Well, hello again!

Well, hey there friends! It's been a while, I know. These last couple of months have been a whirlwind of busy, busy, busy. And well, there hasn't been much time for crafting at all, let alone blogging about it. But cross your fingers that life will settle a bit for me now. (Ha ha! Two kids and two dogs - that's a pipe dream!)

So what have I been up to? A lot, actually! I finished up my last two classes for my degree (woo hoo!) and the hubs and I have basically taken on a new lifestyle.  Remember that New Year's resolution to eat clean and lose those ten pounds I've been carrying around? Well, check and check! Matt and I spent many hours scrounging, coupon clipping, and planning, and we've built our very own home gym! We spent two full days cleaning out the garage, and getting rid of soooooo much junk that has accumulated over the years. And then began the deal hunting and setting up. But we're pretty much put together now, and we're rocking out a full free weight system in the garage, complete with a beast sound system (sorry neighbors!) We've been lifting six days a week, and it's been really awesome. I can't honestly say that we're now 100% clean eating, because we live in the real world. But I'd say we're at about 80%, and I'm pretty happy with that. Happy enough that I'm down 16lbs since this all started. I've still got so me goals to meet, but they're getting closer. Our new diet is all about real food and lowering our carbs. It's tricky, but I've found some really great (and really awful) Pinterest recipes that I'll share with you soon!

It's been quiet on the crafting from. I've managed to knock out a couple small projects, and I've got a big one on the needles now. My latest accomplishment has been an amigarumi shark for Chase. Remember Elijah the Elephant that I made for my nephew (who's due in the 3 weeks!)? Well, Chase loved Elijah so much that he begged for a friend of his own. And how can I turn down a child begging for a handmade toy? Exactly. So I put my other projects on hold and whipped out "Sharky McShark", as named by my ever so eloquent five year old.  And of course, now the toddler is begging for a bear.

After two amigarumi, I've discovered that it is really, really not my thing. Those stitches are just so tiny and tight, my hands ache just thinking about it. The pattern for this guy was constructed in an unusual way, and it just wasn't very intuitive. I started with the pattern and ended up just winging it. I can't say it's my proudest piece, but my little guy loves Sharky and has been sleeping with him every night. So I'll call this one a success.

The pattern for this guy is Shark by Natty Knits, and the yarn is some leftover Caron Simply Soft.The pattern has instructions for knitting the teeth, but I really didn't like the way that looked. So I made a major modification and decided to use felt for his teeth and hand sew them in. It's already obvious that the teeth aren't going to hold up as well as the rest of him, but fortunately, I've got extra felt and can just replace as needed.