Phone case

Yippeee!!! Our wedding date is set! I reserved the church for Friday evening, March 11th. I can't believe it's so soon! =) Nothing can stop me from smiling today!

Last night while watching a movie, I crocheted my new phone (that was a late Christmas present from the old papadukes) a case. It's a ZTE touch screen phone and probably the nicest phone I'll ever own, since I'm not really interested in all the bells and whistles phones come with these days. Although, I'll admit, having the internet with you everywhere is pretty cool... 

I just chained the width of the phone twice, joined with a slip stitch and then crochet sc all around. I'm just so used to amigurumi making, I'm surprised I didn't start the project with a magic circle, haha. Anyway, it's a bit too long (was paying more attention to the movie?) and I started making what was supposed to be the closing flap for a button too late (did I mention I wasn't paying attention?). To top it all off, I even made the button close hole on the wrong side. Therefore, this is now just an envelope type case. Lol... It's cute and it'll do until I make something better...with a bit more concentration? I think I'll make my dad one before he leaves since we have the same phone now. I can't believe that starting next Monday, we'll be staying at their house for 6 weeks...and hopefully doing a spot of redecorating!! Yay! or Yay?

The phone's inside all safe and warm!

The envelope flap, double chains

The actual phone if you were wondering

I've also half way completed the acorn I wrote about last time, just need to do the top and add the closures. I'll post pictures when it's complete! =)

Happy Tuesday!

Birthday Tortoise

Well, I've finally managed to finish the tortoise for the sis-in-law! Her birthday is in 4 days though, so I don't see it making it there on time, especially since the post office is closed tomorrow... But I'm HAPPY he's finished, and I must say, it was tough to find the time or motivation to work on him. Here he is!

 

Once again, the pattern is from Roman sock, linked here. She has some really great ideas and patterns and sells some patterns as well. 

Making this buddy was challenging because I originally made him with lighter contrasting yarn, which I then ran out of... So I attempted using a darker contrasting yarn... Until I ran out of that... So I ended up with a slightly monochrome tortoise and a whole bunch of multi-colored shell pieces (maybe the starts of some granny hexagons/squares?) and a bit of frustration. (I really liked making a frame out of pipe cleaners though, the fact that the little buddy is pose-able is super cool!)

Another challenge was finding the time! Between researching and being excited about Kyoto and getting married, I started school again and even had a test in the first week. Talk about being tired! I ended up sleeping over 12 hours last night -- straight! Love love love that Mr. Man understands that sometimes, a girl just has to sleep, and took the dogs out and took care of them during the evening. 

Speaking of the dogs, Koda is getting BIGGER and BIGGER. He's picked up some manners for sure, but is the most stubborn dog I've ever met. He's really smart too, which makes for some really tricky training... I can't wait for him to get his last round of vaccines so we can take him to puppy obedience classes and make a real dog out of him, lol! 

 

Another happy thing, we are investing in a super-camera for our Kyoto trip...!! which means, we'll have a super-camera after the Kyoto trip as well!!! I'm super excited, it's going to be so nice to have some really good quality pictures for once! The camera I have now is a discount Kodak 7 megapixel point and shoot, so needless to say, we are going to be light years ahead with the new Canon! Yaaay!

As for the weather here, it's been warmer in the past few days, but it's back to -20C again. BLAH! At least it makes the trees white with frost and with the high pressure, the sun was out today as well. How I have missed it!

 The last time the weather was like this was a couple of weeks ago, the 4th actually. We took a long walk to my parent's house, forgetting how cold -20C feels when you are in it for more than 10 minutes... We were in PAIN and completely frost covered by the time we made it to their house! We got some good snapshots though from the trip. If you were wondering, no we didn't take the dogs out for such a long walk in that kind of weather, their poor little paws would have frozen, and no, they aren't the types who would agree to wearing booties, hahah =)

Downtown-ish Tampere

The view from on top of the foggy waterfall Tammerkoski smack dab in downtown Tampere

There were ducks swimming in this! I guess out in the middle, where the current is still so rough from the waterfall, it's still warm enough? Or maybe they're just crazy Finnish ducks! =D

Love the texture that millions of snowflakes upon each other creates =)

Well, I think my next project is another one from Roman sock, the sock knitter's acorn pattern. When I read it, I knew this was for my aunt, who as I've mentioned previously is a master at sock knitting. I just have to make it for her! 

