A Bunny for Momma

As soon as momma saw my friend's bunny, she wanted one... Can you tell what she's wearing/holding?

I hope it's obvious, I can tell, but hubby was a little skeptical. As for the little one with the flower, my friend loved her and insisted on taking her home. Now what am I going to make? Guess I'd better get back to work on my granny's blanket. It's not nearly as fun as all these little animals, tho :)

A Late Bunny

Ok, let's see if I can explain this without confusing you :) The girlfriend of the friend that got my cute little lion (she named him Leopald, how cute is that???) asked for a bunny... This one was quick and easy, the pattern is here. The only thing I changed was stopping on round 1 of the head, going 3 rounds of 12 stitches and then starting at round 12 of the body and working backwards. If that's confusing, sorry, and if anyone wants further instructions, I'll try to be more specific. I just hate sewing on the heads because I can never get them on straight, so I basically made a neck and them started the body as one piece. And, I thought she needed a little color, so I added the flower. She still needs eyes and a mouth, but I think she looks kinda cute without? Waddya think? She's pretty small (that's a mini post-it cube next to her), so I might be keeping her and making a bigger one to give away. If I keep her, I'm going to make her a friend holding a carrot :)

Look at her cute puffy tail!!!

Oh, and see her friend? My little big bro got her for me when I started working at home. She's solar powered and her head moves back and forth all day long. She keeps me company :)

Happy Easter!!!

Aren't my nephews adorable??? We spent the day with the in-laws and my momma and 2 bros came to celebrate, too. Had a great day with too much food and lots of fun. Hope you all had a terrific holiday!

Meet Bella the Elephant!

She's soooo cute!!!

A New Animal and A Swap...

I saw this on Ravelry and HAD to make one... All she needs is eyes and a flower for her hair (ears???) :)

Can't wait to finish her!!!

Now, I've stayed away from swaps for awhile just because of my budget, but can't resist this one... The Spring Fling Coffee Swap!!! Very excited... You can't even technically enter until the 20th, but they put up the questionnaire early, so here goes!

Coffee

1. What is your preference? Whole beans or ground? Whole beans, please!

2. What kind of coffees do you enjoy? A rich, bold roast; a light, fresh one, or something in between? Usually like a bold, strong blend... Leaded or non? Definitely leaded, have never bought decaf and probably won't until I'm preggers.

3. If you were headed out right now to buy some coffee for the house, what would you be picking up? Probably a french roast.

4. Do you drink for caffeine, pleasure, or both? I like to tell myself it's for pleasure, but who am I kidding, without that first cup in the morning, you don't even want to talk to me :)

5. Do you enjoy flavored coffees? How about add-ins or flavored creamers? I mostly enjoy flavored add ins to regular coffees...

6. A large, lovely mug or a small, dainty cup? Something in the middle, with enough sustenance to keep the coffee warm, but not so big that I throw off my coffee to creamer to sweet-n-low balance.

7. Describe your perfect cup - not JUST the coffee, but how you'd enjoy it! Sitting on my soon to be concreted patio with my family and friends. Oh, and the coffee... Strong with the aforementioned sweet-n-low and hazelnut coffeemate.

8. You're sitting down to enjoy a nice cup in the local coffee shop, knitting bag in hand, iPod all tuned up - or maybe you're there with a few friends for knit night! What treat do you pick up to enjoy with your coffee? A sweet, rich brownie, or something more healthy? How about a salty treat? What goes best with that great cup and company? Healthy? At a coffee shop??? How could you pick something healthy with all those goodies staring at you? I like to pretend that because Starbuck's calls some of their baked goodies "reduced fat" that they are good for you :) I'd probably get a cinnamon swirl coffee cake or if it's the holiday season, a cranberry bliss bar... Those are TO DIE FOR! Oh yeah! Speaking of iPod... I'd be listening to John Mayer's Continuum... It's the best album I've heard in a long time, and I'm trying to talk one of my bros into learning Stop This Train... Such a pretty song!

Yarn

1. Do you knit or crochet? Well, I guess that you can say I "can" knit, but I prefer crochet. One day I'll make myself have the patience to learn to knit well.

2. What are your favorite types of yarns to work with? Because of the tight budget of buying a new home, I haven't really been able to purchase expensive yarns, so I'll have to stick with my lion brand wool-ease and caron simply soft.

3. What do you have on the needles (or hook!) right now? My cute little elephant, a blanket for granny, a laptop cover for big-little bro... Oui! More, too...

4. What are your favorite colors in yarns? What about those that you'd never find in your stash? I pretty much like every color except purple... Nothing against purple, just not my favorite. I guess if I had to pick colors I liked the most they would be pinks, reds, yellows... but then again I like blues, aquas and neutrals, too!

5. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using? Any you just detest? I'm a boyle metal crochet hook kinda girl... As for knitting needles, I've enjoyed the clover bamboos.

6. Are there any particular notions you absolute do NOT need? Some of us swap a lot - are you sure that you have enough tape measures to last your lifetime? Enough stitch markers to mark every stitch of a 10 foot wide afghan? Don't have too much of anything... Maybe metal crochet hooks, but other than that, I'm open for any goodies!

7. You walk into the yarn shop and have exactly and only enough money to purchase 2 skeins of yarn in their 2 for 20 special they have going..The choices are a soft, thick cotton/viscose blend in your favorite colors, slightly variegated..a beautiful sock yarn that's just squishy and sproingy in your hands.. a soft, worsted weight wool like malabrigo.. and a lovely bamboo blend with colors to just die for. Which do you walk out the door with? Maybe the bamboo... I've been feeling that fiber lately, plus if a color catches my eye, forget it, it's over and in my cart.

Spring

1. We're starting sign-ups on the first day of Spring - is it already truly Spring-like where you are? I almost feel ashamed of how warm and sunny our weather has been. Good ol' CalifornIA!

2. What's your favorite spring flower? Do you have one? Spring flower, definitely daffodils. Regular flowers, hydrangeas and roses.

3. What do you most look forward to about springtime? All the beautiful colors of the new plants and flowers.

4. They've predicted a gorgeous day tomorrow - Sunny and about 65 with a nice breeze - how do your spend your day? In the perfect world, all my friends and family would be free to come over and have dinner on my already mentioned, soon to be patio.

5. The day after, it's going to be cooler and pouring down rain - does that impact your mood? How do you spend that day? what helps cheer you up? Heck yeah it impacts my mood! I like the winter, unlike a lot of people. Summer comes all too soon where I'm from, and once it starts to warm up I pray for a cool-down or spring storm...

Odds n Ends

1. Do you collect anything BESIDES yarn and needles? Ummm... fabric? Does that count or is it still in the crafty genre? How about babushka dolls...

2. Are you allergic to anything? Not that I know of, however, I'm very sensitive to cigarette smoke.

3. Do you have pets? Nope.

4. Is this your first swap, or are you an old pro? What are the last 2 swaps you participated in? I've done one other, and really enjoyed it. The Dog Days of Summer Dishcloth Swap.

5. List 3 of your favorite blogs - craft related or not - and tell us why you love them.

This is an easy one...

My Momma's "She's Sew Pretty"
You have to go take a look at her new little baby quilt! Sooooooo cute!!!

Oiyi 's Crafts
Love her crafty things, and her adorable little girl, Melody.

I know it's kinda cheating, but The Granny Along is very addicting. It's very inspiring to see what everyone comes up with, plus it was one of the first things that got me into blogging.

Yes... The Cutest...

And look at his cute tail!!!

Possibly, just possibly...

This is the cutest thing I've ever made...

He (or she, depending on what my friend decides he/she is) will be a lion soon. I just have the other arm, 2 legs and a tail to make. Hubby's best friend's birthday is coming up, and I remembered how much she loved the boy's monkeys. She loves earthy tones, which suites the lion perfectly. I think eventually, I'd like to make a blanket from this yarn for her and her girlfriend for Christmas. The colors are so pretty. It's TLC Essentials High Plains. Pretty browns, tans, beiges and oranges. The pattern is from here, and the eyes (which I'm totally in love with) are from here. LOVE the pattern, it was very easy to follow, and I liked that I didn't have to sew the head to the body, it's crocheted all in one piece.

Here's his/her close-up :)

I also want to thank Jenn and Jacqui for the thoughtful "Candle of Blessing" they sent my way when granny was in the hospital. It was so good to know that I was in their thoughts and prayers. Thanks to all of you that left kind comments, again. It really did mean a lot. You can read about granny's progress on my momma's blog, over here.

And, my momma tagged me but I still haven't figured out what to do, so it'll wait until next time. Also, the granny squares from the last post are still being made, I'll give you an update on that soon, too.

Away Again...

I've been so busy with life and personal issues that I haven't even felt like blogging. I think I'm finally out of my funk. Thanks for being so patient with me... I have a few tags and sweet things to talk about from a few friends (thanks momma and Jenn & Jacqui!) but I'll save a post especially for them. For now, here are some pics from this last week...

Some cupcakes (and the cool new cupcake tree from C&B) for bro-in-law's birthday and a joint project between momma and I. More details to come later.