Corks Heart Crochet

Hi there!

I just wanted to share a quick project post with you this morning.   Last Friday Darcy wasn't feeling too great due to stomach issues, so I wanted to make something to cheer her up.  I know! A ninja should do the trick!

The ninja was a hit with Darcy, and Harper was interested in the new toy.  But Darcy would not surrender the ninja, so I made a gnome for Harper.

Both of these patterns are free and courtesy of the LucyRavenscar blog. The gnome was a wee bit more challenging due to the color changes. But overall, I really enjoyed both of these patterns.  LucyRavenscar also has a pattern for a knight cork, and Darcy put in a request for that guy.  I thought of a couple of other characters to make using these patterns as a guideline.  Wouldn't a Little Red Riding Hood and a Matryoshka / Babushka be cute?  I'll be sure to share pictures if I make more. 

I have a few different projects in progress at the moment including an embroidery custom order, granny squares, and I'm still trying to finish the hair on the little amigurumi I started a couple of weeks ago.  New ideas are running through my head and anxiously waiting their turn.  So many projects, so little time, right?

What are you working on?

Hugs and Stitches,
Amy

Lala Love

Happy belated new year, friends! I'm hoping to blog more frequently in 2012, even if it's just short and sweet posts, like progress photos of projects.  I've been flirting with the idea of renaming this blog or starting a new one that shares personal posts mixed with crafty ones.  "Early Bird Special" was originally a collaboration with a friend 5 years ago, and I feel like the name and concept don't really apply to my life now.  Also, I'm kind of sick of dealing with people using the EBS logo without my consent, to promote their company sales.  But with a name like "Early Bird Special", what did I expect?

I'm kind of leaning towards, "Short & Scout."  It would be a play on my girls' names.  "Short" being for Harper and "Scout" for Darcy Scout.  I admit, I'm a little apprehensive to change simply because I don't want to lose any readers or downplay the info here on the EBS blog.  What do you think?  Consider a blog name change / "re-branding", or leave it alone?

So I mentioned before that I started crocheting, and I've actually been doing a lot more crochet than embroidery lately. Today I'm ready to share a couple of crochet projects with you!

Darcy and I have been in love with Lalaloopsy dolls for a couple of years now, starting back with they were "Bitty Buttons" dolls. My friend Dana shares a love of Loopsies with me too, so it's fun to go ga-ga for Lala together.  (Hi, Dana!)

Anyway, Allison Hoffman of Crafty is Cool came up with an amazing pattern for Lalaloopsy inspired amigurumi dolls.  I wasn't confident enough in my amigurumi skills to try making the doll, but I did think I had the skills required to make the dolly dress.  Darcy only had one Lalaloopsy doll, Pillow Featherbed.  She's the one who wears pajamas, so I decided to make the dress to see if it would fit a real Lalaloopsy doll. 

 

It does! Darcy and I were both very happy with how it turned out. Allison’s pattern suggests using a baby weight yarn, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I used a worsted weight yarn (Vanna's Choice) & an E hook. Since the worsted weight yarn made the dress a little bit bigger & bulkier than the original, I dropped 1 row on the sleeves and the bottom layer of the dress.

I definitely want to make more of these dresses, but try using a finer weight yarn next time.  The worsted weight does seem to make the dress stiffer than I'd like.  Darcy and Harper received a few new Loopsies for Christmas, so I have justification to make more dresses.  ;-)

Over the weekend, I decided I wanted to try making an amigurumi doll, and used Allison's doll pattern as somewhat of a guide.  I referred to her pattern for the head and the undies.

I wanted the scale of my doll to be considerably smaller than Allison's, so I made the arms and legs pretty tiny.  I'm attempting to make an amigurumi Lalaloopsy Littles. They're the new little siblings of the bigger Lalaloopsy dolls. 

Aren't they cute?! This week I'm working on getting the hair and face just right, then I'll start working on her outfit.  I am very nervous about the hair, since I've never done it before.  I worked on it quite a bit yesterday, and I was not happy with how things were looking.  So today I'm probably going to remove the mess I made yesterday, and start over with the hair.  

