Getting to Know You!

Andrew

Today's post is a derailment from the norm here at That Yarn Girl.  Today I want to talk to you about my wonderful husband, Andrew.  About 10 months ago, he lost his job.  He has been working tirelessly since then to start his own business.  For those of you who are currently running your own business, or trying to, you know how hard the start up can be.  Another roadblock you may be very familiar with is funding.  Funding is difficult at best to come up with for starting a business.  Luckily my husband is an internet hound and found a wonderful little site called Kickstarter.com.  Andrew, being the tech savvy guy that he is started his own project on Kickstarter and he is now in the process of fund raising for his business.

A man in uniform, am I right ladies?

Let me explain what he wants to do.  Andrew was lucky enough to serve two years in Thailand as a volunteer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and while he was there he developed a great love for the country and the people.  Upon returning to the States, he enlisted in the Utah National Guard in August 2001.  Only one short month later 9/11/01 happened and his world changed.  Andrew was deployed to Iraq in 2003. He served his country for six years in the National Guard and two years in the Inactive Ready Reserve.  Besides a deployment, Andrew had the opportunity to return to Thailand a couple of times with the military, which only solidified his love of the country, culture, and people.  With his service in the military, Andrew was able to attend Utah State University and graduate with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design.

What did all of that explanation have to do with Andrew's current endeavor of starting a business?  Simply this: Andrew is working to import home decor goods from Thailand.  In doing that he is working to create his own business, yes, but he is also working to improve the lives of the people he loves in Thailand.  Most of the business and factories he works with in Thailand are not wealthy folks running a business for pleasure.  For the most part the factories are run by exceptionally poor people who are trying to earn a living.  Some of the goods Andrew is hoping to import are hand made by the local Thai people.  I realize the big push right now is to have everything "Made in America," and I agree.  There is something that always enters my mind when I think of that, every person on this earth is a human being and with that comes the right to live comfortably.  I am not saying everyone in the world needs to become filthy rich, I am saying we have the ability to make someone else's life better.

Now for the good part!  You have taken the time to read this blog post, so please take the time to check out Andrew's Kickstarter project.  You can find it by clicking here.  If you have questions about what Kickstarter is or how it works, please check out Andrew's blog www.blueorchidimports.blogspot.com.

Thank you for your time and stay tuned for a wonderful little newborn project.  You will love it!

Little Monster

Fall is hat season for That Yarn Girl! For my loyal readers, do you remember the post about cute little Q?  He needed a "fuzzy" blanket because he had outgrown the one he already had.  Well, Q is back.  His awesome mom is doing something hat related for Christmas and needed four hats for Christmas.  Trust me, you will have an opportunity to see the hats for all four kids, but tonight is about Q and his monster hat.  So I started looking around for inspiration.  Here is the great thing about crocheting in this day and age: the internet!  Hooray for Google!  I have had so much luck finding almost any pattern I need.  So, thank you to those of you who have created patterns for almost everything.  I am working my way into pattern creation, but it is a slow move.  Stay tuned for a great hat pattern I have created.

For those of you who are interested in the pattern, you can find it here.  You will notice I changed it up, but only a little.

Monster Hat

Do you smell that?

Utah State!

As fall makes an appearance around our house, something happens to my husband. When we were first married, I was worried because I didn't smell what he did. Now I know what's coming and I am much less worried. This strange phenomena is particularly heightened around high schools. Andrew will turn to me sniffing the air and saying, "Do you smell that? It smells like football!"

When we married I was not an avid football fan. To be frank I didn't understand the game at all. After running offenses in the backyard, I have a basic knowledge and can actually follow the game now.

What does all this have to do with my blog, well I will tell you! I have tried out a new pattern from Playing Hooky designs and discovered it is perfect for football season. For two reasons, one it is a very warm hat and two the color scheme possibilities are perfect for showing team pride on game day!

Click here for a link to the pattern.

White Elephant

Oh, you are going to love this! One of the awesome ladies in my neighborhood asked me to make these hats for her as a family white elephant gift. Let me know what you think!

The Boy's Vest

Tonight's project comes to you from my little guy.  I have been on this kick lately of making baby girl clothes and realized I have not made many projects for boys, weird.  The truth is most patterns out there are cute for girls and kind of okay for boys. But I will work to improve that.  So here it is: the boy's sweater vest! 

As usual this is not my pattern, but if you would like it you can click here.  For those of you who crochet let me say the pattern says the small size is 2T-4T.  It is definitely more 4T.  It is huge on my son and he is roughly the size of a tank.

I do plan on making this project again with a few tweeks and hopefully I will achieve the right size fore my guy.  Enjoy!

Owls!

Pink Toddler

Yellow 6-12 Month

Tonight's project comes to you courtesy of my sweet neighbor.  She asked if I could make owl hats for her girls.  Of course I said yes.

No Black Center in the Eyes

 She sent me a picture of the hats she wanted and I lucked out and found the blog attached to the pictures.  On that great blog was the pattern! Yes!  Love that.  Without further ado - here is the link to the pattern.  The blog author asked for credit to be given to her for that pattern, and I am more than happy to do so.  For those of you who crochet out there, this is a quick project.  The best part?  They turn out super cute!  I did stray from the pattern a bit to create a larger size for a toddler, but I used the same premise presented in the pattern on the blog.  The major change is I did not use buttons for the eye centers.  I am not opposed to using them, I just didn't happen to have any at the house when I finished these.  The pink and yellow ones have black crocheted centers.

Christmas is coming!

As crazy as it is to think about Christmas, the truth is this: it is rapidly approaching.  You know there is a home decor item, an afghan, baby item, clothing. or just something new you want.  There is also that hard to shop for person on your list.  I may be able to help you with that also!  Crochet is so versatile something can be found for everyone!

Christmas is not just about the gifts - it is also about the decor!  Garlands, ornaments, tree skirts, and doilies.  The possibilities are endless.  Keep That Yarn Girl in mind as you begin your Christmas shopping lists!