A Rainy Day

I'm still playing catchup from my long absence, so I thought I would make another entry. It's been raining cats and dogs here the last few days, and watching the lightning outside tonight put me in the mood to write.

We don't have many girls in my family (there are 6 out of 22 grandchildren) and all of the babies born since I started knitting have been boys. Except one! My cousin's daughter recently gave birth to a tiny little girl, and the whole family couldn't have been happier. You should have seen all the ruffles and bows and pink and purple at the shower! Personally, I don't much care for those sorts of things, but I know there are those people out there that won't let their child put on anything unless it's covered in bows and glitter. 

So, when the new mother asked me to make a hat for her newborn pictures, I was happy to comply. I do have some pink yarn (it was given to me in a mixed bag), and she only wanted a little pink accent bow, so I still have plenty left...

I didn't have a pattern for the exact hat she wanted, so I took the photo and tried to find the closest thing I could. I added the bow (from this video tutorial) and crochet chain detail to this pattern and I think it turned out pretty close. I like the open weave of the body of the hat and can't wait to try this on a larger size someday. The precious sleeping baby makes it look even more adorable!

Little baby Wilson in her adorable little cap on the day she came home

As I mentioned, I still have plenty of the pink and white yarn, so I decided to make some matching little newborn mittens using this pattern. I like the set. I would like to make the mittens in a couple of other colors, maybe a really pale purple, and a soft baby yellow. Not that I have anyone to give them to at this time...

Mittens and cap in white and soft pink baby yarn

Since we don't have girls in the family, I have to live vicariously through my friends. I had two friends have baby girls over the last year as well, and I found a really cute and unique hat idea, using this pattern. The neat part about it is that you turn the finished product inside out! I thought that was clever, and not something you would normally think of. I also market the hat on my Etsy site as a tiny satchel, because once the little darling outgrows it, she can just tug on the drawsting to make a little pouch to house all her trinkets. I like the versatility :-)

Newborn textured baby hat/drawstring pouch

Since there are so many beautiful patterns and ideas out there for little girl items, I went a little crazy. I knew that one of my friends' little girls had no hair and that she was going to be wearing headbands and those little velcro bows on her fuzz for a while, so I had to test out a headband pattern as well. I didn't get a chance to see it on her, but I think because of the way it's made it would have stretched just fine. I had some bright pink leftover from the little Mary Jane's I made a while back, so I used it.

Little girls' headband in with Vanna's Choice in Pink Poodle

I think I'm pretty set on the little girl items for a little while. No one else I know is expecting, so I can concentrate on figuring out what to make for Christmas gifts, and the boys' birthday gift, which I'll write about soon. 

Have you found that your projects are a little one-sided on the gender scale? 

Another Day, Another Post

Writing yesterday got me in the mood to write even more! And since I've done so many projects since last summer, I have plenty to write about :-)

My last post before my absence was about these adorable knit baby pants. I've only met the little tyke once, but his newborn photo session turned out so cute! Unfortunately, the pants were a tiny bit large because he was born a few weeks premature, but I think the hat is a perfect accessory to this sleeping babe. Here he is!

He's a pretty cute dude, just like his cousins.

It's Been a While...

And boy, have I been busy! I don't think I could summarize all the projects I've completed over the last year, but I will do my best to post pictures of everything over the next few months. I kind of fell out of the blogging world for a while, so please excuse any faux pas.

The twins are getting so big and keeping Mommy and Daddy very busy. We go on outings, play games, sing songs, play music, read books, cook and bake, color, play with bubbles, and anything else that active 22 month olds like to do. I am working on a huge birthday gift for them, which I'll talk about more later, but for now, let's see some pictures!!

These are some of my favorite creations! The first jellyfish was a gift I made for my 2 year old nephew for Christmas last year, and he turned out so cute, I wanted to make one for my boys! I loved learning how to make the curlicues, and the bright colors helped use up some of my Red Heart Super Saver stash. I love making the unique faces on them as well, and the purple one has so many loooong tentacles. I do not let the boys play with this one unattended, as the tentacles could get wrapped up around their little necks, but they do love pulling on them all the time.

First jellyfish in Red Heart Super Saver yarn

Boys' jellyfish with Red Heart Super Saver yarn

The little turtle friend is one of my most prized creations; it is a completely original design and it could not have turned out better! I realized through making the others that the simple dome-shaped bodies could easily be turned into many other creatures. So, I started on him and I love everything about him. I wish he could stand up on his tiny legs like the octopus, but I'm not going to change anything unless I make another.

Turtle friend with Red Heart Super Saver yarn

The octopus was something that I saw on Pinterest, and thought, "I could make that, easy!" I used every last scrap of red yarn and even had to take some stitches out of a few legs so they would all be the same length. He is so huggable and the boys love dragging him around by his legs.

Octopus in Red Heart Super Saver Red

I hope this puts any doubts as to my commitment to yarn crafts to rest. While I haven't been posting, I have been working still. I've even got ideas for other neat sea creatures to create. There will be more catch-up posts to come, as well as posts about my current projects. All of these creatures will be posted to my Etsy site for purchase shortly. I also have been doing some updating and housecleaning there. Check it out, and leave me comments if you like any of these stuffed friends. 

What have you been working on the last month?