Summer Beginnings

Can you believe it's already the last week in June?  Crazy.  This summer has definitely been relaxing so far, and definitely needed.  It's the first summer that Mark and I haven't had to work, and it has really been nice :)  

Taking a look back at my summer "to do" list, I'm slacking a little bit...

• Exercise!  
• I have been running at least 3 times per week!  I've gotten to the point that I can run 4 miles!
• Learn to sew more!
• Read!
• Sadly, I've only finished 3 books so far.  That's pretty terrible.  I need to get on that. 
• Go to a Tigers game.
• Road Trip!  
• Check into online programs to start my Masters degree.
• Open an Etsy shop! 

So yeah, I've only made progress in two areas.  Bummer.  Two more months to go to work on the rest.

Our one year anniversary is coming up in 13 days!  That's insane.  I can't believe we've been married for a year.  Anniversary gifts are hard.  We're thinking about going the traditional one year paper route.

I would love to get this game:

(source)

And its got some paper in it, right?  Any other ideas of cute gift ideas?

Singing in the Rain

I absolutely love thunderstorms!  I swear we haven't had a thunderstorm out here since the tropical storm came through in August.  Tonight's storm was pretty good, but definitely too short.

We have been pretty busy finishing up the school year and getting ready to head back to Michigan.  We leave in 7 days!  So much stuff to pack!

I've been thinking about some summer goals I have, and decided that if I write them down somewhere, maybe I'll actually accomplish them :)

• Exercise!  I want to start running and riding my bike regularly.  I'm hoping to be able to run at least a 5K before the end of summer, and I would like to ride my bike as much as last year.
• Learn to sew more!  Curtains for our apartment are definitely on the list.
• Read!  I've finished 38 books so far, so I'm hoping to add quite a few more this summer :)
• Go to a Tigers game.
• Road Trip!  We are thinking of going to Texas to check it out.
• Check into online programs to start my Masters degree.
• Open an Etsy shop!  I'm thinking of calling it Beckwith Boutique...

Speaking of my Etsy shop, here are a few of my most recent projects:

 Mini minion hats

 Puppy dog newborn "outfit"

 Owl newborn hat (probably the best hat I have made yet)

Striped "elf" hat

It's Opening Day!

Go Tigers!

Crafting!

**Edit:  I found the pattern for the black hat with the flower!  It's posted below.**

Just a warning that this post will be picture heavy!

Last month was March Break (that's right, almost a whole month of no school!)  And I was busy reading and crocheting.

Up first is a vintage football helmet Packers style.  It was inspired by this pattern.  I made one in newborn size and one for a 6th month old.  To make the logo I cut it out of some felt and then hand sewed it on to both sides of the hat.

These owl slippers were tricky to make.  They were inspired by these slippers I found via Pinterest, but I didn't want to pay for the pattern, so I made one up by combining a bunch of patterns I found online (this is the pattern I started with, but I modified it quite a bit).  I started writing a tutorial, but then I got lazy about finishing it, so maybe someday I'll feel inspired to make another pair and share with you.

This is a brain wave beanie hat I made for my brother.  You can download the pattern for free here.  It was actually really easy to make.

This hat was so hard to make!  I had to take it out so many times I thought I would never finish.  My biggest problem with it was that you crochet in clusters instead of just single stitches, and counting the clusters was throwing me off.  I can't find the pattern I used, but I'll keep looking and post it as soon as I find it.  I found the pattern!  Here it is!

Here is a close up of the flower.

And finally the cutest hat I have made so far!  It's inspired by the minions from Despicable Me and I think he turned out quite good!

I've also been reading like crazy and finished 13 books last month!  I'm always looking for recommendations of good books, so let me know if you have any.

I also decided to give sewing a try while we were back in Michigan for March break.

My first project was a pair of pajama pants.  I probably should have started with something simpler, the fabric I used (Jersey Knit) was tricky to sew because the edges kept rolling up.  Thanks to my mom for helping me figure out how to make them!

