Baby Clothes and Items

Since I had crocheted a lot of blankets recently, and am still in the middle of the Granny's Favorite blanket, I wanted to do a couple of projects that were fast, and could be done in one day.  I ended up crocheting three sets of baby clothes/items.

The first is a newborn baby outfit called "Little Boy Blue Long Pant Suit." The pattern is from Danette's Angels, a site that offers crochet patterns for use with charity items.  I used a skein of Canan yarn from Big Lots in Navy Blue and a K hook.  I even found some navy buttons in my button tin.  I decided to add a couple of rows to the legs and top of the pants and to the body and arms of the sweater, as this pattern was originally for a preemie baby.  This will be for a local charity.

My next outfit is a preemie kimono and hat.  Since I couldn't find a free pattern for a kimono, I adapted this pattern from Bev's Country Cottage.  The yarn is partly Bernat Baby Coordinates and some non-labled yarn from my stash.  I added several rows to make it longer, and added a tie to the inside, that wraps around the back.  The hat is a pattern from Momma That Makes.  If it does not fit the preemie I made this for, it will go to the NICU where she is, for another preemie.

Finally, I crocheted a preemie Post Stitch

Cuddle Sac and Hat from a pattern on the Preemie Hat Project blog.  I used Snuggly Wuggly baby yarn in Soft Lilac and trimmed the sac and hat with Canan baby yarn in Purple.  This will also go to the preemie baby mentioned earlier.  I am sure it will fit, as it is almost as long as the baby!

I am sharing this post with these linky parties.

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Newborn Baby Booties

When I saw this tutorial on Annasimplecrochet, I knew I would be making them.  After I crocheted one, it looked a little floppy, and didn't hold it's shape.  I also didn't have enough yarn in my stash to make two.  So, I decided to adapt the tutorial to my liking.

This is what I did:  I used one ball of baby yarn from my stash to make the sole.  Using an E hook, I began with 11 chains.  Then, I made an sc in the second chain from the hook and an sc in each stitch across.  For rows 2-18, I made a single crochet in each stitch across.  I finished with a rectangle.

For the sides of the bootie,  I used another color of baby yarn and crocheted an sc in the end of each row of the rectangle, up one long side, two sc in the corner, in each stitch across the short side, two sc in the other corner, and back down the other side in the ends of the rows.  I turned and crocheted a row of sc for rows 2-10.  Then I fastened off, leaving a long tail for sewing.  I overlapped the sides and sewed across the short section where the toes would be.  The booties turned out better for me this way.  They held their shape better.

This is not meant to be a pattern, but a description of how I adapted the tutorial to suit me.  I will try to answer any questions if you try this .

I am linking this post to these parties.



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The Eleanor Shrug

Several months ago, I bought some yarn at Big Lots, a local discount store.  It was labeled "Baby Soft" by Canan, and didn't give a weight.  Recently, I decided I wanted to make something for me, using this purple yarn.  I looked at many patterns, and decided on the Eleanor Shrug that I found on Ravelry.

After I had crocheted about six rows, I realized that the shrug would not be as wide as I wanted it.  I frogged it and added 30 chains, so that it would be from elbow to elbow across the back.  I had determined that the yarn was similar to DK weight, and chose to use an H hook.

It worked up pretty fast.  I made it in about eight days, crocheting six rows each day.  I think it turned out perfectly, and I am really happy with it.

I am linking this post to the places listed on this page.

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Progress on WIPs

I am almost half way through my Granny's Favorite prayer shawl.  I have crocheted 108 granny squares out of around 240.  I like how it is shaping up.  I know I have enough scrap yarn, but hope I have enough of the off-white yarn.

The rectangle for the Eleanor Shrug is almost finished.  After I crochet three more pattern repeats (six rows), I have to sew up the sides and add an edging around the outside.  I am looking forward to wearing it.

