Really Fuzzy Bear! (& some others)

This is Buehrle! (Pronounced "burly") He's named after my favorite pitcher on the White Sox: Mark Buehrle.

I started a Tiny Bear Mini-CAL on CAL pals a few days ago and this is one of the bears I'm doing for that. I think he's SO CUTE!

I used Red Heart KISS yarn for his body in Hickory and Red Heart KISS in Creamy for the bottoms of his feet. I wanted to use a yarn that was naturally fuzzy so that it would like more like a fabric bear rather than one that was crocheted. I'm thrilled with the results. It's almost impossible to see stitches through all that fuzz. I looked at several different yarns before choosing this one: it was by far THE SOFTEST yarn I've ever felt. It's a bit expensive for the little skeins, but I think it was worth it for this bear :)













I added a little blue and white gingham bow just to give him a little decoration, but not something that would take away from that gorgeous fur.


He stands just under 8" tall (hard to tell because he's so fuzzy!)

I didn't stuff him quite as firmly as I did the tiny bears just because I wanted him to be a bit soft and skooshy. It worked! :)

I'm thrilled. Out of all the bears I've ever had in my life (and there have been a lot) Buehrle is now my instant favorite.

I'm going to have to put up a shelf somewhere in here to properly display these little guys!!

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And now for the grand unveiling of a few little items I showed teaser pics of a while back!!


Here's a bunny I made out of Lion Brand Velvet Spun. This was the first stuffed animal I ever made! It stands about 13" tall and is so very very soft!










This is what I made for the Survivor Challenge on CAL Pals. I love this bunny!! Such a cute idea for the body using yo-yos. I'll definitely hang on to that pattern :)










See? I told you I liked the pattern. I made this bunny for my niece a few weeks ago when she was going to have tubes put into her ears. Poor thing has been plagued with ear aches for her short 2 years of life and they're hoping the tubes will help.

I also made another stuffed animal: a turtle for my 7 year old, but I haven't had a chance to photograph it yet. :oÞ

I'll leave you with a shot of Buehrle that I took yesterday before I had his legs done.. I think it's really cute!

Magic iPod Answers!

The iPod Has Spoken

I saw this meme a couple weeks ago on The Crochet Dude's and a couple of days ago on Sue's blog, so I thought I'd give it a go, too! It looks like it could be really funny!!

The way it works:
1. Put your iPod on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

How am I feeling today?
Bust a Move - Young MC (Maybe tomorrow)

Will I get far in life?
Shame - Matchbox Twenty (hmmmm.. apparently not?)

How do my friends see me?
Maneater - Hall & Oats (ROFL!)

When will I get married?
Bent - Matchbox Twenty (I'm not sure what this means!)

What is my best friends's theme song?
Don't - Jewel (LOL she's just the opposite!)

What is the story of my life?
And Still - Reba McEntire (well it WAS until I married my hubby!)

What was high school like?
Pretty Woman - Van Halen (erm...)

How am I going to get ahead in life?
Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode (uhhh... I'm not sure that will work *wink*)

What is the best thing about me?
Angie - The Rolling Stones (I swear this came up - it's the nickname my family and close friends call me - though NOT the best thing about me, IMO) :oÞ

How is today going to be?
Imagine - Perfect Circle (if only)

What is in store for this weekend?
Good Life - Francis Dunnery (oooohhhh! I'll take that)

What song describes my parents?
Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve (this is true!)

What song describes my grandparents?
Nowhere Man - The Beatles (lol not quite)

How is my life going?
She Is - The Frey (aww!)

What song will they play at my funeral?
Wrong Number - The Cure (so I'll get to hang up and try again?)

How does the world see me?
Twentieth Century Fox - The Doors (hey, does that mean I'm outdated?)

Will I have a happy life?
The Weight - The Band (ouch!)

What do my friends really think of me?
Nothing - Depeche Mode (well that explains a lot!) :oÞ

Do people secretly lust after me?
Sex Machine - Mya (I swear this really came up!)

How can I make myself happy?
Hard as a Rock - AC/DC (cheeky!)

