Rainbow Crochet

On the 4th day of Christmas here is an afghan I crocheted for Tink's and Pippi's big sister:

It was actually supposed to be a starting college present, but things got crazy and it ended up getting sent home in the Christmas box.  It occurs to me that I don't actually have a blog nickname for the big sister, and I should as it would be way easier to type than Pippi's and Tink's Big Sister.  Her family calls her Scout sometimes, so we'll go with that.

 

When I was looking for shoes for yesterday's post these came up as Christmas shoes, and I thought they would be appropriate for a rainbow Christmas post.  The rest of the shoes, though are rainbow crochet, in case Scout needs some coordinating accessories.

Baby rainbow slippers! Cuteness.

Obviously not shoes, but rainbow crochet. Hmmmm...maybe Pedro needs a new hat?

Not as cute as the baby slippers, but still fun.

I really like the yarn used for these.

Rainbow socks!  I might need a pair of these myself.

Oooh...I love these.  Someone needs to have a baby so I can make cute shoes for him or her.

I have a giant headache today, and I won't even describe the stuff coming out of my sinuses.  I really just want to go home and go back to bed.  Rainbow crochet helps, but if only it could eliminate the headache, then I'd be in business.  In the meantime hopefully the rainbow crochet will help keep Scout all warm and toasty in her dorm room next semester.

Baby Blue Blankie

Shhhh...I'm writing this at the office, don't tell my boss!  Said boss is actually at a meeting, our one current employee is home sick, and I'm taking advantage of the quiet to write a quick post. Are there other things I should be doing?  Yes, but nothing that can't wait.  And I just found out that my latest project has arrived at its destination, so I can share it here and not ruin the surprise on the off-chance they read the blog.

This is for the new baby of a family at St. Someone's.  He's a little over a month old, and super cute.  Which isn't surprising as his older brother has always been super cute (Mom and Dad must have super-cute-baby genes)  

*Happy side-note:  Said older brother wore orange to his baptism, so I, of course, matched my shoes to his shirt.  Yes, I was an incredibly dorky pastor.

*Unhappy side-note:  I'm trying not to take it horribly personally how many people from St. Someone's have un-friended me on Facebook since I left.  This makes me sad.

Enough side-notes.  Back to the post.  It's time for some blue, crocheted shoes.

I think Toms has these in pretty much every color.  I approve.  These are my wedding color, so of course I approve of these the most. 

Adorable.  The Potential Baby might have to have some.  Which means this business had better do well so I can spend my days at home crocheting instead of at the office writing blog posts. Heehee.

See?  I'll need the time to make sure the PB has a different pair of adorable shoes for every day of his or her baby life.

I love these.  I'd wear them as slippers if they came in my size.

How cute are these?  Maybe the puppies need some puppy shoes?

Blue pigs.  Why are the piggies blue?  And why is there one random pair that's not blue?

Oh hell no.

I couldn't leave you with that last pair.  These are much better.  And the girlier version of that first pair.

 

Dang, I keep forgetting that the PB would need matching hats.  Maybe the hubby and I shouldn't have a baby...the obsessive perfectionism might kill me.

Look 2 posts in a week!  I've actually missed writing.  Maybe I'll be able to find some more time/inspiration to write a little more often going forward.  For now I need to get back to work before I get fired.

Owl Family

You might remember, if you've been reading for awhile, that the Pinterest Friend loves owls.  She and her family moved to Idaho last summer, and just recently bought a new house.  Yay!  Because she's awesome, I wanted to send her something as a housewarming gift.  I went in search of some fun owl crochet patterns and ended up making her a little owl family:

The pattern was for parents and a baby, which is perfect as she and her husband have a son.  These were a lot of fun to make, and I think they turned out pretty cute (and I might have to tie my hands together to stop myself from blathering on about all of the mistakes I made, especially with the baby).

The PF got the owl family today, and posted this picture on Facebook.  Wasn't that so sweet of her?  She's all kinds of awesome.  I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that I then went off on a search for crocheted owl shoes:

I somehow don't think the PF's son and hubby would be keen on having a family of matching owl slippers.  Their loss, really.

The potential baby might end up with a rainbow of owl slippers!

And clearly (s)he would then need a rainbow of matching owl hats.

And a rainbow of matching Mama slippers!

So many adorable owls, so little time.

Obviously the blue ones are my favorite.

Yay for good friends, fun projects, and actually posting!  Oh, and the fact that it only got up to 73 here today after being 108 on Friday.

