Wrist Warmers

It's been a hectic few weeks.  We're waiting for a closing date for our house, which should be in the next week or so.  I've been sorting and packing like crazy.  There's still so much to do, especially since it's so close to the holidays.

I have been keeping up with my baby blanket project, though.  I'm a little less than halfway done.  I'll post a picture of that soon.  However, it's been so cold out lately, and my hands get so cold when I'm surfing the internet.  I made my mom some wrist warmers last year for Christmas, so I was thinking of making myself a pair, but...I found a pair of them when I was searching my stash box for some yarn to use!  I'm wearing them now.  I got the pattern for these Wooly Wrist Warmers  from Crochet Pattern Central.  They were super easy to make.  It's really just a double crocheted square that's slip stitched together.  So far, they're keeping my hands nice and warm.

New blanket

My friend Sarah is having another boy.  I decided to make the new baby's blanket the same pattern as Ben's, just in a different color.  I chose Red Heart's Soft Baby Steps in Blue Earth.  I really like this yarn.  It's so nice and soft.  I'm using the Lacey Baby Blanket pattern I found on my Lion Brand Babysoft yarn skein, and it looks totally different from the last two blankets I made of the same pattern.

I think I over-bought the yarn, because I wanted to make sure I had all the same dye lot.  I can always make the baby a matching sweater and hat if that's the case.  :-)

I'll post another picture as I get further along.

It's been too long...

I haven't updated in awhile, but we've been busy house-hunting...and packing.  We didn't intend on buying a house right now, but it just kind of snowballed since we looked at a house close to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.  This is a picture of part of the backyard.  We have a gazebo and a solar green house!  How cool is that?!  Hopefully we'll be in the house before Christmas.

My friend Sarah is pregnant with her second baby, and she'll find out the sex of the baby this week.  So in between packing and the move, I'll have to find time to crochet a baby blanket.  I'll post a picture here as soon as I find the right yarn for my project and get it started...hopefully in the next week or so.

It's a girl!

My friend Melissa had her baby on September 15, 2010.  Of course, I had to dig out a girly color to make a dress for her as soon as I got the news.  I made Bella Bambina's Azalea Dress in Snuggly Wuggly pink yarn.  I love the buttons I used on it.  I need to find more...I think I bought them in Joanne's.

I made a matching hat as well.  I used Manner's Basic Baby Hat pattern.  It's super easy and quick to make, and it naturally folds up at the bottom.

Melissa's sister sent me a picture of the baby in my outfit that night.  She looked so cute!  (Of course, she looked cute before that. *g*)

I'm working on another dress in purple in a different pattern.  I'll post it when I'm finished.  I'm about halfway done, but I took today off.  Hopefully I can get it done this weekend.

Baby Shower

I'm still slowly working on my yellow blanket, but I realized that I forgot to post the pictures of what I made for my friend Melissa's shower.  I think I posted all of these at some point, but I'll post them all here tonight.  I love this slanted shell pattern for the blanket.  I really want to make another one soon.  I decided not to crochet a border around this one, but I may try a border with my next one.

Originally I made a ruffled sweater pattern to match the blanket, but Melissa didn't want to know the sex of her baby, and a ruffled sweater might be a little feminine for a boy.  I used the Snuggly Wuggly yarn for this sweater.  It might have been my first project with the yarn.  I liked the yarn so much that I've been using it for most of my baby sweaters.  I loved the little yellow buttons I found, and I wish I could remember where I got them.  Hopefully I can find them again.

I think this one is my favorite.  I used Caron's Simply Soft yarn, and I liked that it was a slightly bigger size than the other baby sweater patterns that I've gotten from Bella Bambina's blog.  I definitely would love to make more of these.

Melissa is due in ten days.  I'm hoping to try and make something else quickly once I find out the sex of the baby.  Like, I could probably make a cute sweater dress in a few days if it's a girl.  Not sure what I'll make if it's a boy.  Maybe a blue sweater or hat.  Although, I do have a pattern for a pumpkin hat I'd like to try, and it is almost fall.  (I'm so excited for fall!)

