a second batch of Christmas baubles

I made some more baubles using this tutorial. The first batch was for my brothers and sister in England, but I fell in love with them, so I made another set just for us! They are going to look so great on our tree.

If you like to crochet, I highly recommend that you get right over to Attic24 and start making your very own set of baubles. But be warned- they're addictive!

Flippy floppy

A few weeks before Millie was born, the nesting bug set in and I went a little crazy making hats and other things for her. My sewing machine was broken at that time but I still found plenty to keep me busy! Around that time I found a new-to-me blog called Aesthetic Nest, written by a very talented lady called Anneliese, who sews, knits, crochets, paints, and throws the most AMAZING  parties for her three girls.

One of Anneliese's crochet patterns was for this adorable hat, which has a choice of a 'flippy floppy' on top, or a ruffled rose on the side. I made the flippy floppy for Millie but I've also done a ruffled rose version for my niece and it is lovely.

The blue and brown one below was for a little boy soon to be born to my friend Tiff. I adapted the pattern slightly by doing two rows of single crochet for the contrast edging, and making the ties a little shorter.

You can find the original pattern here.

In case you're interested, I also knit the cardi that Millie is wearing in that top picture. I can't seem to find the pattern anymore so no link, sorry. It was a really easy knit, and all in one piece.

bauble decorations

Looking for something lightweight to send to my brothers and sisters in England, I came across this amazing tutorial, which I had saved in my favourites folder. Lucy at Attic24 is not only amazingly talented, but also very generous with her time in creating wonderful, detailed tutorials.

These little Christmas decorations were so fun, quick and easy to make and just look so pretty! I hope my family in England like them as much as I do. I have started work on several for our tree. It will be nice to have something to hang on the bottom branches that I know can't hurt the children, and they can't ruin!

Manly blanket

This was one of my Christmas gifts for Trev this year. A manly blanket, lovingly crocheted by his adoring wife. What more could a guy want, right?!



The thing that still amazes me is that Trev had no idea that this was coming. I managed to complete the whole thing in my spare time (!) during the day while he was at work.




After sewing in all the ends (whew), I opted to crochet the squares together, using this great tutorial. Lucy is amazing!




I actually love the ridges it creates on the reverse side. Kinda makes it seem more rugged, don't you think?

The blanket measures about 50 inches by 45 inches.

Some thoughts-

• I wish I'd have followed advice to sew ends in as I went along. That was a boring task and almost became my downfall.
• I enjoyed buying the yarn on sale but it did lead to a rather un-coordinated colour scheme. Next time, I think I will plan it out and buy yarn in advance.
• I'll also play around with hook sizes- the fabric of this blanket is quite thick and heavy. I think it would be fun to do something lighter-weight.
• I also think it would be fun to do something very colourful, like this, maybe. Obviously wouldn't have worked as a Manly Blanket, but I do believe I'm next in line for an afghan.
• Trev likes it, and he uses it, which is what I was going for :-)
  
  

Chunky booties

I made these for Lainey- they're so warm and snuggly, and very, very quick and easy to make! The pattern is here, though I think I need to tweak it somehow to help them stay on baby's feet. Maybe I will add some elastic or something.

prototype hats

I'm thinking of attempting to sell some little crochet hats, adorned with detachable flowers as shown above. I've made a couple of prototypes/practice hats :-)

bits

Recently, I've been doing all sorts. Crochet, knitting, sewing, home decor stuff...I've been starting projects galore and jumping from thing to thing without finishing any of them.

One thing that I'm way excited about is my crochet. I started making little flower motifs. I thought I could use them on headbands for Lainey, hats, clothes, whatever. So I promptly whipped up a little stash. (sample pictured below). Then, I thought, maybe this is what I could sell in my Etsy shop! Not sure though, but it's a thought.

I asked Trev to make a tall chair for Luke to sit at our bar. He got right on it (what a good example!) and it was finished a few days later. Finished, that is, except for making it look good, which is where I come in. We decided white with the red vinyl pad but it's not working so it's going to be green. Watch this space for updates on that!

This is for a wall display I'm doing in our living room. It came together really cheaply and I actually love it, and the way it fits in with our scheme (that I have planned...)

So, that's it for now. I've got 5 or 6 other things on the go and I'll add them soon.

Looking back

The other day, Trev needed a blanket to put Lainey on, and this is the one that he got out of the closet. This is a blanket with a story. It represents my first attempt at crochet. I started it when I was about 9 years old, under the watchful eye of my very talented mother. I finished it 3 years ago, 17 years after making those first few chain stitches. It spent several years (teenage years) hidden away, untouched.

Most of the yarns were leftovers from my mum's knitting projects, some were unravelled jumpers, and I think one or two were bought new, especially for my blanket.

It's funny because I clearly remember mum saying that it would one day be a lovely blanket for my children. And it is. Thanks for the lessons and encouragement, mum!