Joe needs a new Pancreas | Medical Expenses - YouCaring.com

Joe needs a new Pancreas | Medical Expenses - YouCaring.com

My 29 year old brother Joseph has been a Type 1 insulin dependent diabetic since he was 15 years old. He has spent many years struggling with this disease. Over the past year, the disease has taken a turn for the worse. After years of specialists, insulin pumps, and insulin therapy, his Endrocinologist has exhausted all treatments and therapy and has determined that my brother is suffering from Hypoglycemic unawareness, the inability for his body to respond to low blood sugar which results in dangerous life threatening low blood sugar resulting in a deficient pancreas.

This diagnosis in conjunction with years of non-compliance to insulin therapy & treatments leaves only one viable option for survival, a Pancreatic organ Transplant.

In order to be approved for the transplant surgery, weekly visits to Houston are mandatory for testing, education classes, and meetings with Transplant teams at the Hospital. 3 Caregivers are required for pre & post-transplant needs for my brother. I am one. Once approved for the transplant, relocation to Houston is mandatory for him & his caregivers for a minimum of 4-6 weeks but could be longer depending on my brother’s recovery time & new organ cooperation.

What fundraising would assist with:

• Travel to Houston for appointments and evaluations (Gas, Food, Lodging, Hospital Parking, Pre-Surgery Medication & treatments, Specialist costs not covered by insurance)
• Surgery itself is around 130k. Insurance will pay majority of surgery costs minus the following:
• $5,000 maximum out of pocket expenses
• $1,200 insurance deductible
• Post-Surgery Medications up to $500 per month
• Other Misc Medical Bills for treatment and Surgery including regular follow-up appointments with the surgical center in Houston
• 4-6 Weeks relocation costs to Houston post Transplant. (Lodging, Food, Gas, Medications, Specialist costs not covered by insurance)
• Bills at Home post-transplant during recovery. (Utilities, Food, Mortgage, Car Bills etc.) 

What is my Brother’s life like now?

• Has been diagnosed with a Severe case of Type 1 Diabetes that includes:
• Pancreas is at a 0.2 percentage of functionality
• Hypoglycemic unawareness - inability for the body to respond to low blood sugar which results in dangerous life threatening low blood sugar
• Severe Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar)
• Has frequent Diabetic Seizures
• His License has been revoked due to multiple car wrecks involving diabetic seizures
• Has Diabetic Neuropathies (Nerve Damage in the legs and feet)
• Is Unable to work
• Has Lost 2 jobs from diabetic low blood sugars and collapsing while working as this is a liability for employers
• My brother is an amazing photographer which he has a great passion for that he is unable to do any more due to his physical condition
• Has a Wife and 2 young children (7 year old son & 1 year old daughter)
• Sister in law is currently the sole provider of income for the household with minimal contributions from immediate family members who help when they can
• My mother currently lives at their house during the week to help take care of my niece and my brother since his seizures are so frequent
• Family/Neighbors have placed over 50 emergency 911 calls for help since 5/1/2012
• Cannot walk around the block with kids without passing out/collapsing due to low blood sugars
• Diabetic Endocrinologist has exhausted all treatment options and a pancreatic transplant is the last hope

What will my Brother’s life be like after a pancreas transplant

• Pancreatic Transplant has the potential to 100% cure my diabetes
• Blood sugars will stabilize
• No more fear of seizures, passing out, collapsing or injury from diabetic episodes
• No longer needing to take insulin injections
• Being able to return to work
• Extending my life expectancy & Quality of Life
• The elimination of the constant fear of death

And most importantly!!

Being able to play with my kids

A little Christmas Star Wars Cheer

So procrastination has gotten the best of me and the rush to finish a few crocheted Christmas gifts has kept me without much sleep in the last day and night. I have finished one of the gifts today (after burning the midnight oil until about 6am and starting all over again at 11am today...whew!) This FO was well worth the hours of work and sleeplessness as this lil guy turned out awesome. This gift is for my brother who is one of the biggest Star Wars geeks I know, who just so happens to be one of the few loyalists who like and appreciate those adorable butt-kicking Ewoks of Endor from Return of the Jedi.