What should I do with my life?
Ode to My Family - The Cranberries (I like this answer)

Will I ever have children?
Magic - Black Eyed Peas (random random random!)

What is some good advice for me?
Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth (I'll stick with Sue's answer on this one: "Seriously, I'm too old for that.")

What is my signature dancing song?
Poundcake - Van Halen (Slam Dancing anyone??)

What do I think my current theme song is?
Dangerous - Depeche Mode (oh my!!)

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Tiger - Paula Cole (wow, I'm not sure I wanted to know that!)

What type of men do you like?
Mr. Right - Garth Brooks (ROFL yup!)

What kind of kisser are you?
Not of this Earth - Robbie Williams (I'm not sure how to take this one!)

What's your style?
West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys (oh dear!)

What kind of lover are you?
'Til the End of Time - Delerium (Awww, I hope so!)

What would be playing on a first date?
Take a Chance on Me - Erasure (Surely!)

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
For the Love of Money - The O'Jays (does this mean I'll be rich?)

This was fun!!

Really Tiny Bear!

Meet Owen! He's been in the making for a few weeks now. Click here and you can see the very beginnings of him. ;)

I've started a mini-CAL on CAL Pals for these tiny bears and I figured I should use it to get my bum in gear and finish this little guy.






I just got the finishing touches on him a little bit ago. He's so cute! I couldn't find eyes (or beads) small enough for his little head, so I embroidered eyes on him with the brown Pearl Cotton thread I used for his feet. I embroidered his nose and "mouth" with one strand of DMC embroidery floss.

















He's quite a bit smaller than his older sisters, Opal and Olivia. He measures in at just a tidge over 3" tall. Like his sisters, he's also 5-way jointed and has florist's wire in both of his arms.







I don't think I'll do another bear with this same thread. I just don't like the look of the body and arms. I like how I can brush the yarn on the other two bears to make them fuzzy and very very soft. Owen's texture is rough. It's just not *my* idea of how a teddy bear should feel. I still love him dearly and I think he's adorable, don't get me wrong, I'll just have to see what I can find in soft or brushed thread before doing another one this small.

Snoopy!!

After I finished Olivia the other day, my husband asked if I could possibly make him a Snoopy. I said sure! I didn't figure it would be too hard. It wasn't!

I designed the head, ears, and nose myself. The arms and legs and body are modifications from the bear pattern I've been using designed by Edith Molina. I'm SO SO PLEASED with how Snoopy came out and my husband is thrilled. I guess when he was little he had a big stuffed Snoopy and when he was about 5 years old, his mom got rid of it. :( So when I showed him tonight his new teeny tiny Snoopy, he was very excited.


Snoopy took me about a day to make. I started him last night when we got home from Rockford and I finished him just a little while ago.

For his body I used Bernat Baby Fingering weight yarn in White and for the black I used DMC embroidery floss.





I did a lot of research looking at pictures of Snoopy from all different angles to try and get everything just perfect. (Gee what a surprise, considering I'm a perfectionist to the point of being annoying.) The black spot above his tail was hand embroidered using a satin stitch. There is a little tiny tail back there, which was crocheted in one piece with the body (much easier than trying to sew it on later!)



Snoopy was done in the same way the previous two bears were: 5 way jointing so he's completely poseable. I put florist's wire in his arms so that they'll be individually poseable, also.









He came out just a tiny bit smaller than Opal and Olivia: Snoopy measures in at an itty bitty 3 3/4". :)

I'm just so pleased with the reaction I got out of my husband. I could tell he really loved it and that made me feel wonderful!

Tiny Bear #2!

Meet Olivia! She's the 2nd of my tiny bears. I think this will turn into a series of them. *wink* They're just so fun to make, and since they're all just a bit different, it doesn't get boring!

I started on her the same day I finished up Opal, but had other projects to work on, so she took me a bit longer to finish. I decided to change it up with her, also, so I did a little collar for her instead of a bow and embroidered eyebrows on her face. I like the eyebrows better - I think it adds a finishing touch to her expression, but my husband prefers Opal's face. lol Go figure.


