Have made

Just Like Daddy’s

/ jennanana / Leave a comment

Let me tell you about my friends Angie and Nick.. They have the 2nd cutest, loudest Beagle I’ve ever met, and now 2 handsome little men running around their home. Angie just had her second boy a few weeks back so of course I had to crochet him something. Nick is a Union man to the bone, and his (made in America) work boots are one of the most important tools of the trade. I figured I’d give baby Luke a pair just like his daddy. How adorable are these?

JCH_2453

I should make something for their first born again.. I was just learning to crochet when she had him so he got a funny looking hat that was too small to begin with… hmmm..

P.S. All is well in Texas =) I just put my mom back on a flight to Chicago this morning after a 4 day visit. She soaked up the sun and palm trees around Houston and on Galveston, and actually got to see me do work at my Spring Book Club discussion of Kathleen Kent’s novel The Outcasts. It’s really good, go read it.

Jenna

Book Bird Update

/ jennanana / 2 Comments

Book Bird has now been dubbed “Word Bird” at the library! We’ll be rolling him out later this week or early next week. And he even spawned a new pal. I enjoyed making Word Bird so much that I decided to go ahead and make a little green bird to place for sale on my store! Check them out…..

Jenna

Baby Blackhawks Gear!

/ jennanana / 1 Comment

My fingers have been very busy now that I have so much more free time on my hands! Check out one of the items I’m selling made to order. Any Chicago Blackhawks fans out there?

The pattern for the helmet can be found here and the booties are just a regular bootie with an improvised skate.  I’ll just give you an empty promise of a future pattern 😉

Check out how great my friend’s baby (future Patrick Sharp perhaps??) looks in his helmet and skates!

JCH_9824JCH_9817photo 2

1467239_802902026228_1243183244_n

‘Merica

/ jennanana / 8 Comments

Yes, it’s been a while since I posted last. No, i haven’t had a chance to fulfill all of the promises I made in my last post. But I am here to tell you that, five months later, I finished the American flag afghan! It’s a beauty, for sure.  And my Captain America boyfriend loooves it, as does his dog =).

I won’t lie, I finished it over a month ago, but I haven’t had the time or patience to sit down and blog about it. But we’re on the verge of a blizzard right now and I’m in between homework assignments during Spring break, so what the hell.

I got a lotttt done on our trip down to Memphis, because crocheting makes an 8 hour car ride go by a lot faster! Take my word for it….

DSC_7505

The blanket turned out to be a little under 6 ft. long, about 3 1/2 ft wide, so the perfect size for him to curl up with on the couch like he’s been doing every day with it! But he’s not the only one; Midge wanted to stake her claim when I was photographing it, but I sadly had to inform her that it was for Matt.

DSC_7589

Already, my mom told me to make one for my Grandma, and a friend is begging me to make him one, but I’m in no hurry to do that all over again. I don’t even think I can recreate it… I winged practically the whole thing and I’m honestly surprised it worked out.. I mean.. I knew what I was doing the whole time! Not. Anywho, here’s the happy camper with a disgusting smile on his face because he finally got his American flag afghan..! I hope my Midwest and East coast friends are staying warm during the Winter storms! And happy March, everyone =)

photo

Jenna

Afghan: A Finished Product

/ jennanana / Leave a comment

At the end of July I posted about an afghan I was commissioned to make.  Well I made it! I actually finished it a little over a month ago, but haven’t had the time to get around to posting about it.  So let me explain a little bit more about this afghan…

I have a friend in Pittsburgh whose co-worker was looking for someone who could make an afghan.  He sent me a pattern and liked my sample, so a week and a half later I got a big box of yarn in the mail.  I used this pattern from Caron (he sent me a free pattern you would get from a craft store) and though it was a little difficult to figure out in the beginning, I got the hang of it and started cranking out the squares.  I worked on it during most of my free time, and even took it with me on a road trip to the East coast. It took me all summer to make, but it turned out just beautiful! The colors are gorgeous together and, though the yarn was a little cheapy, it ended up being nice an slinky and soft.  So now this afghan has a cozy home somewhere in Pittsburgh and I was able to make someone’s Winter a little more snug.  After I finished it I of course had a photoshoot with it, so here are a few pictures of the finished product..!

 

Yay for completing big projects! This is probably the most time-consuming and most rewarding thing I’ve made, and I couldn’t be happier with it.  If you’re a fellow crochet hooker, what was your biggest yarn endeavor?

Signature

Best Birthday Present EVER?

/ jennanana / 5 Comments

Maybe not ever, but pretty damn sweet! So remember when  in my last post I mentioned that I had something to share for my sister’s birthday?… Well she had her birthday this past weekend so I can finally show off my gift for her! I’ll preface it by letting you know that my sister LOVES Pac Man.  We grew up with a table top Pac Man machine in our basement where my sisters and I would spend hours playing.  The sounds of Pac Man gobbling up yellow dots and those elusive fruits was always coming from our basement (wakka wakka wakka wakka wakka).  In fact, Krystle is so obsessed with Pac Man that she has the little yellow dude and Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde tattoo’d on her! So when I came across a pattern on Ravelry for Pac Man and the ghosts I couldn’t resist.  I don’t know how I kept it a secret from her for so long and didn’t show her as soon as I finished…

I’m happy to report that she looooves them! Their eyes are kind of wonky  and it looks like they’re wearing skirts, but that’s just the perfectionist in me.. They’re so fun and easy to make, I wouldn’t mind making them again! Maybe a Mrs. PacMan?? Hmmm!!…

Signature

I’m still here! And with a baby afghan to show you.