The book I am still reading is "Daughter of Twin Oaks."  So far, the daughter, Jesselyn, has dressed up like a boy to get the remaining thoroughbread horses away from their plantation in Kentucky, to keep them from being seized by soldiers in both armies during the Civil War.  The story is mainly about what happens to her and her freed slaves that accompany her on the journey.

I am sharing this post at the links on this page.


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Granny's Favorite Prayer Shawl Progress and a New WIP

Eight rows, 72 squares at this point.  I am glad I didn't commit to crocheting one a day or anything like that. 😃 In the last row, I made two two-colored squares.  I may keep doing that once and a while for variety.

My new project is the Eleanor Shrug, a pattern that I originally saw on Ravelry. I am using some yarn I bought at Big Lots a while ago.  I am making this for myself.

I am linking my post to the places listed on this page.


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WIPW~2/4/15

I have added several rows to the Granny's Favorite prayer shawl. Instead of crocheting two or three squares a day, I have been trying to do a row of nine squares.  So now I have 54 of 243 squares done.  I am liking the pattern more each time I add more squares .  After I had three rows done, I realized it looked like a nine patch quilt.

Having just finished a book about the years following the Civil War, I am now reading a book about a family during the Civil War.  I have recently realized how much I like historical fiction.  Daughter of Twin Oaks  is set in Kentucky, at the beginning of the war, where a teenager is thrust into an adult situation of keeping her family along with the beloved horses together and safe. I have just begun this book, but the vivid characters are already pulling me in.

I am linking this post to the sites on this page.

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Bold Color Bands Prayer Shawl

Kathryn Vercillo has a weekly roundup on her blog, Crochet Concupiscence, showing over 150 crochet inspiration photos from Instagram.  Three weeks ago, I tagged some of my photos with #crochetconcupiscence and #crochetsavedmylife, to be shared at her site.  Not only did I get several of my photos shared, but one photo was picked as the Featured Crochet Photo of the week!  Imagine my surprise and elation.  The photo was of the Bold Color Band prayer shawl.

You can see that roundup here.

The crocheting of the shawl was finished, but I needed to add a fringe.  I do not like adding fringe, and often choose a pattern to crochet based on whether or not it has a fringe.  It took me three weeks, but I finally finished adding the fringe this afternoon.

The shawl was made with several colors from my yarn stash, of different brands.  I used the pattern "Bold Color Bands" by Carole Prior in the Leisure Arts book "Scrap Wraps" that is available here.  I adjusted the pattern by making it only half the length, and using five strands of yarn for each fringe.  It is another shawl for charity.

I am sharing this item on the sites listed on this page.

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Baby Sweater and Car Seat Blanket

I received a gift card for Michaels from my DH for Christmas, and went to shop there a couple of days after Christmas.  Funny enough, I forgot the gift card!  I fell in love with this book from Leisure Arts, and bought it anyway.

My first project from this book was the Filet Rectangle Blanket.  I crocheted the smaller size, with a G hook and some yarn I got at Big Lots, called "Baby Soft," by Canan. It is a very light blue, although in my pictures, it almost looks gray.   I was a little disappointed by the wonkiness of the middle section, but it will still keep a baby warm. ;)

Then I decided to make a sweater to go with it, and adapted a pattern by Laura Tegg called Chunky Monkey Cardigan.  I modified the pattern to match the filet, and did a reverse crochet edging, like the blanket.

This pair will probably go to a church mission project.

I am linking to the sites on my Sharing Page.

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Finally Back

I have been away from this blog for over a year.  Life got very busy, and I had to choose between this blog and another one at WordPress.  Obviously, this is the one I had stopped posting on.  I have continued to crochet, but have not posted the pictures and wips on here.  Because of a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer and it's complications, along with MS, I have had to quit working and have more time on my hands.  So I am here again.

I crochet many prayer shawls and baby items/children's clothes for mission projects at my local church, and the most recent item is the Zig Zag Filet Car Seat Blanket.  The pattern is from a book published by Leisure Arts.  I made it from some old yarn I had in my stash, Sayelle, in the color Frosted Cherry.

I am linking this post to the places on my Sharing Page.

