Hello everyone! I’ve been so busy working on crochet projects for friends all around the globe. I never realized how truly time-consuming it is to crochet, until pregnancy! Wow. I feel some serious fatigue from it but at the same time I enjoy it SO much.

The above picture is an owl mobile/decoration that I made for my friend Wendy. She just had a son a few weeks ago and I wanted to make her little boy something special for his room.

The owl expressions are something I had in mine like…

1. “hoot hoot! So
HAPPY!

2. “HUH?! Bed time?

3. Good night!

Ever since I posted this picture on instagram (anniegurumi) and WeChat, it’s been a hit! I got some people who want to pay me for a mobile. (Thankfully, since shipping anywhere but China is pretty expensive)

Currently, I’m working on another owl set, this time with a lavender theme for a Weddingbee friend in Australia. She’s having a little girl in April and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t read my blog so it’s safe to post it here! She offered to pay me or buy me things in Australia for our baby. I’m very excited to finish this mobile, my plan is to have it with some flowers and leaves on a vine that holds it up.

I’ve had always had trouble with sewing and embroidery. No matter what I do, it seems that it is always crooked or just doesn’t look right. It wasn’t until the owl mobile for Wendy that my embroidery got better! The above pictures are the eyes I made for the purple owls. It looks pretty good right? After a few more projects, I might upload a video on how to do this.

Anyone interested?

I hung up the pictures from my shower, I think they look pretty nice on the wall instead of the bookshelf. It makes me so happy how color it is and how everything is mostly handmade. The hubs and I don’t want to buy too many electronic toys that have bright lights and sounds. But who knows, maybe that’ll change once we have him but we want to keep things simple. We’ve been asking friends to buy clothes or books instead.

I cleared a dresser and we’re planning on using it as a changing area for Boram. The hubs suggested I make another mobile to hang up so he can look up and be a little distracted while we change the diaper. He loves all my crocheted items and he prefers them over bought mobiles. Awww, isn’t he so sweet?

Boram loves music, he kicks so much when I play piano that I think he’s dancing in my belly. It makes me smile, I sing and play, enjoying my time with the baby in my stomach. Loving every single moment of this pregnancy and feeling so happy.

Whoa. That was a long entry. But yes, I’ve been a bit busy but doing well! I had a little moment where I really got homesick and missed my friends back in America. But I know they’re always here for me, even if it’s through email/text/FaceTime. 

I’ve been working on a crochet star mobile for Boram and was having a difficult time deciding what colors to use. I ended up using a bright blue and a pale yellow. It matches the sunshine mobile I made already and the beautiful blanket my NCMC girls made for our little boy.

Not to shabby eh? It turned out nicely, I added a brown ribbon on top to hide the knot that I made to hang the stars. It won’t hang over the crib, more likely next to the crib instead. But it’ll still look nice in the room, I think. Plus it’s stars, I love stars…

So we ordered a crib from Ikea and it got delivered yesterday! They assembled it and we put it in our room for now (first few months till midnight feedings aren’t so frequent). I just love the color of it!

I couldn’t resist putting some things around it to make it feel more like a real baby “area”. I’m planning on hanging the sunshine mobile on the wall, above the crib. I also think I’ll be taking the framed pictures and putting them on the wall around the mobile. I hope it works out, even if it doesn’t… I can redo it once we move Boram into his own room! 

What do you think?? Doesn’t it look great?

And today I had lunch with the fabulous, Kristin of Donuts to Dumplings. She is a fellow expat from NY who lives in Shanghai and we had the best time getting to know one another and eating delicious Cantonese food. It was fun to talk about our experiences here and how much we love Shanghai. So happy to meet you today girl! 

Right when I got home, I saw a package was addressed to the hubs, Boram and I! It was from Elyse, Brad and their daughter Estella. They spoil us with so many things and while they were visiting in Hawaii, they sent us some aloha love for our baby. So sweet. Mahalo guys!!!!

I suppose now would be a good time to go organize our place a little. It looks a little like a tornado passed through because I was trying to rearrange stuff so that our home is ready for the baby. Ok, well… very SLOWLY, which is why it’s so messy! haha

Hope everyone has a great weekend! 

I really want to write about our trip to Taiwan but I wanted to share a project that I just finished! I made a beret based on the Urban Jungle pattern I found on Ravelry. I didn’t go as deep as they recommended and it looks more like a beret than a slouchy hat. (Which I also love).

