MADE: baby blanket

I decided to make a baby blanket for the sweet girl I visit teach.  She had her baby girl on Monday.  I started the blanket that day and finished this morning, four days later.  

 I absolutely LOVE how it turned out.  It's so so pretty.  I'm having a hard time giving it up.  Kind of want to make another one.  

I took a picture of it on the daybed to give you an idea of how beautifully it drapes.  I can just see a tiny baby girl wrapped up in it, in her mother's arms.  

The yarn I chose is Bernat Baby Coordinates but I feel so bad, I don't even know what the colors were called.  The main color is white, with a shiny strand of the same color mixed in.  And the pink yarn also has that shiny strand mixed in, but it's not solid pink.  It's a mixture of pink, yellow, and white.  I thought about making the whole blanket in the white yarn, but I'm so happy I did the border in pink.  I think it's so beautiful.

 This pattern was a bit more advanced.  It's definitely a time commitment.  I wish I would have logged my hours.  I will, if I make another.  But I worked on it a lot in those four days.  I'd take the kids out to play and just sit and crochet while I talked to friends.  I'm sure the hours are 'up there'.

The pattern I used is Caron's Mayflower Baby Blanket.  

One of these days I'll get to making some things to sell.  Why is it so hard to find the time?

MADE: Crocheted leggings

I made these pink crocheted leggings for Penelope when she was just a few months old. She finally wore them the other day, with the pillowcase dress*, and I about died.

It was just a little chilly out, but still nice enough for her to be running around barefoot. The leggings were perfect to keep her chubby little leggies warm.

I found the pattern via Pinterest, at Crazy Socks Crochet.

*I can't believe it used to be so BIG on her! Now it's so short, you can see her bloomers!

MADE: Knitted Scarf

I completed my very first knitting project!!!

I made this pink cowl. It was a fun, simple project.

I started over countless times, because I'm still new at knitting and wanted it to be perfect, but I finally got the hang of it, and was able to do 81 rows without messing up! Knitting and crocheting are both so relaxing to me (once you get past the frustrating learning stage). I love to wind down at the end of a long, stressful day, with a hook or needles in hand, and clear my mind while making something BEAUTIFUL. It's so fulfilling to me.

This scarf consists of a ribbing stitch (knit, purl, knit, purl. . . .) Tutorial at Everything Fab. I'm excited to make more of these for friends, or maybe to sell. I love wearing a simple, colored scarf, as an accent piece to a monochromatic outfit.

A few more friend gifts. . .

I just haven't been able to find time for blogging lately, but I thought I'd quickly post a few more of my latest crochet projects.

A neck warmer, made with the crocodile stitch.

Another Chunky Circle Scarf (in 'Bone').

A hat. I semi-made up the pattern and semi-followed this one.

I've also been working on some adorable sock monkey hats for a friend, and a baby cardigan, for a group I joined on Ravelry (an online community for knitters and crocheters). I'll get around to posting them eventually.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's celebration! In true New Year fashion, we're trying to get our lives in order. We're working on getting this blog organized and to define our real purpose in continuing. We hope you'll like our changes. Stay tuned!

Hooks and Books

I'm baaaack!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was pretty low-key. No traveling or any big plans. We did get a lot of quality family time, though. Just the way I like it.

I'm too late to join the yarn along on Small Things, but I'm still doing my crocheting/reading post. I'm working on a heart garland for Valentine's Day. I say this every year, but Valentine's Day is my second favorite holiday (next to Christmas, of course). I don't know what it is. I just LOVE it! So I'm already thinking about decorations and sweet valentines for my Hubba. Can't wait!

I also started reading Wuthering Heights again. The first time I tried reading this book, I was in high school and I don't think I got past the first chapter. I hated reading in high school. A couple of years ago (when I finally decided I'm a grown up and need to give reading a second chance) my friend (who aspires to be a librarian) gave me Wuthering Heights for Christmas. I didn't have great memories associated with the book but I was going to try. I ended up PORING over it's pages. I remember wanting my husband to read it too, so he could join me in being swept away by a romantic [and also very dark] story. We finished reading the last Harry Potter together about a week ago, so I figured it was time for a new book. I started reading Wuthering Heights to him and two chapters in, I could see he just wasn't feeling it. It's a lot different than Harry Potter, that's for sure. Soooooooo, I guess I'll be reading this one alone, but I couldn't be more excited to get into the story again. I hope my husband will try reading it one day too. I think he'd be surprised.

Another bow headband

Christmastime brings out my crafty side. I can't stop making things. I made another bow headband for a friend. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Autumn Red. I discovered this yarn when I started reading People Webs and I LOVE it. It really is so soft. Perfect for scarves, headbands, and blankets. It's my new fave.

I linked up to Small Things.

Another Chunky Circle Scarf

You can expect to see more of these scarves on this blog. I can't get enough. They're really easy to make and they're just so cute and cozy!! I love them. I made this one for a friend and I think I'm going to make one for the boys' music teacher, too. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Sunshine. Click HERE to see it in creme.

