Modeling. Bleh!

Harper HATES modeling for me! I literally bribe her with baked goods, or ice cream or TV in order for her to leave something on or stay still. Today I managed to only get two semi-decent photos from her. And by decent I mean they are not blurry or of her ripping the hat off her head. This is a new style of hat I made for Ellie's Enchanted Closet and the craft show I am doing in October. The boy version of this (which of course I didn't get photos of before I took it to the store) was Navy, lime green and white and was AWESOME! (If I do say so myself!) Love an earflap hat! Thank you to Kristi of RAKJpatterns for the inspiration and the patterns! (If you crochet and are in need of beautiful and easy to follow patterns click on the link above and visit RAKJpatterns' shop on Etsy! Or look for her on Ravelry under Oh So Cute Designs.)

Not looking at the camera.Totally over it. And like I said, these were the good ones!

Hat Crazy

So, I was told the other day that I need to post more pictures of the things I make (Thank you again Tracy for the great compliments and the little push I needed to get my buns in gear!). I am horrible about making things and then NOT taking pictures of them. Jeff is constantly yelling at me, "It's so easy to take and post pictures!" (He is by far my biggest fan, and thinks I am super talented and is always telling me "not to hide my light," and a bunch of other cute stuff like that!) Well, this is true, it is easy, I just don't do it as often as I should, which is funny because that is kind of what a blog is all about...hmm? Anyway, I thought I would show you some things I have made. I would like to say I have made these things lately, but that is not true, I have had these pictures for awhile, and now I have a whole new slough of stuff I need to photograph and post! Enjoy!

Just a sweet little girl hat...LOVE a big flower on a little head!

Little boy beanie made out of some leftover yarn I had. The next one I make I won't use the same color twice, but like I said "leftover." If you belong to Ravelry you can find the pattern here. (Side note #1, I have made a girl version of this with a little pom pom on top, super cute. You can (maybe) see it on little Micaiah Lee here. Side note #2, If you crochet/knit and you don't belong to Ravelry, you need to join!)
I am IN LOVE with this hat! And how cute would it be with a big flower on it for a girl? The tassels are super long and the yarn is thick and cuddley. And while this pic doesn't do it justice, you can go here and see sweet little Owen wearing this hat and the matching diaper cover I made. But be careful, you may die of cuteness; proceed with caution. (This hat is also on sale at my etsy store, and the diaper cover is soon to come. It makes a great baby shower gift or a great prop for your favorite photographer!)
This is the same as the Harper Flower that I posted about here; I just changed the colors. Personally, I LOVE this one. This one in particular was made for Miss Mckinley Thai, the beautiful daughter of my life long friend Chelsea (we were in the same 3rd grade class, were in youth group together and were college roomates). Mck was born 10 days before my Luke, and even though they have never met (Chelsea and her husband live on the east coast) they will be married one day; we're bringing back the arranged marriage.

Easy. Cute. Presents.

So I like to make stuff. I love to find new patterns, create my own projects and just dream of all the things I would like to sew, crochet, mod podge, cut, hang, embellish (you get where I'm going with this?) Anyway, the problem is that usually, I find so many things I want to do that the "looking" and "thinking" takes up the time of the "doing." Well with a couple birthdays coming up (two being today; Happy Birthday Kerri and Claire) I had a great excuse to make some stuff.

I have a braided fabric headband that I love, and as I was reading through a few blogs that I like and I found this tutorial to make my own. Super easy. Super fast. The only advice would be to cut your fabric strips bigger than you may think. The first time I made it (yeah, I know I said it was super easy, I just like to make life harder) I cut my strips too small and my braids were tiny and just weren't the look I was going for. So the next time, I cut my fabric a few inches wide and it turned out a lot better (this is one of two that I am sending to my sister's- in- law; they have the same birthday.)

I had been looking for a good kid pattern for a brimmed hat (I already have an adult) and I found one here. But this pattern was made for a 7-8 year old, and I needed it to fit a (soon to be) 1 year old, so I simply used a G hook instead of a J. I tried it on Luke (who is also 1) and it's a little big, but he kinda has a peanut head, so...

The hat is for a our good friend Hudson (he's Luke's BFF), Hudson's dad, Nick, is doing an Army Residency in DC (which means Jeff and I are far away from OUR friends...single tear!), so I cut out his last name in camo letters and then glued (and stitched the corners) down. I think it's cute and I am planning on making Luke one and then when Luke and Hudson are reunited they can wear their hats together (because that's what BFF's do people.)

My daughter's the cutest...and these headbands are alright too.

After an argument about her outfit (that ended in her crying and me bribing), I finally got the crazy girl to model these headbands I had made. And by model, I mean follow her around and beg her to be still for 2 seconds while I snap a photo. But here they are...

This flower pattern I found here and the headband I just made up, it was super easy, maybe I'll post it another time.

For this bow headband I simply crocheted around an elastic headband, and then attached the bow (go here for the pattern.) They both turned out great, but I didn't love them until this cute girl put them on!