Anyway, Olivia has pretty much the same dimensions as Opal: she stands a miniscule amount taller (putting the legs on is an imperfect process) but she's still itty bitty nonetheless. I would have taken a side by side view of the two of them together, but I sent Opal to work with my husband today so he could show a co-worker. She found out I've been crocheting stuffed animals and wanted to see some of them. I sent him with another one, but it's one I haven't been able to show on my blog yet, except for in this little snippet of a photo.



I just love this photo! I think it's so cute. Please excuse my dry cuticles *ahem* I haven't put lotion on my hands this morning yet. Even though I've shot one of her next to measuring tape, I think a shot with a human hand in it really puts her size into perspective (pardon the semi-pun.) ;)





And here's a shot of her standing by herself! She's 5-way jointed like Opal, so her arms, legs, and head all move freely. I put a 2" piece of florist's wire in each of her arms so that they could be bent and posed further.

For her body, I used Bernat Baby Fingering weight yarn in Antique White. For the pads of her feet and her collar, I used Bernat Softee Baby in Lilac.

She's stuffed with polyfil and her face was hand embroidered by me using one strand of DMC embroidery floss in a soft brown color.


And for closing, I'll leave you with a close up shot of her face to see detail. I brushed each body part with a small barrel plastic bristle round brush to give her the same fuzzy soft texture as Opal.

I've got plans for another one in pink, but I'd like this next one to be smaller than Opal and Olivia. I think I will need to go buy a size #3 or #4 hook for that. That's probably as small as I can go with the fingering weight yarn I've used.

These are so fun to make!!

Teaser pic!

Here's a pic of the Share a Square afghan so far!

Share a Square #16

Here is the final pattern for the Share a Square. This was Evelyn's choice - it's called the Farmington Square. I've had a lot of fun doing these squares!

Now for the exciting part. I'm the one who's putting this whole afghan together!! So far, I've got Brandy's, Theresa's, Julie's, some left over squares from a past C'Ville auction, plus my own, and I'm still expecting more squares in the mail from the rest of the girls that participated in this.

I've got 25 squares joined so far -- I was going to wait till they all got here to start on it, but after getting packages in the mail and seeing all the pretty squares, I just couldn't help myself! I started in on it last night and it's going pretty well. I think I'll take a few days off now until I receive more squares. :)

Share a Square #14 & #15

This is the Granny's Daughter Nine Patch Square. I had a good time with this one, but I changed a little bit of it. *sheepish blush*

Let me start off by saying I HATE whipstitching and will avoid it at ALL COSTS. So when I saw the pattern for this square, I loved it, but I hated the whipstitching assembly. So I decided to do the Flat Braid Join, which is my favorite way for joining motifs. Then on the last two rnds of the square, I did the seed stitch instead of sc in each st around. I like the way it complemented the join method.













And this beauty is the Friendship Ring Square. I just love it! But boy it was difficult getting those rings to join and lay right. I'd seen this pattern before and always wanted to try it, but I didn't have the nerve. Thanks for picking this one Theresa!

My husband's 15 year class reunion is this weekend, so we'll be out of town from tonight till Sunday evening sometime. We had such a good time at the last one - I'm hoping we'll have just as much fun this weekend, too.

Have a great weekend!!

Share a Square #13

Today's square is the Puff Flower. It's almost strange to see an all white square after doing so many with a blue and white combo. But it's certainly easier when it comes to weaving in the ends. ;)

This was the first time I've ever done the Puff Stitch. A bit ... interesting... to get used to, but a pretty stitch, and very soft.

Tiny Bear!

Meet Opal! I just finished her today. She's the "older sister" of the bear (still in progress) that I mentioned in *this post*. I will finish the thread bear, but I was kind of disappointed that the thread is just so... stiff. I don't mind working with it or the tiny hooks, that's not a problem. I just don't care for how hard the thread is and how ... un-soft the bear is turning out. So I wanted to do one that was fuzzy.













