Ruby Red

I finished my final handmade gift for Ruby's birthday. I didn't make her anything for Christmas, so I figured I'd make up for all those made in China toys with plenty of handmade goods. After the two aprons I figured she needed an actual toy. I've been meaning to make the Ruby Doll over at One Red Robin for ages (for obvious reasons) so I finally got down to it.

This gal is easy, easy, easy to do, even for novice sewers like myself (though I did give her a very rustic look, not entirely intentional). She's pretty 2-D (i.e., no bottom), so there's no round pieces or gussets to worry about. I used a bunch of fabric scraps left over from last year's Wee Wonderful-mania and I really like the folksy look of this doll. Plus she took about two hours to make from start to finish, which is a big bonus. There's also room for tons of variation: check out the other Rubies over at the Ruby Doll Flickr Group.


Speaking of bright red, I made some delicious beet soup the other day, courtesy of Martha Stewart/Everyday Food's vegetable puree soup recipe. I don't have time to look up the link, but you basically just saute an onion in olive oil, add a couple of pounds of beets (or whatever else you fancy), a cup and a half of chicken stock and enough water to cover the beets. Simmer for 20 minutes or so, puree, and to make it really good, add a few tablespoons of lemon juice. If you want, do like I did and pour portions into ziplocks and freeze. Yum! Though, be careful if you're using a hand blender -- I'm still cleaning up beet juice.

Game On

Okay, it's December 3 and I'm starting to go into "Oh my god, I have to get ready for our party/get ready for vacation/finish sending out Xmas cards/finish gift packages that should have been in the mail last week" freak-out mode. Oh, and have I mentioned that I'm starting to feel really, really pregnant? Ack.

On a calmer note, here's a little something that I whipped up last week to send to our little friend Lilly, who was born in August, but didn't get a baby gift, since I was in my early "I'm feeling really really pregnant" stage. This is the Bunny Bug from the Aranzi Aronzo Fun Dolls book. I love this bug so much that I started concocting all sorts of reasons as to why I had to keep him for Ruby/myself -- the main one being that he turned out waaay bigger than I expected and it's going to cost a small fortune to mail him across the country. But, off he will go.


I used a really fuzzy material that was a pain to work with and really messy. I think he's done shedding, but I'm going to recommend that the parents use this to decorate the babe's room rather than let her cuddle it in bed, since I don't want any fuzzy particles going up her nose. Still, I really love this guy and he was super super easy to make. Hooray.

Okay, I've got to go. I think Ruby has dumped every toy she owns in the living room and she's eyeing the Christmas tree.

Shake It Up Baby

So, I've been feeling a little bit guilty about not knitting a baby gift for my cousin's new baby who was born in August. I'm especially feeling bad about it because it's her third kid and the third kid just seems to get so neglected when it comes to gifts, you know? But, time has been scarce and projects have been piling up, so six weeks have gone by and no gift. Bad cousin.

After finishing the Spherey for my friend's upcoming little dude/dudette, I decided to try Jess Hutch's Odd Fellow for my cousin's guy, since it was small (i.e. fast) and I'd never made one before. The problem was, once I started knitting him, I realized Odd Fellow is really really small, and hence not that fun to play with. So, I decided to stick a couple of jingle bells in him, omit the arms and legs (which were just too small and fiddly -- eight stitches on DPNs? No thanks) and voila! Baby shaker!

Because he's so tiny, I feel obligated to make a hat too. Can I finish that hat, and the hat for Ruby I have on the needles before I see the baby on Thanksgiving? Can I?

Book Review: The Cute Book

I must say, I was pretty excited about Aranzi Aronzo's The Cute Book. Before I saw the book online, I wasn't that familiar with the whole kawaii craze. But then a gaggle of Aranzi Aronzo kitties showed up on the cover of Craft Magazine and I started reading about these little guys on the blogs and boom, I was hooked. So, I was pretty pleased to get my hands on this book, which is an English translation of the Japanese patterns.

Basically the book is full of instructions on how to make over a dozen different "felt mascots." There are bunnies and sheep and monkeys and slightly more sinister little guys like Bad Guy and Liar. They're all pretty basic and very very small -- generally meant to hang off of your bag or on a keychain.

Anyone used to Western craft books might be a little weirded out by the book -- the instructions for making these mini-toys are as wacky as the little mascots themselves, which is why I love the book so much. Each little dude has his or her own personality description, which will appeal to anyone addicted to the idiosyncrasies of Japanese pop culture. The book is small and super colourful -- so much so that Ruby has spent huge periods of time leafing through it herself. In fact, she's claimed it as her own and keeps pulling it off my shelf to put it with her own kids books.


