Giving Away a Sunflower Baby Toy

Can you believe it's Tuesday already?  Yesterday, my hubby stayed home because he pulled a muscle in his neck and couldn't turn his head at all -- he held it cocked at an angle like a curious little puppy all day long, which was cute, but not at all safe for driving to work, hee.  So today now feels like Monday to me, as yesterday I had help around the house (sorta) and got to spend lots of time out in the garden (will try to blog about that later).

Apropos of it still feeling like Monday to me, here's a link to my friend Julie's Monday Meltdown Giveaway over on her blog.  This week, she's giving away something that looks very familiar... cuz it's from me!  We're offering a ready-made sunflower from my new pattern for either a sunflower or daisy that I recently added to my shop.

We're also offering the crochet pattern as a PDF file, so go follow this link for a chance to win!

Huggermugger Hats, Babies, and Friends

At last, I've created a hat worthy of the title Huggermugger! Ever since I opened shop, I've been wanting to make up a hat pattern that I could call the Huggermugger Hat because wearing it felt like a hug for your head. And I've finally done so! I have four in my shop at the moment, all adult/teen sizes, but I'm working on making a child size.

The Huggermugger Hat is crocheted from two strands of yarn held together, so it's extra thick and extra warm. I'll be adding the crochet pattern to my shop soon as well.

In other news, I'm 36 weeks along in my pregnancy today. I had a midwife appointment this morning, and the baby is head-down, in perfect position for birth, so I'm praying it stays that way. I haven't really mentioned being pregnant much here, and that's because there's rarely anything to say -- I'm having a very ordinary, normal, uncomplicated pregnancy, so what's there to write? I've gained 26 pounds so far, the baby's growing nicely and has a strong heartbeat, and I'm pretty much ready for it to arrive any time now :-)

Speaking of baby arrivals, my best friend Julie, who runs the Etsy shop This Cosy Life, had her third child this week, a healthy baby girl. Hooray!

Up next: another giveaway! Don't touch that dial ;-)

Want to be a Rock Star?

The Etsy Trade-a-holics team has started doing a monthly design challenge this year, and the first one has the theme "Rock On." You can go here to view all the entries, or just search Etsy for the tag "tradeonjan10." Then if you go to the team blog here, you can vote in the sidebar for whichever store's entry was your favorite.

This is my entry. I call it the Rock Star Notebook. I covered it in pictures of musical artists from Elvis and the Beatles to Creed and Shakira, plus a few others.

This notebook is bigger than the journals I've been selling before -- it's a composition notebook, the kind some schools require. It's 9 3/4" (24.7cm) tall and 7 1/2" (19cm) wide, and has 100 wide-ruled sheets (200 pages). I'm going to be adding more notebooks this size to my shop soon, so stay tuned for those.

Santa Hat Pattern

I just added my original pattern for baby/child Santa hats to my store! It's in my Crochet Patterns section (obviously). This pattern is really easy, perfect for beginning crocheters. If you can chain and work a double crochet stitch, you can make this hat! This pattern has instructions for five sizes: 0-3mo, 3-6mo, 6-12mo, 12-24mo, and Child. I also include the directions to make the pom-pom.

I've been selling my crochet patterns quite a bit lately. I love the idea of someone taking my pattern and making something of their very own with it -- it's like getting to be a teacher, in a way. And since I also love making up my own crochet patterns when I can't find one for what I want to make, I'm sure I'll be adding more patterns to my store in the future.

If you order this pattern now, you'll have plenty of time to make one or two of these before Christmas, even have your kids' portraits taken in them if you want. I also sell the already-made hats in my store if you don't feel like making them yourself, and if you don't see the size you need, contact me because I love making custom orders.

Up next week -- a giveaway!

Spiral Scrubbies

I tried out a new pattern this week for these adorable spiral scrubbies. They're such fun to make! They're meant to be dish scrubbies, but I'll tell you a secret: they work great in the shower too! The little ridges are equally good at exfoliating and scrubbing away stubborn food bits. Though I'd recommend using a different scrubbie for each job ;-) I'm selling one scrubbie plus a matching washcloth for $7 -- I have two sets made from 100% cotton yarn for sale right now, with more to come.

If you want to use them in the shower, I can add a little loop to them so you can hang them up to dry. Either convo me or request that in the "Notes to Seller" when you check out.

I found the pattern here, on a blog called Crochet Patterns Only, which has all kinds of free patterns created by Judith Prindle.

Don't forget I'm offering a FREE mini-notebook when you spend $10 or more in my store -- offer ends at midnight!!!

Instant Canteens

I'm adding a new product to my store: instant canteens. All you have to do is slip in your plastic 20 oz bottle, and voila! You have a canteen! It's a hands-free way to carry your water or other beverage without putting it in your purse or backpack and letting the condensation ruin your other stuff. Just think -- no more forgotten bottles left at the playground, zoo, or park!

My instant canteens are made from cotton fabric and cotton straps, with a plastic strap adjuster that lets kids or adults use them. So far I've only listed this Coke-themed canteen, but I've got three more made that I'll be adding to the store over the next few days. And I'm always happy to do custom orders!