Maybe Matilda

Hair Shmair (John Frieda Product Review)

2013-04-29T23:01:00.001-05:00

This post brought to you by John Frieda. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now, I'll just come out and say it right now: I'm not terribly fancy when it comes to beauty products. I have avoided department store makeup very much on purpose, because I'm worried the difference in comparison to my drugstore makeup will be too great to deny and I'll be forced against my will to spend 4 jillion dollars on makeup each year. And I have only been introduced to salon quality hair products in the past year or two, when I hoped that splurging on fancypants products would make growing out my short pixie haircut a little more interesting and enjoyable. I almost hate to admit that I can tell a difference when I use salon hair products vs. drugstore products, because I hate spending much money on something goofy like my hair, but it is what is it. I'm still avoiding fancy makeup at all costs, but I might maybe may be just a tad converted to at least some salon hair products.

So I was excited to have the chance to try out some John Freida goodies. John Frieda hair care products are salon quality, but can be purchased at Walmart, so best of both worlds I guess, right? You won't spend a fortune, but you'll get some good bang for your buck.

Here are the products I got to take for a test drive: (from left to right) Full Repair Shampoo and Conditioner, plus Full Repair Hydrate + Rescue Deep Conditioner, Brilliant Brunette Colour Protecting Shampoo and Conditioner, Luxurious Volume Shampoo and Conditioner, and Frizz-Ease Smooth Start Shampoo and Conditioner.

My thoughts on the products: The first thing I noticed was that they all smelled fantastically salon-ish, if that makes sense. You know how when you get your hair professionally done, and the products smell out-of-this-world good and, somehow, they actually do smell expensive, and you hate to go back home and wash it in a day or two with your own crappy products because you'll lose that fancy salon smell? These products (especially the Full Repair line) smelled to me like salon products, which I guess makes sense if they are salon quality, and I loved walking around all day catching whiffs of my own fancy-smelling hair.

(Would that the screen were scratch-n-sniff.)

My favorite product, hands down, was the Full Repair Hydrate + Rescue Deep Conditioner. I'm always a fan of a good deep conditioner, and this one did not disappoint. It left my hair feeling incredibly soft and smooth, and I even think it styled a bit easier after use, and held the style for longer than usual. In the picture above, I had just used the Full Repair Shampoo and Deep Conditioner, and I was able to get better-than-usual curls, which lasted well into a second day of wear, and never felt 'crispy' or dry the way curls sometimes do. This is one product I'll be happy to restock when my bottle runs out.

I also liked the Luxurious Volume Shampoo and Conditioner--although I honestly have my doubts that a shampoo or conditioner can do much to help with volume (other than by simply not being a very heavy formula), I think I got exactly the same results using it as I typically get with my Kenra Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner, which cost like 4 times more, which I find really annoying, to tell you the truth. (Will Ulta accept a refund on the Kenra shampoo/conditioner I bought 6 months ago?) Here's a picture of the day I used the Luxurious Volume line.

Enjoy the photobomb of Forrest in the backseat, complete with a tractor in his mouth. Is he eating it? Kissing it? The world may never know.

As for the Frizz-Ease line, I'm not sure I have anything incredible to say in either direction. Apart from the nice smell, I didn't insanely love or insanely dislike it--I thought it was just dandy, I guess. No complaints, no rave review, but frizz is not my greatest hair issue, so I may have been the wrong person to test out an anti-frizz product. And once I realized the Brilliant Brunette line is meant to be used on color-treated hair, I only opened it to take a smell (mmmm), and will be passing it on to someone who dyes their hair (seems like a waste to use color-treated shampoo on my own non-color treated hair), so I can't remark on it, either. But two thumbs up to the Full Repair and Luxurious Volume products, especially the Full Repair Deep Conditioner.

You can find video tutorials and product videos on the John Frieda hair care products brand page if you're looking for more info.

Rip Slip (or, some Ripply Crochet Goodness)

2013-04-29T15:54:00.001-05:00

SEO be damned, I’LL NEVER STOP GIVING MY BLOG POSTS STUPID TITLES!!!

If you’re a crocheter/crochet appreciator on Instagram, I’d highly recommend you follow OneCraftyLady. She crochets the loveliest things, and I’m always inspired by her creative color choices and gorgeous photography. Anywho, before I creep her out (is she reading?! I would die), I’ll get to the point: she’s been working on a ripple blanket recently, and it is just so pretty and perfect that I had to try it out myself.

I pulled a few colors from my stash and liked the way this dusty purple, cream, and greige looked together:

No big surprise there, but I’m not terribly adventurous when it comes to my color combos. Nice and safe makes me happy. The ripples are quick and satisfying to crochet—kind of monotonous and repetitive, which makes it sound boring, which I guess it kind of is . . . but sometimes I like boring. It’s nice to be able to crochet without hardly thinking about it.

I used this ripple tutorial from Attic 24 to model my blanket after. I’m doing 3 rows of each color to end up with thick, solid stripes, and her instructions are very clear and simple, so if you’re newer to crochet or have never tried a ripple before, I think you’ll be well-equipped if using her instructions.

And shortly after posting the above pictures, a pregnant friend emailed me a color list to use so I could make one for her soon-to-debut little boy, and it’s coming along swimmingly as well:

(In case my cell phone pictures have distorted the colors, the stripes are light gray, mint, charcoal gray, white, and blue.)

Since there are so many more colors involved in this one, I’m only doing two rows of each color, so each one gets plenty of showtime in the blanket. These are super fun to make, and hopefully I’ll have the little guy’s blanket done in just a few days.

(The pictures are from my Instagram—you can find me at maybematilda if you want more.)

March Goal Recap

2013-04-02T12:56:00.001-05:00

So, in an effort to be more productive and not get bogged down by yearly goals that heaven knows I’ll never accomplish, I’m trying out a monthly goal system this year. It has worked decently so far, and I’ve found it really motivating to have a smaller list of specific tasks rather than a huge yearly system. You can see my March ambition HERE, and now that we have entered a new month, it’s time to review my wild success. Ready?

This is going to be embarrassing . . . .

. . . .

NOPE.

That’s a big ol’ fail for the entire month. What happened, you ask? Idunno. Forrest spent the first week of the month puking, I had some last-minute travel, then I wasn’t feeling so hot myself, then Jeff ended up having to cover two offices for a week instead of just his own office, plus the weather was nice enough that Forrest and I spent about every spare moment riding his trike outside and visiting the park (where, of course, I interacted nonstop with him because I am an all-star mom hahaha #goodone) . . . phew. I’m tired.

In my defense . . . March wasn’t a total flop. At the very least, I did brainstorm some jewelry storage ideas, and did one or two of the multiple small touch-ups I had hoped to do in Forrest’s room, and although 1 dessert per week was a long shot to start with, I definitely did cut down on my typical treat consumption. And sure, I only made my bed once (that’s right! one time!) all month, and the ‘inviting someone for dinner’ was partially fulfilled when I threw a birthday party for my brother (counts, right?), and my sewing machine is gathering dust . . . but I read some books this month! One goal out of eight: check!

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore: 3/5 stars. It was quick and pretty enjoyable, but in the end, a little too much for me to take.

The Round House: 3/5 stars. Definitely impressive in terms of the writing and construction and delivery, but not one I necessarily loved reading. I respected it, but I didn’t love it.

The One and Only Ivan: 4/5 stars. Adorable and so sweet. I’ll admit: I cried a tad at the ending. So lovable.

Something Missing: 3/5 stars. Quirky and different and endearing and fun. It’s sure not going to change your life or anything, but I read it all in one day while feeling under the weather and it was quick and fun and had a few cute laugh-out-loud moments.

Clockwork Angel: 4/5 stars. I’m a little behind the times on this series, but it’s new to me and I actually really liked the first book! I tend to stay away from YA, and fantasy, and YA fantasy, but I thought this book was really engaging and exciting and unique. I’m working on the second in the series now.

So March wasn’t a total bust, but I can’t say I got many important things done. Oh well, we all need some time off every now and then, right? Right.

More Last Minute Easter Crochet

2013-03-25T12:41:00.001-05:00

So, at about this time in 2011, I wrote a post sharing some cute crochet patterns that would make awesome last minute Easter gifts. And for some reason, it got and continues to get a good amount of attention (weird—I’m always kind of surprised when any of the garbage I write here gets attention), so I figured I’d do another one this year with newer pattern ideas!

Now, first things first: I get at least one email a week asking for the pattern to the chick in a bunny suit I made and linked to in the previous Easter post:

The good news: it’s a super cute, super fast little project that will work up in no time, perfect for tucking into an Easter basket.

The bad news: it used to be free, and now it’s not. But it’s only $3, and you can find it right HERE in the Dawnie Dolls etsy shop. (The photo above is my version of the project, which I took some liberties with, so make sure to check out the listing pictures to see how making one exactly as written will turn out!)

Now that’s out of the way, here are my top 5 picks for quick, adorable Easter crochet patterns (all free!) that would be perfect to start and finish in one or two days and add to an Easter basket! (Note: while a few of these are on my to-do list, I haven’t made any of them yet, so I can’t comment on the patterns themselves or finished projects made using them!)

If there is a Peeps fan in your house, this Easter Peeps pattern would be so cute and funny to make for them! I have no fondness for Peeps, so the crocheted version looks much better to me than the real deal.

I love the idea of making a dozen colorful little Easter eggs to use for decorating or filling baskets. Sure beats dyeing eggs every year—not my favorite holiday activity. Get the free Easter egg crochet pattern HERE!

I love the unique look of these little Easter bunnies! So colorful and cheerful, and the lack of appendages would make them SO quick to work up. Get the pattern HERE.

Doesn’t this little Easter chick look so sweet? It’s hard to tell how big he turns out, but I’m guessing he’s little enough to tuck into an Easter egg. Awwww! Get the pattern HERE.

And last but not least:

I love the Boxy Skirt Bunny! They look cute in every color combo, and look like they’d be a lot of fun to customize and play around with. Get the pattern (a Ravelry download) right HERE.

Have you crocheted anything for Easter this year?

5 Awesome Dinners

2013-03-18T14:14:00.001-05:00

So, I thought I had shared 5 of my favorite dinner recipes, oh, a few weeks ago. Maybe a month or two, max. I thought maybe I’d make it a monthly or every-other-month regular thing.

Turns out, it’s been six months since I wrote that post. Whoops!

