Towel Dog & Sweater #1

I have been busy trying my hand at crocheting a dog sweater.  I know, I don't have a dog.  So what am I doing?  I'm broadening my horizons:)   No, really, my sister asked me if I could make one for HER dog. 

Sure, I can try to figure it out!   How hard can it be anyway?  My sister lives in Utah.  Her dog, Wickett, is a Shit zu.  Small dog and freezing winters make dog sweaters a necessity.  

So I looked on the internet and found some crochet patterns.  Most of which my sister & I didn't like.  But she chose one for me to try.  She gave me some measurements of Wickett & I set to work.  By the time I finished the main portion of the sweater, I decided I didn't like how big the stitches were.  The sweater was far too drafty for my liking.  So I undid the entire thing and began again.  Yes, I am a perfectionist.  This time I used a smaller hook and used 2 strands of yarn to make it less drafty.  But then I ran out of yarn and couldn't find that same kind anywhere here in poe-dunk-ville!!  I was frustrated, but determined to figure this out.  So I decided to bag that pattern and come up with my own.  

Coming up with my own pattern was harder than I thought it would be, but it was VERY satisfying.  At first I struggled because I couldn't gauge when to make the sweater longer or wider or if I was making it too short.  I don't have a dog and I certainly didn't want someone else's dog for a model.   So I came up with an original idea:  Make my own "towel" dog.   I'm so smart. *snarky*   I love that word!  It means snobby or smug but it's a lot more fun to say "snarky".

With my Towel dog, I was able to make it 18 inches long, which is how long Wickett is.  The narrow end is Wickett's butt.  Then I gradually increased the circumference for her belly & rib cage and ended with her 21 inch chest.  Not bad, huh?  Towel dog lived on my bed for a week.  I referred to it over & over.  It was a huge help!

Now for the neck.  Wickett's neck is 12 inches around.  Guess what the circumference of a new skein of yarn is?  You are so smart!   So this is Towel dog and it's removable neck.  It's all recyclable and it doesn't poop:)  

This is a front shot of the dog sweater.  You're looking directly into the neck.  The solid brown square is the chest & belly band.  It's crocheted directly onto the main sweater which makes this sweater entirely one piece.  I sewed on 6 snaps.  With the sweater over Wickett's head and neck, the chest/belly band just  goes through her front 2 legs and snaps underneath to each side of the sweater.

Towel dog is upside down, ready for the band to be snapped in place.

This is a top view.  Because I ran out of yarn with the first pattern I tried, I was worried that I'd run out before I finished this one.  The entire sweater is made with single & double crochet stitches.  I substituted plain coffee brown for three 2 inch stripes.  I also used the plain brown for the neck and belly band.  It's a good thing, too.  I wouldn't have had enough of the varigated yarn.

Towel dog modeling the sweater.   Isn't it great?  It worked pretty good, but because it wasn't an exact replica of Wickett, I worried about the final fitting.  So I mailed the sweater to my sister with a request for pictures of Wickett wearing it.  I figured the snaps would need to be adjusted at the very least.  I didn't know if my sister would even like it.  It is just so different from the sweaters she's had for Wickett before. 

The sweater arrived today!  This is Wickett.  Isn't she cute?!  As you can see, the sweater IS a bit long.  I didn't take into account the posture of a sitting dog.  But apparently the snaps are placed perfectly and the neck is just the right size.

Thanks, Kirk!  You're such a good sport:)

O.k., I think I can shorten it by at least 3 inches.  Don't want her pooping on it now, do we?  Although, there is a lot of brown to camouflage it!  

Thanks, Tawnya, for asking me to make her some sweaters.  I'm ready to do more!  Like maybe red, forrest green.........

Braces, Phase 1

Livvy is lucky enough to be forced into having braces twice in her young life.  Today was the exciting day to begin Phase 1!!!  When the assistant asked her if she was excited, Livvy held up her  hand with her thumb and pointer finger pinched together and said, "ya, about this much!"  Then she rolled her eyes.

So Livvy wanted me to bring the camera to take pictures of her "exciting" experience.  She wanted a "BEFORE" picture, just outside the office building.

Isn't she lovely?  Slobber sucking tubes inside her mouth which is then braced wide open with the red jaws of life.  Papa Smurf made his marks on each tooth to prepare them for the coming onslaught.

She gives her 'ol "thumbs up" to tell us that it's all good!  Once the upper wire has been placed on the brackets with green & blue elastics, she gets a baby tooth pulled from her lower teeth.  2 teeth are fighting for the tiny space and one came up behind it.  So that baby tooth had to go!  Livvy was totally cool with it all and was fantastic throughout the entire process.