I made a similar hat for my friend S before I left for Shanghai. It’s a heavy beret, hopefully to keep a loved one’s head warm for the fall and winter. It isn’t too difficult of a pattern if you’re good at puff/shell stitches and since crochet is very forgiving, it should be a lot of fun to make!

Now my question to you is:

Yay or Nay?

I think it’s absolutely a YAY and I probably would wear it all the time if a friend made it for me. I actually made this one for my Chinese teacher and I’ll have to get a pic of her wearing it today. 

I used yarn that my friend Serena bought me from Soho and it’s just gorgeous! The colors are incredible and makes for a cute hat, especially when you’re wearing something simple. 

Thinking about making these for a few close girlfriends for Christmas but I’m not sure they’ll like it.

What do you think? Would you wear something like this? And if so… what color/colors?

I started crocheting again! I’m starting to make things for the little kids in my life and hopefully these will all be Christmas gifts.

Everything that I have made are my own patterns. I draw a sketch and then I try to make it. That’s what I did for the angry bird hats. Those are for my nieces: Claire and Aerin. The bro sent me an email months ago that had an angry bird hat. I told him that I’d make his babies some as soon as I can figure it out. Luckily, it’s simple shapes so it was pretty easy to make. (though, time-consuming)

I started making my owl hats again and decided to leave out the ear flap and braids on most of them. So, I guess it’s more of a bird hat. Do you see the teal owl hat with braids? That’s for my niece Zoe!

I’m also in the process of making some despicable me hats too! I know some of my friends kids love it so I’m going to give it a try. I’ll probably draw a sketch and then make it.

What other animals and cartoon characters should I make? I don’t want anything too complicated since there are so many babies I need to make things for.

What do you think of what I made so far? Is anyone else working on things?

Before I flew to the states, I was actively making crocheted things as gifts for my three nieces: Claire, Aerin and Zoe.
The above picture is a kimono style jacket that I made for Claire. It’s pink with green edges and I really hope at some point I can get a picture of her wearing it. It took me about a month to make it and I was thinking it would be a good layering piece, plus it’s short sleeved so she can wear it even in the spring and summer.

I made this dress for both Aerin and Zoe. The ribbons tie on the shoulder so it’s adjustable and the ribbon can easily removed. I did this without a pattern and eyeballed it. I had the thought that they could remove the ribbons as they get taller and turn it into a skirt. I love the color of the cotton yarn and it almost has a vintage feel. Love it!

I made ponchos for all the girls. I also eyeballed this and had so much fun making them. What is it about miniature things that are so adorable? Oh yeah, it’s because it’s tiny! Haha I made this yellow and white one with Sugar n’ Cream cotton yarn. I made this one for Claire since she looks great in bright colors.

I made two ponchos in this multi-colored yarn for Aerin and Zoe. I figured it is an easy layering piece that can be thrown over what they are wearing to keep warm.

And look how adorable Z looks in it! I hope C and A like it as much!
I bought all three girls a bunch of dresses from Shanghai. My BFF got so excited about them and had Zoe try them on right away! She looked so adorable in them so we took pictures. If you happen to be my FB friend, you saw the pics yesterday.

I have to say that I’ve been feeling great staying with the BFF. She always makes me feel so appreciated, loved and I just love her daughter! I can’t believe how happy Zoe is all the time and Z seems to really take a liking to me.

I’m definitely getting recharged, nothing like a good week with the BFF to make everything in the world right again.

However, I am jet lagged. I keep falling asleep during the day and now I’m up at 5am. Lol

What do you think of the things I made? Thumbs up? I hope.

there may be some serious spelling and grammar errors. I’m writing from my phone and I’m under the influence of jet lag!

I’ve been working on a project everyone! There are music things happening and now I’m on a mission for my “anniegurumi” projects. I’m designing a line of amigurumi after my Chinese lessons. I thought it would be fun to incorporate different feelings in Chinese as inspiration for my dolls. This little guy’s name is 困 (pinyin: kun) pronounced “coon” like cocoon. 困 is the character for “sleepy”. So I made him with his eyes closed and striped arms and legs. 

Since I’m making these dolls from scratch, I drew a picture of what I want him to look like. I wanted him to have a pear shaped body and the small part of the pear to be his face. I wanted a yawning face with his eyes closed. 

I made his legs in alternating colors!

I made the body and I was quite please with how it turned out. I wanted his legs and arms to be striped but opposite of each other. 

