Goldbug and other crafts

We've really been crazy about Goldbug around here lately.  For Christmas we got Kale Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, because he loves cars, trucks and all things that go.

But, turns out, that while he does love all of the diggers, dumpers, motorcycles, etc. in the book, his favorite part of the book is Goldbug.

He is hidden somewhere on each page, sometimes driving his own little vehicle, other times with just his tiny gold eyes peeking out from somewhere.  And, I kid you not, this baby can find him every time!  It is pretty darn funny to see.

So, the other day I made him this tiny little Goldbug of his own.  It's needle felted, and tiny, so it only took about 15 minutes. Wylie has been hiding it for Kale to find, and we've all enjoyed setting Goldbug up in funny little places.  The kids want me to make Kale a bigger Goldbug to sleep with at night, but I think half of the appeal is his tininess.  We'll see.

Unrelated,  I've also recently finished some long awaited projects:

I've been thinking about how to knit a brimmed hat for a while, and came up with this.  I basically knit a regular hat, folded the ribbing in front, and picked up stitches for the bill.  I knit the bill with two strands of yarn together, on the same size needle, to make it a bit more stiff.  I'm thinking of maybe sewing in a lining on the bottom of the bill to make it even more sturdy.  However, once I start wearing something I hardly ever get back to working on it.  This was knit in Peace Fleece, which I love-- purchased our local yarn shop, Heavenly Socks Yarns.

The sweater is the oatmeal pullover, found here. Knit in Cascade's Ecological Wool.

And, I finally got to these, fully lined pants, made completely from scraps. I cut them out months ago, but got to sew them last weekend.   He's been wearing them everyday.  I'm hoping to make a few more pairs, reversible for spring.  These were made without a pattern, inspired by these.
Thats all for now.