Victory!

I can tell I'm out of practice when I have to rip out my work six times before I'm able to figure out what's wrong with it.  Finally, on Wednesday's lunch, I was sitting in our break room just staring at the directions when I had my epiphany.  I wasn't counting the last single crochet on one row as the first single crochet when I started the next row.  (Sounds strange, but hopefully it's understandable.) Once I figured it out, I couldn't understand how I managed to miss it so many times.  I haven't measured it yet, but I guess I'm about a quarter of the way done. 

I did take pictures of my friend Melissa's shower gifts.  I just haven't had the time to post them yet.  They're on my laptop, which I don't have with me at the moment.  I'll do another post with them early next week.

Hundred Yen Pouch

I haven't really been crocheting much lately.  I've been catching up on my reading instead.  I have so many books piling up!  I'm finishing up physical therapy for my arm, but my hand is still a little tingly, so I'm still crocheting kind of slowly.

I know I posted about the Hundred Yen Pouch awhile back, but I put it in my car before I could take a picture of it.  I brought it in the house today to empty it, so I thought I'd take a few pictures tonight.  It doesn't look quite the same as Melissa's, but it might because of the yarn I'm using.  (It's just some yarn I had left over from a scarf I made myself last winter.)

I'm going to try crocheting a little bit this weekend.  I have to finish up the last row of my Slanted Stitch baby blanket that I worked on my friend Melissa's baby.  About half of the last row came out while I had it stored away, so I just have to stitch that back up.  I'll take some pictures of Melissa's baby things before I wrap them up next week.

Out of practice

I am trying to get back to crocheting, but since my left hand is still a little tingly, it's slow-going.  I started another Hooded Baby Blanket, like the one I posted awhile back.  I remember it being an easy pattern, but I am having a not-so-easy time of it this time.  I had to rip out about 6 rows and start all over again.  The end of the foundation row just wasn't sitting right, and it made the edge look lopsided the more I continued.  I'm using the Pound of Love skein in Pastel Yellow, and I'll post a picture when I get a little further into it.  (The picture below is the blanket I made a few months ago.)

I was intending on making the blanket for Bella Bambina's Blanket Blitz, but we'll see how long it takes me to make it.  Hopefully, I'll be able to make more than one blanket, but I'm finding my crocheting going slowly since I'm not yet 100%.

I also started to work on a hat for a friend's baby.  To make it a surprise, I won't be posting any pictures of that until I give it to my friend.  I'm very excited to make it, because I think she'll love it.  The pattern calls for two hooks: F & G.  Unfortunately, I think I started the hat with the F hook, which wasn't right.  (I know I did at least two rows with it.)  I'm going to have to frog that whole thing, too.  Thank goodness I was only about 7 rows in, and it's a baby hat.  :D

I'll post some pictures of the things I made for my friend's shower after I give them to her.  I just have to finish the last row of her blanket, and I'm done.  I would love to make another blanket using that pattern soon.  Maybe when I'm done with my modified Hooded Baby Blanket pattern.

Update

I've been hard at work with my physical therapy.  My arm is much better, but it's not 100% yet.  I have another doctor's appointment next week, so I'll have to see if he recommends I continue with the PT or he suggests a shot.

I haven't really been crocheting, but I did try my hand at a pattern from Inner Child Crochet call a Hundred Yen Pouch.  Mine came out with tighter stitches, but I might try it again with a different yarn.  I put it right in my car, so I didn't take pictures of it yet.  I'll try to remember tomorrow.  I needed something to put my change in, since my car doesn't have an enclosed area to keep coins like my other car did.  Since last year, there's been a string of robberies where someone is breaking into cars and just taking change.  I don't want my window broken for the $2.00 in change I might leave in my car.  The site has a few other patterns I'd like to try out soon.    Crocheting felt weird, but I was able to hold the yarn, which I couldn't do a few weeks ago.

