Summer Projects - Crochet - Part Two

Here is the final installment of my summer projects. These are some of the crochet ones I finished before summer was over. I actually wrote this post several weeks ago but I've been waiting on a photo. Be advised, this is a bit long but lots of photos.

First, a baby gift for a dear friend we very much miss but are extremely excited for her third little boy to join their family. The first set of items is to endear him to his brothers. It's totally frivolous but sometimes those are my favorite gifts.

Batman theme with a baby-ish twist:

Then a more practical item, too.

Then another baby gift for a friend I went to high school with who is expecting her first little one, also a boy. I did follow a pattern for the hat but the shoe one is all my own.

 
Another baby item. This was actually the first of my completed summer projects. This post has been delayed because I was waiting on this photo. My super sweetheart husband was able to retrieve it from the hard drive from my school laptop that crashed. I was amazed he was able to retrieve it but he's pretty amazing that way. This baby afghan will always have a special place in my heart because I worked on it while I was still in school and often in-between patients during my clinical rotations. The baby it was made for used it in the hospital and as his going home blanket. I was so happy it was so well received and is already a treasure in this baby's life.

Another baby ensemble. This was for my dear friend over at A Year with Mom and Dad. It has been so wonderful getting to know her these past couple years. I was truly over-joyed when she told me she was expecting and tickled when she emailed me from the hospital while she was in labor and then gave birth less than an hour after we "chatted" via email. I truly adore her and am honored to call her my friend. 

Next item, a super simple pattern shawl. I ended up making two, one in this lovely shade of blue and the other in a purple. Two different types of yarn which gave them each a distinct look, too.

The purple...

Next, a going away gift for an employee at work. She and I were the only ones who used to chat Star Trek. Aside from T Rex Dad, few other folks can keep up with me in the Sci-Fi realm. So, for any of those who do know Star Trek, you'll know who this is:

 
At the request of my little girl, I made this poncho and hat. She asked for a pink hat with cat ears so she could be a pink cat. Really, she actually gives me some of my best project ideas. Honestly, I am surprised she did not ask for the hat to have a crown so she could be a pink princess cat but maybe next year. I'll post more photos of her modeling the ensemble on her blog. For now, here is the completed project. Cold days can now come since her hat is ready. (I need to start on T Rex's hat set - he wants a Captain America winter hat set.)

Another Lil Sister inspired item - Tinkerbell slippers. (Can you tell how much I love crafting for my little girl?) Oh, and the Tinkerbell pants she wearing were also home crafted. I put anti-skid on the bottoms so she would not run around a corner and slip.

 

Lastly, a surprise for Lil Sis - she usually tells me what to craft. In this case I was actually able to surprise her with a homemade something. She saw a sock monkey soft luvie at the store. I have to admit, it was cute but if I can make something, I try to do so rather than buying it. Now, I have to say that mine was not as soft or cuddly as the store's but she loves it and calls it "soft monkey with red hair". And yes, she woke up with it sitting on her pillow waiting for her. Oh, and the pattern is mine, too. 

I'd love to share the patterns I've made up but as my mom says I craft by the seat of my pants much like her mother used to. Hence, it's tough to reproduce exactly two things. Most of my originals are truly one of a kind.

Wait until you see what is in the que for the fall/winter projects. With the holidays and birthdays coming up there are lots of things to show off. Just not yet...

(P.S. In case you may be curious, a certain sweet little guy requested a Hulk so you can probably guess what I'm currently working on.)

Bikes...

Grandma and Grandpa declared it was time for the kids, specifically their little guy T Rex, to have a bike. Grandpa N found a little bike, fixed it up with training wheels, and prepared to give it to T. However, we knew Lil Sister would not stand for noting having a bike of her own. Therefore, they presented her with a little something of her own.

Enjoy the photos...

Seeing their bikes and immediately jumping on.

T Rex Dad taking his little guy on his first bike ride. He hopped on and never stopped.
 

Grandma and Grandpa N looking on. Our little girl preferred pushing with her feet, although, she pedaled a little, too. 

T Rex allowed his sis a ride on his bike and she loved it, especially getting some assistance from her dad so she could go fast. 

Thank you, G&G - they LOVE their bikes!

Aunt JT's Garden...

Recently, my sister-in-law - JT, invited the kids and myself (T Rex Dad was working) out to her place to pick veggies and collect blackberries. 