The hubs thought it would be cute to have really long arms and the stripes to be thinner. So that’s what I did! I also wanted the arms and leg long since I want a child to be able to hold him easily if they are walking around. Isn’t he adorable? I’m planning on making him a hat like my picture but I couldn’t wait to share him with you!

I love 困 and can’t wait to work on the other “feeling” anniegurumi. If you’re wondering why I call them anniegurumi, it’s because it’s a play on words. Annie making amigurumi (the Japanese art of crocheted dolls). Enjoy! 困 sends sweet dreams to all of you! ZZzzZZzzZZzzZzzZZzzz

• anniegurumi: Chinese Feeling Amigurumi Dolls: 爱 Ai, Love

W was telling me he really disliked the tissue boxes they sell in the store because they look cheap. Ha! I swear he is not a normal guy. He was even saying how he wants to buy a cover for the boxes so the boxes don’t show. 

I took some yarn we already had and with the tissue box in hand, I crocheted rows for the top of the box and every now and then checking to see the length and width was fine. I made a giant button hole in the center to let the tissue pass through and then I continued on and finished the top. 

Once the top rectangle was finished, I put a single crochet border around the whole edge. Then I put another single crochet around the whole edge except this time I used only the back loops so it would give a little crease. Then I just crocheted all around through both loops until it was the it covered the entire box. All stitches I used were single crochet because I didn’t want any of the box to show through the stitches. 

You could alternatively make each side separately and sew all the edges but I am so lazy. Plus this didn’t turn out bad at all and it adds a little craftiness to our home. I think I’m going to make a few more in different colored yarns that goes with our bathrooms, bedrooms and maybe I’ll remake this one in a different yarn but I think it’s cute. We’ll see!

I’m feeling a lot better since the last time I wrote. The stomach flu is one of the most terrible things (aside from having ulcers) I ever had to go through. I can’t believe I’m saying this but it is more terrible than having a migraine and those were so awful for me. I think being in China, I’m exposed to different germs than the USA so I have to be even more cautious about washing my hands and not touching my nose. Luckily the hubs took really good care of me and I think I’ll make a post of what I did to feel better during the stomach flu.

Hope everyone has a great start to the week and hope you enjoyed my little tissue box.  

Elyse and her husband Brad came to visit Shanghai the past few days and since Elyse loves elephants, I made her an anniegurumi! I used the Lion Brand Elephant pattern but I was a little sad that the eyes weren’t exactly even. I put it on like I do with any other amigurumi using the same row but it wasn’t straight when I finished. But I adjusted the elephant by tugging here and there and then the eyes were even again. 

The elephant from the side is so cute. I just love his gigantic ears and his round body. I really wanted to make a green colored one since it has meaning for E but I couldn’t find any green that I like so I figured a pink elephant is just as cute!

Perhaps this little guy is in search of peanuts? Too bad I only have peanut butter at our place.

Look at his tail. I want to squeeze him!

We had a great time with both E&B in Shanghai. We took them to a traditional Shanghainese meal, hot pot, relaxing foot massages, The Chocolate World Wonderland Exhibit in Shanghai and we ate A LOT. It was so nice having them here because we miss friends from home. I’ve been feeling a little out of touch with my friends from home since everyone is so busy. I rarely hear from anyone anymore and although it makes me sad, that’s life! It’s a busy time with babies, work and life. It’s a bit crazy how fast time is moving along… in a week or so, we’ve been here for three months. Wow! But I really do love it here.

Oh my deliciousness! I love bakeries, I am so addicted to them. When I say bakeries, I should specify. I love Asian bakeries. Why you ask? Well, they tend to be less sweet than the traditional American or French bakeries so that means in my head I can eat more. (Which isn’t true at all but I like my baked goods on the less sweet side) There are many bakeries in Shanghai: 85 degrees, marco polo, Lillian Cake Shop (Best Portuguese egg custards!) and so on.

Seriously, look at how happy I am here at 85 degrees. I can’t decide what I want. That’s because I want to eat everything! EVERYTHING! Not only do they offer cheap snacking: delicious buns, cakes, puddings but they also have drinks to quench your thirst. Iced teas, hot teas, coffees, cappuccinos and the menu just seems endless. Most bakeries are very similar to this.

