WOW time flies... Here's the years update so far

Yikes, 9 months! It's been quite a long time since I posted. Sorry guys, but I do have a lot to share with you... 

So last I posted I was talking about making a Bender doll pattern of my own for a friend. I've since finished him and I think he came out really well.  There were a few pieces that were annoying to figure out like the arms and legs. Getting the right length was a little challenge. Also giving him his defining lines like the drawing was something I had to figure out. I think I'm getting a better handle on writing out my own patterns. I haven't tried any new ones lately though.  

Pattern Writing in my book and the start of benders head.

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After bender was done I worked on an order of baseballs. There were twelve to be made in yellow and green (big Oregon duck fans). The balls themselves were easy to make. I had difficulty getting the stitching to look right. Just to get one to look correct took me what felt like an age, but once the first one came together, the others were a little easier.  Practice makes perfect.

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Stitch is helping me weave in ends.

After those orders were taken care of I got to work on a personal project. I had been planing a trip to Salt Lake City Comic Con with a good friend of mine for September. We were of course going to dress up in cosplays. One of mine was Osgood from 'Doctor Who'. For this I wanted the infamous Baker scarf worn by the 4th Doctor. So I set out to find the right pattern and color scheme. A few adjustments later I was on my way to a very long 13.5 ft scarf. Its crazy and I love it. I also worked on a shirt for this outfit too. Wore this again for Halloween as I passed out candy with my sister. It made my inner geek quite happy.

My happy self headed to SLCC day 1

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For my birthday I got one of those Cupcake Cake pans, really cool. So I finally used it for the 4th of July. It takes about two boxes of cake mix for this cake pan. But it's really cool to use.

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The almost finished Dino Kid. I really love this pattern. Especially after I tweaked it a little. I believe I was working on this one for Woodburn. I did the swap meet there at the drag strip again. Lots of fun with the siblings. And we even camped out this year!

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Had some stuff going on this year and one night I had to do a little art therapy. This is the outcome of maybe an hour or so of that. I really like it, and that short time really helped me find my center of calm again. 

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This lovey was a random project I made around the time I needed a break from writing out Bender. The granny square pattern was something simple to calm my mind and something that didn't require a ton of thought. I like how it came out, even if its arms are a little uneven and its ears curl. I made the blanket in a 5 point granny square.

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Before I headed out on my comic con trip in August, I got an order from an old college friend for this cute little kitty. It's key chain size and perfect to carry around. It was fun to work on and I have plans to make more of them. The plus is they work up pretty fast like my tiny turtles do.   

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I just finished up this elephant. It was featured in another post about projects that needed finishing. Well its done and I decided it could use a little heart on its bum. This random project turned into an order recently. I'd do a review, but its been so long since I worked on most of this pattern. I'll try it out again for a review post. So this guy should be headed to a new home very soon.

 

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I posted this one on Instagram. Thought it was better then all the stuff people were posting about the election that night. I've finished ten of these candy canes since and still have a few more to make....

While others may be watching the election unfold, I'm binge watching #thecrown , while getting updates on the election. I'm also working on a personal project of Christmas decorations. Candy Canes & Lights.
These candy canes I'm working on are very close to my heart. We have a similar set that my grandmother had made years ago, and now I'm adding my own to the collection. Wish I could have found my love of crochet while she was still around and shared it with her.
#DeviouslyCrafty #crochetlove

I usually don't like the whole early Christmas stuff. That holiday shouldn't be heard from till December 1st in my opinion. But I need to get these decorations done before then so we can actually use them this year. 

As I wrote in the post, these candy canes are very near to my heart. I even teared up writing that. Which was not something I expected.  But they are just that special to me. They are also very easy to make up. I'll post reviews on these and my lights next month for something Christmas related. 

Well that's all for this massive update. As you can see you can now follow me on Instagram at DeviouslyCrafty.

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Happy Crafting!

 

Feeling better and back to things

Okay so I know it's been a month (or more) since my last post. Yikes! But I have plenty to talk about. 

