365 Project: Day 12

round and round

During the week, I usually take both kids to the park by myself, and since my little one is still in a stroller, the older one can't take his bike. Sorry, I can't manage it safety-wise crossing the street and I can't carry the bike home when he gets tired...
Today, we all went to the park together and since my husband was there to deal with the bike issue, I finally got to see him riding it. He was so cute, and so grown up all at the same time, even if he still has training wheels (I mean, he's not even 4 yet).
This image, with the big wheel of the bicycle against the small stroller wheel, could be seen as a metaphor to the way Noam is growing so quickly (he'll be in first grade in just 2 short years), and how Hodaya is still so small (but not for long)...
This picture was taken with my cell phone, not too shabby. I'm pretty sure it's mostly luck, but it's possible that I might actually be improving my photography skills (it's one of the targets of this project, remember?).

Timmy the Lamb - Crochet Doll Tutorial

My son loves Timmy the Lamb. I agree. Stop frame animation is one of my favorite animation types, and this one is styled so nicely. The stories have little or no speech, so they are appropriate for younger ages, but the story has enough nuances to be interesting to older children and grownups as well.
Timmy the lamb is not to be confused with Shaun the sheep, who may or may not be related to Timmy. They are similar, but Shaun has wool on his head and Timmy does not.
No sheep were harmed during the making of this project. The Timmy doll is made entirely with synthetic yarns.

So, let's get started.

365 Project: Day 11

שבת שלום!

It's Friday afternoon again! They're both sleeping and I had a short nap too (yeah!).
We've been alternating between two tablecloths for the past few months, because all my other tablecloths got wrinkled and I was too lazy to iron them. I spent about half an hour today, in crazy hot and humid weather, ironing two tablecloths. On the one hand, it looks really nice. On the other hand, I am never buying another tablecloth which requires ironing. Ever.
I went through a paper craft book my mother bought me a while ago (thanks for supporting my addiction), trying to find some fancy napkin fold. When I saw the silverware pocket idea, I knew that Noam would love it. So, not so fancy, but still pretty. Sure enough, when he woke up from his nap he said "oooh, nice".

365 Project: Day 10

from my desk @ work

When I was in London in 2004 with my (then-not-yet) husband, I couldn't find anything to buy at Hamley's, but I also couldn't NOT buy anything.
On a side note, while we were there, so was Mick Jagger. He bought a fancy toy helicopter that can really fly. We had sent the cashier to check something for us, and when he came back he asked the second cashier if it's true that she had served Mick Jagger. She said she didn't know who that was. He was appalled.
Anyway, the magic 8 ball caught my eye, but when we got back home it sat in a drawer for ~7 years before I decided to take it to work. It's great for all those pesky questions people tend to ask you:
When will the fix be ready?
The magic 8 ball says to "ask again later".
Will you be done today?
The magic 8 ball says "it is decidedly so".
Want to go to lunch?
The magic 8 ball says "yes".
About a year ago, we got the lucky bamboo from work, it had to do with some "green" activity. I think they make quite a superstitious pair.

Knit Teddy Bear Tutorial

Equipment:

1 set 4mm double pointed needles (called sock needles in Hebrew)
About 1/3 ball of yarn (33 grams)
Some black yarn for the eyes and nose
Tapestry needle
A ribbon for the neck.
Polyfil (or other) stuffing

Abbreviations:

K: knit
Kfb: knit front back: knit in the front of the stitch, and another in the back of the stitch to increase.
K2tog: knit 2 together
[…] instructions inside the [..] should be repeated as many times as specified.

Dr. Martens Baby Booties Pattern (Crochet)

Because I love Doc Martens shoes so much and since I have no idea where to get them in Israel, I decided to live vicariously through my baby daughter and make some for her. Unfortunately, there were no patterns available, so I decided to write up my original pattern.

Gauge: I used worsted weight yarn and a 4mm crochet hook to fit a 5 month old baby.
Materials: brown & yellow yarn for sole, black yarn for laces, red (or other color) yarn for shoe.

Baby Ball Beginners Project - Tutorial (Crochet)

I used worsted weight yarn and 4mm crochet hook, but really - gauge is not important for this project. Just make sure the stitches are tight enough so that the stuffing doesn't show through.
You can change colors at any point to make an interesting pattern.

You can learn basic stitches here.

abbreviations:
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
st - stitch
idec - invisible decrease. Instructions for this can be found here.