So here I am again, 6 months later, with 5 more of our favorite dinner recipes. I mentioned in my previous 5 recipes post that while I enjoy cooking, I get bored repeating recipes and would much rather try something new than repeat something I’ve made before. So a recipe only makes the repeat list of it’s really tasty, quick and simple to make, and a crowd-pleaser. With that criteria in mind, here are 5 recent favorites that are delicious enough to make again and again. (And, in case you are the suspicious type, this post isn’t sponsored or anything, and the people who wrote the recipe don’t know me . . . just dishes I love and think you might like, too.)

1. Chicken Ranch Tacos

Recipe and photo from Do You Smell That?

These tacos are quick and easy to pull together, and really delicious. If you don’t like the taste of Ranch dressing, you might need to keep moving, but these are always a big hit at our house. Even a certain picky someone who refuses to eat meat of any kind unless it comes in a hot dog package gobbles this up. Find the recipe HERE.

2. Classic Chicken and Rice Soup

Photo and recipe from Picky Palate

I know, chicken and rice soup sounds about as boring as it gets. But this recipe is a real keeper, and I’ve probably made it a dozen times this winter alone. I can’t put my finger on what exactly sets it apart from other chicken soups, but something about it is just so perfect and so delicious. Plus, it’s quite healthy, and makes for absolutely divine leftovers the next day. Find the recipe HERE.

3. German Pancakes

Photo and recipe from Allrecipes

You probably don’t need one specific recipe for this favorite—almost every recipe I’ve seen for German Pancakes is nearly identical—but this is the perfect last minute “the fridge is completely empty!” meal. It’s quick, it hardly requires any ingredients, and it tastes great. We like it best topped with butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. Toss together a fruit salad for a side dish, and you’ve got dinner on the table in like 20 minutes, tops. Perfect.

4. BBQ Chicken Pizza

Photo and Recipe from Two Twenty One

Another no-brainer here: quick and simple, you probably have all the ingredients in your fridge right now, and everyone always loves it. We rarely ever have leftovers of BBQ Chicken Pizza. If you’re feeling ambitious and have a little more time on your hands, you can step it up by making homemade pizza crust, but even on store bought dough/crust, this one is a favorite. Find the recipe HERE.

5. Chicken Tortilla Soup

Photo and recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

I can’t say enough good things about this soup. It is absolute perfection. Smooth and creamy and savory and just a tad spicy—delicious. The soup itself is delicious, but top it with some sour cream, avocado, lime juice, and cilantro, and you’ll be in heaven. It makes a lot, which I didn’t mind at all—I was perfectly happy to eat it for lunch every day all week before it finally ran out. This one will be getting repeated very often. Find the recipe HERE.

How to Get Rid of Extra Chains from Foundation Chain (Crochet)

2013-03-15T07:02:00.000-05:00

That’s a wordy title, isn’t it? Can’t think of a more succinct way to put it, though, so it’s staying. I thought I’d cover a nifty crochet trick I learned recently. Maybe it’s common knowledge and not worth doing a full-blown tutorial on, but I figured that if I didn’t realize this was an easy option for hiding foundation chain screwups, surely someone else doesn’t know and could benefit from learning it as well.

If you’re anything like me, you probably lose track of how many chains you’re making when starting in on bigger projects . . . if you’re making a blanket, for instance, and you’re starting with a whopping foundation chain of 100 chains or 200 or even more, you’re bound to lose count at some point and either have to go back and tally them up, or just hope for the best and move on. And if you’re really like me, you’ll get the number of starting chains wrong anyway, even if you’ve counted and recounted, and you won’t realize the count is off until you’ve finished your first row and have extra chains dangling at the end.

I never knew there was a quick and simple fix for this. All along, I’ve been either ripping my work apart and starting over when I ended up with too many chains, or forging onward and trying to find a way to hide those extra chains by sewing them into the project (which makes for a bulky, awkward finish that probably no one but you will notice, but still—it’ll bug you). There is a better way. A MUCH better way. And if this is news to you, like it was to me, you’ll be kicking yourself for never realizing how easy it could be to get rid of those extra chains.

So you’ve reached the end of your first row. You have the correct stitch count, you’ve followed your pattern carefully, but curses! Extra chains! You don’t want to mess with the pattern to include them, but you don’t want to just leave them hanging there as a reminder that you miscounted your foundation chain. Here’s what you need to do.

1. Find your extra chains. You’ll have a knot on the far left, then however many chains you overshot your foundation row by. I have two extra chains here. Dangnabbit!

2. Grab a blunt needle and use it to loosen up the knot. Maybe you’ll be able to do this with your fingers . . . I can’t. Just pull that knot loose with the needle or your fingers, and undo it.

3. Now just carefully unravel those extra chains. They won’t just rip loose, like you’re used to when you have to pull your work out. Since you’re kind of working backwards here—from the bottom end instead of the top--you’ll have to manually unravel each individual chain.

4. Once your extra chains are pulled loose and you’ve reached the first real stitch of the row, just pull the yarn tail tight, and you’re all done! When you get a few more rows out of the way, you can go ahead and weave that tail in, and no one will ever know you messed up your foundation chain.

Simple, right? I can’t believe I’ve ripped out so much work in the past because I didn’t realize I could just undo the knot and unravel the chains. Totally kicking myself for all that wasted time, but hey, at least I’ve figured out a better way. And now that I know how easy it is to fix, I purposely add extra chains when making blankets just to make sure I don’t make the even more annoying mistake of having too few chains in the starting row. I’d rather go back and undo too many chains than try to make up for too few.

Is this concept news to you like it was to me, or is this Crochet 101 that you can’t believe I haven’t heard of before?

Intel Science Talent Search in Washington DC!

2013-03-11T11:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Intel for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Well, I just got home from quite a weekend . . . I took a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Intel Science Talent Search! In case you're not familiar with this, it's the nation's most prestigious and elite pre-college science competition. Out of nearly 2,000 appliants, 40 finalists are chosen to travel to DC to show off their hard work and research projects, meet with hot shot scientists, and compete for over $600,000 in scholarship prizes. The cool thing about this event is that the contestants are selected and awarded for not just one specific science project, but for their overall creativity, personality, work, and potential in the scientific fields. It is truly a talent search, not just a science fair.

First things first, I've got to ask it: do you ever look at teenagers today and just feel kind of concerned? I mean, between constant texting and ridiculous outfits and awful language and atrocious facebook misspellings, do you worry that these are the leaders of tomorrow? I did . . . and hopefully won't ever have reason to worry about that again after this weekend. The kids competing at the Intel Science Talent Search were all top-tier, impressive, amazing youth--driven, ambitious, talented, articulate, creative . . . I will gladly submit to their rule when they have conquered the world someday. Our future is in good hands.

The event was held at the National Geographic Society in downtown DC--such a cool place to visit and wander through. I wish I'd had a little more time to spend sightseeing in the city . . . there's so much to check out!

The place was absolutely packed with reporters, contestants, and just the general public visiting to, you know, meet our future world leaders, nobel prize-winning scientists of the future, etc. No biggie.

Once we were in, we had the chance to talk with and get to know the contestants, and have them explain their projects to us. Each one had conducted a high-level, in-depth research project, and it was incredible to hear about the work that had gone into them, the originality and creativity in their thinking and research methods, and even just learn about them as individuals. I don't think there was a single student there who didn't impress me with how well-rounded and mature they seemed. They aren't just science kids or math kids--they were all so talented and bright across the board, from science to music to athletics to community service. Really awesome kids.

So, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite projects from the Intel Science Talent Search:
This is Naomi . . . she did years of study on indoor air quality and lung funtion measurements, and even came up with a mathematical model and software application to quantify the impact of harmful pollutants found in indoor air.

She told me she was inspired to research this topic after watching family members suffer from year-round allergy symptoms that just didn't line up with traditional allergy seasons; she knew there must be something else going on, causing their symptoms and discomfort, apparent from the constant diagnosis of, 'it's just allergies.' Maybe someday, if we're breathing cleaner, better indoor air, we'll have her to thank!

I was also really intrigued by Raja Selvakumar's work . . . you're probably familiar with surgical robots that are used for stomach/intestinal surgeries, correct? Well, they run on lithium batteries, which can be a huge problem if they get loose in the body.

Never fear, Raja's got us covered. He's developing a fuel cell that can be used in these surgical nanorobots that is powered by your very own stomach bacteria. No battery required--just your own natural stomach acids and bacterias, powering a flipping robot. Amazing, right? (And talking with Raja was such a delight--he is so charming and funny. When he's not innovating fuel sources for nanorobots (!) he told me he is a black belt in martial arts and a major Jackie Chan fan. Amen, kid!)

And I can't leave out Sara Volz . . . she kind of laughed at me for wanting to take this picture, but can you see her earrings?

They're elements from the periodic table! I loved that the kids' creative sides shone through, even in picking their outfits. So many kids picked an accessory to represent their work, from a crayfish tie (worn by a young man who researched--and disproved--long-held ideas on crayfish habits) to star jewelry (worn by a young lady I'll get to in a minute here). Sara found ways to improve biofuel production made from . . . ready? . . . algae. I didn't even know that was a thing! Although algae can be used to create fuel, it hasn't been cost-effective in the past, and she figured out ways to increase the harvesting of algaes with high oil content and increase overall growth. So if a few years from now, you're filling up your car with fuel made from algae . . . think of Sara here!

Undoubtedly, a huge highlight of the event was running into a contestant from my own high school! Samantha Scibelli is a senior at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School, where I graduated from however many years ago.

And let me tell you, we are not talking about a big high school in a high-population city here. Small-town, rural New York with a relatively small high school. So it was really exciting to see someone there from BH-BL! Go Samantha! (She's the one who wore star earrings . . . to match her study and classification of thousands of previously miscategorized stars!)

And even more exciting was running into this lady here . . .

My own high school chemistry teacher from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake high school! I'm glad she finally got a stellar student in Samantha who could show off her teaching skills in a large scale like the talent search . . . because she certainly didn't get that with me. It was so fun to run into her there with Samantha and catch up. I tell ya, I think the only reason I loved (and passed!) chemistry that year was because Mrs. Reals was such a fun teacher, not because I have any deep love for chemistry.

All in all, it was such a fun event to attend. I loved seeing all the kids' ingenuity and creativity--from biological studies to researching and improving cancer diagnosis/treatment to more everyday concerns like air quality and chemicals used in dry cleaning, they tackled a huge variety of topics and, I have no doubt, will make a huge impact on the scientific world someday. The winners of the Intel Science Talent Search will be announced on Tuesday, and I can't wait to see who will be winning those huge awards! I think our future is in great hands . . . no more worrying about Bieber fanatics and, ahem, creative spelling choices from today's teens--I'm just trusting these very talented Intel Science Talent Search kids to be the frontrunners of the future.

