happy's Granny Stripe Boutique Bags as party favors for the girls that I anticipate will be attending Benjamin's first birthday. I made 10 and they were a huge hit. Used 8 for the party and donated one to an auction benefiting someone who is walking in the SGK 3-Day.


4. Make a blanket for our good friends' new baby that is due in July. I hope to make it either as a Granny Stripe or Neat Ripple or a Mini Hexagon, but we will see when the time comes. They should know the gender of the baby by March, so I plan to decide once I know who I will be creating the blanket for. DONE! Ta-Da post coming soon, stay tuned!!


5. Make myself a tote bag, potentially using the basis for the Granny Stripe Boutique Bag on a larger scale, possibly lining with fabric.


6. Make a large Granny Stripe for our home. We love Ben's Granny Stripe so much that we want it in a larger version for Derek & I to use.


7. Work on more knitting in the round. I've love to make hats for all of us.


8. Attempt some homemade Christmas decorations, like a nice bunting or some sort of garland. To be decided at a later time- but I really love the Jingle Bell Garland and I've also found a granny star garland that I really enjoy but can't seem to find the link right now!


9. Fulfill the Cavanaugh men's hunting wishlist: A new orange hat for Derek(crochet or knit), a new knitted neckwarmer for my father-in-law and possibly some more orange hats for my brothers-in-law.


10. Attempt a knitted garment. Most likely a cardigan for Victoria.

Okay, so I got 4 of my 10 goals accomplished already -- not so bad!!
I've also made another baby-sized blanket as well, which I've dubbed the Pink Power Granny Stripe - see the Ta-Da here.
I also made 2 baby hats for my nephew in that time too. So I've been crafting even though I feel like I haven't.

Next up, which isn't on the list: a baby blanket for a friend's friend :) My friend called and asked me to make a blanket for a friend of hers who just has a sweet baby girl, so I've eagerly accepted the challenge. 

Ta-Da: Pink Power Granny Stripe

Wow, it's been an incredibly long time since I've posted any crochet or knitting projects! I have been working, don't worry!! 


I just finished up this awesome blanket last week - it was my first blanket sale with Simply Hooked by Amanda!!  It was made for an auction to benefit an ambassador for the Susan G Komen 3-Day walk.

It's 42" wide by 44 1/2" long and it took me 1 month + 1 day to finish it in my "spare time". 


This is such a girlie blanket- I love it!! When I was working on this and would take it out to gymnastics to work on while I waited for Victoria, I got so many complements on it - on the colors and how beautiful it was. I love comments/compliments from people who have no need to tell me it looks nice, those are the compliments that I think mean the most.

Wow, It's been a while...

I haven't blogged in way too long! Things have just been so busy with work, family obligations and trying to get my Etsy shop started.

Things are just crazy! I took an awesome Dale Carnegie Leadership Immersion course for work, which was a three day course and it was really inspiring.  I was lucky enough to be able to stay in a hotel and save myself a crazy commute and it gave me some nice down-time to crochet.  I missed Derek and the kids terribly, but it was a nice break when I wasn't in class.

Next week (EEK!) I start my MBA program. It starts with a week-long residency, which means another week away from my family and not a whole lot of "me time" in the hotel to enjoy the break. It's actually going to be pretty intense, but it's fully paid by my company and will provide a ton of opportunities when I graduate. It's a 2 year program, so I'll be finishing up in the spring/summer of 2013.

Aside from that, we enjoyed a trip away for our nephew's baptism:



Ben hanging out with Uncle Joey before church




The Little Man of honor getting all dressed up




My little princess




Victoria having a talk with Daddy

And I've been working on some bags for my Etsy shop:

Good news: I've made my first sale!!!
I was asked to make a custom blanket for an awesome lady named Cathy, from Cathy's Creations (go check out her site!) for an auction she's doing to help a Susan G Komen 3-Day walk ambassador. You can check out more about the auction on her FB fan page.
The blanket is pretty nice, if I do say so myself! I'm doing it a darker pink and light, shimmery pink stripes. One the weather brightens up a bit, I promise I'll share some pictures.

I'm also working on a baby blanket for a friend's new baby who should be arriving in July!

Hopefully I'll be around more often and spare you these loooong update posts!  I can't guarantee that just yet though- I have no idea what I'm getting into with school starting next week!!!

WIP Wednesday

Hello there!

It's so refreshing to have a WIP update that doesn't include Teddy's star! I'm so happy to have finished that blanket and work on other projects.  This week, I have two current WIPs!! I love having multiple active projects.

