According to Ravelry, I finished this blanket in 15 days of April 2008. That’s right before this guy was born. It was the only blanket I crocheted for him and of course it still makes its rotation around the house–in my bed, in his, in the living room, dining room, etc. It even went [Read More...]]]>

According to Ravelry, I finished this blanket in 15 days of April 2008. That’s right before this guy was born. It was the only blanket I crocheted for him and of course it still makes its rotation around the house–in my bed, in his, in the living room, dining room, etc. It even went with us when we evacuated during Hurricane Ike. One of my favorite Andrew-baby photos is of him on top of it in a wagon while we were staying at Grandma’s during the evacuation. He was so deliciously chubby. See?

So, yes. This is a nearly 4 year-old FO. Both the blanket and the baby.

I missed Day 2 because I was busy doing copious amounts of laundry. I washed all of my kiddo’s blankets only to have one of them (the littlest one) puke all over his bed in the middle of the night. Chunky, pink, smelly puke. I was being punished for missing this day, I [Read More...]]]>

craft tools

I missed Day 2 because I was busy doing copious amounts of laundry. I washed all of my kiddo’s blankets only to have one of them (the littlest one) puke all over his bed in the middle of the night. Chunky, pink, smelly puke. I was being punished for missing this day, I KNOW IT. So…enjoy these extra shots! I love my hooks and needles. I only put in two sets of DPNs with my hooks because they were in the same jar. I should do this again with my knitting needles!

Day 3 (today) coming up shortly!

Let’s not talk about how my hook is pointing up my nose. :)

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I’m participating in a fun February photo challenge via untangling knots.

You should join us!

Happy Monday, folks! I’m here to share two posts I’m excited about this lovely Monday morning– a tutorial AND a giveaway! WHAT?! How sweet is that?

First, learn how to turn your 5-minute hearts into a vertical garland on Sweetly Yours.

Then, head on over to my girl thursday and enter to [Read More...]]]>

Happy Monday, folks! I’m here to share two posts I’m excited about this lovely Monday morning– a tutorial AND a giveaway! WHAT?! How sweet is that?

First, learn how to turn your 5-minute hearts into a vertical garland on Sweetly Yours.

Then, head on over to my girl thursday and enter to win a custom doily blanket! Wahoooo! It’s been about a month since my last doily blanket giveaway, so I think it’s about time.

I love spreading the doily blanket love. If you don’t win, you can always snag yours in the shop. But hurry–prices will be going up early February! If you can crochet, make your own with my patterns in Lace Love.

I hope these two posts help you kick off your week with a bang!

The night before last, My Girl Thursday and ♥elycia hosted Craft Night! I logged on while they were getting their camera and stream situated and proceeded to cut my pieces during the first few minutes. I followed along with them for about an hour and a half and then had to help with bedtime. [Read More...]]]>

The night before last, My Girl Thursday and ♥elycia hosted Craft Night! I logged on while they were getting their camera and stream situated and proceeded to cut my pieces during the first few minutes. I followed along with them for about an hour and a half and then had to help with bedtime. I was able to pick up where I left off when I got back and finished all of the sewing that night. I stuffed my camera the next morning and presented it to Andrew.

He LOVES it. I took these photos this morning and you can see where the felt is already pilling. I used the craft-store stuff because that’s all I had on hand. I intended to make it all blue, but…ummmm I ran out. Ha! Oh well. I like the contrasting yellow sides and top/bottom.

Did you participate? Show me!

After posting this photo on Twitter, the kind folks over at Tumbleweeds contacted me and asked if we would be interested in reviewing a pair of child-size sunglasses. Of course!

Upon opening the package, I was immediately struck by how tiny the glasses seemed. Surely, they would not fit my toddler’s giant noggin. [Read More...]]]>

After posting this photo on Twitter, the kind folks over at Tumbleweeds contacted me and asked if we would be interested in reviewing a pair of child-size sunglasses. Of course!

Upon opening the package, I was immediately struck by how tiny the glasses seemed. Surely, they would not fit my toddler’s giant noggin.

I called him over and was SO happy to be proven wrong.

They fit perfectly! Wearing his dad’s sunglasses, he constantly had to be poking them back over his little button nose. These were so nice and snug. Andrew was super excited, too! Anything he can wear that is like someone else’s in the family–he LOVES. He was so excited when both he and Nathan got similar jackets for Christmas.

These glasses provide the perfect touch of uniqueness while still letting him look like his dad. Plus, they’re super durable! He doesn’t quite yet know how to take them off without stretching them and the frames were just as snug after a few pops on and off.

Many, many thanks to Tumbleweeds for providing these little sunnies for my boy. He is so happy with them. We can’t wait for more sunny days! He’s already ordered me to keep them in my purse all the time. He went so far as to suggest I keep them with my camera. Smart boy!