Puff Ball Blanket

Two years ago in November, I saw several skeins of pink Bernat Puff Ball yarn on clearance at for $1.19 per 3.5 oz skein.  I am a breast cancer survivor, so I was interested in seeing that some of the money from the purchase of these skeins would go toward  Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  I purchased four skeins, put it in my yarn stash when I got home, and promptly forgot about it.  Every time I would see it since, I would think that I needed to figure out what I would do with it.  Finally, I decided to make a baby blanket with it last night.

I started to crochet a scarf with it first, but realized that would only use one skein, so I decided to knit a baby blanket instead.  I am knitting a smaller version of the blanket from Bernat's Peppermint Stripe Blanket pattern in just the pink, so it will be without stripes.  It took me about three tries to get the hang of it, but now it is going along fairly smoothly.  I hope it is not too bright.  I know it is nice and soft.

Look on my Sharing Page to see where I am linking up.

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Granny Stripes Baby Blanket

I have crocheted a baby afghan in the pattern commonly called granny stripes.  I have seen it many places around the internet, so I don't have a particular pattern link.  I used a baby yarn from "Big Lots" that is labeled as Hand Knitting Yarn For Baby Projects.  I chained the length I wanted, using a G hook, and then crocheted a 3 dc shell in every other stitch.  The next row was a 3 dc shell in the place between the shells, just like in a granny square.  I chose to have three rows of each color, with 12 rows of white between them.  I edged the blanket with a row of sc, followed by a row of sc, ch 3, sc.   

 

As always, look on my Sharing page to find where I link my projects.


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Hexagon Update

As of today, I have seven+ rows done on my latest prayer shawl.  There are a total of forty hexagons, made with a motif pattern from JPF Crochet Club.  I am mostly using sports weight yarns from my stash, but I am also crocheting with some yarn from my stash that is not labeled.  I don't know the weight of that yarn, but I like how it blends with the rest of the yarn. ;)

The hex's are being joined using a modified version of the flat-braid join, with two neutral colors.  Now I have to decide how I want to make the edging, and whether or not I am going to use half-hexagons from this style motif to make the sides straight.  Hmm...  I  think I will figure that out later, after I am almost finished with the hexagons.

Look on my Sharing Page to see where I am linking up.

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Hexagon Prayer Shawl WIP

I finally have more color this week in my prayer shawl.  Lots of color!  I put my hexagons together a couple of different ways, and I think I have found the way I like.  I am going to do rows of 6 hexies, and then rows of five hexies.  I think I need to crochet about seventeen rows of hexagons to get the length I want, from wrist to wrist.  I have five rows of hexies crocheted, so I am a little less than a third finished.

I have been trying to figure out a way to join the rows together.  One method is the flat braid method, which is usually used with granny squares.  I have tried a couple of times and the picture below shows the latest result.

I have mixed feelings about whether I like this or not.  What is your opinion?  Does any one have a suggestion on how these should be joined?

I am linking with the posts on my Sharing page.  You can see other WIPs there as well.

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Prayer Shawl Helps to Heal

I was having a bad day with MS yesterday.  I was sore all over, and very tired.  I think it was due to the change in weather over the past couple of days, but I am not sure.  It is on these kind of days where I can't do very much, since I have so little energy and hurt with most movements.

There is one thing I can still do.  I can crochet.  God has blessed me with this ability, and I will use it as long as I can to glorify Him!  I often make prayer shawls, where I pray for the person who will receive the shawl while I am crocheting.  Sometimes these shawls take weeks, sometimes months.  I am often crocheting these shawls while I am working on other projects.  When I am finished, I take the shawls to the Prayer Shawl Ministry group at the church I used to attend when my husband was the choir director there.  I also attend this group on Monday afternoons,  when I am not working.  The fellowship I have with the ladies there also blesses me.

