Skip to main content

Happy Hand-tatted Easter

It seems Easter is becoming as commercialized as Christmas. Baskets are getting bigger and bigger as parents cram bigger – and more expensive – goodies inside.

Well, I'm not buying it.

Of course I picked up my favorite candy to steal from their baskets while they aren't looking, but I know the the best Easter gifts are often the simplest. My all-time favorite: a jump rope. One of those flimsy cloth numbers more suited to tying things up than their intended purpose.

The plan was to make puppets for the kids, and I spent hours on ravelry finding just the right patterns. However, Laney's jacket took much longer than expected, and there just wasn't time. I knocked out a Slimey for Ollie in a hurry, but still had nothing for Laney.

Months ago I had approached her about turning her beloved (read too small) teapot pajamas into a teddy bear. She was receptive, but I never got around to it. So, that's what I decided on.

The problem was, her pj's are so well worn the teapots aren't really visible anymore. Being currently obsessed with needle tatting, I thought maybe I could tat one and sew it on. A google image search revealed many options: some beautiful, some ugly and all really complex – except one. One cute, round and tiny teapot simple enough to wing by looking at the picture.

She saw me make it, but she might think I'm pretty cool if I tell her the Easter Bunny asked me to help him… unless she decides to hate him for cutting up her most favorite pajamas.

Have a Happy Easter!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Evergreen asymmetry

This is a chart I've been meaning to get to for a while. The Christmas before last, I was making a whole bunch of Christmas ornament gift toppers . I wanted each to be unique, so some of the miniature sweaters were adorned with duplicate stitch in traditional knit motifs. I hit a snag with the tree. A row of perfect triangle trees is cute. A single triangle tree is not so cute. A chart for a small tree is not hard to find. One which is not symmetrical is. Enter the sketch pad. My goal was a scraggly tree, which was small, but was still recognizable as a tree. This is the result. As a matter of personal preference, I think this looks best when the chart is turned upside down and is used on a piece being worked from the top. That way, the top of the tree comes to a nice point.

Crafting a Legacy

Before my mom taught me to knit, crochet and sew, that knowledge was passed to her. My Grandma Hansen was a tough lady. The kind who wouldn't tolerate rude behavior or disrespect from anyone old enough to control the tone of their voice. She could still a child squirming through church with an outstretched hand. She was also the kind who, with a wink and a smile, would slide an M&M across the table to a kid to shy to ask for one, then elicit a whispered, "Thank you," with a gentle, but expectant, "You're welcome." Grandma Hansen in 2005. Grandma was also a crafter. She gifted many crochet dolls to her grand-daughters. One Christmas, each grand-kid was given a pillow case. Mine, a black and white panda print with lace on the cuff, is still in circulation. Another year it was a pajama set, wrapped and topped with a little crochet animal. My brother's gift topper was accidentally sent out with the wrapping paper, and she made him another. It sh...

Exciting developments

At deer camp, Uncle Mark observed I really need to get back to blogging. He's right! It's been far too long, and there is so much to share. The delay can be partly attributed to my desire to have a video with each blog, which ended up taking much more time than initially anticipated, time I just don't have — but more on that later. Also, my phone storage is full again. In the past, that was solved by using google to back up my photos so they could be deleted, but now my google storage is full, too. I take a lot of photos! Why don't we get to the goodies right away? I have a pattern to share with you! This little fox is incredibly simple to make, and the results are just too cute. It's a basic chevron stitch and whips up in no time. The full pattern is available for free as a ravelry download . The fox design and my lack of time are actually very much related. The story started a couple years ago when my Auntie Becky met a lady named, Lois. Lois had alpacas, a...