Farm Style Plushies

I've been looking through other blogs as well as Pinterest for a new style of project to work on and found Erica Catarina's blog where she creates incredible felt toys that I have decided would be perfect for my next project!

Here is the inspiration:

Tonight I was able to start my sketches and make the patterns (yes I learned from my Owl mistake) for each toy I wanted. I decided on a cow, dog, horse, sheep, pig, and goat. I'm still deciding on whether I want to try making a chicken or wait - we'll see I suppose. Here are the drawings I came up with so far. Check back soon for my progress on these little guys. 

Owl Bookends

Christmas day was pretty quiet for my husband and I. While he played his video game, I was working on finishing a set of owl bookends I've seen online somewhere before. Can't find the link again but here is what they look like all finished.

I drew the design straight onto the fabric rather than trying to make a pattern (which I know I will regret later) but here is the step-by-step of how I made these guys.

Step 1: Cut out the pieces for each end. You will need:

- canvas fabric: cut out main body form (2 per side); wings (4 per side); round base (1 per side).

- brown sturdy fabric: feet (4 per side); beak (1 per side)

- accent fabric A: Cut out stomach circle (1 per side)

- accent fabric B: Cut out wings (4 per side)

- cream felt: Cut out eyes (2 per side)

- beans or other form of weight

- stuffing

Once I drew a body that I liked, I cut out multiples and found a circle that was a nice size to use for the base. I did no measuring or calculating to determine what the best size would be. (I told you that I will regret not making a pattern with the one I made!)

I then cut out a nice sized wing that was proportionate to the body I designed. This triangle was cut in the canvas fabric as well as the accent fabric B. These fabrics were sewn together with the face fabric together leaving one end open. They were then stuffed and sewn onto the body.

The stomach fabric was attached to the owl using a zig-zag stitch. I then sewed the feet with face fabric together flipped inside out and stuffed before attaching to the edges of the stomach of the owl. Once I had the stomach piece where I wanted it I attached the beak barely above to allow plenty of room for the eyes. 

Below you can see the owl coming together with all the pieces in line. 

I attached the circle by determining the center of the owl, sewing on from the center to almost the edge of the front piece - holding back about 1/4 of an inch, then went back to the center and finished the rest of the piece. 

So you can see it was wanting to stand upright already :)

I attached the back the same way as the front, by starting in the center of the piece and working to the edge. Where it met the front piece I attached the front and back - it happened to match up perfectly. AGAIN - I should have made a pattern!!

The eyes were hand sewed on before adding the 3-4 cups of beans. I had measured out the approximate weight in dried beans in a small sandwich sized ziploc bag before pouring into my enclosed owl and filling with stuffing the rest of the way.

Ready to be closed up!

I then hand-stitched the top closed and TA-DA!!! I made the two ends at the same time to make sure they looked the same when finished, this was yet another reason why I didn't think to make a pattern.

I'm going to be drawing up the pattern if anyone would like it please message me and I can be sure that it gets to you!

All In A Day's Work

Today's project has turned out to be much faster than I expected it to be. I have this pattern that I found a few years ago but is still available on one of my favorite knitting and crocheting websites - Ravelry.

After about 3 hours total I have completed everything you see below. It's really starting to come together. I can't wait to see the finished product!!

And the finished product. He's absolutely adorable! I love that he has so much character. The hardest part was getting the eyes just right - and keeping Ringo away from it once done since he believes it was made just for him to play with. 

Sewing my fingertips off...

I found another DIY'er that has her pattern for a diaper bag available on her page and I've decided to try my hand at making one. Here is the link to the pattern. I started by getting together the supplies she listed and of course I printed the pattern she posted on the website as well. I cut out the pieces and also set aside the fabric to make an interior pocket.

As I was cutting away I decided to use some of the pattern fabric to make a few burp cloths that are shaped like a stocking enough to cover your chest a bit for the little ones that seem to bob all over as they burp. I used a brown felt as well as my pattern fabric, measured my shoulder (base of neck to arm socket) to determine the width of the burp cloth in the center and then rounded around each end to a curve that I liked.  Here's how the set turned out:

Then I got back to the bag - it took about 6 hours to complete but was a fantastic, easy, beautiful bag that I was overjoyed with. I only had one question with the pattern as I went but then I went to sleep (okay so part of the problem might be the fact it was one o'clock in the morning!) I got back to it this morning and just now put the finishing touches on it. Here is the beautiful finished product!

front of bag
farm animal print used also on the burp clothes above
*notice a particular pup's nose poking in on the left side* 

back of bag
button closure rather than velcro
(I didn't want velcro with all the knitted stuff I'm making)

inside bag
double inside pockets - smaller on top of larger, no form of closure

Holy Purl!

I've had a pretty busy week working on various projects. Finishing a few knitting projects, made a changing blanket (to keep inside the diaper bag I started last night), and of course a few more knitting projects along the way.

First I finished up an afghan that I had started last year as a baby blanket. It has been so long since I worked on this I don't even know where I got the pattern from (Lion Brand??). I will try to find it and share with you.

I made the changing blanket using 1/2 yard of fleece (cut in half) 1/2 yard backing fabric, and about 1/4 yard of edging fabric. I double stitched every location that fabrics met as well as double stitching along the top to hold the entire piece together. (See close up of the blanket)

I then worked on a hooded towel in a Bernat yarn I've had a few skeins of in a grey-blue color. This was done working from one corner to the opposite then using the same idea to make the hood. This pattern calls to K2, YO, K to the end. It is beautiful what this YO stitch does to the edging - LOVE IT! Just a note - this pattern also says to complete this process until one edge is 20 inches long - this took me about 120 stitches (equivalent of 117 rows) before I started to decrease.