This is another bakery in Huangpu where we had breakfast. We both got the coffee which was made fresh, individually using a press! I think that’s the only way I will drink coffee, otherwise I almost always have some kind of tea. I dislike drip coffee and I try not to drink coffee since I get a headache if I skip a day. But this coffee was heavenly and there was this amazing froth on top. I wish I remember what the name of the place was, it has slipped my mind but I remember it starts with a Q. Mostly because when we went in, I immediately thought of my friend Qing (from NCMC) because her name starts with a Q. Sigh, I miss my friends.

This is another pastry I tried and it was called pizza bread. Yup, that’s about right… tomato sauce, cheese and veggies. It was surprisingly delicious and tasted like a homemade pizza. If you know me, you know how much I love pizza and how I miss NYC pizza so much. Thankfully there is a place in Shanghai that I like so much thanks to my friend Kin. I blogged about it here. I had a milk tea with tapioca balls. I forgot my lactaid so I had a tummy ache and I was left wondering how my fellow Asians seems to do fine without the lactaid. So lucky…

There is a Hong Kong diner chain that is popular not only in HK but also Shanghai. Tsui Wah is one of our favorite places to eat and you bet your bottom dollar that I get baked stuff there too. It is definitely one of the more expensive eats in Shanghai but comparable to US Chinatown prices. I suggest going to the local bakery chains instead of Tsui Wah but sometimes a girl just can’t resist!

One of my favorite drinks at Tsui Wah is the Korean pomelo. It’s a little sweet, has lots of pulp and is extremely refreshing on a hot day. Though, it’s not really all that hot these days being that it’s November now. But when we first got here I was always thirsty and hot. This is for one person but it could easily be for two people.

Since we’re talking about drinks, I have to mention Happy Lemon. It’s a chain that I’ve seen everywhere, including Hong Kong. I love their lemon-green tea. It’s a little tart and I love that little winking face. Happy Lemon means happy Annie! There are tons of places that have drinks, not only in bakeries but stand alone stores. I’ve seen some vendors serving drinks for 2 RMB which is 31 cents USD. However, this drink here is about 7 RMB which is around $1.10 USD. I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either. Who needs Starbucks, when you have Happy Lemon?

Remember earlier I mentioned Lillian Bake Shop? Well, W and I went upon the suggestion of my Weddingbee friend May. We went right around my birthday in June and she was right, it was SO GOOD. These are Portuguese egg tarts which have the most buttery, flakey crust and cheese on top. It sounds totally weird but I assure you, the cheese is smooth and a bit sweet and compliments the smooth custard underneath. Definitely worth the trip, take away only at the location I went to. I wonder if the other locations are take away as well.

And I can’t leave without letting you guys know that my favorite thing to do at the bakeries that have seating is to work on my crochet projects. It’s relaxing to have a snack, some tea and listen to my music while crocheting. I’ve been listening to Adele’s latest album and my-oh-my she is insanely talented. Sigh, I miss music…

What are your favorite snacks?

Don’t judge me!

The most exciting thing about moving is deciding what home decor you want. When do you really get an opportunity to pick out new things? Though we’re moving into a furnished apartment, I would like to add a bit of my craft stuff around the home. I’ve been looking on Ravelry and my trusty Google Reader for inspiration.

Attic24 Blooming Flower

I absolutely love anything Attic24 does. I especially love the Blooming Flower Cushion that she makes. I’m not sure what colors our living room will be but I’m thinking this would be a great to add a bit of personality to our home. If I feel brave enough, I’ll make two! She also has such beautiful blankets and throws… perhaps I’ll add that to our sofa as well.

Curtain Ties

I don’t know if I am adventurous enough to make my own curtains. It’s more likely I’ll buy curtains or probably our apartment will have curtains there already. Wouldn’t it be lovely to add these to make your windows a bit special? I do love crocheting flowers and this seems easy enough to do while looking so pretty.

Table Runner

 I just love this table runner. I am pretty sure this would look good on any table and now that it’s winter, it’ll be cute and festive. I wouldn’t mind making some place mats as well. I did try to make some place mats but I lost count and unravelled a million times. When I make some I’ll be sure to use a stitch marker (which is key in crochet) and mark off the rows. I have a bad habit of “winging” it.

Fruit Bowl

Wouldn’t a gigantic bowl of crocheted fruit be nice on top of the table runner? I know W would laugh so much if I actually made this but then I’d tell him these fruits would never give us fruit flies! I haven’t made fruit yet but I have made chicken drumsticks for our cousin’s baby shower and it was a huge hit.

What are your favorite things in your home? Any tips for us and our new decorating adventures?