Baby Blanket for Rose Madeleine

The first thing that I knit was a hooded baby blanket for my first niece Lulu. When I found out my second niece was on her way, I decided to knit her a blanket too. I used the same pattern (I really like it! Here’s the pattern: Hooded Baby Blanket), but instead of doing a garter stitch and crocheting the border like the first one, I followed the pattern’s suggestions and did a stockinette stitch and a “broken rib” knitted border (which didn’t come out like the picture, I think because I had an even amount of stitches so things didn’t line up right… but I like how it came out, the purls were alternating).

I knit this pretty loosely, and I think that's why the blanket came out a little big. But that just means she'll grow in to it, right? I used a US 8 circular needle, and Red Heart Ltd. Eco-Ways yarn in Lichen and Bark. I would have preferred a warmer and more luxurious yarn for the winter months, but I fell in love in love with these colors! And this yarn's machine washable, which is a must!

Here's a pic of one-month-old Rosie snugging up in her new blankie. She's such a cutie!! Thanks to my sis Liz for taking this pic!

Amigurumi Christmas Tree!

Happy Belated Christmas! Continuing the trend of making things for myself, I decided to spend the month of December crocheting amigurumi guys for my 4-ft. chartreuse Christmas tree. I had grand ideas of covering every free spot with cute crocheted versions of things that Tim and I like, but alas I only managed to finish seven things before the holiday.

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At least there’s always next year to add more fun! Here’s a closer look at the patterns I used:

Super Mario Invincibility Star:

The Super Mario Invincibility Star as a tree topper? CUTE!!

Super Mario Super Mushroom:

Continuing my obsession with 8-bit and Tim's love for video games, I also made a Super Mushroom!

Super Mario Bob-omb:

Aaaaaaaaaand another Super Mario character! (He was very fun to make!)

Slime:

I never played "Dragon Warrior," but Tim has, so I thought it'd be fun to make a Slime. Even though I made it a bit smaller than the pattern recommended, it still came out huge. And I accidentally over-stuffed it at first, so the crochet holes got really big and stuffing shows through. But he's still cute, and I love that color blue!

Fried Egg:

I sometimes like eating eggs, and when I do, Tim's always wicked nice about cooking them for me. And he makes a very yummy fried egg! That's why there's a fried egg on our tree. I don't know why either the yolk came out way bigger or the white came out way smaller than in the pattern pic. Yet cuteness abounds!

Ghostie:

The real reason I made this one is because it's so cute and I wanted to try my hand at making a picot ruffle. But also, we like watching "Ghost Hunters" and have an interest in the paranormal and "weird" stuff in general, so it's still fitting for the "Things We Like" category! The pattern suggests using glow-in-the-dark yarn; how cool would that be?? I just used white.

Heart:

I draw hearts all over the place because I think it's funny and I like the shape of them. But it's also fitting because Tim and I are in loooooooooooooove. This heart dude came out funky and it was difficult to stuff and make look like a heart. But it was an interesting crocheting experience. And it came out pretty much a heart shape, so, success!

I used a US F5/3.75 MM sized needle for (I think) all of these, and pretty much used Red Heard Classic Solids and Red Heart Super Saver Solids yarn for most of these. And I had fun ordering and using cute safety eyes from CR’s Crafts! (I ordered quite a small collection for these and future projects!)

A Hat For Me

I found this really cute pattern for a winter hat, and decided to make one for myself.

Here’s the pattern: Iceland Earflap Hat

I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Claret; I was afraid the color was a little too meat-sauce-y, but it turned out to be the perfect wine-ish color that I was hoping for! And I just used the size 10 circulars and did Magic Loop (my first time, and it came out pretty good!).

I like this hat because of the cute little point at the top! Though the way mine came out, it looks a little more acorn-shaped. I still think it's cute. And I love ear flaps!

Decreasing and finishing off the hat was fun, and I really like how it came out!

Thanks to Tim for taking a break while shoveling out the car to take these pics!

First big snow of the year!