So Much to Talk About but so Little Time

Well, as you may have noticed, I've been offline for quite awhile.  That seems to happen to me at various points and I really do apologize for that but this time I have a good excuse, namely a brand new addition to the family in the form of a fairly small (albeit getting much bigger all the time) little baby boy. 

Yes this new little guy has kept me pretty busy.  He had me working well before he was born.  For this reason, I, the prodigal daughter, do not return to you empty handed.  I have pictures of many projects that I worked on over the last several months.  Check them out.

First up is the John Deere baby blanket that I made for the munchkin. 

 I made this out of a simple John Deere fabric panel that I found at JoAnns.  I picked up a matching blue and white polka dotted soft, flannel fabric for the backing.  I put right sides together, ran a simple straight stitch around the edges, leaving about a 1in. to 1 1/2 in. opening for turning it right side out.  Then I stitched the opening closed and there you have it, a simple, super cute farm fresh blanket. 


The next blanket was made for the munchkin by a wonderful friend of mine.  The fact that her blanket was also a John Deere blanket was a really rather amusing coincidence.  She had no idea that I had already made a similar blanket.  Great minds think alike, I guess ;) 

After I made the John Deere blanket I worked on a swaddle blanket.  I found a super cute owl patterned fabric and matched it with a really soft, green minky fabric.  This has been, hands down, the most useful thing I've made for this baby.   The pattern was incredibly easy and I will most definitely be making more of these.   The hat is a crochet owl pattern.  It worked up fast and I've gotten more compliments on it than you could believe.  Apparently there is something irresistible about babies in owl hats.  Who knew?

 The last bit is a simple baby sweater, knit in garter stitch and a pair of basic baby socks.  Very utilitarian, no?  Simple but necessary. 

Next up, a bit of knitted eye candy.  This blanket was a baby gift from my amazingly talented aunt.  Believe me, the picture does not do it justice.  It is such a beautiful blanket and so soft.  I absolutely love it.  She's got skills, my aunt.  

And the last is a crocheted blanket with a song bird applique and some appliqued music notes.  The blanket is easy.  Ch. 127, double crochet in the second chain from the hook and continue working double crochet stitches across the row.  Ch. 3. Turn. Double crochet the next row.  Just keep doing that for as many rows as you like until you get the length you want (I worked 62 rows) and then work a border of single crochet around all the edges.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.  The songbird pattern you can find here.   I worked the music notes a bit differently than in the pattern.  I simply tried to embroider them on, and I think they would have turned out nicely that way if it weren't for the fact that I was making this blanket during a thunderstorm and therefore I had to contend with a 55lb. dog/scaredy cat who was desperate to climb onto my head for safety.  

That's it for now but I have lots more coming up including new recipes, brand new baby chicks who should be arriving in the next few weeks, new garden happenings and, of course, many more crafts.  We'll have fun!