1st Birthday!!! Love gifts.

My best friend’s baby boy turned 1 recently, and my friend held a big birthday party for him.

I wanted to give something special, and so I prepared several handmade gifts to him.

1st item is a photo panel. I love this photo!! A while ago, he was so little, even smaller than my dolls. He’s much bigger than them now… so, looking at this photo reminds me how fast he has been growing up!!

2nd item is a name pin. Oops, I don’t have a good picture of the item…

3rd item is a bow tie. I made one for him and another bigger one with pins at the back for his mom.

His outfit was matching well with the bow tie! I was so happy to see that 🙂

Seeing him growing so fast just next to my friend, it’s a joy for me! Thanks always for making me smile 🙂

Then, it’s my friend’s birthday!! Wish you will have a wonderful year ahead and explore a lot of new things and new world with me 🙂 ♡

 

Gifts to my friends' babies :)

A lot of my close friends are now getting to be moms. A week ago, three of us decided to meet for lunch and the other two were new moms. Then, I wanted to give them something I made. After considering a while, I looked for a  baby shoes pattern on Etsy and I’ve bought a pattern on TwoGirlsPatterns shop.

I followed the instruction and then, I’ve got two pairs of cute booties!! One is for my friend’s baby girl and the other is for my friend’s baby boy 😀

It was my first experience to make pairs of baby shoes!! I was really happy that the moms liked them when I gave these 🙂

For these two pairs, I followed the instruction for 0-6month’s baby. But 4 month baby’s feet were bigger than I thought and I think I should have tried for 7-12month’s baby pattern for her. Babies grow up really fast!!

This is how it looks on a 2 month baby. Cute! But it’s easily slipped off from the feet, so I think I should probably add straps for him 🙂

Thanks Kris and Lorin for a cute pattern!! They have lots of cute baby shoes’ pattern, so if some of you are interested in those, please check their website and shop 🙂

Happy crocheting ♡

Let me introduce my eco-friendly little people

I haven’t properly introduced my little people!! Please let me introduce them to you 🙂

They always sticks together on my couch. How cute…

Some of you might probably wonder how they were born… Now, I’d like to show the process and you will understand why I call them “eco-friendly”.

These are what I’ve used to make a little bunny. My old camisole and my husband’s well-worn T-shirts.

Here, I’ve already made her face 🙂 For the nose, I used my crochet skills 😀 The eyes were made of felt.
By the way, the wall decorations are done by my little friends, who were only 3 year’s old. I kind of like it as an art!

Here, I’ve got her body. Except for the very top part, I quickly saw with my sewing machine. After I put stuffing, I sewed the top part by hand.

I thought the bunny would be ashamed of not wearing anything, and also she looked too plain without any clothes, so I made something to wear for her. The neck strap of my camisole matches perfectly on her!!

Now, these are what I used to make “Oji-san” (we call a middle-aged man as “oji-san” in Japanese)- my old summer dress and my husband’s old T-shirt.

I’ve started from his face. First put everything on one side of the face-shaped fabric.

After sewing two sheets of face fabric inside-out, turn inside out and put the stuffing. Now the face is done.

He is done. I made him a bow tie with a pink yarn as an accent.

I came up with the idea of making them because I had lots of old clothes which I could use for a crafting. I’ve made good friends to hung around in my living room with me instead of my husband, who always stays in front of his PC… Now they are not only good friends of mine but also good friends for my little visitors!!

They do baby-sit for my little friends 😀 Cute ♡♡♡
Awww… ouch.!! Oh well, baby-sitting is not an easy job!!

I think they do well with baby-sitting overall… ♡

I hope you two will be loved by lots and lots of people ♡

The third animal on my backpack series…

April has come today!! April usually is the start of a new year for schools and companies in Japan. With the cherry blossoms blooming everywhere, I’ve always felt fresh and really special on this day. But now being in California, the cherry blossoms bloomed a month ago and nothing has a fresh start today… so I thought of making a new pattern on my web shop 🙂

Here, I’ve added my third animal on my crochet backpack pattern series!!