So I finished that yoshi for a birthday present. Took a few days longer than I would have liked. But he got done and wrapped up and is in his new home. Kevin is apparently in love with it, which couldn't make me happier. 

Right my inspiration and goal. Left my sketch

Next up was a special request for Bonnie from the 'Five Nights At Freddy's' video game. My friend Liz asked for it and is really excited for him.
For this one I couldn't find a pattern or at least one I liked. This is the first full pattern I've written and I don't intend to do it often. Not a huge fan of writing patterns as I've mentioned before. Although I guess it wasn't so bad.
The biggest pain to figure out was the ears. I had a particular look we were going for. Over all I think things worked out and he looks like the reference picture I have.

Can't wait for him to get to his new home!!

first peak at Bonnie. I was worried about the face a little.

All finished up. We decided to add the tail for cuteness. Good choice.

On to my next order. This one is for my friend Courtney. She asked me a few months back if I could do up a Bender from 'Futurama' and a  Stitch. So I'm on to those. Stitch is easy, I already have a pattern I love for him. He'll probably be done up first for a a bit of a break. But Bender is another story. If she wanted a hat that would be cake to find. The stuffed toy (or amigurumi) on the other hand, not so much. So it's back to the note book for this one as well. Wish me luck! Again its luck he is simple shapes for the most part. 

At the end of January I made red velvet cupcakes for the January birthdays.I never got a chance to take a picture of them frosted an sprinkled. I love our homemade cake recipe. I tried a different homemade frosting after the original didn't turn out. It was super sweet but not bad with the right amount of cake.

Today I finish up a week hanging with Nolan and Burtie again. And another week before my next gig, hanging with the Fairy Dogmothers pack while she visits family. 

On a final personal note, I have been feeling 100% the past week or so. I admit I never thought I'd do yoga but would now recommend it for back pain relief. I am under the belief that it boosted my recovery and put some extra pep in my step. Now I can get back to walks and feel normal again. 

So on to may orders again. Stitch is calling to be worked on.

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Happy Crafting!

The latest Rag Doll and yoga

Yay! First order of the year is finished. 

So the client told me a little bit about what was going on with her friend that she wanted to send Patti Cakes here too. Her friend whose nick name is stitched on this doll, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. I did some googling to double check that the dress color was the right one for that kind of cancers ribbon. Periwinkle blue is the color for stomach cancer. So Sandra (the woman who ordered this doll) wanted something for her friend to hold during chemo/radiation. She asked for her dress to match the ribbon color with lavender mixed in, because it was a nice color combination. She also asked that I make her soft and squishy, and I tried my very best to do a light stuff on this one. This doll ships out tomorrow and I really do hope that Sandra, and also Patti, are pleased with her. And I hope for the best for Patti on her journey and that this gives her at least a little bit of comfort during this hardest of times. 

I also added a sea-foam/teal to her for added color. I liked the three combined.

On another note I started to do some yoga this weekend to help out my back. Since I've been feeling so much better, I'd say around 75% of how I used to be, I wanted to start something that would be beneficial in the short and long run. Plus it would get me moving and less stiff. The cold weather has been hard on me this year and making me super stiff. I'm focusing on sequences that are to help lower back/sciatica pain since thats where I need the most help at the moment. Once I'm feeling more like my old self I think I'll get into the basic yoga stuff.

Around new years I went out and picked up my yoga mat. Mostly I wanted a mat to make doing my back stretches easier and so I could move from the bed to the floor to get more out of them. Then this weekend I decided to search youtube for routines that were geared toward the back. And now that I've started this stuff, I've realize how not flexible I am and need to stretch out my hamstrings. Just another thing to work on I guess.

 

Along with the new routine of yoga I found a quicky(ish) pattern to go along with my new activity. Made myself some yoga socks yesterday. Making these is kinda like doing a scarf or hat in that they are easy make, but take more time then you think they might. Hopeful they can keep my feet a little warmer while I start doing yoga. My toes are generally cold so I know my feet won't be toasty by any means but these can help a bit. 

