My new (old?) hobby

My mom tried to make me into a good old-fashioned homemaker. I balked at it. She taught me how to sew, cook, crochet, knit, etc. And like any rebellious teenager, I did just enough to satisfy her, but not enough to gain any real skill in it. And like any rebellious teenager that grows up into a responsible adult, I regret that now. I wish I could go back and glean from my mother's knowledge. I wish I could spend those years developing those talents so that I could just be totally awesome at them now. But I didn't. So now I'm having to relearn all the skills my mom so valiantly tried to teach me. And when I start doing them, I realize that I love doing them. Turns out, I really want to be an old-fashioned homemaker. Who knew? (Sorry, Mom!)

My current hobby that I'm relearning is crochet. I've always been good enough to make a quick hotpad in an hour or two, but that's about as far as it went. A few months ago I saw a really cute picture of a baby wearing a crocheted hat and I decided that I really wanted to make Kessa a hat. So I got on Ravelry.com (which you have to join a waiting list to become a part of, but my friend Katya talked me into joining ages ago, but I'd never done anything with it) and looked up free crocheted baby hat patterns. And then I started crocheting. And I have to admit, I'm quite pleased with the result.

After I made my first hat, I realized it would be much cuter with a flower on it. So I looked up flower patterns. But instead of sewing it on, I decided to attach it with a baby alligator clip, which allows me to switch out what flower I have on the hat on any day. The first set I made I gave to my cousin for a baby shower gift. I was well pleased with the result. Then I made three more for sisters in my ward (both of my visiting teachers and also my visiting teaching companion, all of whom had babies this winter) and then I made two more for my newest niece, Aimee.

I do have several hats and flowers that didn't make the cut. But that's what learning is all about, right? One of them turned out just fine, but it was intended for Kessa and was just simply too large. Remember how her head was in the 1 percentile? Yeah, I have to make her hats smaller. But I think she's finally growing into it. 3 or 4 months later.

Then one day while cleaning I happened across a pattern for a stuffed bumblebee. I was intrigued. I just happened to have the yarn from BJ's Mega Man afghan leftovers, so I started crocheting. By the next day I had that done, as well as a stuffed bird. And then a stuffed kitten in pajamas. I'm currently working on a baby triceratops (not pictured). These also make me quite happy. (Side note: Kessa was rather intrigued with the bird. So I let her play with it. She entertained herself for quite some time by putting the wing in her mouth, biting down, then pulling the wing out through her clenched teeth. Which is why the bird looks as though he is accusing the bee of doing something wrong in the picture.)

I'm toying with the idea of selling the hats, flowers, and stuffed animals as a way to earn a little extra money. If any of you would be interested in buying any, send me an email*.

*(My first and last name, all one word, at gmail.com)