                                       

Then I made two pillow cases.  This project was from a "Learn to Sew" kit, so all I had to do was cut out the two pieces of fabric and sew them together.  Much easier than making pants once I figured out how to thread the machine properly!

Winter is Here?

I think winter finally decided to show up.  We actually have a few inches of snow on the ground, just in time for the winter sports season to be over :)  This morning it looked like we were going to have a blizzard, the wind was whipping and it was snowing hard, but now the sun is shining!  New Hampshire weather is a lot like Michigan weather, it can change in the blink of an eye.

My schedule has gotten much more hectic over the past few weeks.  I've started working in the library every morning as well as tutoring at night.  I'm much busier now than I have been since moving here!

I've been reading like crazy lately.  So far this year I've finished 13 books for a total of 4,800 pages!  I don't think I'll have any trouble reaching my goal of 40 book this year.  I'm currently reading the last book in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  The 1st book was hard to get in to, but about half way through I had a hard time putting it down.  The 2nd book (The Girl Who Played With Fire) was great.  It hooked me right at the beginning and I finished it in less than a week, and the final book is going good, I'll let you know my final opinion soon :)

I've definitely been slacking in the crochet world.  I've finished a few projects that are going to be gifts, so I'll post pictures once they have actually been given out.

This is our last week of school before March Break (our spring break comes early and we get a whole 22 days off!)!  We will be back in Michigan soon!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Wow I've been a terrible blog slacker.  I really have no excuse, except that I find it more entertaining to read other people's blogs than actually write my own.

This weekend is parent's weekend here at school.  I forget how loud the boys actually are until they are gone.  It was really quiet around here last night :)

One of my latest projects was making a Kindle case for myself.  I used this pattern.  I liked it for the most part.  I learned how to moss stitch, and I think I like this stitch.  I did have to make a few adjustments to the pattern.  I basically just had to make it wider and longer to fit my kindle (but this may be because I crochet very tightly!).  Also, when I stitched up the sides I turned it inside out, so when I turned it right side out the top is a little wider than the sides.  Oh well, for my first attempt it wasn't terrible.

I've also been experimenting with more monster hats.  I made two baby hats (6 month size) with ear-flaps and ties.  They were probably the best hats I've made so far, and I only took one crappy cell phone picture :(

But I've heard happy things from both babies (and their mamas)!  I was really worried about the size, since I've had two size failures so far, but they both fit great! 

I'm still debating about opening an Etsy store.  Not really sure if I want to pay a portion of all sales to Etsy, as well as a listing fee...

In other news, it's Super Bowl Sunday!  I'm excited to watch the commercials :)  It's pretty big news in these parts since the Pats are playing, but I'm secretly rooting for the Giants. 

Also, I'm going to make some cookie dough dip (don't worry, no raw eggs!)  and I'm pretty stoked to try it out.  I've been in a cookie mood lately.  I made cookie dough bites and chocolate chip cookies the other day... Good thing I've been running lately ;)

Crocheting

So I taught myself how to crochet using You Tube a few months ago.  Sometimes I feel like I am doing it all wrong, but things turn out (for the most part!).  One thing I need to work on is making sure my gauge is correct! 

I did spend a lot of time making hats and then taking them out.  Hats are tricky!  But I think I'm getting better. 

Current works in progress:  one more hat and scarf, then possibly attempting mittens and a new blanket for our apartment!

I'll leave you with pictures of what I've done so far and links to where I found the patterns:

 To make the flowers I used this pattern.  I just didn't pull the magic circle tight to leave a hole big enough to fit a button through.

 

This hat was based on this pattern, but remember that gauge thing I talked about earlier...yeah, when you actually use the right size yarn the pattern works amazing, but my yarn was way small, meaning i made quite a few hats before getting one that fit :)

 I made this pattern up myself.  Not too hard though :)

These cute monster hats came from this cool blog, but I modified them a little bit (larger size and the teeth are crochet, not felt).

I'm also having a lot of trouble with sizing of hats.  Every source I find has different information for head circumference and hat length.  It's pretty frustrating.  Any tips?