Return to Hobby Lobby

So this week we took a trip to PA, and that meant a trip to Hobby Lobby!  I wanted to get a few skeins for some of the new patterns I bought last week.

I bought a few patterns from Boomer Beanies that I'm very excited to try.  One of them is the Double Pom Pom hat, and the suggested yarn for the pattern is Yarn Bee Diva Sequin yarn.  The pictures in the pattern was called Maui, but once I got there I decided to go with Bali (to the left).  I bought 2 skeins, since the pattern said that a skein made a 0-3 month old hat, and I'm not sure what size I want to make yet.  I would have bought more, but it's a little pricey - $7.99 per skein.  As much as I want to start on this pattern, I have too many others to do first.

I'm on my second Thing 1, Thing 2 hat from Bizee B Boutique.  I decided to do all 3 hats first and then decide if I want to do the pom pom or a bow on top of them.  Hopefully I can have them done this week.  I'll post a picture of the 3 of them together.

Summer Hiatus

I didn't realize exactly how long it's been since I posted.  I finished the sock monkey inspired cocoon I mentioned in my last post.  I also started a Winnie the Pooh inspired blanket that's similar to the sock monkey blanket I posted about awhile back, but I haven't finished that up yet.

I took a break around mid-June to participate in my library's adult summer reading program.  It's the program's second year, and I find that it's a good incentive for me to dig into my ever-growing "to read" list on Goodreads.  Today was the last day, so I'm ready to start crocheting again!

We found out that my sister-in-law's baby is a girl, and I've been asked to be Godmother!  I'm so excited!  I found some cute patterns at  Sandy's Cap Cod Originals on Etsy, and I purchased 2 of them to make for my new niece.  I bought the yarn for both projects over the weekend, and I'll post about them after I try them out.  Both are a little different for me.  One involves a band of Vanna White's Glamour yarn in gold, using 2 strands at once.  I've never crocheted using more than one strand of yarn, so I'm looking forward to trying that.  The other hat uses Reynolds Kids Cottontails yarn, which has been discontinued.  I managed to find some on eBay, so I'm looking forward to trying that too.  It's a yarn I've never used before.

I've also bought quite a few other patterns, including a Thing 1 & Thing 2 hat from Bizee B Boutique on Etsy.    Awhile back, my oldest niece told me that she wanted something that said Thing 1 for her and Thing 2 for her younger sister.  The pattern is for infant up to adult, so I thought this might be the perfect thing for them.  Right now I'm working on a "Thing 3" for my future niece, and I'll do Things 1 & 2 for my other nieces after that.  I'd like to have all three done by the time my newest niece is born this fall.

Hobby Lobby Trip

Turns out there's a Hobby Lobby about 15 miles from my mom's house.  Since we were visiting for Easter, I decided to make a trip to check it out.  I have a few patterns that recommend using "I Love This Yarn," and I was curious to check it out.  After I picked out all the colors I thought I needed for some projects, I found this really nice yarn called Surprise Stripe.  I plan to make at least a scarf with it, since the colors match my winter coat.  I can't wait to see how it works up.

Over the weekend, I finished the Sock Monkey blanket pattern that I bought from Sandy's Cape Cod Originals on Etsy.  I also started work on a sock monkey inspired baby cocoon and hat that I also purchased from Sandy.  I finished the cocoon, and all I have left is the hat.  As soon as I'm done I plan on taking pictures to post here.  

New project!

The last month and a half has been fairly busy.  I finished my round baby blanket, which is a great relief.  It's huge. I'll try to take pictures of it to post later in the week.  I finished a few other projects, too - I found out a few weeks ago that my sister-in-law is pregnant with baby #3!  I don't want to make too many things until we find out the sex of the baby, though.