The first has been a WIP for a very long time, only to get put on the back burner for Christmas projects and Teddy's star. I feel that it will take forever, and I feel so bad for my wonderful husband to be waiting so long, but he seems to understand. He's really looking forward to his scarf, made with Fishermen's Wool, a 100% natural wool:

The next WIP is the first of a series of Granny Stripe Boutque bags.  I'm making about 10 of these as party favors for Benjamin's Dr Seuss themed birthday party. The color is pretty off in this picture, it's actually Mod Blue and close to Thing 1 & Thing 2's hair color.

Stay tuned because I'm pretty sure I'll be showing a Ta-Da of the finished bag soon... or maybe I'll wait for the final Ta-Da for the entire set!

Ta-Da: Teddy's Star

It seems to long since I first blogged about starting Teddy's star.  You can find that post here, for my recollection I started the star on November 12. This weekend, on Saturday, I finally finished up Teddy's star.  It was such a relief to finish it, especially since it felt like I was working on this blanket forever.  Turns out it was only 2 months.  The monotony of a single color for so long was really driving me nuts, but I was really happy with it once I added the contrasting black rows.  To be perfectly honest, I really wanted to do a fun blanket with a few shades of blues and greens, but I let Derek's sister choose the colors and she wanted Blue & Black and she requested a Star.  I know I could have just made whatever I wanted, but if I have the time to think about it, I usually like to get some input from the recipient.

I guess this blanket took so long because after I started it I also made 2 Santa hats, a hat & scarf set for Victoria and 2 purses. So all in all, it really didn't take that long.

Here are some photos of the star- what the center looked like when I folded all the peaks in, an up close shot of one of the points, one of the points along the way when I had gone back to blue before adding the final round of black, and a close up of the center of the star.

 

And here is the finished blanket, all ready to go to Teddy:

WIP Wednesday



My current WIP hasn't changed from last week: Teddy's Star.  I am making progress and actually I am on the last round of the star.  I think I have about 4 points of the star to go around, but I hope to finish by the end of the week and have it to Teddy so that he can snuggle in it!

I pulled together a small collage of the progress, from before I added the contrast color, to a point when I had gone back to blue and then finally a picture of the star all bunched up on itself.  I really like the contrast in the colors and I'm starting to like the blanket more and more now that it's not a solid color.

Stay tuned for a much anticipated Ta-Da soon!

WIP Wednesday

So, have you checked out my Craft 365 project yet?  I really hope it will keep me on track so that each week I will actually be able to show you my current WIPs!

On my list of craft goals for the year, I listed Teddy's Star blanket with a completion date of January.  I really feel that I'm on track with that, I actually need to go pick up the black yarn for the contrasting trim and then I can continue on my merry way of crocheting it to completion!  So far it's 23 rounds. I'm going to do a round of black (or two) followed by the final round of powder blue and completed with a few rounds of black. 

The size is getting quite nice, and I hope that I'll love this blanket even more once the contrasting black rounds are added.  Again, my sister-in-law chose the pattern and colors, so I didn't feel as much excitement as I normally do when embarking on a project.  I'm just happy to see it along!

 The next goal on my list was to work on Derek's knit scarf and I've made some time in the past week to do so.  Initially I made some time as a break from the star. Yesterday, I used my craft time at gymnastics to work on the scarf because 1. I don't have the black yarn to work on the star yet and 2. it's a more portable project. I really enjoy working with the Fishermen's wool and I love when I find small twigs and other natural materials while I'm knitting.  I think it's a bit too scratchy for my liking, but working with it is awesome.

I hope to keep up with my progress, I really enjoy seeing things through to completion.  I also think that by working on my Craft 365, I'll have more to show you each week!

Crafting through 2011!

I hope that I will be pretty productive in 2011, so I'm setting a list of goals that I would like to achieve. I keep reminding myself that starting end of March, I'll be going back to school and my "spare" time that I've used for crocheting and knitting will most likely disappear, but I'm hoping to find even just a few minutes each day to create or work on a current WIP. I'm hoping to keep a project 365 of my makings, Craft 365, as a part of my blog in an effort to help me continue to create.