I know how important it is for kids to haven sun protection - especially here in such a sunny state so hats were next on the list. This was pulled from another blogger's site. I made the first hat with the bow and decided to find a way to make it removable while still not flopping all over the hat so I have not made the bows for the other two hats. The bow pattern was a bit confusing for me so here's how I made it:
Cast on 12 sts
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: K1, YO, knit until there is 1 stitch left, YO, K1
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: K1, YO, knit until there is 1 stitch left, YO, K1
Knit until measures 1" (for me this meant only two more rows)
Row 5: K2tog, K until there are 2 stitches left, K2tog
Row 6: K2tog, K until there are 2 stitches left, K2tog
Bind off.
Wrap yarn around center, sewing through center of rectangle piece to secure it.

And then I decided to make a set of newborn finger-less mittens to keep from having too many scratches. Wow how easy was this pattern!!

Infertility

I have noticed throughout the past year that there are very few online forums for women suffering with discovering they are infertile - complete unable to conceive "normally". 

I started all of this by first going in for an annual exam to obtain birth control in 2008. The nurse at the clinic informed me that my thyroid was abnormally large and that there could be a chance of thyroid cancer but I should consult with a gynocologist to confirm that diagnosis. I had just had my birthday a few months prior - I was 19. I visited the doctor who informed me that I did not have thyroid cancer but my thyroid only seemed large because of my petite figure. She did an additional pap smear to confirm the results from the first clinic and informed me that I had a cervical disease {the name has just evaded me} that could become cancerous and we should monitor it by doing bi-annual cervical exams with biopsies done at those visits.

A few months later I started having pelvic pains that would send jolts of pain through my rectum and vaginal areas. It would at times feel like someone was sending an electric shock through either location. Sex became painful in specific positions and my then fiance was concerned and suggested that I consult with the doctor again. Within about six months I was having a laparoscopy to determine the cause of the pains, only after sending me to every other specialist to make sure it was in fact a pelvic pain as my doctor seemed to believe it was a neurological issue. When I woke from the laparoscopy, the doctor informed me that she found a large amount of scar tissue from my rib cage to my ovaries and was wondering if I had ever had a physical injury or accident (which I had not). She then proceeded to tell me that she saw no reason to remove the scar tissue as she was sure it was not the root of the problem so I left the procedure with no more knowledge than before. After about a month, she prescribed me with Tylenol-3 (with Codine) to control my pains. At first the medication worked, I did not respond to it as someone like my mother does but I was fully functioning without having it affect my routines. That soon turned into the medication not helping in the least way with my pains and I gave up on that irrational option, suffering instead.

In 2011, I decided to visit an Infertility Specialist recommended by a coworker. My first visit I waited for him in the exam room, prepared for a cervical exam and instead he started talking to me about what the previous doctor had done for me. I explained the surgery results and showed him the pictures she had given me confirming his first instinct that this was a Pelvic Inflammatory Disease issue. He suggested a procedure called an HSG which is a lightly sedated procedure in which the doctor runs xray dye through a woman's vagina into her tubes to confirm the passages are clear of debris via digital xray images. It was in that 60 minute procedure that I discovered my left ovary was blocked at the base and I spent about half of that time elevated as the specialist hoped the dye would push through the debris and allow for fluids to travel normally. My once fiance had since become my husband and by this point he was far from understanding and rather than taking off of work, to take me to this doctors appointment that I was not allowed to drive to or from due to the light sedation, he asked his mother to take off and take me in his place. This led the the next year of problems with our marriage and we separated August 2011.

I moved back to my hometown and started to feel relief with the diminished stress from both of my jobs, college courses, and failing marriage. I rekindled a relationship with a long-time friend who became my husband in less than a year. During that time I discovered that my cervical disease was now gone and that I no longer needed to worry about that form of cancer.  One a month before our wedding in June of 2012, I went in to my new OBGYN and had another laparoscopy done, this time with an HSG done while under sedation. When I woke from this surgery, I found out everything that I wish I could have found out at the first laparoscopy. Not only was my left tube blocked, buy now my right side was as well and per the doctor he would (and I quote) "be surprised if I ever get pregnant". This absolutely broke my heart. Up until this point I believed I had one working tube and could potentially get pregnant from the right side alone. But that wasn't the only news I discovered, I also turned out to have endometriosis which was drastically covering my cervix so they burned off all that the found as well as removing excess scar tissue that was not removed during the first procedure.

Within this past year I have had good days, and of course I have had bad days. The worst are baby showers for friends that are too excited about their bumps to understand the mental pain I am going through. Another issue tends to be the girls that are about my age that are all having kids and talking about anything to do with babies right near my desk. I wish that there was more understanding from the general public as to what makes this process more manageable and what makes it more difficult. I also would love to not have to explain to another soul that no, my husband and I do not have any children - because I can't get pregnant". I have also been to the doctors to discuss a hysterectomy however he seemed very unsatisfied with that option and actually refused to do the procedure because of how young I am and how many alternate options I have, and more importantly how many of those options I would give up due to that hysterectomy.

For anyone that has gone through this I know exactly how you feel and how you have good and horribly bad days. I understand the pain that comes with endometriosis - at one point I was in so much pain that could not be managed that I though suicide might be the best option. I hope to post more of my thoughts regarding this topic soon.