The Pink Owens

I was commissioned from a co-worker to make two monkeys in pink for her twin cousins.  Here they are:

Shocking Pink Owen

Baby Pink Owen

She loved them!  I wonder if they will make it to their final home since she loves pink as well!

Supplies:
Pattern: Amigurumi Owen the Monkeyby Stacey Trock
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Baby Pink, Shocking Pink and Buff
Hook: US G

T-Fal Iron Review

This iron, T-fal Ultraglide Easycord Ceramic Soleplate Steam Iron, is the second iron that I have owned in 5 months (but that is another story).  When I went to get the replacement for my first one, I read lots of reviews on the irons available at Kmart (that's where the first one was purchased and they were accepting it as a return).  Here it is:

 

I love how it sits on the cord.  I am a quilter so I was looking for an iron that produces a lot of steam to help take out the wrinkles from my fabric.  Another feature that I wanted was a smooth bottom.  This was the fabric did not get caught up in the recessed holes.

 

It is also a smooth ceramic plated bottom.  It glides over the fabric with ease!

 

The cord does not swivel but moves up and down so it is not in your way when you are ironing.  It also has a large opening for filling with water.

 

Overall, this is a great iron for only $39.99.  It has not leaked (yet) and is working like a charm.  If you are in the market for a new iron, for quilting or every day use, I would recommend this one!

Herstyler Grande Hair Professional Curling Iron Review

I was approached in by someone in the mall recently to try out some new hair product by Herstyler, a clipless curling iron and a ceramic flat iron.  I really liked the results but the cost was obnoxious, $150 for one for $200 for the set.  So when I got home, I googled it and found the same clipless curling iron on Amazon for $25.  Here is the one I bought:

 

 

I have poker straight long hair of medium thickness.  Here is the back of my hair naturally:

 

 

I have always wanted curls and/or wavy hair but the curls never take or stay.  I am also hair challenged and I have never been able to use curlers or a curling iron with positive results, plus I am impatient.  So I used the Herstyler curling wand for the first time the other night when I got home from work after it arrived.  Here are my results:

 

 

I found this to be relatively easy to use!  I was able to accomplish these results in about 20 minutes with little effort.  All I did was wrap about 1 inch of hair around the barrel with the tip pointed down so that the barrel could not be seen.  This produced nice tight curls instead of waves.  I did not anything to my hair before or after curling it.  I did this around 5:30 at night and when I went to bed at 10, it is super wavy.  By morning is was still a little wavy and would have needed some major touch ups.

 

I would highly recommend this clipless curling iron!

Hubby's Pillowcase

Well, since I made myself two new pillowcases for the bed, my hubby wanted one too!  Here it is:

 

His pillow is a king size so instead of cutting 27" of the full width of fabric for the body of the pillow, I cut a 36" piece.  It is now long enough!

These are so easy and quick to make, once you know what you are doing.  I think I am going to dig through my fabric stash and see if I have enough material left from my red and yellow log cabin quilt to make pillowcases to match.

My New Pillow and Pillowcases

This weekend, I bought myself a new bed pillow.  It is from Bed Bath and Beyond and it is the Brookstone Bio Sende Memory Foam Classic Pillow with Better than Down Cover.

It was rather pricey for a pillow ($59.99) but I love it!  I love memory foam pillows but sometimes they get too hard (even for me) without a down cover.  When I got home, it was too thick to use in my normal pillowcase, it looked like a sausage, so I had to make some for it.

 

Here they are:

 

 

And:

 

 

I had enough fabric of both the white and brown so I decided to make opposite pillowcases.  I really liked how they came out.

Have you seen how to make these?  Check out this video!

My Completed Jitterbug Quilt

OMG, I just realized that I never posted a completed picture of my Jitterbug quilt from the class I took at Meeting House Fabrics in Wales, MA in February:

 

 

Here is the back of the quilt as well:

 

 

I am very happy with how well this quilt came out!  It was finished just in time for spring since the color make you think of spring all year round!

Crochet Hooks from Polka Dot Cottage

A few weeks ago, I began to see an ad on the bottom of Ravelry for Polka Dot Cottage.  So I clicked on it and got lost in Lisa's world of crocheting.  What a cool blog and store!  So I splurged and ordered myself some custom made crochet hooks in the sizes that I use most for amigurumi (E, G and H).  After anxiously waiting, they finally arrived today.  Here they are:

 

 

Aren't they very pretty??!!  I love the granny square pattern so much!  I am very happy how they came out!  I chose Boye crochet hooks with thumb rests.  I have been using my "naked" Boye hook lately and it will feel so much better with a polymer clay handle.  I used it for over 2 hours last night without a problem.  It is nice to hold and it is super smooth!  I love crocheting with them!

