FO’s & WIP’s

I haven’t had too much time to craft since the birth of my daughter at the end of August, but before she was born, I was able to complete a couple of projects for her.

The first one I finished was her Hugs & Kisses Layette, minus the booties (I didn’t have enough yarn to make them, unfortunately). I am so happy with the way this turned out! I used Baby Bee’s Sweet Baby Delight in Little Princess, which is a dark pink. I found beautiful, iridescent flower buttons at Jo-Ann’s to complete the cardigan. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I can’t wait to pull out this set for her to wear.

Next on my FO list is Willow’s Shell Headband. For this project, I used Baby Bee’s Sweet Delight Baby in Pink a Boo. It’s a very soft acrylic yarn which means it’s machine washable – a must for anything to do with kids! It turned out beautifully but it was definitely not a newborn size. I have to be honest and say that the pattern left a lot to be desired and was difficult to figure out sizing (and I say that with the utmost respect as a 18+ year crocheter). I guessed as best as I could as there is no gauge given. I would say the pattern, as written, would fit a 6+ month old. My finished headband didn’t turn out at all like the picture, even though I followed the pattern exactly. It’s still beautiful though! I crocheted the flower using Teresa Richardson’s Slinky Crochet Flower pattern. I chose this one because it’s incredibly customizeable (is that even a word?). You don’t have to create 2 alike if you don’t want to. The pattern includes several different petal types that you can blend to make the perfect flower. I used the same yarn and color as the project above and looks fabulous against the pale pink!

Now on to my WIP’s… I started Willow’s afghan/baby blanket at the end of July hoping to have at least the blocks finished before her arrival. I have to be honest and say that I’m not a big fan of knitting blankets. They seem to take FOREVER and I’m just too impatient. I decided to go with granny squares to make it an easily portable project. I wanted this afghan to represent our family full circle so I chose our wedding colors: pink, orange, and green. I’m using Joyce Lewis’ Simple 10-Petal Afghan Square as the base and doing 3 different color combinations.

I adore this pattern and think the colors really shine with it. The most difficult part of this pattern was figuring out how to to the last step. The designer included picture tutorials which are incredibly helpful! Once that was figured out, it goes pretty quickly. I can get one square completely finished in about 1 1/2 hours. Without the border, the afghan should be about 45″ x 45″. I haven’t decided yet on a border, how thick to make it, or which color(s) to use. I have a little ways to go yet as I only have about 12 of 36 blocks completed.

Since I had surgery and was laid up for about 5 days, I decided to pull out the Holly Days Throw that I started in 2011. It was a pattern I received through a Creative Knitting Magazine newsletter and I completely fell in love when I saw it. My only advice with this pattern is if you don’t like seed stitch, you probably wouldn’t like knitting this. The first and last 22 rows (of like hundreds of stitches) are seed stitch as well as the first and last 11 stitches per row. It creates a gorgeous border though!

Well, that’s about all I have for now so until next time, much love and many crafty blessings!

♥Courtney♥

Baby Shower Gifts & Current Projects

I know I’ve said this before but I seriously am in love with Pinterest! Talk about inspiration when you need it! One of my best friends is due in July so I wanted to make her & her new squish something really special. Initially, I was going to make a hooded towel and washcloth set with her name embroidered but after looking at material, I couldn’t find just what I wanted. In comes Pinterest–after scouring for what seemed like hours (not really–more like 15 minutes), I found some great ideas including burp cloths, a pacifier clip, and bibs. I knew burp cloths were a must as they have been total lifesavers with my kiddos but one thing I didn’t like about the commercial kind was a. the price and b. the weren’t big or absorbent enough. I did see many different options for creating burp cloths and eventually decided on using Gerber’s 6-ply “cloth diapers” (I use that term very loosely). The first couple I made had a strip of fabric down the center, over the most absorbent part. I wasn’t overly happy with the way they looked because after washing and drying them, I noticed the center sections weren’t straight. Even still, they came out cute. I made the rest full-size piece of fabric on one side. And the most special one had a full piece of beautiful purple flannel with a strip of pretty patterned flannel down the center. I also hand embroidered her name in the lower right corner (I have never done that before and have no clue how to do it on my sewing machine). It was incredibly happy with how they turned out! I made 2 sets of burp cloths and packaged them with another home made item, one being a matching pacifier clip and the other a matching bib. Here’s the finished, packaged projects:

 

After getting them together, I knew I needed something else and really wanted something knitted. I remembered a pattern that I started for Trinity over 2 years ago that included a cardigan, hat, & booties with beautiful lace around the leg and knew it was the perfect choice, especially since I was incredibly limited on time to finish my gift. The booties knit up in just a few hours and turned out absolutely adorable! I used Baby Bee Sweet Delight Baby in Pink A Boo which is a very light pink. The yarn is very easy to work with and incredibly soft (plus machine washable–always a must with baby items). I have to be honest and say I can’t wait to see these on her!

