The Shtick I Do

So, here's the Bath Tub Buddies scrubbie toy I made using Mary Maxim's SCRUB IT! Yarn . You can find the basic  pattern in their book, Kitchen Favorites . However, I made mine into a bunny because Easter is so close. The original pattern calls for a Kitty. I changed up the eyes and opted to do a crochet oval with an aqua color in 100% cotton (I think it was Peaches and Cream) instead of the solid black eyes that the pattern uses. The black that's on the eyes is a permanent fabric marker that I drew on, the black circles done in crochet made the poor bunny look like he was a deranged Easter clown. *shiver* And obviously these are not kitty ears. I crocheted two panels per ear and sewed them together. The ears are also sewn into  the head instead of on it. I wanted to make sure they would stand up. Although the picture doesn't show it, there is a cord for hanging. A bath tub toy needs a way to drain off all that water so I made a cord and attached it to the bottom so ...

Since I now have a grandson, I find I'm looking at crochet patterns in a new way: would a boy play with this? or conversely, would a boy wear this? We all know there are LOADS (metric yarn loads) of stuff for girls. Dolls, purses, dresses, headbands, socks, toys, etc. But what about for boys? Now I'm not the first one to think like this. Recently there has been a push to come up with clever ways to crochet things for boys (and men as well). We've seen cowboy boots and hats, leather-looking garments for photo props, fishing hats and fishing poles, less open work in scarfs and beanies that would appeal to men and boys. I can honestly say that as a crafty crochet crowd we've come a long way in recognizing that the male gender needed some attention. Here's a few of the patterns I've spied this week: Ovetti amigurumi  available on Ravelry as a free download. It's indicated that there are versions available in English and Italian but I'v...

So, I'll explain this first since it was the first question that I got from my mother when I told her what this was. What's a "texture toy"? I don't know if the term has already been coined or not, so if I'm stepping on toes by calling it that, my bad. I call it that because that's exactly what it is. It's a toy that a baby can touch and feel and experience different textures. It's important for a baby's development to be able to feel different sensations of touch. Another note, I know it's a bit plain. I'm adding some different things before I call this a finished product. The pattern I'm giving you will get you to this point, and from there you can customize. It's just like the New Born Beanie Pattern  I did a couple of weeks ago. Materials : 2 colors of ww yarn Size 7/4.5mm hook Scissors Yarn needle for weaving in ends Stitch markers (optional) Abbreviations Used : sc - Single Crochet st - Stitch sl st -...