Summer Birthday Presents

I try to make lists and I do take pictures but I'm finding these posts to be helpful in keeping track of what I made and when. So I decided a birthday post would be worth while. I"m posting it at the end of July because the box will be long gone and I'll have had to start work on the crazy fall schedule of a fall birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. It all creeps up so fast.

Jeremy Fisher

I'm continuing to add more Beatrix Potter characters and books to the October birthday pile. Up next we have The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

This pattern is part of the supplement from Simply Crochet issue 110. You can purchase this edition of the digital magazine here.

I've gotten used to looking for yarn substitutes first because I've been trying to keep my amis smaller than many of the suggested sizes and secondly in this case the UK yarns aren't always readily available here in the US.

It is also a great chance for me to work through my stash rather than buying more yarn. For this project I used a combination of Hobby Lobby's acrylic sport yarn and A.C. Moore's now discontinued house sport brand to get the colors I needed for the project. I used a D hook for all items except the coat. I started with the D but found the coat was too small. The coat had a much better fit when made with the sport yarn and an F hook.

Bottle Carrier

We are starting to return to outdoor activities and I am remembering that even prior to COVID more places had restrictions on bringing bags into places. I understand the restrictions but one thing I miss about our backpack to carry our stuff was the water bottle holders on the side of the pack. Whether you can bring water in or you have to buy your water at the venue I still can't finish a bottle on opening. I like being able to walk around an hydrate as necessary. I tend not to finish a bottle if I have to carry it for long in my hands.

On our first longer outing in the heat this issue came back to me. At home I can have as much water as I want so hydration hasn't been an issue. However walking around outside seeing the sites recently I realized just how much I missed my backpack with its drink holders.

When I came home I was thinking about a solution to my challenge and my husband mentioned drink holders I had made for family members for Christmas a few years back. I pulled up the blog posts for information and sure enough back in 2017 I'd made a bunch for Christmas gifts. The pattern comes from All About Cotton Leisure Arts (7055) and along with the bottle pattern I've made several of the kitchen and bath items. One of the things I love about this blog is it does remind me of what I made and where to find the patterns I used.

I've been on a kick to use up yarn I have on hand so this carrier is made with Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn, Hippi that I had on hand as I tend to stock up on the larger sized Bernat Cotton when I can find it on sale. Therefore when I go hunting in my stash I can almost always find one color from that brand.

This pattern worked up for me according to directions without changes. I'm working on a second one for myself and I'm thinking of a longer handle so I can wear it like a cross purse rather than a shoulder purse just to give myself a little more support. I'll post it when finished.

These easily fold and can be carried in my purse when not in use. You can see through them and they really only have room for the bottle so they satisfy the requirements of most of the outdoor venues we plan to visit so I'm pleased with my project.