Yes, it’s a lion!! I love the bright orange color on it 🙂

The backpack on a newborn baby… how small the baby is!!! Oops… he hasn’t really carried the backpack… :p

Diapers and the baby wipes, or snacks can be carried in the backpack 🙂

I hope this backpack will be like a Hermes’s or Louis Vuitton’s bag for someone small!!

If you feel like making one for your cuties, please visit my shops below 🙂

I hope the new year ahead will be a productive one for me and for all of you who visited here to read my posts 🙂

Happy crocheting ♡

Bear Backpack for your little one

Today, I’ve added my second backpack pattern on my crochet pattern shop 🙂 After a bunny, there comes a bear 😀

There are two types of faces you can make, following my instructions. I personally prefer the bear with darker color and with mouth part on it.

Here is how it looks like on a small gentleman’s back.

I love it…

Really really adorable!! Oh, I wish I had a baby for myself already!! 🙂

You can put baby’s/toddler’s diapers and wipes, or snacks 🙂 They can carry it by themselves, so I believe you will have less things to carry!!

If you feel like making one for your cuties, please visit my shops below 🙂

Happy crocheting ♡

Bunny Backpack for the little ones!!

I’m so happy to finally share this lovely bunny backpack crochet pattern with you!! I’ve originally made this backpack for one of my friends’ kids. The little backpack looked really cute on their back, and a lot of others admired the work. So, I’d been thinking it would be nice to make a pattern so that more people can make one for their loving little one!!

I know babies and toddlers are very cute, and they look really cute even from the back with a puffy butt, which I think makes babies look like babies. Now with this backpack on their back, don’t you think they look super cute?

So, this is the bunny backpack. You can put your babies’ diapers or snacks and they can carry them by themselves, which gives you less things to carry when you go out!! 🙂 It’s not just cute but also really useful!!

It took me quite a lot of time and effort to make the pattern, but the easy-to-follow crochet pattern for the bunny backpack is now available on Craftsy and Etsy!! If you are interested in, please come visit my shop below 🙂

The Easter is just around the corner, so maybe it’s a good time to crochet bunny at this time of the year! Happy crocheting ♡

Crochet Cafe♡ Hair Bow – part 2- :)

On Friday, I held a crochet workshop for a different group of ladies 🙂

Our theme was the same with the last crochet cafe, “hair bows”. This time, it’s all started with one facebook message which I’ve got from a lady. She wrote to me that she wanted to make a hair bow for her 1-year-old daughter! How nice ♡ I liked the idea ♡

Everyone chose their favorite color of yarns, and we started working on it.

 

After working for a while, we took a break. It’s been very hot these days, but we had a hot tea 🙂 Hot drinks work well both physically and mentally. We chose “SOHO” by Harney and Sons this time. I really like the flavor ♡ The sweet flavor always makes me relax 🙂

 

I had prepared healthy treats the day before the workshop. Can you notice the bow shape on the cakes??

 

We enjoyed the relaxing break time ♡

 

After the tea break, we knew more about each other. I could see that everyone looked so relaxed and enjoyed working on crochet as well as chatting ♡

 

Three out of five ladies were moms. So, there were cute little ones!! How cute!! They looked enjoying exploring around the room! 😀

 

Doesn’t she look like Virgin Mary…?? ♡

 

After working, we got bows!! From the back 🙂

 

TA-DA—!!! From the side!! I like this posing ♡

 

One lady made two bows while some others were still working on their first one !! Super fast!! One is a hair band, and the other one is a barrette 🙂 I like them both ♡

 

Her color coordinate was excellent!!!

 

“Say cheese ♡”

 

I like this picture 🙂 Maybe they are talking like this… 🙂

*Girl: “Yeahhhhh ♡ I’ve got my own hair bow which my mom made with lots of love in!!”
*Boy: “Mommy, where’s mine??”