So you ask, what better gift for a fan of the Ewoks and a fan of the 6th installment of Star Wars....of course...an Amigurumi Wicket!!


The pattern I used was manipulated from an original pattern ("Wicket-the-Ewok") by Lucy Ravenscar found on Ravelry. The Pattern is also available at Craftster. I switched up a few things, just to make it my own and to adapt to my style of crochet.

This project was challenging in the following ways:

• The torso is worked in 1 piece from the bottom up. This is a different technique that was very effective for the shape of the lower body, but not one I am accustomed to using, I plan on using similar methods in the future for legs/feet. The single torso structure aids in stability and form.

Wicket Torso with toe detail

• The pattern called for using a 3 dc bob stitch for the hands/arms and a 3 dc pop stitch for the feet/toes. Both of these stitches were a first for me. I ended up scrapping the 3 dc bob stitch for the fingers/hands and utilized a basic arm in the round instead. The finger work was a bit cumbersome to work with and I felt they ended up a tad too busy. I kept the special stitch 3 dc pop for the toes as they were great for the balance and overall look of the ami

Standard Arms worked in the round

• There were 2 options for creating the face/head of Wicket. I opted for the more detailed and challenging of the two: Head #1 which uses embroidery detailing for the face and mouth. This was the most time-consuming aspect of the project, but all the time and effort that went into the detailing was well worth it! 

Wicket Head with embroidery detail

• There were 2 options for creating the cowl. I originally was going to move forward with using felt for the cowl, which would have been a bit quicker, and the color I had picked out was nearly spot-on...something just told me to go for the crochet method for the cowl. Even though the yarn I had in my stash was a dark burnt orange vs a lighter russet color (which is more accurate) I think it makes the Ami a bit more unique & crocheting it was a blast! The cowl was worked in 2 parts (front/back) then whip stitched together & slipped over the head (So yes...it can be removed!)

Wicket Cowl

Overall, I am super excited to give this gift to my brother tonight, as I know he will be excited! The only hard part is giving Wicket away, as he turned out so cute, & a part of me wants to keep him for myself....I guess I can always make another one!!

Wicket!

Wicket (Back view)

Now onto the next gift....

    

Thanks for reading!

Secret Project #2 FO! - Cute Cthulhu

So...It has been a while, but I finally was able to finish up my latest Secret Project!

A little recap about my Secret Project progress...and the big reveal at the end!

I had a lot of fun with my last Secret WIP posts that I thought I would start up another round here. Quite a few of my friends/family have caught baby fever over the past year and lil ones are popping up all around me. My last Secret FO was an 'Under the Sea' themed baby mobile that was unveiled at my Sister in Laws baby shower. Here it is installed in my niece's room:

Under The Sea

I am super excited about being able to FINALLY finishing up this latest Super Secret Amigurumi for this sweet lil one! Here are a couple of pictures of the "pieces" of the project I have posted along the way:

Hint...There are two of these!

Eye C U!

Look...it's a bird! it's a plane! it's...

LIL CTHULHU!!!

YES!...Super Secret Project #2 is an Amigurumi Cthulhu!

I got the idea to make this little guy from a co-worker who recently had her first lil boy. She described that they were decorating the lil ones room in a mythological creature theme...How cool is that? and...What better mythological creature is there than Cthulhu? A little bit about the Cthulhu mythos:

From wikipedia.org..."Cthulhu^[1] is a fictional cosmic entity who first appeared in the short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales in 1928. The character was created by writer H. P. Lovecraft." "H. P. Lovecraft's initial short story, "The Call of Cthulhu", was published in Weird Tales in 1928 and established the character as a malevolent entity hibernating within an underwater city in the South Pacific called R'lyeh. Described as resembling "...an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature.... A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque scaly body with rudimentary wings",^[6]the imprisoned Cthulhu is apparently the source of constant anxiety for mankind at a subconscious level, and also the subject of worship by a number of religions (located in New Zealand, Greenland, Louisiana, and the Chinese mountains) and other Lovecraftian monsters (called Deep Ones^[7] and Mi-Go^[8]). The short story asserts the premise that, while currently trapped, Cthulhu will eventually return. His worshipers chant "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" ("In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.")^[6]"

     

I can't wait to deliver this super-duper adorable Cthulhu Ami...as I think they will be very happy!

Back/Wing Detail

Side View

Thanks for reading!

Secret Project #2 WIP #2

So here is a little recap about my Secret Project WIPs...

I had a lot of fun with my last Secret WIP posts that I thought I would start up another round here. Quite a few of my friends/family have caught baby fever over the past year and lil ones are popping up all around me. My last Secret FO was an 'Under the Sea' themed baby mobile that was unveiled at my Sister in Laws baby shower. Here it is installed in Nora's room:

Under The Sea

I am super excited about my next Secret WIP for the next lil one! I plan on posting the components of the project here as they are completed. I cannot unveil exactly what I am cooking up, since it is a gift, but it will be fun posting lil "glimpses" of the project along the way,


Her is the first glimpse that I unveiled in my last post:

Hint...There are two of these!

And on to the next glimpse:

Eye C U!

Here is one more hint...this is also a creature of the sea! I am almost finished with this lil cutie & hope to post the FO here for all to see soon!

Stay tuned for more to come!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Secret Project #2 WIP

I had a lot of fun with my last Secret WIP posts that I thought I could start up another one here. Quite a few of my friends/family have caught baby fever over the past year and lil ones are popping up all around me. My last Secret FO was an 'Under the Sea' themed baby mobile that was unveiled at my Sister in Laws baby shower. I am super excited about my next Secret WIP for the next lil one! I plan on posting the components of the project here as they are completed. I cannot unveil exactly what I am cooking up, since it is a gift, but it will be fun posting lil "glimpses" of the project along the way.

Here is the first glimpse:

What could it be?

The picture is a bit dark, but this is the start of the Amigurumi.

Stay tuned in for further glimpses of my new Secret WIP!!!

Thanks for reading.

Secret Project FO!!

Secret Project FO revealed!

My most recent set of WIPs were all components leading to a special gift for a special someone....my unborn niece! This FO is comprised of multiple Amigurumi that have been unveiled over the last few weeks here in this blog:

Floppy the Fish

Floppy the Fish

Baby Octopus

Baby Octopus

Mr Dolphin

Mr Dolphin

Lil Seahorse

Lil Seahorse

Starfish

Starfish

I finally made 4 strands of seaweed found from a pattern on Lion Brand yarn found here... 2 dowel rods painted purple...some heavy duty twine...a hot glue gun...

...and what do you get?

A sea themed Baby Mobile!!!

I was really excited with the way it turned out & I was able to unveil the FO at my Sister-In-Laws baby shower that I hosted. Everyone really liked the way it turned out as well & I can't wait to see it hanging in the baby's room!!!!

Thanks for reading!

Secret Project WIP #4

My most recent set of WIPs (that I am highly anticipating I might add,) are components leading to a special gift for a special someone. This WIP is comprised of multiple Amigurumis. I plan on posting the components of the project here as they are completed. I cannot unveil exactly what I am cooking up, since it is a gift, but it will be fun posting the little bits along the way.

My last post detailed the FO, Mr Dolphin. I decided to make the dolphin sea green/blue as opposed to grey as Dolphins usually are. I really like the color of the yarn and figured I would be a little playful with the pattern.

The pattern for this dolphin can be found in Annie Obaachan's book, Super Cute: 25 Amigurumi Animals. This was the first Amigurumi crochet book I purchased when I first started to crochet, and it is still a standard of mine. I highly recommend it, as the patterns are easy to follow for a beginner, and has some great tips for Ami construction (even for an experienced crocheter.)

For this post I am going to unveil 2 more components of this super secret WIP!!!

Lil Seahorse & Starfish!!!!