Oh! And baby wore her new hat last night. We went to see the lights at Temple Square and, even though I'm still going to wrap it and give it to her on Christmas, I didn't want her little ears to be cold. I could NOT, for the life of me, get a clear picture, so this is what you get. I think it looks quite cute on her.

Handmade Gift 1

As I mentioned before, in my family each one of us is making something for the other family members. For my little Penelope, I decided to make a hat that my friend, Kim, told me about. It's an Anthropologie-inspired hat. (There's a flower on there, but it kind of blends in with the hat. Can you see it?)

I love how it turned out! I already tried in on her (because she doesn't know the difference between being surprised on Christmas morning or not) and it's a little big, but it still looks adorable! I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Light Country peach. For the scalloped edge, because I like the 'daintiness' of the anthro hat, I used 'America's Best' size 10 crochet thread in Light Peach, and a 3.25 mm hook. You can find the pattern HERE.

Knitting

Sarah taught me some of the basics a few weeks (or months? I can't remember) ago and I thought it was SO HARD!! I didn't pick up the knitting needles for weeks. I finally decided to give it another go and it wasn't anywhere NEAR as hard as I kept telling myself it was! I think I needed awhile for her instruction to sink in.

I LOVE to learn new skills so this is really exciting to me. I've still got a lot to learn, but there's a whole new world of patterns that will be open to me!!

A Scarf and Some Carrot Shampoo

I made a spur-of-the-moment scarf today. I was sitting on my bed and noticed this white chunky yarn with silver specks in it. I used it to make the star on our Christmas tree and I was thinking I don't know what I'll ever use it for again. That's when I decided to make a scarf with it! It's as simple as can be, and I love how it turned out! You can wear it down, like a necklace, or fold it around again. I like it both ways. I'm going to give it to a friend, as a Christmas gift.

(the color in the pictures is off. The yarn is bright white)

Here's what I did:

Ch 62. Turn.

Row 1: dc into 3rd ch from hook. dc into each st across. (60 dc)

Row 2: Ch 2 (counts as first dc). Turn. dc across. (60 dc)

Row 3-8: Repeat row 2. Fasten off.

Attach both short ends together to make one big loop.

(also, since I was taking pictures of this scarf, I decided to just slip on the circle scarf I made the other day and get a better picture of it. you can actually see what it looks like now. go HERE)

And in other news, as I mentioned before, I've been trying to decide where to go from here with my hair. I was planning on making some shampoo myself, with a recipe I got from a friend, but I was having a hard time getting to the health food store. One day, I was wandering around Target (when I was shopping for Griffy's teacher gift) and I happened across this shampoo, without even looking. I felt like it was the answer to my hair dilemma.

I can't tell you how good it feels to have CLEAN hair!!!! And it feels good to know I'm not going all the way back to my old ways. It's a nice, happy medium. I'm still going to wash every FEW days, but I'll use this [mostly] organic shampoo instead of baking soda (boo!). I'm also still not using any additional products. And, guess what! My hair is holding curl still. AH, the best of both worlds! Clean AND manageable. Hallelujah!

Chunky Circle scarf

From the moment I laid eyes on this scarf, from People Webs, I knew I HAD to make it.

I love the beautiful 'Catherine Wheel' pattern. And I'm all about the eternity cowl.

I will definitely be making more of these in every color of the rainbow.

Just a note: If you're wanting to make this, I think it's VERY helpful to read some of her explanations in the comments. She clarifies some questions, making it a whole lot easier and less frustrating.

It's {FINALLY} beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I feel like we kind of got a later start on decorating than we usually do. We've just been behind this year. We had family in town for Thanksgiving and everything else took a back seat. It took me awhile to get going again. It's starting to look like we're not even going to get Christmas cards out! : (

But the house is looking festive at last, and that makes me happy! We'll start with the tree.

Usually our tree looks like this:

I LOVE it! It's HUGE, and FULL, and BEAUTIFUL!!

But this year we wanted something different. With a curious little one year old running around, we didn't want the big tree falling on her and we didn't want her to break the ornaments. We came to the conclusion that we needed a smaller, more sparse, simply decorated, Christmas tree! It's funny how you get so used to the 'norm'. I almost felt nervous going to the tree lot to look at SMALL trees! Like I wanted to make sure we were doing the right thing. It's just a tree, I know, but I wanted it to feel like Christmas and it usually DOES. . . .with our BIG tree. So I got a little nervous.

But when we got this gem home, we all fell in love with our humble little tree. It's just cute. Not overbearing.

Hubba built a little table for it to sit on, and I got some new, cheaper ornaments in the next few days, while he was at work.

I used this tutorial for the snowflakes. (If you're going to make these, DON'T FORGET her note in the beginning of the pattern! The dc are actually sc!! I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong at first.)

