Sometimes I'm crafty

I've always loved projects. I stayed busy with my girls all summer, but I think I was missing something for me. I needed my brain to be working a bit harder. I read a TON of books this summer, some really good ones too (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was my favorite), but I just needed something else. I needed a project or two. Lately I've been working on a few that I'm really excited about. 

I started making a growth chart for the girls a while ago and I made a lot of progress on it this summer. I stitched the numbers and the measurements in black thread that I got from my Grandma Joyce (she loved working on projects too). I wrote their names out on paper first, in cursive, and then traced it on the fabric. Then I stitched their names. I love how they turned out! My next step is to sew up the sides, hang it with a dowel, and then add a whole bunch of crocheted flowers up the entire chart. I have about a dozen flowers done and I'll be able to attach them as I make them. In my mind it looks awesome, but it's not quite there yet. I think I'm going to buy some oval shaped wooden buttons for writing their heights and ages, then I can sew them on as they grow. I found a bunch of fun colors of yarn, I just need to get those flowers made!

I found some really soft, chunky yarn and thought, "I should make a blanket out of this!" Well, I ended up making TWO blankets so they can each have one! It's only been the last few months that I've been getting back into crochet. I think the flowers for the growth chart got me hooked. Ha! Hooked! (You crochet with a hook, in case you didn't know.) I've never crocheted granny squares, but wanted to try them. I ended up going a little crazy and now I'm making two blankets! I have all of my squares finished, and I finished sewing one together today. Now it needs a border. I'm very excited to be done with these and hope the girls love them for many years. 

 Lily loved the blanket! She grabbed it to her face and then said, "Purple!" and pointed to a purple square.

Violet just woke up from nap and wasn't too happy! Sometimes you just need to cry!

I'm just barely starting another blanket, but this one I'm going to take it slow, especially now that I'm back in school. I bought a crochet book a while ago that has really helped me with stitches and techniques. I made some funky coasters from the book and I've always wanted to make the blanket (afghan) on the cover. It's similar to granny squares, but the shape of the "squares" are hexagons. I found some amazing acrylic/wool blend yarn that I absolutely love. The colors are so vibrant and just perfect for this project. It's called Sheep(ish) since it's 30% wool. What a fun name! The colors are red(ish), plum(ish), robin egg(ish), etc. I've made two hexagons so far and I can't wait to make more. I'm going to try not to get too obsessed and rush. It's actually quite relaxing to work on these after the girls have gone to bed and Ryan and I are just chillin on the couch. 

Now my mind is going crazy with other project ideas: scarves, gloves (with that sheep(ish) yarn!), baskets, pillows, gifts. We had a funny idea that I should crochet a cactus and take it to my class. I should have students "water" it and every few weeks make it "grow" and even add a cactus flower one day. It could be pretty hilarious, especially if they buy into it as a "magic" cactus. Maybe they're too old to have fun with that, but it might be fun to try!