Crocheting in November...

As I stated in an earlier post, crocheting is my new hobby when I need a break from sewing. It started with the shoes from a pattern I got from Etsy (http://sylver.etsy.com), and snowballed.

So, here's what I made starting with the first things, to the most recent creation, a dreidel, available in my Etsy shop (http://mamamade.etsy.com)

The cat:

The hippo:

Then I started to get brave and make something a little "out there" - a sock monkey cupcake:

The cutest little mug of cocoa ever:

And finally, the dreidel - something I wanted to make for Small Fry, since he'd likely eat a real dreidel:

When I'm not sewing...

I have what I call "craft ADD", that is, I can't focus on one craft medium for too long. My mind starts to wander, and I ponder the possibilities of other things I want to be making. That is why I've got supplies for scrapbooking, cardmaking, photography, painting, soap making, beading, punch needle, embroidery, knitting, and more. It's fun, and I'm never bored (thanks, Mom, for teaching me that!)

A few weeks ago, I was browsing Etsy and came upon the cutest shoes, that turned out to be a pattern for crocheting shoes. I happened to have a "Learn how to Crochet" book, but hadn't tried it because they patterns in the instruction book were from the mid-70's and just didn't pique my interest. But this pattern, marked as "easy" was something I knew I could tackle. I quickly bought the pattern, anxiously awaited for its arrival via email and learned how to crochet. I did some research on the internet, found videos that showed me how to do stitches and after some trial and error, I made a pair of shoes. For some reason, I still haven't taken a picture of them.

These are the shoes I saw that made me have to learn to crochet! Check them (and lots of other cute designs out at http://sylver.etsy.com)

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. Hubby and I took the kids to the bookstore (our oldest, the Monkey, is a book FANATIC), and I took out youngest (Small Fry) to browse the craft books. What I happened to find led to a list of "things I want for Christmas", but some were too good to pass up. I found some cool books on "amigurumi", a Japanese word for "knitted/crocheted stuffed toy". I'd read a little about it on Etsy, because it is a big craze, but since I previously didn't know how to crochet, I really hadn't paid that much attention.

This was one of the books I found - she sells the finished products on Etsy too!

Another of the books I found - I love it! (See how the cute photos make you want to check out the book?)

Well, being a true marketer's dream, the beautiful photos on the front of the two books, pointing right at me, were just what I needed to spend $40 and a subsequent trip to the yarn store to stock up on dozens of colors.

And now when I'm not busy sewing dozens of sock monkey shirts (that's coming in another post), I'm crocheting. I love it because I can make projects quickly and easily, and can crochet when my boys are awake. Small Fry can't come in the studio, since he just likes to eat the glue and get into other trouble. And the Monkey thinks that every time he's in my studio, he gets to watch "Curious George".

So, I'm going to sign off this post, and get my photos ready so you can see what I've made!

I went missing!

I think my real life got the better of me the past few months! I've been busy with family obligations, two increasingly demanding kiddos and by the time I think about the blog, the day is gone. I said the other day to a co-worker, that I make myself shut down the computer, stop knitting/crocheting, etc., by 2am...sometimes I'll watch a show (like Grey's Anatomy) that I've recorded, but it is time for my brain to wind down.

I get up with the boys about 7:30 every morning, so I guess it's good I'm still young...I can continue to burn my candle at both ends.

Anyway, I'm working on a photo essay of "the creation of my monkeys", which will be up soon, but in the meantime, I just had to post a few photos of "Santa Sock Monkey" that I've recently listed in my shop. He looks SO cute, all dressed up as Santa, and I'm hoping that others like him as much as I do.