Thursday, October 21, 2010

Star Baby Blanket

I also found this blanket when I was cleaning out the storage. This blanket took me hours to make! I worked on it for about 2 months, and never thought I'd see the day when I finally finished piecing this quilt together. Each block has 26 pieces, and I did a total of 12 blocks on this quilt. Hence the reason it took me so long. That's a total of 312 pieces, which is a lot for a baby blanket. Also, I hand-stitched it which was a lot of work, and my first attempt and hand-stitching too. I really enjoyed making this, and this blanket is a masterpiece which I will keep for the rest of my life.

Here is a look at some of the hand-stitch detail.

Block 1, blue stars with white background
Block 2, white stars with blue background
The full quilt all pieced together.
I'm not sure if anybody would be interested in this pattern, but if you are leave a comment. I want to sell my pattern, but I'm not sure if it's something people are interested in or not. Let me know.


Pink Crochet Baby Blanket

The second blanket I ever crocheted. My skills improved slightly from the first one to the next, but I still had a few challenges. I was about 16 when I made this. The little puffy spots that you can see on the blanket are actually supposed to look like hearts. I tried to get a good picture of it, but none of my pictures really showed it too well. I did my best though, and it's fun to look back at how far I've come since I learned how to crochet.


Tyler's Tie Shirt

So I've been sewing and having a good old time doing it, and today I decided Tyler needed a tie shirt like the baby ones that I've been making to sell on my Etsy shop. Since his favorite color is green, I thought that it would make a cute tie. Here's what I came up with. I also made him a green and white striped beanie hat but didn't get a chance to take pictures yet. Stay tuned :)




I Found My First Crocheted Blanket!


So I have been going through things in storage, digging out old crafts that I have long since forgotten about, and I found my very first crochet project. This blanket took me countless hours, I unraveled it about 5 times before it was square, and I probably should have used a different kind of yarn. But still, I love it because it was my first project, and I have fond memories of spending all that time with my grandma. Here are some pics of the blanket. I just used my cheap-o camera so these pictures aren't all that great, but it shows some of the detail.




Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Applique Onesies

Some cute Applique Onesies I've been working on.
This little gem came from a coloring book. Coloring books are my favorite place to get cute little shapes and simple designs. I just love how they look!
This cute little octopus applique came from here.
The pattern for the tie onesie came from here.
You can find the pattern to this adorable guitar applique here
The letter D I just copied out a coloring book. Ended up being a huge letter compared to that little tiny onesie but I'll take it anyways.

Receiving Blankets




Here is some cute receiving blanket that I crocheted around the edges. I am happy with how they turned out, and hope the new mom they are for will love them as much as I loved making them.

Soft And Fuzzy Baby Hat


I used a pattern from Coats and Clark found here for this hat. However, since it was for a baby boy I opted not to put the ears on it. It is so soft and it will keep that little baby in your life toasty warm.

12 Patch Baby Blanket



For the pattern I used LionBrand's Pattern for their 9-Patch Baby Blanket found here. After finishing the pattern I found that this pattern was WAY too small for a baby, so I added an extra row to each side for a total of 12 patches rather that 9. For the edge I did a simple shell.
Border: Sc in any space on the edge, skip next space, work 5 dc in next space, skip next space, repeat from star around the entire blanket until you get to the first sc. Slip stitch in first sc and finish off. It is ok if you don't have the exact amount of spaces needed. Just kinda fudge it a little. It will look the same.

Crochet Pumpkin Beanie


I used Red Heart Super Saver Yarn in Carrot for the orange and Thyme for the green.
For this cute little beanie I used this cute little pattern found here.
I didn't think that this pattern made a wide enough hat so I added an extra 5 rows for a total of 29 rows. This little hat turned out so cute.

Double-sided Star Shaped Blanket


Side A
Side B
I designed this adorable little star blanket hoping to use up some extra yarn I had laying around. I ended up buying way more yarn to finish it, and the yarn I used was really thin so the blanket didn't look quite right to me. Hence the reason for it being double sided. In the future I am sure I will use worsted weight yarn instead, but this did turn out beautifully if I do say so myself.

