all the things. in one post.

o1) contests, i just don’t know how to quit you. picture me right now doing the beauty pageant hyperventilating hands-on-mouth I CAN’T BELIEVE IT squeal, because i’m in season 9 of project run and play.


for those who don’t know (gasp! how?) it’s only my favorite online sewing competition EV-AH. for realsies. 6 “designers”, 4 weeks, fight to the finish. hopefully the cornucopia is full of japanese cutting shears and high end machines, because i require the best. :/
anyway, there’s a theme for each week, and my brain has been churning since i was asked to be a part of the contest a couple months ago. i’ve been counting down the days and now it’s really happening and i’m all pukey-excited. the actual competition doesn’t start until next month, but for me the sewing begins STAT. i haven’t really sewn in a couple of months now, and there’s a LOT of pent up sewing energy stored in me.
i’m also going up against 4 awesome seamstresses. some i already ‘knew’, others i’m just discovering. and i’m feeling there’s a super big chance i’ll be the first one thrown off the island. or shot with an arrow, whatever competition metaphor floats your fancy. but i’m going to try my hardest to have a blast with this no matter what.

let the games begin.

(you thought i was gonna say let the odds be ever in your favor, right? heh.)

o2) we bought a dog. or, another dog i guess i should say. thing is: i am a hardcore believer in rescues. also, i am cheap as all get out and the thought of spending ooh-gobs of money on an animal makes me throw up in my mouth a little. oh, and i like big, BIG dogs.

well here i am with my tail between my legs. i bought a dog, from a pet store, who is AKC registered and i can trace his lineage back 4 generations. and i paid ooh-gobs of money. and he’s 2.5 lbs.



but that face. THAT FACE. he’s a chihuahua (in case that’s not glaringly obvious) and his name is Santino Burrito. and if you could trill your ‘r’ that’d be great.
he’s technically for gigi, the child who would gladly give up 3 of her 4 limbs to own a cat. but the googiedaddy is prejudiced against things that poop in the house, and i’m prejudiced against things that make me not able to breath. so we found the most catlike dog we could.

o3) i’m seriously lost when it comes to things like SEO and pageviews and stuff. but once in a while i poke around in google analytics for giggles. here is a list of search terms people use that lead them to googiemomma.blogspot.com.



refashioning, sewing, crocheting…all your basics WAIT WHAT?

boobs. on a shelf.

well. i…why? nevermind. i don’t want to know.

o4) the sickies: ava had a foot checkup. insert thumbs up here. doc says all good, no need for casting for a while. picture me doing the dance of joy. yes, like balki.


GIFSoup
i'm so old.

gigi had a blood test which placed her platelets at 770,000. a mere TWO TIMES NORMAL. umm, ok. doc says all good—means her bone marrow has been working like gang busters to catch up, and the immune system has probably stopped killing off platelets so now it’s overcompensating. like peddling a bike really hard up a hill, then you hit the top and start going down but you’re still peddling really hard for a minute until you realize WHOA i made it!
so…a more cautious dance of joy, because she’s still having mild spells of petechiae and occasional bruises that make us go on high alert. nothing warranting a run to the ER, but concerning…

o5) i’m working now. well, i mean like outside of the home. and, not just for the family business. okay—i’m working more. ha. i got a little gig waiting tables at lunch at the local pizza place we frequent. i actually really enjoy it, and i’m making decent money (FABRIC FUNDZZZ.) for doing about 9 hours a week. only problem is i’m finding sewing time a bit harder to come by. and blogging time. oh yeah and cleaning the house time. yesss…that’s why it’s not clean. ;)
but i’ve still got a back log of things i never blogged, and with point #1 on the horizon you can be sure i’m finding sewing/blogging time in the next few weeks! even if i have to cut out something major. like sleep. nah, i need my sleep. sorry kids—it’s pb & j breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few weeks.

making crochet cool, one hat at a time. {free pattern}

i’ll make this easy for you. when i’m gone and dead, and you’re all gathered together trying to think of the absolute, 100%, unequivocal winner of the title of The Coolest Thing Shannon Ever Made to engrave in tribute on my headstone…this is it. winner winner chicken dinner.

let me be clear: i’m not overstating this. and once you’ve seen it you’re bound to agree. ready?

waaiiiittt

for

              it……..

 

SHUT. UP. is that a crochet baby hat that looks like a shtinkin’ WONDER WOMAN WIG????
why yes. yes it is.

ARE WE EXCITED ABOUT THIS???

and i’ve even created this mind blowing photo for your pinning pleasure. ready?

BOOM.

i just won 1,000,000 internetz.

okay here’s the breakdown:

+ this is super easy—like beginner crochet. it’s a basic crochet cap. the spiral “curls”, the “crown” and star are separate pieces,  sewn on to the cap.

+ i made this for a little baby. littler than elliot, and that’s why little ms. peyton here is my model. (the same baby who received the star wars quilt and onesie)

+ did i also make a pair of crochet GOLDEN BRACELETS with a red rattle/star on them? which i forgot to photograph? YUP.

+ i based the idea for this off this crochet princess hat, which is a free ravelry pattern. hmmm…what other wigs can we crochet???

+ the hat isn’t heavy—peyton had no problem keeping it on her head. and actually quite loved it. in fact, she was having so much fun wearing it most of my photos look like this….