We came up with the idea of making a bow tie for baby boys, so I hope he will get his bow sometime soon 🙂 ♪♪

 

I’m now super happy that my friend had sent me a message on facebook!! Without that, I was probably doing something different that day and I might have never met her…!! We had so much fun together and I hope to know more about each other 🙂 ♡

 

I’ve learnt that when you think of something, it’s really important to take an action no matter how small it is. The small action makes the big difference in the end. Do you know that you will actually get bigger feeling of regret when you didn’t do “the thing” compared to the feeling you get after you did it. It’s easy not to take any actions and just to see how it goes, but if you are thinking about something, I think you should do it.

With the one step, you will be one step closer to your dream 🙂 ♡ Grab your chance and be happy ♡♡♡

Crochet cafe♡ Hair Bow :)

Today, I held a crochet workshop at home 🙂

I called it “crochet cafe” because I wanted all the participants to feel relaxed with some cups of tea and sweets and have fun while working on crochet 🙂

Our theme for today was hair bows. The first task for everyone was to chose yarn. This is one of the fun parts 🙂

We chatted a lot but sometimes we were completely quiet… making lots of knots 🙂

 

After working for 2 hours, we had some sweets with a glass of tea 🙂 A carrot jelly with fresh mint leaves which I picked from my mint pot!!

 

After a break, ladies finished their works!!! TADA!!!

HOW DO THEY LOOK ? 🙂  ♡

 

These two elegant hair bows were made by one lady 🙂

 

Another lady even made 3 bows in a day although it was her first time to crochet!! Great jobs 🙂

 

This gray & pink bow is unique but cute!!!

 

I like the red bow as well 🙂 This back shot reminds me of Kiki from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”… 😀

 

Even a baby boy wears a bow!!! 🙂

 

Here is another photo of this baby boy with a “Doraemon” beanie 🙂 I’m super happy that he wears it so cute!!

 

After the workshop, we had a nice healthy lunch which other ladies prepared and brought to my house 🙂

 

Yummy!!!

 

It was really a nice day 🙂

I hope all the ladies enjoyed crocheting and got addicted to it ♡

 

I know that you can’t stop smiling in such a good day!! SMILE A LOT ♡♡♡

Smells yummy! And some monsters came…!!

I did a baking party with two young moms 🙂 I showed how to knead the dough and they did pretty well while also taking care of their babies. Hmm, moms always have multiple tasks to do… they are great!!!

 

TA-DA!!!! We successfully baked melon breads with chocolate chips as well as cookies with macadamia nuts!! 🙂 We all did a good job!! While baking them, they were smelling so good and the entire house smelled like a bakery shop. Yummy!!

 

The nice smell attracted not only us but also some creatures…!!! Can you guess??  It was the creature who loved cookies a lot… Oh well, it was a baby cookie monster 😀

 

“Me want cookie!” “Me eat cookie!” “Give me more cookies!”

 

“Why? Why are you eating cookies alone? Can I join you?” His best friend , Elmo, has joined him now.

 

Cookie monster was very kind so that he shared his cookies. Nom nom nom…

 

“Oh, this cookie is so yummy!!” Elmo looks so happy 🙂 Is Cookie monster a little bit jealous now?

 

Both of the cute little monsters enjoy cookies. “Hmmm… yummy!! There are nothing better than cookies!!”

 

A while after, Elmo was stuffed. She wasn’t interested in cookies anymore. You know Elmo is always curious about everything!! Yes! Curiosity is good 🙂

 

So the blue monster was left alone…

 

“Give me high five!!”

 

The little Elmo girl loves doing “high five”.

 

“Yeah!!!” Seems like this is the best thing to do right after eating cookies… 🙂

 

“Can I switch to be Elmo now?? That looks fun!!”

 

“Sure, you can use mine!! Here you are.” Oh, she is also very kind!! 🙂

 

“Hmmm…I think I should be Cookie monster! I shouldn’t be Elmo! I want to take off this cap!” He tries to take off the cap.

