Crochet Anyone?

According to Wikipedia, crochet began back in the 1800's. Hmmm, I would have thought it started way earlier than that.

Crochet (pronounced /kroʊˈʃeɪ/) is a process of creating fabric from yarn or thread using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting, consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being Tunisian crochet), and that a crochet hook is used instead of knitting needles. -- Wikipedia

See what you can do with a piece of string and a hook?

Resources for Crocheters:

• Check out CrochetPatternCentral for a ton of patterns (most are free).
• Crochet.org is home to the Crochet Guild of America where you'll find lot and lots of good info.
• Want to learn how to crochet? Visit About.com to get started.
• Visit your local public library for more resources.
• And, of course, you can surf the net to find more good stuff.

Closeup Shot

I don't crochet anything fancy. Facecloths/dishcloths (see photos above) and an occasional scarf seem to be my complete crochet repertoire. Facecloths can be whipped up in a matter of minutes (less than an hour if you don't get interrupted). If you do get interrupted, it's not a big deal. You can put down the project and pick it back up and you don't even have to wonder where you left off. Just insert the hook, yarn over and move on. Easy. Peasy.  Try it!

Two Perfect Books

Yep, they really are PERFECT!

The Perfect Pajama by Kristina Nilsson and Jennifer Pirtle.  [Publisher:  CICO BOOKS; ISBN:  978-1-906525-96-5; List Price:  $19.95].  This keeper is 96 pages long and full of great photos and instructions. AND.. has 21 full-size patterns and templates!  There are patterns for kids, women and men too!  You really need to check this one out.  In addition to the pajama patterns, there's a pattern for a hot-water bottle cover , an eye mask, a cute laundry bag and a pair of "Kasbah Slippers".  The book also includes a techniques section.

Here are some shots of the inside of the book:

The other "perfect" book is by Clare Youngs and is titled The Perfect Handmade Bag -- Recycle and reuse to make 35 beautiful totes, purses and more.  [Publisher:  CICO BOOKS; ISBN:  978-1-906525-81-1; List Price:  $19.95] The book contains 128 pages of great photos, instructions and templates.   Perfect Handmade Bag also has a sewing techniques section.

Here are some of the projects from the book:

I bought my books from Crafter's Choice (the craft book club).  I'm sure you can find these online by doing a bit of searching.

Have fun!

GCC Rocks!

Saturday:

• Cleaned up the yard again. Those leaves are still falling and blowing around.
• Whipped up some new tissue holders to put in the shop (watch for an update tomorrow morning).
  
• Had lunch: turkey sandwiches and soup. Yummy.
• Made a trip to Woodwind & Brasswind. Mr. Teenager is going to switch from Alto to Tenor saxophone. Bought him an early Christmas gift. (He LOVES it!)
  
• Went shopping for poster board: Little Guy is doing a project on John Dillinger next week.
• Stopped at McDonalds for a quick snack.
• Went to church. The current series is on Relationslips. As always great content. Fantastic music and media. Last night we had a special guest. She is awesome.
• Had dinner at Culver's. Good stuff and easy on the budget.
  

Granger Community Church

Now we're off to a cousin's birthday party.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

See what happens when you get REALLY busy???

You keep thinking, "Geez...it's been forever since I've written a blog post."

Yes, it bothers me that a whole month goes by without a post.  There's tons of stuff I could tell you, but to have the time to sit down and DO IT.  That's the problem.  After all, TIME is a four-letter word.  Some days it ranks right up there with the "S" word and on REALLY bad days, it's comes close to the dreaded "F" word.

But hey, enough of the self-pity ranting already.

Behind the Eight Ball!

The past several weekends have been filled with Saturday Band invitationals and contests.  Mr. Teenager's band is on its way to Semi-State this coming weekend.  Congratulations to him and the rest of the Blazer Brigade.  They have done a fantastic job this season.  Braving the cold, rain and wind...they are fantastic!  We've been dropping Nate off at the high school at about noon and then driving to various performance sites.  Crafty Mom, Little Guy and I have driven to Lafayette,  and Ft. Wayne (twice) Indiana to cheer them on.  Their performance times have been late in the evening and we don't get back home until well after midnight.  Wow....it's a long day for everyone.

