Crocheting and Knitting Kick!

Where have I been, you ask?

I took a sabbatical from blogging to catch up in needlework projects for friends and family with precious ones one the way. Last month, Jamberry gave birth to short boy #3, and I had nothing to show for it! I bought a one-pound cone cone of pure cotton yarn in a shaded denim ombre colors and whipped out one project after another until I had just enough left for baby doll clothes. I decided to concentrate crocheted items since Jamberry, not a crocheter, knitted many projects for her wee one. I made a hat, booties, burp cloth, and bib plus a lovable pair of baby socks made out of Baroque Crochet Cotton white thread that proved irresistible to me. Aren't you amazed at how much you can squeeze out of 787 yards of yarn (not including the baby doll clothes to follow)?



Last month, Pamela's Tia Patty bought her a baby wearing a pink bath robe, whom Pamela insisted was a boy named Baby David! Since the poor babe has been touring South Carolina with nothing but a diaper, I decided to clothe him in some proper boy clothes. I could not find any baby doll patterns that I liked, so I picked out ones for premies and used a hook two sizes too small: a going-home outfit (which I slightly adapted) and booties.

As you can see, the shirt and pants turned out adorable and so easy to crochet! The booties were a bit trickier. I made one bootie from a pattern. The result was too large, even with a much smaller hook, so I unraveled it and invented my own pattern, very loosely based on the one already tried. With a bit of tinkering, the first bootie turned out great.

However, I did not know how many rows I could spare to make the cuff for there was very little yard left. So, I pulled the yarn off the cone and made a ball with the center near the end of the first bootie (not cut yet since I might have enough yarn for a row or two of cuff). You can see the end of the cone trailing the ball. In essence, I made the first bootie from one end of the yarn and the second bootie from the other end of the yarn. That way I could keep lengthening the cuffs of each bootie until I ran out of thread. Pretty cool, huh?



As you can imagine, I have been getting burnt out with crocheting, so I chose to knit a dress for another cyber friend whose baby was born a couple of months ago. She does not know I am doing this, but, as (a) she has many children, (b) she has a newborn, and (c) she homeschools, she is probably too exhausted to read my blog. So, I know my secret is safe with you! I picked up a cone in the color shaded pastels ombre. Anyway, I found this adorable Cotton Candy dress that I am knitting in I have finished the skirt and am working on the right back. The back, front, and sleeves should go fairly quickly. The first ten rows were a nightmare--I relished the challenge of making the row of triangles, but I felt like I did when I was trying to get through the first level of Crash Bandicoot and kept dying and starting from scratch! Honestly, it took me a week to get through the triangle obstacle course! Apparently, I'm not the only one who has trouble with counting on this dress, LOL . . .

Finally, I just started a baby blanket using the same stitch as the blanket I made for baby Leilani last year. Steve's parents are going to be great- grandparents for the first time, so I have until November--when Steve's niece in Guatemala is due--to work on a gift. I picked up four cones of daisy ombre cotton yarn, which I think will yield a 40 inch by 48 inch blanket plus doll clothes and potholders.