So the other day I bought some Bernat Baby Fingering weight yarn in Antique White and used some Bernat Softee Baby in Pink that I had and started on her. I used a size 1 steel hook. So believe me, working with the sport weight yarn was a little tricky with that small a hook, but I managed. (The reason for the two different weight yarns is that the pattern calls for a thicker yarn or thread to be used for the colored pads of the feet.)

The delicate fingering weight yarn is so soft, but also, you can brush it to make the fuzz come out. (See photo below) On the right is a foot before it's been brushed, and on the left is the other foot after it had been brushed. I just used a small barrel round brush with stiff plastic bristles (the same thing I use for blow drying my hair every day) and brushed with and against the "grain" of the stitches until I had it fuzzy enough for my liking.













I LOVE how she turned out! And she's just tremendously soft.

Here's another view: you can see she's just 4 inches tall and will fit in the palm of your hand.


She's lovingly stuffed with polyfil, I hand embroidered her nose and "mouth", and sewed her eyes on. (I wish I could have gotten smaller eyes - this was as small as they had them at the Ben Franklin here.)

She's five-way jointed, so she's completely poseable! So cool! And she'll stand on her own.














I did alter one part of the pattern. The ears. The way the pattern had you make them, it seemed like they'd be little circles. It wasn't clear on how to join these tiny circles to make them look like semi-circle ears, so I just designed new ears. They turned out great and I think if I make another one of these, I'll definitely do "my" ears instead of the pattern ears.













I'm SO pleased with how my first teeny tiny bear came out!

Share a Square #12

Today was my turn to pick the square! I chose the Vintage Lace Square. I think it's so pretty. It was my 2nd choice for today, but I decided to keep the other one for the next time I pick - which is the last time for all the square picks. :) I'm the closer! woohoo, me!

Anyway, size issues again, so I did a rnd of V-stitches, then a final rnd of crossed dc. I like the texture the last rnd gave. The cross dc is turning into one of my favorite stitches.

Penny For Your Thoughts

Julie came up with a great idea to earn money for our little forum we call home - CAL Pals. She offered up the idea that we each make a crochet container of some sort and whenever we have spare pennies, put them in there. Twice a year, we'll take them to the bank and cash them in to help pay for the costs to keep our board running.

I think it's a great idea and an easy way to help donate funds without breaking the bank.

The pattern I used for my container is here: It's called *Trinket*. Well, I started with the pattern, but I made a few changes to the container and quite a few to the lid. I can never seem to do a pattern without making some sort of changes to it to add my own little touch.

Anyway, the container itself is almost just like the pattern, except I added another rnd of hdc at the top so there'd be more for the lid to sit on and not cover the beautiful texture of the sides.

Here's a close up shot:













The lid, well, I pretty much totally redid that. The original lid is supposed to sit just inside the container. I didn't like that idea, as things stretch and eventually it would just be falling in. I started off with the first 5 rnds of the container bottom, joined with a ss, then did the cross dc stitch, ch 1, cross dc stitch, ch 1, repeat around. I joined with a ss, then working in the back loop, i did a dc in the dc of the cross stitches, skipped the ch 1 sp, dc in the next 2 dc. Join with a ss then a rnd of sc.

I skipped the tassel for the lid and instead made a little ball to go on top. (This is my 7 and a half year old's favorite part of it.) ;)

Here's a look with the lid on:













I used two strands of yarn held together: Red Heart Super Saver in Frosty Green to be the stiffener to keep shape, and Caron Simply Soft in Lt Country Blue to add a little splash of blue and a bit of a satiny sheen. (Gotta love that Simply Soft shine.) I used an N hook. I started with a K, but when doing the bottom of the container rnds it started to buckle. Switching to the larger hook kept it flat.

Oh, and there are 39 pennies in my container ;)

Oh! If you're looking for an adorable little penny pot, have a look over at *Sue's Blog*! She's made the most *beautiful little pot* - I love her colors!

Share a Square #11

Today's square is called the Shades Square. It was a nice and easy pattern to do - great pic, Diane!