March 2013 Goals

2013-03-06T07:02:00.000-06:00

Since sharing my February goals seemed to keep me at least partially motivated, here we go for March!

I didn’t even come close to finishing my 1 big project from February, so I’m just going for multiple littler projects this time around. I desperately need to figure out some sort of jewelry storage solution (my current method is tossing everything on a shelf in my closet until they all transmogrify into an amorphous blob of tangled chains and lone earrings), and my family room walls have been very bare for a very long time, so it’s probably time I addressed that. Forrest’s room has had about a dozen tiny touch-up needs that I’ve ignored for, oh, 6 months, but would probably only take about 10 minutes each to complete. And it’s been such a while since I sewed . . . I don’t even have a particular project picked out, I just think I need to sew something this month.

So there we go! My goals for March. I’ll be back at the end of the month with a recap.

Do you have goals this month? Hit me.

New Spring Items + Sale!

2013-03-04T07:02:00.001-06:00

I mentioned the other day that I’ve been adding some new items recently to my Etsy shop for spring. I’ve had a lot of fun finding/writing new patterns that I think will carry your typically wintry crochet over into cooler weather. So here’s what I’ve got!

I always have fun crocheting headbands—so quick and adorable and fun to wear—so I added a few new headband styles for spring. Shop the Wavy Crown Headband, Big Leaf Headband, and Flower Headband (which technically isn’t a new product, but the cute pictures of my nieces wearing them are, so I’m counting it).

Chelsea suggested bow headbands, which sure seemed like a good idea. And in 3 bow sizes, to boot!

Shop Little Bow Headband (shown in pink), Medium Bow Headband (shown in blue), and Big Bow Headband (shown in cream).

I couldn’t leave hats out, plus a twist on an old favorite. My personal favorite? The ribbon hat. I love the idea of switching the ribbon out to match different outfits. I’ve worn it a lot so far . . . a whole lot.

Shop Butterfly Headwrap, Ribbon Newsboy, and Textured Newsboy.

My favorite spring item by a long shot, though, is this one:

A soft, romantic springtime wrap. I love that dusty rose color, I love the feminine ripple pattern, and I love that it can be worn in so many ways—a wide scarf, a shoulder wrap, or even belted to give it a drapey sweater look. I love it. I love it a lot. Find it HERE.

I have some ideas for more kids’ items, but an unwilling model makes me less than enthused about kids’ crochet at the moment. If I can recruit an adequately adorable neighbor child, or bribe the one I already have into modeling, I’ll see if any of those plans come to fruition.

In the meantime, I want you to celebrate my new spring designs with me with a sale! Use coupon code SPRINGFEVER for 20% off your purchase through March 15th! Click HERE to visit my shop and put it to good use!

What do you think of my new spring items? Anything you’d like to see added to the shop?

This week . . .

2013-03-01T07:02:00.000-06:00

(Photos from my Instagram.)

1. Lately, this little psycho has been about 1000% more pleasant than he was, say, 2 months ago.

I’m sure I have never, ever, in all my typing, ever given the impression that he is not the sweetest most perfect little angel nugget in the universe, because that would be shirking my most sacred and holy blogger responsibility of pretending he is the sweetest most perfect little angel nugget in the universe. Here’s the well-kept never-before-heard secret: he is not a very easy child. And although I’m not nearly optimistic enough to cross my fingers and wish upon a star that we might be nearing the end of the terrible twos, I’m enjoying the (possibly temporary) reprieve from the tantrums. Boy, can he sure be sweet and charming and kissable when he isn’t shouting. Such a little lovebug. If he could just cool his over-emotional toddler PMS jets a little more often . . .

2. Have I mentioned that I got bangs? The media must indeed be failing us if you haven’t already been alerted of this gripping, heartwarming, timely information on your local nightly news.

My hair has felt a little boring lately—not short enough to be a sassy fun short cut, but not long enough to be a pretty princess long look, and heaven knows I’m scared to death of dyeing it and can’t add anything interesting via the color highway. So I went with bangs instead. I’ve loved them. They add a little interest without being a huge commitment in terms of cut or color. Just a little sumpin to spice things up.

3. I spent a few hours (hooouuuuurrrrrsssss) last Sunday photographing all my most commonly used yarn colors and updating each of my Etsy shop listings with color options.

In days of yore (yore = before last Sunday), I hadn’t taken advantage of Etsy’s new-ish feature of adding drop-down menus to select options like size, color, etc. on each listing. So I finally took the time to update everything, and it should hopefully make ordering smoother and faster from here on out.

4. Speaking of crocheting and my shop, I’ve really been enjoying coming up with new items for spring. I was worried my shop’s gotten boring—I haven’t added anything new in ages, and although I enjoy making all my items, a little variety sure wouldn’t hurt. Once I get everything modeled and photographed, I’ll write a post about my new spring items, but in the meantime, here’s a sneak peak of one new goodie I’m particularly excited about.

I don’t know which I like more—the awesome wavy pattern or the dusty rose color. Both are winners.

5. I know I’ve mentioned this recipe before—probably more than once, if my real-life habit of repeating tidbits of information dozens of times before people finally tell me to shut it carries over to blogging—but I really, really, really can’t get enough homemade Happy Joe’s Taco Pizza.

And I know what you’re thinking: “Be tacos or be pizza, don’t try to be both.” I’m usually annoyed by these conjoined Siamese twins food combos. But this is delicious, and the perfect fusion of 2 favorites. Try it. I love NewlyWoodwards’ recipe, which you can find right HERE.

Have a great weekend!

February Goal Review

2013-02-27T07:02:00.000-06:00

At the start of the month, I posted a few goals I set for February, hoping that the imminent embarrassment of having to publicly admit not completing them would be some motivation for me. It partially worked! Here are my grades for the month.

Bathroom vanity: big fat FAIL. I kind of considered doing it once or twice, then felt intimidated by the enormity of the project, and in the end didn’t even come close to taking a single step forward. Fail.

Clean craft room: success! That room is almost always a complete disaster, which is a shame, because that means I don’t want to go near it and purposely avoid a lot of projects I’d like to do because I don’t want to search through the mess and work in there. I was almost annoyed by how quickly it cleaned up—I’ve put it off for so long, and it didn’t even take that long to get it straightened up. Somehow it would have been better if it had taken hours.

Organize pantry: a low A . . . I got it done, but half-heartedly and only at the last minute.

Add 3 new items to shop: done and done! I’ll post about my new spring items soon.

3 blog posts per week: did it! I just wrote a rough calendar with post ideas for every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I didn’t even really follow it that closely, but having a plan (even an unfollowed plan) helped.

Exercise 3 times/week: eh, sort of. Except for one week where I only managed one workout, I did it. Not terribly impressive, but it’s definitely a step up from my usual activity level. Thanks to Fitness Blender for all the free workout videos.

Go on 1 date: we went on two! Go us.

Read 4 books: did it! Here’s what I read . . .

Gathering Blue—so-so. I enjoyed it but wasn’t thrilled. Shutter Island—boo! I knew I wouldn’t like it, but hoped it would pull me out of a mediocre book slump, which it did, because I thought The Light Between Oceans was fantastic! Loved it. Still a bit undecided on The Demon King—I liked it, but wasn’t in love, but was interested enough to get started on the second in the series, so 3.5 stars out of 5, I guess?

1 fun activity per week with Forrest: partial credit for this one. I had been picturing craft projects or baking treats together or playing matching games or something . . . it ended up being more like ‘spending an hour at the play area in the mall’ and ‘woohoo, lunch at McDonald’s!’ Not the most interactive activities, but he definitely had fun at least once per week, so mission accomplished, I guess?

March goals coming soon.

Chalkboard Flower Pots

2013-02-25T07:02:00.000-06:00

My little old lady flowerpot cozy project made me a antsy for spring. Really antsy. And having a little greenery in my kitchen made me want a lot more greenery in there. So I decided to try my hand at growing some herbs. I fully expect to fail miserably in this endeavor. I cannot keep plants alive (or, incidentally, fish, as we discovered recently when Forrest’s 2 pet fish named ‘Shishie’ and ‘Shishie’ only survived a whopping 2 weeks), but darn it, I’m going to try. I love the idea of snipping fresh herbs right off my windowsill while I’m cooking dinner, so I’m giving it a go. And since my windowsill gets a lot of light and attention and I end up staring at it every night while I wash dishes, I tried to make the pots a little more pleasant, too.

I generally go for very low-effort home décor-ish type projects, and this one is certainly no exception. I just picked up a few clay small clay flowerpots and a can of chalkboard spray paint at the Walmarts.

Then gave them 2 coats of the chalkboard paint.

The can said to let the paint dry a full 24 hours before writing on it. Hm. I made it, like, 16 hours. Close enough. You’re supposed to completely cover the paint in chalk the first time, so go crazy.

Then wipe ‘em clean and label your pots! I planted mint, basil, and cilantro.

And I’m pleased to say the cilantro is growing! No signs of life from the mint and only the teensiest of sprouts that haven’t gotten any taller in the past week from the basil pot, but hey. 1 out of 3 isn’t bad. I’ll take it.

I think those pots are a little cuter than your standard clay pot, and I can re-label them when my plants inevitably die and need to be replaced. A little bit of cute greenery on my windowsill. I like it.

Vintage Book Tablet Covers

2013-02-22T08:52:00.001-06:00

Happy Friday! Today feels especially nice to me since I’ve woken up convinced it was Friday three days in a row now. It’s a sad, sad feeling to realize at 10 AM that it’s only Wednesday.

I wanted to share a cool product with you today . . . do you remember my talented mother Kathleen, the owner of the Bungalow Boutique in Heber, UT? It’s an adorable shop of contemporary furniture and home décor, stylish boutique clothing, and handmade treasures made by talented local artisans, and she’s recently branched into online services as well—her site BB Daily Deals offers weekly discounts on Bungalow Boutique items, and she has also opened an Etsy shop to showcase some of her own handmade goods.

One of her awesome handmade items that I think you’ll love? Tablet covers handcrafted from vintage books.

My mom has always loved the look of books from the 40s, 50s, and 60s (and good teacher that she is, passed it on to me as well), and she’s built up quite a collection of cute vintage books. And when I got myself a Kindle Fire recently (love it!), inspiration struck: why not use a cute vintage book to create a cover for it and other small tablets/ereaders? Keep the feel of a book in your hands and pay homage to awesome books of the past while enjoying the convenience of an ereader!

The spine of the cover has been carefully reinforced, and only archival quality glues and tapes have been used on the book and illustrations. All the book covers are in great condition, and a few of the pages and illustrations have been preserved and carefully applied to the inside covers, so you can still enjoy the old pictures, type, library stamps, etc. Elastic straps hold your ereader in place, and another strap on the left inside cover holds the book closed when you’re not using your tablet. And with many of the covers, you'll even receive the library pocket and checkout card that was inside the original book. Um, cool. Especially for a library lover like me.