/ jennanana / Leave a comment

I have a confession. And I’m probably not the only ‘blogger’ who does this.  Sometimes I wait weeks to post about a craft or project I’ve done. =O UH OH SECRET’S OUT!! Seriously though, I have things I’ve finished months ago that I haven’t posted about simply because either I forget, I neglected to take a somewhat professional photo of it, or I’m just overwhelmed by the thought of it possibly being a very involved post. However! The semester has come to an anticlimactic ending, and I now have so much free time that I’m planning to be more active in my posting.  Wait, did I say free time? Just yesterday I felt overwhelmed with all of the things I need to get done now that I’m not worrying about deadlines with school! This is why I’ve been AWOL from my blog. Library school is way more involved than I could have ever imagined. But the crochet hooker is still alive and kickin, and swamped with summer projects which I need to find motivation to finish.  It always seems so hard to sit down with a skein of yarn and my hooks when the sun is shining bright in the sky and the birds are beckoning me outside. Of course, I can always work on things outside, but who wants to fuss with a big afghan on your lap when it’s 75 or 80 degrees outside?? Not this gal.

Anywho, I recently finished a baby granny-square afghan! Commissioned by a friend to make it for her friend, it turned out ADORABLE. it was just a simple granny square pattern, but the colors go really well together and it was so nice and cozy that I know any baby would be obliged to sleep with it. Granted it did take me a lottt longer to make and put together than I had anticipated. That’s okay though, it gave me something to do while I listened to audiobooks for my young adult literature class =) Lots of people are amazed I can crochet and listen to an audiobook at the same time.. multitasking!

Since my last post, I’ve been busy with lots of projects which I’ll share now that I can shift my attention from schoolwork to hobbies (I promise!) Previews: another granny square afghan that is a whooole lot more advanced than this, a family of beard hats, and a birthday present for my sister!! I’m way too excited about this last one! Stay tuned!

Signature

p.s. I’m starting a new job today at a car dealership. (Is my excitement just exuding through the computer?) I worked as a cashier/receptionist for the last 5 years in another dealership and thought I was getting away from that. But hey, a job is a job right? Wish me luck!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

/ jennanana / 4 Comments

As a library science student, I obviously love books.  But what I love most is finding fun ways to do more than just read them.  I love to do more interactive activities and find ways to get kids into reading.  My friend Beth has a beautiful baby gal named Brooke and when she came to me and asked if I could recreate her favorite book character, I jumped on it!  The book is Itsy Bitsy Spider by Kate Toms

I haven’t had a chance to take a gander of the book, but apparently Brooke goes crazy over Itsy! So when Beth showed me the cover of the book it looked fairly simple to recreate.  The shape is just a flattened pear shape and the feet, big long tear drops.  I’m so happy with how he turned out! His legs are kind of wonky and dangly, but he’s handsome nonetheless.  I’m  happy to report that Brooke loves her Itsy!  Hopefully she doesn’t love him to pieces…

Itsy and I had a photo shoot =P What is your favorite character you’d love to pieces?

Signature

uhmeeguhroomee

/ jennanana / 2 Comments

I promise I know how to spell. This post is about amigurumi! For the last year I’ve been seeing these cute crochet and knit animals and things with little faces like carrots, cupcakes, acorns, you name it.  I wanted to make them so baaad! I finally gave it a go with an adorable pattern I found for peas in a pod which I posted about back around Christmas. I made them for my pseudo-sister Jessica as a gift (it took everything in me to part with them..)  Since then I’ve made two more attempts at little amigurumi guys and I have to say, I was pretty successful. Toot toot (me tooting my own horn).

I made a pig for my gramma for Valentine’s Day; she’s obsessed with oinkers.  I couldn’t find the perfect pattern so I based one off of this pig from Lion Brand and tweaked it to my liking. Since posting the picture on my Facebook I had a few more requests for the pig! Someone also asked if I could make a bunny so I used this pattern from Lion Brand which resulted in a wittle wabbit. Next project: an owl.  I can’t wait to get started on a little hooter for my friend’s baby =) So here are a few pictures of the little guys… That amazing backdrop is a huge piece of fabric I found at an antique store for only $2.50 btw!

It’s very tedious to make each individual part then sew it on, and they take a little more time to make than I had expected, but they’re so cute that it’s totally worth it.  Stay tuned for future cuteness!

Signature

P.S.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day! I made cupcakes! ..I wish I could actually send you one through the computer, but you can take my word for it that it tastes delicious. Happy Patty’s day to my fellow Irish folk!