Lets start with the Lil Seahorse first:

This was the first seahorse ami I have ever made. I found the pattern from the blog Mausica's Magical Menagerie. This pattern is super cute & was simple and a blast to make. I decided to make the seahorse baby blue and lime green. I like the colors and thought they would complement each other and the rest of the  components of the overall project. Here are a few pics of the FO:

Lil Seahorse FO

Lil Seahorse (Back View)

Lil Seahorse FO (Side View)

Now for the 2nd FO for this Super Secret WIP...a super adorable Starfish:
"Betta Treasures Seahorses Victorian Brass Aquarium"

The Starfish was a really challenging Ami to figure out. The components (the star points) and the center piece(s) (the body) were easy enough to make, however, the making up of the Ami was a bit on the difficult side. I found the pattern here. After creating each star point and the front and back side of the starfish body, you have to sew six stitches from each of the star points onto a body panel. This takes some trial and error to make sure they are evenly spaced. You then need to stuff the star points before you sew the back panel of the center piece onto the other sides of the starpoints. You then have to stuff the body before you completely sew up the Starfish. I will include a few pics of the WIP so that the words have some context:

Starfish FO

Back side of Starfish before stuffing star points

Stay tuned in a day or two for the unveiling of FO of my Super Secret WIP!!!

Thanks for reading.

Secret Project WIP #3

My most recent set of WIPs (that I am highly anticipating I might add,) are components leading to a special gift for a special someone. This WIP is comprised of multiple Amigurumis. I plan on posting the components of the project here as they are completed. I cannot unveil exactly what I am cooking up, since it is a gift, but it will be fun posting the little bits along the way.

Last Friday I posted the FO, Baby Octopus. This was my 2nd octopus Ami I have made & this one was a bit more challenging (even though it is significantly smaller in size.) The tentacles are corkscrews and were a little tough yet fun to crochet.

Now onto the next glimpse of this super secret project:

Mr Dolphin!

I decided to make the dolphin sea green/blue as opposed to grey as Dolphins usually are. I really like the color of the yarn and figured I would be a little playful with the pattern.

The pattern for this dolphin can be found in Annie Obaachan's book, Super Cute: 25 Amigurumi Animals. This was the first Amigurumi crochet book I purchased when I first started to crochet, and it is still a standard of mine. I highly recommend it, as the patterns are easy to follow for a beginner, and has some great tips for Ami construction (even for an experienced crocheter.)



This pattern was a lot of fun to make however, upon completion I noticed that the pattern did not include a dorsal fin. I will need to remedy that now that I have noticed it was missing.

Stay tuned in a day or two for the unveiling of the 4th & 5th installments of my Super Secret WIP!!!

Thanks for reading.

Secret Project WIP #2

My most recent set of WIPs (that I am highly anticipating I might add,) are components leading to a special gift for a special someone. This WIP is comprised of multiple Amigurumis. I plan on posting the components of the project here as they are completed. I cannot unveil exactly what I am cooking up, since it is a gift, but it will be fun posting the little bits along the way.

Last Sunday I posted the FO of Floppy the Fish. This was an Ami I had made a while back and was just sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be gifted to that special someone. I put a lot of time and effort into finishing this particular fish Amigurumi. This was one of my first Amigurumi FOs and it will be nice to finally give it have a home.

Now onto the next glimpse of this super secret project:

Baby Octopus!!

The pattern for this super tiny and super adorable Baby Octopus can be found via Craftster.org here. I found the link to the pattern via Ruby Tuesday's Ravelry page here.




This pattern was a lot of fun to make & I plan on making quite a few more of these for gift toppers or additions to birthday presents in the near future. I think they will be loved by all!

Stay tuned in a few days for the unveiling of the 3rd installment of my Super Secret WIP!!!

Thanks for reading.

Secret Project WIP #1

Well...it has been entirely too long since I have visited my blog. For those of you who have visited since I have been away...thanks for reading! I am super excited about actively posting again. Whereas, I by no means have stopped crocheting, I just have not been very good about documenting my progress. This is something I hope to slowly remedy! Since it has been such a long time, I am starting my WIPs and FOs over at #1...turning over a fresh leaf so to speak!

