crochet octopus dog toys

Matt and Kaela were at Camp BigStuf this week so I had some time on my hands.

After working in the yard, I met a friend at Starbucks.
While we visited, we both worked on projects and I made a couple toys for Ginger and Mojo. I wanted something they could play tug of war or fetch with so made an octopus without stuffing.


They LOVE them. Mojo carries one around, sleeps with it and then dumps it in my lap when he wants to play.


Ginger carried the other one around for about 10 minutes


and then promptly set out to shred it! I had to intervene so it would survive a few more days.

I love it when my fur babies are happy!

finished...

Dean took a picture of the entire front yard from the street this morning....it looks so pretty. Hard work does pay off.



We finished the backyard too. We just needed to do some cleanup and replant things we brought from the front.

Sheri gave me some agapanthus a few years ago so we put them in a spot and babied them....then we bought a few more, divided them all and created this bed.



Bunbun was a gift from my other sister, Page...doesn't she look lovely here!



Chanticleer looks quite handsome next to our rosemary.
The tray on his head is for birdseed but the birds use him as a teeny birdbath instead. They sit in the gardenias and take turns.

Our gardenias were about 8 feet tall so after they finished blooming, we chopped them back by half.

I managed to get a nice bowl full of the last gardenia blooms...and the house smells heavenly.


Remember this post? Oh my gosh how gorgeous our yard was.
Sadly, we had to remove the lattice because of the willow tree we planted a couple years ago.
I really missed my wildflowers so I devoted this corner bed to them. I had saved a huge envelope of seeds and planted them yesterday.
I can't wait to see all the blooms with my angel in amongst them. It sounds silly but I know this will be my favorite part of the yard.

Other than a few touches, we are pretty much done. We have a few plants we haven't put back in the ground yet. We are holding them back and waiting to see if the plants we divided survive. If they do, I'll have more to share. Now maybe this week, I can get a little crafting done.

Hoping you all have a happy week....

"If a person cannot love a plant after he has pruned it, then he has either done a poor job or is devoid of emotion."
Liberty Hyde Bailey

yard work

After my sisters came for a visit, Dean and I decided to rework our yard.
I was embarrassed because we ALWAYS have a pretty yard but had just let it go this last year. The grass here is so tough, it just takes over everything, including the beds. Plus, everything we planted did so well that it became overgrown. (Click on the photos to enlarge)

We put the deer grass on the left by the garage, it has lovely pink flags in fall and will look lovely there....plus, it can get as big as it wants to and won't be in the way.

I brought the birdbath I did in front for a pop of color.


We cut back, divided and replanted our roses. I pulled up some other plants and moved them to the back where I'll replant them later this week.

Benjamen Bunny was moved up front from the backyard. He was a gift from my sisters years ago when we lived in Fort Worth. They also gave me a rooster, Chanticleer, but he is staying in the back yard...you'll meet him later.

Dean put our bench in this bed to get it out of the way while we were working but the kids insisted it stay here, saying they'll use it when waiting for the bus.
I think Matt just wanted it off the grass so he won't have to move it when mowing!


On the porch, I recovered the bistro chairs. Sadly, the fabric I used two years ago was discontinued so I used this one instead. You can't tell by the photos, but it ties in really well with the roses planted right by the porch.

This weekend we are prepped to finish the backyard...and then we are done!

Crochet Piggies!

This month for Make It Monthly, I made a "Pass The Piggies" game set. It turned out SO cute!

If you are interested in making your own set, here is the link to the free pattern by Roman Sock. Just a note about the piggies. I used a pattern by June at Planet June and I made the ears a little differently from her pattern)
I'm not sure this game will actually LEAVE our house.....I may have to make another set!


Since I was making piggies, I also made this cutie for May's toy drop and dropped it outside the mall on a bench earlier in the week.

Have a great weekend!

time for crochet...

The last couple of months have been really busy. We've had several end of school activities and inductions to attend for both kids.
I spent a lot of down time after work in the car waiting for them but I spent that time reading.
I didn't have much time to create any large projects but did manage a few small ones.

I made two crocheted cell phone covers for some teacher friends of mine


and a coffee cozy....

I'm hoping this summer I'll have enough time to do at least one large project....maybe this starling bag from Future Girl?

Mosaic Monday

The last couple of weekends, we've been working in our front yard.
Everything we planted 5 years ago has overgrown the space we put them in and it was time to divide things and rearrange our plantings in general.
So far, it looks really good but has left me little time or energy for any crafting or posting.

When I was rummaging around for garden stuff, I decided that Frank and Rosie Potter had lived on a shelf way too long and put them out on the fence with Guido. I made them several years ago when I was still doing art/craft shows. (click on the photo to enlarge for better viewing)

Happily, squirrels don't eat monkey grass so my little trio is safe from being scalped.

new angel

We used to a have a beautiful cherub birdbath that we moved from place to place with us. Over the years, it got knocked around so much that we gave it away when we moved here. Dean was relieved...that thing weighed about 300 pounds.

Once we got settled in, we both regretted it... (don't you ALWAYS!) and have been looking for something to replace it ever since.

Lucky for me, when my sisters were here a few weeks ago, I found this...



Isn't she perfect? And best of all, she only weighs about 50 pounds.

Now we just need to finish this corner of the yard to show her off properly...