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.  

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!)

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.

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.

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.

Sweater Finished!

I finished up the sweater I've been working on today. It's from the
post I made about two weeks ago about Suzie's Pretty Shells Baby Sweater and Hat. I posted the hat last week. Since I was finished with some of my gift projects, I decided to finish the second sleeve on this sweater. I decided to use the ladybug buttons I found in Joanne's a few weeks ago. The camera in my cell phone didn't really capture the color right, but it's Bernat's Super Value yarn in Yellow.

We're supposed to be getting a huge amount of snow overnight, and it started earlier, so we've been in the house most of the day. Before I finished the sweater, we wrapped Christmas presents. I just have a few more gifts to go, and I'll finish those on Monday night. In the meantime, I'm going to try working on a sleep sack pattern that I also found on the Suzie's Stuff blog. The hat that goes with it looks like it's the same as the one I made with the sweater, so that should go very quickly. I hope the sleep sack goes fast as well.

Busy work...

I've been busy working on a few projects. I made a a two scarves, two hats, and a pair of baby booties. The booties are a little strange looking, so I'm not too sure about those.

Right now I'm working on a cute project for my friend Nicole's future baby, Suzie's Pretty Shells Baby Sweater and Hat. I just have the arms of the sweater to go before I can start on the hat. The link I have to the original pattern has a picture of the items in pink. They look really cute. I'm doing the patter in yellow, and I've gotten a lot of compliments at work on the color. I can't wait to post pictures here when I'm done.

Another sweater

Since the last sweater went so well (see previous post), I thought I would do another sweater and hat for my friends Rusel and Sarah. I made a blanket for them with the same yarn (Red Heart Soft Baby Steps), and I had two skeins left over. I want to make some booties too, so I'll work on those this weekend. I love the buttons. Rus and Sarah have quite a few turtles as pets, so I'm hoping they'll like them, too.

The hat is the same pattern as the previous post as well, but I made it a row longer than the pattern called for. I also wasn't sure about the row where I had to do the front and rear post double crochets. I wasn't sure what that meant, so I kind of winged it (obviously not correctly *g*). I guess because it's a row larger than normal, the bottom kind of cuffed up when I was weaving in the ends. I figured since it's for a baby boy, it looked kind of cool like that, so I'm going to leave it.

Now that I know what I'm doing with these patterns, I'm thinking of making some for charity. I just have to find a good place to donate my items. I would like it to be a local place. I might contact my church's rectory to see if they know of anywhere. I checked the latest bulletin, but there was nothing in there this week. I'm pretty sure I've seen information in a previous bulletin.

In the meantime, I'm working on some presents. One is a really cool scarf. I'll post it here after I give it as a gift. :)

Finished baby sweater project!

I finished up the sweater tonight. I'm so excited. I think it came out pretty good for my second attempt. I loved the little butterfly buttons. I was so happy to find them at Joanne's. I'm not very happy with the picture that I'm posting. The colors look a little off, but I couldn't seem to get them to come out right with my camera.



I also made a matching hat. I learned how to do front and back post double crochets tonight. I had a watch a few videos on You Tube to get the hang of it, but they're not hard to do at all. The bottom of that hat is finished with alternate front and back post double crochets, and I can run a ribbon through it. I just have to go a craft store and get some. I got the pattern for the hat at Bev's Country Cottage. I took the second picture (of the hat) with my cell phone, and, strangely enough, those colors came out truer.


Next I'm going to try a pattern for booties that I got on the same site. I hope my friend Nicole likes the set. I wish I would have found this yarn before I made the baby blanket. The blanket I made is pretty, but I really like this yarn. I made the blanket before I knew that Nicole was having a girl, so the blanket had to be unisex. It's just a typical white yarn with the little colors interspersed (I think it's called Twinkle Print). It is cute, though, and I know she'll appreciate it. In fact, the blanket was the first crocheted project I've made in a very long time, so I was impressed by how it came out.

First Post

So this is my first post here. I started out with a photography blog called Pixelated!, but I haven't been taking too many pictures lately. Since I haven't really been able to get out and do that, I started to crochet again. I haven't really done anything since my friend had a baby about 14 years ago, so I picked up a kit with a book on teaching yourself to crochet and some hooks. Since then, I've been crocheting like crazy.

Since I have two friends that are having babies in March 2010, I started with baby blankets. The picture in this post is the beginnings of a baby sweater that I found on Bella Bambina. It's the blogger's own pattern, and I found it very easy to follow. I'll post another picture of it when I'm done. I have one more sleeve and the buttons to go, and I can't wait to finish it.