The Shtick I Do

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...

February is National Heart Month . I like the way they picked the month that is flooded with paper- mache hearts, heart shaped cards and cut-outs, red, red and more red everywhere! Valentine's Day is my second favorite holiday (Christmas is first). So I came up with my own crochet heart pattern this year! My way of celebrating the story of Saint Valentine. First some pictures! This is the first one I made. I fell in love with it and decided to add the white trim to make it pop and seem more like a Valentine. I was shooting for the grade-school Valentine card looking sort of heart and I think I nailed it. I liked Valentine's day in grade school. I wasn't the most popular kid in the class but I wasn't the most shunned kid either so I made out okay when it came time to carry home my box of Valentine cards. Some of them even came with candy attached, imagine that! This was in the 70's, so that really was something. Anyway, back to my crocheted heart.  I at...

I like to make things and create things out of stuff (usually my husband calls it rubbish) that's laying around the house. Like taking the rings from the gallon of milk, crochet around it in festive colors, add a bow and call it a Christmas Wreath (and hang it on the tree!). I walk around in Cracker Barrel and see things . . . I take pics of them with my iPod and think to myself I can make that!  Drives my husband crazy. I'm on  Ravelry   and in a group called  Amigurumi of the Month . I just joined, but find that I like it a lot. I made the Monkey with a Banana and absolutely fell in love with it! (That's him up there - I named him Chip) I plan on sending him to Florida for my niece. If I can part with him that is.