I have to admit, I was pretty stingy with the kids with our blackberry bushes. I let them pick a few but ours were so few that I needed every last one to do my jam. Hence, I would often sneaked out at night after they were in bed and collect the berries. I was glad JT had plenty of berries for the kids to pick. So many they were literally falling off the bushes.

It was truly a fun experience for the kids. Thank you, JT. We were glad to keep you company on your anniversary while your sweet heart was out of town. 

I'll tell more via photos...

First we started with the blackberry bushes. Her bushes are much bigger and taller than ours. The kids enjoyed walking under the bushes and picking the ones at their level or lower.

Examining a giant sunflower that had fallen.

Picking some veggies.

Green beans.

Onions.

Carrots.

 

Tomatoes.

Potatoes (yes, we grow them big in Idaho!)

We had stone soup and blackberry pie for dinner sharing all of it with Grandma and Grandpa who brought over a couple of cool surprises. More on that in the next posting...

P.S. This visit was immediately following T Rex's eye appointment were we learned he can now see 20/20 in both eyes with his corrective lenses. Significant improvement from where we started 3 years ago at 20/200 in the left eye and 20/60 in the right. We can now decrease his patching from 2 hours a day to 1 hour every other day. Oh, and no surgery either. He was also a model patient. He totally has the eye examination thing down. We are grateful and happy about the news and proud of our little guy's behavior and compliance with his eye regimen and exam.

Super Hero Invasion...

We've been invaded by Super Heroes.

T Rex is really into super heroes. In fact, he will say, "Hi, I'm T, and I'm really into super heroes." Of course, being the adoring younger sibling, Lil Sis totally gets in on the action, too. Although, she does not have the cool gear that her brother has. She tends to still choose toys in the princess or fairy realm. However, she happily uses whatever is left over to try to keep up with her brother.

Here is a photo of Captain America and "She Cap". Yes, Lil Sis and T Rex came up with the name "She Cap" on their own. He has her use the lid to his sandbox tools as her shield. I think it's perfect actually. 

We originally had plans to go out of town for Labor Day weekend but when we received an invitation to a birthday party with the theme of super heroes, we canceled our plans and planned our costumes - there was no way our son was missing that party. 

I also want to preface something. What my kids have learned of super heroes is almost exclusively through age-appropriate books checked out from the library. They've seen a tiny bit of the 1960's Batman or super hero cartoons but not much in the realistic realm.

T Rex, of course, wanted to be Captain America. We went all out to help him actualize his costume. I was wanting to make his but we found a costume online at a less expensive price than what I could have pulled together. However, after the party it was pretty much trashed from all the fun in the bounce house. Hence, I suppose you get what you pay for.

Lil Sister insisted on being Black Widow the Super Spy. Try as I might to convince her Cat Woman was the way to go, she would not back down. And since we're trying to teach her to be an independent thinking young lady, we opted to not push her into our way of thinking but rather allow her to decide. I did make her costume and it turned out great. Hopefully, no one thinks us crazy for allowing our 2 1/2 year old to wear black vinyl pants. Plus, the utility belt was super fun to make. The kids do not have toy guns so instead of a gun belt I opted for a utility belt. I hung a tape measure on it and she had so much fun going up and measuring things and people. I also styled her hair with gel and the hair dryer for the first time.The costume must have been a hit with the kids at the party because the older girls were all fighting over who was going to help her in the bounce house and down the blow-up slide.

I'll post more photos on their blogs of their costumes so you can get a closer look. Oh, and something I did find interesting - our daughter's waist is 18 inches. Everyone, and I mean everyone, exclaims about her petite build. Let me just say that I am blow away by those Civil War era Southern women who used to have 18 inch waistlines. That would basically be the size of my daughter's waist now and she's a tiny 2 1/2 year old.

T Rex Dad and I dressed up as Lois and Clark. I cannot believe we did not have someone take our picture. T Rex Dad looked great. It was fun to be dressed up at a party and it not be Halloween.

Oh, and in case you were wondering what the gift was we took for the birthday boy, here's my favorite part of it.

Please, feel safer knowing there are Super Heroes protecting us all!

P.S. Yes, last week we all enjoyed the viral gastrointestinal bug but we survived and are happy to have that behind us. Speaking from experience, I understand why the kids insisted on being held and frequently moaned. Hence, we're a bit behind on postings. I'll do catch up this week.