Andrew’s wearing: Zebra wood sunglasses c/o Tumbleweeds, shirt from Threadless, cardigan from Danielle’s online yard sale, and no pants because that’s how he rolls on Sunday mornings.

Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away, so why not start adorning your house (self, bags, books, etc) with hearts? This is a super quick 3 row pattern that you can probably complete in under 5 minutes. String them up garland-style, or add a safety pin to the back and have yourself a brooch. [Read More...]]]>

Valentine’s Day is a few weeks away, so why not start adorning your house (self, bags, books, etc) with hearts? This is a super quick 3 row pattern that you can probably complete in under 5 minutes. String them up garland-style, or add a safety pin to the back and have yourself a brooch. I chain stitched some together to make a vertical garland. Love!

Materials
worsted weight yarn
5mm (H) hook

Abbreviations (U.S. terms)
Ch- chain
SC- single crochet
DC – double crochet
slst- slip stitch
sk- skip
st- stitch

Pattern
Ch 4
Row 1: 1 SC in second ch from hook, 3 SC in next ch, 1 SC in last ch. Ch 3, turn.
Row 2: 3 DC in first st, 1 SC in next st, 3 SC in next st, 1 SC in next st, 4 DC in last st. Ch 1, DO NOT TURN.

Edge: 2 SC in first half of the side of last DC, 1 SC in next half, SC the first and last ch of the beginning chain together, 1 SC in the first ch of beg ch-3 of Row 2, 2 SC in next ch, 2 SC in last ch, 2 SC in first DC, 1 SC in each of the next 4 stitches, 3 SC in the “corner stitch”, 1 SC in each of the next 4 stitches, 2 SC in last DC. Slst to top of first SC. Fasten off.

The edge can seem a little confusing, so I made this video–

This is the very first time I’ve made a crochet video. To be completely honest…I LOVED IT. It was awkward at first and pretty difficult to get focus, but I think I might make more for future projects. I found the music on Vimeo and it’s called “Instrumental salad” by Marlo Eggplant (www.myspace.com/marloeggplantmusic).

I used Windows Movie Maker to create this video. Any tips for newbies? I didn’t realize there were black edges on the sides until after. I expected the bars on top, but not the sides. I’ll have to figure out what those are next time.

Let me know what you think about goodknits videos!

[Cupcake containers]

[Heart crayons]

[Amigurumi heart friend]

[Heart pins]

My husband has been in Las Vegas 4 out of the past 5 Valentine’s Days. He works for an apparel company and so he’s there for the men’s fashion convention, MAGIC (ha). The first few years it really bummed me out, but [Read More...]]]>

[Knit heart, thrifted garland]

[Cupcake containers]

[Heart crayons]

[Amigurumi heart friend]

[Heart pins]

My husband has been in Las Vegas 4 out of the past 5 Valentine’s Days. He works for an apparel company and so he’s there for the men’s fashion convention, MAGIC (ha). The first few years it really bummed me out, but now I’m used to it. These days, I consider it more of a kid’s holiday. We get to play with pinks! Reds! Whites! Hearts! Cupcakes! It’s a crafty holiday and so I really dig it. How about you?

Do you like Valentine’s Day or do you ditch it? Is it more of a romantic or fun holiday for you?

I’ll be back soon with a super simple under-five-minutes crochet heart pattern.

We decided to take a little trip to the Houston Zoo, this weekend. We invited the boys from our cub scout pack to go with us. We spent five hours there and yet we didn’t see everything. It’s such a massive place! We definitely want to go back and check out other stuff. We [Read More...]]]>

We decided to take a little trip to the Houston Zoo, this weekend. We invited the boys from our cub scout pack to go with us. We spent five hours there and yet we didn’t see everything. It’s such a massive place! We definitely want to go back and check out other stuff. We have a “Supporting” membership and so we can take a pretty decent group with us. For free! This thing paid for itself after the first visit.

Grandma went with us!



An Instax self-portrait by Nathan. The close-up filter is so cool!

Just say “booooooo!” to flash.

There are TONS of succulent plants (mainly agaves, aloes, and other cacti) around the zoo. Love.

