This is a little crocheted granny-square-ish bowl I made to corral all the plastic container lids.  They drive me nuts.  But, alas, they are necessary.  So now they have their own special place, and they are still easy to grab in a hurry.

I’m thinking about embellishing this with a little flower.   I think it needs some bubblegum pink. :)

Also, I’ll probably use fabric stiffener on it to help it maintain its shape.  I’ve never done this before, so does anyone have any experience with it?  Anything I should know?

On the cooking front (you know, what the kitchen is actually intended for… one might suspect that all I do in there is decorate), yesterday I was aching to make something apple-y, and I came across this Apple Crumble Cake recipe.   I added cinnamon and replaced some of the white sugar with brown sugar.  I also used a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour.  Unfortunately, we baked it a little too long (about 50 minutes), and the cake part was not very moist.  But it was still delicious served with vanilla ice cream.  And it was even better a few hours later when all the syrupy goodness had settled a bit.  Mmmmm.

Sorry for the perhaps negative vibe of yesterday’s post.  This past week has been extremely tiring, but it hasn’t been bad.  I did consume much caffeine yesterday to get through the day, but we all have days like that, right?  Today, I’m keeping it to one cup.  Promise.

And taking a nap.

The picture is a timeline of stuff I’ve knit or crocheted over the last few years to keep us warm in the winter.  My first completed knitting project is the scarf on the bottom.  You can see notes on the picture here, if you’re interested.

This is the Bobble Hat by Fabled Needle.  I’ve loved this pattern for, oh, about 2 years now.  I think it may have inspired me to take up crochet in all its cuteness.  But then I remember trying to crochet it one night to no avail.  I guess I finally acquired enough skills to tackle it.

So I made it for Emily.  I used an H hook to achieve the smaller size.  Then I made an i-cord to weave around it instead of ribbon.

Now all it needs is a matching scarf.  Oh, and maybe some flowery embellishments.  Why not?  Everything looks cute on Emily.

For those of you who don’t know, On My Desk is supposed to be a Wednesday thing.  But I notoriously participate a day late every week (or every other week).  My apologies to kootoyoo.

Honestly, my desk and work area are scaring me, so I daren’t show you everything.  Instead, here is a little pile of things I’ve been working on this week:

Another pair of flannel pajama pants for Emily, a pair of lacy wrist-warmers from Purl, some other wintery accessory on the needles, and a pattern from Posie that I’m considering for one of these.

All last winter, I wanted to make a set of wrist warmers, but the honest truth is that I was scared of dpns (double-pointed needles).  They kind of remind me of this guy.  When I saw this pattern though, I got over my fear and just went for it.

Mine are a little wonky, but I think the lace pattern is very forgiving.

It looks like my wrist is in some weird cast, doesn’t it?  Maybe it’s the way I posed my fingers.  Awkward ballet fingers.  Hm.  Anyway, I’m not gonna care what they look like when my hands are warm and happy this winter!  :)

Let the crocheting and knitting begin! I couldn’t resist this pattern by Jaybird Designs (via Craft). It’s another one of those projects that makes you jump-up-and-get-to-it. And hats are great like that. You can almost finish one while watching Singin’ in the Rain. Almost. I find myself a bit obsessed when it gets to the halfway point. I must have a final product before I can rest easy.

Just so you know: I had to decrease more frequently when I got to the fitted part. It was probably the yarn I chose (super-cheap Red Heart, I believe). But I had to repeat *sc in 2 sts, sc2tog* on the dec row. Again, I didn’t bother with checking my gauge, so I have no doubt this was an operator-error type of situation. ;) However, it worked out just fine, and I love love love my new hat! Thanks again, Jaybird!

I got a lovely email this morning telling me that the latest issue of Small Magazine was available. I’ve shared this once before. Every new issue inspires me so much that I just can’t not mention it.

This time, more than one photo made me want to knit a red hat for Emily.

Aren’t these Polaroids great?

And I pretty much love everything about this spread:

So feminine. So sweet. Braids. Dresses that I could totally make. Dancers. Fruit. :)

Well…

I’m decidedly not knitting a hat for the girl. But I am making a kerchief which may become a shawl. If I have enough yarn.

Funny thing - I cannot retrace the thought-process that led to me not making a hat. Huh.

But I will make her a dress like that pale peachy one.

If I can remember.

Jacob made a new friend today.

Or, I guess, I made a new friend for Jacob today.

I love how the bunny kinda looks like a sleeping baby.

Pattern found here via Meet Me at Mike’s.

Through Pink Paper Peppermints, I found the cutest tutorial today at joybucket.  These little hairpins took about 30 minutes to make (if that long).  I decided to do French knots instead of seed beads in the center of the flowers, but the possibilities for these are endless.

I’ve also been surprised again by the bounty at our library.  I found Uncommon Crochet there, and I love it.  This little clutch really appeals to me, and I think it’s the diagonal lines with lace and fabric added.  I certainly don’t need a clutch.  It seems these days that any bag with less than 2 cubic feet of space is pretty much useless to me.  But I like it anyway.

This is making me feel sad today.

On that note, I’ll see you tomorrow.  I’m going to play with Emily now.

I’m finally making something for Jacob.  Despite my many plans while he was in the womb, I only ever managed to purchase some flannel and start one of these dolls.  I made one for someone else’s baby, but I never finished the second one.  It’s still on my desk.

Anyway, this cute little teddy pattern is from Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts!: Amigurumi.  And kyuuto, of course, means cute.  I haven’t decided on the stripes yet.  Evan wants me to make it a pirate teddy.  I’m just not sure how to crochet a hook for its hand…

So Amy Karol lost a shoe.  It may have gone out with the recycling.  When I saw the missing shoe, I sorta went nuts for it.  I really like these shoes.  And I’m really sorry for her that she lost one.  And my husband thinks I’m crazy for talking about fellow bloggers as though we know one another.  And for coveting aforementioned blogger’s shoe.  Well, preferably a matching pair.