I'm going to use one of my Christmas yarns, this one actually: 

Quite acorn-y.

Well, that's it for this time, 

thanks for reading!

So, it's 2011

Well, all I can say about the new year is, thank goodness me it's here! 2010 was a very up and down sort of year and while a lot of good things happened (getting engaged, getting a puppy, finding peace of mind through yarn and a crochet hook); a lot of laziness, lack of motivation and bad feelings occurred as well. So while I thank you 2010, I'm still happy to see you go! Lol!

The first sunny day of 2011, today! =)

2011 is the year I am getting married. So unbelievable in a way, but I am so happy about it. We've been really letting the wedding get in the way of getting MARRIED since the engagement and now that we have separated the two, we've come to the conclusion that the wedding is not getting married and that getting married should be stress-free, romantic and a celebration of our love for each other by US. Therefore, we let go of having a wedding with all of the hoopla... we're eloping!!! =) Destination: Kyoto, Japan. Not only that, but instead of having a wedding in the states at the end of December, we're going during the cherry blossom time...the end of MARCH! Excitement has taken hold of me! If you don't understand the fuss about Japan, google Maruyama park, the philosopher's path and temples of Kyoto. If you still don't get it, google those terms with cherry blossoms. Oh me oh my. Gorgeous! I can't stop thinking about it, I really feel good about our decision although it isn't the traditional thing to do. We have a lot to do before we go!

As for crocheting... I have started my crocheting year with tortoises. I made this fellow for my sister in law, until I realized this was for one of my friends. Once it was done, it just shouted her name.

Quite an ugly fellow, but cute in its own way... No? The pattern is from "Super super cute crochet" by Brigitte Read, one of the books I got for Christmas. Well, since this little one was born and can't be given to the sister in law (birthday approaching...), a fellow like this is on the way:

Okay, that's just the pieces I've made so far to make this: Roman Sock's Greek Tortoise (linked). I'm really excited to see it done, but man, it's pretty complicated and something tells me it won't make to the post office in time to make it to the states for her birthday. And now that I've been so excited about JAPAN, researching has put this baby on the back burner. Sorry!

Before I go, let me share a bit of the weather... snow snow snow. After Christmas it snowed. A lot. And it's not like we didn't have enough snow BEFORE Christmas. So here is a view of our patio (after hubbyman-to-be shoveled it and after that it sprinkled a new layer of snow, go figure eh).

Up to my knees almost! 

Well, hope your new year started well. Thanks for reading! =)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas or Hyvää Joulua as we say here in Finland. It's been a frrrrreeezing -28 C (or -18 F). RIDICULOUSLY COLD! Today warmed up a bit and it's sick when you go outside with the dogs in a rush in the morning and think, "Man, I'm wearing half the clothing I wore yesterday, I bet it's pretty warm out" ...only to go back in, check out the temperature and see it's STILL a cold -12 C (10 F). That's what happens I guess when you live close to the North Pole. Lol!

Christmas has been quiet this year, it's just the three of us: my dad, my fiance and myself. Oh yes, and FOUR dogs! =D I decided not to stress out about anything being perfect, because I didn't want to be responsible for Christmas prep on my own. I also figured they wouldn't notice if Christmas was a little less Christmas-y (and I was quite right). Therefore, I skipped all baking. All decorating. We had half the choices of food and have still managed to feel bursting at the seams with delicious ham, traditional casseroles etc. So it all worked out.