My square turned out a bit small (again - I see a pattern here.) I think there's two reasons to this: I'm using Caron Simply Soft for mine, and I think most of these were designed by people who worked them up using Red Heart Super Saver. Though they're both "worsted weight" there is a thickness difference. I used the called for I hook, but mine still was small. Which leads me to reason two: I think I have a smaller gauge. Not that I crochet tightly - I don't think so at all. My stitches aren't tightly bound together and I've never had to fight them to get the hook into the next stitch. I just think my gauge runs a bit small. Oh well.

To remedy this, I scrapped the last round of the square, and did instead a rnd of sc in white, a rnd of hdc in lt country blue, and the final rnd of sc in country blue. I like the little "frame" it gave to the circle.

Monday is my turn to pick the pattern. I've got one picked and already made up, but I'm not sure if I'll use that one or not. I'll look around some more and see what I come up with.

And here's my list of crochet things to do this weekend:

1. Work on the thread teddy bear.

2. Sew some stars on my flag. (Uggh, I still haven't touched that thing.)

3. Work on my nephew's Triceratops. I've got the body and the tail done.

4. Start on this Turtle for my 7 and a half year old, who requested it this morning.

5. Make my decision about my Share a Square pick.

6. If I get time, work on the Tumbling Blocks afghan.

And I know we'll be going for at least one bike ride this weekend, if not two. If it's nice enough, we'll probably ride both Saturday and Sunday. I just love being out on my bike.

10 Things I've Learned About Thread

I'm working on a thread teddy bear. The pattern was a gift from Diane from the CAL Pals forum, who was kind enough to grant my wish. The bear I'm making is called Berty and he's down at the bottom of this page. The designer is Edith Molina - she's so talented! There are so many adorable little bears on her site.

I finally went out yesterday and bought the thread and hooks to start on it. The pattern calls for size #30 thread, but after one look at the thread, and another look at the size 11 hook, I said "NO." lol I'm brave but not that brave. That hook is TINY. If I'd had previous thread experience, I would have gone for it, but since this is my first, I thought I'd go with a tidge bigger thread and hook combo. Plus, my gauge is small enough where my bear might still come out the right size. :oÞ

Anyway, I went with DMC Cebelia #10 thread and a size 8 Boye steel hook. I bought a set of 6 Boye hooks, sizes 0, 1, 7, 8, 9, and 10. I also bought sizes 9 and 10 in the Bates steel hooks -- did you know that Bates steel hooks run quite a bit smaller than the Boyes for the same number? For instance, the Boye 10 hook is 1.30mm. The Bates 10 hook is 1.15mm. There's a noticeable difference in comparing the two. I was going to return the two Bates hooks after buying the set from Boye (my preferred brand), but after seeing they're not duplicate sizes, I decided to keep them.

Anyway, as you can see in the picture, everything is teeeeeeeny tiny. Top left hand corner is the body of the bear and it's head, respectively. I think he's going to be so cute when he's done!!

So I started on him yesterday, and right away I noticed several "new" things about crocheting with thread:

1. Damn those hooks are tiny.

2. Thread is called thread for a reason. It's basically no thicker than about 3 or 4 thick human hairs wound together.

3. Wearing a band-aid on the tip of my middle finger on my left hand is a GOOOOOOD idea. That hook HURTS when it pokes you going through the stitches.

4. I need a smaller safety pin. I use that to mark the 1st stitch in the rnd and the one I'm using is tiny, but not small enough and it's getting in the way.

5. I've used words while working on this that I never thought I'd use while crocheting.

6. DAMN those hooks are tiny.

7. Stuffing is MUCH harder with something this small. When I did the head, I stuffed after the last rnd (which was a rnd of 6 dec's). It left an opening so tiny I had to use the blunt end of a D hook to shove the polyfil in.

8. It's probably not a good idea to work on this project while simultaneously trying to do another animal that uses a J hook. I feel clumsy switching back and forth between the two.

9. There are no soft threads. :( At least not that I could find.

10. DAMN those hooks are TINY!!!!

On the bright side, it does get easier as it goes along. The first few rnds always go slow simply because you've got nothing to hang on to, but after that, it gets pretty fast. And since the stitches are easy to see, you can always back track if you lose count.

