Introducing Handmade in the 505

I did it! 

I opened an Etsy shop.

Check it out!

I Have a Problem

Hello, I'm Katie and I can't complete a project.

I have a problem and I blame Pinterest.

My problem is that I can't commit and I believe that Pinterest is at fault here.

Take my growing "crochet project" board for instance. It started out so innocent, I would pin something I wanted to try, a stitch that would come in handy. Now it's out of control! I want to try it all, every pin on my board. And it's not just this board, I have other boards too.

But I can't commit. 

I get a few hours to myself, like last Saturday night while Matt was hanging out with friends, Addy was asleep. What a great time to catch up on my favorite shows and do a little crocheting. (Yes, I'm boring but that's another issue.) So I sit down with my yarn and needles, head to Pinterest and scroll through the items I've pinned, but I can't pick. I can't decide what to spend my time on. Finally I settle on a simple cowl, perfect for the upcoming cold season.  But now, what yarn do I use? 

Well turns out I picked a difficult yarn for that pattern and, actually, that pattern is no good. Who cares that I've already spent half an hour on it. That's the great thing about crocheting, you can take it out and you haven't wasted anything. Let's pick something else!

Ooh! Another scarf pattern! Three rows and another half hour into it.... eh, I'd rather work on something else. I pull it out and hey, isn't that the great thing about crocheting? Nothing wasted!

Except my time and patience!

I can't commit! 

This weekend, while in Colorado, I spent about two hours every night crocheting. It was lovely, except the only thing I have to show for it is ONE slipper. I couldn't even commit to making the second slipper. Grrr!

Seriously people, I need an intervention!

So, the first step is admitting you have a problem right?

Step one: check!

Next step: develop a plan of action.

I need a list. I'm good with lists. 

I need a list where I list projects in order of importance and urgency. Things like the fall yarn wreath, I still haven't finished, will go on the top of the list along with things that need to be completed by, like, Halloween. Next will be items for Thanksgiving, Christmas etc.

And I might need to take a little break from Pinterest. Just a little one. I might actually have time to complete something if I'm not on Pinterest finding other projects.

I'm hoping this helps, if not, there's no hope for me.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has this problem.

P.S. I'm guest posting at Behind the Scenes today. Check it out!

Addy's Room Reveal

Back when I was pregnant and Addy was in the tum tum,

Back when we didn't know she was a she,

Back when we called her Carlos,

We picked out a theme for Baby Danner's nursery and I loved it!

Inspired by a piece of scrapbook paper I had, we choose to go with forest animals. I pictured cute little owls, baby deer and birds with reds, greens, browns and yellow; very gender neutral. My Mom and I made a crib skirt and Matt and I spent an evening painting a tree on the wall as we watched the Fox and the Hound. We were renting at the time and not supposed to do any painting, but we thought we could bend the rules a little to prepare for the arrival of our first child.

And then Miss Addy came into our lives. She's sweet and dainty and she doesn't really belong in the forest. So, when we moved into our new house, we decided to give her a totally new, super girly room.

Here is the grand reveal of Addy's room.
The photos aren't great, I don't own a fancy smanchy camera or any photography skills.

Can you see Addy in there?
I sewed new fabric over the crib skirt I had made with my Mom. There are no close up photos because I put it together really quickly and there are a lot of mistakes.

This chandelier was in the dinning room when we purchased the house. It's not really our style so we spray painted it pink and stuck it in Addy's room.

I crocheted this bunting using a pattern I found on Pinterest

Addy's grandpa made this changing table and I had fun putting together a little collage to go above it.

Here we have Addy's collage featuring her announcement, crocheted flowers, her hospital bracelet and some old family photos.

The pink and white frames were from the Target dollar spot.

The larger white frames were actually in Matt's nursery. I made this with some inspiration from Pinterest.

This is Matt as a baby, Addy looks just like him.

And her room wouldn't be complete without her best friends, Mr. Monkey, George and Mr. Lady Bug.

We're glad to finally have a room completed in the house and we're hoping Addy can grow into it because I don't think either of us are in a big hurry to change it.

Crocheted Paci Holder

Addy is a pacifier baby, which I am totally fine with. It helps to soothe her and although it's one more thing we will eventually have to wean her from, it's got to be easier than the thumb. During her week stint in the NICU, they gave her the Soothie brand paci and she hasn't liked any others since. We've tried to give her others that look a little better and are more proportionate to her face, but she doesn't like them. The problem with the Soothie is that I couldn't attached a paci clip/holder, so we were constantly chasing after it... until I saw this:

Source: rebekahgough.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

A crocheted paci holder! 

Perfect.

I used this tutorial to create my own and since it just requires a slip knot (I think that's what it is), it could be used on the Soothie paci too!

The best part was that it required absolutely no gluing. I hate using glue, it's so messy.

I was so pleased with the way it turned out that I was hesitant to give it to Addy. I didn't want her to mess it up! I may have to end up gluing the button on just to ensure it stays there.

If you are new to crocheting, I would totally recommend this as an easy beginners project. It's also very useful!