Thursday, December 30, 2010

Random Nag Facts

So, since I'm getting back into the blogging swing of things, I thought it would be a good idea to join Amy at {The Idea Room} and her {Getting to Know You Party}. So, here's a few tidbits about me.

**I'm the oldest of four kids all born within five years. Shocker, right? It's not like you knew about Megan? :) We grew up all over the place because of the military, our Dad going to school and job transfers. The six of us (including our parents) are pretty close because we always lived so far away from extended family. We have a great time together and I know I'm insanely lucky to be a big sister to three awesome, intelligent and down-to-earth people. I'm proud to be their sister.

**The blog name comes from nicknames Meg and I gave each other growing up. Meg is as stubborn as they come and I have a tendency to push things over and over again. With these personality traits, we then saw {A League of Their Own} with Geena Davis and Tom Hanks. The sisters in the movie call each other 'Mule' and 'nag' and when we saw that we started to laugh because that's totally us--- except for the whole professional baseball, WWII thing.

**I am a serious sports fanatic. I've played basketball since third grade and I will never get tired of the swish noise from a made shot. After all the moving around, we ended up in St. Louis during my high school years and, as a result, I LOVE the St. Louis Cardinals. To the point that when my husband and I were dating I had to take him to a game in order to see if he'd at least tolerate it... just my luck it ended up being a pitcher's duel.**Also in high school, I caught the theatre bug. My best friend convinced me to try out for a couple of plays and I loved it. As a result, in college I minored in Theatre Studies with an emphasis in Theatre Education. I still get goosebumps when I go to the theatre. This picture is Ash & I as {The Call sisters} in our last play Senior year. It wasn't too hard for us to do. :)
**I majored in Elementary Education. I was able to teach pre-kindergarten for a year before I had my son---also known as my little knight.

**Speaking of the previously-mentioned best friend, she is one of the few people in the world that knows the whole me and still loves me anyway. It's nice to have a relationship like that, outside of your family. Even though she's really family--but that's the next fact. We went to school together, got married a year apart, and even had our first kiddos 3 months apart. She read a lot and you can check her out at: {Ashwey Reads A Lot}. (see, I wasn't kidding).

**I also love to read, but I don't read nearly as much as Ash. I don't think anyone can. My favorites include: Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments series, Hunger Games trilogy, Artemis Fowl and Twilight.

**While at Brigham Young University (where we went to school), Ash introduced me to this crazy guy that I can never stop thinking about, luckily, he's my husband. The two of them are actually second cousins once-removed and didn't meet until a few months before she introduced the two of us. We've been together for almost SEVEN years (what the what!) and he's seriously fantastic. I got lucky enough to find a guy that never really got into sports, so I was able to teach him all I know. And, in return, he's able to show me how the world really functions (he's a mechanical engineer).

**I love chocolate and peanut butter. best. duo. ever. (Besides the two goofs in the above picture)

**I'm a member of {The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints}. I have come to know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind. With His help, we can all live forever with Him, our Heavenly Parents, and our families. How sweet is that?

**My husband and I have two kiddos, a boy and girl, exactly 18 months apart. They are so intense right now, especially since our Princess is now a toddler. I love the new things Knight says to me each day and I'm so excited to see them grow.

**I'm a closet Titanic collector and enthusiast. It all started with a book report in the third grade (a lot happened then) and I get irked when people think it's because of the James Cameron movie.

**I love to create. But isn't that why my sister and I have this blog?

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Recommitting because....

Santa listened....
I got a Silhouette.

Thankfully, Megan's been more than willing to show off her amazing creations. I feel like such a slacker... but just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been crafting.

I even made myself a huge list of things to do before Christmas and... guess what... I completed the whole thing.

So--- in other words--- have a few things to post about. If there are still faithful readers out there... stay tuned...

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas Presents

Now that Christmas has come and gone, I can now post pictures of the items I made as gifts. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I'm also glad that they liked them so much! It was also an interesting experience since I had to make two gifts of the gifts completely before leaving for break. The other one I had to have the body ready to finish when I got home. Boy, did my fingers hurt.

This gift was for my Mother. She mentioned something to me some day that she would like crocheted chilies. I guess she forgot because she was completely surprised. It now hangs on the shelves in the living room.

To be honest, I've always wanted to make something KC Chiefs related for my Dad. I was always worried though because they weren't doing so hot in the past. I figured he would say something like, 'Oh, this is cool. Too bad they suck.' I'm glad they're doing well. A part of me wishes that I had the time to do in single crochet stitches instead of double. Oh well. He still liked it.

My siblings and I would love to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles together when we were younger. We even had one of them as a 'pseudo name' since there was four of us and them. My older brother was Raphael; and he has continued to be his favorite of the four since. I really like how he turned out. I may have to make the other three. ;)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmas Tree Star Topper Pattern

Christmas Tree Star Topper Pattern

Size G Hook (4.25 mm)
1 skein Red Hart Super Saver or worsted weight yarn
Polyfil Stuffing
Pipe Cleaners (for the stand)

Abbreviations:
sc - single crochet
st - stitch
tog - together
dec - decrease

Main Part (make 2):
*MAR* (magic adjustable ring)
Rnd 1: 6 sc into ring (6)
Rnd 2: 2 sc into every st (12)
Rnd 3: *1 sc for 1 st, 2 sc into next stitch* (18)
Rnd 4: *1 sc for 2 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (24)
Rnd 5: *1 sc for 3 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (30)
Rnd 6: *1 sc for 4 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (36)
Rnd 7: *1 sc for 5 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (42)
Rnd 8: *1 sc for 6 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (48)
Rnd 9: *1 sc for 7 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (54)
Rnd 10: *1 sc for 2 sts, 2 sc into next stitch* (60)
**END (Cut the first one ONLY.)

Points of Star (5 total):
*Take both circles that you've made. Put the wrong sides together.
Rnd 1: 12 sc one one circle, 12 sc on the other circle (24)
Rnd 2 - 3: 1 sc around (24)
Rnd 4: *1 sc for 1 st, 2 st tog (dec)* (16)
Rnd 5 - 7: 1 sc around (16)
Rnd 8: 2 st tog around (8)
Rnd 9: 1 sc (8)
**END. Weave in end to point.

This should make a star that is approximately 5" tall. This hasn't been tested except for me making my own as I went along. If you have any questions leave a comment and I'll get back to you a.s.a.p. You can make this for personal use only. Thank you!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Umbrella Kanzashi



Here's a new kanzashi. I recently made a shirt and a skirt for my sewing class. I finally got the shirt back and can wear the two together like they were made to be. =) I decided that I needed something for my hair to put it all together nicely. The skirt is made from the umbrella fabric and the shirt the tan fabric. Both pieces also have the same ribbon on it; while the shirt has the same buttons on it. Like the other headband creations I have made this to be able to go onto another ribbon or small headband. What do you think? Should I post the whole thing together when I wear it on Sunday? ;)