My dad passed away last week, so we spent most of that time with my mom.  She's been very interested in macro photography lately, so I thought I'd fool around with my camera in the yard one day.  This was one of the better pictures.

Healing slowly...

I can still only type with my right hand, but I've been going to physical therapy, and I'm moving my left arm around slightly better than I did before.  I thought I post some things I've sent to Bella Bambina for her Bella's Babies charity.

These are the two boys sets I did.  The pants were pretty easy and worked up quickly.  I would have liked to make hats to go with everything, but my body thought differently.

Here are two sweaters.  I loved the flower buttons.  I can see myself acquiring a huge supply of buttons if I let myself.  LOL!

Kelly has an album link up for items that other people have sent in.  There's some really beautiful things, if anyone is interested in checking it out.

Forced hiatus

Just wanted to let everyone know that I won't be posting for a bit. I did something to my back and have very limited use of my left arm.  Have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and hopefully he can do something.   It's driving me crazy not to be able to do most of the stuff I love.  Hopefully I'll be back soon.

Getting back to work..

I have five or six items left to make for the Bella Bambina charity contest.  These little pants go with a "t-shirt" pattern that I also made.  I just finished the pants tonight.  It's getting close to the end of the contest, so I can't take any more time off.  Until last night, I hadn't crocheted a thing since I went away to Disney.

I wasn't sure if I would like the pants, but I think they came out pretty good. I think I might make another set in girlie colors.  I don't know how well the colors came out in this photo, but the yarn has flecks of green and blue in it.  It's really cute.  When I'm done sewing in all the threads to the t-shirt, I'll post a picture of that too.

Back from vacation

Just got back from a vacation to Walt Disney World.  It was my first time there, and it was great.  Way too hot, though.

Needless to say, I was way too busy to crochet anything while we were away. (Plus, I had no room in my luggage for yarn!  *g*)  I think I'm a little more than halfway done with my projects for the Bella Bambina contest.  I can't wait to get all my stuff together to send.

I started a pair of crocheted baby shorts before I left for vacation, and I should be getting back to it tomorrow.  I'll post the whole outfit here when I finish up the shorts.

Another sweater dress

I'm not feeling well, so I'm not really crocheting as much as I'd like to.  I started this last night.  Bella Bambina posted a pattern for it yesterday.  It's called an Azalea Dress.  I thought it was so cute.  I thought I'd try my first one with Snuggly Wuggly in Pixie Prints.  I have another yarn with pink and purple in it, so I'll save that to make another dress.

I started another Sweater Dress over the weekend, but I can't work on that for too long, which is why I started this new one.  The yarn I'm using for the other dress is kind of thick for the hook, I think, because it makes my wrist ache after a row or two.  I can take my time with that one.

This current pattern is working up fairly quickly.  It's my ninth item for the charity contest.  I'm so excited that I'm keeping up my goals.  If I get done a little early, maybe I can crochet some pants for a few of the sweaters I made.  :D

Beautiful Sweater Dress

I'm on my sixth sweater for the Bella Bambina contest.  One of the things I made was Kelly's pattern for a Sweater Dress.  I used Caron's Simply Soft in white for the bodice and Baby Brights Ombre for the skirt.  I received so many compliments on it.  I really love the way the colors look together, and the pattern is much easier than I thought.  (I always seem to assume patterns are harder than they are, for some reason.)  I'm definitely going to make this pattern again.

