When I wasn’t crocheting…

Something I don’t get much of a chance to talk about: living in this beautiful city! I feel really blessed that my parents decided to move to central Texas before I was born!

Speaking of Austin, and crafts, my husband and I went to the grand opening of a new craft brewery here in South Austin (yes, that’s capitalized because it’s a separate town to us Southies) called South Austin Brewing Company. My husband’s workplace is neighbors with the place and he’d met the guys that run it. We had no idea it was the hot ticket last weekend! We drove up and were astounded at the crowd! Our favorite tex-mex was nearby so we just drove over there and had some drinks. You know, to get ready to drink (ha).

Trudy’s on Little Texas Lane is our favorite place for a Mexican Martini. We got a couple and some Tinga nachos. If we were staying for a full meal, I’m sure one of us would have ordered the Stuffed Avocado (pictured here). After that, my favorite dessert in ALL of Austin. Well, one of my favorites (I’m a dessert girl; aren’t we all?!). The brownie a la mode. It’s got a layer of cream cheese, fudge icing, and is topped with Amy’s Mexican Vanilla ice cream, THE best vanilla ice cream you’ll ever have. Yum. (I promise this is not an ad for Trudy’s!)

We headed back to the brewery and it had slowed down a little. We were able to drive in and park at my husband’s shop and head over. The crowd was still huge.

The inside of the place was really cool. I’d never been inside a brewery, but the first thing I thought of was Breaking Bad. It really looked like Walt and Jesse’s underground meth lab! Just sayin’…

They were sampling two kinds of beer, a Belgian Style Gold Ale, and Saison D’Austin, which were both fantastic! They gave us each three tickets which would have meant three glasses of beer, but that would have put me on the floor. It was pretty strong, but yummy! There was a live band, The Everydudes, and the place was PACKED. It was really interesting to see what a diverse crowd showed up, all in the name of supporting a new local business. Hooray! As soon as the beer gets in the bottle, we will be buying some for sure.

BEER!

So craft beer can count as crafts, right? What other crafts do y’all like? Craft beer? Craftsman tools? Kraft macaroni and cheese? Minecraft?

Oh and speaking of CRAFT, CONGRATULATIONS to Rachel Hobson, of Average Jane Crafter, who was just named Editor in Chief of Craft and who absolutely ROCKS. Her writing, embroidery, eye for awesomeness, wit, all of it combined into one really cool girl put in charge of an already amazing site. Can’t wait to see what she does with it!

Magic Screen for Pee-wee’s Playhouse

Magic Screen Amigurumi from Pee-wee’s Playhouse

Last year when I made Pee-wee and Chairry, and eventually Jambi, I drew a sketch in my notebook of a Magic Screen amigurumi. It didn’t seem doable at the time. I didn’t know how I would do the legs and everything I thought of seemed really cheesy looking (and the entire screen could not be held up by pipe cleaners!) so I kind of abandoned the idea. (I love that story!)
More digging around at the craft store revealed several non-conventional items that I could use to make Magic Screen, so the project was a go. I made her last night and I couldn’t be happier!

Magic Screen with interchangeable screen

More photos after the jump!

My original big idea was to have her act as sort of a picture frame, where I could change out what was on her “screen”. I wanted to be able to put pictures, patterned holographic paper, or little messages inside. It worked out brilliantly! Little Magic Screen could even play “connect the dots” if I could find a clear enough image for her! (And there is an awesome picture of Pee-wee and Magic Screen’s cousin Magic Johnson that I’m going to have to print out…)

When you try out the pattern (which is now in my Ravelry and Craftsy shops) you’ll probably like how there is not too much to crochet. It goes really fast! The rest of it is getting creative with craft supplies, so what’s not to love?
This Magic Screen is on its way to Pee-wee himself! Au revoir Magic Screen!

Have a Heart!

You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to start blogging every day! OK Let’s start at every OTHER day. I know blogs are way more interesting when there is new content more frequently and that is my goal.
So for today’s post, I want to tell you about a class I’m teaching this weekend at The Knitting Nest in Austin. It should be pretty fun, really easy, and you will go home with probably several projects!