A few days ago, I was checking out my mom's Etsy shop, Uniquely Yours Creations. (She has hand dyed fabric, quilt tops, note cards with original photography, and more!)  From there, I decided to check out one of my favorite shops, Sandy's Cape Cod Originals.  I posted the Bear Cocoon that I purchased from the shop awhile ago.  I settled on two new patterns: a Sock Monkey Toy Blanket, pictured to the right, and a Little Bear Toy Blanket.  She's got so many great patterns that I'll have to go back and buy a few more.  I wasn't sure if it would be too hard for me, but the directions are very easy to follow.  I'm not sure where this blanket is going yet, but I'm sure I'll find a home for it soon enough.  :-)

Quick post

I've been seriously lax on this blog.  I haven't stopped crocheting, though.  The picture to the left is a gift I made for one of my friends.  (She asked for it, although I'm not sure why.)

I've been working on my round baby blanket, but I've mostly only been doing it on my lunch hours, so it's been slow going.  I think I might try to finish it up at night, too.  I only have about eight rows including the trim, so I'm getting antsy to finish it up.

I've also been busy making hats.  I made a few for Christmas for my friends' children.  I'll try to find some pictures I can post soon.  I've been goofing off on Pinterest too, and I found some good patterns on there.  One of them is a nice pattern for newborn caps.  I've made about six of them so far.  Some I might give as gifts, but I think I might save the bulk of them for charity.  It's a good way to use up all the leftover yarn I've been accumulating from making sweaters, etc.

Knook

Just a quick update.  I hate that I haven't been updating as much as I want. I have to take some pictures of the newest project that I'm working on, a crocheted round baby blanket.  I started a blue one awhile back and got frustrated when I had to pull out about 16 rows.  I put it aside since my friend was expecting and worked on a blanket for her baby.  Quite a few projects later, I thought I'd pick up the round blanket again, but I wasn't sure if I was continuing it correctly.  Instead of ripping anything else out, I decided to start a new one using Red Heart Econo Baby in Carousel Print.  I'm about halfway done, and I can't wait to finish it.

I went to AC Moore tonight to look for a kit on teaching myself how to knit.  My mom taught me how to knit a long time ago, but at the time I preferred to crochet.  I had no luck finding the kit, but I did find this small kit to learn how to Knook.  Knooking is knitting with a crochet hook.  I was curious and had a 50% off coupon, so I bought the kit for $5.  The kit comes with 3 knooks, 3 cords, and a book with instructions and 4 patterns.  Luckily, the Leisure Arts website has how to videos to help a newbie along.  I'm currently working on the purl stitch.  Only time will tell if I'm doing it correctly.  Once I'm done with my sample stitches, I plan on making the Spa Cloth pattern in the book, since it's the smallest project in there.  I'll post my progress as I go along.

Babies everywhere!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted!  I've been keeping busy crocheting the whole time, but mostly at work on my breaks.  Once it started getting warm out, I had to start putting time in with yard work.  I was blessed with a beautiful garden when we bought this house, but it seems the previous owner planted so many things in the yard that it has a tendency to get overgrown rather quickly...and the weeds are plentiful!

I'm putting the finishing touches on that yellow blanket that I originally started last August.  I had to put it aside while I made some things for baby Alex, and I didn't get back to it right away.  I'm so glad it's just about finished.  I plan on giving it to a co-worker as a gift for her very first grandchild.  I also made a sweater out of Snuggly Wuggly Baby Yarn that may or may not be Daffodil Dots.  I have to look for the color name in my stash.

And just when I thought I could get back to the throw for my couch that I started what seems like an eternity ago, my boss announced that her daughter was expecting her second child...  And then she found out her daughter-in-law is also expecting her first child.  Since then, we've found out that one of them will be a boy.  In the meantime, I started a sweater using Snuggly Wuggly Baby Pastel Ombre.  The pattern is Bella Bambina's Sweater Coat, but instead of the G hook listed in the pattern, I'm using an H hook in hopes it will come out a little larger.

I have to have the blanket and other sweater finished very soon, since my co-worker's daughter-in-law is scheduled for a C-section at the beginning of August.  I'll try to post pictures of them as soon as I finish up.