On top of that, Matt (my Little Guy) has been in YMCA Soccer and has soccer meets on Saturday too.  We've been stretched a bit thin trying to make it to both boys' events.  Yes...it's been somewhat wacky the past few weekends.  Oh, and we had to bring the golf cart home from the lake.  And...we had to 'close up' the park model for the winter.  And. (yes there's more) Nate called me from school last week.  He said he did something to his neck and he couldn't move his head.  Great!  Crafty Mom and I high-tailed it school to see what happened.  Seems the 70 pounds of books that he's been carrying around in his backpack (every day since the beginning of school) has taken a toll.  Crafty Mom took him to the doctor.  A pulled muscle for sure.  Rest and some muscle relaxers were ordered.  And...he had to miss a few band practices, much to his dismay.

Soccer is over now so we will have a little breathing room this weekend.  The band travels to Indianapolis to perform in the ISSMA Semi-State contest.  Yes...we're headed south.    We're planning to plan our schedule so we can take in a bit of shopping while we're there.  It's been a while since we've been to a Trader's Joe...so that's No. 1 on our list if we have time.  Too bad they don't have one are here.  [Note to self:  You would think with the University of Notre Dame here in South Bend, they would have a TJ's.]

So....what's up with you?

Wait...what's this? A Finished Project? Yeppers!

It feels like months have gone by since I've actually 'made' something. So I was so excited to be able to start AND finish something this weekend. Nothing big...but hey: these days anything is good.

Little Guy is in YMCA Soccer again this fall and for those of you in the soccer circuit, you know how nasty those soccer shoes can be after practice or a game, right? With all the mud and grass, and .... half the soccer field in between those cleats. Yeah...Thought so. Well...rather than have Little Guy take them off and toss them in a plastic bag from the grocery store when he climbs in the car, I created a draw-string shoe bag. And he likes it. A lot. He smiled BIG TIME when I showed it to him. Ahhh, the little things.

I found a valance (you know, the curtain type) at the Thrift Shop awhile back. Not knowing what it might become, but too nice to pass up. That pretty much sums up my Thrift Shop mentality: never knowing what it might become, but too nice to pass up. I like that! [My wife thinks I'm nuts....]

So...here's the finished project. A simple un-lined bag. But it will more than serve the purpose I think. Don't you?

Soccer Shoe Bag

PS: Do you know how I can tell that it's back-to-school time? Because I have about ten (10) pairs of jeans/khaki pants to shorten. Yeah...the CraftyDad family is a bit on the 'less than tall' side of things. [Note to self: so thankful to have the machines to make quick work out of all this.]

Busy, Busy, Weekend

Hey Bloggers!  Welcome to the middle of another week.  Summer is marching on, so be sure to take advantage of those daylight hours.  Soak up that sun (don't forget the sunscreen!) and enjoy the warm weather while you can.  It was an overcast, misty, rainy, kind of weekend for the Crafty Dad house, so we skipped the trip to the lake and, instead, worked in the basement.

In case you don't already know, I'm a pack rat.  In fact...I'm the King Pack Rat (any questions?  just ask my wife.  On second thought.....don't.)  I spend many of my lunch hours visiting Goodwill Stores and the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift shop.  It's amazing what I find there.  I'm a sucker for 'something for nothing' and can't seem to pass up a good deal.  Problem is, where do you put all this stuff?  Answer:  the basement.

Our basement is 50% finished so I can't stash my stuff there.  However...the other half is unfinished and you'd be surprised how much crap stuff you can store in there.  The shelves were overflowing, the counter-tops of my crafty corner were buried, there was stuff under the counter and all over the floor.  No.  I did not take any 'before' pictures.  That would be embarrassing.  I will get some 'after' shots taken so I can at least prove to you that I did clean up my mess.

A few months ago, I got a hairbrained idea that I needed a more permanent work space for all my projects.  When we remodeled the kitchen, I talked my wife into keeping the old counter-tops for a good reason:  me!  With my dad's help, we created a pegboard wall (I love pegboard) and a nice L-shaped work space.  It's nothing you'd find in a magazine or on the Ikea website, but it works for me and I enjoy working in my space (when I can actually find my space).

[Note to self:   STOP bringing sh!t home.  You have enough of everything.  You need to sit down and start making stuff so you can list it on Etsy or eBay or start making gifts for the upcoming Holiday season.]

I told my wife I would be happy to de-clutter, de-stash, whatever you want to call it, so long as she'd help me build ANOTHER pegboard wall.  She agreed.  [Love you honey!]  So, a couple weeks ago the boys and I went to Menards and bought some more 2 x 4's, two more 4 x 8' sheets of white pegboard (white makes the area brighter; the natural pegboards and way to dark for me), a box of long screws, a box of shorter screws (both in the square-head version, which I did not realize until this weekend.  [Thanks Dad for leaving the square driver bit with me!]