I am not in love with how the tree looks, but it's festive and it really does make Christmas Christmas. We weren't going to put it up, but at the last minute (Tuesday) my fiance decided he couldn't do Christmas without a tree...so up to the attic he went and got ALL the boxes and my mom's white tree down. And then he put it up with a little help from me. Thank goodness he did! =)

We have been busy all week in general here at my folk's place because we managed to talk my dad into rearranging! Seems like all the hints we've been dropping about how we are going to transform the place when he leaves have sunk in so he finally gave in and saw the point we were making all along...the space has so much potential, take advantage of it! Hallelujah, it's a Christmas miracle, LOL! So yes, the transformation has begun. I'm THRILLED! We also managed to sand and stain as well as upholster the chairs my mom has been going on about for almost 20 years! =) =) =)

sanded

stained

Finito (minus the layers of shellac we have to add)

Oh, and I made out like a bandit this Christmas as well... Sweaters, tank tops, socks, thermals, beanie, Iittala glass and YARN!!! Tons of it, each skein is HUGE and every color seems to be represented...All thanks to the mom-in-law! She knows her stuff that lady. =) She also sent me a couple of crochet books. I'm stoked and so excited to try it all out.

Hope everyone out there in blogland had a lovely Christmas or whatever you celebrate this time of the year and I wish each and all a very happy new year filled with tons of inspiration and happy moments crafting and creating!!! 

My Christmas gifts

Here are the pictures I promised of my christmas gifts. Enjoy!

A flower wreath for my Godmother:

The pattern can be found on the Attic24 blog linked here. She uses her own little picot flower pattern, I used her crochet flowers and leaves pattern. The bow I made up myself by just making a long chain, turning and double chaining all the way back. Then I had a "ribbon" of sorts and I just played with it until I got something that looked like a bow. Haha, this is how I craft... I added a bit of yarn to the back so that it created a hook to hang it up with. I hope she loves it as much as I do!

Snowflakes for my sister-in-law:

I read the pattern wrong when I made my first snowflake sometime ago and used US dc instead of UK dc as instructed in the pattern (also Attic24, link here). They turned out bigger and I thought they were cute so I ran with it. I love the way they turned out in purples, my sister-in-law's favorite color. I hope she can find use for these on their Christmas tree or something.

My step-niece's cat:

 

It turned out really cute and I was easy to make but sheesh, the button eyes I put on are obviously wonky. Oh well. And the ears. Double oh well. I could make another one of these, it was a quite pleasant pattern. The link for this cat can be found here

Nephew #1's shark:

I'm almost too embarrassed to post this picture. It was a good try but this shark was a disaster from start to finish. Especially the finish. The fins all look stupid, not to mention I was so tired of this monster to even bother with the side fins. The teeth were a really sad joke and last minute attempt at something like teeth. I feel bad that lovely little nephew #1 got scheisted out of a nice present. I will have to make it up to him. Good thing this isn't the only present under the tree! The link for those brave enough to try this is here. I think something may have been lost in translation between me and this pattern. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nephew #2's owl

I've already posted about this sweetie owl. But here he is again! The link for him can be found here

 And what's this?! This is the owlish blue bird for nephew #3!

Smaller yarn --> smaller bird. He looks a little silly but he's cute in his own way. This is a pattern that started out the same as the owl above but I lost count and ended up winging the rest. (No pun intended, haha)

My sister's gifts:

I made her a pear, pattern found here and the same Attic 24 snowflakes, only as you can see, in blue. I love these too! 

 

 

 

 

Here are the ornaments for the mother-in-law:

 

The tree pattern can be found here

The snowman had his button eyes and nose hot glue gunned on but he turned out kinda cute in his own way... The pattern for him can be found here on the Bernat website (membership required).

 The white snowflakes are also the same as above.

Lastly, the one and only brother's gift:

Mario mushroom to remind him of the hours we spent as kids playing nintendo with each other. The pattern can be found here. Love it!

That's it for today, so happy to see all my projects again and hope you did too!

Puppy breath and big paws!

What a week this has been!!! 

