Failed Cozy Slippers

I swear to you that I have been lucky with this pattern before.  I’ve made these slippers SIX other times. The last two times were red and black ones for Zach and lime green ones for the Boogedy.

But this time I did three things wrong (at least).

* I forgot to add an extra row for wide feet.

* I did something to make the purple opening all crookedy.

* I must have missed another row that creates the lip to hold them on, because they just fall right off.

What does one do with adorable but ill-fitting footwear?

Also, since I made these for Zach as a father’s day present, but didn’t finish them til October, would I get credit for making a christmas present when I finish the replacement pair?

Sparkle Toes

When we were on vacation in Florida, the Boogedy convinced his dad that we ALL needed pink sparkle toes, or “toe-ees” as he says.

The funniest part is that I put a topcoat on, and Zach COULD NOT get it off, even with nail polish remover. He got teased on the beach by his old beach buddies!

Here’s a sweet beach photo. You’ll have to imagine the sparkle toe-ees that made them:

Finger Monsters

I made up a really quick, simple pattern for these little guys. I’ll be teaching a class at the Black Sheep Wool Company here in Salt Lake in October if you must know how to make one! See the pink and green fellas, featured on the yarn shop’s homepage!

Bawk Bawk-Finished Chicken Butt Hat

Photo Credit: Jama Rattigan

Here is an adorable photo of Erica Perl, author of the new children’s book “Chicken Butt!” sporting a very cool hat made my yours truly.

Erica contacted me a few months back and asked me to make a hat modeled on the one I made last year for the Boogedy, but before the plucking.

The body and drumsticks are white cotton, “Luna” by Cascade Yarns. The feet are also Luna, and they’re crocheted around a brown pipe cleaner for stability. The “feathers” are a polyester fluff yarn but I don’t remember the name.

This project was fun every step of the way (ok, the feet were a challenge) and elicited lots of laughs from people who watched me make it on the bus!

Congratulations Erica on a fun book, I’m so glad you trusted me to design your reading hat!

Snakes and Frogs Birthday

The Boogedy’s 2nd birthday was actually in February, but the house was in shambles under construction, so we opted to wait and hold the party once the house was decent again. It was part birthday, part grand re-opening of the house party. The theme was snakes and frogs, inspired by this great hat I made for the Boogedy and a cute froggy invitation we sent to everyone.

Here is the awesome coral snake I made using two chocolate bundt cakes and cream cheese frosting. This was ideal for our family, most of whom do not care much for frosting. The dark sections are unfrosted. This snake is enjoying his frog dinner.

We played a great balloon stomping game where everyone tied a small balloon to their ankle and took off their shoes. Then, they tried to pop everyone else’s balloon while keeping their own balloon safe. The last person to remain unpopped is the winner. This was really fun, but the little kids in attendance were a bit overwhelmed.

Then, we played pin the fly on the frog, using a frog face modeled on the invitation we’d sent out and using hand-drawn flies.

We had visited the wine store the day before and picked out wines based on their labels (the wine specialists on-site do not approve of picking wine by our criteria). Here were some of the possibilities:

We couldn’t find any with snakes on the label! Lots of bicycles and kangaroos. Lots of estates and abstract color blocks. Lots of hoofed animals. But no snakes. So we went with the Nathanson Creek because they had white and red wines for a good price.

We put out some decorations:

And I made a baked potato bar with lots and lots of toppings. About halfway through the evening, Zach lit a bonfire in the backyard firepit and sent someone to the store for s’mores fixins. The weather was just right for sitting outside at night, just nippy enough to appreciate a fire.

It was the nicest (and biggest) party we’ve ever held, and the Boogedy received so many adorable presents. Thanks everybody!!

Happy Birthday Snake Boy!

Last year I made a crazy chicken butt hat for my sweet Boogedy when he turned 1. I knew it would be hard to top. I tossed designs around in my head all year. Zach came up with this idea and it was up to me to research snake markings and design this gluttonous creature. He may be deadly, but perhaps he bit off more than he could swallow!

What you can’t see in this picture is that the hat tapers to a long, skinny snake body that hangs down off the top of the hat to the Boogedy’s neck. I’ll try to get that shot uploaded soon.

To tell if this is a poisonous Coral Snake or the look-alike King Snake, you can use this handy rhyme: Red next to yellow, you’re a dead fellow. Red next to black, You’re OK, Jack!

Happy 2nd birthday Boogedy!!

Tacky Fridge Magnet Swap!

A few years ago, my friend Alexis in San Francisco visited Europe. She asked what I’d like her to bring me. I said “Bring me the tackiest fridge magnet in the EU!”. She brought me this from Amsterdam:

It’s still the tackiest thing on my fridge.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about swaps, and had so much fun participating in  KnitSonya’s Handmade Mushroom Swap, that I’ve decided to host my first swap.

Rules of the Tacky Handmade Fridge Magnet Swap:

1. Each participant must make 5 fridge magnets, roughly identical. Each magneteer will receive 5 random magnets!

2. Magnets should be TACKY. Not merely lame like this one on my fridge:

Nor merely dorky like this one of me on the Santa Monica roller coaster in 2004 (back row):

2. BUT, Magnets shouldn’t be obscene. My piggy might push some people’s limits of acceptable fridge decor, but she’s ok by me. Please just use your best judgment on the line between tacky and inappropriate.

3. Magnets must be handmade.  The medium and size is up to you as long as they fit criterion 4:

4. Magnets must be functional (i.e., must hold up at least one photo or child’s drawing and must not be so heavy as to slide down the fridge)

5. Magnets must be mailed to me, postmarked by April 15 (tax day!) and you must enclose a priority mail stamp or appropriate postage to have your surprise magnets sent to you.

Email me if you’re interested! And, pass it on…We need at least 6 participants!

Chicken Butt Book and Hat

A few weeks ago, Erica Perl, a children’s book author, contacted me after seeing this post about a crazy hat I made last year. She has asked me to create something similar for her to wear while she does readings of her soon-to-be-released book, “Chicken Butt!”.

Erica sent a copy of the book to my son, and it happened to arrive on his birthday last week (the big 2!).  I can’t wait to develop a new fuzzy hat to go with this adorable book. The silly text and great illustrations gave me a preview of our life two years from now when I have a joke-obsessed four-year-old.

Stirrings-Lavender blossoms

No. 2 in my collaboration with Jen at Painted Fish Studio.

I was walking home on Wednesday and was thrilled to see a small patch of lavender flowers blooming in the shade of some green grass amidst a lawn of dead-looking groundcover.

I got in close to take a macro shot and realized they were actually melted nerds or something. Woe!

I’ll be looking back at this lawn in the next few months, because I could swear this plant produces little lavender flowers!