 

“Oops!!” He couldn’t take it off…

 

“Did you see that? Oh I’m shy!” His smile is so cute 😀

 

The two little monsters played happily together 🙂

 

I had so much fun 🙂 I had great breads and cookies, and I finally met two cute monsters 😀

 

Maybe those who want to see those cute monsters are now thinking about baking something yummy?? Enjoy your foods and smile a lot ♡

A Small Cute Photographer :)

The easy-to-follow crochet pattern for this pretty cotton summer hat is now available on Craftsy and Etsy!! If you are interested in, please come visit my shop below 🙂

 

 

 

The other day, I made a summer hat with cotton yarns. It came out pretty, and I put a pink lace tape to decorate the hat.

I wanted to give it to my friend’s daughter, so I wanted to decorate it how she would like it. My friend told me that her daughter loved yellow, so I decided to add some yellow color.

Then, I thought it would be nice to add more colors, and this is how the hat is now!! We can’t see the pink tape anymore… but I like it so much 😀

Now, a little cutie wears the hat. How cute!!! I’m so happy to see my hat worn by the others!! But it was a bit big for her… maybe she will be able to wear it for another 5 years or so… 😀

We went out to a park to play and she took my camera and turned out to be a great photographer!! It’s interesting to see how kids see the world!!

So, these amazing photos of the cutie are taken by her mom with her camera!! She has a great eye for making great photographs of her daughter 🙂 Moms are great!!

Let’s go out a lot this summer 😀

2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil!!!

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is coming!! It starts on June 12, and we will see which country win the game on July 13. Are you excited to follow the game? I’m normally not the soccer person, but my husband is so into it, (I’ve lately learned the word “soccer widow”, and I might will be one of them… lol) and I think I will watch some of the games with him 🙂 It will be fun!! Also, I’ve heard this year’s World Cup in Brazil would be their 20th FIFA World Cup, so it is something really special! 🙂

I made a pretty beanie with the Brazilian color, yellow and green. This year’s World Cup logo is also made with “yellow and green”, so it will show that you are into the World Cup 😀

 

Oh, I would love to see somebody wearing this beanie and watching soccer with their parents!! That would be really cute ♡

Here, I have a news 😀

I’ve opened an Etsy shop last night 🙂

I hope many people will stop by at my shop ♡

 

Please feel free to ask me any questions if you have some 😀

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Welcome to our world :D

How small and how cute a newborn baby is …!!!

One of my best friends has delivered a baby!! Congratulations!!! I visited her soon after she gave birth to him, and it was almost my first time to see a newborn baby. So, I was so excited to see the small beautiful creature!!!

A few days ago, I visited them again. It’s already been a month since he came to the world. He looked a lot bigger than the last time and I gave him the Jiji beanie this time 😀 Maybe the cap is still a little bit big for him, but I’m sure he’ll wear it perfectly soon ♡♡

He was either sleeping or sucking at his mom’s breast when I visited him.

My friend, his mom, told me that she had been spending almost 8 hours a day just to feed him!! It takes her about 1 hour to feed him and to burp him, and he cries almost every 3 hours for the milk… oh… how tough the mom’s job is…!!!

I thought sharing the fact with my husband was really important. So, soon after coming back from her house, I told my husband what I had heard at her place. I hope he will share the work when we have babies sometime in the future… 😀

I couldn’t believe how soft his skin was, how adorable he was (even his feet was adorable!!) and how small he was!! Sleep well and be a good boy, my dear 😉 ♡♡♡

I can’t wait to go out often with the mommy and her little one 🙂

I will be always there when you need me, my lovely friend ♡♡♡

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A Big Angel Smile in Pink

I have a lot of nice neighbors with kids. In the evening, when it gets a little less hot, they always come out and play around with the other kids.