This is a no frills pattern and that is the reason I picked it out. I didn't want some frilly looking socks I wouldn't like wearing. I picked this basic pattern and once you do one sock the other is simpler to hammer out. Of course my first one some how is a little baggier then the second but who knows how that happened. LOL.

The only adjustment I had to make with this was because of size difference. The pattern is written for a size 7.5-8 and I'm more of a 9.5-10 size foot. And the adjustments weren't even difficult and the writer even addressed making adjustments which was very nice. 

Review Time

▪ Pattern Readability - 5 Yarn Balls... Love that this is for all skill sets.
▪ Ease of Pattern - 5 Yarn Balls.... Easy to follow and has notes, plus pictures throughout for advice and help.
▪ Adjustments - 5 Yarn Balls... can't knock this one for adjustments when its a fit issue.
▪ Final Product - 5 Yarn Balls... They're customizable which makes them awesome.
▪ Personal - 5 Yarn Balls.... Other than the fact that my first one came out a little funny this is a great pattern. I might make these again.
▪Overall Score - A perfect 5 Yarn Balls. This really is an excellent and simple pattern. 

So I checked one more order off my list and made something for myself *gasp*. Next order is a green Yoshi. So thats what I've got this week. Maybe I'll have time for a new pattern, maybe I won't. Have a good one everyone.

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Happy Crafting!

HAPPY 2016 EVERYONE!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

I know I've been M.I.A. (missing in action) for the last few weeks and off and on again for the last few months. I want to get back to things this year. So since I failed at the weekly posing in 2015, I want to try it again here in 2016. Wish me luck! But I'm not going to do the new pattern a week. Instead to keep things fresh while I work on orders or inventory, I will do at least one new pattern a month with a review like always. I think I can manage that commitment. Balance is important, and as great as last years challenge was, at times it was a bit impractical. 

On to a holiday mega post, in 3... 2... 1.....

In my last post I promised pictures of the handsome Rocco. And here they are. I just love his little mohawk. Best part about it is that its natural. They don't do anything to give him that. He was a born rocker. 

As I mentioned last time, I got to spend two weeks with this awesome pup. He was a great sport with me having to be gone most days running back into town for one reason or the other.

Like Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory), he had his spot. Here he could chill or bark at anyone who went by the house.

After a little home rest I had the delight of spending a weekend, the weekend before Chirstmas in fact, with Nolan (in white) and Burtie (the brunette beauty). Great pair of pups. Along with them was their house mate Gus. He's a cuddle bug when he isn't asking to go outside. All three loved their cuddles and love.  

My first morning wake up.

GUS! First night there, cuddling on the couch.

Before I left them. Such great pups.

So glad to see such a happy face. Got this picture from Bowser's new home a few days before Christmas. YAY! I love seeing happy faces with my stuff. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. Or at least thats me. On Christmas my niece couldn't put down her cowgirl rag doll. She loves all the stuff I've made her. She was even playing with her new baby sisters little lamb. Love those girls. 

For me, Christmas isn't just family, food, and gifts. It also means the last new Doctor Who episode of the year, their Christmas special. If you've watched the show you might understand why I'm wearing two pairs of antlers. If you don't or do and can't figure it out, this is my nod to Wilfred Mott. He is one of the great non-companions and grand dad to Donna Noble. He's an awesome guy that loves the doctor for himself and Donna. And even better the Doctor was wearing antlers for at least a second in the special. 

I wore them most of the day before they started to bug me. They didn't fit well on my head together and the brown ones are a bit heavy. I took them off for a bit and slipped them back on for the special. 

 Speaking of food... this is the biggest tradition my family has. I don't consider it Christmas morning without it. My favorite treat of the WHOLE year... Monkey Bread or cinnamon pull a part. I've helped my dad make this every Christmas morning since I can remember. Now he helps me or my sisters and I do it together. And we only make it once a year so its always a special treat for us. YUMMMM!

Our New Years was off to an interesting start. The house got a wake up call at 4am to a drunk messing with the door. He even stole our door nob. We have an old door with an old nob set that has stripped screws. So if you don't handle it correctly, or even when you do, it brakes apart. We're used to it and laugh when new people freak when it comes apart. Best house gag ever. But now we have to search out a new set that fits perfect. Still haven't gone since we got a lovely winter snow the last few days. But its cleared up now and me and dad will be on the hunt in the next few days. Damn door nob stealing drunks!!

I also finally found something that could fix my laptop charger cord. I read about this little company thats been gaining followers the last few years. They make a mouldable glue that drys into a rubber. They're name's Sugru (Sue-groo) and I've got to say I'm liking their product. After exploring their website you can find a ton of uses for this stuff. 

 

 

 

Poor cord has seen better days.

My poor cord. I've had this laptop since the summer of 2008. Its been around a long time in computer terms and has traveled with me to Idaho and back. Plus to every house gig I have. I've replaced the battery and I thought I was gonna have to do the same to my charger. The casing around the cords had completely come away from the head and I was trying to keep it together/from getting worse with some electrical tape. It helped but the tape would slide around and just make things a bit sticky. Cleaning the cord off before I used Sugru was a messy pain. 

Possibly the only thing saving my cord.

 So Sugru is pretty much like play-doh when you open it up. And best part is you can mix colors. My hardware store only had the tri-color pack (once it finally came in). So I decided to make green. Purple was a close second choice. And like play-doh its easy to use. I do suggest if you decide to get this product to go to their site and watch a few of the short videos on how to use it. It helps when your working with it later. 

Playing with Sugru.

Mix it (or not), mold it, and let it dry. Very important to make sure it isn't touching anything you don't want bonded to what you're fixing or improving. I did this up yesterday and let it sit a full 24+ hours and I'm happy with it. I'm not worried about my charger anymore. And instead of spending $50 or more on a new charger I spent $12 on Sugru and have more to play with. I call it a good buy.

All done.... Now to dry.

 

Got the idea to fix the cracking body of my laptop. Looks kinda cool.

I also did a little cosmetic improvement on my laptops body. I guess I'm not the only Macbook owner with cracks on the edge of the case. Really, go look at all the types of stuff people have done with this stuff. I give this product 5 Yarn balls. Its awesome stuff!

And finally we get to crochet news. With all the holiday crazy I wasn't able to finish this order yet. I may have finished the Christmas orders early but I lacked energy with the holiday hub-bub to work on the next set of orders on my to-do list.

I did start this one though.  I'll do more on the story of this order once she's done next week. But this is the first of the next five (5) or so orders. Never ending and I love it.

Well that all, until next week. 

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Happy Crafting!

Dinos, Dogs, and a cold

Kali and Katie ready for bed.

As you know I decided to take the week off from orders. I think it went well until I caught my father's cold. So since about Thursday I've been battling the first sickness of the season. That was also my first full day of doggie sitting in the windy city of Troutdale. While everyone was pulling up to tables of turkey dinner, I was on the couch trying to feel better. Thankfully Kali and Katie were awesome pups, glad to spend the extended weekend with them (Wednesday night through today). Lots of chilling and marathoning tv and movies on Netflix. Nothing better when you're sick than to just try to relax.

It wasn't a total bust week. I did get to make a few little Dino clad dolls. I kinda love this pattern too. I made the green/yellow one first. She is a keeper, and I do mean that. She is mine now I have claimed her. But I wanted to make a few adjustments to the pattern once I was done. Which is why I made Mr. Gray. I was happy that the adjustments worked out and I was able to make them both before I got sick.  

