So, my thinking is, you just start or you never will. I know it's not incredibly deep, but it's what I'm telling myself so that I'll go ahead and post even though there's a huge gap of time. I want to know you guys and I want you all to know me! I'm a mom too! I'm a hard working, barely sleeping, sometimes crazy mom. Just like all of you....admit it...I already know it's true. (If you're not, this is not an invitation to inform me...If I'm a weirdo then I prefer to stay in the dark about it!)
Things about me that are new since my last post... We found out that my youngest baby, L, suffers from severe life threatening food allergies.
His allergies include Nuts, Milk, All Dairy, Eggs, and Wheat. We have to keep a label on him at all times since some of his most severe allergens can be used as binding agents in emergency medications. I found a wonderful store on Etsy.com called Creative Clam that is run by really wonderful people. Tracey helped me design these ribbons for L and I sew them on the sleeve of each of his shirts.
They wash great and transfer easily when he outgrows his clothes. Figuring out what to feed him was quite a challenge at first, but it was nice to know why he had been crying so very much at night. His little tummy just hurt all the time. We also had several close calls with anaphylactic reactions to nuts, milk, and egg.
That's the only really big change for me, it altered the way we live life around here as you can imagine. We are all healthier for it though.
As far as crochet is concerned lots is going on as usual. Let's just jump right into the last few weeks. I received a custom order for a wool skirtie! It turned out really cute! I used a slight variation to
anyone who loves crochet! Ok, here's my variation. When doing this stitch in the round, you have to chain 5 instead of 3 when starting the row of crossed treble crochets. The chain 5 counts as the first tc and ch1. You can see that the skirty increases in size as it comes down from the waist. I did the increase on the row with the puff stitch. Between every other puff stitch I added an extra chain. Then on the row with the single crochet, I added one extra sc on each chain space that had an extra chain. It worked out perfectly.
My friend Sarah shares a pattern for a baby blanket using this stitch in her blog Engineered Crochet as well, and she shares her own border pattern! You can also see how the stitch can look
quite different when using a larger hook! Crochet is so awesome that way! It is so easy to change and adapt to whatever you want it to be by changing something as small as the hook size or how tightly you hold your thread!
I don't know about you guys, but my children have totally jumped on the "Angry Birds" band
wagon and are completely nuts for the game. They have so much fun playing, and even more fun with the plush toys that we were given at Christmas time. So...I got this idea that I could make a hat for my youngest. L has a special love for Angry Birds, so one night I just sat down and designed this hat out of my head. There are definitely a couple of changes that I'll make on my next one, but all in all I think it turned out really cute!!
And, last but not least, here is a teeny tiny little space alien that I made as a birthday gift for my friend Step to set on her desk. I found the pattern at JoAnn Fabrics when my son E and I went in there after his last check up from having tubes put in his ears. It
was a free pattern, but I can't seem to find a link for it. It was SOOO simple. Just a basic round ball using 2 threads a regular yarn and an eyelash thread. The antennae and eyes are rather self explanatory. If you decide you want to make one and can't figure it out, just message me and I'll walk you through it. I added a tiny bit of gravel in the bottom to make it heavier and make it sound a little like a hacky sack when you move it around. It just turned out really cute!
You know how it is when you're designing something from scratch?? It takes about a million times as long to finish because you are designing as you go, and sometimes that means taking it out 365 times before you get it just right. Well...that's where I am. I was looking for a stitch that would give it some texture and still be tight and modest. I think I found it!!! Isn't this darling??!! 
The part that you see here is the waistband, I am working the bodice from the bottom to the top. I'm thinking that I'll just add the flecks of the red every few rows. I find myself really wishing that I had some bright yellow, but oh well. I think it will really turn out cute! More photos to come...of course!
B found a poncho/shawl that was mine when I was 4 or 5! She immediately wanted it on and she wore it most of the day yesterday!!! She, of course, had to have a hat with it. No matter that it was 100 degrees outside...or that we didn't have a hat that matched at all!!!
I wish I had thought to take a picture of her during nap too! She wore it as a blanket!! So sweet! 
My Niece S (6 months old), sporting a stylish headwrap! 
And these are my sock monkey shorties! They were a special order from my friend
