Some of my favorite characters from Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series aren’t human at all. Bob the Skull is hilarious, always giving Harry a hard time, but he is super helpful in keeping him alive. The skull is inhabited by a spirit entity and is one of the best things in the books.
I don’t know why I waited so long to make a crochet version of one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite book series. I kept saying I was going to make Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, but never got around to it…until now!
Instead of crocheting his head in the round, I went with making a triangle shape and then crocheting around that.
My daughter moved out a few months ago, and she set up a new office in her apartment. I have to say, I was very impressed with how she set it up. I had office envy! I also was touched but how she displayed all the crochet items I’ve made for her over the years. It brought back memories as some of them went back years. Some were made so long ago, I had completely forgotten about them. I didn’t photograph everything, but here are some of what she displayed.
Continuing the Christmas theme again (last one I promise!), I had a lot of scrap yarn, and I thought it was perfect for little ornaments. I let the kids help me pick out what I should make. We were looking at ideas on the internet, when they all saw these little cheeseburgers. Even though I I kept trying to lead them to other projects, they were insistent upon the burgers. I capitulated to the will of the people and made them their burgers.
I had one little boy who kept telling me that he really really really wanted the burger. I told him that when he made it to prize-box (he was close), he could have it. I gave him little odd jobs to earn stars for our prize-box so he could take it before Christmas. He made it and then he chose something else of course. Oh well. 😂
After making what they wanted, I made a few crocheted stocking ornaments.
Now we were all happy.
Continuing the makes out of white yarn I mentioned in my last post, I used the yarn to make a snowman.
Pairing him with the Elf on the Shelf was so much fun. The kids got a big kick out of seeing them together.
So continuing the Christmas theme in March ( I didn’t post any of my makes back in December), I had a bunch of little white rolls of yarn at work that I had made years ago for a project. A coworker mentioned liking crocheted angels, soooo… I made this.
I put the angel on the tree, and when it was time to go on our winter break, I gave it to my coworker as a gift. She totally loved it. 🙂
Right around Christmas time, when the the Elf On the Shelf comes out for his shenanigans at work (after-school programs for those new around here), the kids started asking me for a crocheted girl Elf on the Shelf. They’d asked in previous years, but I never got around to it. They were a bit more insistent this year, so I decided to go for it.
She came out pretty cute, and as usual, the kids helped me design her. One student wanted her hair to be short (even though I wanted it long), and another wanted her to have a very specific skirt. When I was done, they were all very approving of my work. The kids started peppering me with questions about what the relationship was between the two elves. Were they friends, siblings, boyfriend or girlfriend? I told them I didn’t know and instead asked them what they thought. Naturally, I got different answers.
Then it was time to set her up with the boy Elf On the Shelf. I’ll admit that it’s not my favorite thing to have to move the Elf around the room every night but adding the crocheted girl was actually fun. The first pairing was above the entry door.
One of my fourth grade girls announced that she knew it! She was his one true love! 😂 I thought it was super cute. Others thought they could still be friends. I let them decide for themselves.
After two years of pandemic, we finally got to go back to Disneyland/California Adventure. I dusted off my Baby Yoda, put him in his harness and loaded him into the car.
I also made a crochet lovey and he got to go too.
My husband got us a reservation at Paradise Point, a Disney hotel, and we were super excited. He said every room had a nice view, either of the pool area or the parks. We packed our bags and were off on our adventure.
When we arrived, I carried my doll in his sling to check in, and the nice lady who helped us loved my Baby Yoda. That was a really nice start to our day.
During the check in process, she informed us of some “things”. She let us know that none of the hotel’s restaurants were open, but we could have room service from the other hotels. We probably weren’t going to eat there anyway, so no big deal. She then proceeded to let us know that the pool was under construction and that we could use the pool at the Disneyland Hotel instead and could take a shuttle. We probably weren’t going to use the pool anyway and certainly not if we had to take a shuttle to get to it.
Continue readingI’ve had a crochet focused Instagram account for quite a few years (@yochetcrochet), but then my friend had to go and introduce me to Bookstagram. I had to decide if I wanted to create a new account dedicated to my love of books and reading or combine it with an account I already had. I currently have a succulents account and a hiking account (@yolihikingandoutdoors) and I definitely didn’t want to create a fourth account!
In my infinite wisdom, I combined it with my crochet account since I sometimes post about the crochet book I wrote. Books and crochet seemed to go hand in hand. Right off the bat, I got involved with book challenges and of course, I wanted to include crochet. Mostly I used crochet pieces and dolls I had on hand, but occasionally I created something new for a challenge. This little devil was born because of Instagram.
I can’t even remember what the book challenge was, but the book I wanted to use was titled Devil’s Desire. It was a book I loved as a teenager and still owned. Making a little crochet devil seemed perfect.
I still use him in some of my Insta posts and he’s probably one I’ll keep.
Instagram accounts: @yochetcrochet @yolissucculentgarden @yolikingandoutdoors
After a year-and-a-half, I came back to work running an after-school program at an elementary school. I have students from Kinder to 5th grade. One of the things I love about my job is that, if they want to learn, I get teach the students how to crochet. In the process, I make them all sorts of items for the prize-box and ultimate prize-box (larger or more expensive toys).
The things I make are often based on what interests the students at the time. But sometimes, my creations are based on what yarn I have on hand. I checked our yarn drawer and decided to make a doll out of scraps. I had one little girl who had MANY opinions, and the doll reflects that. She was that same little girl who loved telling me about her brother’s SpongeBob crochet hat that I made.
And when my little Kinder helper made it to ultimate prize-box, she picked the doll. I was surprised because I didn’t know how invested she was in the doll. Helping me create it didn’t necessarily mean that she would want to get it. In fact, she kept telling me how she wanted a mermaid backpack that was available. When she made it to the prize-box, I automatically reached for the backpack. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when she snatched the doll instead. After all, She was so excited about her bro-bro and his crochet hat. She was so happy to have her very own crochet toy, just like her brother. The fact that she had a hand in making her was just extra special.
She was so excited about it that she took a picture of herself at home, with her doll and her brother’s doll…that he still has! It was soooooo cute and it touched my heart that she wanted me to see them together in her home.
yochet 