I brought him baby blocks and a crocheted giraffe! I actually made some blocks for an upcoming article using a different technique, but since there was leftover foam I decided to sew up some patchwork blocks for Tegue. I used some of my scrap fabrics, potato printed fabrics, and the best part– I cut some of the block sides from the patchwork blocks I sewed up earlier this summer. It’s nice to have them ready to go when I have a little project in mind, even if I never get around to making a quilt from them. I’m not going to tell you the sewing was easy- I only made 3 after all- but I love the result.  I  crocheted him the sweet/strange striped giraffe much earlier this year, put it away and forgot about it- then I found it before I left. I meant to write down the pattern but… nope, just made this one for him.  He likes being tickled with the giraffe ears, and I think the long neck makes it easy for him to grab, which is good too. It will be covered in drool in no time!

Here he is with the blocks. I think the best part for him is knocking them down. He also tries to crawl right over them if he wants to come see you, which can be quite amusing. Yay! He is such a cutie.

I made a peach pie.

I even made some hand pies with it. The idea was to make all hand pies but I quickly realized that there was way more filling than crust. I used a premade crust anyway, and I am more of a filling person when it comes to pie, so I chucked the rest of the filling into what I like to call a “Rustic Tart,” as shown above. With airplane cutouts, if you look closely. The hand pies were for our upstairs neighbors since we like them so much. I really should make my own crust next time, but it was all still very delicious. I used the filling mentioned in this recipe, sans bourbon (but believe me, I would have used it if I had some). I used white peaches because everything else at the store looked dreadful, and they came out super sweet. I’d use regular peaches if I had a choice. And I was curious to add some blackberries to the mix, which I might just do if I make another peach pie anytime soon.

I’ve also been up to a little bit of crocheting. Nicole, if you’re reading, stop now! My friend Nicole is days away from giving birth to her first baby (a girl), and since I missed out on girl crafting with my nephew, I’m still into the idea of all sorts of baby cuteness. I really wanted to give some booties a go this weekend, for the gift, and also to see if I could come up with a pattern that works, so I came up with these.

I used Cascade Yarns’ Heritage for the bootie and then edged it with some embroidery floss (1 skein= perfect amount to edge booties. Don’t waste one bit!). Then I sewed (and sewed and sewed and sewed) the button closures on, making darn sure that no baby fingers will be able to remove them. I love how they came out, and I hope little ms. Ruby will too. I might even have to make an adult sized pair! It’s cold enough here that I need to suck it up and start wearing a sock of some sort anyway.

I also had some fun experimenting with felting this afternoon (hooray, a washing machine!)– I will share the results soon.

Have a looksee and let me know what you think. There are more listed than what’s shown above, so it’s worth heading over there.  I hope you like them- I had a lot of fun making them.

Here’s a view from Peet’s Hill, where we watched fireworks friday night. There were amateur fireworks (the $$ kind) going off constantly for the hour or so until the main show. I can’t believe how many people do fireworks here (and continue to do them all weekend long). Where I grew up, fireworks were illegal within city limits so it’s new to me.

I’ve been extra crafty this weekend…it’s that whole rule that says the more you have going on the more you accomplish. We’re leaving for TX next week and I am trying to finish a lot of big stuff, but I added some holiday fun to the mix, along with this project, which I meant to do on the plane (but oops, I’m nearly finished).

It’s a crocheted bodice (or dress, if you so desire) from last summer’s Crochet Today. I saw it again on Ravelry, realized it looked good even on bigger people, and found 2 skeins of luster sheen in my stash. I’m about 80 percent of the way done- I have a sleeve to attach and then I’ll work the collar and bodice edging. I see no real way that this would take 3 skeins as the pattern suggests, but I’ll let you know if I’m wrong. I might change the borders from the pattern depending on how I’ll sew the fabric to the bottom of the bodice (to make a shirt…or dress), we’ll see. My one concern is that the half-circle part of the bodice might not contain my bust, so it may get cut off in that weird seam line on  your bust way (I’m trying to avoid words that will make weird traffic steer through this crafty blog!). I’ll figure something out, it’s pretty stretchy, and the pattern is easy to follow, so yay. I really have never followed a clothing crochet pattern and I figured it was high time to try. My main problem is that I am NOT a sweater person and I’m not about to make something I won’t wear. It was -20 this year and I still own about two real sweaters. So I was delighted to find this pattern made with thinner yarn. Knowing me it will still be relegated to fall/spring, but that’s okay in my book.

As my final weekend ‘making’ project, these sweet things just came out of the oven (tho the pic above is of them before going in). I made them for a little cookout we’re having tonight. I got the recipe here–I like the premise behind the site and it was so easy to follow so I gave it a shot. I haven’t tasted them yet but I did taste the batter and it was delicious. Sometimes it is nice to have 3 guys (Paul and his friends) with big appetites around so I can make these terribly unhealthy things and not devour them all myself. I also made this super tasty curried pasta salad which I have been eating all weekend (even for breakfast!). I did just what it said minus cilantro, raisins and red onions and it is still dang good! I may just whip up some mashed potatoes too for tonight, what the heck.