If you’re a mom, I KNOW you are busy. Working moms feel like they don’t have enough time at home and stay at home moms feel like they are being pulled in all directions all the time too! As women we are caretakers, maids, chefs, frugal shoppers (me! me!), school liaisons, and if we are lucky, we like to do fun things for ourselves.

This Saturday, indulge your crafty side and your mommy side. I’m teaching a crochet class to make teeny tiny crocheted hearts for Valentine’s Day. That’s not all. Stacy, the ultra-crafty mom and grandma, who also happens to run the Knitting Nest, will have cards and all the supplies you will need to make handmade Valentines so your kids will bring the most popular cards to the party! It will be really easy. Did I say easy? Even if you’ve never crocheted before, I promise, when I’m done with you, you will have a stack of little crocheted hearts to make Valentines with.

The little heart is attached to a jumbo paperclip and detaches from the card to use as a bookmark. Cute, right?? Inspired by a pin on Pinterest, these will be the coolest cards ever. All the kids will love ’em.

While this is an awesome class for the grownups (not just Mom, of course!), kids can get in on the action later in the day at a Friendship Bracelet class. I know when I was growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, Friendship Bracelets were HUGE. Every week there was some new design someone was making. We put one on and KEPT it on. Never took those things off, even in the shower. I remember pulling tights over my Friendship Anklets, feeling like such a good friend. 🙂

If you’re interested in either of these classes, please call the Knitting Nest at (512) 291-8866 to sign up. I’m also continuing my Thursday morning classes (every other week) with my next class on Thursday, February 16th at 10:00. We’re making amigurumi, of course!

Free Pattern Friday! Austin Owl Amigurumi

Last year I participated in the Renegade Craft Fair here in Austin. It was so much fun and I hope I have time to do it again next year. (This year is definitely OUT–ahem…book….!) I wanted to design something with an owl since everything Renegade is represented by an owl. I put together about 150 kits each containing materials and tools to make a tiny Austin Owl amigurumi. I designed the pattern to be accessible to beginners and seasoned crocheters. They are fun and customizable since they can be made in any color imaginable and with teeny tiny fabric scraps. When I’m not crocheting I also like to sew (mostly Halloween costumes and the like) so I’m no stranger to leftover bits of fabric that I hate to throw away. It’s fun to put colors together in unexpected ways to make these cute little guys. I’ve had this pattern in my Ravelry shop for a while now but I wanted to set the owls free! Get it?

Austin Owl Amigurumi

Here’s what you’ll need:

Materials:
Worsted weight yarn (any color)
Polyester fiberfill
Fabric
Felt
Two small (~ 3/8″) buttons

Tools:
Crochet hook (I used size E, 3.5mm)
Yarn needle
Craft glue OR matching thread

Body:

Rnd 1: Starting at bottom of body, with yarn and Hook, make an adjustable ring, ch 1, and sc 6 into the ring.  Pull closed.

Rnd 2: Work 2 sc into each st (12)

Rnd 3:  Working in back loops of each stitch only (BLO), sc into each st (12)

Rnds 4-7: Sc into each st (12)

Rnd 8: (2 Sc into next st, sc into next 5 st)* rep to end of round (14)

Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing. Stuff the owl. Thread the yarn needle with the yarn tail. Flatten the top edge so that you have one long seam of 7 st to sew through. Whipstitch the seam closed, knot the yarn tail and hide within the body of the owl, clipping the tail close to the surface.

Finishing:

Cut a small egg shape from the fabric for the owl’s tummy. Glue or sew the patch onto the owl. Cut a small triangle from felt and glue to owl for the beak. Glue or sew two button eyes to the owl’s face.

Pick your colors!

Whooooo is making a whole nest full of these?

These would be cute little Valentine’s day gifts! Once you get going on them, they are quick and fun to make. If you’re not ready to commit to Valentine’s, how adorable would these be in your Easter basket?
Hope you enjoy these little guys!