he wore sneakers....for sneaking

cee is always giving me a hard time--in a joking way--about how come i don't make him anything...aside from the scarves and multiple hats, that is...so as a bit of a snicker, i made him these:

sure they're gorgeous---eeep!---but are they practical, you ask?

well...they fit, he could--hypothetically--wear them, and he even put them on so i could snap a pic....

and i'm sure if it were the dead of winter and all his socks were in the wash or being caninely chewed, that he would consider putting them on and wearing them...in the house...at night...while everyone else is alseep. he was a good sport to put them on in this summer heat and humidity, but his humiliation didn't last long. yes, that's one of the furry kid's legs in the upper corner, casey is a daddy's girl, after all.

now he won't bug me about making him anything for a while.

my fat bottom...............bags

fat bottom bags, you make the rockin' world go 'round....or something like that. this purse is made from a pattern found in a hip new(ish) book called 'stitch 'n bitch crochet: the happy hooker' by debbie stoller. i would highly recommend this book especially for someone just starting out, which i'm not, but that's neither here nor there. i wish this book had been around when i was just starting out, it would have answered a lot of my 'howdeedoodat' questions. still, the book has a diverse selection of patterns for crocheters of all levels to try...like this pattern, called the 'fat bottom bag', which is made in cotton yarn, but i suppose you could alter it and use whichever yarn struck your fancy.

'hey, psst....show us yer lining'....

well, if you insist...the lining isn't part of the pattern in the book, but i figured since it was a crocheted bag, the proper (and smart, unless you like losing yer stuff) thing to do would be to line it...and so i did! now you would think that something as complicated-sounding as lining a purse would be a hard thing to do...but it really isn't, and i think it turned out well.

this pattern didn't really have a lot of holes in it, so you really could get away with not lining it if you wanted to, but i figured what the heck, it was there, i was there, why not? the handles, well that was a bit of a production...they seem to be on the 'endangered species' list around these parts, and they don't come cheap if you do find them, unless you really look, but it's all in a day's work for a crafty wench.

and just in time for canada day:

here's my patriotic contribution to the world of hip must-have fashion accessories....what canadian lass wouldn't proudly stand on guard whilst dangling this beauty from her arm? okay, it's a rhetorical question, you don't all have to answer at once.

all the cuteness, none of the rabies

so i finished another animal...another pattern by kristen. we get these little guys roaming around the streets on 'garbage eve':

one of my favorites is a feisty guy that seems to have lost most of his tail...i like to think it was in some sort of 'westside story'esque battle over some garbage 'turf', complete with hip moves and russ tamblyn as 'rif'...dancing it out for the rights to our recycle box...where is officer krupke when you need him anyway?

seeing raccoons is still a bit of a novelty to me, even though our yard seems to be some sort of mecca for wildlife...i keep waiting for the bear that was spotted a few weeks ago around here to show up for tea and biscuits...while they (raccoons, that is) are so cute and look even more adorable when they are waddling around, they have that sort of air about them that tells you they'd cut your heart out for a quarter and then bum a smoke off you before you died, if they were people, that is...these ones would probably just scratch and bite the hell out of you and pass along whatever life threatening illness they were carrying...and still bum a smoke off you before you died...

give it some more welly

i do like a bit of gorgonzola! cee and i love wallace & gromit, so when a smart lady on the forum made a gromit and put her pattern up, i couldn't resist trying it out:

there were some challenges with this, mostly in finding the right buttons for eyes and nose...i ended up drawing pupils with a sharpie on 1/2 ball pearl shank buttons for the eyes. i'm still not 100% happy with the nose, and cee says both his legs (which aren't shown in the pic) and his ears are too short, but that is neither here nor there. i think i'll keep this one just as he is. now i believe i'll go and have a bit of wensleydale.

come and play

here's another one of kristen's fun patterns:


this little guy was a pleasure to make and took almost no time at all. he wants to play...just don't try to take his cookies! when i took this pic, our two real furry kids were nosing around waiting for the treats...

quacktacular

i tested this cute little duck pattern for a very talented designer named kristen on the crochetville forum:

there he is, all ready to snuggle up and take a nap with a favorite friend. this pattern was fun to do and didn't take very long at all. you have seen another of kristen's patterns on my blog in the form of the little pig (see la grand couchon). for anyone interested in purchasing her patterns, they are very reasonably priced and can be found at her website: kristie'skids

clothy mcwipey

i made these clever little things as part of a 'crochet along' on the c'ville forum. betcha can't guess what it really is....

give up? no, it's not a pair of fancy pants for cee, the furry kids, or even me, it's actually two dishcloths that have been craftily tied together to resemble pants, or as i like to think of it; bloomers.

wouldn't your cuteness gag reflex just overload if you got these as an ingenious shower or hostess gift? i love the little poem that goes with them, there was no author on the site so i'm guessing it's one of anonymous's famous works;

Now don't get excited, don't be misled...

These pants aren't for you, but your kitchen instead.

So take off the bows, and pull out the stitches,

And you'll have two dishcloths, instead of the britches!

who wouldn't cry tears of pure joy after receiving this? well, unless they'd been sniffing glue or drinking heavily, probably everyone, but still...the cuteness!!

world cup widows unite

now i know the bewilderment and forlornness cee must feel when he spies that 'gleam' i get in my eyes when i see a bunch of yarn in a store or decide to try a new project...yes, yes, i've become a world cup widow--again...for those who didn't know (or care), the world cup started today in germany...i've only been hearing about it intermittently for the last few months, and daily for the last few weeks, and hourly for the last few days...gee, do ya think he likes soccer? or, pardon my boorishness, football? he reminded me of a kid waiting for christmas to get here...'only two more sleeps!!' oh well, at least it's only once every four years...go england!!!!!

tea for two

i've never considered myself the 'tea cosy' type. the truth is i've never really put much thought into it, never thought i would ever have the desire either to make one or buy one, but all that changed when i saw a picture of a really charming tea cosy posted on crochetville. the very clever lady was kind enough to put her pattern up for everyone's use, and, as they say, the rest is history:

thanks again to cupcake for her fantastic pattern that was not only fun to make, but also took very little time to complete. i made the large one and then my little herbal teapot looked ashamed of its nudity, so i made one for it, too. i should mention that aside from looking absolutely fab, these things work like a charm...nevermind keeping the pots warm, they keep them hot, hot, hot! which is good if you have a major tea drinker in the house, as cee is. colour wise i may have gone a little nuts on the large pot, but i think it's fun, and we all need a little whimsy in our lives, don't we? on the small pot i was putting colours together and found a combination that made me think about a picture i took of my johnson's blue geraniums on the side of the house:

i don't know what it is about this picture, but i really like it, the pretty lavender/periwinkle colour mixed with the sage green of the leaves--and well, okay, weeds, etc. like it's just overgrown and careless enough to still look pretty. so i tried to 'mimic' that colour combination.

nigel the infamously famous sock monkey thinks they are dead brilliant.

nigel also wants to give a shout out to my nephew tee and niece enn for becoming actual high school graduates...well done!! it seems like only yesterday you were starting school. the future awaits...in the immortal words of the payolas: 'here's the world for you...go tell 'em who you are.'

sniff sniff, i think i'll go now before i start singing 'sunrise, sunset'...