Peace, Love, Robot: A Knitted Toy Process

The robot I made for Brotha-in-law Cool's birthday began as a pile of knitted pieces: 8, in fact, in grey Patons Classic Wool, with Cascade and Lamb's Pride scraps forming the arms, legs, and ear/antenna.

Next, following clever instructions from KnitWit (a gift from my hubby) and my favorite Mochimochi knits, I had it seamed together quite well--best toy seaming yet!

Finally, using wool felt scraps from my mother and the blanket stitch and backstitch, I had a slightly sinister robot.

He's not perfect, and I don't know yet if the Brotha-in-law likes him, but I hope so. He was fun to make--I finished the embroidery while watching Blades of Glory, which I don't think he liked--hence the expression!

Cutie Pie Thursdays: Moo Culture (Not About Yogurt)

Outside the Denver Art Museum in December. If you look closely at his lips, you can tell he is saying "Moo!"

Not quite as good a shot (these are both from my cell phone), but he was definitely taken by the giant cow sculptures. Not visible in these pics, but my favorite part of the sculptures was the giant ear tags. For anyone who has been around cattle, the ear tags are what sell this work to me.

Cutie Pie Thursdays: Juice for My Horses

Lincoln is REALLY into his horses--he loves to say "horse" and "neigh." One afternoon we were playing downstairs when I heard him say, "Juice horse." I turned around, and this is what I saw: my friendly young son kindly sharing juice with his horse.

Cutie Pie Thursday: Shovel Time

He's starting to get the hang of it!

Whoops! A tumble in the snow!

Right back up and back to work!

Did you see my shovel, mama? And my giant hand? (He had lost a mitten, and so had to wear one of mama's gloves out in the snow. The next day, he helped mama shovel off the front step very handily!)

Mr. Cool's Christmas Crafting: The Finishing

Mr. Cool put his new routing skills to the test for Christmas this year, making all of Lincoln's cousins a fancy name sign. Here, we follow one through the finishing process. Above, you can behold it in its unfinished glory.

Mr. Cool used a poly/stain and handy painter's triangles to get them all evenly stained quickly. Above, he explains the staining process.

I love watching the projects he creates undergo the staining transformation. The bare wood always looks cool, but it's amazing when the stain brings out all the grain and hidden beauty of the wood.

Each sign received a double hook to enable usefulness, and Mr. Cool also pre-drilled hanging holes/spaces/brackets/something or others.

Mr. Cool proudly holds the finished project. The parents were pretty happy about the signs, and I hope the kids were too!

Christmas Knitting Revealed, Part Two

Now that all our Christmases are done, I can post the rest of my Christmas knitting! I made this hat for my mother-in-law, as she had always been fond of my bee hat. I made this in purple Lamb's Pride worsted, and added a single ceramic bee button to the front.

I made cotton washcloths with designs for each of Lincoln's cousins this Christmas. The designs turn into a bit of a hidden picture, and I realized that I should have packaged them with "this side up" stickers. Above, you will find trucks.

Hidden in the flecked yellow is a soccer ball--probably the toughest to spot.

For the lone girl, a princess crown.

One of my favorites, a giraffe.

A close-up of a penguin--this one turned out the best, probably because I gave in to my loose knitting and actually knitted it on smaller needles to create a tighter cloth.

I think that's everything I knitted this Christmas--tomorrow, a special on Mr. Cool's big Christmas crafting!

Cutie Pie Thursday: Smoothies on the Road

Loaded up for one of our four trips in December, the wee lad enjoys his favorite Inta Juice smoothie in a Lincoln-sized cup!