WE GOT A PUPPY! We had been looking for about a year and finally the right litter at the right time caught our attention, we went to see him at 4 weeks and now at 8 weeks, he is in our home terrorizing our other animal children and being a big PITA but he's so cute and so sweet, it's hard to stay mad at him. We named him Koda since he'll probably be as big as a bear. Lol! He is St. Bernard, Rottweiler and Bull Mastiff.

Those are some big paws to grow into, eh... Well, my week has been trying to teach him the rules of the house and show him I'm the boss here. Not so easy, he is SO STUBBORN! We have been following the training methods of Jan Fennell, she's written a really great book called "The Dog Listener" (link here to her website). It's all about learning to "speak" to the dog through the dog's own language, mainly body language. It's a really great method because there is no violence involved. However, being consistent is super important for it to work -- and it takes time. We're pulling our hair out a bit with this puppy. He's just so spirited... and loud! Our neighbors surely hate us by now. Oh well, he'll be such an awesome dog once we get some manners into his head! =)

I'm sure it comes as no surprise when I say that my next project that I started a couple of days ago is.... A DOG SWEATER! Lol! I'm trying to make a masculine one with the yarns I have in abundance. Therefore, it's a green, navy blue and brown striped sweater. I've been trying to figure out how I can rig it to be different sizes, as I am sure that it will not fit him for long seeing as I am making it according to his current measurements. We'll see what I end up doing with it. If I decide to just make it the size he is now, I can always send it to the sister-in-law who has two small boy dogs. 

This is the top part of the sweater. I am going to do another brown and another green stripe, thinner ones though. By then I should have the needed 14 inches in length. 

My Tuesday was consumed with taking Koda on the bus for the first time (it went surprisingly well) and going to my parents' house where he met my their dogs for the first time. It was my mom's last day before her trip to the states. She'll be gone for 3 whole months. I am gonna miss having her around sooooo much but I know my brother and sister and their boys will be so happy to have her. Anywho, I ended up finally having to finish all my projects and my oh my, it took me all day. I soooooo hate finishing projects. I hate hand stitching all the bits together and them going on crooked or uneven. It's so annoying to spend hours crocheting beautifully and counting rows etc to just make it look very unusual with your sewing. Grr!!! Oh well, the main point is that everyone got something handmade by me with love. I hope they like their gifts! I took pictures with my dad's camera when they were all done but the pictures are still on my dad's camera. I'll try to post the pictures when I go there on Sunday or Monday. Stay tuned!

I still have yet to share my Thanksgiving pictures! Here they are! Hope you don't get too hungry looking at them, hahaha! 

Our table setting created by the lovely hubby-to-be! I love our Iittala glassware. It's so precious to me, it's all been handed down from my mom. 

 

 

 

 

 

On the left is the apple-cornbread stuffing and the right is of course green bean casserole. They were both big hits!

The sweet potatoes that were meant to be baked but ended up becoming boiled because time was of the essence. They were good anyway. 

My green chicken, lol! It was really tender but not the most appetizing to look at. It tasted delicious and the seasoning was spot on. I marinaded chicken breast with onion, garlic and oil and lemon juice. Then I "dusted" them with a herb seasoning containing just about every herb known to man plus garlic. At the end of baking, I added cream to the dish and let it bake a few minutes longer. I think I will make this again sometime when we have company over. I think next time though I'll put a little more effort into presentation, lol!

I

Last but certainly not least, was my first gluten-free pumpkin pie. It was scrumptious! I am going to make another one for Finland's Independence day which is December 6th, Monday. I still have half of the pie crust in the freezer so it's probably best to use it up sooner rather than later. There wasn't much of the pie left the next day, so we ate the leftovers for breakfast with our coffee. Gotta love the holidays! 

That's all I have for today, I'll try to get a chance to post the pictures of all my projects along with the links to make them on Sunday or Monday. We'll see what happens! Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!

Monday recap

I've been away longer than I would have liked, it's so irritating how life gets in the way of my hobbies. ;) I've had ONE entirely free day in the past two weeks and I'm sure you can guess how I spent it... crocheting of course! I ended up having to do dull housework on the side, but managed to get quite a bit done anyway.