Kids are genius in terms of making friends and adapting to a new environment and culture. They get new friends very soon. They master multiple languages at once, so I see some children speaking in two or more different languages (English and their parents’ languages).

I wish I had those abilities… !! Anyway, just wishing is not enough. We always need a first step to achieve a goal, no matter how big it is 😀

When I moved to this apartment, I met one neighbor and he told me that his wife just gave birth to a baby girl. I thought it would be very nice to make her a baby cap. It took me some time, but I finally saw her outside and she gave me a huge cute smile to me !!! She is already 5 month old… Time flies!!

How cute she is!! How big smile she has!! I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls and a smile is the most important factor to make girls look beautiful!! So, please always keep smiling 🙂 ♡

Handmade time!! My First Tutorial to My Knotty Friends :)

I thought you would be interested in making beanies by yourselves. So, as a first project of my crochet tutorial, I’ve picked up Hello Kitty beanie which I’ve already uploaded in the previous blog. If you like it, please feel free to make one by yourself 🙂 I will also be happy to see your works once they are done!! Then, let’s get started 🙂

◆Materials◆

Worsted Weight Yarn (Medium 4)

• White: CARON SIMPLY SOFT (WHITE)
• Red: BERNAT Satin (CRIMSON)
• Black: CARON SIMPLY SOFT (BLACK)
• Yellow: Sugar’n Cream (YELLOW)

Size G(4mm) Crochet Hook
Size H(5mm) Crochet Hook
Yarn Needle

◆Size◆

If you follow the instruction below, it will probably fit for 1 year old baby. But everyone uses a different tense when we crochet, so the outcome might be in a different size. If you want something bigger, you can just add an increase row and some even rows. I strongly recommend to check before stepping forward to the even rows (in this instruction, it’s at the end of Row7) if it fits the head size. You can always adjust the size as you like 🙂

◆Pattern◆

*** It’s easier to start every row with 2 chains and end each row with a slip stitch since you will see where you started the row which you are working on. If you take this method, please don’t forget to count this 2 chains as 1 hdc. (So, you need to skip 1 “hdc” in the instruction below, starting from Row 2.)

*** I like the seamless surface, so in this tutorial, I take this method. You just have to keep going, but it may be difficult to see where you started the row. So, it’s better to use a safety pin at the first stitch of each row.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

◇Step 1: Face with Size H hook, White yarn◇

1. Row 1 : Make a double magic ring (magic loop). Ch 2, and 7 hdc in the magic ring. (8 hdc*)
   • An easy tutorial on magic ring is introduced here: “How to make double magic ring”
   • You will count Ch 2 at the beginning of the row as 1 stitch
2. Row 2 : 2 hdc in each stitch around (16 hdc)
3. Row 3 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next stitch around (24 hdc)
4. Row 4 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 2 stitch around (32 hdc)
5. Row 5 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 3 stitch around (40 hdc)
6. Row 6 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 4 stitch around (48 hdc)
7. Row 7 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 5 stitch around (56 hdc)
   • You may adjust the size here.
8. Row 8-16 : hdc in each stitch (56 hdc)

 

◇Step 2: Ears with Size H hook, White yarn◇

1. Row 1 : Make a double magic ring (magic loop). Ch 2, and 5 hdc in the magic ring. (6 hdc*)
   • An easy tutorial on magic ring is introduced here: “How to make double magic ring”
   • You will count Ch 2 at the beginning of the row as 1 stitch
2. Row 2 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next stitch around (9 hdc)
3. Row 3 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 2 stitch around (12 hdc)
4. Row 4 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 3 stitch around (15 hdc)
5. Row 5 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 4 stitch around (18 hdc)
6. Row 6 : 2 hdc in the 1st stitch, hdc in the next 5 stitch around (21 hdc)
7. Cut the yarn long (around 10″) for sewing purpose.
8. You will make two of these ears and sew on the face with the yarn you left.

