Strawberries and cream baby sweater

You know what I love?  Well, ONE of the many things I love, that is.  I love crafting for babies.  There is something so sweet and special when you make something for a little baby.  I try to do it as frequently as I can!

One of my most recent items is a striped sweater in cream and light pink.  The pink is heathered and I'm just so in love with how it pairs with the cream.  I added pink buttons that add the perfect "girly" touch to this sweater.  I definitely need to clarify something--I don't like to genderize (is that even a word) items for babies.  I don't believe that colors are gender specific and that girls should wear only pink and purple and boys only green and blue.  However, this sweater began as a special request by my mom for a friend and since my mom is more traditional that I am, she wanted something pink for the little girl.  So this sweater was born :).

But, to be honest, I do LOVE the way it came out!  Also, plans changed and the sweater is no longer going to the intended recipient, so look for it in my Etsy store in the fall! (If I don't gift it before then!)

Baby Mermaid

Let's rewind to the beginning of the year.  One of my close friends was pregnant with her second child (I believe she was due in March).  She already had a boy back in 2009 and this time she was having a little girl!  I know she was super excited for dresses and other girly things!  I had crafted a few things for her son--a little puppy, a blanket, and some bibs--you can see the post here.  So, I obviously wanted to make various things for her daughter too!

I've been trying to be on a destash mission--which has worked some what, but I must admit that I've also purchased yarn...tisk tisk tisk, Jessica.  However, back at the beginning of the year I was TOTALLY on the "cold sheep" "use only from stash" bandwagon!  I've also been trying to use patterns that I already own, rather than finding something new or buying a new one.

So with that in mind, I found the cutest pattern from a Crochet Today! magazine to make for my friend's daughter!  The pattern is called "Mermaid Cocoon" and is from the July/August 2012 issue of Crochet Today!  I totally fell in love with this pattern when I first saw it.

I was pretty lucky that I had both mint green and teal yarn in my stash!  I just reversed the colors of the tail--making the teal the main color and the mint the accent.  I also had white and purple!  They are all simply soft yarns, so you can just imagine how soft and snugly this outfit is before washing and how much softer it will get!

I added little white buttons to it rather than colored ones.  I spent an awfully long time standing in the button aisle of Jo-ann's picking out the 'perfect' buttons :).

The construction of the garment is so interesting!  It is all made in one piece without seaming.  You start with the bodice, then work the arms, and then the tail portion.  It was so quick and only took me four days to make!  I'm so pleased with it and can't wait to see pictures of little Keira in it!

Baby Pinafore

I've been really into making items for babies lately.  I think that I've been drawn to small projects that I can work on during my lunch break.  I also have been loving projects that finish quickly, use up bits of yarn, and are simply "totally adorable."

Recently I finished making a sweet little pinafore.  I used some yarn that my mom got me from Jo-ann's.  It's called "Breeze Self Patterning" by Jo-ann's Sensations.  It has nice long color changes that created a pretty rainbow look to this dress.  

This dress seems very easy to customize to make larger sizes.  In fact, I saw a pattern for larger sizes on Etsy and Bernat also has a free pattern for child-size dresses.  They all look like the same dress, but in different sizes.  Honestly, just change your initial chain length and it should be pretty easy to customize.  I think that you would add or subtract multiples of 4 to get larger or smaller sizes.

Some people on Ravelry have added a decoration to the front of the dress, but I left mine plain since the yarn is sort of busy.  I'll definitely be making this pattern again!  It could definitely be made in a few hours.  Great last minute baby gift!

FO: Shades of Yellow and Green

My first project of 2013 (which took me just over a week) was a baby blanket.  My friend requested a ripple baby blanket in gender-neutral colors including yellow and green.  This is what I came up with.

Pattern: "Shades of Coral" by Jan Eaton, found in the book 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns

Yarn: Mostly Vanna's Choice and Vanna's Baby and a little bit of Lion Brand Pound of Love.  I picked greens and yellows first and then added beige and white to round out the colors.  I like using acrylic for baby items because of its softness, durability, and how easy it is to care for.

Hook size: I, 5.5 mm.

Size: I measured the blanket agains the quilt I used to have in MY crib as a baby ("Quilty").  Although I didn't record the finished dimensions, this blanket would be called "crib-sized" so it will won't be out grown for a while (if ever).

Notes: This was a really great and fast project.  I actually began at the end of December (12/30) and finished it by January 9th!  I tucked the ends in as I went along, so that I didn't have to worry about them after it was done.  The border is one row of single crochet.  I didn't do any adjustments along the top and bottom ripples as I made the border.  I'm very happy with this project!

Teething/nursing necklace

What a busy month December has been! Between school work, crafting gifts, and preparing for the holidays I've simply not been able to find the time to blog! (But that doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking about you guys :)).  I've actually been working on a few new patterns that you'll hear about today and in the next few days/weeks.  There will also be a few "ta-da" moments when I'll present my finished Christmas gifts, but that will definitely come after Christmas so I don't spoil any surprises!

So without further ado, I present you with my new pattern for a teething/nursing necklace!