I love the idea of using a vintage book while reading an ebook . . . a nice blending of past and present. And let’s be honest: those old books from the 50s are just dang cute.

Make sure to check the book measurements and compare to the size of your tablet/ereader when shopping—since each book is unique, the measurements are included in the listings, so make sure your tablet will be a perfect fit!

Hop over to the Bungalow Boutique on Etsy to shop for a cute vintage book tablet cover, and use coupon code MMDiscount1 for 25% off your purchase for the rest of the month of February!

Have a great weekend!

Granny Square Flower Pot Cozy

2013-02-20T02:00:00.001-06:00

This post brought to you by iBulb. All opinions are 100% mine.

When I was first learning to crochet and spent hours browsing Ravelry for ideas and inspiration (which sure makes it sound like I no longer spend hours browsing Ravelry . . . not so), I noticed--and enjoyed many a giggle at the expense of--a funny crochet trend. Crocheters crochet everything. Whether it has a purpose or not, is useful or worthless, is pretty or ugly, or is just flat-out ridiculous, you can find a crocheted version of a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. Seriously. Anything. And I would laugh sometimes at the 'silly' things people crocheted--toilet paper? (a gag gift, I hope and pray) amigurumi poop? (for realsies--google it) male anatomy inspired lip gloss case? (don't look that one up . . . just take my word for it. yikes.). If you can dream it up, I swear to you, someone has crocheted it.

This project falls squarely under the heading of 'Crocheted Items I Once Might Have Laughed At But Now Embrace.' Because what early-crochet-days-Rachel didn't know, crocheter-Rachel-of-today now understands: crocheting brings joy, and calm, and peace, and plain old homey comfort. So why not crochet something just for the love of crocheting, even if it might seem a little silly to those who haven't seen the light? This may not be your most typical crocheted item, but it was a pleasure to make and the crochet goodness puts a smile on my face.

All this intro to say: I crocheted a flower pot cozy, and I'm not sorry.

When I got an offer to write a blog post about potted bulbs, I jumped at the chance. Everybody loves a little flowery goodness, and with spring still a distant (hopefully not too distant) dream, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring a touch of warmth into my life. These tulip bulbs will make a lovely Easter gift for a friend, and the little crocheted pot cozy adds a bit of handmade love, I hope. I love that the bulbs can be replanted later--a much longer-lasting gift than cut flowers. Perfect gift that can be held onto and treasured. And bonus points since potted bulbs are easy to find (I picked mine up at the grocery store, but you can find them also at flower shops, garden centers, home improvement stores, etc.).

I used my favorite color combo for my crocheted flower pot cozy: purple and green. These were my wedding colors, so although I love them together all the time, I've loved them even more since my wedding. I always try to include a little purple/green combo in my home decor somewhere, as a reminder of that day. (Awwwwwwwwgag.)

The cozy was easy and quick to pull together--I used scrap yarn from my stash and did just two rounds of a granny square (I haven't made a tutorial for these, but you can just google 'granny square tutorial' and find plenty of instructions and videos. Don't be intimidated by them--they aren't very difficult!).

Then I used more of the purple yarn to stitch them together by hand to form a circle. 7 squares was a perfect fit for my flower pot.

Then just slip it on your pot, and you're ready to give it away as a lovely springtime gift, or make it in colors to coordinate with your home to keep yourself. I'm excited to pass this flower pot along to a friend as an Easter present.

(I know this is far from my most detailed tutorial--if you have any questions about this project, I'm happy to help. Leave any questions in the comments or email me: maybematildaquilts [at] gmail.com)

For more bulb inspiration and ideas, visit the Dig Drop Done pinterest page.

Quick + Easy Spring Chain Cowl

2013-02-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

Is the weather getting a little more bearable in your neck of the woods? It’s getting better here . . . we even ventured outdoors for a walk yesterday afternoon! Sure, we only made it a block and a half, and okay, we required warm cookies and many episodes of Dora while wrapped in blankets to warm back up afterwards, but still. The end of winter is in sight!

So when I got my hands on some of Lion Brand Yarn’s new Zpagetti yarn, I knew just what to do with it. Turn it into an easy-to-make, easy-to-wear, lightweight spring cowl that will keep me warm until we can make park visits for longer than 20 minutes, but won’t make me sweaty once the weather gets warmer. Perfect!

The Zpagetti yarn is way cool—it’s made from garment manufacturing remnants, so each colorway is limited edition and unique. And since it’s a super bulky elastic and cotton blend, it’s very sturdy and great for dozens of home décor projects. It has the feel of a smooth, comfortable jersey or knit fabric, and I thought it would make for a great, stylish transition piece to wear into warmer spring weather. I love how soft and comfortable and wearable it is, I was really impressed with the feel and stretch of it, and it was seriously fun to crochet with.

You could of course make this cowl with any bulky yarn, although that might make it better suited to chillier winter weather, depending on the fiber content. If the Zpagetti isn’t an option for you, perhaps you could even try your hand at making a similar version yourself with knit or jersey fabric. But I’m loving the Zpagetti. Fun stuff.

Although portions of this cowl use crochet stitches, you certainly don’t need to know how to crochet! All you really need to be able to do is make a chain and a slip stitch. The absolute most basic basics of crochet. So don’t worry if this is new to you—there’s nothing to be scared of here.

Start by making a slip knot around your crochet hook. I used an N hook because that’s the biggest size I own—the yarn actually recommends a Q hook (mega!). The N worked fine for me.

(If you need help making a slip knot, visit this link for a how-to.)

Now, you’re just going to start making chains. This is pretty simple stuff, and you’ll be flying once you get the hang of it. Just wrap a loop of yarn around your hook, like so:

(Make sure you’re grabbing the yarn that leads to the ball, not the tail dangling from your slip knot!)

Then just pull that loop straight down and through the loop that’s already on your hook.

That’s it! You’ve made a chain. Now just keep chaining.

Chain chain chain. (Bet you’ll never guess what song was stuck on repeat in my head while I worked on this.)

You’ll go on and on and on. When you’ve got a big ol’ pile of chained-up yarn, start testing the length by draping it around your neck. Make sure you’re keeping it loose enough that you can pull it straight on and off—the little button cuff on the finished product is purely for show, so you’ll need to keep it loose enough to just slip on and off.

(Butterfly removable hand tattoo courtesy of my sister and the Valentines she gave us last week. Think I should make it permanent?)

If it isn’t big enough, chain some more. When you’re happy with the look, just make sure you have enough chains on your hook to reach back to the starting end. If you need to, add a few more chains or pull a few out so they’ll reach nicely.

To connect the ends, you’ll use a slip stitch. With your hook still in the ending chain’s loop, just insert your hook through one of the loops of the first chain:

Then grab a loop of yarn, just like you’ve been doing all along:

And pull that loop straight through both of the loops on your hook.

That’s a slip stitch!

To finish it off, make one last chain:

Then snip the yarn a few inches out and pull the chain all the way through.

You’ve got your cowl all finished! Now, if this marks the far reaches of your crochet experience, you can just wrap some of your extra yarn around a side of the cowl to hold it all together and secure it while you wear it. But if you know how to make single crochets (or are willing to try it out), then let’s make the button cuff.

Start by making a slip knot and 6 chains.

Now just work 5 single crochets back across the row, starting in the second chain away from the hook. If you need more details on this, you can visit this tutorial of mine, or this great one from One Dog Woof.

When you reach the end of the row, chain 1, turn your work, and single crochet back across. Repeat.

Keep going until your rectangle is long enough for the ends to meet when wrapped around your cowl.

Then just slip stitch the ends of the rectangle together—insert your hook through a loop on each end of the rectangle, grab a loop of yarn, and pull it straight through. Slip stitch down the ends until your rectangle is fully closed, then fasten off just as you did when finishing the chain cowl.

Once again, you’re at a good stopping point! If you like the look of just that little cuff, leave it as is and proudly wear your cute new springy cowl!

I thought some little buttons would be the perfect way to finish it off. You can of course sew these buttons on—I was in no mood to search through my mess of a craft room for a needle and thread, and my hot glue gun just happened to be left out on the counter from an earlier project, sooooo . . . I just hot glued them on. As long as you keep the glue along the outer edges of the button so it doesn’t squelch up through the buttonholes, no one’s the wiser.

There you have it! A quick, easy, comfortable and lightweight spring cowl. I love the cheerful red color, I think the little button cuff is a fun finish, and I love the feel of the jersey-like yarn.

(With most crochet projects, you’ll want to weave in the ends of your yarn to hide and secure them. I didn’t have a needle large enough, so I just made sure all the ends were pulled as tight as I could make them, then cut the yarn off about 1/2 inch away from the knot, and hot glued the ends down.)

Yarn provided by Lion Brand Yarn.

A response to “Dear mom on the iPhone”

2013-02-16T10:29:00.001-06:00

On Friday, the Deseret News posted an article by Tonya Ferguson called Dear Mom on the iPhone. The author shared a letter-style article written to a mom at the park who checked her phone as her kids played. Ms. Ferguson informed this mom of all the sweet moments with her children she was missing or only engaging in halfheartedly while she placed most of her attention on her phone. She informed this mother that although she is sure her heart is in the right place, she needs to “put [her] eyes back on [her] prize” and stop showing her kids that “the phone is more important than they are,” because their childhood is passing quickly and (apparently) every moment not spent fixated on the children is a reminder of their unimportance in their mother’s life.

As I first started to read the article, I’ll admit to feeling the defensiveness of the damned. Why, just a few days ago I took my son to the park and planted myself on a bench to read a book while he played. Every few minutes, he’d come over to me and take my hand, and I’d stand ready to catch and ‘swoop’ him at the bottom of the slide or help him climb up a high step, then I’d head back to my bench and pick up my book and let him play on his own for a few more minutes. I felt a guilty prick as I read the article: was I really that terrible of a mother because I didn’t spend every moment at the park playing with him? Did he really feel he was unimportant to me simply because I brought a book to read while he played? Was I really teaching him that he was unloved or unworthy of my attention because I stole a few moments of playtime at the park to enjoy a moment of quiet with a book?

Then my guilt transformed into a feeling of annoyance, and different questions replaced my self-doubting ones: when will this judgment stop? When will we, as mothers, band together in love and support of each other instead of continuing to come up with an infinite number of ways to criticize others’ parenting style and choices? Why can’t we, as mothers and parents and women, trust that we are each doing our best, no matter how different that ‘best’ may look from one woman to the next? Why can’t we each be given the respect to make our own choices with our children, and not be made to feel like failures when we don’t all make identical choices?