Maybe I'll come up with something I like by the end of the week, so I can share a new progress picture with you.

Happy Stitching! 

Amy

New Sleepy Fox Embroidery Pattern!

Hello, Friends!

First, thanks for the nice comments about the Halloween cross stitch wall hangings. For those of you requesting a tutorial, I don't think I'll be able to get it posted in time for Halloween. I can't believe this is the last week of October! There were several projects on my creative ideas list that just didn't happen this month, due to personal life issues.  BUT luckily most of those ideas can be adapted to Christmas/holiday projects, including the cross stitch wall hangings! So making a Christmas cross stitch wall hanging tutorial is the new goal.  ;-)

But I did manage to complete one of my creative goals last night. You remember my Sleepy Fox pillow, right?

 

Well now you can make your very own Sleepy Fox pillow! Or tote bag, pillowcase, jammies, onesie, you get the idea!  I just listed the pattern in my shop last night, and it's only $4.00!

The PDF includes 2 versions of the pattern, one facing the "right way" and one is reversed.  Also, this pattern version does not have the fur markings.  I wanted to leave his (or her) body blank, so you can customize it to your own liking and skill level.  But I am working on creating a new image with fur markings to add to the pattern.  Anyone who buys the 1st pattern version will receive the updated version for free.

I hope you like it!  For fun, how about we have a little giveaway?  

I want to treat a reader to the new Sleepy Fox pattern for free! 

Just leave me a comment! What are you or your kids dressing up as for Halloween? Any particular pattern designs you want to see?  Seen any good movies lately? What's for dinner tonight? Just wanna say hi?  Whatever you want to tell me, I want to hear it!

You can score extra entries if you mention this giveaway or my new pattern on your blog, twitter, pinterest, or write it on a bathroom stall.  Just leave a new comment for each mention.

I'll leave comments open on this post until Friday, pick a winner at random, and announce it then.  

**If you purchase the pattern and win the giveaway, I'll issue you a refund.

Good luck! 

Hugs & Stitches,

Amy

Halloween Cross Stitch Wall Hangings

Last week I noticed Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane had listed a new cross stitch pattern in her Etsy shop.  It's an adorable, vintage inspired Halloween design!

 

I already had another Halloween project planned, but I put that one to the side after I bought this pattern.  I wanted to do something a little bit different, and focus on making new decorations for the house.  So I decided to cross stitch a couple of the designs on plastic canvas with acrylic yarn.  I l-o-v-e how they turned out!

 

I used 7 count plastic canvas, acrylic yarn, a blunt tapestry needle, and the Halloween Frenzy pattern for this project.  I'm happy to post a tutorial or more detailed how-to instructions, if there are enough requests.

This is a really great weekend project. I was able to finish one pumpkin in an evening while watching Mad Men on Netflix Instant.  I am so happy they added that and Breaking Bad to the Instant options! We haven't had cable for a couple of years, so I've been spoiling myself in the evenings.  Speaking of spoiling, I just started Season 3, so no spoilers in the comments please!

Has anyone else started on Fall or Halloween decorating? 

Needle & Thor

I was going through some of my embroidery supplies over the weekend, and I found an uncompleted project I started in the summer of 2010.  It was for a project called "Okie Stitch Along" organized by the ladies of Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar.  The idea was to embroider a portrait of a famous / well known Oklahoman, and all the finished pieces were on display at the 2010 Oklahoma State Fair.

I remembered that the writers of the newest run of Thor comics made Oklahoma Thor's new home.  I thought it would be fun to embroider something comic book inspired, so Thor was my Okie.  Unfortunately I didn't meet the deadline, so my project didn't make it to the fair. 

For some reason, I hit a wall, thought the whole piece looked like shit, and realized I wasn't going to finish on time.  So I took it out of the hoop, folded it up, and shoved it in a closet.  Today was the first time in a year that I've really looked at it, and I thought I'd let you see it too.

Looking at it today, I love it again like I did before I put so much pressure on myself. I am the worst when it comes to being my own worst critic. Old habits die hard, right?  But I'm inspired to work on Thor again soon.  It's too pretty to be shoved away in a closet, don't you think?

xoxo,
Amy