My most recent WIP (that I am highly anticipating I might add,) is a special gift for a special someone. This WIP is comprised of multiple parts. I plan on posting the components of the project here as they are completed. I cannot unveil exactly what I am cooking up, since it is a gift, but it will be fun posting the little bits along the way.

Here is the first glimpse of this project:

The pattern for the Floppy the Fish can be found in Annie Obaachan's book, Super Cute: 25 Amigurumi Animals. This was the first Amigurumi crochet book I purchased when I first started to crochet, and it is still a standard of mine. I highly recommend it, as the patterns are easy to follow for a beginner, and has some great tips for Ami construction (even for an experienced crocheter.)

WIPW: Week 29

Well...I havent been working on the WIPs from my last blog. Reason being....I went to the LYS a little while back and bought a BEAUTIFUL skein of Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton from Peru. It is soooooo luscious, and I have been dying to crochet with it. However, it has been sitting in my closet taunting me for weeks. I am sure some of you yarn junkies will understand this! It was almost too pretty to do anything with, and I wanted to make something for myself (for once....lol,) but it is really hard for me to pick something out for myself. Well...I FINALLY decided a nice light spring scarf would be something I would like, so I went for it, and that is what I have been occupying my crochet time this week with!

Here is the yarn before I started working with it:

Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton in Syrah

Gorgeous right???

I generally do not work with DK weight yarns...so it has been a nice switch of pace. I love how light & airy it crochets! The yarn is also so silky...that it just glides off the hook, and I havent had ANY issues with splitting! I also generally do not work with any hook above a size G (since I make mostly Amigurumi,) and this pattern calls for using a size K!!! I must admit it took a bit of retraining how I hold my hook, because it felt so foreign in my hands! It is funny how using a hook size out of the norm can trip your technique up...lol! I can't even fathom how those HUGE plastic hooks are like working with. I must give it a try one of these days! Anyone out there worked with one before??

Big Hook Size Comparison -- (from Google Images)

So...here are the details...

8th FO for 2011:
SHELL SCARF

Here is the progress of the scarf so far:



Shell Scarf

and...
Here is a close-up photo of the shell detail (the shell detail will continue around all sides of the scarf:)

Shell detail

I apologize for the blurry / dark photos (as I am blogging away from home, I only have my iphone ;) with me.

Hopefully I will finish the scarf in my spare time this week, and be able to share with yall the FO by next Wed!

Happy Crafting!!!!

Plush Team February Giveaway

Well...it is time for yet another Plush Team giveaway! This month, Anne-Claire, of HibouCards is hosting the Plush Team giveaway for February with a way too adorable teddy bear cuddling penguin! May I present, Mr. Martin the Penguin. Martin is a hand sewn wonder made from a mix of wool blend and eco-friendly felt, cotton thread, and polyfill.

"Martin is a sweet little penguin that always carries his teddy around with him. He moved from Antartica to Boston not so long ago and is really enjoying the snow here... although he likes nothing better lately than snuggling at home, drinking hot coco!"

 

Martin the Penguin

Here are the details from the Plush Team blog:
 
So what do you need to call Martin the Penguin your own? Just visit the HibouCards  shop and then fill out this form.

 

But Wait! You can earn even more chances to win!

• Become a Plush Team blog follower. If you're a new follower, let us know that you joined when you complete the form. If you're already following us, you can let us know that too and score one extra entry!
• Follow the Plush Team on Facebook and/or Twitter. Again, let us know when you fill out the form if you're a new follower or an old friend and you'll receive one extra entry for each follow.
• Tweet this giveaway. Make sure to give us a link to your tweet when you fill out the form to get one extra entry.
• Repost the giveaway on Facebook. Make sure to give us a link to your Facebook post when you fill out the form to get one extra entry.
• Blog this giveaway. For an extra TWO entries, tell folks about this giveaway in your blog. Please make sure to use the Martin the Penguin's photo in your post and leave us a link when you fill out the entry form to get your entries.
• Buy something from HibouCards or the Plush Team shop during the month of January. Get another FIVE chances to win by making a purchase from HibouCards or the Plush Team shop. Don't forget to let us know which new piece of plushie love you're calling your own!