My visit to the park with a book would surely have warranted the criticism of Ms. Ferguson. Because I heard my son “whee!”-ing his way down the slide and continued reading after only a quick glance up at him to say, “Good job!” Because after a few minutes of chasing and tickling him while he laughed and shouted in excitement, I told him, “Ok, have fun! Mommy’s going to sit down for a few minutes.” Because once or twice, when he came to take my hand and pull me up from my seat on the bench, I told him, “Go on and head down the slide! That looks like fun!” and chose to stay sitting with my book instead.

But what Ms. Ferguson doesn’t see is the rest of the picture. Every other moment of my—and the infamous ‘mom with the iPhone’s’—life. She is armed and ready to criticize us for our moment of quiet at the park, but what she doesn’t see are the meals enjoyed together, spent laughing and joking and talking about the day. She doesn’t see the game we played together before heading to the park, or the snuggling while we watched a movie together after we came home. She doesn’t see the book we read together before naptime, or the comfort we offered after a scary nightmare last night, or the ‘tickle monster’ attack when Daddy got home from work that day. She doesn’t see our tears as we question our choices or worry about our children or wonder if we’re doing a good job raising them. No, just the moment with the book or iPhone in the park is enough for her to decide that “the phone is more important than [the children] are.”

I want my children to know how precious they are to me. I want them to know that they are loved deeply and cherished and worried for and thought about and prayed for, and I do everything I can to make sure of it. But another important lesson that I want them to learn is that mom is a person, too. Just like them, Mom has her own needs and wants that might be different from theirs. I want them to know that the world does not revolve around their every whim and desire. I hope to teach them, perhaps, that mom could sure use a few minutes on the couch with her book to regain some energy to play with them more a little later, and that I have responsibilities and interests outside of their daily care. I want them to learn that I trust them to be able to entertain themselves, that I have confidence that they will be able to play on their own and have fun without Mommy’s constant interaction. I want them to see and know that just as they sometimes want a moment to play alone or watch TV or not participate in an activity that doesn’t look fun to them, Mom also sometimes needs a few quiet minutes or a chance to catch up on something she needs to do.

So, no, I do not feel guilty about reading my book in the park the other day. And I’ll do it again, gladly, because as important as my child is to me, I also value myself, my own wants and needs, the person that I was before I had a child and the person that I am today who, just like my son, also deserves nourishing and time and growth. I love my son and I make sure he knows it, and I do not believe that taking a few moments for myself detracts from that love in any way. In fact, I truly feel that I am a better mother after taking some time to focus on myself and meet my own wants and needs, and if that time for myself comes in the form of a few moments to read in the park or—gasp—to use my phone to text my sister or catch up on friends’ news on facebook, I will gladly embrace it. Sure, I might miss a few sweet moments here and there while taking time for myself, but the trade-off, for me, is worth it: I’ll be rejuvenated enough, renewed enough, and whole enough to appreciate more greatly the moments I am fully present for.

Now, I don’t mean for this post to just be a backlash to the “Mom on the iPhone” article. I have no doubt that Ms. Ferguson is a fabulous mother, and I hope that she didn’t intend her article to be a criticism of other moms and their need—which maybe she herself doesn’t feel—to take a moment for themselves amid the wildness that is a day with young children. I hoped that I could touch on something bigger, and could maybe start to reverse the idea that we, as mothers and women, somehow have the right to criticize each other, that we have the role and responsibility of making others’ decisions for them and deciding after a moment’s observation that we know what is best for someone else’s family and their children.

From now on, this will be my mantra: “I am doing my best. And so is she.”

I truly can’t think of a mother I know who does not appear to be doing her best with her children, who doesn’t value and cherish those little ones and make sure they know her feelings toward them. And I similarly can’t think of a mother who isn’t already acutely aware of her shortcomings and failures with her family, who doesn’t despair over the things she’s done poorly and try to improve them. I can’t think of a mother I know who would hear a parenting criticism from a stranger without thinking, “I already knew that, and I already feel badly about it.” We don’t need to criticize each other—we’re all doing a magnificent job of criticizing ourselves already.

Some moms’ best might include balancing a full-time job with motherhood—more power to them. Some moms’ best might involve homeschooling their children or planning elaborate Pinterest-worthy activities to educate and entertain them—good for them. Some moms’ best might mean frequent iPhone checks throughout the day to connect with family and friends to feel supported and loved and validated. We’re all doing our best, whatever that may look like. And I hope we can all start trusting that our ‘best’ doesn’t all have to look the same, and start doing each other the favor of respecting and supporting each others’ ‘best’ without feeling the need to criticize or look down on their choices and actions.

5 Crochet Blanket Patterns I Love

2013-02-15T12:29:00.001-06:00

I have a problem, and since it’s common knowledge that the first step to recovery is admitting the problem, here we go: *deep breath* I’m addicted to crocheting blankets.

This is probably not big news for you since I thrust them in your face every time I finish one and try to talk you into buying them. And frankly, it’s not an addiction I feel particularly compelled to fix, so there. I’ll just carry on. (Is denial a step in the recovery process?)

I’ve been wanting to make a throw blanket to toss on my living room couch (you can see this room HERE). This probably shouldn’t be all that big of a decision, but since I know it’ll take weeks or months to finish, I’d hate to put all that work into something and end up feeling anything less than wild passionate love toward it.

While I figure out what exactly I want to make, I’ve had my gray + white zig zag blanket on the couch. I love that blanket, and I do think it fits in pretty nicely, but it isn’t really big enough for the sofa (although I think it would be a great size for a chair), and I’m thinking zig zag blanket next to zig zag pillows might be a little much. So I thought I’d share some crochet blanket patterns I’ve been eyeing. I’m leaning towards a pattern that I can make in a solid color, but that has lots of great texture.

1. Summer Lace Afghan

This is currently the leader of the pack in my search for the perfect throw blanket. I love all the texture, I love that it looks comfy and cozy for winter but airy enough for spring and summer use, and I think it would fit in nicely in my living room. I love browsing the crochet tags on Instagram for inspiration, and I wish I could remember whose version of this blanket I saw there. It was amazing, and I’m glad it pushed me to look up the pattern (which is free, by the way—bonus!).

2. Chunky Cables Throw

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a blanket before that made me more excited than this one at the thought of snuggling up with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate. (On second thought: keep your hot chocolate as far as possible from this gorgeous thing. I can only imagine the conniption I would have if someone spilled their hot cocoa all over it.) I think it’s bulkier than what I’m going for (I’d like a year-round, lighter-weight afghan), but would be so perfect and so homey and cozy during the fall and winter.

3. Zig Zag Afghan

This one is definitely not right for my room, but isn’t it cool? I love the sort of tribal look, and the colors they used are perfect. I’m not sure where it could fit in in my house . . . but I keep coming back to it anyway. Such a neat look.

4. One Skein Throw

I love the lightweight look of this one, and I bet it would be a breeze to work on and come together quickly. Although I’m having a bit of trouble believing you could really get a decent-sized throw out of just one skein . . . maybe a baby blanket, but a throw? I don’t know. Somebody try it out and change my doubting ways.

5. Spider and Cobwebs Throw

Although I’m having trouble getting over the horrific name of this blanket—not to mention the cheeseballs with a side of extra cheese photo—I have to admit that I actually do like this pattern. Breezy and airy with lots of great texture. I think it would be lovely in just about any color.

Crochet Dog Stuffies for Valentine’s Day

2013-02-13T10:24:00.001-06:00

I’m not all that into Valentine’s Day. I mean, it’s nice, and I always appreciate getting a card or candy or flowers or something, but my husband and I don’t typically make a big deal out of it. We went to Chili’s last weekend . . . that’ll probably count as our Valentine’s date. Chili’s! The ribs! The romance!

But now that we have this little boogerface stinking up our house, I kind of want to make it a fun day for him. So we’ll be spending today baking up Valentine’s goodies, and I can’t wait to give him his present tomorrow . . .

A little crochet puppy! He’s cute, huh? The sweater gets me. It gets me every time I look at him. Forrest is pretty into puppies (and kitties aka ‘titties’; yes, that’s right, titties) at the moment—his new favorite game is coming up to me while I’m on the couch, meowing or barking at me, then saying, “gent-oh? gent-oh?” (which is how we try to remind him to pet nicely, I think he thinks ‘gentle’ just means ‘pet’) and waiting to be petted or have his belly rubbed. It’s pretty sweet. I hope he likes his little puppy dog.

And I couldn’t resist showing him off to my sister ahead of time, and she liked him a lot, too, so guess what she is also getting tomorrow?

The girly version! I like this one even better than the one I made for my son. I like the colors better, and I did a better job with placing the facial features. I almost don’t want to give her away.

I used the Amigurumi Dog pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, and they were a cinch to work up. Relatively quick (although making all the separate pieces is kind of slow and tedious, I’ll admit), but overall a very simple pattern. I wasn’t crazy about the ears in the pattern, so I went for a more folded-over look instead. I like how they turned out.

A moody close-up. She’s pondering the state of the economy, or maybe thinking about something deep like . . . I don’t know . . . the poetry of . . . Ginsberg? (The only name that comes to mind . . . it’s early, I’m still waking up, cut me a break.)

I tossed up some listings in my shop for custom versions of these little puppies—you can find the boy puppy HERE and the lady puppy HERE, and message me for a discount if you plan to buy two or more! As always, feel free to play around the colors when you order . . . I’ve got a nice big yarn stash, just begging to be used in whatever creative color combos you come up with.

Did you make any Valentine’s gifts this year?

Living Room Tour + Gallery Wall Tips

2013-02-11T07:32:00.000-06:00

Remember how 6ish months ago, we bought our first home? And although it had great ‘bones’ and tons of potential, it was a bit of a mess when we moved in? (If you’d like, you can revisit the ‘before’ tour HERE.) Certainly not terrible, not much demolition involved, but very bland, very boring, very neglected and abused by previous owners, and very dirty and disgusting.

Well, we’ve worked hard, as I’m sure I’ve made abundantly clear by my near-constant complaining about it, but we really got burned out a few months in and have mostly taken the winter off from home renovations. And although I’ve had all sorts of great intentions to post in-progress and after pictures, there is no after in sight, not to mention that it’s rarely to never clean enough for an unembarrassing in-progress picture.

