How can anyone be so tiny?

A friend had a baby very early and I wanted to do something to show them we were thinking of them.  We live too far to give them a warm hug, so I made a blanket and a few hats.  She was so little, just under 2 pounds if I remember right.  The hats turned out to be a little bit too small but the blanket covered her just right.  For the blanket I used Bernat Tizzy yarn and felt buttons, and called it "Lila's Garden".  Her parents loved it, and I was so glad I could do something to help personalize the clinical environment of the NICU.  Now a very busy toddler, it's hard to imagine that her start was so rocky.  I still owe her a hat...  I'm thinking Minnie Mouse would be just the thing!

I chose felt buttons because babies this tiny need something soft

The blanket is folded in quarters

It turned out to be the perfect size to keep her warm in her first bed

I made the blanket small (18 x 24 inches) for 3 reasons:

• It needed to fit in her isolette
• Being so small, she would've gotten lost in a regular sized blanket
• I wanted her parents, and her, to have a visual reminder of how small she once was

My friend decided to donate the hats to the NICU.  It amazes me that there could be babies small enough to wear them.  It occurs to me that the babies that received them probably didn't live.  I'm glad that my knitting could show the parents of these "micro preemies" that there are people out there thinking of them.  Every parent should see their baby wrapped in a blanket and wearing a hat.

When I get through my "to-make" list I'm going to make more of these tiny hats and some angel pockets (fetal demise pouches) to donate to my local NICU.

Here are some pattern links in case you would like to make things for angel babies and babies who start life so small:
Angel Pocket-knit
Burial Gown set-knit
Tiny Angel Gown
Burial Gown, Bonnet, and Booties
Many Patterns from Star Legacy Foundation

Clifford the Small Red Puppy

My youngest has been in love with Clifford for as long as I can remember, so when I saw this pattern I knew that it was time for me to learn to crochet.  This is one of the rare times that I've purchased a pattern, and I don're regret it for a second.

Find the pattern here.

I added a plastic ring to his collar so he could have the option of a leash. He's well behaved and has already learned to sit, stand still, and lay down.

A Pokey Little Puppy Baby Set

When I first started to crochet I found a little book by Shelle Hendrix called Hats and Diaper Covers.  This was the first one I made.  I also made her ladybug set.  The diaper cover pattern is the one I used for the caterpillar set also.

Front view of the diaper cover

Back View of the diaper cover.  Yes, that is a tail!

In the Swamp?

My high school mascot was The Gators.  So when I came across this crocheted gator scarf, I knew I had to make it.

New to crochet at the time, I made a shortened "trial" scarf.  It was far from perfect but acceptable enough.  And then I thought "What in the heck am I going to do with this now?  It's not good for anything."  Inspiration struck, and I sewed it on a hat!  It looked a little dead, so I added shank buttons for eyes.

Here's my oldest again in his gator hat.

It's silly, so it's perfect for a 5 year old!  

Shark Week

I LOVE Repeat Crafter Me's blog.  I absolutely love it!  And I fell even harder when I discovered her shark hat.  As a mom of two young boys, a shark hat is a must!

Here's my oldest enjoying his.

I made it without the earflaps

                                             And then I made one with earflaps and braids.

The Search For the Perfect Hat

It all started when my friend had her first baby with her new husband.  She asked me if I would make her a hat for their upcoming photo shoot.  Of course I gladly agreed, gave them the web address to Ravelry, and told them to "go fish."  They found the Easy Faux Ribbon Baby Hat, told me what colors they wanted, and I got to work.

By the way, if you've never been on Ravelry, it's a magical place full of every kind of knit and crochet pattern you could ever hope to find.

This is Mallory May's hat.  The only problem is that she was, and still is, a petite little peanut and it was too big for her!  She's a year old now and I bet it still fits!  I'll have to ask about it.


It was such a fun pattern that I wanted to see what else I could do with it...

 A crochet rose with a button center gave it a much different look.



And because I have an album with most of my knit and crochet items in my facebook pictures, a friend ordered one for her granddaughter.  This one went to Claire, because little girls love pink and purple.

I guess I really liked this pattern, because I also made a gray one with a pink bow, and a green one with a purple ribbon and a coordinating button.

I just finished a green one with yellow ribbon and yellow flower with green tractor button at the center for someone requesting a John Deere theme, but that's for another post and another day.  It's extra "girlie" with a scalloped edge.

Haven't You Always Wanted a Monkey?

Okay, enough with the song lyrics...  But really, aren't The Barenaked Ladies a fun group?!

Here's my crochet sock monkey baby set.

This set is small, newborn baby small.  And because newborns like snug, warm places, I made the cocoon snug.  

Sock Monkey Hat

Diaper Cover

Sylvie's Garden Set

Here's another baby gift.  This time I wanted to make a blanket, and I decided it needed to be crochet.  

Here's that Fall Vest again!  It's just SO cute and customizable!