Advent Calendaring

Every year for the last 4 or so, my mom, the seester, and I all get Jacquie Lawson Advent calendars.  We and the nieces love them.  You buy one and load it onto your computer and then each day there is a new short video or activity to do.  This year's theme is a European Christmas Market (the artist is British):

If you open it during the day the scene is daytime, if you open it at night it looks like this.  The clock on the clock tower is always the correct time.  Each day after you watch the video or do the project then another part of the market opens until everything is lit up and open for Christmas.  It's fun, and this year I'm actually getting to enjoy it with the nieces instead of by myself and hearing about their reactions.  (Oh...did I mention I'm staying until after Christmas?  Yep.  6 weeks in Montana!  Hubby suggested it, and even though it's weird, it's also wonderful to spend so much time with the fam.  I can't believe I've been here 3 weeks already.)

I went in search of shoe Advent calendars, just to see if there are any out there.  Here's what I found:

Itty bitty shoes for each day!  I love it.  I'm not sure what would be in each shoe.  Maybe chocolate?  Maybe little gifts of some kind?  Maybe notes or coloring pages?

I found a lot of variations on this one.  I, of course, would be thrilled with a pair of shoes in each pocket, but I can also see how you could fit all kinds of fun stuff in the bigger pockets.

 

Adorable, but needs more color.   Mom, isn't this the same pattern you made my shoe ornaments from?  This one would be fun to put something into every day instead of taking something out.

 

Not shoes, but since I like socks as well, I thought this was adorable.  It would be a way to use all of those sad socks in the house who have no partners!

Also not shoes, but too adorable not to share.

This one is cute enough at first glance, but I wasn't exactly sure what it was, so I went to the website, and you have got to read the description:


Selfridges Miniature Shoe Collection Advent Calendar £18,000

Buy it: Spare £18k? Great. Now the small matter of money is out of the way, we can tell you how great this calendar is. Teeny weeny versions of shoes from Maison Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Rupert Sanderson, Alexandre Birman, Casadei, Charlotte Olympia, Repetto and Fendi to name a few. Helen Attwood, Footwear Buying Manager said: “This bespoke cabinet is a one of a kind item and a shoe obsessive’s dream.”

Don’t buy it: Why? Because you can’t. Now go home, open a tiny paper door and eat a stale chocolate like everyone else.

Available at Selfridges, London only.

18,000 pounds?  Holy buckets!  That's $28,044.  Absolutely insane.  I think I'll go make a calendar out of old socks, now.  I can at least afford that one...

Advent 2

Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent, so a second pair of blue shoes:

 

Advent means the paraments are blue, so I get to wear my favorite chasuble.  If only I could wear it for more than just a 4 week season.

 

These were my very first pair of Advent shoes.  I bought them 5 or 6 years ago, and I still love them.  I probably would have worn them for my wedding if I hadn't gotten the pair that was dyed to match my sash.

 

And here are my new pretty toes.  You can't tell from the picture, but they are purply-blue and sparkly.  I think they look very Advent-y.  SKD says they look like the skies over the nativity.

 

Today was another busy day.  After church I had a luncheon with the Octegenarians at church, and then went to an open house baby shower celebration. These are the shoes I made.  I didn't think about it when I made them, but they are quite Advent-y themselves.  I tried a different pattern than the first pair, and they turned out OK.

 

 

Pedro is once again modeling the hat I made for the baby.  Isn't he just so cute?  Don't worry, I've since made him a Thanksgiving hat and a Christmas hat, so he won't be jealous of the babies...

 

Shower of the Baby Variety

I attended a baby shower for one of our preschool teachers today.  She is seriously the cutest pregnant woman I have ever seen (I might say that for every pregnant woman I see, but she really is adorable).  Her baby girl is due the beginning of January, and we spent a couple of hours together oohing and aahing over all of the cute tiny presents she opened.  I won the baby game.  You know, the one where you can't say the word baby or someone else can take your pin away?  We also played where you couldn't cross your legs or someone could take your pin away.  I think I had all 12 pins by the end of the game.  I suck at most shower games, but give me one where I have to pay attention, and my introvert self kicks in to high gear.  I don't know if I should be proud or weirded out.

 

Anyway, I made shoes for the baby!  It was my first foray into shoes, and turned out to be a lot of fun.

 

 

I loved the colors, and this was a great, simple pattern to start with.  I just hope they fit.  (and yes one is slightly bigger than the other.  I've never been consistent with my tension, although I've gotten much better over the years--I'm just going to say that gives them character?)

 

I also made a hat.  I love the little floppy doo-dads on the side.  I have no idea why they are necessary in life, and at the same time I think they are totally necessary because cute.

 

 

And an afghan.  Maybe I went overboard?  But I got sucked into the bright colors and apparently couldn't stop.

 

These were a gift from our parish administrator.  They are socks that look like Mary Janes!  Every baby needs a pair!  Heck, I need a pair, except then my real shoes would cover up the sock shoes.  And who wants that?