Snuggly Wuggly Yarn

Since I decided to give the contest over at Bella Bambina a try, I went to Michael's on Monday to get some yarn.  I really liked Snuggly Wuggly yarn after I tried it for my friend's baby sweater, so I picked up a few skeins.  Besides the normal colors, like pink and blue, I saw that they now have a Snuggly Wuggly yarn called Mini Dots.  For my first sweater, I used one of the Mini Dots skeins called Daffodil Dots, which has flecks of yellow and green.  I think I have enough to make at least one more sweater.  Hopefully I can make a hat or two to go with them.  I think I might make the sweaters first and add the buttons at the end, so it goes a little faster.  I'm very excited about this, because the sweaters are going to a good charity.  :D

Two sweater projects

My first project was a Sweater Coat pattern from Bella Bambina.  I used the Snuggly Wuggly yarn in Baby Pastel Ombre, and I really like this yarn.  It's nice and soft.  I used yellow stars for the buttons, since my friend Melissa doesn't want to know the sex of the baby.  It's the first time I've tried this pattern, and I really liked it.

After I finished this sweater is when I started the round baby blanket.  I was so close to finishing that, when I discovered I missed a cluster and had to rip out around 6 rows.  As I was ripping those rows out, I discovered that I had been making one of the "corners" a cluster off for 9 rows, which threw that whole side off.  I had to rip out those rows, too.  I decided to take a little break from the blanket and make another baby sweater.  I've gone back to it since I've finished, and I can't wait to post it when it's finally done.

My second project is also from Bella Bambina, called Kelly's Sweater.  For this sweater, I used Caron's Simply Soft yarn in Pastel Green.  I really love this yarn.  It's so soft, and it's kind of shiny.  This sweater is for bigger babies; I think 6 - 9 months.  I used white pearly buttons, because I wanted to keep it neutral, since this is also for Melissa's baby.

For both hats, I used Manner's Basic Baby Hat pattern.  The one that I made with the Simply Soft yarn came out slightly bigger, which I hope will fit a 6 - 9 month baby.  I love this hat pattern, because it's easy and works up so fast.  I've made quite a few hats using this pattern already.

One last thing, Bella Bambina is having a contest. Kelly is asking anyone who enters to make 15 going home outfits for her charity.  I think I might enter; I'm hoping I can make 15 things in time.  If anyone else is interested, please head on over and read the post at the top of her blog.

Ruffled sweater

Here's a sweater that I made a few weeks ago.  I got the pattern from Bella Bambina.  I haven't added the buttons yet, but I will over the weekend.  It was the first thing I made with Bernat Baby Softee yarn, which is the same yarn I used to make the slanted shell stitch blanket.  I'm not sure where the sweater is going yet.  I would like to give it to my friend Melissa, but she doesn't want to know the sex of the baby, and I'm thinking that the ruffles are decidedly feminine.

I took a trip to Michaels last night and bought a skein of Snuggly Wuggly yarn.   Turns out the yarn was on sale. If I would have known, I would have grabbed a few more.  I'm going to make the coat sweater pattern from Bella Bambina with it.  I've been wanting to try the pattern since Kelly posted it.  I bought Baby Pastel Ombre, and I thought that it would be a good unisex sweater for Melissa's baby.  It also kind of matches the yarn I used for the blanket.  I can't wait to start it, but I'm still working on the round baby blanket.  I'm very close to finishing it.  I think I have six rows before I get to the border.  I'll post a picture of it when I'm done.  It's different from anything I've done, and the pattern was very easy once I figured out how to work the cluster stitch.

New projects

I just finished the body of my Slanted Shell Baby Blanket, and while I try to figure out what kind of border to add to it, I decided to use up some of my scrap yarn with a giant granny square afghan.  For now I'm just using the left over red and white Red Heart Super Saver yarn I used to make a scarf for my friend Maryanne.  It's not really that big yet.  The white yarn kind of annoys me, though.  It's not as soft and easy to work with as some of my other yarns.

But, this week AC Moore is having a sale on Lion Brand's Pound of Love yarn and Bernat's yarn that's about the same size.  I bought two of each brand to save since they're not 2 for $10 very often.  Since I was getting aggravated with the granny square afghan, I thought I'd try one of the patterns that came on the label of the Bernat Baby Sport skein.  It's a round blanket, and the stitches are cluster stitches that I've never done before, so it was a little challenging at first, but I think I'm getting the hang of it now.  I've gotten a little further than this picture, but I thought I'd post the picture I put up on Ravelry.