Adjustments:

• I decided after getting most of the first one assembled it needed a tail. So I whipped one up right fast. So glad I did. Looked off without one. The back spikes looked off before the tail.
• On Mr. Gray I decided that the body was a little fatter then it needed to be, so I reduced that a touch.
• I also widened the tummy strip too. Thought that was a bit wimpy. 
• I centered the hood design too. 
• Next was giving him actual feet. Stick legs were easy to make but bumping out the feet wasn't hard either. And looks better.
• I gave a little more of a hand. It looks more like the pattern picture now.  (The thought of thumbs came to mind but on something this small I didn't see the point.)
• And since I didn't have buttons I did yarn eyes. Which came out pretty good. Might stay with those instead of buttons in the future.

Aren't they cute!!!

~REVIEW: Dino Dayne~ 

▪ Pattern Readability - 

5 Yarn Balls. Very well written, no issues there. 

▪ Ease of Pattern - 

5 Yarn Balls. Great pattern for a beginner.
The hood is probably the hardest piece and it was easy to follow.

▪ Adjustments - 

5 Yarn Balls. Honestly you don't NEED to adjust this pattern. I just did for personal taste, cuz thats how I roll. 
 

▪ Final Product -

5 Yarn Balls. Super cute and bigger then the pictures make him look.  
 

▪ Personal -
 5 Yarn Balls. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! First dino pattern I've come across that works. Next is to find dinosaur pattern that isn't humanized. 

▪Overall Score -

Easy math. . . .  a full 5 Yarn Balls!!

 I also started on a minion pattern but since I wasn't feeling well he barely got started. I will most certainly get back to that pattern, just might be a bit. Sad, because I thought my off week was going to be super productive. But instead of projects, I just made mucus, Eeeeewwwwww.

 Now I'm at a new pup gig, not far from the last one. This is a two weeker, came on suddenly. Rocco is a cutie, pictures next week for sure. And as I try to get over this cold I will again start on orders. That is once I pick up the yarn I need from home.

So I hope everyone else enjoyed the holiday and I'll write next week. *fingers crossed*

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Happy Crafting!

Elmo

So this week I worked on Elmo. I got frustrated by about Thursday because I ran out of red yarn and I thought I had more. So I couldn't finish him till after Saturday when I picked up more yarn. Not the biggest fan of this one. I think his head came out funny, mostly because of the open moth pattern. I think I put the eyes on funny too, but the kid getting it won't see it that way I'm sure. She'll just be happy to have her own Elmo. His nose is actually orange, the flash just washed it out in these photos. 

I cut down the original mouth pattern because I thought I was going to be too big, and it would have been. At the size I made it the moth on him was too big. I think the way the head is constructed makes it look weird after you stuff him as well. So this probably isn't a pattern I'll do very often if much at all.

I do think I could make a cute Dino out of the Head/body bit of this pattern. We'll have to see on that though. . . .  Elmo also marks the end of the Christmas orders. I still have more orders to get to, but he was the last to be finished for the holidays. So I think I'll take this week and work on something for fun. Of course I also might just get working on the rest of my orders. Who knows, I have to decided fast though. I have to pack for a house sitting gig that starts Wednesday. 

REVIEW TIME

▪ Pattern Readability - 

5 Yarn Balls. Its actually a well written pattern.

▪ Ease of Pattern - 

4 Yarn Balls. Part of the pattern for the Head/Body is a little funny. It tells you to 'increase/decrease (blank) times evenly spaced'. I hate when people write this. It makes it harder on the reader.
 

▪ Adjustments - 

4 Yarn Balls. The moth adjustment I made, plus I think this can be improved on. Just not totally sure how I should go about it yet.
 

▪ Final Product - 

4 Yarn Balls. Its cute, fairly easy pattern, and mostly accurate.
 

▪ Personal - 

3 Yarn Balls. The head on this guy really bugs me and he needed thumbs too.
 

▪Overall Score -  

4 Yarn Balls even. 

He may have scored high but like I said I'm not likely to make him in the future. At least not without making some changes. I do want to try the dino thing though. Now that could be cute.