Headband/Ear-warmer for Katie

My wonderful sister-in-law was in a store with her sister (are you following me so far?) who saw a knitted headband/ear-warmer that she wanted to buy. Instead of letting her sister buy this headband/ear-warmer, my wonderful sister-in-law took a picture of it, sent it to me and asked if I could make it. Here is the finished product. Hopefully my wonderful sister-in-law's sister will like it! (By the way her name is Katie, I was just having fun writing "my wonderful sister-in-law's sister). PS- This is a super easy pattern I made up, that I might possibly post at another time, but I haven't showered for a day and half (two puking kids will do that to you) so I'm going to go ahead and do that now.

New Items On Etsy...The Crocheting Comeback!

I put some new items on etsy.com last night (NewMillie.etsy.com). The first is my Puffy, Slouchy Beret and the second is the Cable Crochet Brimmed Hat. I love them both, but I will have to say that the brimmed hat is my fav! 

In an effort to find/make/create stylish crochet patterns (I'm so tired of finding 1 cool crochet pattern for every 47 knit patterns) I am going to start compiling some of my favorite patterns as well as posting my own! The Crochet Comeback is in full effect!

Hats in March?

It does seem silly to make wool hats in March, but they are just so fun! I used two balls of mutli-colored wool yarn and was able to make three hats. I have spent years making up my own patterns, but using someone else's does really help you learn...try this one.

Bags, Bags and more Bags

So in preparing for the craft show in March I have been crocheting and sewing like a mad woman. I do have other projects finished, I just haven't taken any photos yet. But here is the first of many bags I am making (all different) for the show. It has been really fun making up patterns and just letting things come together as I go. This bag I was calling the "Mama Bag" because it is pretty big. It is crocheted with 100% cotton cream yarn. It is lined in some of the fabric I bought at goodwill and the strap is crocheted fabric strips (in the lining fabric). I think it's pretty fun.
The lining with two pockets.
The crocheted fabric strap. I tied the ends in a bow and then sewed it closed.
My attempt at a handmade label. I stitched "New Millie" on felt and then sewed it in.
I have more bags to come...to be continued.

Snow Day Projects With No Snow!

The snow has almost melted so I figured it was time to get my butt in gear and finish my "Snow Day Projects." I spent most of last evening sewing in my lining; I have the needle pricked fingers to prove it!
View of the inside.
Snap closure. When working into late hours of the night, be sure to double check your work before you do anything you will have to rip out. The first time I sewed in the snap I sewed the back side up. Needless to say, it had to be redone.

Things That Happen While Babysitting

Last week, while Harper and Lucie (the little girl I babysit) were napping (Thank you Jesus that they were both down at the same time!) I decided I needed a new cell phone case; Harper had dropped mine while we were taking a walk in the park and by the time I realized it, I was watching a woman waiting for the bus picking it up and putting it her purse (she must have needed it, right?). Anyway, this led me to this little case. It was super easy, here's the patterns:Materials:

6 mm crochet hook

Medium weight acrylic blend yarn (really anything will work)

sewing needle

button

fabric and sewing materials for lining (optional)

Chain your desired length, I have a LG Voyager from Verizon and I chained 18

row 1: sc in second chain from hook. Continue to sc in the rest of the chain, do not turn. Sc on the other side of the chain all the way down, do not join round.

Row 2+: Continue with this pattern (sc on both sides) until desired depth is obtained. (Once again, for my phone I sc 12 rounds).

Button hook: On your last round SC until middle of second side, chain 9 or so (depends on thickness of phone) skip one SC and join chain to next SC, continue to SC to finish round.

Button: Choose any type of button and sew to opposite side of button hook.

I decided to line mine, which I think is cute, but the cover would work great without the lining also.

1. To line simply measure the width of your case and then add 1 inch. (This will give you a 1/2 inch seam on each side.

2. Measure the depth of your case from the bottom of the inside to the row that you want to attach the lining to (I chose the second stitch from the top). Multiple your depth by two and then add 1 inch (For example, if your depth is 5 then it will equal: 5 x 2=10+1=11 inches).

3. Measure your fabric and cut.

4. Fold fabric in half (pattern side in) length (depth) wise. Iron. Measure a 1/2 inch seam at the top of each side. Iron fabric out.

5. Pin along sides of folded fabric and sew a 1/2 inch seam on each side. Iron side seams out.

6. Sew the top 1/2 inch seam.

7. Fit lining into case and hand sew in. Be sure to sew only on the inside stitch so it doesn't show through on the outside of the case.

If you haven't sewn before these instructions are going to be very confusing! If you need pictures go to Futuregirl and check out her tutorials on "How to sew a lining" and how to "Sew a lining into a crocheted bag." Don't you wish I would have told you this before?

GOOD LUCK!

Holy Cowl!

So maybe it's the weather, but I have been in this scarf/cowl mood lately. This multicolored one was once what I called the "Ugly Scarf." I was about to rip it all apart when Jeff told me to stop being ridiculous and do something with it; so I added the buttons and "ta-dah" it's an "Ugly Cowl."

I really wanted to make a cowl with a chunky yarn, but I didn't have enough of this brown yarn. However, I remembered a beanie I had made Jeff when we first started dating. He never it wore it, so I took it apart and made the cowl (sorry Jeff). I used a cream in the same weight to join it together. I think it turned out pretty good. I think I'll wear it tomorrow!