I think this is going to turn out to be an interesting blanket.  I've never done a round blanket before, and I'm not sure how long it's going to take.  I don't have anyone in mind for this blanket yet, but I didn't have anyone in mind when I started the slanted shell blanket either, and now I'm going to give it to my friends Melissa and Brian for their baby that's due in September.  As soon as I finish the border on that blanket, I'll post another picture.  I really love the pattern the slanted stitch makes.  It looks like it might be hard, but it's really not.  I would recommend the patten to anyone who wants to make something that looks a little different.  (The link to the pattern is in my original post.)

Hooded Baby Afghan

I was visiting family last week, and had to start a new project, since I forgot to bring extra yarn with me for my current project: a slanted shell baby blanket for my friends Melissa and Brian.  I happened to pack a skein of Lion's Brand Pound of Love yarn, because I'm very close to finishing the slanted shell blanket, and I wanted to have something to work on at night.

I used the pattern on the yarn wrapper, which was a hooded baby afghan.  It's such an easy stitch, and I love the pattern.  The hood part was a little strange to attach.  I'll definitely make this pattern again, but I would like to try at least one blanket without the hood and make it a little bigger.  It's kind of small, but I think it's fine for a small (newborn) baby.

Gifts for my friend Nicole

I finally remembered to upload the pictures of the gifts I sent to my best friend for her new baby.  I wound up sending a box to her, since I wasn't sure when I'd be able to see her again.  She emailed me to tell me how much she loved everything, and I was so happy.  I even got a picture of her older daughter wearing a hat I'd made for her.  :D

This picture to the right was one of the first things I made for the new baby...one of the first things I made when I started to crochet.  I think I was still getting the arms down.  My newer one is much better.  I'll post that when I find nice buttons to put on it.  (Not sure who the recipient of that sweater will be.)  The sweater is the cardigan pattern from Bella Bambina that I've posted before.  It's a really easy pattern, and Kelly has a excellent tutorial linked to the pattern.  The hat is the same hat that I made for my friend Sarah, but with this one I learned how to do the front and back post stitches, so it's the way it's supposed to look.  :-)  The pattern is Bev's Easy Round Baby Hat, and it was truly very easy.  It was my first experience with rounds.  I really loved the yarn I used, but AC Moore never seems to have enough skeins of it to make a blanket, so I had to be content with just this project.

I made this sweater and hat before Nicole knew she was having a girl.  It's Suzie's Pretty Shells Baby Sweater and Hat, and I received so many compliments on both the color and the pattern.  I used Bernat yellow yarn that I'd bought on sale.  It's nice and soft, and it's a really nice shade of yellow.  I'm very proud of this sweater, because it was the most complicated thing I'd done.  I added the buttons after I found out Nicole was having a girl.

It was so hard to part with this blanket.  It's the same pattern I used for Sarah's baby blanket.  It's from the label of a Baby Soft yarn I bought for my first project.  I like the pattern, and it's easy to work up.  I really love this yarn, though.  It's Red Heart Soft Baby Steps in Princess Smart Print.  It's just so soft and cuddly.  I would love to make something else with this yarn.

The hat on the top is a pattern my friend Sarah recommended to me, it's called a Basic Baby Beanie, and the pattern is on Ravelry.  If you crochet or knit, I would suggest joining Ravelry.  Not only are there tons of patterns to choose from, but there are groups to join that can really be helpful.  I haven't been on the site long enough to join as many groups as I'd like, but I plan to explore the site more thoroughly soon.

The bottom hat is Manner's Basic Baby Hat.  It had a chunk of the Princess Smart Print left over, so I thought I'd try the hat with it, and I liked the way it came out.  Both of these hats worked up really quickly, and I'll definitely make them again.

These last two hats are Suzie's Girlie Beanies.  I've made quite a few of these hats, because she has directions for four different sizes.  I even made one for myself to match my scarf.  I thought it would be cute to make matching hats for the girls.

