baby gifts

[Image 4502 in which I perch precariously on the piano bench

in an attempt to get a good quilt photo.]

This week I had the enjoyable task

of making, packaging, and mailing baby gifts

to two different families of friends who are both

eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby #3.

First I finished this scrappy flannel quilt

featuring all sorts of critters: frogs, bugs, and lizards.

(I already had the quilt top sewn together, so it was a quick finish.)

I also decided to embellish a coordinating pale green onesie

by using fabric paint to free-hand little bugs

that almost perfectly mimic the bugs in one of the prints in the quilt.

I'm pretty tickled with how it turned out.

The second gift began with a simple, two-sided flannel blanket

made with pretty pastel purple and green fabrics.

To round out the gift, I added a coordinating bib and hat

from my collections of already-made bibs and hats.

I love being able to celebrate new little arrivals!

funny little flower hat

A few weeks ago I decided to use up some of my yarn scraps

by making a hat for Sweet Pea (my girl loves hats)

that used a cool technique I found on Pinterest

for incorporating 3-D flowers into whatever you're crocheting.

It turned out pretty cute!

Though on second thought it might have been smarter

to use this technique on something that was going to be flat

instead of curved like the hat is.

The flowers might lay flatter that way instead of being quite so quirky.

But on third thought,

it was a fantastic time to try a new technique in a small project,

and Sweet Pea likes it and has already gotten quite a bit of use out of the hat.

Time to stop second guessing myself. : )

Handmade Christmas 2012

Now that Christmas is over,

and I don't have to worry about my grown-up family members

who might read my blog

finding out about their presents,

I can start sharing the handmade gifts

I did manage to make in spite of my current life-craziness.

One of the first gifts I made

was a second Urban Jungle hat for my mom.

I let her choose the color and the button

(we're bad about keeping surprises like that),

so I feel quite confident that she'll like it.

my "urban jungle" hat

Speaking of last October and our trip to Utah,

here's another project I finished back then:

the Urban Jungle Crocheted Slouchy Beanie.

When I realized I had it pinned three times,

I decided that I really should just make one.

The pattern was well-written and easy to follow.

It turns out that puff stitches are fun and easy to make!

By itself it looks rather lumpy and plain.

But when I put it on and scrunch it up a little,

it looks all cute and, and...

well, almost a little elfish.

Or maybe it's more like a dwarf hat.

(you know, like a snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs dwarf hat)

I'm not entirely sure either is really a good thing,

but I still like the hat.

A lot.

It goes perfectly with my leaf necklace.

And is, as Brother would say, delightfully "cozy and warm."

Yes, I like it a lot.

alpaca yarn hat

Remember the alpaca yarn

that was given to me?

Well, the boys' alpaca yarn hats are finished!

Brother was so delighted with his,

trying it on and taking it off again and again.

Isn't he a cutie?

Little Man is equally cute in his brown hat,

but he's been going through a camera-shy stage,

so I have no photos of him in it yet.

baby gift

Simple and sweet:

two bibs and a dainty purple hat

for friends who are expecting their third little one.

alpaca yarn

One of the vendors at the event I was a part of a couple of weeks ago is the owner of an alpaca farm. We had an enjoyable time chatting, and I hope to take the boys out to have an alpaca farm field trip when the weather is nicer.  In the course of our conversation, she mentioned that her puppies had gotten into some of her yarn, and she couldn't sell it, so she gave me three skeins to try out!

I've been crocheting my new alpaca yarn into hats for my little guys.  It's beautiful: fuzzy and softer than wool, lighter than cotton, and warmer than acrylic.  It's been a joy to work with, and I'm strongly inclined to look into purchasing some more from her next time I need more yarn for a project.

baby hats

In addition to finally completing my stack of  already-cut-out baby bibs, I have also recently finished the last of my stockpile of cotton yarn for baby hats. I like having something to keep my hands busy (something other than picking at my poor abused cuticles and fingernails, that is) while I'm relaxing, and crocheting is one of the activities that fits the bill perfectly.

I'm getting pretty good at making my own flower patterns.  I'm not so good at remembering how I made them so that I can write down the pattern, though.  Each one turns out a bit different than the last even when I try to replicate it precisely!  I guess that's one of the beauties of handmade.

a new hat for Sweet Pea

Before Sweet Pea was born I made a little pink and green hat for her.  (Pink and green together is one of my very favorite color combinations.)  She looked adorable in it, but has already outgrown it.  Fortunately I had extra pink and green yarn and was apple to whip up a new, bigger one a couple of weeks ago.

[detail of the flower]

[Okay, I'm biased, but isn't she just the cutest little girlie ever?]

Every time she wears it she gets compliments left and right, and I am asked how I made it.  Maybe one of these days when I have some spare time I'll write out the pattern. Ha. It might be a while...

scarves

Autumn has arrived with a vengeance in our corner of the world. Golden leaves flame against dripping grey or brilliant blue skies; the breeze is nippy-cool. Sweaters, warm tea, and hot soup are comfortingly welcome. Also welcome are new autumn accessories! Lucky for me, I have two fabulously fun new scarves that I made based on an idea I found on Pinterest.

[Please excuse the headless photo; it was't a good self-timer portrait day.]

