#AND i'm working on sewing projects. how am i supposed to get anything done!

[seagullcharmer]

save me npc character design..........

[greenpaths]

ALRIGHT MY FRIENDS ARE WE READY FOR

A BIG CROCHET PROJECT UPDATE!!!!

I keep putting off posting about everything on here and instead of making a bunch of separate posts, I figured I might as well just get it all done in one shot!!

So first off, an update on the baby blanket I had been making!! As a refresher, my coworker and his fiance had a baby a few months ago in July, and I was asked to make a baby blanket for the lil one even though it was late into the pregnancy at the time. I took on this task with DEDICATION and it is NOW DONE

I used TL Yarn Crafts' Hexis in Springtime blanket pattern and Hobbii's Frutta + Lion Brand's 24/7 Cotton and I'm very very pleased with how VIBRANT it ended up being. I was initially afraid that the white borders would really wash everything out, but I think the Frutta yarn matched its energy and held its own. and it's all 100% cotton, so it should hold up over time and many washes!! I also made my own ruffly edges rather than using the pattern's, and I also sewed on a standard baby blanket fabric on the "wrong" side of the crochet (with my mom's help!)

honest to God I'm so proud of this one, and even though it's not perfect I am sooooo excited to have done it!! it's a blankie a baby can grow up with and I'm so happy to give them that 😭 I can't wait for the baby pictures I've been promised

AND THEN

this one is a bit of an oldie, but I made my best friend Madison a mushroom purse for her birthday gift this year!! I hadn't posted about it on here because she follows me on umblr and it was supposed to be a surprise, but she's now had it for a few months so it's free real estate

the pattern is this one from Bayou Self Creations on etsy, and I used Big Twist Value yarn in the colors cream, mustard, and toffee!! this pattern was SO fantastic and well detailed, and I found that I was comfortable enough w it to make some adjustments, so I did! For one, I bought purse hardware and introduced lobster clasps and a strap adjuster ring so that the bag can be easily taken off the strap, and the strap adjusted. I made a little tassel for some extra decoration and used a bead to create the little door knob, and I even lined the inside of the bag with white liner to make sure it can hold anything without the item slipping through the holes always created in crochet

this pattern was SO much fun to make and it really worked up so fast since most of it was done with worsted weight yarn held double. highly recommend!!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE

one of my dear coworkers has always caught me crocheting and asked if I'd be willing to make him something small. after some pestering, he said he'd like mushroom boy keychains, and I delivered!!

I used the Chonky Mushroom Boi pattern by Chonky.Crochet on ribblr (which, tangentially related, is quite honestly the WORST app I've ever used ui/ux related. It is so HORRID). the pattern is super thorough and these little guys worked up very quickly and were a great way to use up some scrap yarn! unfortunately, they did get a little damaged already and I have to find a better way to fasten them to the keychain thing. I WILL though

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

another baby crochet project!! this time for my very sweet neighbor who is 6 months along. I really wanted to make her something without committing to the scope of something like another baby blanket, so I did some digging around until I found this pattern for baby loveys by theodoreandrose (hosted on the Bella Coco Crochet website). I made some adjustments (see: packing in more crochet stitches towards the last few rows in order to make the bottom ruffley, adding two extra rows otherwise, crocheting extra ear details), but otherwise the pattern itself was incredible (ESPECIALLY considering it's free!) and I managed to knock this one out in about half a month working on it here and there. It was also the first time I had completely 100% freehand embroidered a face onto a plushie I've made, and I kinda thing I killed it tbh. it looks so much like an old school toy and I love it!!

I used Berroco's Comfort yarn in the color Falseberry Heather. I wish I could have gone for something a lil more colorful, but the baby nursery follows a forest theme and I didn't want to stray from it. in any case, I think the tan yarn (scraps from WeCrochet's Comfy yarn, throwback to that monkey amigurumi I posted about ages ago) did a good enough job of breaking things up!!

And now we're all caught up!! I've got a few projects I wanna get done as Christmas gifts and I've already started on my next one, so 👀 I'll see y'all again soon!!

[something-about-sewing]

Feb. 15, 2022

Alright. I fucked up my first post already, putting it on my main blog instead of this new side blog and I am desperately hoping that nobody saw it before I deleted it.

If you did. If you happen to know who I am. Don't tell me. I will die of embarrassment.

With that out of the way, let me tell you why I'm here.

I'm a 28 year old man that desperately needs a creative outlet, so I've tried many, many hobbies. I usually end up starting projects, not being happy with how things are going, and dropping it because my inner perfectionist won't let me continue.

The other day, I decided I would do it all again. I watched a lot of youtube videos and decided that, of all things, I wanted to make doll clothes. I don't know why. I've never owned a doll. Never wanted to play with dolls. Not even an action figure. (that's a lie because somewhere I have a bigfoot action figure my parents bought me in Yellowstone, and it's foot is a stamp, but I digress) I don't what compelled me.

Two days ago I bought a sewing machine for about $150. I bought a few pieces of fabric and other supplies and I did some grocery shopping while I was out. Total I spent $300 that day and my wallet ached. Back on topic, I've never sewn in my life. I watched my mom do it a couple times and I watched some videos, but no actual experience. What the fuck was I thinking? I spent that night playing with it on some random fabric I once bought to look like a scarf for a Halloween costume. I put down several stitches... Seams?... Whatever the fuck I should be calling them. I also discovered the magic of the button foot and spent an hour trying to figure out how the hell it made button holes.

Yesterday, day 2, I went to Walmart. Why? Because I don't own a doll. Let me reiterate. I bought a whole ass sewing machine with the intent of making doll clothes and I didn't even own a fucking doll to put them on. How stupid am I? I lied again about the action figures. I have an Elite from Halo. It's got an energy sword. I really contemplated making clothes for it, but I don't have a working printer, nor do I know any of it's measurements, nor would I know how to adapt anything to it's body shape, so how the fuck am I supposed to make a pattern to make clothes? I don't. I get off work and I go to Walmart and I buy a Barbie and some extra clothes for like $20 and I use those. I took off the shirt it came with and I spent a few hours carefully deconstructing it with a tiny ass seam ripper and taking lots of pictures and tracing a pattern, and then I got distracted playing Deep Rock Galactic for the first time and I stayed up way too damn late.

Day 3! Today! I got off work and went home with a mission. I took my pattern, cut some fabric, and starting following the pictures I took in reverse to make a new shirt. I am very pleased to announce that I finished it. I fucking made a shirt for a god damn barbie. And here it is!

I made that shirt. Yeah, it's kind of shit, but I made it. And you know what? I had a lot of fun! A 28 year old man with too much free time had fun making a shirt for a Barbie. What's the world coming to?

I'm going to do more. I'm going to make more doll clothes because it's the most fulfilling thing I've done in a while. I have the shorts it's wearing, a skirt, a dress, and a few other things to make patterns for.

I'm so happy right now. None of the other hobbies I've tried and failed at ever felt this good. I'm glad I did this and I'm proud of myself for finishing this project. I think I'm actually going to stick with this one, but only time will tell. That's what this blog is for. I think I'm much more likely to stick with something if I share my progress publicly. If you actually read all of this post, thank you. It means a lot.

If you have tips or tricks you'd like to share, please reach out to me. If you have nothing you want to share and just want to say hi, then by all means, do it. I want to talk to people about this so I can keep motivation.

[seagullcharmer]

so many things i want to do, so much art i want to make