On the Eighth Day of Christmas

Day 8 and a sort of "repeat", if you will. The first day was about the little blue teddy for my youngest nephew, Michael. Well, today's photo is of the little green teddy I made for my oldest nephew, Keoni.

I really do love this little guy and may even make him again, but bigger! Wouldn't he just look adorable a bit bigger? Size comparison, he's a little longer than my 7.5in hand (from middle fingertip to wrist). He's wider than that, too, of course.

Ain't he just the cutest?

Remember that this pattern is from Lion Brand and is called Bear in a Jiff. It is on the "Free Patterns" page, but you will need an account to be able to use Lion Brand's patterns.

Be sure to stop by Kota's CC on Facebook to like and share all of these photos! They'll be ongoing until December 25!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

Day 5! Moving right along! (Explanation for why this is late will follow down below)

So, I've been struggling with this beanie for a year, a YEAR. I wanted to make it for a friend last year, but I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. This year, however, a fellow crocheter on Facebook posted her troubles with this particular pattern in a group we're in. I figured I'd try and help her out, since I was stuck too. So we began to work "together" on it (separately, but sharing notes and issues via Messenger on FB).

And that's not where the troubles stopped. After I had completed the hat, I realized it would fit my niece better than my friend. Well, that wasn't in the plans. Okay, we'll try again. Tore it out, and discovered (thanks to my new buddy) that if you work the hat in one hook, and then go UP a hook size for the owls, it works out a whole heck of a lot better. I would probably even recommend going up a hook size than require for the hat and go up a hook size from that for the owls, but then again, I crochet a little tight.

This pattern may have kicked my butt for a while, but I can say that I am happy with it and I now know how to work cables into my work. It was harder than I thought, but that's how you learn. I would be willing to make this again and again.

The pattern is called It's a HOOT! and can be found on Ravelry. I actually purchased my copy from her website, but Ravelry is always a good place to buy and get patterns. They'll automatically store your receipt so you don't have to worry about losing it. And you'll get to download any paid pattern you bought over and over if your computer crashes or something. I use Dropbox to save all my stuff, so I'll never lose it.

This is late because I was working all day Friday and got home and just could not find this photo. I had one, but GOD BLESS was it horrible. Didn't show the color well at all. I will try to keep up with this the rest of the Advent Season, but I do have to work and get stuff made. You can help me out GREATLY by dropping by my Facebook page and

On the First Day of Christmas

And here is the first day of my Crochet Advent Calendar 2014! Are you guys excited as I am?

I've mentioned a couple of times that I decided to give gifts to all of my nieces and nephews this year. Last year, I only got around to making one gift for the niece who lives with her grandparents (my in-laws), the purple cat scoodie. This year, I made each one of them a stuffed animal.

The boys got little teddy bears, Keoni in green, his favorite color, and Micheal got blue (since he's only 2 and can't make that kind of decision yet). I made a boo-boo when crocheting Keoni's only because I didn't use the same yarn I used to make Michael's to make Keoni's. Michael's is made from Bernat Baby Softee yarn and Keoni's is made of Red Heart Super Saver. Though, the scarves are made of BBS yarn, since I'm trying to use up some of my scraps.

They're adorable little bears that are super easy to make. For your own teddy bear, check out Lion Brand's Bear in a Jiff. It's an adorable little bear and it is super easy to whip up. This was my first amigurumi and I can't believe how easy they were. I'm definitely not used to crocheting in what is basically a spiral, but it was easier than I thought it was. If you don't have good stitch markers (like me, oddly enough), a safety pin works marvelous. It's what I've been using for a while now. Cheap too.

Tomorrow you'll get to see what my nieces are getting for Christmas. :D I won't ruin the surprise because that won't be any fun. (Though, if you've been following my Facebook page, you may already know what they're getting. Don't spoil the fun for anyone else!)

Remember to spread the word about my Crochet Advent Calendar! I'm also going to be posting links to various other artists who crochet and create marvelous items and share their patterns with the whole of the internet.