We also did our Thanksgiving festivities early this year. With me house sitting and one of my sisters working retail, we thought it would be easier on everyone to go ahead and do it early. So a normal Thanksgiving Saturday for us around here. Hope everyone else has a good holiday and takes it easy on the Black Friday sales. No need to kill yourselves over a lousy deal (as you can tell I'm not a Black Friday fan. I just don't get the camping out and killing people to get to the door and certain item thing).

As always you guys can find me on Etsy 

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Happy Crafting!

Experiment #626

Since Bowser was finished on Halloween, I've been working on a cowgirl rag doll and Stitch. I'm happily surprised that my orders are almost finished out. I only have one more doll to make on the Christmas orders list. But more lined up after the holidays, Wooo!!

For the Rag Doll I had to change up the leg pattern. I wanted to give her cowboy boots and took some time to modify the original pattern to fit my needs. I've said in the past, pattern making isn't my favorite and can be a really big pain, but this worked out pretty good on the first try. I also brought out the hat pattern I used on Rufus the dog back in July. I guessed on the hook size I needed to fit the doll and got really lucky. Although once I added her hair I wish I had used a bigger hook. I underestimated hair volume and had some trouble figuring out how to place the hat and how to do her hair. Live and learn I guess.

For this doll I also add a horseshoe design on the dress. I couldn't find any patches I liked that were small enough for her dress and went the rout of embroidering it myself. Not too bad for free hand. And I'm glad I had the PERFECT button for her dress too. I think this doll came out perfect and I couldn't be happier with it. I really hope my niece enjoys her new friend.

 Next we have Experiment #626 a.k.a Stitch. Our lovable outlaw alien. 

If it wasn't for this order it probably would have been a while before I got to this great pattern. I will most defiantly be making this one again, and in more colors too. I have almost no bad things to say about this pattern. Almost. 

The pattern as a whole is quite solid and I didn't notice, what I'm gonna call a typo, till I was assembling. I think the ear patterns were miss labeled and just need to be reversed. Not the biggest of deals but I made note of it for next time. Its why the pink inner ear looks lumpy. Either it was miss labeled or someone forgot to mention that the directions are in UK crochet and not US. Yes there is a difference in stitches between the two. Not sure which is right but I'm gonna go with typo. 

I also decided to make a few extra pieces with this. I started with the tummy strip. They wrote that into the body pattern but I've had issues in the past of these just coming out wonky and made the decision that a little more work was better then not being happy with the look later. And honestly it wasn't that hard to do up. They also addressed this issue in the pattern and gave a tip on how to fix it, but I just passed on that potential headache. The next two pieces came at the very end after I'd put this adorable alien together. If you've ever seen Lilo & Stitch you know he's got markings on his back. This pattern didn't have them at all and I just couldn't stand not putting them on. He didn't look right to me without them. So I took maybe the better part of an hour to make them up. They aren't perfect by any means but they are, kinda, close. This is me being super anal, again, about making things look correct when they are reproductions of popular characters.

And I love that he sits up on his own. I love this little guy.

 Review Time:

▪ Pattern Readability -  

 5 Yarn Balls. This has been one of the best written patterns I've had in a while. A+
 

▪ Ease of Pattern -  

5 Yarn Balls. This is a decent pattern for a beginner. They even give a GREAT brake down on how to assemble.
 

▪ Adjustments - 

 4.5 Yarn Balls. Honestly it was mostly because of my preferences. But the ear thing is the only knock down. And it's not even a big deal.
 

▪ Final Product -  

5 Yarn Balls. Anyone can make or have this adorable guy.
 

▪ Personal - 

 5 Yarn Balls. I'd give it a higher score if I wasn't on a 1-5 scale. And I think the makings make a difference.
 

▪Overall Score - 

 4.9 Yarn Balls. . . .  technically. We'll just call it an even 5.

It was super fun making Stitch this week. Next up we have Elmo. I doubt he'll be much of a pain, just a lot of red yarn. But you never know right?

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Happy Crafting!