Blinded by the Pink

Just finished up another blanket. This one is for my daughter. She picked out the yarn herself and though you can't tell from the photos, it is sparkley. Yes. A bright PINK sparkley blanket. Seriously - I thought I might get blinded by the sheer girliness of it all.

This one is mostly a straight granny stitch - just like a granny square only worked in rows instead of a square. That way you can make a rectangular blanket. The white border (also sparkley!) is a simple double crochet. And the edging is a scallop? shell? design. You can see that I'm really knowledgeable about crochet, huh?

This worked up really quickly, all things considered, which is good since my son has already chosen yarn for HIS blanket. Since they picked out the yarn and have watched me making them, the kids obviously know about these blankets. But I'm still waiting to actually give them until Christmas. It was important to me to let them see the amount of time and work that are put into creating homemade gifts.

Of course, Bailey had to "try it out" before I put it away. I think she approves!

Happy Crafting!

Blankie

Well, I made a blanket.

It's my very first one (so be kind).

But it's definitely not my last. I found the whole process thoroughly enjoyable!

I didn't use a pattern - it's just one big huge granny square bordered by some double crochet and a little scalloped edge.

And it's another Christmas gift. So I've completed two gifts and it's not even December yet! That has got to be a first for me.

I love how smooshy and cozy it is. Of course, the kids each want their own blankets now.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this picture of Bailey. Yes, she has been sleeping with her pumpkin from the pumpkin patch (usually it's tucked in under the covers with her) and yes, she's kind of flipping the bird. Precious.

Have a good one!

Jammies!

Slowly getting back to some sort of normal around here. With a kindergartner and a preschooler in the mix, I figure sniffles and colds are going to be a part of daily life more often than not.

To ease out of my non-crafting state, I finished up these cold weather pj pants for the kids.

Owen picked out all of his fabrics. Spiderman, Lightning McQueen, and Mater. No real surprises there.

Bailey got the cute girly flannel that was on sale over the summer. Yes, that's a lot of pj pants but I did add a cuff to three of them so they should last through next winter as well. I hope.

I have a feeling this is the last time I'll be able to get away with making jammie pants for them using only one yard of fabric.

More sewing planned for later this week. And crochet. Did I mention I'm making a blanket? Yep. I'm crocheting a blanket.

BabyBot

Finally finished Bailey's BabyBot!

There were definitely some issues with this little bot....

You can see that the body didn't end up exactly square and the legs/feet turned out larger then they were supposed to.

But I still think it's pretty cute! And tiny.

It's been a lot of fun to learn more about amigurumi, though I think it takes a bit more patience than I generally have!

For anyone else wanting to try this type of crochet project I would suggest picking up a good book or searching for beginner tutorials on the web. I would also recommend not worrying too much about size and making them a little larger at first (by using a larger size crochet hook). The smaller they are the more difficult they are to make. This one was made with a size C2 crochet hook and it was definitely a challenge!

Thankfully, my three year old doesn't care at all about perfection. She just wants a little bot to love, and I'm more than happy to oblige.

Introducing: BigBot

Awhile back I purchased this book (image from Amazon.com).

After thumbing through and carefully inspecting each and every project, Owen asked for a BigBot.

Well, his birthday is coming up. And I want to encourage his love of all things crafty and handmade. So he'll be getting this:

The colors are different from the version in the book but I absolutely love this little bot! In the interest of truth, however, I must say that these small crochet projects take a long time to complete. Well, for me anyway.

It will all be worth it when he sees it for the first time!

Of course, now Bailey has put in her request for a BabyBot. I guess I better not put the yarn away just yet.

Little Cutie

We have entered that point in childhood when birthday parties are often found on the calendar and this weekend is no exception. The birthday girl is quite fond of penguins, so this is what she's getting:

My kids have already put in their orders for their own little penguins. To give you an idea of size and scale, here I am holding the wee one.

Cute, right?

Now I'm off to make (what else?) a little gift bag for the birthday girl.