Here is the back story...about a week and a half ago my friend asked me if I could make a necklace that she could wear when she is feeding her 5 month old son, because he is so alert that he is getting distracted by all the visuals in the room as he is eating.  She showed me a picture of something she found online and asked if I could make something similar.  The necklace she showed me had wooden beads of different sizes, wooden beads covered by crochet, and a crocheted cord.  A necklace like this would also be good when he starts teething.  She told me that she wanted a few beads and gave me the supplies (a ribbon and the wooden beads) to use for the necklace.  The colors she wanted were blues and greens.  Now, since I'm trying to use yarn that is in my stash, I looked to see what I had in those colors.  Turns out I had a nice amount of Vanna's choice.  Then I tried to find a pattern to crochet around a wooden bead, using aran weight yarn...but I couldn't find one.  So....I made my own!

Supplies:
What you'll need are some wooden beads--I used round 1 inch wooden beads--you can find these at a craft store.

Aran (or worsted) weight yarn, like Vanna's choice.

A G crochet hook.

Some ribbon or extra yarn to chain a necklace

And a yarn needle for sewing in ends/threading beads onto the necklace.

Abbreviations:

ch = chain

sc = single crochet

sc2tog = single crochet 2 together

ss = slip stitch

Gauge: Not really important, but try not to crochet TOO tightly as it will be harder to get the bead inside the crocheted outer "cup."

The beads are actually very simple to make.  They are worked in the round, so do not join the rounds with ss.

Round 1: Start by ch 3, and ss to the first stitch to make a tiny loop.

Round 2: Make 6 sc into this loop.(6 sc)

Round 3: Make 2 sc into each stitch in the previous round (12 sc).

Round 4: Make *2 sc in next stitch, 1 sc in next* around (18 sc).

Round 5: sc in each stitch around (18 sc).

Round 6: *sc2tog, sc* around (12 sc).

Up until this point you have not worked with the bead.  You'll place the wooden bead into this little crocheted "cup" during the next round.

What you have should look something like this

Begin Round 7: sc2og around (6 sc)-- when you've completed maybe 2 of the 6 stitches in this round, insert the bead.

Push the bead inside.

I've found it works better to pull up the "cup" over the bead as you work the sc2tog. 

When all the stitches of Round 7 are complete, join to the next stitch (aka the first stitch of round 7) with a ss.

Tuck in ends.  I found it works well to place a crochet hook through the center of the bead/covering so that you can sew in the ends.  This also makes sure that everything lines up appropriately.

For my necklace I made 7 beads in different colors.

Next, string them on to your desired length of ribbon.  Rather not use a ribbon? Chain a desired amount with a yarn of your choice and string the beads on that.  Want to mix in some wooden non-crocheted beads too? Go ahead! :).  To clean it, you can soak it in cool water and let it dry.

Happy crocheting!  Feel free to use this pattern as you please, just do not reproduce the text or pictures without my permission.

WIP Wednesday: Staggered Squares Blanket

One of my works in progress, as there are many at the moment, is the Staggered Squares Blanket.  This is the second part of the gift I'm giving to my cousins who are expecting their first baby.  The other part is the orange-and-blue shelled Sheldon the Turtle.  

I usually crochet baby blankets, but I fell in love with this pattern.  I believe it is a Bernat patter that I got free from Michaels.  The yarn I'm using is something that I had in my stash.  It's an acrylic sport weight yarn that is VERY soft.  I was hesitant about using the lacy pattern with this yarn (even though this is one of the yarns that is recommended for this pattern) because I thought that the pattern might get lost among the colors of the yarn.  The larger it gets, the more I like it.  I'm knitting it on US 8s, which is making it go a bit faster than I anticipated.  I can do about 1 pattern repeat (16 rows) during my daily commute (8 rows each way).  I should have this blanket finished by the end of the month if I can keep this pace or make it a bit faster.

I also think that I would make this pattern again because it's fun to do!  I would also probably use a yarn that I could block--perhaps one of the sock yarns from Knit Picks.  I am really happy with this blanket--it is soft and light weight--perfect for this soon-to-come baby!

Sheldons!

I've been a very busy crafter lately, even though I have not been blogging about it. Tsk tsk on me.  One of the patterns that I've just fallen in love with is Sheldon the Turtle from Knitty.  Sheldon is a pretty quick knit and makes an excellent gift.  One of the best things IMO about Sheldon is that you can remove his shell and make him other little outfits to wear instead! How fun is that?  Anywho, I went to my bf's niece's 1st birthday party in August and wanted to bring a little gift for her.  I figured that something hand knit would make a nice gift, so I knit her a Sheldon with a pink and purple shell.  Since this was a gift for her first birthday I embroidered they eyes rather than using safety eyes or buttons.  It's totally child friendly!  It was really cute when she opened her present because she gave Sheldon a big kiss! :)

So...Sheldon is *such* a great pattern that I decided to make another one as part of a gift for my cousins' who are expecting their first baby.  This one took even less time to make.  I really love making the shell!  They expecting a baby boy sometime in September (I think).  I'm also making them a baby blanket and I picked colors for Sheldon that match the blanket.  I've also embroidered the eyes to make it totally safe for a baby.

I also really love that I've used yarn that I've had in my stash for both Sheldons!  I love making use of things :).