In my last post I mentioned redecorating my parent's home when we go to dogsit in January... I found this spectacular fabric (someone had made curtains with it) at the flea market. It's such a pretty pink! I think I might try to incorporate it somehow into the living room decor, just haven't figured out how yet. Here is a picture of it draped over our couch.

In person, it's a lot more pink, I really hate the yellow lighting of our apartment as well as the fact that our camera SUCKS. I'm hoping that we'll get a better camera for a wedding present. Or cash to buy one...

Well, back to my lovely Monday; the day started out gray and cold....

But ended up becoming SUNNY! It felt like I hadn't seen the sun in weeks, I felt so energized and happy! 

I spent the morning making my sister a pear, her favorite fruit. I really liked how it turned out, making several of these and displaying them in a bowl would be quite cute. Too bad I only have enough time to make one!

 The pattern for this can be found on this blog: Amigurumi Girl

I love making the snowflakes, pattern found on Attic 24. I am sure I've probably already linked that, but it's just so fun to make. I tried it in a blue for my sister. I hope I can make a few more of these before my mom leaves on Wednesday to stay with her. Fortunately these are simple and fast, so I just might be able to pull it off.

I also made my lovely nephew an owl! I've seen so many owl things lately and have been wanting to make one. I originally planned on making him a dinosaur but with time being short and so many other little gifts to crochet, I decided against it. The pattern for the owl can be found here: Curiouser and Curiouser blog. My wings ended up getting sewed on a bit wonky. Oh well. I don't think he'll notice. Lol! I didn't have safety eyes so I "embroidered" some black circles. I say "embroider" because I have NO IDEA how to do anything related to embroidery. Oh well, I don't think he'll notice that either. It just adds character! =) I also didn't have felt to make the nose, so I made up how to crochet a small triangle. Something to do with dc and a triple chain. I don't remember how I did it, but it wasn't the most perfect triangle either.

Here is the owl waiting for his round body...

And here he is all done!

I've been so in love with the blog Attic 24, I'm sure before long I'll have used all her patterns. They are such beautiful and cute things! Right now I am working on the springtime wreath she has posted, really brilliant idea. I am making a Christmas one and a flower one. You can find the pattern HERE
Here is my progress with them:

Here is the Christmas one. I am going to make some poinsettia for it once I find a good pattern for them.

Here is the base for the flower one. I love the blues and greens! The third round is going to be made with that darker skein in the picture. I think I'll add some purple flowers to it and send it to my godmother in the states. I never ended up making her another purple scarf. Maybe next year...

All that's left for Christmas gifts that are going with my mom to America is the snake for my newest nephew and some more snowflakes. I still need to assemble the cat, shark and mushroom. I really dislike the finishing stage of projects. I hate the sewing bit because it never quite turns out all that great. Of course, practice makes perfect... but it's just a bit of a bummer when everything gets sewed on wrong or completely crooked and then it's back to the beginning.

Thanksgiving was yesterday back home and it's always a bit sad to miss out on such big family holidays. However, my fiance and parents are set on keeping up tradition so we are celebrating on Saturday when I get out of work. We aren't making turkey because it's so expensive and I think it always tastes a bit funky. So I'm making some tasty oven-roasted chicken breast, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and cornbread apple stuffing. For dessert we're having pumpkin pie! It's a bit of a challenge to bake and cook for my dad now, since he has a special gluten-free diet. Hence the cornbread stuffing. I had to make the pie crust with gluten-free flour (aka wheat starch). It'll be interesting to see how it turns out, I haven't made a pie crust yet with it. Here is a picture of my pie before and after meeting the oven. Can't wait to eat it!

Here is my cornbread cubed and waiting for it's turn to be stuffing. =)

Well, that is my post for today. I hope I can make it back before too long. I really enjoy sharing what I've been up to. Thanks for reading, have a happy weekend!