 |
| April in her elephant hat I made her. |
With the arrival of someone very new and special in my life, I was inspired to make something just as special and unique. My niece, April Sue, was born on July 28th and is owed a blog post of her own. I can't believe I haven't done it yet!
Anyway, back to my project! I thought about making April a blanket. There are so many cute blanket patterns out there. But after thinking about that quite a bit, I decided that all new babies are inundated with tons of blankets, to the point the many just don't get used. So I continued my hunt. That's when I stumbled onto the Josefina & Jeffery Elephant Rug Crochet Pattern by Ira Rott. I was awestruck. The photos of this rug were just incredible! It was so cute, I just couldn't help myself. I knew it would look perfect in their yellow, gray, and white nursery. I contacted Ira and offered to do a product review of her crochet pattern. To my delight, she said yes!
 |
| Seriously! Look at this thing! How could I NOT love it!? |
First off, let me just say that you can find this pattern and a zillion more adorable ones at
Ira Rott's website. This specific pattern can be found right here:
Elephant Rug Pattern. She also has a whole line of cute elephant things if you are looking to furnish a whole bedroom or nursery.
So off I went to the craft store to get my yarn. The pattern suggested using Red Heart Super Saver yarn- 8 skeins. I decided to use Caron One Pound yarn instead and needed 4 skeins (not counting a bit of whatever color you choose for the bow).
This pattern is made with a 9mm size M/N crochet hook and uses 3 strands of yarn held together the entire time.... That's right- THREE. At first the thought of working with 3 strands of yarn scared me, but the very first thing the pattern does is point you towards a tutorial that teaches you how to crochet with 3 strands of yarn, all from one skein! Say goodbye to tangles and knots. This was an awesome and easy technique to learn and I'm positive I'll use it again. One little note about using 3 strands of yarn held together- it is kind of a workout. I found that my hand and arm would get tired much more quickly compared to regular 1 or even 2 strand crocheting. But it is definitely worth it when you feel the thick, sturdy rug you are producing!
I was very impressed with the pattern. I found the instructions to be clear and easy to follow and even the look of the pattern itself is so cute! I loved the cheery colors, diagrams, photos, graphics... everything really. There's some serious talent behind this. The only place that I got at all confused was on the first ear. It was not the pattern's fault- it was mine. I was reading into it too much instead of just following the directions exactly as stated (repeating some things I shouldn't have been). After I realized what I was doing wrong and fixed it, it was smooth sailing. The diagram was extremely helpful at that point, too, because I could take a look at exactly what kind of stich was supposed to be where.
 |
| Here's what April thought of her rug! |
This rug is BIG! Almost 5 feet across. I looks amazing and everyone who I showed it too was so impressed. It would make for an awesome gift, but after you finish it you won't really want to give it away. It's just so cute. As I mentioned before, it's nice and thick. It is heavy and feels like it will withstand some abuse, though I don't think anyone will want to step on it- it's too cute. The ears are perfectly intricate and give this rug the perfect touch of fanciness. I love it.
I'd like to thank Ira Rott for the opportunity to make this rug and review this lovely pattern. It is truly a beauty!
Time for my pictures!
 |
| Well, what do you know?! Mine looks pretty much like the one in the picture! :) |
 |
| My completed rug and its new owner. I know she'll treasure it for years to come. |
 |
| Now that's a big rug! The 4 month old doesn't even take up an ear! |
Bryleigh has always had pretty thin, slow growing hair. It finally had gotten pretty long, and it only took 7 years. She's been begging for a haircut for a while now. She wanted a chin length cut, which scared me since it took so long to grow it out originally! I agreed that a cut was a good idea, but was able to talk her into a slightly-longer-than-shoulder-length cut. She has had a few very small trims in the past, but nothing more than an inch at a time.
I was very impressed with the pattern. I found the instructions to be clear and easy to follow and even the look of the pattern itself is so cute! I loved the cheery colors, diagrams, photos, graphics... everything really. There's some serious talent behind this. The only place that I got at all confused was on the first ear. It was not the pattern's fault- it was mine. I was reading into it too much instead of just following the directions exactly as stated (repeating some things I shouldn't have been). After I realized what I was doing wrong and fixed it, it was smooth sailing. The diagram was extremely helpful at that point, too, because I could take a look at exactly what kind of stich was supposed to be where.
My little sister is a full 40 weeks pregnant with her first little one today! We are all very anxiously awaiting his or her arrival. She's asked me to take pictures for them in the delivery room, so I've been staying close by the phone waiting for 'the call'. She called today to update me about this afternoon's doctor visit. When my caller ID showed her name, I got super excited and thought she must be in labor! She wasn't :/. I told her that she is now banned from calling me until she is actually in labor and that she may only text me or Facebook message me! I don't need that kind of false excitement in my life!
On July 8th, we threw a little shower for her and Joe. We made it a coed BaByQ and it was a blast. We played just a few games, a relay, which was wild and competeitive, the standard 'guess the mother's girth' game, and a challenging nursery rhyme triva game. 
Check out this photo of their wing development as of today! I can't believe how fast that start to feather out. All that feather makes for a lot of adorable jumping around and flapping, too. I just love to watch them run and play. It's like they are even surprised and impressed by their new abilities!
As disappointing as this all is, I've come up with a solution that will work for me and my family. We will be raising Jumbo Brown Coturnix Quail! I did MANY hours of research to prepare for this new adventure and feel prepared and ready to go. Quail are not mentioned as farm animals in our city's ordinance are are not specifially mentioned anywhere.
