The Things I Do for Love

There are certain rules that, as a parent, I am obliged to follow. I have to make sure my children have food, water, shelter, good hygiene, attention, creativity, rest, exercise... the list goes on and on and makes me want to crawl back in bed.

I also have to be the crusher of dreams. We've all had our dreams trampled by the parentals a time or two(a day); been told we can't bring stray dog/cat/turtle/pollywog/jackalope inside the house, that we can't leap off the house to try out our obvious superheroey skills, we can't have the super awesome toy that would make all the other neighbors kids jealous.


"No, Aly, we can't go to Grandma's. It's bedtime and Grandma lives six hours away."

"No, Aly; we can't color on the walls."

"No, Aly; we can't go see Howl and Sophie."

*I am only conveying Aly's most frequent wishes. Lorelei currently does not articulate well enough for me to dishearten.*

**As a wife, I get to crush Matt's hopes as well. But that's another story.**

Sometimes, we individuals who claim a -ther suffix, we get to surprise and uplift those dreams. Today's wish? Pink blueberry pancakes. (They were whole wheat, so shh.)

I actually took a picture of the pancakes, but the picture looked too gross for me afflict you with. But Aly and Lorelei loved them; Lorelei had 3 and Aly had at least 4.5.

Now on to crushing Aly's dream of visiting Mimi today.

It Almost Makes Me Wish

that I could sew.

Which I can't. Not even a button. Everything I've ever touched looks more like Frankenstein's monster than whatever it was supposed to be. I tried, quite seriously, to learn when pregger with Aly. My mother had a pattern for a stuffed ballerina bunny. Needless to say I gave up on sewing altogether when the toy began to resemble a zombie kangaroo in a ballerina costume.

But these projects make me almost want to.

Sewing 101: How to Make a Shower Curtain at design*sponge

Boutique Style Skirt ebook Pattern by Gingerlouise Clothing on Etsy

Owl Softies Pattern by Retromama on Etsy

Bohemian Poppies Fabric Bins by Sewingmomma on Etsy

and...

How to Upholster a Headboard on Better Homes and Gardens

That one might require some silly other skills like carpentry...psh. Easy peasy.

Off subject, these make me happy. Except the clown. That one can burn.

It's Alive!

Wow. One week ago I put some pictures up on Facebook to see if anyone would be interested in the hats, necklace, and scarf I had made. I got a lot of compliments, but nothing really confirming I could sell my crocheted products. Now... I have a lot of hooking I need to be doing rather than writing this post. I have 5 hats to make, another necklace to donate, and my Facebook message box is getting a lot of action these days. I've had other ideas to modify the hat patterns I have, but who knows when I'll get the time to make them and advertise them :D. This is awesome. I feel very gratified and encouraged to keep going. Thanks to everyone who has ordered and/or helped!

Recent Crochet

Owl Earflap Hat

pattern design by Adrienne Engar

Acrylic and Cotton in black, white, yellow, and silver heather

Sizes 3-9mo, 9mo-2yrs, 3-8yrs, teen/adult

Froggy Earflap Hat

pattern design by Adrienne Engar

100% Cotton in Hot Green, White, Black

sizes 0-6mo, 9mo-2yrs, 3-8 yrs, 9+

Flower and Leaf Necklace

pattern design by creativeyarn

100% Cotton - sage and cream; vintage button

Circle Scarf

pattern design by smeckybits

100% cotton - Sage