Hats — See I told you I had been doing something

So I finally had a moment to get my s#*t together and upload and organize some photos.  I’ve been meaning to post the hat I made for my husband for some time now and here it is finally.  He received this hat actually pretty early on in the winter considering the previous attempts at making a hat for him were horrible.  I know, you’re saying “seriously dude, it’s a men’s hat.  That’s really not that hard.  What the f%$k where you doing.” Well I don’t know they just stunk and even though there is something kind of funny about insisting he wear them because he loves you and you made them even though they are horrible and look funny on him.  I thought that might actually look bad on me so I released him from bad hat wearing duty.

So here’s the good one.

And no I didn’t make Mazie’s sweater.  But it is handmade and absolutely adorable.  I picked it up at Crunchy Granola Baby. Insert shameless plug here: Crunchy Granola Baby (owned by my good friend Jennie) is a great place for all your natural baby needs. AND their website (designed by my very cute and talented husband) is a great resource.

It’s the Jacques Cousteau Hat pattern by I found on Ravelry translated by Kaisakaisa.  It’s a great hat to knit.  Completely mindless and quite soothing.  Once you establish the rib and then place the markers for the decrease there is no thinking at all until you’re done.  Love it.  My father in law got one of these for Christmas this year too.

So I needed a new hat.

This is the Side Slip Cloche Hat from Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin a book in which I am IN LOVE.  I think I might have to knit up every item in here.  Also let me just say that I’m not in the practice of posting photos of myself, especially like this one with sort of a goofy look on my face, but I wanted to show you the hat and Robbie was kind enough to get some photos of it for me.

It’s not quite like the pics in the book.  Laura’s seems to be a bit rounder at the top.  Maybe my head is just bigger or something, but I do like the way it turned out.  I have to admit that I NEVER would have picked out this yarn (Rowan RYC Soft Lux) just from seeing it in the skein, but when it knits up it’s quite beautiful.  It has little gold threads running through it and would normally be a bit to “jazzy” for me, but maybe I’m trying to step up my game or something.

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I don’t do this kind of knitting at home.

Check out this knit gold and silver jewelry by Mikan Designs on Etsy.  Gorgeous. Just Gorgeous.

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A dose of spring in the winter

I’m so excited about the completion of my latest project.  It was my first attempt at making a pair of socks.  Just a simple knit three purl one rib and a stockinette foot, but look how great they turned out.  I’ve always heard people say there is nothing like a hand knit pair of socks and you know what?  They are totally right!  They feel so good on my feet.  One is a little bigger than the other because I was a loose knitter at the beginning of my sock adventure.  However, once you put them on, no one is the wiser and my feet don’t seem to notice either.

This yarn (I’m sorry I can’t remember what it is or find the sleeve) is such a lovely dose of spring color in the middle of winter.  I’ve already started my second pair of socks.  I’ll give you an on the needle preview soon.

This is another nutty week in our house.  I’m only just starting to recover from this HORRIBLE bug plaguing me for the last couple of weeks.  Mazie’s birthday is tomorrow and I can’t believe she is turning two.  I’m having a harder time with two than I did one.  When she turned one I thought oh this is so great she’s one, but two seems like such a big milestone for me.  It seems like a transition from having a baby to having a kid.  Part of me feels like oh my god she’s been here for two whole years and the other part feels like I can’t believe she’s only been around for two years.  Life would just not be the same without her.

Party festivities will commence this weekend and she is very excited.  She keeps talking about how at the party we’ll have cake and ice cream, balloons, all her friends will come, there will be presents, and we’ll sing and dance.  Seriously, could you ever ask for more than that in a birthday?  What a great thing to be turning two and to be surrounded by singing dancing friends and family who are all eating sweets.  Anyhew, lots of preparations in the days to come.  I’ll share the results with you in the coming days.

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You might not want to know what kind of underwear I’m wearing, but you (ladies) NEED to

Recently ordered a pair of these to see what the deal was. Well, I LOVE THEM! When I described them to people they instantly got this picture of grannie panties in their head. You’ll see from the pics below that these are not your grannie’s panties. The next thing folks said was, “oh they are like Spanx”. Now I’m certainly a fan of Spanx and they have their place, but these are no Spanx either. Although Spanx are perfect for sucking you into that slinky dress they are certainly not sexy to take on and off and frankly not all that attractive to dance around your room in.

As you can see (note: this is not me) these are quite sexy. They smooth out any lines, make you feel great, and have the added benefit of an additional layer of warmth as if it’s a cami and undies. I’ve not yet worn them in the summer, but I don’t think they would be too hot except on those 90+ days.

Check these guys out at Twin Syndrome on Etsy.

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Loving this designer

Found this on Etsy this morning. A couple of my favorites.

The back, which I like almost more than the front.

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Etsy Anyone?

The blogosphere is full of posts and links to fabulous finds on Etsy but I’m obsessed with the items on Etsy as well as the concept and I think there are still some friends of Ma’May’s who have not seen the Etsy light yet. I’m also highly invested in continuing the traditions of women who came before me through “handy crafts”. Handmade is so special and Etsy is helping to bring handmade to a new level.

In case you’re new to the world or have been under a rock oblivious to cool things, Etsy is “an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade.” Now we’re not talking handmade things that look like they came from some horrible home economics class. There are no pen cups made out of old toilet paper rolls. There is some AMAZING stuff on this website. It’s like walking down the trendiest NYC boutique avenue times 1000 and cheaper and better. It’s also a really interesting combination of an online e-commerce marketplace and a social network or online community.

There are some really cool features like their Alchemy section where you as a shopper could post that you’d like to purchase something for a mom who likes eco friendly design, is in love with pink, and you’d like to spend $50. Vendors/crafters/artists could then bid on your post with ideas from their repertoire. There are also some really innovative ways to shop like their color selection tool, which will pull up all items on Etsy that are your chosen color. Seriously, it’s cool.

Check out the video on their About page to learn more and spend some time on the site.I guarantee you’ll find something to your liking.

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In love with this bag

Just a quick post to highlight this bag I’m totally in love with. It’s going to be on my future purchase list. Morelle on Etsy.

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