For the main pattern I used Beth's Little Star Afghan Pattern found here.
I used Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn in Soft Blue and White.
You will need 2 skeins of each color.
For Side A I followed the Little Star Pattern, started with soft blue and a size H crochet hook.
Rounds 1-16 in soft blue
Rounds 17-20 in white
Round 18 in soft blue
Rounds 19-22 in white
Round 23 in soft blue
Round 24 in white

For Side B
Rounds 1-16 in white
Rounds 17-20 in soft blue
Round 18 in white
Rounds 19-22 in soft blue
Round 23 in white
Round 24 in soft blue

After completing the 2 pieces I put the wrong sides together, and making sure I started in the same stitch of each side, I did a single crochet to connect the two sides. This turned out to be a luxuriously soft baby blanket, and I loved it!

Basic Half-Double Crochet Hat


I made this hat out of some left over yarn from the jacket that I made. It is just a simple half-double crochet hat that I made up. I made it long so that it can be folded up while the baby is little and folded down as he gets older. This hat is for approximately a 3-6 month old baby. Here is the pattern:
Use a size I hook and worsted weight yarn (I used Red Heart Super Saver)
This pattern is worked as one continuous round. Do not join rows. Use a stitch marker or a piece of yarn to help you keep your place if needed.
Round 1: Chain 3, work 8 hdc in third chain from hook (the first chain made)
Round 2: Work 2 hdc in each hdc around (total 16)
Round 3: *2 hdc in next stitch, 1 hdc in next stitch, repeat from * around (total 24 hdc)
Round 4: *2 hdc in next stitch, 1 hdc in each of the next 2 stitches, repeat from * around (total 32)
Round 5: *2 hdc in next stitch, 1 hdc in each of the next 3 stitches, repeat * around (total 40)
Round 6: *2 hdc in next stitch, 1 hdc in each of the next 4 stitches, repeat from * around (total 48)
Round 7: *2 hdc in next stitch, 1 hdc in each of the next 5 stitches, repeat from * around (total 56)
Round 7 is the last increase row.
Round 8: hdc in each stitch around (total 56)
Rounds 9- 20: repeat round 8.
When you get to the last stitch in round 20, sc in the next 2 stitches, slip stitch in the next stitch, finish off.
FOR THE EARS: Make 2
Round 1: Chain 2, work 6 sc in second chain from hook.
Round 2: 2 sc in each stitch around. (total 12)
Round 3: *2 sc in next stitch, 1 sc in next stitch, repeat from * around (total 18)
Rounds 4-5: sc in each stitch around (total 18)
slip stitch in next stitch, finish off.
Sew the ears onto the top of the hat. I just used the same yarn and a yarn needle to do this.
There you go, an adorable baby hat perfect for the upcoming fall/winter weather.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Cute Jacket I Crocheted

Well after about a year of not doing anything crafty, I decided to pick it up again since I know somebody who is about to have a baby. I wanted to try making a jacket, since all I have really done is hats and blankets. I wanted something unique, and something that wasn't old fashioned looking. I'm not really a fan of those vintage patterns. So this is my finished project, it turned out really cute and only took me about 3 days to complete. I used a pattern I bought off the internet, and it works up really quickly. For the pattern go to monpetitviolon.etsy.com and type in Sorrento Hooded Cardigan, and I think it was only like $3.99. Pretty cheap.

Here is the final result, I found this adorable onesie at Walmart for 2 bucks, it has cute little stars on it, and these dark beige pants to match. It tied my whole outfit together. I was very pleased.
Here is the outfit I'm going to put in the gift box.
Oh so cute wooden buttons were so charming.
The back of the jacket.
The front of the jacket.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

My Love of Crochet

This is going to be a blog about all the crafts I have made, and all the crafts I am continuing to make from day to day. I have discovered recently that crochet is really theraputic, in dealing with all the stresses of the day to day world. I learned how to crochet when I was 16, taught by my loving grandmother. She was extremely patient with me, and I spent countless hours with her learning her skill. My first project was a baby blanket, and it was far from perfect. Hopefully I will be able to get a picture on here soon (I know I still have it here somewhere). Halfway through, the blanket turned out to look more like a triangle, and my grandmother (being the great teacher she is) made me unravel the whole thing and start over. Being an impatient teenager I was really hesitant to do so, but my grandmother was insistent. Now 8 years later I am so grateful for my grandmother, who taught me to really put my best effort into my work. She taught me all I know, and left a wonderful legacy that hopefully I can carry on when she is gone.