Blanket

For the edge I did 3 rows of single crochet and a scallop row.

Baby Ladybug Set

Like most people who knit and crochet, I have a button collection.  Wanting to use some of them, and needing a baby gift for another friend who isn't a "girlie girl," I decided to use my ladybugs.  

 

If you recognize the top, it's because it's my "go-to" top for babies.  It's just so easy and cute.  

The shoes are crochet, but I'll give you a knit pattern in case you love them and don't crochet.

Here are the patterns:

Fall Vest

I used size 8 needles and single strand worsted weight yarn.  It should fit a 3-6 month old.

Mary Jane shoes

Knit Cupcake Set

So many of my friends had babies in the past 2 years.  I made this cupcake set for Quinn.

Here are the patterns:

Fall Vest
This vest is for a toddler.  To make it smaller, I used size 7 needles and didn't hold the yarn double.  It came out the perfect size for a newborn.  This is one of my favorite patterns because it's so versatile.


Cupcake Hat
This pattern comes with an excellent photo tutorial.  The way the picot edge is done is so awesome, and deceptively simple.  I decided not to add a "cherry" pompom on top because I wanted the set to be simple, and I've never seen a real cupcake with a cherry on top.  The buttons are the same tan color as the bottom of the hat, even though the picture doesn't show it.

Both of these items are quick and easy to make.  This set is one of the things I've made that I'm most proud of.

A Very Hungry Baby Set

My mom's friend wanted a Very Hungry Caterpillar cocoon set for her grandson, so I found some patterns and went to work.  I love finding free patterns online!



I used this pattern for the hat, using Caron Simply Soft yarns.

For the cocoon I used this pattern pattern in Lion Brand Homespun yarn.

Both pieces turned out to be too small, so she sent it back and I added length to the hat and made another coccoon.  The larger cocoon is knit with alternating sections of knit rows and purl rows, as modelled by my favorite childhood doll.  I also didn't like the dark purple, so I made another hat with lighter colored, longer antennae.

And because I didn't get it right the first time, I made this fun diaper cover as an extra gift.

She preferred the hat with the dark purple, short antennae so I added length to it as requested.

Now I have the small, crochet cocoon and the hat with the lighter, longer antennae waiting for a baby to wear it.    

                                     

A Very Hungry Baby Toy

One day I came across this caterpillar baby toy pattern. I believe it was on an email I received from allfreecrochet.com

 It was cute, but I thought that if I was going to make a caterpillar, it would be the one from the classic children's story by Eric Carle.

So I changed the colors, cut out felt shapes that resembled the eyes and mouth in the book, and this is what I came up with.  I also added a third ring so he'd look more like the one in the story.

Of all the toys I've made this is by far one of my favorites!

If I'd had a bell or rattle I would've put it inside but this one is silent.

Curlers Know How to Rock and Roll

A friend of mine asked me if I could make her curling team hats that looked like curling rocks.  This is what I came up with:

 

First I made a regular hat (probably this one) that looked like a curling stone apart from the handle.  I thought the handle would be the trickiest part.  I made a tube on DPNs that closed at one end.  I stuffed it, attached it to the hat off center, and then folded it over and stitched it so it would stay folded.  I tucked in my ends and hoped for the best.  

In Case of a Fiber Emergency!

I LOVE THESE!  They make me impatient to get a room of my own, a "Craft Cave".

Found on Repeat Crafter Me's blog

When I make one I'll omit the word "crochet" and add some knitting needles since I both knit and crochet.  Without the wording and tools inside this makes a beautiful way to display and store your stash.

Found on Ravelry

I also really like this idea for hand spinners.  When I get another drop spindle I'll make one of these displays with my first spindle and some hand painted fiber inside.

My Adventure With a Drop Spindle

I decided a while back that I wanted to try spinning my own yarn.  Being me, I knew I needed to be rational and get educated about it before I jumped in like I wanted to do.  So I scoured the net for spinning websites and watched countless YouTube videos.  

Next I needed to find a spindle and some fiber.  I came across Walnut Farm Designs on Etsy and found everything I needed in their beginner set.  Anita was an absolute dream to work with, and very generous!  I ordered 2 other kinds of fiber because they were so beautiful and the prices so good.  

I chose 4 ounces of Blue Faced Leicester wool in their Late Summer colorway because it's so pretty and reminded me of rhubarb.  I wish I'd taken pictures of it before I spun it.  The picture below is a different fiber and, as it's hand painted, mine wasn't exactly the same as this but you get the idea.  

Walnut Farm Designs' Late Summer Superfine Merino Combed Top

Here's how I did using the park and draft method.  It's thick and thin, not by design but because I'm inexperienced, so it's considered "art yarn".  I did go through and draft out the really thick spots and respin them, but it still didn't turn out as uniform as I would have liked.  I'm okay with that because it's my first try and I'm amazed that I did this well.  

I created yarn!

I LOVE these colors!