I also got some tinsel garlands and a few small ornaments from Wal-Mart. I added some candy canes and my 'peace sign', and she was complete.

The boys have told me on numerous occasions, that this is the BEST tree and that it's so much prettier than any we've ever had. You can imagine, from what I told you before, (about my self-esteem hinging on my children's acceptance), that I was beaming after hearing that. They were so excited to show daddy the decorated tree, when he came home from work in the morning.

This cotton ball Christmas window is something I saw on pinterest and LOVED the idea of 'snow' around my tree, so we strung up some cotton balls and craft pom poms from the ceiling with thread. I LOVE!!

tomorrow: tiny Christmas scenes, an ornament garland, and a crocheted wreath

Birthday girl

As I mentioned before, we just celebrated our teeny little girl's one year birthday. I love this girly so much and we had fun celebrating with her. Some details:

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1. The 'party' table. We don't do big parties for our kids, with all of OUR friends. Just don't see the point. So it was just the five of us, but I always love to make it special, with some decorations and a cake. (Balloons, tapered candles, polka dot napkins, and small paper plates from Zurchers! Who knew they had such cute party supplies there? I also got some stripey straws there.)

2. Flower Garland. I just bought a bunch of artificial flowers from Wal-Mart. I formed the flowers into a garland and connected them to each other using flower wire (don't know if that's the correct term. I got it in the flower section at Hobby Lobby). Then I cut off any long stems that were sticking out and, voila! A simple way to add some color to the party decor.

3. Chocolate cake with Salted Caramel Frosting. My frosting was too runny but the cake was still delicious. (Note: We don't drink coffee so I replaced that with an equal amount of water and a teaspoon or so of cardamom.) Remember my cake stand?

4. I made Penelope a chevron blanket, from this pattern. There's a similar one for FREE, here.

5. Presents.

6. Our antique store find. Remember this post? Also, tissue paper and tulle flower tutorial here.

7. & 8. Birthday girl, enjoying her cake.

Linky Love. . . .

The internet can be a dangerous place for me, if I'm not careful. There are WAY too many crafty blogs and shops that inspire me, I sometimes have a hard time ripping myself away. And then I have an infinitely long list of projects, which only stress me out. Please don't tell me I'm the only one.

Here's just a sliver of the things that have caught my attention lately:

KnitKnit on Etsy. I don't know why, but I can't get those knitted power cords off my mind. They're so random. And I love love love the embroidered felt animal necklaces and the felted cameo necklaces and brooches.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes via Domestic Reflections. Oh my!! I made these last night (sans espresso) for my husband and I as we watched our Wednesday night shows (The Middle and Modern Family) and they were SO GOOD. I made something similar in October one night, but these were SO. MUCH. TASTIER. I will probably be making them again tonight. yum yum.

Can't get this blanket off my mind. From Good Knits.

DIY Clay Lollipop Ornaments on Creature Comforts. Very cute. Since we're already into December now, I'm all about the fast projects so I don't think I'll have time for these this year, but I'll keep them in mind for next Christmas. Scroll down to the end of the post, where she has a few pictures of the different uses for these. All so cute.

The Modern French Tip on Black Eiffel. Love this!

A Beautiful Modern Christmas on 'Sitting in a Tree'.

Paper Snowflakes on Kerli and Animals. We made paper snowflake garlands last year and it added such a festive touch to our home. We WILL be doing this again!

And I only just scratched the surface. I've got a problem!

lately. . . .

We celebrated one year with our little girly.

working on a crocheted wreath, but I ran out of yarn.

We're changing it up this year with a small, sparse tree, so I'm changing up the ornaments, too. I'm working on some crocheted snowflakes.

more to come. . . .

MADE: Bobble Blanket {and a *giveaway*}

***GIVEAWAY now CLOSED***

I finished my bobble blanket!!

I just love the texture. I can't stop touching it. And it was relatively easy, if it weren't for the fact that I have such a hard time keeping an even tension throughout my projects. There are a few rows in there, that are tighter than the rest {*rolling my eyes*}. As far as stitches go, it's very beginner. You really only need to know how to do a single crochet and double crochet. So those of you who are learning and are ready to take on a bigger project, this would be a great one for you!

I got the pattern here, at the Moogly Blog. The one I made is the baby blanket version but, if you'd like to make a bigger blanket, check out this post, too, which gives some details on how much yarn you'd need, etc.

Anyway, on to the giveaway. . . .

Since we LOVE to crochet and we taught ourselves from library books, we thought it would be fitting to give one of our readers a book about crochet, so that you, too, can learn! The lucky winner will also receive some accessories (yarn, hook) to go along with the book.

The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet:

Some of you may already know how to crochet, but I think it would still come in handy. I would love to own a book like this.

If you'd like to be entered to win, please leave a comment telling us what types of posts you enjoy most: crochet, crafts, furniture, beauty, party, etc.

A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, December 6. Good luck to you all and thank you, thank you, thank you for reading!