Month: May 2018

Adventure Time BMO Doll

One of my favorite things about working the farmers market each summer are the many people I get to interact with and meet. People of all ages pop into my booth, most with something to add to my day. Many times there are compliments over my work. Other times there is kind critique, much that I take in thoughtfully to improve designs, set up, etc. My favorites though are always the ones who come in and decide to ask for a custom request. I absolutely love custom requests. They always tell so much about a person! What their interests are, why they are gifting a certain item to another close friend… That one little inside joke you’re let in on. The gift that says more about their love language or that little plushie that acts as a special comfort tool. All custom requests are fun for me. I have yet to find one that hasn’t inspired me in one way or another.

One day last summer a teenage boy nervously approached my booth asking me to make this Adventure Time BMO doll. He was so shy. His body language seemingly shouted, “Will she think I’m weird asking for this doll???” I didn’t. Everybody has their own interests and I knew some of mine were a lot crazier than that of an Adventure Time fan! Ha! The biggest thing understood though was how it felt to be a fan of something, and wanting something to deeply reflect on said interest.

Naturally I was enthusiastic to take on the challenge. I knew BMO wasn’t going to be the easiest to make and would require a lot of pieces, but I was determined to make it work. I really wanted to make a fan of the show happy, so I got to work. In less than a week a pattern was written out and BMO was finished. The teenage boy met me at my booth bright and early that weekend for his BMO doll and he was no longer nervous but elated with joy over my creation. His grin could be seen from miles away! He kept in touch with me after that and enthusiastically rattled off multiple other fan favorites I could create in the future. Anytime I can bring a nervous kid out of his shell is such an awesome feeling! The best part of crocheting is giving away the creation and seeing the happiness it brings.

And so here today I offer the totally free Adventure Time BMO pattern so that it can be passed on and shared with other fans of the show!

Continue reading Adventure Time BMO Doll

Baxter The Squirrel

Back in the days of renting my husband and I found ourselves in an older home built in the late 1800s. It was a cozy little place with all of the cute little nooks and crannies that often times bring charm to older homes. As with many rental homes, however, came quirks as well. One of those quirks were hidden holes in our walls leading to outside, as our landlord had failed to repair portions of the house before we moved in. Much to our surprise, we quickly discovered that we were not the only tenants of the house, but rather, a wild squirrel had previously claimed ownership of the place! That squirrel was quite the character with a big attitude and seemingly large annoyance with us being his new roommates. The squirrel became so much a part of living at that house that we affectionately named him “Baxter”.  Every now and then we’d hear a scurrying sound in our attic or walls. We knew it was Baxter.  Occasionally he would pop up from the outside of our house and hit our windows as if to say, “Hey! Get out! I was here first!” and always came a big startle from such occurrence! It was crazy how much this squirrel really began to test our limits. If ever I put a plant outside, he’d quickly dig it up. Every single morning while my husband left for work there would be a chatter from the trees above. My husband would look up and there Baxter would be, angrily waiting and throwing nuts at him! Sometimes he even hit him!

Despite numerous calls and complaints to our landlord, no fix ever came to keep this squirrel out of our living space. The last straw came when we arrived home and found our loyal orange tabby cat staring a hole into our kitchen cabinets. No matter what we did, he refused to leave the strange stare down he was having. Soon we figured out why. There was a crash from inside one of the cabinets and in no time it was very apparent that Baxter had found another way into our house! Luckily, we moved out a week later and gave up the house to Baxter, opting to buy and thoroughly inspect a new home instead. While at the time it was a very stressful and frustrating situation, we can now look back and it all and laugh at how ridiculous it was. Because of this outlandish tale, the inspiration of a new creation came to be. So I present to you Baxter the Squirrel.  Continue reading Baxter The Squirrel