My current project is a slanted stitch baby blanket.  I'll make a post of that some time next week.  At first I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it, but it turns out to be something that is much easier to do than it looks.  I started it without a recipient it mind, but I recently found out my friend Melissa is expecting, so I'll be saving it for her. :D

Another baby afghan

I found a pattern for a slanted shell baby hat awhile back, and I decided to make it last night while I was watching tv.  I finished very quickly, so today I decided to look for a slanted stitch baby blanket pattern.  I found one at The Art of Crochet by Teresa, and that's what I'm working on now.  I had a little problem with the ends of rows when I first started out, but I quickly figured out how to end the row without adding a shell and distorting the shape.  I decided to use some yarn out of my stash: Bernat Softee Baby in Chiffon Print.  I'm using an H hook, because it's what I used to make the baby hat, and I liked the way it came out.  Once you get the hang of the slanted shell pattern, it goes very quickly.  I'll post another picture when I'm further along.

I'm supposed to visit my family this weekend, and hopefully that will include a visit to see my best friend, who's expecting her second daughter in a few weeks.  I'm going to pack up everything I made for the baby, and I'll take pictures before I do.  I'm really impressed with myself.  Before I started to crochet again a few months ago, I never thought I'd be able to make anything more intricate than the most basic patterns, but I'm learning.  :D

Basic Baby Hat

Late last night I decided to start another baby sweater.  There were two cute sweater that Kelly from Bella Bambina posted on her site recently, and I decided to go with the baby sweater with ruffled bottom.  Since I didn't have any Snuggly Wuggly yarn in my stash, I decided to go with Bernat Softee Baby yarn in Chiffon Print. I finished the project this afternoon while I was watching tv.  I only have to figure out which buttons to put attach, and then I'll take pictures and post it here.  I wish I had the patience to figure out how Kelly did the chain attachment she had pictured, but I'll have to ask since I couldn't figure it out from the picture.  :-)

I did ask Kelly about the hat she had posted with the two sweaters I liked, and she shared the link with me.  I really like the yarn the designer used.  I decided to go with the leftover yarn with which I made my friend Nicole's baby blanket as a trial run.  I like the way it came out, so I'll probably make more of them.  I also found a new blog to follow: Manner's Crochet and Craft, and you can find the pattern to the hat here.

Almost finished...

So this is the baby blanket I'm working on for my friend Nicole.  I'm so excited, because I'm so close to being finished.  I'm hoping to give it (and some other projects) to her this weekend.  I'm going to take pictures of everything before I wrap them up so I can post them here.  The picture was taken with my cell phone camera, so the colors aren't as pretty as they are in real life.  The yarn is Red Heart Soft Baby Steps in Princess Smart Print.  I've gotten so many compliments on the blanket as I've been working on it.  I really love the colors.

I'm also happy because Michael's was having a sale on the Red Heart Baby Cloud yarn.  I have a pattern for a cute baby blanket from my Susan Bates learn crochet book using that yarn, so I ran up and bought some.  The biggest challenge was to find five skeins with the same dye lot.  Very frustrating.  I managed to find five skeins of Sunny Multi: a mix of yellow, green, blue, and pink.  I can't wait to see how it looks worked up.  I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with the blanket when it's done, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  *g*

I'm also working on a throw blanket for myself with a pretty pattern I found online.  I'm using Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Rose, and I think it's coming out very nice.  I'll post a picture of that when I'm further along.  I started it while I was waiting for the yarn for Nicole's baby blanket, so it's really not that far along yet, maybe 10 rows.  I'm not in a rush with it, though, because it's for me.  I'll be working on it when I have no other projects to do.

Yesterday was my friend Sarah's baby shower. I was so happy to finally give her all the stuff I'd been working on for baby Ben. I really need a better way to take pictures of my work. LOL!

