Voodoo Cancer Doll

Here is another, slightly different, knitting project I finished right after Christmas.  My best friend in art school was my buddy John.  He is an artist in NYC and I don't get to see him nearly enough anymore.  He has been fighting cancer for the last several years.  He has a comic where he drew pictures of himself in cartoon form fighting off the cancer monster (I can't find it online right now but I will update this if he puts it back up).  I took the drawings he did and made him a cancer voodoo doll to cheer him up a little while dealing with treatment.

A drawstring bag with instructions for use.

It was knitted with the leftover yarn from the little pants I made for Willow.  I winged it but basically I knitted it like a hat with a long skinny tail and lots of I cords for tentacles.  I had some felted wool I used for the teeth.

 

Any good voodoo doll needs some pins so I made shrinky dink pin toppers.  They were really easy to make and very rewarding.  You can use any #6 plastic so take out containers that you get salads in work perfectly.   

Color on them with permanent markers, stick the pin in with the image side toward the top of the pin, put them on a baking pan at 300 or so and about 30sec - 1min later you have cancer fighting John heads.  You can tell they are done when they stop shriveling up and are flat and thick.  We colored some and used hole punches so we could string them later, too.

 

Hopefully it works!  He said it made him laugh so it fulfilled the objective.  

Here are the links to the knitting projects I have been working on:

Grey Cotton Pants

Yellow Shawl

100% Cute

Why mess around right?  This is all about the cute (and handsome).  The fancy lights finally got pulled out of the photo closet and put to good use for this 5 minute photo shoot.  It took longer to set up than to take the pictures!  Not exactly what I had in mind for outfit or result but it was good to just do it instead of over think as I usually do.  I do love big soft lights.

P.S. I was able to rip out 3 rows of knitting without swearing once!  I was sweating bullets but managed to do it stitch by stitch and would up with the right amount of stitches on the needles and no dropped stitches along the way!  Huge for me.  Such a relief!  

Now and Then

I am starting to catch up a little over here.  One of my new favorite pastimes is knitting.  I finally learned how!  I read Knitting for Dummies while on vacation last summer then sat down with my mother and you tube has helped me after that.  It gives me something simple to do with my hands when Willow falls asleep on my lap and I can't move!  I love pouring over knitting patterns and finding little gems that are free to download.  I am trying to increase my skills with each successive project.  I tend to have to unravel an average of 3 times per item but I am having fun.

This yellow knit is going to be a shrug for Willow.  It has a lovely diamond open pattern.  Unfortunately I messed up about 3 rows down from where I am now and I am dreading pulling it apart.  I am hoping I can rescue it on the 4th row but I don't hold out a lot of hope especially with all of the yarn overs.  I think I have watched a dozen 'frogging' videos on youtube to gain some confidence.  At least I am not too far along and I like the pattern now that I 'get' it.  

These little pants were fun to make and are a cotton blend.  They are not perfect and I was silly and didn't try them on her to measure length before I did a bind off so they are really short!  Good practice.

Some catch up photos from Willows first weeks:

I made those receiving blankets before she was born (pattern via the purl bee) from a couple of yards of flannel and a blanket crochet stitch.  They have gotten a lot of use.

Uncle Christopher with her on vacation.  She looks so tiny in his big arms!  She was about 3 weeks old then.

And my little man at Christmas time.  He has since lost two teeth and just growing like crazy!

The Power of Two

The cuteness factor has doubled around here big time.  These two can't get enough of each other!  Willow squeals with delight whenever Eliot comes in the room and babbles to him when she can't see him to call him back.  Eliot eats up the extra attention.  I hope these two have forged a bond that will last for life.  

Willow is now 7 months old (in a few days).  How time does fly.  She is rolling both ways and can sit up with support.  She is not quite sitting on her own yet but I don't think it will be long.  I don't think she will walk or crawl as quickly as Eliot as he is at her beck and call to get things she drops.  She is a snugly, sensitive little sleeper.  I shouldn't have been surprised as Eliot was a tricky sleeper, too.  But as long as we are all getting sleep I am not complaining.  She is still nursing like a champ and has started some solids.  She likes avocado and banana so far.  

She loves when Kevin plays the guitar to her and it will stop a grumpy tantrum in its tracks.  She also likes to bang on everything (including Eliot's head)!  She will happily bang on the table with a wooden spoon long enough for me to make dinner.  She is making all kinds of sounds now like: lalalal, babaabaa and mamamama along with screams and grunts.  The kid loves to hear herself talk.  

As for Eliot he is acing math and getting really good at reading.  We are plowing through 1st grade right now.  We haven't made all of the decisions about home school or public school next year.  He is growing like a weed and eating everything in sight.  He is such a great big brother and talks about how much he loves his little sister to anyone who asks.  He is enjoying the snow this winter and has set up a bird watching station in front of the window to document 'The Animal World'.

As for me my crafting has taken a turn towards knitting.  I have completed a few projects that I will try to get pictures of soon.  I am excellent at unraveling things and starting over.  My goal is a sweater for Willow.  If I can do that I will call myself a knitter.  I have lots of other ideas in mind and my pinterest account is full of inspiration.  I know the time will come so I am content to sit and think, nurse and snuggle for now.

My camera is still dusty for lack of use.  But - I have started the planning of using it which is the first step for me.  I have a few pictures in my head that I want to get out soon.  

I keep thinking ahead to spring and to my garden and warm air.  It is in the negative degrees out right now, but at least it is sunny.  It also makes the spring and summer all the sweeter for it.  Lots of tea please!

Here's to the new year and new projects!