Her mouth is still a bit numb, so her smile is a bit lop sided.  She said that she could show all of her teeth with just a bit of help:)

And tradition calls for a stop and the local McDonald's for a McFlurry!  That's the only good thing about getting braces:)

For a Phase 1 treatment, she will have her braces on for approximately 9 months.  This phase will shape her mouth so that all of her permanent teeth have room to come in without popping up under her tongue or on the outside of her gums like a vampire.

Let the fun begin!

Head Wraps

A friend asked me if I could make these head wraps that she found for sale on a website.  She sent me a picture of them.  (Shown below)  They were selling for $14.99 each.

I didn't have a pattern, so I went on the hunt.  I love free patterns!  I found a pattern & made slight alterations with it and came up with this:

It is supposed to cover the tops of the ears & buttons in the back.  I made 3 button holes for sizing purposes.  The daisy flower is another free pattern I found on the internet.

Livvy wanted a purple rose with a yellow middle on a dusty pink head wrap.

Emma was one of my models for this one.  This brown head wrap was the first one I made.  It, too, has the rose sewn onto it.

Kara didn't want her wrap to cover her ears,  so I didn't make it as wide.  She chose a loopy flower with various shades of brown.  Love it!

With more practice, I decided to glue each flower to hair clips that can be clipped right onto the head wraps.  This way, the girls can interchange them to match outfits or be more festive.

By the time I got to Kara's wrap, Brynn suggested using snaps instead of buttons.  She's so smart.  I didn't even know they made bigger snaps!  They are much easier to fasten, not to mention the time I save on skipping the button hole steps.

It costs about $3.00 to make one wrap.  The flowers cost just a bit less.  It's a far cry from $14.99!

A big THANK YOU to my friend for the challenge!  It was a lot of fun!

St. Patrick

After I finished the Snowman Family, I told myself that I would slow down on my crocheting & spend more time on the piano, guitar, and in the gym.  Well, I found myself going nuts at night with nothing to work on, even after spending time with my music.  The gym thing?  Still a work in progress.  I made it there twice this week, which is 2 more times than EVER BEFORE!  Monday will be a new week:)

I can't find anything fun to make for Valentine's Day.  So I went on to St. Patrick's Day.  I made this Leprechaun.  His body is supposed to be stuffed by placing a roll of toilet paper up his "butt".  But since we have big butts at this house, we have super size rolls and poor St. Patrick just couldn't handle it.  So he's stuffed with the traditional Fiberfill Stuffing.

I added a 4 Leaf Clover and yellow buckle to his hat.  His beard is made with curly yarn.  I think the brand is Lion.  It's not what the pattern called for, but I thought it would be more fun to look at.  I also added eyebrows.  He looked so funny without them!  I find myself changing the patterns a bit for my own personal touch:)

St. Patrick's pot of gold.  The pattern didn't call for the clover, buckle, or pot of gold.  But what's a leprechaun without gold?  So I made another hat & added a different finishing edge, turned it upside down & threw in his gold.  This also helps him sit up better, as I attached it to his belly.  I found the gold coins at Joanne's.

MY idea of a "pot of gold"!

Door Hanger

I really need white doors!!!  Again, I added the clover to the hat to spice it up a bit.  I also lightly stuffed the hat and chose not to hang it with wire.  Did I mention I hate loud door hangers?

Zoo Lights

During the Christmas break, we went to the Point Defiance Zoo Lights.  I've never been before.  Though it was spectacular in it's own way, it just didn't even compare to the lights on Temple Square.  It was cold and rainy and our foggy breath often got in the way of the pictures.  We had to hold our breath to get a halfway decent picture, so there are only a few pics to share with you.  It was a great family adventure!

Snowman Family

This is my Snowman Family.  Kind of Christmasy colors, but I wanted them to look "winterish" to have them out all season long.  So I chose darker shades of red & green and added the grey to help tone it down as well.  I thought the Snow Woman's  hat pattern was too plain (replica of her hubby), so I added the frilly edge to it.

I inserted a wide mouth jar lid in the bottom of each snowman & then stuffed them.  This helped them stand up much better than with just the stuffing.  The pattern designer is so smart to suggest that!

This pattern was designed by Aline Suplinskas.  The pattern called for finished sizes of  12.5" & 12".  MY Finished sizes are 10" for the husband and 9" for the wife.  I think the my babe is about 2.5".  I used a softer texture yarn than the pattern called for so that may be a factor in the size difference.

Anyway, on to the next!  Anyone have a fun Valentine pattern?

Christmas 2009

Here's a few pictures of our Christmas Holiday.