 

◇Step 3: Eyes with Size G hook, Black yarn◇

1. Row 1 : Chain 4
2. Row 2 : Sc in the 2nd stitch from the hook. 1sc, 3sc, then 1sc in the following 2 stitch. Finish with slip stitch at the 1st stitch of the row.
3. Cut the yarn long (around 5″) for sewing purpose.
4. You will make two of these eyes and sew on the face vertically.

 

◇Step 4: Nose with Size G hook, Yellow yarn◇

1. Row 1 : Chain 4
2. Row 2 : Sc in the 2nd stitch from the hook. 1sc, 3sc, then 1sc in the following 2 stitch. Finish with slip stitch at the 1st stitch of the row.
3. Cut the yarn long (around 5″) for sewing purpose.
4. You will sew the nose on the face horizontally.

 

◇Step 5: Whiskers with Yarn Needle, Black yarn◇

1. Embroider whiskers with a yarn needle just as you like. You can adjust the length and angles of them, which will make a difference of the expression of the Kitty.

 

◇Step 6: Bow with Size G hook, Red yarn◇
*I posted a tutorial on making a bow in the other article. I introduced very much in detail with step-by-step photos. So, please check the instruction.

Here is the title of the article:  Here Summer Comes!! Ponytail With A Pretty Bow??

◇◇Make oblong & Center ring

◇◇Put together

Insert the oblong into the center ring and sew not to move around. Then, sew it onto the right side of the ear (from your view point).

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

♡♡♡ Thank you so much if you follow the instruction all the way till here. ♡♡♡

Now it’s done!!! I hope you liked how I made Hello Kitty!!
If you find some difficulties to understand some parts, please just leave a comment!! Enjoy making “lovely handmade things” by yourself 🙂

A girl's birthday present♡

I was invited to one of my friends’ daughter’s birthday party this weekend! She turned into 3 years old now!! I’ve been thinking what kind of thing a 3 years old girl would like… I asked my mom over Skype. Then, we thought about an accessory!! Yes! NO GIRL dislikes accessories!!!

She has short hair, so hair accessory wouldn’t stay on her well-treated healthy hair. What would be good… well, a necklace!! It was my first time to make a necklace with crochet, so it took time to figure out how to make nicely… I think the outcome is quite good 🙂

Can you recognize this smily guy? He was also here!!

My stuffed cow also looks quite happy with him around his neck.

The Anpanman necklace is in a gift-box waiting to see his new friend!!

He met a girl finally, and for me, those two looked super cute together!! I hope my little friend will enjoy this accessory 🙂

A Symbol of GIRL

What character do you think is the symbol of girl??

I would say… Hello Kitty 🙂

When I was little (about 20 years ago… wow time flies!!), I was not really a “Kitty girl”, but she was already very popular. I can still see lots of Hello Kitty everywhere even here in California!! I’ve got really amazed by her popularity 😀 Do you know that wherever you visit in Japan, you can find regional Hello Kitty goods!! (We call them “Gotochi Kitty-chan”.) I have many friends who like to correct these goods!! So, if you like Hello Kitty and if you have a chance to visit Japan, why don’t you try to find and collect the Gotochi Kitty goods??

Hello Kitty’s weight is same with 3 apples and her height is same with 5 apples!! Wow. I’m not sure how many apples I need to describe my weight… I wouldn’t like to think about it… 😦

I think my stuffed cow is now satisfied with Miss. Pretty!!

What would you do if you could use magic?

If you could use magic, what would you like to do?? Kiki from “Kiki’s Delivery Service” made her cat, Jiji, speak with her. I’m not a cat person, but still I imagine that it would be nice to communicate with them by words!! When I was young, my image of the foreign countries were exactly like what they showed in this film. I love the scenery of the film and the songs!! I hope many of you will enjoy watching this movie!!

Here is as usual, my new beanie with my cow.

I’ll give this baby cap to my friend. I hope her baby will learn how to speak very soon! I can’t wait to talk to the baby !! 😀