But I figured I’d put on my big girl panties and tidy up one room today so I could start a proper tour. (I’d like you to know that besides the typical household/toddler clutter, I found two cars, one firetruck, and one Christmas countdown block hidden in the couch. Like, wedged into cushions and under pillows. My son is a scavenger and a packrat and displays many early hoarder warning signs.) To start out my house tour, I picked the room that is seen the most by outsiders anyway and is thusly the most finished room in the house. Gotta impress the neighbors, duh.

I wanted to keep this room kind of soft and subtle, but still welcoming and cozy. So hopefully the above picture made you think, “My, that room is soft and subtle, but I’m really getting some welcoming and cozy vibes.”

The rug makes the occasional appearance in Instagram pictures, and I almost always get a question about it. You can find it HERE on Overstock. It is actually an outdoor rug, which I was a little worried about—would it feel scratchy or uncomfortable or plasticky or something? But no, I’ve been very happy with it. It seems that outdoor rugs are much more affordable than most indoor ones, but it’s plenty soft and comfortable for bare feet inside. It definitely isn’t fluffy like some indoor rugs—it’s a tight, dense weave—but I have zero complaints and wouldn’t hesitate to buy it again.

I sewed the pillows on the couch and chairs, and just yesterday picked up two new pillows for under $10 each at Ross to toss on the window seat.

And although no one ever sits and reads there, I made sure to set a book out to make sure you picture me serenely reading and pondering while snow falls gently outside, maybe sipping hot cocoa with a dog sleeping at my feet. This has never happened. But it makes for a nice mental scene, doesn’t it?

And as long as it’s clean and straightened up in here, I really enjoy the view as I come down the stairs in the morning. I love the blue and green accents, and I love how they look against the silvery wall color. I like how the natural accents (like the wicker chairs and burlap lampshades and twiggy vignette on the side table) keep it looking kind of cozy and homey and comfortable.

Now, I always seem to get comments from friends and visitors on the photo gallery wall (which secretly thrills me to no end, because I feel like a really good gallery wall can be kind of hard to achieve). So, I’ll give you a few details on it.

I spent lots of time looking up and comparing different gallery walls, and here’s what I decided my preferences are:

1. I like gallery walls to be more or less symmetrical. Not perfect, and not a grid, but I do like them to have a sense of order and shape and symmetry. (For instance, on mine, it is roughly rectangular instead of a big frame blob; the edges are more or less straight/grid-like; and the frames meet and connect pretty well without any big gaps or spaces between, or random frame outliers that don’t fit in and make sense with the overall shape.)

2. I like the frames to be close together. I see a lot of gallery walls with bigger spaces between the frames—personally, I think anything more than, say, 3 inches makes it look kind of haphazard and unplanned.

3. I like the pictures to have a theme—same/similar frames, same/similar photo coloring (like all black and white shots, or all prints from the same photo session, or at least photos with similar colors/editing). I purposely planned our outfits in these pictures to match the décor, and tossed in coordinating scrapbook papers in two frames for a little subtle variety and texture.

4. I think they should be hung low on the wall. A decorating pet peeve of mine is when art/photos/mirrors/etc. are hung too high on a wall. Who wants to have to crane their neck and tip their head back to look at your family pictures? Have you ever been in a house with photos or art hung just a few inches from the ceiling? I have, and I’ve got to say, I think that looks a bit silly. Art has no business being almost at the roofline. According to my interior designer mom, wall art should be hung at eye level.

Here is my gallery wall setup:

All the frames are Virserum frames from Ikea—I purchased them months ago, so I could be remembering wrong, but I think that I spent something like $70 for all of the frames. You really can’t beat Ikea’s frame prices.

Now, just for before and after purposes, and because it makes me so happy to know that we made this house not look like this anymore, here’s the living room when we moved in:

Very bland, very boring, very carpeted (do you see the windowseat on the far left? Even it was carpeted!), and, although this photo is not a scratch-n-sniff so you’ll just have to take my word for it, very stinky. I think our changes are a definite improvement. And check out the view through the front door when we bought the house:

Compared to the view from the front door today:

Much better.

For other home progress posts, you can check out the kitchen renovation and the staircase makeover. And I’ll work on getting the rest of the house in presentable condition.

February 2013 Goals

2013-02-08T07:32:00.000-06:00

Want to know a secret? I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. It’s seriously been years since I sat down and thought up goals for a new year and wrote them down and actually intended to keep them. I gave up on them when I realized a few years back that in my lifespan of 20-some years of making goals for each year, I had never once kept a single one of them. Nary a one. Kind of puts a damper on your goal-setting spirit to know that there’s not a chance in hell any of them will actually come to pass, don’t you think?

So I thought I’d try something else, inspired by some blog friends who do a monthly goal post. I really enjoy seeing what they plan to do each month, and then tuning in a few weeks later to see what they accomplished and how things turned out. Since I’ve proven to myself time and time again that yearly goals are sooooo beyond my capabilities, I’m just going to make and try to tackle goals on a monthly basis. And I skipped January, because really, making January goals? Totally overdone. So mainstream. Over it. (More like we all had the flu in January and my main goal was no puking on the carpet. Check and check, off to a rip-roaring start in ‘13!)

I think these are do-able. I guess we’ll find out come the end of the month. It’s going to be embarrassing when I have to admit to completing none of them, eh? And I suppose if I were really on top of things, I would have posted this on the first of the month and not, oh, the eighth, but it took me 6, count ‘em, 6 tries just now to spell ‘eighth’ correctly, so I’m clearly not firing on all cylinders.

I’ll recap at the end of the month to see how I did. Do you have any goals for February? Lay ‘em on me, maybe we can keep each other motivated.

Hey Girl.

2013-02-07T07:32:00.000-06:00

So you know the whole Ryan Gosling ‘Hey Girl’ meme, right?

Of course you do.

What with Valentine’s Day approaching and all, I present to you two Hey Girls I sure wouldn’t mind hearing on that blessed day.

(Scarf blogged HERE. I’ll go ahead and let you guess precisely how many times he’s worn it.)

*fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!*

Joining the Valentine’s Day Hey Girl Link Party with View Along the Way, Decor and the Dog, Domestic Imperfection, Bliss Ranch, and Two Twenty One.

My Answers to Your Personal Questions

2013-02-06T09:19:00.001-06:00

More answers to your questions! I answered your crochet questions in this post, and here are my responses to your personal questions. Thanks for asking, by the way—they were actually really fun to think about and come up with answers to! (I’m sprinkling in mildly-related pictures to keep things interesting . . . most of them are from my Instagram. If you want to see more, my username is maybematilda.)

Since I love finding a new good book to read, what are you currently reading? Or better yet, what book have you read lately that you would put on the top of your recommendation list?

Yay, a fellow reader! I have recently read and would recommend Daughter of Smoke and Bone, The Nazi Officer’s Wife, Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Practice, and Ready Player One. (Such a random assortment of titles and genres . . . but I enjoyed them all quite a lot.)

Since becoming a mom I've started wondering--what do other moms do with their day? How much of your day is spent making sure Forrest is happy and how much do you spend on crafting, cleaning, etc?

Very interesting question—I am always a tad hesitant to talk about parenting/motherhood because there are so many judgmental moms out there, poised to attack (even if it’s just in the guise of ‘helpful advice’; I’m almost never interested in hearing unsolicited parenting advice). To tell you the truth, I don’t spend gobs of time entertaining/playing with Forrest. He’s always welcome to join me in whatever I’m doing (he often wants to help me wash dishes or vacuum or fold laundry or even sit with me and look at a book while I crochet), and of course I’ll stop what I’m doing and play with him or read him a book every once in a while, but for the most part, he entertains himself and I do my own thing. My average day consists mostly of housework/errands, crocheting, reading, and whatever other housewifey-type things are on the to-do list, with bits of playtime with the nugget mixed in here and there. When he was an infant, I spent much more time trying to keep him happy/stimulated/etc., but now that he’s a little older and can play and keep himself happy, I view his entertainment as his responsibility. He has plenty of toys and books, and my opinion is that it’s more or less up to him to keep himself occupied. When he gets bored, we’ll read a book together, or we’ll snuggle while we watch a movie for a while, or we’ll bake cookies together, or we’ll put on music and dance for a few minutes, but I view his entertainment/playtime as mainly his own responsibility. This isn’t to say that we go around ignoring each other all the time, but I don’t let my day revolve around his entertainment. That probably works for some moms, and kudos to them for the loads of attention their kids receive, but it doesn’t work for me, and it’s a surefire way for me to wind up feeling depressed and unimportant and unfulfilled. Note to all: don’t you dare leave mean comments telling me I’m neglecting him or not interacting with him enough or selfishly putting my wants/needs before his. I’ll delete you so fast your mouse will be spinning.

Forrest is a very handsome boy. Do you want more kids? If so how many? Anytime soon?

Indeed he is a handsome boy, thank you for saying so! We do want more kids. Probably just one more. If our second child is an absolute angel (translation: the complete opposite of fiercely colicky, constantly screaming, never sleeping ever ever ever ever ever infant Forrest), we might consider having a third. But at this point, two is sounding pretty good to us. Anytime soon? Maybe. We’ll see. I change my mind on timing matters on a daily basis.

I want to know what does being a Mormon mean? I grew up Dutch Reformed Christian in NJ…I really want to know details. Same Bible?

Great question! Right off the bat, I’ll direct you to our church’s website, Mormon.org, where you can find plenty of information about our beliefs, presented more eloquently and completely than I’ll probably be able to present it here. I guess that if I were to boil down what being a Mormon means to me and try to present it in just a few short sentences, it would be this:

- We are Christian, and believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.

- We read and believe in the Bible. We also read and believe in the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ, similar to the Bible in its teachings and purpose. We believe they are complementary books of scripture—both testify of Christ. (If you are curious about the Book of Mormon, you can request a free copy HERE.)

- We believe in a living prophet. Just as there were prophets in the Bible, like Moses and Noah, we believe that God still gives His children guidance and direction through a prophet today, who is the head of our church.

- We believe that families can be joined together eternally, and are our greatest opportunity for growth, love, and joy.

Do you exercise? What is your routine?

I try. My goal (rarely reached) is to work out 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes a day. Lately, I’ve been using videos from Fitness Blender—that site has hundreds of free workout videos of varying intensity, type, and time commitment. I like the variety, I love that they are free to use, and that I don’t get bored doing the same video endlessly. I especially like their Booty Boot Camp and kickboxing videos, as well as some of the shorter 15-20 minute interval training workouts.

How did you and your husband meet? Love at first sight? Or, the he sort of grew on me kind of love?