I'd like to create some ambitious goals for 2011 in terms of makings- here's my list, which I'm sure will change and grow over the course of the year:

1. Finish Teddy's Star, hopefully by the end of January
2. Finish Derek's wool scarf that has been terribly neglected lately
3. Make 8 Tangled Happy's Granny Stripe Boutique Bags as party favors for the girls that I anticipate will be attending Benjamin's first birthday.
4. Make a blanket for our good friends' new baby that is due in July.  I hope to make it either as a Granny Stripe or Neat Ripple or a Mini Hexagon, but we will see when the time comes. They should know the gender of the baby by March, so I plan to decide once I know who I will be creating the blanket for.
5. Make myself a tote bag, potentially using the basis for the Granny Stripe Boutique Bag on a larger scale, possibly lining with fabric.
6. Make a large Granny Stripe for our home. We love Ben's Granny Stripe so much that we want it in a larger version for Derek & I to use.
7. Work on more knitting in the round. I've love to make hats for all of us. 
8. Attempt some homemade Christmas decorations, like a nice bunting or some sort of garland. To be decided at a later time- but I really love the Jingle Bell Garland and I've also found a granny star garland that I really enjoy but can't seem to find the link right now!
9. Fulfill the Cavanaugh men's hunting wishlist: A new orange hat for Derek(crochet or knit), a new knitted neckwarmer for my father-in-law and possibly some more orange hats for my brothers-in-law.
10. Attempt a knitted garment. Most likely a cardigan for Victoria.

I could probably add more and more to the list. This list, aside from the knitted garment, SHOULD be attainable, but once school starts and I figure out my schedule it may be a challenge.  Wish me luck, I hope to keep you updated!

Looking back on 2010

Wow, what a wonderful, busy, crazy year it's been!  2010 has been full of changes in every sense of the word. We had become a family of 4 in April when Benjamin entered the world nearly 6 weeks early. It was such a trying time, having a nearly 3 year old at home and a preemie in the NICU. He's doing so well now, you'd never know he was premature.

Victoria has changed so much over the course of the year. She did so well with the transition of only child to big sister. She is such a smart, beautiful little girl and she really keeps us on our toes!

We've made some changes at home- Derek quit his job to be a stay-at-home Dad to our kiddos, which has been so wonderful and less stressful all around for me! My career has also been crazy, but we've had a very productive year at work... I'm hoping that translates into a very nice bonus :) But we will see!!

Another highlight of 2010 was finding and old hobby again and learning a new one. I've begun to crochet again and I forgot how wonderful it feels to create gifts and things. I've also taught myself to knit, which has been a mystery to me for so many years, a curiousity that I have finally explored and now I feel comfortable in my new found craft. Since I rediscovered my hobby in August, I've completed two blankets, with one more in the works. I've made 3 crocheted beanie hats, 3 scarves and 3 purses. I've also made a knitted neckwarmer and two santa hats and have a big, wool scarf in progress. Here is just a snippet of my wooly creations for 2010, and I hope to have a larger collage for 2011!

Week in Review

It's been quite a long and lonesome week for me, since I was home alone while Derek and the kids were off visiting family so that he could go hunting with his dad.   I really didn't have the spare time to take off from work, so I stayed here.  Monday thru Wednesday, I spent time with my sister-in-law.  For being 9 months pregnant, she wore me out!!  Each night I'd come home, curl up in bed and work on my projects. 


As I've already blogged about, I've completed the hat and scarf set for Victoria:

And I made some good progress on the new Santa Hat for Victoria, since the first one I made will be Ben's due to some size issues. Thursday and Friday, I came home from work and caught up on some TV while working away on my knitting project. I have to admit that I absolutely LOVE knitting!  It's such a new thing to me and I'm so happy that I decided that I was going to learn.  I have to thank my mother-in-law for encouraging me to just buy that set of knitting needles when we were at AC Moore... once I started, I was determined!  I suspect that the Santa hat will be done no later than Tuesday, then I just need to make the white balls to finish them off.

This week, while working on the new hat, I've realized that I'm getting faster and more confident in my knitting and I realized that I enjoy using DPNs, which I thought looked way too complicated for me.

I also snuck in a few rounds on Teddy's blanket, because I just wanted a slight change of pace.  It doesn't look much different than last time, but I promise you it has grown.

I was dying to start on my scarf, but I knew that I really needed to get the Santa hat done soon so Victoria can proudly wear it before Christmas. Since it's already December, I figured that should be my #1 priority.  Unfortunately, the lovely fisherman's wool that is shaping up to be Derek's much anticipated scarf has not gotten any attention, but soon I hope to make progress on that as well.

And, I just had to show you the deliciously fun, bright yarn I picked up that will soon be a purse for a wonderful little girl (not Victoria for once!)

I feel like I've made some good progress this week and I really hope the momentum continues! Soon I will be revisiting my growing list of projects.