The wall is complete.  I even found a nice pair of cafe' curtains to cover the one and only window in the basement.  Touche'

Now...the de-cluttering continues.  I'm trying to have a critical eye towards all the crap stuff I have.  Some of my 'treasures' have been sitting around for quite some time....and I think it's time we parted company.  It sounds really strange, but some of the stuff I bought at St. Vinnie's is going back to, well, it's going back to St. Vinnie's.  [I can hear you laughing.....and I'll bet some of you have done the same thing.  Admit it.  We have a problem.  Perhaps there's a 12-Step Program for us.  "Hello, my name is Crafty Dad and I buy too much sh!t at all the Thrift shops within a 50 mile radius of my home."]  Please tell me there's hope for us.  Ah, but I digress -- big time.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, the wall is up, the 1957 Singer 401(a) sewing machine has a home, the coverstitch machine (oh yeah, I had to have one those...) has a semi-permanent place to sit, the blindhemmer is still where he was (and that's okay for now).  The blindhemmer was a smart purchase (I can justify anything, okay?).  But really, we are short-ish people and most of the slacks we purchase need to be shortened.  The blind hemming machine is a godsend.

Now it's time to go thru the collection fabric and 'other stuff'.  I will be so excited to have some 'space' when I'm all done.  It will so cool to be able to escape to my crafty corner of the world and be able to do all those projects that I've had floating around in my head for so long.

New Floor in the Park Model

I'll bet you didn't know that Crafty Mama and I were so talented, did you? Well...when we put our minds to it, we can do just about anything. [Note to self: hire someone to strip the ugly-ass wallpaper off the bedroom walls.]

During the cold, cold winter months the park model remains unheated. And we've never had any trouble with anything. We have it professional winterized each fall and we put little containers of moth balls around (to ward off any pesky mice). But we got an really unpleasant surprise when we opened up our unit this year.

The vinyl flooring in the kitchen and entryway was split in several places. It was like someone came in and took a utility knife to it. It was sliced in pie-shaped triangles from wall to wall. Ugg!

We got an estimate on having it replaced. After picking each other off the floor (the estimate was a tad bit too much to appreciate and we both about fainted!) we decided we could/would do it ourselves. So...Crafty Mama made a few trips to Lowe's and Menard's to pick out some nice square vinyl tiles. The kind that you peel and stick. I was a bit hesitant at first...not sure if the "stick-em" kind was going to be a good idea (as opposed to vinyl that comes off a roll). But, thankfully, the project moved along faster and better that I imagined. In fact, it would have been a huge PITA* to deal with a sheet of vinyl as there's not a great deal of space to work in, and there were TONS of places that had to be notched out.

IN case you didn't know, I carry my camera with me everywhere, but do you think I had it when we opened the park model? Nope. So...I don't have any good photos to show you of the 'before' shot. However, here are a few pics to show you how it ended up. Bottom line: it's nicer than the original floor. We love it.

Thanks Honey for all your hard work! Crafty Mama makes a great partner in these handy-man/woman projects.

Before

During

More "During"



"DONE!!!"


Smooth as a baby's butt!

*Pain in the a$$

Have a good one!





P.S. Oh, yeah...almost forgot. Please make sure you sign up for the Crafty Dad mailing list. Later this week I'll be drawing a name for some great giveaway items. It's going to be FREEBIE FRIDAY in honor of my Christmas in July celebration. The sign-up form is over on the right-hand column. Go there now and then watch for a special e-mail invitation. ;-)

Son No. 1 Brings Home a Baby

Oh Lord no....not a real baby! It's his weekend project for the HomeEc class all the 8th graders have to take. His name is Samuel and he's a cute little guy. He 'came to life' late this afternoon and was very hungry. DS1 says, "When is he going to stop eating? He's been eating for, like, twenty minutes." LOL! I replied, "Hmmm, babies are like that. You'll just have to see what happens." DS1 rolls his eyes. I'm lovin' it!

Baby Samuel. DS1's Weekend School Project

I think this is an excellent way for teens to find out what a TINY slice of baby care is all about. DS1 has to feed it, burp it, change its pants (that'll be a good one!) and make sure that Samuel's head is supported. Samuel has his own car seat and a makeshift ugly diaper bag.