 

Last day to enter is February 28, 2011 and we'll announce a winner on March 1. GOOD LUCK!

WIPW: Week 27

Hello everyone!

I have not posted in the last few weeks since I have not had much time in my schedule to work on my latest WIPs until this week. So thankfully....I have a few WIPs and FOs to share.















4th FO for 2011:
CAROUSEL HAT (SPORTY VARIETY)

I mentioned in my last blog post that my cousin Kims bday was Jan 18th, and that I had decided to make her a Bonita Hat. I frogged the 1st attempt at the hat due to a sizing error, and started again on the hat. I however decided half-way through that the hat style would just not be in her taste. Plus, I wanted to challenge myself and try another hat pattern out. I decided to keep the same color scheme (hotpink and white bands towards the band of the hat.) I found a new pattern on yes...Ravelry (thank the gods that it exists!) for a carousel type beanie by Sami Jo Fitzgerald. You can find the pattern here. I have a pic of the WIP, the FO, and a pic of my cuz proudly sporting her new beanie!

Carousel Beanie WIP

Carousel Hat (Sporty version) FO

Kim & her new birthday hat

Last week I mentioned a few future projects that I planned on starting. Here is the progress on those:

 6TH FO FOR 2011 (previously Future WIP #2:)
FILMSTRIP BEANIE

My brothers bday is coming up in March. He is a photographer/filmmaker. He has been requesting a film strip inspired beanie from me ever since I started crocheting. I decided to take a spin on the aforementioned Carousel Hat from this blog post. I think that it turned out OK, however I am not 100% pleased with how it came out. I may be tweaking this one a bit in the next few weeks (since I have until March.) Here is how it looks now:

Filmstrip Beanie

7th WIP for 2011:
SOCKS/HAT

7th WIP FOR 2011:

I started on the socks for my Dad today. This is my 1st venture into the world of crochet socks, and I must say I am a wee bit intimidated. I found a free pattern for some socks through a link on Ravelry for Mrs D Crochets that sound pretty straight-forward. The pattern is called Toasted Almond Crunch socks, and you can find the pattern here. The pattern calls for using:
Two 1.76 oz. skeins Red Heart Heart & Sole (color shown: Toasted Almond, thus the name)...
However, I changed up the color to Red Heart, Heart & Sole Blackjack, as I already had it in my stash.
Here is the progress so far:

Socks!

FUTURE WIP#1: 

My Father's bday was at the end of January. I had plans to make him a lush hat out of some beautiful Pima Cotton I have my eyes on at the LYS. I did not have time to start the hat for his bday (so now I am aiming for Fathers Day, or just an extra special surprise for being an awesome Dad. I still have my eyes on that Pima Cotton from the LYS.

Thanks again all for reading! Stay warm wherever you may be, and happy crafting :)

WIPW: Week 24

Well...it has been a while since my last blog post (which was the week before xmas!) I took a much needed break from the crochet world, as I felt I was overworking myself to finish soooo many WIPs in the weeks leading up to xmas. I tell you , I crocheted down to the wire, i.e., xmas eve! I have not stopped crocheting by any means, but I have been fair to myself, by not imposing too many deadlines that are stressful! That being said, I have a few WIPs and FOs to share with you all this week :)

1st FO for 2011:
BUTTERFLY HAT

Well...I can't believe that it is a new DECADE! 2011...wow! There are quite a few bdays in my family in January (including mine ;) and that being said, a few gifts that just had to be made. The 1st of the projects I started on and finished within a day to get them ready for my Sis-In-Law's bday, which was on January 8th.

Her fav color is HOT PINK, so it was easy to choose a color scheme. I used Red Heart Shimmer in Hot Pink #1715.














The yarn is 97% acrylic and 3% metallic polyester.

