Sock Monkey Coffee Cozies

I'm not sure if its my obsession or my daughters but we seem to have a lot of monkeys; all kinds, and quite and few sock monkey variations.  Here is the latest.. :)

The pattern for these adorable cozies is available here.

Boot Cuffs

Update!!

I have added the patterns for what I made.  Please note these are not perfect but how I made the pattern to fit me.

I finally made some boot cuffs... stay tuned for many more!!

Will post pattern for the cream ones soon!!

Green Boot Cuff (fits 14" leg)

R1: Chain 10, turn and dc (in back loop only) in second stitch from hook (9dc)

R2-R24: 9 dc in back loop

R25 (is worked on edge of cuff): chain 1, sc in same stitch, [skip 2 chain, 5dc in next stitch, skip 2 chain, 1sc] repeat until the end of the round.  Then you will join the two ends and slip stitch down (9 slip stitches).  Do not fasten off.

R26-30: sc in each stitch in round, and join with a slip stitch.  Fasten off and weave in ends.

Chunky Brown Boot Cuff (fits 14" leg)

Using J/6.00mm hook and 1 ball of 5 Bulky Charisma

R1: Chain 43, sc in second chain from hook and in each stitch (42sc).

R2-4: sc in each stitch , join with a slip stitch at end of round.(42 sc)

R5: chain 1, [sc in same stitch, skip 2 stitches, 5 dc in next stitch, skip 2 stitches* repeat] 7 times.  join with a slip stitch.

R6: Chain 3 (this will be your first dc), 2dc in same stitch (sc from previous row), skip 2 stitches, [sc, skip 2 stitches, 5 dc, skip 2 stitches* Repeat], sc, skip 2 stitches, 2 dc in first stitch of round, slip stitch into the top of the chain 3 (from beginning of round)

R7: Same as round 5

R8: Same as round 6, Fasten off and weave in ends.

Scarfs, Scarfs and more Scarfs

Fall, its that time of year again.  The leaves are turning colors, the days are getting shorter and a need for some warmer clothing is, sadly, necessary.  With the new season, so it seems, it is a new season for crafts too.  I'm back to crochet and knitting, getting ready for Christmas (craziness... I know!!).

Back to Pinterest, I know I pinned a few things over the summer months and now is the time to make them.

Scarfs.  It seems you never have enough.  Here are a few I've done in the past few days.

The first two scarfs are a super quick, literally 30 minutes start to finish, infinity scarfs.  Here is a great video tutorial on the whole thing.

(Single Loop, Extra Wide Infinity Scarf)

(Double Loop Infinity Scarf)

DIY Carpet Cleaner

Pin SUCCESS!!!

OK, here it is!  DISGUSTING!!  This is the carpet at the sliding door in my living room.   Its always been my most hated spot because it has high traffic and drinks along with other things get spilled here often.  To be honest, I kind of gave up on my carpet in this area...

Today, during my Pinterest browsing I found this article 31 Ways to Deep Clean Your Home.  I was scrolling through when I found this, How to Clean Stubborn Carpet Stains.  With a lot of skepticism  decided to try it out.  I didn't have a spray bottle so I just used a small measuring cup and liberally poured the water-vinegar solution on the spot I was working on at the moment.  

At first, I have to admit, I didn't think this was working and I almost gave up... but I decided not to give up and used my hot rag (from the iron) and began working the stain out of the carpet with a little elbow grease.  I went over the area once more with just water and no vinegar and this is how it turned out.  The picture on the left was still a little bit damp but the stains are pretty much GONE!!!  I still don't believe my eyes.

DIY Coffee Cup

I bought 2 white mugs from Ikea and grabbed a few Sharpies and started drawing.  This is what I came up with...

Once I was finished, I put it in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes and let them cool.

Now its coffee time!

DIY Receiving Blankets and Burp Cloths

This past winter, my daughter was due and in the next couple of months there were a ton of new babies arriving... Such exciting times for so many people.  My mom found a great tutorial for making these beautiful self-binding receiving blankets.  We made a ton of them and here are just a few of them.  I also feel in love with the burp cloths; terry cloth on one side and soft flannel on the other.  

And this is one that my mom gave me as a gift of many others..
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DIY Baby Mittens (Minky and Flannel)

Pin SUCCESS!!

This spring I was ever-so-lucky to be able to travel to Vancouver Island to visit my boyfriends, 93 year old Grandmother with our new baby.  It was the first time I had been to the island aside from a fast and furious work trip which allowed little to be seen.  It was March.  Baby O was born in December and spent most of the first few months indoors, so we did not have the best selection of cool weather clothing.  I went to a few stores in search of some baby mitts, after all, it was on March and in Calgary winter was in full swing.  Do you think I could find a single pair?? Nope!