Baby Samuel after his first feeding.

Ahhhh, I remember those days.

DS1, DS2 and I have a barbershop appointment in the morning. We will have to take Samuel along for the ride. I can just see the funky looks on the old codgers' faces at the barber shop. DS1 is going to be red-faced with embarrassment for sure. But...life is tough sometimes, you know? Me: Oh, I am looking forward to this weekend project with great anticipation. Really, I am. :-)

I'm sure that DS1 will be a great dad.

YOU: Aaaaaa-chooooooooooo!

ME: Bless you!

YOU: I need a tissue.

ME: Funny you should ask.




Tissue holder anyone? I have several laying around the shop.

Chicken Soup for the Sewing People

I love it when a plan comes together.

It seems almost zen-like when you are so "into" a project. Like the one above. There are so many steps to the process. And when you're done (and ... assuming you got the results you expected) there's a sense of elation, accomplishment, a 'whew that went well' moment.

This pair of slacks turned out nice too:



Do you experience that with your projects?

Saturday's To Do List

Crisp. Fall. Morning.

Let's see:

• Little Guy's soccer match
• Lunch perhaps?
• School projects (both for Son No. 1 and the Little Guy)
• Hem some pants (daytime high temps are NOT what they used to be)
• Start making the coaster sets I cut out several weeks ago
  
• Relax (if possible)
• Church at 5:30
• Finish up what doesn't get done during the day
• Get some photos uploaded to Flickr so I can share them with you
  
• Whew!

Update:

• My little guy's team won the soccer match (1-0) It was an awesome game. All the kids (from both teams) did a great job and had a good time, which is a very important part of the whole 'game' thing in my opinion.
  
• Lunch: Hacienda Mexican Restaurant (I ate way too many tortilla chips)
• Hemming pants: so far five pairs (with the help of my wife --thank you Honey!)
• Now...it's off to Barnes & Noble and church.

Craft Corner Update

As promised, here are some new pictures of the Craft Corner.

I'm not finished, but I've made MAJOR progress since the last photo I shared with you. Here's one of the sewing machines in his new 'home':

Shelves were installed on 2-2-08. I'm pretty much done with getting the pegboard permanently fastened, then the trim goes up. Then...we're 95% complete!

The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby is next Saturday. So..the Little Guy and I have been busy making his car. You can see some of our supplies on the left-hand side of this photo. We're keeping our fingers crossed on this one. I enjoy working with fiber media; however, derby cars are not my forte'. But we're getting there.

I was going to drill holes in the Formica(R) counter-tops, but changed my mind and did a much easier thing: I drilled holes in the pegboard and then fished the electric cords up, in between, the 2x4's. It works great and really doesn't look bad at all.

Thanks to my dad and my wife, this long-awaited area is coming to life. It's great to have a space dedicated to my hobby time.

Craft Corner Update

We are making some serious progress. Here are the two electric outlets I've been talking about. Funny how we take utilities for granted, isn't it? Oh well. I'm a very happy crafter. A big shout out to my wife for coming home early to let the electrician in. Al, you did a fine, fine job!

This is a 'before' picture of the craft corner. The 'after' pics will be posted soon. Dad and I worked several hours on Sunday and got the project WELL on it's way. I now have counter tops installed and the pegboard is 80% complete.



Here's a photo my little guy took. Ah....electricity. It's a good thing.

Google Docs and the Craft Corner Update

Okay. So...here's my first blog post using the Google document feature. Pretty cool stuff. I'm trying to think of how I can best use this tool.

I'll get back with you.

In other news, my dad came over yesterday and helped me get started on the 'craft corner' in our basement. I took some photos but haven't uploaded them yet. But...let me tell you, we made some GOOD progress. My wife and I moved tons of stuff out of the corner so we'd have room to work. [We installed new kitchen counter tops a couple years ago and we kept the old ones (for this project)].

After we moved all the stuff/junk out of the way, I laid out the counter tops on the floor to get an idea of what it would look when we are finished. It is going to be perfect. It's an L-shaped configuration that will give us a great surface to work on. We will be able to sew, stamp, sort through old photographs, etc., etc., It is going to be great.

I'm calling an electrician to see how much it will cost to have a couple lines brought in to the area. It's not that much distance from the breaker box to the corner, so hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great day!