Of course, I've already tried my hand at making one of these little guys -- I thought I'd start simple and make the Bear (shown next to my favourite tea cup for scale). It was fun and fairly easy -- though I'm thinking that such miniature crafting isn't necessarily my forte (note how wonky his face is). I'm pleased with the end result, but I didn't really enjoy putting this guy together as much as I like, say, knitting or embroidery, so I'm not sure how many Aranzi Aronzo mascots will be populating my craft room. That said, I'm dying to make the Liar, my favourite character in the book.

Speaking of which, the Aranzi Aronzo people have already put out a companion book The Bad Book, which features stories of the Bad Guy, often in heated battle with the Liar. It's really fun, and although not really craft related per say, a must have. I think there are a bunch more Aranzi Aronzo story books on the way, so if I do end up making more of these guys, I'll be able to play along.

Return To The Valley Of The Dolls

At last, something I can call a FO! Here's the finished Dolly, from Jess Hutch's Unusual Toys For You To Knit And Enjoy. I love this little gal. She's knit up with Cascade 220 (which is less fuzzy than the recommended Lamb's Pride -- though that can be quite nice too) on US 8 needles (though, she is a little loose -- but I wanted her to be a decent size). I have a big box of Cascade in about eight colours that I always use for making these toys -- it's like a little box of paint that I can use whenever the fancy strikes me.


Here's Dolly with the other Jess Hutch creations that we still have kicking around at home: Squarey and Kate. I must say, I really love this doll, other than my all-time fave, Spherey, I think she's my favourite. I really like her basic body -- I have visions of making more of them in the style of Russian stacking dolls and just skipping the arms and legs. I do love the dress too -- I hope that the baby that this is intended for has a lot of fun with her as she grows older.

Speaking of favourites though, Ruby has already claimed Dolly as her own -- I'll have to hide it while she's sleeping and hope she forgets about it. The toys I make for her she couldn't care less about, but the gifts are so enticing even if she doesn't know it's not for her. Speaking of which, I'll have FO photos of the Fair Isle Cardigan once I can actually get the thing on the kid. Because it's for her, she's refusing to wear it. Nice.

Hey Boo-Boo

After much procrastination (strangely, I'm addicted to knitting that blasted baby blanket), I stuffed Henry The Bear's arms and legs and attached all appendages to his body. Little Aidan comes home from the hospital tomorrow (good job, little one!), so Henry is finished just in time. I want to make him a little hat too, but I'll have to tear myself away from a just-started fair isle project in order to accomplish that, so I'm not betting any money on it.

I won't do formal specs, but this is Henry The Bear, knit from Jess Hutch's Unusual Toys For You To Knit And Enjoy. I used Cascade 220 for him and stuffed him a little less than I have for my other Hutch toys, so that he'd be softer and cuddlier for the baby. The only alteration was the omission of the "H" on his sweater. That was not so much an aesthetic choice, but more of a "wow, do I ever hate doing duplicate stitch" choice. So, there you have it. One baby gift down, two million to go.

WIP Friday: Toys For Babes

Now that holiday knitting is a distant memory, it's time to get a move-on on baby knitting. I come from a big family. I have 25 first cousins and we're all pretty close. Since the cousins range in age from 10 to 40, with the bulk of them in the 25-35 demo, it comes as no surprise that there are four pregnancies in the family right now. Oops, make that three -- someone was just born the day before yesterday.

My one cousin wasn't due until the beginning of February, but because of some complications her little guy, Aidan came a full month early. Luckily, everyone is good and healthy, they're just keeping him in hospital for a week or so so that he can put on an extra pound before he goes home. Unluckily, I hadn't finished knitting my gifts for him. What you see above is a limbless Henry Bear, designed, of course, by the famed Jess Hutch. I also want to make him a hat, but since time is an issue, I think it'll just be another easy-peasy umbilical cord hat. Sorry Aidan, I wanted to try some fair isle for you, but you came too early.



Also on the needles is the Heart And Stars Blanket from Zoe Mellor's Adorable Knits For Tots, intended for my brother's baby, due in June. I am not a fan of knitting baby blankets -- too much of the same. So, I've decided to do one repeat of the motif, work on something else, and then return to it, which means unless the baby pulls an Aidan, I'll be finished in time. Since this is a very special addition to my immediate family, I'm sure I'll be making the little guy/gal a few other things too. And I promise, you will see some non-baby crafting on here soon. A woman can not knit for baby alone.