 

One of the current projects on my needles is the cardigan from the above mentioned layette set. I actually started this cardigan 2 years ago for Trinity but never got it finished. It sat in my stash bin since the following baby was a boy and the yarn I was using is a deep magenta pink (I don’t think daddy would have been okay with him wearing that. LoL!). After finding out our newest squish is a girl, I decided to revive it. The cardigan is knitting up super quick! One thing I really like about this pattern is that even though it features a lace motif, the pattern stitch is incredibly easy to memorize and the pattern itself is only a 4 row repeat. My only issue so far is that each piece is knit individually, i.e. the back, the front left, the front right, etc. and then seamed together–definitely not a fan of seaming (side note: I’m wondering if this could be knit bottom up and maybe just seam the arms?).  The other project, the Ocean Spray Misti, is still coming along at about the same pace. Since starting on the other projects, I haven’t picked this one up since the last post. Here’s an early shot of the shawl (during the increase phase):

It’s definitely bigger than that now but I don’t have a more recent picture.

Now onto my DIY adventures… I recently bought some all natural diaper rash cream from Naturally Herbal Soap that is cloth diaper safe and I’m totally in love with it! What I’m not in love with is the price, even though it is on the cheaper side for something all natural and cloth diaper safe. My issue is the rate at which we go through it, it’s not economical for our budget. So I set off to find a recipe to make my own. I was so anxious to get started and waiting the week for the supplies to arrive was killing me! Anyway… I used the recipe over at Little House Living blog. It was very straightforward (lots of pictures), easy to make, and smells really good. My only alteration to the recipe is adding lavender essential oil. I started with 10 drops during the melting phase and the scent was amazing but ended up too faint after all said and done. I’ll definitely add more next time. I’ve been using it for roughly 2 weeks and have had no issues with buildup on our diapers and it’s working wonders on my kiddos skin! So well in fact that one of Harry’s rashes starting clearing in just a few hours! This is definitely something I’ll continue making and want to experiment with different blends of essential oils.

Well that’s all I have time for today so until next time, much love and many crafty blessings!

♥Courtney♥

Trying to get back in the game…

I just realized I haven’t updated this in over half a year! Crafting has honestly been few and far between since BugABoo’s birth. Life keeps me crazy busy so I’m trying to find time here and there to do some kind of crafting, even if it’s only a few minutes a day! Since my last update I’ve become a Pinterest stalker. Seriously. I’ve pinned so many projects I want to do and then get sad because I realize that I just don’t have the time to do them; at least not right now. With that said, I have made/tried a few of the recipes I found.

As far as knitting is concerned, I’ve more or less put that on the back burner. I did knit a pair of mittens for BugABoo but that was more out of necessity than anything else! Although the color isn’t exactly the same on both because I used a self-striping sock yarn and double stranded it, I’m incredibly happy with the way they turned out. They keep his hands perfectly warm plus feel good on his gums!

The next project I finally finished is Kristi’s Waves Scarf. It only took me 2 years, but I did it! I think this turned out great and she loves how soft the yarn is.

I told you all awhile back that I started another project but couldn’t give you the deets until I gave it to the person. Well, it finally happened. I not only finished it but also gave it to the person! It was a complete success and I’m totally stoked that she loved what I made! I decided to knit her a pair of socks using the Prickly Pear Socks pattern by Thayer Preece Parker and Araucania Ranco Solid in a beautiful light blue colorway. I started them last year in hopes to have them finished by the end of the school year as her teacher gift but that definitely didn’t happen. I planned to work on them while waiting for the labor-starting medication to kick in. I ended up only knitting the first sock’s heel and 1/2 of the second sock’s heel. I put them down and planned to pick them back up but was too tired and things just rapidly progressed from there. Fast forward six weeks after arriving home and I picked them back up. Um, yeah… Let me just say that putting something down in the middle is definitely not a smart idea. Lesson learned. I “finished” the second heel but ended up with twice the number of stitches. I ended up ripping both heels back and finished them shortly afterwards. The pattern was really fun to knit and pretty easy to memorize. I love that Parker used two different stitch patterns to create the columns. They turned out so beautifully that I honestly didn’t want to give them up!

My 2013 goals and how I did (in bold):

• Create at least 3 patterns — 0
• Knit Christmas gifts for at least 5 family members — 0
• Complete at least 15 projects (I’m expanding this to include all crafting) — 11, 5 of these knitted
• Knit at least a few of those for Baby Kramer — 2

Not completely terrible but I honestly wouldn’t have been able to do anymore than that.

I decided I’m not “setting goals” for 2014 because I have 2 children under two, am pregnant with my 4th, and due in August. I’m going to craft as much as I can but if I don’t get to, that’s okay.

On to sewing… My latest project is bibs. All of Trin’s bibs are too short so when she eats, she’s getting food and liquids on the front of her shirt. I feel that defeats the purpose of using the bib in the first place. I was actually complaining about this to my MIL and told her I need to get a move on sewing some or Trin was going to have to eat nudey (I was mildly joking). She ended up purchasing this adorable, incredibly soft purple fabric with pink and purple butterflies. I used the same pattern I featured last year, turned and topstitched it, and added a snap closure instead of velcro this time around. Here’s the finished project:

The second one I made out of a piece of flannel fabric I found at Hobby Lobby in the sale bin. I originally purchased it to make a fitted diaper but decided that it would make a way cuter bib and wipes. It’s turned and topstitched and also has a snap closure.

So that’s been the extent of my crafting endeavors. While I do hope to update more often than last year, I’m not really sure how feasible it’s going to be with 3 kids under 3 years of age! Until next time… Much love and many blessings!

♥Courtney♥