Erin's past projects

I first taught myself how to crochet right after grad school, in the summer of 2000, in an effort to combat boredom during the weeks between graduation and starting my job in Chicago.  For the next 9 years, I crocheted a lot of doilies and afghans, but I sometimes took a year off in between projects, so I wasn't all that prolific. Then, Sonia was born in the spring of 2009, and I stopped crocheting altogether.  My brain just couldn't handle childcare AND being creative.

But, as Sonia got older (she's about to turn 4), I started thinking about crocheting again.  Niki got me the Amineko book (which is utterly hilarious and awesome), so I picked up my hooks and gave crocheting another try.  The first blue amineko (that's Japanese for crochet cat) was a success, so I crocheted a little pink one.  Niki finally convinced me to give Pinterest a try during this past Christmas, and when I saw the insane amount of awesome free crochet patterns available on the internet these days, I got instantly and hopelessly addicted to crocheting once again.

Here are a few of the projects that I've made since Christmas:

Octonauts!!  Because Octonauts is a relatively new cartoon and series of books, the British and American crocheters of the world took it upon themselves to create their own toys.  People posted a bunch of free patterns!  I found Kwazii (the orange cat) here, Captain Barnacles (the polar bear) here, Tunip (the turnip-fish vegetal) here, Peso (the penguin) here, and I free-handed the rest. These guys were some of my first forays into the world of amigurumi (that's the Japanese word for crocheted or knitted plush figure), and now that I've completed a lot more amigurumi work, I kind of want to go back and re-do the Octonauts to make them better.  But Sonia barely even watches this show anymore (it was a brief love affair), so it seems like a bit of a waste.

Hello Kitty hats for my two favorite girls in the world, Sonia and Charlotte!  I found the pattern here.

Batman hat for Peter!  I found the pattern here.

After I made the Hello Kitty and Batman hats, I wanted to try to find a dragon hat to make for Sonia's BFF, Ike.  None of the patterns I found on the internet looked all that great (I couldn't even find a good pattern to buy!), so I decided to create one myself by copying an awesome crocheted dragon hat picture that I found on the internet. I used the Hello Kitty base hat design and then emulated the picture as well as I could.  Unfortunately, I only have cell phone pictures of the hat because I keep forgetting to take better pictures of Ike the Dragon!

Crocheted purse!  I made one for me and one for Niki....  She lined them both with her mad sewing skills.  Niki, we need to take pictures of the linings!  I bought the leather strap from Joann Fabrics and found the pattern for the purse here.

Ladybug backpack!  Free pattern from Red Heart Yarns, my favorite cheap yarn to use!

Owl change purse! I decided to try out using a clutch clasp that I found at Joann Fabrics by adding it to this pattern.

Ella's dinosaur purse!  This was completely freehanded because as far as I could tell, no crocheted dinosaur purse exists on the internet either for free or to buy....

Sonia's Easter basket.... Freehanded as well because I wasn't able to find a pattern that I liked.  I did model it after this pattern a bit.

Max's Yoda hat!  I still need to tweak the forehead wrinkles a bit, but it turned out okay.  I made it using a pattern posted on a craft forum, and the pattern wasn't entirely complete or detailed, so I had to do a lot of extrapolating.

This post just scratches the surface of all the crocheting I've done over the past 4 months....  When I find or take more pictures of my projects, I'll post them!

More past sewing for posterity's sake

More items sewn over the past few months . . .

Tape measure pouch (this one was just an experiment and I learned a lot from making it -- I'm totally remaking it now that I know the quirks of my Husky when you're doing a really wide zig zag!):

Peek-a-Boo Toy Sack for all of Peter's Star Wars toys:

Peek-a-Boo Heart Pouch for all of Charlotte's valuable treasures:

Crazy zipper pouch from a book I checked out from the library and no longer have in my possession (I hated the pattern because it left all sorts of raw edges inside):

Here's the flip side.  All of the zippers open to separate compartments!

Little Makeup Bag for Charlotte to use for her treasures (turned out way shorter than I intended, which is further proof that I should stick to following patterns and tutorials exactly rather than trying to tweak them!):

Felt Batman mask alongside Petey's beloved amigurumi Batman that Auntie Ernie made him:

A drawstring top "Bagsket" for the kids' toys that obviously has some issues with handle floppiness (likely to do with rough handling by one or both of the munchkins):

iPad case that I absolutely adore (despite the funkiness in the topstitching on the denim by the zipper):

I loved it so much that I made another virtually identical one for Mom (though this photo is actually just another view of mine):

Mini simple table-topper that I designed myself to experiment with quilting and binding (neither of which I am good at!):

Bigger simple table runner:

Storage cube with a vinyl pocket for a label, using cardboard inside to give it shape:

It fits all of our Wii games and controllers perfectly.

Clear Toy Storage Bag for Amanda to use for her gallon o' games (with special guest star Rocky):

Snappy Bag for Amanda (love the ruffle but hate the raw edges inside the pouch):

Kids' Activity Bag for Maisie (turned out cute except for the fact that I goofed up a measurement and didn't make the drawstring top part long enough!):

Here it is open:

Another Peek-a-Boo Toy Sack for Quinn:

Snappy coin pouch for Faith Carol (using tape measure for the snap opening):

Another origami bag for Faith Carol:

A mesh beach bag for Faith Carol inspired by this tutorial but mostly designed myself (my first time using grommets!):

Recycled jeans pocket pouch for Sonia (from some old jeans of Charlotte's that got a huge hole in one knee):

Charlotte's First Day of School skirt (made from my favorite circle skirt tutorial, of course!):

Poodle skirts for Charlotte and Maisie (also from the circle skirt tutorial):

Tool belts for Anderson, Maddie, and Owen (from this tutorial):

And one for Peter, too!  Looks especially good with a Batman costume.

Another one of those sundresses from Corey's old t-shirt (given to Sonia):

This isn't really any sewing, but it used a bunch of felt.  It's a Christmas tree the kids could decorate and redecorate.  We hot glued on sequins to felt ornaments and the kids loved it.  We made a few more for friends and family, and each one was a hit.  Erin made one for Sonia, too!

And finally, a great seat-back organizer that Erin commissioned.  This one was from Simplicity pattern #3731, and I did it in some great laminated cottons that Erin bought for the project: