Another Blanket for Guendie

So it's been quite some time since our last post, not because we haven't been busy crocheting, but because all of our lives have been quite full.  We've all been working on making gifts for the babies that are entering/have recently entered our families... something must be in the water!  Anyhow, I thought I'd send a quick blog out here before I get too sidetracked with taking care of baby.  After making two afghans for Guendie I wanted to make a real special afghan for her.  I bought some cute pink and variant yarn and started on a new stitch.  After about 4 incredibly long rows, I wasn't happy with how it was turning out and after showing Marvin it, he said it looked a little old lady, so that project went to scrap.  I then realized that I have a pattern I really like, one that I've used three times before on afghans and twice on scarves... I would make my baby version of the Classic Style Afghan from this blog I posted a few years back.  I originally started with just pink, blue and white, but after crocheting those three colors together realized it looked a little too patriotic, so I went to the store and bought a purple skein.  This pattern was great because it only used 2 skeins of white and 1 skein of each color (in Jo Ann Sensations Cuddle brand).

Baby Afghan and Headband

With a little of the leftover yarn I made a baby headband to match the style of this blanket and then created the flower I did for my cousin's headband last year (read how to make it in this old blog).  I still have some extra yarn in these colors so I'll probably make more headbands as little Guendie grows.

Giraffe Hat Pattern

A few weeks ago I just finished my little monkey and had time to start a new project. Marvin suggested I make a little Christmas gift for his cousin's daughter. So I checked my Pinterest pins and found a giraffe hat that would be perfect for her. The pin took me to the site ( http://damnitjanetletscrochet.blogspot.com/2011/12/giraffe-beanie-with-earflaps_13.html?m=1) and I started this project. It was a fairly easy and quick pattern to make since the directions were very clear to follow. At first I had sewn on some eyes but I didn't like them so cut them off and opted for buttons instead. After I finish my current blanket which just needs a border, and the blanket after that, I intend on making more hats and headbands for baby Guendie.

Christmas-time Crochet

It's that time of year again where everyone is putting out their holiday decorations and/or making some new ones.  Last night was my company's internal holiday party and everyone really got in the spirit of things.  A co-worker of mine had asked me to crochet her a Christmas Wreath.  She gave me some green yarn and I was able to make the wreath below for her.

A simple wreath

For the pattern all I did was crochet a chain that I thought would be a good side for the inside of the wreath.  I then did a double crochet in each chain and joined.  For row two I did a double crochet in two stitches followed by 2 double crochets in the next one, and repeated till the end and joined.  And for the last row I did a double crochet in five stitches followed by 2 double crochets in the next one and again repeated till the end and joined.  Luckily I was at HDH making this and good ole Ethel had some red yarn for me to use and weave in to give this otherwise bland wreath some character.

I gave the finished product to my friend and she put it with the rest of her decorations. 

Then later in the day our holiday party started so I was walking around the agency keeping my eye open for some crocheted gems... I was surprised that there were so many items this year!  Here were some of the most memorable crocheted items I could find:

Large crocheted Santa that someone's mother-in-law made

In the area that decorated with a '70s theme they threw lots of crocheted afghans everywhere.

Here's another crazy Santa, his hat and face are crocheted..

Pink Monkey Pattern

With Baby Guendie coming to us in a little under 4 months, I have a list of lots of projects I want to work on for her.  With one afghan out of the way, I thought it was time to make a little stuffed animal for her.  I really wanted to make this, since Marvin and I want to take monthly pictures of our baby with a stuffed animal to see how much she grows each month (and if it's something I've made I feel it will be more special.)

After picking out a monkey theme for her room I found this pattern on pinterest and knew I'd have to make it for her.  Overall I really enjoyed this pattern, it was clear and easy to follow.  Using only single crochets, slip stitches, and decreased single crochets.  I was just about to post that my mouth didn't turn out as pictured in the pattern, but this could have been fixed by easily adding a few extra rows to make it bigger.  Now after I re-read the pattern I see that I actually WAS supposed to do that... whoops!  At the time I saw it was smaller, but thought that a monkey's mouth can look like that... sort of like Curious George, so I decided on assembling the mouth to the head as is.

Guendie's little pink monkey.

I promised my little niece that I'd make her one in blue, so I'll have to do that in a couple months after I get all these baby things done. 

Santa stocking

Woohoo! It's finally done!

This isn't one of my crocheting projects but I thought it was blog worthy for two reasons.
1. Most people who like to crochet also like other crafts
2. This has been taking away time from my crocheting projects

I purchased this felt stocking kit back in December of 09 and have been working on it a little bit each year. Finally I decided Kevin needed a completed stocking for the Christmas season this year so I made it a priority to get this project off my list. Check it out!

Baby Boy Afghan

It appears to be baby season again... so after I created this baby girl afghan, I started on a baby boy afghan.  I got the pattern online from Redheart.com, it's the "Crochet Aran Afghan" an intermediate pattern.  The pattern itself was fairly easy, however I did not like the bobble stitch in this pattern.  With previous bobbles I haven't had an issue with them, but if you give this one a try, perhaps you'll see what I mean.  If not, it might just be me. 

Another nice three dimensional pattern.

Overall I enjoyed this pattern, however the edges got a little wavy, and the border didn't really help that.  I again made this one that the baby can grow into through their toddler years. I'm glad to be done with this pattern so I can start work on my pink monkey!

The finished product.

What was CeeLo wearing???

Now this isn't my typical kind of post, but after watching The Voice last night I couldn't help but state the obvious... what was CeeLo wearing? I have to admit that I not a regular to the show, so I apologize if any of the following comments are misunderstood.

Don't get me wrong, I am a lover of crochet, and usually most crocheted things but I do draw the line somewhere between, baby blankets and CeeLo's closet.

For those of you who didn't see last nights ep let me describe it to you, it was what appeared to be a crocheted, patriotic afghan/pancho with matching saggy cap.

CeeLo...
*was it freezing in the studio?
*must have been laundry day.
*you donated all your money to the political campaign and all you got was this lousy outfit.
*Betsy Ross was your great great grandmother and your honoring her by wearing one of her first projects.
*Your hopping on a plane to Colorado, to return to your hippie commune, right after the show.
*You needed a project to finish up all your spare yarn from the political campaign.
*when you get board with the singing you can make something out of the fringe.
*you wanted to make sure your singers can see you through the bright lights on stage.
*Does The Voice pay you in yarn?

That's all i've got for now while still keeping this clean... feel free to add to the list.

Photo credit: NBC