We met when we were both students at BYU—we lived in neighboring apartment complexes and were introduced at a volleyball game. I didn’t want to play because I am abominable at sports and knew from sad experience that I would embarrass myself, but I figured that since I had just moved in and was one of only three new girls in the complex that semester, people would be nice to me and hold back their laughter even when they watched me make a fool of myself playing volleyball. Everyone was nice . . . except for some jerk who teased me when I lobbed the ball in the wrong direction. I made some smart-A reply and made a mental note to avoid that jerk in the future, but I met so many people that day that I quickly forgot which of the dozens of names I tried to memorize was the volleyball jerk. Fast forward a few months, and I had made friends with a certain apartment of guys and hung out with them a lot. I thought one of the roommates in particular was kind of cute, and turned on the charm until he finally asked me out. It wasn’t until we’d been dating for 2 or 3 months that I finally made the connection that this new boyfriend was the same jerk who had made fun of me at the volleyball game so many months before. But alas, it was too late, so I finally had to just let it go. To this day, he is an enormous pest, and I have to remind him every few weeks that his ‘playful teasing’ isn’t as fun for me as it is for him. Oh, the trials of marrying a pest. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Do you work outside the home? If not now, do you miss it?

I don’t work outside the home right now, but I consider my Etsy shop and blog my work-from-home part-time job(s). I can’t say I particularly miss any of my old jobs, but I definitely do miss the adult interaction and sense of accomplishment (especially in the form of rewards—a paycheck, a raise, an employee evaluation, etc . . . being a stay-at-home mom has precious few tangible and recognizable rewards), and I miss the feeling of being stimulated/challenged.

I am also a busy new momma, and today in particular I have a bad case of "Ihadsomuchtodobutfeellikei'vedonenothingitis". Do you have any tips for making essential things happen? (workout, make dinner...) despite teething, blowouts, baby feedings and temper tantrums (yours and baby's)?

I totally get this. Some days are just so difficult, and being a stay at home mom is far more challenging than I expected it to be. I’m sure everyone’s advice would be different on this topic, but for me the steps to making essential things happen and having a productive day are to: 1) Get dressed and ready. I’ve learned that if I don’t get dressed in real clothes (ie not sweats/pajamas) and put on makeup/do my hair (even if it’s nothing fancy—in fact, it is never remotely fancy), I just can’t seem to get myself motivated to do anything that day. 2) Eat a real breakfast. Like, not a handful of Teddy Grahams at 10:30 because you’re starving and grouchy. A real, filling breakfast at a reasonable breakfast hour. 3) Have a game plan. I always have a better day if I make a to-do list first thing in the morning, and I purposely make it longer than I know I’ll be able to complete so that I feel pushed to stay busy. And an optional item #4 is to not beat yourself up about a lazy day—they happen every now and then. Just consider it a day off and jump back in tomorrow.

Who is your favorite Michelle in blogland?

The questioner and answer are one and the same.

When are you getting a dog?

If I could talk Jeff into it, the answer would be today. But since he has never had a ‘real’ pet (I’m sorry, but a guinea pig and frog do not count), all he can imagine are the work and expense involved and not the affection and bonding and love. I want to get a basset hound. I love those grumpy, droopy faces.

(with my brother’s new puppy, a sweet beagle named Lily. All together now: awwwwww!!)

Who are your celebrity crushes?

Why, I’m glad that you asked.

When are you moving back to Iowa?

Ha! Never. Sorry. When I wasn’t near death due to the sub-Arctic wintertime temperatures, I was near melting due to the humidity, or seasonally affected due to the utter lack of sunshine from October-May. But I’m sure it’s just a matter of time until we head back for a Palmer Homecoming!

What camera do you use for your photos?

I have a Nikon D3000 and love it! I’m far from being a photography expert, but I’m getting more proficient at shooting in manual and figuring out exactly what I have to do to make my photos look the way I want them to, and the D3000 is very user-friendly and easy to play with. I also use (and love) a 50mm/f1.8 lens (in addition to the kit lens that came with the camera). I don’t have or even want or understand Photoshop—I edit my pictures in Picasa, which is not fancy in the slightest, but has worked fine for me and my very low needs so far.

What is your favorite part about blogging? What do you feel is the best way to promote your blog to get more viewers?

There’s a lot that I like about blogging . . . I love the friendships I’ve made with other bloggers and readers, the extra bit of motivation it provides to finish projects in a timely manner or branch out to try something new, and I feel like it has helped me narrow in on my strengths and style and preferences. As far as promotion, I’m probably not a great person to ask . . . I don’t do very much. But I think that the best promotion—not just to increase numbers but to gain meaningful readers who will be engaged and interested and create a feeling of community—is to really become involved in your blogging community. For instance, if you participate in DIY link parties, don’t just drop your link and run. Spend some time leaving meaningful comments on other participants’ blogs (‘meaningful’ being not just a ‘nice work!’ or ‘love it!’ but a legitimate, thought out comment of more than 2 words), reply to the comments you receive, visit the blogs of those who visit yours and leave a comment in return, visit the blogs of those who are commenting on the same blogs you are also commenting on, etc. I think worrying about numbers is a waste of time, to be honest (although of course it depends on what your goal is with blogging!), but I do value and work on the friendship and contact behind the numbers. I’d rather have only 10 readers who I feel a sense of camaraderie and friendship and shared common interest with than 1,000 anonymous ones who never comment, never have anything to say, and will drift off to another blog and forget about me 2 seconds after seeing a post (now, this is not to say that a reader who never comments is worthless—heaven knows I am a lurker on far more blogs than I am active on—my point is just that the value, for me, in blogging is mainly in the sense of community and friendship that it can provide, which comes from involvement and chatting and building relationships, so if I have time to spend on ‘promotion’, I try to spend it on chatting and emails and comments rather than ‘real’ promotion.). So I guess in a nutshell, my advice for the best way to promote your blog would be to really be involved with both your own readers and the blogs you read, which will lead to natural, meaningful growth. In my opinion, a smaller count of meaningful, engaged readers can be worth far more than just numbers alone.

What are your favorite movies (because it's always hard to pick just one)?

I’ll go with Lars and the Real Girl, Serenity, and, since I have a toddler and watch this one a looooot, Toy Story 3. I cry at the ending every dang time. Forrest was so baffled yesterday when I was weeping at the end. “Mama? Sad? Cwy?”

What are your top three biggest pet peeves?

Loud smacking chewing noises drive me up the wall (marital issue: I honestly have a hard time eating a meal with Jeff because of this pet peeve). Silly spelling/grammatical errors that could be easily fixed if the writer bothered to proofread or run spell check make the list as well (of course, we all make the occasional typo, no biggie; it’s consistent, repeated, glaring errors that could be fixed by a simple read-through that bug me). And for my third pet peeve, I’m going to go with noisy ‘natural’ mothers. Not just ‘natural’ mothers—they’re doing what they feel is best, just like every mom on the planet—my pet peeve is reserved for the loud, in-your-face, ‘you’re doing that wrong!’ ones who can’t just make their own decisions and leave others in peace to do the same without receiving plenty of unasked-for granola-inspired input. Do whatever you want with your own kids, I truly don’t care, but if I see one more facebook status/blog post/mom in the park berating ‘uneducated’ parents for vaccinating their children or not breastfeeding until the age of 3 or letting their child eat evil, evil sugar or selfishly using wicked Satanic drugs during labor/delivery, Imma bust a cap. (I suppose I could have just said loud/judgmental mothers are a pet peeve, but it seems to me like the loudest/most judgmental tend to be the more natural ones, probably just because they are fewer in numbers and I’ve been the recipient of a number of berating lectures for not being ‘natural enough.’ So I hope I didn’t offend any granola moms with that pet peeve—it sure isn’t the naturalness that bothers me [for pete’s sake, my own husband is a chiropractor], but the in-your-face know-it-all you’re-doing-that-wrong attitude that I’ve come to associate with the handful of loud crunchy moms I know.)

If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go?

I honestly don’t know . . . Italy, maybe? The Caribbean? I’ve always thought London would be neat to visit, too. Since there is absolutely no chance of us taking a cool vacation anytime in our near future, I can’t say I’ve given this much thought before.

Have you made anything that Forrest adores?

Not really :-( :-( :-( For a while, he really was fond of the crocheted owl I made him, although he has lost interest in it recently. And he does really like his personalized coloring book—I’m really happy with how much he enjoys that and asks to color in it. But I think that’s about it—he is not a big appreciator of handmade items.

Whew, that was a long one. Thanks for the questions, guys, and 10 million cool points to you if you made it to the end without getting bored and clicking away! Now leave a comment and tell m something I ought to know about you, too.

I Zig, You Zag (or, 2 new blankets)

2013-02-04T07:32:00.000-06:00

I have two new blankets I’ve finished up recently to show off, but before I do, I wanted to give you a heads up about a crochet along starting now. ChiWei from One Dog Woof is starting up a crochet along this week, and it’s going to be geared toward beginners with plenty of easy introductions and tutorials to help you get started. So if you’ve thought about learning to crochet but haven’t known where to begin, or need a refresher course, or just want to crochet along whether it’s your first project or your 50th, join in! You can vote on the project now at this post, and the lessons will start next Monday. Head over and check it out!

Now for my recent projects. Of all the things I enjoy crocheting for my etsy shop (or just for myself), I think my favorites are baby blankets (which is kind of a shame since they are far from my most frequent sellers . . . such is life, my friends, wo is me). A blanket pattern that I saw months ago caught my eye, and this seems to be my routine: see a pattern I like, ponder making it for 6 months or so, then finally get started on it after months of intense and frankly quite ridiculous inner monologue deliberation over color choices, longevity of style, etc.

I always gravitate to neutrals, or, if I venture into colorful territory, tend to stick with just one color. I decided to go wild this time and combine a few fun colors for this pattern. It was kind of scary for me, although I am willing to acknowledge that green and pink aren’t really all that wild of a color combination. Baby steps.

But I love how that apple green and deep raspberry pink look together, and I think the cream stripe keeps it from being too loud (thanks to my instagram friends for the color advice and input—I can never seem to make decisions on my own, but luckily no one seems to mind stepping in and sharing their thoughts. You can find me on instagram at maybematilda if you want to toss in your 2 cents next time I get crochet angst, which will probably be in like 4 minutes. It happens quite a bit.)

The pattern was a pleasure to make—it worked up quickly and was very quick to memorize and make from memory. The perfect ‘mindless crochet while watching a movie’ type pattern. My only complaint is that it wasn’t quite as detailed as I would have liked—no suggestions on different starting chain lengths to change the size of the finished product, or when/how to carry vs. cut your yarn, etc. As written, it comes out in a small baby size—probably best suited to be used as a crib/stroller blanket. But other than the lack of help when it comes to variations like size, stripe width, etc, a great pattern. The only downside was the zillions of ends to weave in as a result of cutting the yarn after every row—tedious.