Sometime this week I’ll post about my 2nd version of Simplicity 4589. I made more alterations this time, which was a good thing. First I need to wash it, because I wore it on Friday when, for some reason, we thought it’d be a good idea to walk to the museum and back in 102 degree heat. Not. Smart. At least there was free ice cream.

I still get all excited when I see my projects in print. I love to see them nicely styled, on a model, and all of that. And, after having been the one who had to worry about the “look” (somewhat, anyway), it’s nice that someone ELSE gets to do it. Yay. If you’re wondering, this project is from the July issue and is not quite on the newsstands yet (I looked today, so impatient with the mailman), but look for it soon. It is chock full of cute, colorful projects that make me wish the beach wasn’t thousands of miles away.

Something else that was kind of funny to me in this issue was a little quote about me in the Etsy article.

“Our regular Crochet Dr. contributor Linda Permann also has an online store, where she sells stylish hats and dainty crocheted earrings–all from her Montana home.”

Oh my god, I live in Montana! I guess it’s just weird to read about yourself, and it was definitely weird to make the big change of moving from NY to here last year. I’m always asked about it, and it’s funny to me. Taking chances= learning= good, in my book. We’re actually trying to figure out where to go next from here…. it’s so daunting to think about another cross country move. So reading this right now, while we’re letting our brains percolate, was just funny to me.

I’ve begun to add lining bands to my hats. Of course that’s another step and another material and more time, so I had resisted doing it for a long time. But then the shop I sell at said that a lot of people had mentioned that they were sensitive to wool, so I decided it was worth a shot to see if it helped sales. I sold three out of four newly lined hats to my coworkers before they even made it to the shop. Question answered.

Now I love the lining bands, because they’re a little extra surprise inside that only the wearer knows about. Plus it’s always fun to pick out the fabric– the sweet giraffes on the inside of this hat are definitely my favorite part.

And if you’re worried, as I was, that it’s too late in the season for hats, don’t fret– I’ve been informed it’ll snow here  until June. The weather’s actually been really nice  and sunny lately. It is good to see grass again.

The crafty cuffs and spiral change purse are mine. They’re fun and quick, let me tell you. I think I started these shortly after I moved here– I was still trying to get my head on straight at the time. 

This issue has some really pretty home projects. This vintage runner redux is totally my speed (love to crochet those lace patterns in a larger scale….even if I’m not a table runner kind of girl), and I looove the color wheel pillow. As in, one day, when I have time again, I might even make it. 

And did you know that Crochet Today also has podcasts? I vaguely remember the staff working on one while I was still around in NYC, but then I read about them on Crochet By Faye and had an “ooooooh….yeaaaaah” moment of recollection. I proceeded to dork out and watch every last one of them. I miss working with a bunch of fun ladies. Hi Brett and Sara!

I feel much better today. I was up and at ‘em this morning, then I rode the bus downtown for my pottery class. I’m pretty excited about some pieces I made from molds last week. They have doily imprints and are painted to look sort of like old pyrex casserole dishes. I only have 2 more weeks of the class…. and then I’ll be posting some results. I think I’ll go in tomorrow and take one last shot on the wheel. The wheel is so different from handbuilding- it’s all about relinquishing control for me. Sometimes I end up with something pretty, other times, a pile of mud. Good practice for life, I say.

As a present to you, dear readers, I’m giving away one Crocheted Hat gift certificate and one Button Necklace gift certificate to my etsy shop. The winner can pick anything  they like  from the current stock–there’s still a bunch of cute stuff in there. Just leave a comment on this post by Friday at Midnight mountain time (that’s 2 am NY time) and I’ll randomly generate the winners! Yay! If you like, you can say which thing you’d prefer, in case it randomly works out that you can have your cake (hat) and eat it too.

Also- I finally joined Ravelry. I’m still finding my way around and haven’t uploaded many projects, but I’m over there as Lindamade, so feel free to add me.

And, for photo goodness, here’s my finished wonky recycled bathmat. I love it! (Full photo here for scale.)

I also contributed this retro boy hat which I really ended up liking. I think I worked the stripes a zillion times to get just the right combination. It’s made with Red Heart Soft, which was actually pretty nice to work with and comes in a lot of colors– good to know if you have a lot of giftmaking on your list.

In other news, I signed up for two knitting classes in town so that I can learn to knit hats- one is a chunky earflap hat, and one is in the round. I’m mosty interested in the in-the-round one, but I signed up with a friend and we could both use a refresher.  There weren’t a ton of crochet classes on offer (which maybe I can fix), although at the competing yarn shop, there are. They’re so inexpensive that I just might have to sign up for all of them.