Scarfs

These are my latest babies.

I used to HATE making scarfs. I would hate to crochet 5, then flip, then crochet 5, then flip. It was so boring and repetitive. But, as I have been sitting at outdoor farmer's markets and freezing my cute little buns off since the weather has cooled down, I have been inspired to make something to keep myself warm. It started with this fabulous (and horrifically expensive) alpaca yarn that I bought at a specialty yarn store in Carmel, California. I only bought one skein (as I said, it was horrifically expensive) and it was too chunky to make a comfy hat out of, so I decided to branch out and make a scarf. I started it and then unraveled it about 10 times until I finally figured out a pattern that I liked. Then I added some fabulous buttons for decoration and VOILA! This is what I had:
I actually had fun making it once I figured out that I need to crochet lengthwise instead of across, and it really played into my love of chunky, colorful yarns and unique buttons. So, being who I am, I couldn't just stop at one. I immediately ran to the craft store and bought tons of fun yarns and buttons to make more.

They are the perfect extra layer for days that are just a little cool and add a little extra flair to jeans and a tee shirt.

I will be selling them at my next few shows. (I am keeping my fabulous alpaca one, of course!) If they do well there, I think I will list them in my Etsy shop, too. YAY, scarfs!

Garden of Art

I will be participating in the Garden of Art show this weekend. It should be a really fun and unique event showcasing crafts from some amazing local women. If you live in the Salt Lake area, be sure to stop by and check it out!

Mutton Hollow Country Barn Boutique

I am participating in the Mutton Hollow Country Barn Boutique this week. This show is in an old barn and has tons of fun vendors. Stop by and check out my booth on the second floor. I have lots of fun hats and toys there. I am sharing my booth with Amy who has her cute pillowcase dresses and yummy handmade soap there.
It runs:
Wednesday, Sept. 9 preview show from 4-8
Thursday, Sept 10 and Friday, Sept. 11 from 10-8
Saturday, Sept 12 from 9-5

It is located at 169 E. Mutton Hollow Road in Kaysville. Look for the big rows of flags. Hope you stop by and get some great stuff!

Ted the Turtle and Baby Sweater

This is Ted. Ted is a turtle. He has a soft, squishy shell where he never, ever hides. Ted loves babies and he rattles when he shakes. Ted can't run very fast because he has stubby little legs. He has a cute tail that hangs out of the back of his shell.

Ted can be found in my Etsy shop.

On another note, this is a baby sweater that I finished today. I made a similar one last winter for Nadia, but things always turn out much better the second time I make them. This sweater is no exception.

I love this pattern because it creates a really nice texture on the top and an interesting design on the bottom. It is kind of a pain to make because it requires lots of counting, but the final product is worth it.

This one is made to fit a really small baby, but I think I will make a bigger one for Nadia to wear on the cool fall days that will be coming soon. I think it will be really cute with one of Amy's pillowcase dresses and matching bloomers.

I don't think I will be offering this one in my Etsy shop because you really need to see it in person to really appreciate the beauty of it. I brought it with me to the craft store to buy the buttons and all of the ladies who work at the store were gushing over it.

This sweater will be available in my booth at the Mutton Hollow Country Barn Boutique next week. Stop by and check me out!

Curious George Puzzle Blocks

This is a project that I have been really excited to do for a long time and I finally had a chance to do it.
I recently taught myself how to decoupage and since then I have been fighting off the urge to stick cute patterned paper on every flat surface that I see. This project is merely an extension of that. I found this great vintage story book that was published in 1947 at an antique shop in Seattle. It was a little battered and had some missing pages, but I thought it would be great raw material to work with. It had several stories in it, but the one that really stood out to me was Curious George because my Katie is a huge fan of monkeys. I decided to make some ABC blocks with Curious George puzzles on them.

Four of the sides have different pictures from the book. I cut them apart and decoupaged them onto some ABC blocks.

I have made similar blocks before using just patterned paper and stickers. I cut and sanded the blocks myself in previous projects, which was a super pain in the butt. I found some ready made ABC blocks for a really great price at a craft store, so I thought I would try those out for this project- much better!

I like the fact that the storybook pages become puzzles when you take them apart. The puzzle is harder to put together than one might think because you have to figure out which side of the block matches the picture that you are putting together.

The other two sides have ABC letters. My original plan was to fancy the letters up or cover them with paper, but they were such a perfect match for the pictures that I decided to leave them how they were.

I am happy with how these turned out and I can't wait to make more out of other old story books. I will be listing them in my Etsy shop, so be sure to stop by and check them out!