So, between naps and some time on the computer yesterday, I finished my latest prayer shawl.  It is an easy pattern that I learned from a baby blanket pattern published many years ago.  The yarn I used was Red Heart's Super Saver in Aran Fleck and Caron's One Pound in Espresso.  The pattern alternates between single crochet, chain three in one row using one color and the next row of three double crochets in the chain three space of the previous row in the other color.  I ended up running out of the Fleck color, so I finished with an old Sayelle Bone-colored yarn I had in my stash.  I love how it turned out.  I pray that the person who receives this shawl will find joy in its making.  It brought peace to me.

Look on my Sharing page to see where I linked this post.

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Pink Button Scarf

Earlier this spring I was looking for a neck wrap I liked.   The hi-low temperature in Illinois changes rapidly, so I wanted something light.  I browsed the internet and found this pattern at Fave Crafts. 

The Blue Button Scarf is a scarf that is described as "a spiderweb scarf. You only wear it around your shoulders kind of like a shawl."  I decided to use some yarn I had from my stash, a pink mixed fiber yarn from GALA Yarns that I had purchased at Big Lots. 




Scarf laid out

Scarf as worn

In the description, it says the pattern is easy, but I would not agree.  Although the pattern only uses chains, and single and double crochet, the six-row pattern repeat needs to be carefully followed eleven times.  Having to concentrate this much was difficult for me, and I was only able to work on it for about an hour each time, and could only finish two repeats each time.  Even so, it was well worth the effort.  I think it turned out beautifully.



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Baby Cocoons

I have made three baby cocoons for little ones recently, and now that they have gone to the recipients, I can share the pictures with you.

The first was for a preemie, who was only two pounds at birth, and 14 inches long.  Fortunately for he and the parents, he grew out of it quicker than I was able to get it to him.

The other two were for newborns, and stretched a little more.  I adapted a pattern from Christina's Sunshine Haven.  In the first one, I decided to sew up the top, to make a hood. I only used one strand of yarn, so it is really stretchy.

The other one is made with two strands of yarn.  I took off the top part, the head rest, and made it a little longer.  I also made a matching hat.  This is the one that was my favorite.

I asked the new mom for a picture of the babe in that one.  I hope it fit!

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FO Friday (night!)

I did manage to finish a sweater vest that I had started crocheting for my husband last winter.  I didn't do anything with it over the summer, because it was so hot.  Since it is cooling down again, and I wanted to finish it in time for him to wear it this year, I have been working on it the last couple of weeks.  I found a pattern for it in an old Workbasket magazine, and used some of my bargain yarn from "Big Lots."  I added the stripe of burgundy in the front, and I like the vertical stripes of front post stitches.  Some of those patterns in that magazine are timeless!

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Granny's Corners Baby Blanket

So, the blanket is finished.  It  is small, only about 22"X28", but it looks to be a good size to cover a baby carrier/car seat.  I love all the pinks together.

I outlined each square in an off-white, and then crocheted v-stitches in different pinks with a row of single crochet in aran in between, and finished with a scallop edge in the aran color as well.

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Finished Object Friday

It has been two weeks since I posted on Friday, and I have both a knitted and a crocheted piece to show you.

The knitted piece is a shawl done in straigth garter stitch, with a two stripes of  stockinette stitch, just because I got bored with all the K rows!  I love the variegated yarn colors of white, navy blue and maroon.  I think it is Red Heart yarn.  I don't know for sure, because I used yarn from a top I had made myself quite a while ago.

Knitted Shawl

The crocheted piece is a seat cover that I made for my office chair at school.  I came back from summer vacation to find that someone (probably a summer worker) had stepped on the seat cushion of my chair and made tiny gauges that grew every time I sat in it.  I decided to make a granny square to cover those marks. It is made of some nylon/wool yarn that should hold up pretty well.

That's it for me this week.  Please see the links on my "Sharing" page to see where I am linking today.
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Granny's Corners Squares

In the group "A Granny A Day 2012" on Facebook, someone posted a picture of a blanket made with these squares in all different colors and bordered with black.  I decided to start mine in different shades of pink, and border mine in off-white.  I have made six so far.  We will see how far I get!

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