With Stephen gone the past two weeks, I had a lot of time to practice my new hobby.

The hat took way longer than it should have but I learned a ton in the process. Like you have to count the stitches. Not just guess. It’s the difference between a rug and something you can actually wear on your head.

Or rather, something Liza can wear on her head. I used the wrong yarn so the finished product is too small for me and too big for Liza but it’s so cute with the unintentional chevron pattern about 3/4 of the way down. I love it though because it’s my first finished project.

From the hat, I decided to move on to kid’s toys. Because my kids don’t have enough toys!

I’m loving the Lion Brand yarn website as they have a TON of fun patterns that beginners can do. The yarn they recommend is economical and sturdy for toys.

Surprisingly, the alien is Liza’s and the ladybug is Eli’s.

I don’t have an in progress photo of the ladybug. I was working against the Eli bedtime clock last night. He kept coming out to check on my progress until I finally had it done. I learned a ton with the ladybug as well. She’s got some flaws, so I actually might try the pattern again now that I kinda know what I’m doing. Or maybe, I’ll just take what I’ve learned and apply it to my next project of the Adipose Fat Baby from Dr. Who. Because my husband doesn’t have enough toys either!

I’ve gotten a ton of amigurumi patterns from the internet. Enough patterns to keep me busy for ages. I love working on them because they are fast, I learn a ton from the different ways the patterns are written and at the end they are so cute! Still no good robot patterns though — gonna have to buy the book.

I thought I might be getting good but then I attempted to start a purse pattern and couldn’t get past the second row of stitches. Jess, guess what you’ll be doing on Tuesday night!

Lastly, the obligatory cute kid photo: