"Ask And Ye Shall Receive"

My niece requested for me to crochet her an afghan for her birthday.  So I did.

She got it a few weeks late because I chose a pattern that was a little more tedious than I thought it would be.  My usual routine of chatting or watching television while crocheting didn't quite work.  I kept getting "off" and pulling out stitches.

I used Caron's Simply Soft Yarn in Grey Heather.  I really like how soft Caron's yarn is and how it holds up after many washings.

Caron has many free patterns on their website so I tried out this pattern for the Antiqua Throw.  I like the final result but, it sure was a lot of counting.

Onto the next project!

Baby Stocking Caps

While visiting Texas for Christmas my friend, who works in the NICU, asked me if I'd crochet some striped stocking caps for the babies they had as a surprise for the parents for Christmas.  I'd never crocheted hats but looked up a couple of patterns, combined them for simplicity and got to work.  They were FAR from perfect but they weren't actually wearing them anywhere except for a picture.  They were so tiny that they were pretty quick once I got the hang of it.  My mom and I crocheted one afternoon and whipped up 11 of them.  My nieces made the braids and pom-poms.  I used Simply Soft yarn by Caron (my new fav) and don't think I'll go back.  It's SO soft and stays soft.  My mom crocheted my son a baby blanket out of it and, five years later, yep...still soft.  My Michael's doesn't carry it but Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's and Wal-Mart do.

Don't ask me what pattern I used.  Like I said, I tried two different ones and kind of ended up doing my own thing in the end.  The ones I tried never would have tapered like this or fit a preemie.

Popcorn Afghan...two years late

Here is an afghan I crocheted for our family's White Elephant gift exchange.  I started it a couple of years ago, (long story) and delivered it this year.  Next time, I'll be much quicker.  Short story is that I put it away, unfinished, and it was out of sight, out of mind.  I used Lion Brand's Homespun yarn in Rococo color and doubled it up so it would nice and thick.  I crocheted a popcorn stitch and love the finished product.  It's big and heavy but perfect for cold days snuggled up on the couch.

Baby Afghan

My girlfriend, Erin, had her first baby girl this month and I made her this black and white afghan for her nursery.
Several people commented on what a bad idea a black blanket was so I took a picture of it with her bedding to prove to everyone that it looks just perfect.
I love her colors she used in the nursery and I was happy to contribute to the cuteness of her room. I used a popcorn stitch and did a shell around the edge in white. I couldn't find any baby soft yarn in black so I used Hobby Lobby's Love This Yarn brand. It crocheted well, it is reasonably priced and I think I'll use it again. Try it out.

Skinny Scarf

I crocheted this scarf for a friend last month. I used a basic shell pattern and Vanna's choice yarn. Not a big fan of that yarn so I probably won't use it again.

Christmas in July & a Giveaway!

I hosted a Christmas In July Handmade Gift Exchange this week and it was lots of fun. I figured people have more time on their hands to make something creative in the summer. What I didn't figure was that SO many people would be out of town. 13 of my 16 "no" rsvps were out of town. Anyhoo, we had a good time and I'll share a few pics with you.

I decorated with snowflakes and candy.
I made these chocolate lollipops out of white chocolate and snowflake molds and gave them as party favors.I cut snowflakes from patterns in my Snowflakes for All Seasons book and hung them on the front door. I also put a little trio of Christmas trees on the porch.
I thought these white chocolate melted snowmen were very appropriate for Christmas in July in Texas. I found the idea in my Family Fun magazine earlier this year.
I crocheted this scarf (to go along with a winter theme) for my handmade gift. I wasn't happy with how it turned out so I included a note that I'd make the recipient another one. I just didn't have time to start another one this week.
I also crocheted this little flower and used it instead of a gift tag.
Now for the gifts! Melanie received the scarf I made and wore it while she played the guitar and sang for us. This is one seriously multi-talented woman.
Ginger received crocheted hot pads and homemade caramel popcorn from Heather.
Heather received this really cool tin and decoupaged letters from April. The letters are magnetic and she included enough letters to spell "home," "noel," and "love." It was beautiful.
April received yummy homemade banana bread from Jeni who used her mother-in-law's famous recipe. It's the best I've tasted.
Jeni received a jar of homemade blackberry jam from Ginger from the blackberries that grow in my grandmother's backyard. Yum!
I received a recipe box and two cute little recipe booklets that were full of hand-stamped recipe cards from Melanie. She is a Stampin' Up demonstrator and everything she makes is beautiful. She posted better pictures of it here. She also included these little hand stamped tags that say, "from the kitchen of" that I can use on gifts.
Last but not least, I pulled down these Christmas glasses from the attic to use since they are festive. Do you recognize them? Do you know where they are from? You'd laugh if you did. If you know where they are from, leave me a comment and I'll mail a little Christmas treat to the first person who gets it right.

More Baby Gifts!

I've posted about some of the creative hand-made baby gifts I've gotten for my baby girl over the last three months and now I have even more to post about! I'm lucky to have such thoughtful friends.