First up was the baby blanket. I got the patter off a skein of Lion Brand Baby Soft yarn, but I used Red Heart Soft Baby Steps yarn in Mellow Yellow Smart Print. I love the feel of the Red Heart yarn. It was softer than the Baby Soft yarn, but the stitches didn't come out as tight, It's an easy pattern to work up, though.

Since it seems to use up more yarn than the Baby Soft, I ran to AC Moore's and bought up whatever they had left in the dye lot. I had a few skeins left over, so I made a sweater and hat as well.

I got the sweater pattern from Bella Bambina.  It's a very simple cardigan pattern that I love.  My husband helped me find some adorable turtle buttons in Joanne's (my friends have several turtles as pets).  The hat I got here: http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/preemieround.html.  I accidentally made an extra row, which made the hat roll up when I finished it.  I thought it made it a little more boyish, so I left it.  I believe I've posted about the hat and sweater before.  


The last items I gave was a sleep sack with a matching hat.  I made this one before I made the bear cocoon, so I had some idea how they worked.  I finished it fairly quickly. I still have some light blue yarn left.  I can't remember if it was Red Heart or Bernat yarn.  There was a sale when I got the baby pink, yellow, and blue yarns.  I like to roll the yarn into balls, so the label is most likely in the heart of the ball of yarn.  LOL!

I'm not sure how long the sleep sacks are really good for.  They might be better for preemie babies.  I loved making the hat.  I think that even if I didn't make the sleep sack that I might make up the hat again.  We'll see if this is something I can make for charity.


Right now I'm working on a baby blanket for my friend Nicole.  I'm using the Red Heart Soft Baby Steps yarn in Princess Smart Print, which I am crazy about.  I've gotten so many compliments on it.  (I did with the Mellow Yellow Smart Print as well.)  I finally joined Ravelry, and Nicole's blanket is the first one I put up.  I can't wait to look around the site more to get more familiar with it.


As I said in my photography blog, I haven't really posted in awhile, because my dad is in the hospital, and I just haven't been up for it.  I've had an upper respiratory infection, so I can't make the trip to visit him.  He's suffering from congestive heart failure, and they're still doing tests. Any prayers, well-wishes, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

My Bear Cocoon Project

I know I've mentioned my expectant friends before. My friend Sarah wanted to make the project to the right, and I agreed to do it with her. I thought it was a cool idea. Sarah made hers for her baby, and I made mine for my friend Nicole. The majority has been done for awhile now, but I've been putting off doing the feet, which I finished tonight.

In the meantime, I've been working on a few things in addition to transferring everything I need over to the new computer (which is about 98% done). Sarah sent me a nice pattern for a baby hat. I made one while we were watching a movie at home one night, and I'd love to make more, but I'm not sure where all those hats would go. I'll have to find somewhere I can donate anything I might make.

Anyway, I bought this beautiful bear cocoon at Etsy. I had to make an account, which I plan to use more in the future. The seller of the pattern was Sandy's Cape Cod Originals. She has so many nice patterns that it'll be hard to chose another. :)

New year/new project

Happy New Year!

Last night we went out with my friends Rus and Sarah. We did dinner and a movie, and then we came back to our place, where Sarah and I started on the project to the left, this bear hat. It's an adorable combo pattern of this hat and a sleep sack. Together, they look like a little bear.

I bought the pattern on Etsy, at Sandy's Cape Cod Originals shop. The pattern is fairly easy to follow, even though it contains some stitches I've never done before. I'm working on the sleep sack now, and I'll take a picture of that when I'm done.

I think I might look for some more of Sandy's patterns when I'm done. But first, I checked out Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker from the library yesterday, and I saw a few nice patterns in there that I might want to try in there first. The book has the cutest pattern for a sock monkey baby afghan that I'd love to try. It's granny squares, which I haven't done in ages, but hopefully it can keep me occupied long enough to finish it. I have up on my last granny square baby afghan. The idea of making so many small squares lost its appeal after about 25 squares. :/