+ i’m sharing this pattern with you for free. FREEEEEE??? yes, free, with these small caveats: please link back to me and my blog if you make/share/blog this. and if you want to sell thousands in Ye Olde Etsy Shoppe, go forth and prosper. but PLEASE LINK BACK TO ME AND GIVE ME CREDIT FOR THE PATTERN. (and if you wanna cut me a commission i wouldn’t hate that if ya know what i’m sayin’)mmmkaythanksiloveyou.

Wonder Woman Crochet Hat

There are 4 major components to this hat (hat, curls, crown, star), which are crocheted individually and then sewn together at the end. I knot everything because I wanted this hat to be durable and potentially washable. I’ve had too many things slip apart eventually and then I get HULK SMASH ALL THE THINGS ANGRY.

These instructions are based on a 3-6 month old sized hat, but it can be easily sized up by making your beanie portion larger and a few more curls.

HAT
YARN: Black sport or worsted weight.
HOOK: H
+ + + + + + +
CH 3
Slip stitch into 1st CH to join, CH 1 (making a loop, or you can also start with a magic circle if you know how)
Round 1: CH 1, 9 HDC in ring, join with SL ST (9)
2: CH 1, 2HDC in each HDC around, join with SL ST (18)
3: CH 1, HDC in next HDC, 2 HDC in remainder of HDC, join with SL ST (27)
4: CH 1, *HDC in next 2 HDC, 2 HDC in next HDC, repeat from * all the way around. join with SL ST (36)
5: CH 1, *HDC in next 3 HDC, 2 HDC in next HDC, repeat from * all the way around. join with sl st (45)
6: CH 1, *HDC in next 4 HDC, 2 HDC in next HDC, repeat from * all the way around. join with sl st (54)
7-18: CH 1, HDC in each HDC, join with SL ST (54)
Fasten off, weave in ends.

this will make a size 6-12 month hat. if you’d like to size up or down, here is a good free pattern showing various sizes, or if you’re on ravelry you can see a few HERE

CURLS
YARN: same as hat
HOOK: G
NOTE: the curls are all made the same basic way: a long chain, then 2 or 3 treble/triple crochets in each chain. each is tied to the hat with a small piece of black yarn in roughly the center of the curl. i varied the lengths of the curls by chaining a different amount at the start, and did a 2-2-3 combo of TC back across. there’s not really a reason, just that the more stitches you put in each chain stitch the tighter the curl becomes. i thought 2 was a little loose and 3 was a little tight, so i did a combo, but you can do whatever works for you. (this is straight up mindless crocheting, perfect for TV watching ;) 
note: if you’re making a larger size hat you’re probably going to need more curls to adequately cover the hat. just make a few extra.
+ + + + + + +
CH whatever length you need.
going back along the CH, do (2 TC, 2 TC, 3TC) repeat until you have 2 chains left
1 SC and a SL ST to finish off.
knot ends

repeat over and over until you have a sufficient amount of curls to cover the hat. some longer for the back (chain 45-55ish) and some shorter for the front (chain 25-30ish)

CROWN
YARN: Gold/yellow sport weight 
HOOK: F
+ + + + + + +
CH 8
ROW 1: SC in 2nd CH, SC, CH 2 (7)
ROWS 2-9: SC, CH 2 and turn (7)
ROW 2: SC across, ch 2 and turn (31)
ROW 3 + 4: repeat ROW 2 (31)
ROW 5: SC 7 times, ch 2 and turn
ROW 6-8: repeat ROW 5
ROW 9: 3 SC in last ST, ch 2 and turn
ROW 10: 9 SC, CH 2 and turn
ROW 11: 8 SC, 3 SC in last st, ch 2 and turn
ROW 12: 11 SC, ch 2 and turn
ROW 13: 10 SC, 3 SC in last st, CHAIN 3 and turn
ROW 14: 13 SC (extra chain at the tip), chain 2 and turn
ROW 15: 9 SC, SC2TG 2 times (single crochet 2 together)
ROW 16: 11 SC
ROW 17: 7 SC, SC2TG 2 times
ROW 18: 9 SC
ROW 19: 5 SC, SC2TG 2 times
ROW 20: 7 SC
ROW 21-28: repeat ROW 20
finish by slip stitching across top of crown

STAR
Yarn: small piece of red
Hook: F
+ + + + + + +
chain 3
slip st into 1st chain and chain 1 (making a loop, you can also start with a magic circle if you know how)
15 SC into center
slip st into 1st SC to join and CH 4
*SC into 2nd chain from Hook, HDC (half double crochet) into next CH st, TC (treble crochet) into next CH st and slip stitch in 3rd chain of your round to join.
Repeat from * four more times to make 5 points of your star, join and tie off at the end.

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
sew the star to the center of the crown, then sew the crown to the front of the hat, lining up the straight edge of the crown with the straight edge of the hat.
holding your curls roughly in the center, tie them in various places around the hat with a small section of black yarn. it helps if you put the hat on something to see where the curls will naturally fall (a doll, a convenient child, your knee…). this will also give you a sense of how many curls you need and how long they should be. make sure and do one or two shorter ones in the front, and layer them down the back for that fluffy, just-fresh-from-the-superhero-salon look.

place on your favorite toddler/baby and enjoy.

guest posting!

maybe you wanna go check out my guest post at HOUSE OF ESTRELA? she’s hosting January Refashion Month, and i’m whipping up some awesome undies.

 who doesn’t want to read a blog post about underwear? head on over!