17/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2017."

Sailing around the Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge...

Dipping our toes into the freezing cold Pacific Ocean....

Biking across the Golden Gate Bridge....

And riding the historic cable car....

Just a few of the wonderful memories from our week in San Fransisco.

Of course, as you girls would say, the best thing was being together as a family...and you would be right...

Inspired by The 52 Week Project at Practicing Simplicity.

16/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2017."

Welcome to San Fransisco!

On a clear and sunny day we landed in San Fransisco for our family holiday. First stop, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge...and then off to explore the city and make some wonderful memories together.

Inspired by The 52 Week Project at Practicing Simplicity.

A Snail in a Pear

My latest amigurumi creation: a little snail and her pear home.

This was a lot of fun to make and my girls just love it; there is something about little containers and hiding things inside that these girls of mine just love.

Just like my bumble bee, the pattern for the snail and the pear can be found in the book Amigurumi Two: Crocheted Toys for Me and You and Baby Too.

Happy Tuesday!

15/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2017."

Another collection of photos this week; it's too hard to pick just one.

It definitely feels like spring. We spent as much time as we could outside today....riding bikes, walking around the neighborhood, jumping off the porch, and feeling the warmer breeze on our faces. These early spring days are so full of anticipation, they are almost magical.

Inspired by The 52 Week Project at Practicing Simplicity.

P.S. Thanks again to my wonderful photographer husband for taking these amazing pictures..this time with his new lens...

The Maybelle Blanket

This blanket happened quite by accident.

I was camped out in my "crochet corner" on the sofa and quite happily began making flowers using the leftover yarn ends from my Cozy Stripe Blanket. I had a vague idea to make a bunting, but soon realized that I had enough yarn to make a blanket - a stash-busting blanket of sorts if you don't count the cream and tan yarns that I needed to buy in order to make the flowers into squares and to join everything together. And so I made my Maybelle blanket. I hadn't intended to, in fact I had yarn all lined up for another blanket project, but this one just sort of happened and luckily so....

As I recovered from my surgery, and as I worked through a little setback that filled me to the brim with anxiety, I crocheted this blanket. There are tears and healing in the stitches; this blanket represents my journey, in a way, to the place I am now - a happy place, a healthy place....

The patterns for all parts of the blanket - the flowers, turning the flowers into squares, joining the squares, and the border - can be found at the beautifully inspiring blog My Rose Valley.

Charlotte the Bumble Bee

Yes, I made a crochet bumble bee and named her Charlotte.

Sometimes I wonder if I should get out a bit more, but there is something so incredibly satisfying about curling up on the couch in my pajamas and crocheting another amigurumi friend. I love it so much and it just makes me so happy....

The pattern for this bee can be found in the book Amigurumi Two: Crocheted Toys for Me and You and Baby Too.

Happy Tuesday!

14/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2017."

Or in this case portraits....sometimes choosing just one is too hard.

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous spring day and we spent the afternoon at Oma and Opa's house...chatting, eating Easter chocolates, enjoying a delicious family dinner, and taking advantage of the sunshine that finally feels warm.  Spring is in the air.

Bridget was absolutely thrilled to wear her new embroidered denim jacket, which she vowed to never take off...

And Claire, well, she was hopping and skipping all afternoon, her wavy hair bouncing along behind her, so full of energy and smiles....

Inspired by The 52 Week Project at Practicing Simplicity.

P.S. Thanks to my wonderful photographer husband for taking these amazing pictures...

Mr. and Mrs. Cactus

Out and about running errands over the last few weeks I've been surprised by the number of cacti embellishments that I've seen. On clothing, on bedding, on home decor...cacti seem to be very popular at the moment. Of course, this inspired me to march myself home, rummage through my cotton stash for suitable colors, and crochet a few cacti of my own: Mr. and Mrs. Cactus.

I've affectionately named these two Arthur and Bernadette.

I've always loved cacti. When I was a little girl, I had a cactus garden in my bedroom and when Steve and I were first married, we bought a fun cactus we named "Yo" to put in our living room. All these cacti died, likely from over-watering, which thankfully will not happen to these two.

With no little parts to sew on, these friends were very simple to make. The pattern I followed is from the book Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet, one of my all time favorite amigurumi books....so many cute and adorable patterns inside.

And I just realized something, remember my succulents in an elephant, and my little succulent in a tiny pot? Well, apparently I was already on the bandwagon because these are the third and fourth cacti/succulents that I have made in the last while. So fun!