I actually enjoyed making it so much that as soon as I finished the green and pink blanket, I immediately started in on another one. I thought it would be stunning in more neutral tones, and I think I was right. I love how it looks in silver and white.

I made a few changes when making the pattern a second time—I started with a chain of something like 220 (I don’t remember the number exactly, but something like that) to end up with a bigger blanket. Still probably best suited for a baby/toddler, but definitely large enough for snuggling with a little one, or tossing on a chair as a throw blanket, or cuddling up with while reading. I also doubled up the stripes—two rows of each color meant a bigger, bolder chevron, not to mention I could just carry the yarn up the side after switching colors instead of cutting at the end of each row, so I only had a handful of yarn tails to weave in at the end instead of, oh, 40,000 like in the green/pink blanket. And since the scalloped border hides the sides, no one will ever know that I carried that yarn along instead of cutting after every row. Except for all of you reading this. Don’t tell. I love the ‘open’ look of the stitches in this blanket, and I think the chunkier stripe came out nicely.

I’ve been wanting to crochet a throw blanket for the couch in my living room, and out of curiosity, I tossed this one on. I think the chevron blanket combined with chevron pillow may be a bit too much zig zagginess, but I love how the subtle gray and white look in my room.

So, in conclusion, great pattern, fun to make, and I’m loving the finished products. If you are interested in either of these blankets, they are both listed in my shop. You can find the green/pink blanket HERE and the gray/white blanket HERE.

Are you feeling the zig zag thing, too? I resisted it for so long (the more popular something is, the more I feel the need to resist it with all my body and soul), but I have to admit . . . they are so fun to crochet.

{I’ll be sharing my blankets at Sarahndipities, The Girl Creative, and Sew Chatty.}

My Answers to Your Crochet Questions

2013-01-30T07:32:00.000-06:00

I asked last week for questions from you guys—anything you were dying to know, I said I’d try to answer. And I got some great questions! From crochet to photography to babies to celebrity crushes, it was fun to read your questions and ponder my (less than) brilliant answers. I’m going to split them up by category, and I’ll start today with crochet questions and answers.

I have a question about the bobble blanket...do you think it’s too girly with the ruffle border for a boy? If so...what other type of border would you suggest for the blanket?

Here is the blanket in question (and my post about it):

Personally, I don’t think it’s too girly, but I also don’t feel weird about letting my son play in my makeup or walk around in my heels, so I may not be the best judge of what is and is not appropriate for young boys. I think as long as you stick with a neutral or deep color (it would be great in any shade of gray, or brown/beige, or a deep green, or navy blue), it is plenty boy-appropriate. I do think it looks girly in bright/springy colors, but I think darker colors or even neutral shades would be fine for a boy. I also think a scalloped or picot border would be nice on this blanket, and might keep it from looking too ruffly and girly.

I'm interested in learning more about crochet pattern making. Do you make your own patterns or do you use others and make them your own? Where do you get inspiration for all your different crocheting creations?

Oooh, good question! I can’t say I’ve ever given much thought to this topic before. I don’t know anything about anyone else’s pattern-writing process, but for me, the whole process usually stems from either a) not being able to find a pattern for something I’m picturing in my head, b) seeing items I like in a store or online and then trying to recreate them myself, or c) finding a crochet pattern/item that I like but want to alter to fit my tastes/needs better. I have just as many (or more) pattern-writing failures as successes, and for me, it largely boils down to basic trial and error—just playing around with stitches and sizes and such until I either find something that works or give up entirely. I do use others’ patterns frequently, and more often than not end up making changes to fit my wants/needs, but I don’t sell those patterns or call them my own. I just keep notes on my changes so I can recreate them again later, but I don’t feel comfortable calling those my own patterns and trying to make money off them. For instance, this hat is a popular item in my shop:

It started out as a free pattern anyone can get online called the Big Girl Bonnet, but over the dozens (maybe hundreds!) of times I’ve made it, I’ve made many, many changes to the fit, size, and details of the hat and stitches. I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling it my pattern since I didn’t start it from scratch, but making modifications to and experimenting with existing patterns is a huge step toward writing your own patterns! Don’t be afraid to mess around with an existing pattern to change size or details or make it fit your style better. What’s the worst that could happen?

My neighbors are having their first baby. I'd love to make them a blanket. But I want it nice and soft. Any suggestions?

What a nice neighbor you are! I mainly work with worsted weight yarn—hands down, my favorite right now is I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. It’s the perfect balance between durability (holds up great in the wash), comfort (nice and soft), and workability (doesn’t split). One issue I have with very soft yarns is that they often are so slippery and smooth that they’ll split as you crochet (meaning your hook will often end up going straight through the yarn instead of hooking around it, if that makes sense). It’s not the end of the world, but it slows me down and is annoying. Caron Simply Soft is really smooth and cozy, but I find it a little difficult to work with as it splits easily. It’s often worth dealing with the splitting issue for the super-smooth outcome, but not my favorite yarn when all factors are considered. Red Heart Soft falls into the same category—very smooth, very soft, very comfy, but also prone to splitting so it can be a little obnoxious to work with. If you don’t mind the splitting and extreme ‘slipperiness,’ either of those brands make great soft and cozy items. But as my first choice, I’d recommend Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn!

You have inspired me to delve into the crochet world. What's the best way to start? Where should I get supplies? What essentials should I have? What project should I start with?

Color me flattered! Best way to start is probably to find out if anyone you know is a crocheter and wouldn’t mind sitting down with you for a lesson or two. But if you don’t know anyone who crochets, you can certainly learn online (that’s what I did!). I have some basic crochet tutorials in my Crochet tab, and there are SO many YouTube video tutorials out there as well.

One awesome thing about crochet is that you don’t need much to get started, and it’s a rather inexpensive hobby. I’d start practicing with some low-price yarn like Red Heart or Bernat Super Saver, and an H or I hook. Altogether, those’ll cost you, oh, maybe $5-7 for both yarn and a hook? (My favorites are the Boye hooks, available just about anywhere--JoAnn, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, etc.) And that’s all you’ll need to start! Set up a Ravelry account (totally free!) and sift through their patterns until something catches your eye—something like these washcloths, this baby blanket, or this simple scarf would be a great place to start.

I would love a tutorial on something that may sound silly, but I couldn't find any other tutorials on: sewing store bought fabric to crocheted fabric. There are really great pictures of crocheted handbags with linings, and baby blankets with a flannel side and a crocheted side. I really want to know the best way to do that.

I’ll admit, I haven’t done this very much! I’ll experiment and find a great way to do it and get back to you :-)

Do you do granny squares and if so do you have a favorite way to join them? I am completely addicted to making them but now have a pile of them and struggle with joining them!

I totally feel your pain. I love making granny squares and blankets with blocks (here are ONE, TWO, THREE blankets I’ve done using squares), but I haaaaate joining them. It is by far my least favorite step in blanket-making. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t found a method I’m crazy about yet. My favorite, if I had to choose one that I hated the least but also really love the look of, is this sort of zig zag chain/single crochet method. You can kind of see the zig-zaggy look of this method in this picture:

I’m not sure that it has a name, and at the time, I thought I had made it up. Of course, I didn’t, and later found a tutorial for it HERE. So I’d recommend trying that way—much faster than anything else I’ve tried, and I like the resulting look a lot!

I was wondering how you learned to crochet - did a family member show you how or did you learn on your own?

A little of each, actually! A neighbor of mine sparked my interest years ago when I saw her crocheting a blanket for her new baby. She gave me a brief lesson once and taught me to chain and single crochet. A few months later, a different neighbor helped answer some questions and troubleshoot a few things I was doing wrong. After those two very basic beginner lessons, I learned everything else from YouTube crochet videos, online tutorials, and good old trial and error. The internet is a beautiful thing—I owe probably 90% of my crochet knowledge to blog tutorials, Ravelry, and YouTube videos!

(Answers to the remaining questions coming soon!)

Crochet Heart Headband for Valentine’s Day

2013-01-28T07:32:00.000-06:00

Last week I shared a step-by-step photo tutorial to make sweet little itty bitty crochet hearts for Valentine’s day. I think there are so many fun ways to use these (and I’ll share some more ideas at the end of this post), but today I thought I’d show you just one way I came up with to incorporate these hearts into a fun Valentine’s project—a colorful heart headband:

(Behold my baby sister, Bekah. Lovely, isn’t she? I’m so glad she doesn’t mind modeling for me, because it’s so fun to do her hair and dress her up and take her picture. Like a life-sized Barbie, I tell you. Worry not, she is always repaid for her modeling efforts with baked goods and free crochet goodies.)

Won’t this be a fun little headband to wear around Valentine’s Day? And since those little hearts are so quick to make, you could try them out in different non-Valentinesy colors to wear anytime. This is yet another tutorial that is probably unnecessary (not too tough to figure out how I made this one), but I’m so in the habit now of taking pictures while I make things that it almost seems like a waste to not post a how-to. A blogger’s curse. So . . . want to make one? I have photos for you. Of course I do.

Start by making three hearts using my crochet heart tutorial HERE. I stayed in the pink family, and the size variations are due to using different hook sizes. They were all made with the same pattern. You’ll also need an elastic headband (I believe mine are from Walmart or Target—you can find them just about anywhere!), a hot glue gun, and some felt in a coordinating color (or just neutral colored, like white or beige).

I played around with heart placement and decided I liked the look best with the hearts overlapping slightly, going from largest to smallest (so the smallest heart is near the top of your head, and the largest is near your ear). I think they also look cute clustered, as shown in the picture above, but decided to go with the ducks in a row look for my headband. When you’re sure you like their placement, use a small amount of hot glue to stick ‘em together. Make sure you’re placing the hot glue far enough from the edges so it won’t show or smoosh out the sides of the hearts. Smooshy hot glue is not so pretty.

Then place your glued-together hearts onto the felt and use a pen to lightly trace around them. Cut the felt inside the traced line and place your hearts on top to make sure you can’t see the felt from above—if you need to, go back and trim more so the felt won’t be visible from the outside.

Lay the elastic headband over the felt backing and attach them with hot glue.

Then use more hot glue to attach the hearts on top of the felt. Make sure they’re lined up correctly so you can’t see the felt.

So you should have a headband sandwich here . . . felt backing, then elastic headband, then hearts, like so:

Once your hot glue is dry, you can sport your new Valentine’s Day headband.

I think it’s adorable! If you make one, I’d love to see a picture. And if you like the look but aren’t quite ready to crochet one yourself, I put up a listing in my etsy shop to make one for you. Happy Love Day to us all.