UPDATE (01.17.08): The electrician gave me a very favorable quote on the work I want to have done. He'll be over tomorrow afternoon to install the new electric lines. Woo. Hoo. I am a happy camper!

Towel and Tote Bag for Kelsey

Towel and Tote Bag for Kelsey
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

Here' are two gifts I made for my cousin who is on the swim team. She wanted a hooded towel and a tote bag in her school colors.

I've made lots of hooded towels before, but this was my very first lined tote bag. It turned out really nice.

Is it just me, or does Christmas seem like it was several weeks ago? Where does time go?

Lazy Schmazy

One of my New Year's resolutions was going to be "post an entry to your blog every day". Ha! You can see that hasn't happened.

But...it's early in the year and perhaps I can make good on my promise yet.

I still have tons of Christmas pics in the camera and need to get them to the PC so I can have some visual aids. (What's a post without a picture, right?)

Okay, back to work. Have a great weekend! ~Do something crafty.

Oh...I almost forgot! My wife and I went to Menard's a few days ago and bought all the lumber I need to get my corner of the basement set up for a craft spot. My dad is going to help me install some walls, counter tops and the like. I'm excited! We are in the process of sorting through LOTS of stuff in the basement (job #1). Once we're through all that, we'll be stirring up some sawdust. I'll be sure to take before and after shots. This should be good!

A Very "Let it Snow" Kind of Weekend

The weatherman was right about this one. We got some major snowfall on Saturday and Sunday. My wife and I had a nasty drive home from my company's Christmas party that was held 25 miles from home. It was the stuff white knuckles are made of, to be sure.

I'm guessing there was about 18" of it in our driveway. Sure, some of that was from the wind making drifts of the pretty white stuff. But let me tell you that it was a TON of snow and it took us a very long time to get the driveway cleaned off.

Sunday was a great day to stay home, so we spent time making chocolate chip cookies (the best ones we've ever made). I also made up a big batch of sugar cookie dough. It's chilling in the fridge right now. Perhaps tonight we'll get out all the cookie cutters and get 'em done. The boys each have their own rolling pin. We got them at an Amish store not too far from home a few years back. So...the annual cookie cutting and baking tradition will continue at the Crafty Dad residence tonight. I promise there will be pictures.

Oh, and I've been working on my dad's stocking cap. And...I'm about 50% finished with a tote bag from my cousin who is in Swim Club. I received a request for one as a Christmas gift. Stay tuned for a photograph or two. It's my first official lined tote bag. So far so good. If you're looking for a great tutorial, go check this out. Thanks Mariko!

Catching Up a Bit

I know Halloween was a few days ago, but I promised my kids that I'd get a picture of their jack-o-lanterns on the blog. So...without further adieu, here they are:

On the left: my seven year old's creation. On the right: my 12 year old's.

A little bit closer.

How cool is this? I helped, but he did a great job, didn't he?

Oh, by the way. This post (with all its orange-ness) fits in very nicely with Jennifer's 'color of the day'. Check out the JC Handmade blog. It's one I visit frequently.

Kid Krafts - Halloween Projects

A quick trip to Michael's Craft Store and $40.00 later, we had craft projects for everyone. Here's just a couple of them.


Here's my little guy working on his paper mache pumpkin. Folk Art paint was on sale. I think we paid 89 cents for the bottle. And the color? Oh...it's "pumpkin", of course. :-)


My middle-school guy bought this and had it whipped together in no time. Wow....he takes after his crafty dad. I gotta say.

:: Creepy Close Up ::

I even found some great W-O-O-L yarn. That's wool as in sheep. As in non-acrylic. Getting the picture? Knitter dudes take note: Crafty Dad found him some natural fiber and snatched it up at just $1.00/skein. Sorry...no pictures as proof, so you'll just have to believe me guys.

P.S. The 40% off coupon is a good thing.

Front Door Project

This weekend was full of fun home improvement projects -- like this one.

The front door needed a fresh coat of paint and the bathtub in the boys' bathroom needed a new caulk job. So...while I crouched in the tub (there's really not a lot of room to work in a bathtub, ya know?), my wife scraped old paint of the door. That was Saturday.

It's Sunday and here's the 'before' shot of the door.


And ... a few hours later, it looked like this.

A little paint makes a huge difference.

I'm not crazy about all the extra work, but it's really not so bad once you get started. It's that nudge, push, or shove that is needed to get the momentum going. When you're done, you say, "Gee, that wasn't so bad. I should have done that weeks ago."

Duh.