center-pull yarn ball

I like to wrap my yarn into balls, then put them into this glass pitcher I have to keep the yarn clean and contained while I work with it, which has been just fine, but sometimes I have a ball too big to fit inside the opening and I really don't like cutting the yarn and rejoining later.

I searched videos on youtube to see what I could do to make a center-pull ball and found a bunch of variations on rolling one by hand.  I like this one on wrapping around a cardboard tube.

I used a pen tube so the hole in the middle was smaller and the ball wasn't too big when it was done.  after I ran the yarn through the tube I pushed the tip of the pen back in just enough to hold the yarn in place while I wrapped the ball.

it came out a little egg shaped as I wrapped, but once it was off the tube I was able to round it out.

lil fuzzies

I wanted to make something soft for Jack to wear in the hospital, so I did a chunky hat and booties from some fuzzy brown yarn I had and a 9mm hook.  I felt like I was doing it blind because the stitches just sorta disappear, but somehow they came out okay!

I made Leo some booties that were too small for his big feet, so I went a little bigger on these, but watch Jack have smaller feet!  at least if they're big he can grow into them.  I used this video tutorial to make them.

for the hat I did it like the newsboy hat by making a circle and then doing straight sides down from there and just finishing it off when I thought it looked long enough.  I like how the big hook and double crochet give it texture, but it's not too hole-y looking with the fuzzy yarn filling in the spaces.

this set took me much less time to make (maybe about an hour total) and I absolutely love them!

more baby crochet

 

I made these for a friend of mine who had her little girl a few weeks too early.  I looked online for some crochet patterns and found this hat pattern, and this really quick and easy bootie video tutorial.

 

after hunting for the hat, I decided it was simpler to find regular baby patterns and adjust to make them fit the measurements I needed (which I got from here) than to find a preemie sized pattern.

 

I added an extra row of puff stitch and two rows of single crochet at the bottom on the hat instead of one like the pattern said to do so it was closer to the measurements I was looking for.

 

for the booties I used a smaller hook than what the lady in the video did, and I only made the toe 1.5" long, and 1.5" for the sides and back so it was the recommended 3".

they look so small to me, but I've been gauging her size from photos of her head and feet compared to peoples hands as well as going off the size chart for 4-5lb babies.  I'm still worried they won't fit, but they worked up so quick I can always whip up another set if I need to.

another ongoing crochet project

I started this blanket when I was working on my doily rug and ran out of yarn but was still in a blanket mood. I remembered I had a bunch of green yarn I didn't know what to do with, so I started a blanket I could mindlessly work on when I watched TV in the evening with Matt. we got into Downton Abbey when season 1 showed up on Netflix, which is not something I'd normally watch but I really enjoyed it!

I'd say I'm about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way through this blanket and I love it the bigger it gets. Leo does, too. I was working on in beside him while we watched TV and he rested his head on it and laid still for a while. he's always liked soft things on his face and it made me feel good that he enjoyed the beginnings of this blanket :) it's got a very comforting feeling to it and I hope I have it done by the end of the year.

here's how to do the basket weave:

flowers in progress

after I learned to make the crochet flowers for the headbands I made to go with the baby slippers, I thought it'd be cool to make a bunch and connect them to make a throw blanket.
I don't have a plan yet on how to put them together... so maybe I'll come up with something by the time I have enough!

I've only been doing two layers so they work up pretty quick. I can whip up a few in the evenings while watching TV or out in the backyard while Leo runs around. I love watching my stash grow :)

doily baby rug

I picked up some thick yarn to make a baby blanket with thinking it'd go real quick, and it actually did!

the pattern said to use super bulky yarn, and a size 9mm hook. the pattern's suggested hook size was bigger than the bulky yarn package suggested to use, but I thought the 9 was still too small so I did a 10.

I liked how it was coming together, but it just seemed too thick to be a blanket.

I kept going thinking as it got bigger maybe it'd make more sense, but after it was finished I was leaning more towards it being a rug instead.

a new tool in my tool belt

my mother-in-law picked up crochet recently. I always thought it looked so much harder than knitting so I had no interest in learning. anytime I saw anyone crochet I just couldn't figure out what they were doing.

I was inspired after I saw my mother-in-law take off with it to look up some how-to videos (mostly for her to watch) and it looked simple enough that I gave it a shot.

I altered this pattern (by accident) and did a slip stitch instead of single crochet, but I liked how it looked and just kept on going.

this scarf cost me less than a buck to make in materials! I bought a sweater a while ago (3 years, maybe?) from a thrift store for a dollar and I got 4 large balls of thin, chenille-like yarn from it, only one of which I used one for this scarf.

it worked up so quick that I'm very inspired to see what else I can do in crochet! :)