I haven't used it yet.  I'm still deciding what it should be.  It was such a thrill to add it to my tote with special "real" yarn.  Most of my stash is acrylic and separate from my meager stash of wool, alpaca, and cotton yarns.  

The process of taking fiber and creating yarn is so fantastic.  You never know how the colors will express themselves, and the fiber definitely has a mind of its own.  And the process made me appreciate the product that other hand spinners create. 

If you've ever thought about spinning, go for it!  Do your research, get your fiber and a spindle, and get spinning!

Crochet Pineapple Towel Hanger pattern

Pineapple Towel Holder

I used the following 2 patterns as the basis for my pattern:

Towel Hanger

and

Pineapple Motif

What You’ll Need:

Size H/8 Crochet Hook

Worsted weight cotton yarn

Button to fit hole

Yarn needle for weaving in ends

You’ll Need To Know:

Slip Stitch

SC (Single Crochet – US)

HDC (Half Double Crochet – US)

Magic Ring

Magic ring, Ch 2, HDC 30 in the ring (You may want to do 40 if you plan to use this for fluffier towels like bathroom hand towels.)  Join with a slip stitch. Ch 2, turn.

HDC in the same stitch, and the next 7.  Ch 2. Turn.  (Each row will have 8 HDC and 1 turning chain of 2 stitches.)

HDC 17 rows.  Turn.

Now we'll start the pineapple.  

If you prefer to work from a chart, click on the link for the Pineapple motif.  The scarf pattern will come up and there is a chart.   Pineapple Motif   Start on row 2 except instead of slipping 3 stitches and working in a ch1 sp, you will sl st in 1st stitch, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc), ch 2,  (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in the next 5th ch, turn.  Then follow the chart for rows 2-15.  Don't follow the chart for row 16.  Instead chain 9, slip stitch into 3rd chain to make picot, chain 3 more, connect with slip stitch in last double crochet.  Close-up photo of picot point below.

Written instructions for those who don't like charts

Row 1(RS): sl st in 1st stitch, ch 3, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc), ch 2,  (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in the next 5th ch, turn.

Row 2: sl st in the first st, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, ch 2, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp,

turn.

Row 3: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in

first ch-1 sp, (dc, ch 1, dc) in next ch-2 sp, (2 dc, ch 1,

2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn.

Row 4: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in

first ch-1 sp, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, (2 dc,

ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn.

Row 5: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in

first ch-1 sp, ch 2, 9 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 2, (2 dc, ch 1,

2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn.

Row 6: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in

first ch-1 sp, ch 1, sk ch-2 sp, dc in first dc, *ch 1, dc in

next dc* rep from * to * 7 more times, ch 1, (2 dc, ch 1,

2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn.

Row 7: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, ch 3, sk next ch-1 sp, (sc in next ch-1 sp,

ch 3) 8 times, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 9 

ch-3 sps.

Row 8: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in

first ch-1 sp, ch 3, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 7 times, (2

dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 8 ch-3 sps.

Row 9: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in

first ch-1 sp, ch 3, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 6 times, (2

dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 7 ch-3 sps.

Row 10: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, ch 3, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 5 times,

(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 6 ch-3 sps.

Row 11: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, ch 3, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 4 times,

(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 5 ch-3 sps.

Row 12: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, ch 3, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 3 times,

(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 4 ch-3 sps.

Row 13: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, ch 3, (sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3) 2 times,

(2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 3 ch-3 sps.

Row 14: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, ch 3, sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3, (2 dc,

ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn = 2 ch-3 sps.

Row 15: sl st in each of first 3 sts, (ch 3, dc, ch 1, 2 dc)

in first ch-1 sp, (2 dc, ch 1, 2 dc) in next ch-1 sp, turn.

Row 16 (picot point): Chain 9, slip stitch into 3rd chain to make picot, chain 3 more, connect with slip stitch to last double crochet.  

Picot point close-up

Finish by making what I call a slip stitch knot.  Make a slip stitch but before you finish it cut the yarn leaving about 6 inches, pull tail all the way through the loop.  Pull on the tail to secure.  Weave ends in well so that they don't come out.

towel from the back

Fold over (backward) between rows 10 and 11 so that the wrong side is facing itself.  Pick a button that's slightly larger than the large top triangle.  This large triangle is your button hole.  Sew the button on.  Slip your kitchen or hand towel into the ring so that it's folded in half, and you're done!  Congratulate yourself on your talent!

 back view without towel                                                    Here the towel isn't secured to a hanging rod.  In this picture the pineapple needs to be folded down and buttoned.

Pick a solid colored towel in a contrasting color (this works best to show off your stitch pattern), fold it in thirds the long way, slip through the loop so the loop is about in the middle of the towel length, and hang it where you want it.  

I'm here!

I'm starting this blog as a way to share patterns with friends.  I knit and crochet, and often will alter a pattern slightly.  So this is my forum to share what I've done.  Since this is new to me, it won't be fancy until I figure it out.