I had my DSLR with me, but I didn’t take it out once. Instead, I used up a whole pack of Instax Wide film. I really love this camera! I posted some Instax photos, last week as well. Maybe next time I’ll get some shots of the animals. Womp.

fever: My sweet little guy woke up around 12:30 am the other night– “there’s something in my rooooom!” I was asleep, but daddy was not, so Andrew ended up in bed with me. The next 5 hours were kind of a blur. See, earlier that night he had a fever. No other symptoms, really, [Read More...]]]>

fever: My sweet little guy woke up around 12:30 am the other night– “there’s something in my rooooom!” I was asleep, but daddy was not, so Andrew ended up in bed with me. The next 5 hours were kind of a blur. See, earlier that night he had a fever. No other symptoms, really, but he was warm. I expected him to fall back asleep, but instead of a blissful slumber with a warm cuddly bear, we pretty much talked all night. Every little shadow he saw, he thought was SOMETHING–kitties, owls, scary ladies, and finally at 4am he declared the shadows were turning daddy GREEN. I assured him daddy was NOT green and that HE wouldn’t turn green if he fell asleep. I could see him drifting in and out, but he wouldn’t just STAY asleep. At least not until around 5:30. I promptly fell asleep after I was sure he was out only to be woken up an hour and a half later to get my oldest ready for school. After sending him and Jason off, I napped with Andy until about NOON. It definitely threw me off, but he was feeling better and there was no pesky fever. Whew!

style: He went out with my mom, this afternoon. He wanted to wear his “doctor shirt” (omgosh) and blue jeans. then, when we put on his brown boots and jacket, he noticed the brown hat hanging by the front door. Voila! We have an adorable outfit.

hat: $4 clearance at Kohl’s (score!) / shirt: Kohl’s / jacket: thrifted / pants (not shown): Nate’s old Levi’s blue jeans

there are blue skies in my dreams and laughter that seems un-ending there are green grass fields there and happiness and hopes for tomorrow

Just a few photos from our weekend taken with my Instax 210. We were in our old neighborhood, so we passed by one of the parks we used to [Read More...]]]>

there are blue skies in my dreams
and laughter that seems un-ending
there are green grass fields there
and happiness and hopes for tomorrow

Just a few photos from our weekend taken with my Instax 210. We were in our old neighborhood, so we passed by one of the parks we used to take the boys to and found it torn down and replaced with this new…weird structure. There was a slide there that had NO EDGES on it. AND it had an awkward twist way up top. It was terrifying! I was kind of bummed to see this new place because I took some pretty lovely photos of the boys there when Andrew was a baby. Oh yeah, there are also no swings left behind at the park. I’d be so upset if we still lived in the area!

It’s been in the 70s, the past few days and it is downright ruining my winter mood. In fact, I’ve given up on Winter already. Spring designs and projects are being brainstormed and put in my little notebook already. I may even tackle some Spring cleaning, this weekend, too (I make no promises).

I meant to post this before the year ended, but I just got caught up with other stuff. I’ve enjoyed a long weekend with my family and my son’s 2-week holiday vacation ends tomorrow, so I think it’s time to get back in the habit [Read More...]]]> Happy new year, friends! It’s 2012. That’s just wild!

I meant to post this before the year ended, but I just got caught up with other stuff. I’ve enjoyed a long weekend with my family and my son’s 2-week holiday vacation ends tomorrow, so I think it’s time to get back in the habit of posting and sharing.

For now, let’s re-visit the top five tutorials or patterns I posted in 2011*.

Thank you all so much for making 2011 a fantastic year for this blog. I love sharing patterns and DIY ideas with you and I LOVE receiving feedback on it all. Many wishes for wonderful year!

I’m basing this list on what I see in my Google Analytics. This list includes the most visited tutorials posted in 2011. You can view the full list of Goodknits DIY posts here!

I never really want it to be over until it’s 8pm and we’ve been going-going-going for 2 days straight and I finally feel like I’ll explode with sugar and happiness. It sounds like it’d be sweet, but…no. If I exploded, it’d be horrible. And so we shuttle home and transfer children from car to [Read More...]]]>

I never really want it to be over until it’s 8pm and we’ve been going-going-going for 2 days straight and I finally feel like I’ll explode with sugar and happiness. It sounds like it’d be sweet, but…no. If I exploded, it’d be horrible. And so we shuttle home and transfer children from car to bed and then collapse on the couch. I sleep for 12 hours and the next day, we do NOTHING. No cleaning, no sorting, no nothing. And then I REALLY want it to be over.

Yesterday, my mom took my boys for a few hours and I was able to take down the tree and pull down some decorations. They’re all sitting in a box on my living room floor. I want so desperately to be able to do things completely, but I struggle with it. I get distracted easily. I used to have discipline, but it lost its way. Maybe it doesn’t really matter, but sometimes I think it would be nice.

taken with my new camera!

It’s over. I’ll miss the ornaments and glitter, but I am really glad things can go back to normal.

How are you? Did Christmas wipe you out? Have you recovered?

for him: a vintage cardigan I found on Etsy. for me (I buy myself gifts, so what?!): film for my SX-70 (PX100 from the Impossible Project)