Thanks Lisa for making them for me!

 

Crochet Dish Sponge

Here is a crocheted dish sponge:

I found this pattern and thought I would make one to try it.  I have been using it as a sponge for the last five days and I think it will be a nice replacement from the store bought sponges.  I think that I am going to have to get those green scrubby ones only for those tough baked on problem dishes.  I usually soak them overnight if I need to so it may not be an issue at all.

 

It was super easy and quick to crochet with very little yarn.  It'll be a great project for using up leftover scraps of cotton yarn.

 

Supplies:

Pattern: Crochet Dish Sponge by Krysten Lewelling

Yarn: Peaches N' Creme #173 - Spring Meadows

Hook: US G

Luxurious Ribbed Spa Cloth

Here is a new pattern for some dishcloths for my new camper:

I found this pattern on Etsy from Rustic Threads store.  I was looking for a new crocheted dishcloth pattern that has a tight weave.  I think I have found the perfect one!

I used I Love This Cotton yarn from Hobby Lobby.  A store recently opened in my area and I had to buy some of this cotton to try.  I really liked working with it!  Compared to Sugar N' Cream, the ILTC is much softer, does not separate easily and is not as linty.  When I work with SNC, I am constantly rubbing my nose because the lint is everywhere.  I will buy more of this next time I go there!!!

Supplies:
Pattern: Luxurious Ribbed Spa Cloth by Hillery Towle
Yarn: Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton #230 - Woods
Hook: US G

Scrap-A-Long Ruffle Alien

Here is my project for the Scrap-A-Long with the Freshstitches group over on Ravelry.  Meet my ruffled alien:

I made him from a magic ball that I purchased from Freshstitches.  Do you want to make your own magic ball?  Read about it HERE to learn how.  Here is the mostly purple one that I used to make the alien:

It is actually much easier than I thought it would be!  After I purchased this one, I went through my scraps (which wasn't much because I threw most of them away when I organized my craft room closet in November) and made two magic balls for myself.  One is mostly pink:

and the other is mostly green.

I can't wait to use them to make more scrappy amigurumi after I get caught up on my commissioned orders.

Supplies:
Pattern: Ruffle Alien by Stacey Trock from Amigurumi: Design Your Own Monster (Craftsy)
Yarn: Magic Ball from Freshstitches - Mostly Purple
Hook: US G

Lucinda's Ladybug

Here is Vera the Ladybug:

Here's another view of her:

 

This was another commissioned order from a co-worker whose aunt loves ladybugs!

Supplies:
Pattern: Vera the Ladybug by Stacey Trock
Yarn: Caron One Pound #516 - New Scarlet and Red Heart Super Saver in Black and White
Hook: US G

Hubby's Pillowcase with French Seams

Here is a pillowcase that I made for my hubby:

I told him that I was going to use mine in the camper and he wanted one as well.  This was the most masculine fabric that I had in my stash without going shopping.  He said "Boats and lighthouses??"  I told him it was his "vacation" pillowcase!!!

 

While I was searching for fabric for hubby's pillowcase, I was matching up lots more.  I think that I am going to make some to sell in my Etsy store.  I'll let you know!

Blue Nelson

Here is a Nelson owl that was a commissioned project for a co-worker's new nephew:

I think he came out really cute!

Supplies:
Pattern: Amigurumi Nelson the Owl by Stacey Trock from FreshStitches
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Buff, Navy, Light Blue and Black
Hook: US G

My First Swoon Block

In playing around on the internet, I came across the Swoon quilt pattern.  I feel in love with it instantly so I bought the pattern!  I love how one completed block is 24-1/2" x 24-1/2".  So I decided to make one block as a wall hanging for my office.

 

Here are the fabrics that I picked out:

 

For me, the brown fabric is my "grown-up" fabric but the blue is my bright colors that I love so much.  I found this fabric at Meeting House Fabrics in Wales, MA last weekend when they had all their fat quarters buy one get one free.  I was able to find 3 brown, 3 blue and 2 peach.  I am hoping to have enought fabric to add a checkerboard border to it with the brown and blue and binding it in peach.

Stay tuned for the finished product!  I just have to finish my king size brown striped quilt for my bed before I can start another project.

Selah's Monkey

Here is Owen the monkey made for a co-worker's granddaughter:

 

When I turned around to get some yarn out for my next project, Owen decided to start crocheting himself:

 

This was my first time making Owen and I really like how he came out!

Supplies:
Patttern: Amigurumi Owen the Monkey by Stacey Trock
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Buff, Cafe Latte and Black
Hook: US G