I came home and began searching the internet and quickly came across this tutorial from Home Sweet Homebodies.  The mitts were very quick and easy to make.  I used lavender minky on the outside and flannel on the inside.

Glider Chair Recovered

I found, well my mom found, this old glider on Kijiji for $40.  It had a dull flower print on it but the cushions were still in great condition and it was still super comfy.  I headed over to the clearance section of Fabricland to see what I could find for fabric and this is what I came up with.  It didn't take much to recover the cushions for the chair and foot stool but it made a HUGE difference.  It finished off the nursery perfectly.

DIY Carseat Blanket

Pin SUCCESS!!

Oh how I love the world of Pinterest.

I took a little while to warm up to it, and looking back I'm not sure why... Its become a bit of an addiction.  I just love it!!

I found this lovely tutorial for a carseat blanket.  I made a couple because they are so easy and a great gift for our harsh winters.  The best part about them is that the blanket does not interfere with the buckles of the carseat and allows for a snug fit.

Minky Baby Blankets

A while ago my mother was making some quilts for all the new babies that were arriving and I fell in love with minky.  Its super soft and comes in various colors and patterns.  Here are a few of the baby blankets I have made with minky.

Minky is such a nice fabric.. once its finished.  Its not the friendliest to work with, as it sheds when you cut it and slides all around when you sew it.  I've learned a lot from making blankets with it.  The tricks that seemed to work well for me were: pin, pin, pin (I pinned every couple of inches; I know, overkill, but better than having to do it all over again if the fabric slips) and I found a temporary spray adhesive that works very well to keep the layers from slipping around (Michaels, 505 Temporary Spray Adhesive, $15).

Crochet Long-Tailed Elf Hat

Pin SUCCESS!!

Baby Boy Elf Hat.

I came across this patter from Oodles 4 Noodles and just had to make one... well 4 to be honest.  Lol.  I did make a few minor adjustments each time I made one but I love this pattern.  Its very easy to follow and the end product is so cute!

DIY Belly Band

Homemade belly bands.   When I first found out I was pregnant with baby O, I was worried at how quickly I would need a solution for my pants.  I didn't want to go out and buy a whole bunch of new clothes, so I came up with the idea of making some belly bands out of jersey knit cotton and off we went.  I made three belly bands and was able to postpone maternity pants until close to 5 months.  The bands were super stretchy but still able to hold my pants up as my baby bump grew.

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DIY Puree Baby Food

When my daughter was first ready to begin eating solids, I thought it was going to be a horrible transition.  I had heard many different opinions on what the proper way was to introduce solids but needed to figure out what was right for us.  I started my research and after a few searches, I began to realize that this task I thought I was going to be so daunting, wasn't looking so bad after all.

I made two batches of purée fruits and vegetables which lasted my daughter about 3 months.  The first batch was 100% purée of each; sweet potato, carrots, peas, butternut squash and acorn squash.  The second batch was made 75% purée and 25% small chunks and included carrots, sweet potato, butternut squash, strawberry and banana and apple medley.  As my daughter transitioned from purées to chunky food I would add a little bit of organic whole grain cereal to thicken the consistency.

All the fruits except the bananas got steamed and then puréed in the magic bullet... No, I didn't buy the baby bullet, just 16 small glad containers and used what I had.  For the veggies I chopped/cubed and steamed the sweet potatoes, peas and carrots.  The squash was baked in the oven (350°F for 30 to 40 mins) on a pan with about 1/2 inch of water.  I let everything cool on the counter before freezing. 

And Voilà!  In total  it took about 3 hours spread over a day.  Not bad for almost 3 month's worth of food!

DIY Father's Day Gift

Fun, easy and cheap photo gift.  I purchased the frame from Ikea ($12.99) and laid out a crochet baby blanket on the couch (so baby O could be somewhat propped up) for a cute photo shoot.  The letters came from Michaels ($5 I think) originally but I already had them hanging on the wall.

DIY Diaper Cake

I like to make things and am often inspired by things I see online.  My diaper cake project started out as a simple two tier cake and before I knew it, the simplicity went out the door.  This cake includes 96 newborn diapers, swaddle blanket, nursing pillow, carseat cover, carseat canopy, 10 facecloths, 5 bodysuits, nursing cover and a couple of toys.

So many babies! What to do next!?

To make the two tiers of the diaper cake I used a piece of yarn to hold the diapers together and continued to stuff more in until the tier was solid.  I wanted to be able to use the diapers afterwards, so I didn't individually roll them but instead used a round baking pan to help place the diapers before I wrapped all of them with the yarn.  I put a layer of thin cardboard between the 4 legs of the cake and the bottom tier to make sure that over time it didn't begin to sag.  To secure the layers together I used fake plastic clothespins around which went between the layers.  Once the "cake" was assembled I put it in a shallow box (used the diapers box and cut it short) and began stuffing all the goodies inside.  I finished it up with some cellophane wrapping.