I can't wait till he's done - I think he'll be SO adorable. :)

Share a Square #10

I liked this one! It's the Kaleidoscope Square. Very easy pattern and it worked up quickly, too.

I used Bernat Softee Baby in Her Jeans Ombre and Softee in White. Both I doubled up with Bernat Baby Fingering weight yarn in White (to make it more the weight of worsted.)

Mine came out a bit small, so I added a rnd of sc in white, then the variegated. I like how it turned out.

I'm off to the store today to get supplies for my Thread Bear (oooooh I can't WAIT!) and also some gray yarn to make this Triceratops for my nephew. My neice had surgery Monday and I made her something (Little Something #2 in the teaser pics - I'll be able to show it soon) and my 4 year old nephew wanted to know if I had made something for him. I told him not yet, but I had something picked out and it was *perfect* for him. He LOVES dinosaurs and can tell you the names (and characteristics) of ALL of them. I think he'll be pleased ;)

Share a Square #9

This is the Irish Ivy Rose. First time I've ever done the Bullion stitch. It was a little tricky at first, but if you just take your time, it's not that bad. Oh, and picking the loops off the hook one by one is DEFINITELY a lot easier than trying to wiggle and wedge the hook through them.

It wasn't until I had it all done and the ends woven in that I realized my ivy leafs aren't quite right. The clusters of dc and trc are supposed to be three st clustered together, not two. LOL Guess that'll teach me NOT to do these things at 10:30 at night while my eyes are drooping. ;)

Oh well, It still looks pretty and I'm not about to take it all apart to do those over. :oÞž

Mine, of course, came out a little small, so I added a rnd of hdc between the last two rnds. Oh, and did anyone else's bullion flower come out... poofy? Mine is VERY raised from the "surface" of the square. This happend in doing the 2dc clusters around it in Rnd 3. Maybe I did my bullions a little TOO loose where they didn't match my gauge for the regular stitches. Something to think about for next time... Use a smaller hook for the buillions and switch to the called-for hook for the rest.

On another note, I put a wish on the Wish Upon a Star forum on CAL Pals and Diane granted it! What a sweetheart! So now I have a pattern for a thread teddy bear named Berty. I can't wait to get started on him. He'll be so TINY! Finished size is 2 and 3/8 inches tall -- small enough to fit in your hand! I've been wanting to do one of these for a while! This will be my first real foray into thread crochet. I've done a little bit of crocheting with DMC embroidery floss and a B hook, which I liked, but I think this will be a little different. I'm going to go out today and get the supplies I need for my bear - if the weather doesn't get too bad.

Anyone have any ideas on some good soft thread to get, size #30? I'd like to make him soft or even a bit fuzzy and since I've no idea about brands and types of thread, I'd greatly welcome any suggestions or tips.

Thanks in advance! Oh, and watch back for progress! Also, I have pictures of three little somethings I'm just *itching* to show, but I still have to wait. So keep checking back for those, too!

I will show a couple of teaser pics, though:

Little thing #1 with Lion Brand VelvetSpun (I loved working with this)

















And little thing #2 with Bernat Softee Baby












And little thing #3 I can't show yet. Soon, though!!

Share a Square #8

The Pinwheel Star square. Easily my favorite of all the 6" square patterns I've looked at. This one was Brandy's choice, but it was also the same one I was going to pick for when it was my turn! lol Great minds think alike, eh, Brandy?

This was pretty easy to do once you get the feel for it. I really love how it turned out. The pinwheel is really self-forming. The secret to this square is that it's really a LOT easier than it looks. The most time consuming thing on it was working in the back ridges of the stitch around the star, but that's about it.

Now I'll have to choose another for when it's my turn ;)

Share a Square #7

This is the Gothic Square Pattern. It was Wednesday's square but I didn't have a chance to work on it till today.

I liked this one a lot! Oh, and Julie, if you're reading this, I used that red H hook you sent me!! Thank you again for that!!