Thursday, April 30, 2009

Change A Life Today

I've written about Krochet Kids International before. As a quick reminder, KKI works in Uganda to teach skills to women vulnerable to poverty and disease. They teach these women how to crochet, and then sell their wares online around the world to support not only the ministry, but also further the business education of the women In some cases they even provide small business loans to help them start their own companies!

Starting May 1 (that's tomorrow!), there will be a whole new lineup of products available on the KKI website. Check out the announcement below, and consider if you're interested in supporting this amazing ministry seeking to free women from the oppression and devastation of war and poverty.

"Come May 1st, we will be hitting our online store with some righteous new gear. Including:
- a DOZEN new hats (a baker's dozen to be exact)
- New shirts (they may or may not be v-necks)
- Another surprise shirt
- STICKERS!!!

Don't soon forget, all proceeds from the sale of KKI products go toward supporting and growing our programs in northern Uganda.

We encourage everyone to... "CLOTHE YOURSELF IN LOVE". Buy a hat & change a life today.

Learn more about what we do and who we work with by visiting: http://krochetkids.org/projects.php"

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Marky (Take Two)

I made another version of the Marky the Monkey, this time for a girl. While I love the way this pattern looks in the end, I find the face rather fiddly to get right. I am very particular about things being symmetrical, and if I follow the pattern the way it is written then the pattern is not symmetrical. Oh well, I got it done and I love it in the end :)


I did the eyes in felt to make it extra baby safe and added some eyelashes a cute little flower to accent the girlie-ness!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Busy Bee

Wow, it has been a long time since I've blogged here! I guess it is a testament to how busy my life has been lately. Most of my time in the past few weeks has been taken up with the adoption process. The rest of my so-called free time has been filled with random projects; including sewing, crocheting, and gardening!

I am making another Marky the Monkey, this time for a friend's soon to be born baby girl. I'm currently in the process of making felt eyes for the little rose and cream monkey so the whole thing will be very baby friendly. I hope to complete it this weekend and will post photos when I do.

This year was the year I finally decided on taking the plunge and doing the work to put a vegetable garden in my back yard. This consisted of killing off and pulling up grass, installing framework and a fence and fertilizing and tilling the soil, plus indoor planting (I'm starting it all from seed!). It has taken me weeks to do it all since I'm only using hand tools (for both the money-saving aspect and the extra exercise it provides me!). I am almost finished and should be able to plant the plants in the ground in the next few weeks when the danger of frost is finally past. I can not wait to eat produce that I grew myself! I've wanted to do this for years and figured I better do all the hard work now so that I can enjoy the garden with less work after the adoption is finalized and I have a new baby to care for :)




Lastly, my mom commissioned me to make my own daughter's birthday present from her this year. She found an old doll that was mine as a girl and asked me to replace the clothing. She also asked me to make a dress in matching fabric that Anna could wear. I found this challenge quite intriguing as I wouldn't have a specific pattern to work from other than deconstructing the old clothes and working from there. My mom chose a cute lilly pond fabric from our local craft store and I got to work. The doll is a reversible doll of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. One way it looks like Goldilocks, but if you turn the doll upside down and lift her skirt up over her head then it looks like the three bears. Here are some before and after shots, sorry about the poor lighting in the after shots. I'm not totally done as the doll itself needs a good thorough cleaning and I'm going to replace the hair as well. I have a good start on the dress for Anna - I am making a pillowcase-type dress and it is looking very cute so far! I still have some embellishments to do and then it will be done. The thing I love about this style of dress is that it can easily become a trendy little shirt when she's older and it doesn't fit as a dress any longer!