My friend, Becky, made this cute hooded blanket for her.

My friend, Linda, made this beautiful quilt and the colors match the nursery!

My friend, Shannon, made these binky chains for her upon my request. She also made this one for my son when he was born.

My friend, Heather, crocheted these dainty booties and this afghan. I'm not sure what kind of yarn she used but it is so soft. Again, love the lavender! She sewed this ragged quilt and some matching burp cloths for my son when he was born.

Last, but certainly not least, here's a bootie that my dad crocheted.My dad crocheted and he made afghans, stuffed animals and all sorts of booties. He died when I was five so the things he crocheted have become coveted items among my siblings. We each have a pair or two of booties that he crocheted. My mom divided them up a few years ago and I picked out this pair of "Converse High Tops."
I used them for my son but they didn't fit his big feet very long. When all of the booties had been given out, there was this lone mary jane with a pink sock. I took it because I thought it was cute and because I thought maybe I'd try out his patterns one day. I SO wish I had the other one because it actually fits her chunky foot. But, I just have the one and I'll treasure it just the same. My mom actually found his patterns recently and told me I could try them out so we'll see if I get around to it. What a wonderful gift to leave his grandchildren.

Here's my first post about baby gifts and a post about some booties a friend made when I was still early pregnant with her.

Burp Cloths

I crocheted the edges of these two burp cloths for my baby girl. I like these pretty ones to take to church. On the lavender I crocheted a shell stitch and on the pink I did a small rainbow stitch.

Baby Girl Nursery

I'm having a baby girl this week and had much more fun decorating the nursery for her than I did for my son. Girly stuff is just more fun. I kept the nursery walls green from his decor and added in lavender toile and white. Here are some pictures of the finished nursery.
I painted the "Paige" letters lavender and then sprinkled them with crystal glitter.

I painted a wooden frame from the dollar store lavender, added white polk-a-dots and a flower.

I covered a lamp shade with the lavender toile fabric to match her bedding and valence, then added dangling beads and the fuzzy fringe. I bought the lamp shade from a craft store. It was sticky and had a template to cut your fabric to. Then I glued on the fringe and beads with fabric glue. Super easy and very fast! I bought the white base at Wal-Mart for $10.

I made the bed skirt and a few blankets for her crib. I paid someone to make the bumper after taking advice from several friends about how much pain a bumper was to make. The inside is a green and white minky fabric and very soft. It's hard to tell from the picture but the outside of the bumper is lavender "Central Park" toile. I love toile! I bought the "chamois" sheets from PB Kids in lavender.

I had left over minky fabric so I backed it with some flannel backed satin, threw on a satin blanket binding and made this blanket. My son LOVES his blankies that are satin & minky like this.

I made a window valence from the lavender toile and added the same beading and fringe as I did on the lamp shade. I hung white sheers beneath it and it really softened the look of the room.

This is my favorite part of the nursery but have to give full credit to my friend, Donna. She had a display like this in her massage room once upon a time and did another one above her baby girl's crib. When I asked her about the details so I could copy her, she offered to come put it up for me if I bought everything. I purchased the flowers and butterflies online at BugsNBlooms.com then sewed them to strips of white, lavender and green organza. She hung them with clear thumb tacks and made them look beautiful. FYI, that website has every shape, size and color of bugs and flowers you could imagine for reasonable prices. They also have tutus and other girly things. Check it out.

I made some wooden blocks again like several I've made in the past. I just mod podge scrapbook paper on, distress the edges and add glitter.

I recovered a wooden picture from with papers to match her colors and added some glitter and ribbons.

Lastly, I put this vinyl saying up on her wall. My sister gave it to me and I thought it was very sweet.


Now I can relax, right?

Baby Afghan

I made this afghan for my baby girl who arrives next week. Her nursery is green, white and lavender (I'll try to take some pics and post them this weekend). I used a v-stitch pattern on the blanket and did a shell in white on the edge. I wanted to try a new pattern this time around but I bought the Lion Brand Homespun yarn and it is bumpy/wavy and was too hard to find the chains in. The v-stitch creates large "v's" that are easy enough to crochet through. The Homespun yarn is nice and soft. I made a small one that matches for her to take along if she happens to get attached.

Baby Afghan

I finished the second afghan for my sister's little boy a few weeks ago. I did it in chocolate brown and used a pattern called "lacy baby blanket" from Lion Brand's website. You can find the pattern here. I crocheted a shell around the edge instead of using the edge listed in the pattern.

Baby Afghan

I started this baby afghan in July for my sister who had twin boys. She was due in December so I thought I'd get a head start. Then, I got sick (pregnant sick) and put it away. Forgot all about until recently so I pulled it back out and finished it. I used the V-stitch pattern from the Lion Brand website. I doubled up the yarn though to make it a little thicker. It was a fairly easy stitch and I like the look of the finished product. I added a shell edge to give it a little "baby" look. I'm making her second one right now and am about half way finished. I'll post that pic when I'm done.