My mom and I had a lovely variety of autumn colored yarns between us for making into pretty scarf strands. I got so carried away with all of the exciting textures and colors that I ended up having enough to make two scarves. (I tried them all in one scarf at first and the effect was...well..bulky. So bulky, in fact, that it looked like my scarf was wearing me instead of the other way around!)

Anyway, I ended up making two autumn-colored scarves. I bundled the extra one up with a pretty gift tag and mailed it to my friend Katie who lives in Idaho.

I couldn't stop at just those two scarves, though, and had to use my blue, grey, and white scraps to make a third. This one is even less bulky and is much more like an accessory than a piece of ward-of-the-cold-air gear. I like having the variety. : )

This project was perfect for using up all of those extra little bits of yarn that are too big to throw away but too small to complete a project. Plus I can pick it up and set it down as many times as my interruption-full life demands without losing stitches or needing to find my place again. I can easily foresee more of these chain-stitched scarves in my crafting future.

Sweet Pea's sweater

Remember how I said I had gotten brave started a little sweater for Sweet Pea? Well, last week and weekend everything aligned for me to work on finishing it: a long wait while getting blood tests done, a cold which kept me confined at home, and the master's golf tournament, which happens to go quite nicely with crocheting. And finish it I did.

I used a free pattern from Ravelry for the sweater and made up the hat pattern all by myself. The yarn is TLC cotton plus yarn, and the buttons are vintage shell buttons from my stash.

There are some imperfections, but that's to be expected from my first ever attempt at sweater making. Overall I'm delighted with how it turned out, though, and am eager for more sweater-making adventures.

What do you think. Does she look cute in it? I'm sure it'll look much cuter when she is actually here are fits into in. : )

for my niece

Ever since my first niece (the daughter of Benjamin's oldest brother) was born a few months after Little Man arrived, I've been enjoying making fun and girly projects for her. When we found out that Benjamin's second brother and his wife are also having a little girl who is due to arrive in June, I was thrilled to have another little niece for whom to make girly things. The fact that I'm having a little girl of my own hasn't diminished my crafty enthusiasm.

I have a couple more things I'd like to craft for this newest niece before I mail her package, but here are the things I have completed already.

When I saw a cute little sunflower-adorned baby hat on Etsy, I just knew I had to make one similar for this niece. Her mama can pull off a cute hat like no other plus she loves sunflowers, so the combination seemed like a match made in heaven.

I had so much fun finding the hat pattern, perfecting my alterations to make it just what I envisioned, and making up my own sunflowers pattern. It quite lives up to what my brain envisioned.

The second gift that I have already completed is a blanket very similar to the one I made for Brother. I love having the warmth from the two layers of flannel without the bulk that batting adds. Plus the simple construction (just ten pieces) makes for a blanket that goes together quickly.

I hope my new little niece will get lots of use from the things her Aunt Christina loves making and (perhaps more importantly) that my sister- and brother-in-law will enjoy them too.

more crochet love

I am not the only one who is crazy about crochet around here. Little Man seems to have caught my excitement. After sitting in my lap one day and gripping the hook with me, he decided to try it himself. He'll ask enthusiastically: "Mom! Can I crochet?" Most the time I say "yes" because he's very careful, and he sits down, grips the crochet hook and baby hat with a great deal of intense concentration, and mutters something like "loop, hook, go around, grab here" as he stabs the hat with the hook.

He's very cute. And since he's also pretty smart, I suspect that one of these days, I'll pick up my work only to realize there are a few random stitches that I did not put there.

Oh, and just to keep it real, I have already had him come to me guiltily and confess: "Mom, I cut your yarn." Fortunately the damage was minimal, and we both learned from the experience.

crochet love

Ever since I learned to knit, I have liked knitting more than I liked crocheting. However, the recent experience of spending hours working on a sweater (counting, looking up techniques on YouTube, ripping out, and trying again and again) yet having to abandon the project due to choosing a bad pattern has left me extremely discouraged about knitting. I just feel tired of basic scarfs and washcloths yet frustrated and overwhelmed about moving on. I'm sure I'll come back to knitting someday since I really do love so many aspects of it, I'm just (like I said) discouraged.

In the meantime, however, I have discovered (to my surprise!) that I can successfully read and implement simple crochet patterns. Being able to just pick up the tools I had on hand and make something lovely and quick and successful with yarn has done wonders for my confidence, and I've been really enjoying crochet these days!

It all started while I was searching Etsy for cute, handmade baby girl accessories. You know, just because I'm going a little crazy here about the girl stuff. I found all these adorable crochet hats and was even considering purchasing one/some until I gulped at the $25-$30 price tag. Now I know that it's not an unreasonable price to pay for something handmade, but considering that I could hand make it for so much less...

Long story short I signed up for a Ravelry account, found some fabulous free baby hat patterns there, bought some cotton yarn, and went to town. I have since made many baby hats. They're quick and fun (I can make one in an evening), and I can give them as gifts or sell them at farmers' market this summer. Here are a few that I've completed so far:

[this one will probably be for Sweet Pea]

[the little boy hats are cute too]

[I like this fluffy white one with a pink border.]

[one of several crochet flowers that I love to make]

[my second crocheted baby hat ever]

I have already gifted one of these cute little hats and am continuing making them at break-neck (well, at least arm-cramp) speed. I'm sure you'll see a few more as time goes on. Plus I even became oh, so bold and began a tiny pink sweater for Sweet Pea. We'll see how that one goes...