Now, deciding on what to make her was a bit tricky. She loves accessories, and has been trying out some new short hair stylings. I immediately thought that she would look adorable in a 30s flapper/cloche style hat. I researched the MANY, MANY patterns that are available on Ravelry, and finally decided on Olivia's Butterfly by Valerie Whitten. The little butterfly detail would be adorable! I read over the pattern and realized that the hat was made for a child, so I had to tinker with the pattern a tiny bit to make it large enough for an adult size. It wasn't too difficult, as I just added 2 more rounds of increase to the pattern. For the finishing touches I added a pink crystal bead to the center of the butterfly detail, to add a bit more bling to the hat.

Here is a pic of it:

...and I was right....

It does look adorable on her.

My 2nd FO for 2011 came about the same night that I finished the butterfly hat. My Mother loved it so much, that I just had to whip up one for her. I received a red/black ombre hand-dyed wool yarn for Xmas, and figured it would be perfect for her. To add a little bling to my Mothers version of the hat, she requested I add random red sequins throughout the hat. I really enjoyed the effect.

Here it is:

Mothers Butterfly Cloche

3rd FO for 2011:

GIRLIE BOT

I decided to make a 2nd gift for my Sis-In-Law, something a little bit fun, that she could keep on her desk at work. Naturally I decided to make her an Amigurumi. There is a funny story behind the Ami that I created for her. For Xmas, she and my brother, picked out an adorable Amigurumi book on Crocheted Robots. It is called Crobots, and is one I have been wanting for a while now.

Before I got around to opening the package, I opened a package from my Mother that included, what else, the Crobots book. My Sis-In-Laws face nearly sunk to the ground. I mean of all the books on Amigurumi in the world, and they had both bought the same one. I thought it would be a nice tribute to make her one of the Crobots from the book.

It was easy to pick which one...

The Girlie Bot!!!

It was a ton o fun to add all the sequins, and seed beeds as embellishments on this little cutie!!! Again, I used pink/hot pink as the color pallette.

Here is the FO:

'Girlie' Bot

'Girlie' Bot side view

4th WIP for 2011:

BONITA HAT

My cousin Kims bday was Jan 18th, so I decided to make another Bonita Hat. I am just in love with the simple, but intricate styling of this hat. I decided to make her a sporty version of the hat. I had to frog the 1st attempt, due to a sizing error, so I am starting over. But I plan to alternate bands of hot pink/white throught the middle part of the pattern. I showed her a sneak peak of the hat for her bday when we went out to lunch together. I think she will like it.

5th FO for 2011:/

XMAS GIFT #8: (WIP)

CROCHET RING BRACELET

I am so glad I finally finished this WIP! I blogged about it back in December here. I have been working on getting it finished since October! A while back I made a ring bracelet for my Mother. My Aunt Joann really admired it when she saw the one I made for my Mom, that I had decided to make one for her for her Bday. That was waaaaay back in October. (YIKES!!!) I just got so wrapped up in the XMAS frenzy, that it got pushed further, and further back. Well, I am happy to say that it is finished, finally! I can't wait to get it to her.

Here is a pic of hers:

Crochet Ring Bracelet

I am pretty excited about a few upcoming WIPs I have planned.

Future WIP #1:
HAT/SOCKS

My Father's bday is at the end of the month and I plan to make him a lush hat out of some beautiful Pima Cotton I have my eyes on at the LYS. If I have time I also plan to make him a pair of socks to go along with the hat. He is newly retired so it would be a nice jesture to make him some comfy socks to lounge around the house in.

Future WIP #2:

FILMSTRIP BEANIE

My brothers bday is coming up in March. He is a photographer/filmmaker. He has been requesting a film strip inspired beanie from me ever since I started crocheting. I have not written up a pattern for a beanie hat yet, so this will be a challenge for me. I have some rough sketches done of how I want the beanie to look, and I think it will be awesome, if I can figure out the measurements/technicalities. Hopefully I will have something on this WIP started soon.

Happy New Year to all, and Happy Crafting!!!

Thanks for Reading :)