Finishing WIPs

I’m been finishing off a lot of WIPs (Work In Progress) and its such a lovely feeling 🙂 Most of them are baby related, some for my new granddaughter Rose and some for a new baby soon to be born to Jess at work.

Here we go with the photos:

This is a knitted babygrow; I do prefer the look of knitting to crochet for clothes, but am more prolific at crocheting, hence why I make so many blankets. The babygrow is from a Deramores pattern, I love the colours here: Stylecraft Shrimp and Saffron, and the contrasting colour changes hopefully make it a little more unique.

I also made an aran all-in-one for wearing outside with little wooden toggles, again this is knitted:

 and here’s a close-up of the cable:

I’m going to have to get some photos of Rose wearing it, hopefully those photos will look better! Rose grew out of the shrimp and saffron one before I had finished it, so I have made his one extra long to fit. She’s going to be a tall girl!

Another knitted one: a tiny pink cardi with rosebuds and a little pearl button from the Sublime pattern book:

A crocheted blanket for Jess’ baby using the Cedar River pattern from Deramores. It’s my first C2C blanket and a joy to make:

I have also been making some Christmas baubles inspired by Heather at the Patchwork Heart:

This is one of Heather’s photos, doesn’t she do beautiful staging. I’ve traded some crocheted baubles for some good photos of my own so I’m hoping they’ll make an appearance on my Etsy shop soon.

Continuing the Christmas theme, I have crocheted a gorgeous little stocking ready for Rose’ first Christmas, see the little red rose on the cuff so Santa knows whose presents to put in?

Well blogging is an exhausting business, as is taking photos! So I shall get back to my restful hooking and continue with the Christmas bauble production line. And good news on the M.E. front: I have been given the go-ahead for a new wheelchair with a tilt-in-space mechanism. For those not au fait with wheelchairs and their tricks, it will hopefully mean that I can rest from my wheelchair, spend less time lying flat in bed and hopefully be sociable for longer before crashing. Happy days 🙂

 

Trio of Baby Rainbow Blankets

I’ve been making blankets, blankets and more blankets recently. The baby rainbow squares was my first, an idea which I found at the Patchwork Heart (she’s sooo good with colours). Then I wondered how it would look as spots, so just did the usual increases each round to get it to the desired size then turned my spots into squares with cream. The ripple, well I just love rippling, and rippling a rainbow was a a perfect excuse to do another.

Thankfully there are many babies due soon, so my crochet all has homes to go to.

The need to ripple continues – it is so addictive.

The pink ripple I did a while ago (see earlier post), but people keep borrowing it so I’m making it’s brother in blue. It took a while to get the colour choices right, first I made it with Midnight, Teal and Aspen as above, but then I wasn’t sure so did a few rows using Sherbet instead of the Aspen. A nicer colour on its own I think, but the combination felt more cohesive with the Aspen, so I frogged all the Sherbet back and started again! I never mind frogging, many people seem horrified as I pull row after row of work out, but for me its more important to get it right, yarn is expensive and anyway, it’s the journey of crocheting I love, not just the destination.

Hooking not blogging

Hi, I’ve not been around for a while as, is the way with C.F.S./M.E., I’ve had a bit of a relapse since Easter. This has meant many hours lying in a darkened silent room, just resting and recovering. Once I improved slightly I was able to crochet slowly and listen to audiobooks so these helped to distract me from the pain. So I have been hooking, just too poorly to blog about it. It’s interesting how different things take up different amounts of energy: hooking is very low down on the energy scale, whereas watching tv, chatting to a friend, or using a computer use up way more energy and require me to be quite well.

So the crochet items I have made while I’ve been offline are:

• a jumper and a gilet for my little grandson, ready for cooler weather!
• an african flower hexagon blanket
• bunting
• an long aran cardi, still a Work In Progress
• a black cotton lacy cardi for my niece’s 18th birthday
• a little house keyring

I love making baby sized clothes, you can run them up in a weekend so there’s a quick feeling of achievement. However it’s currently sunny June so I’m hoping they’ll be the right size for him come autumn and winter. My teenage son like the gilet so much that he’s asked for an adult sized version with sleeves. That’ll take a lot more than a weekend but I’ll try and get it done ready for when he goes off to Uni in September – snuggly crochet to remind him of home :p

I bought the yarn for this blanket just because I liked the colours together – it’s Stylecraft’s copper, gold, spice and safron. I saw them together on this post of Heather’s (she does have a gift with colour!) I love her Facebook page The Patchwork Heart and her blog and get so much inspiration from her work. Initially I had no idea what I was going to do with the yarn, then I found the african flower hexagon pattern and loved it. So this blanket has kept me quiet and focused for a while – it has been a joy to make. I joined the hexagons using slip stitch as I prefer to crochet joins than sew. I just need to block it to finish it off properly so all the edges lie nice and flat.

The bunting was just to use up some leftovers of Stylecraft yarn, when I needed to crochet but without much thought or effort. Brightens up the balcony.

The little house keyring was a fun-make one evening. My daughter needed a keyring so she chose her colours and buttons and I created it in just a few minutes. I love the way crochet is so versatile, you can make it up as you go along and can so quickly create finished items. My kind of instant gratification!

I don’t currently have a photo of the black lacy cardi I made for my niece – I’ll try and get one of her wearing it after her birthday – hope it fits!

I’m feeling much better now, back to pacing and the energy levels which have been my normal for the last few years. It’s good to be back xx

 

 

 

 

Baby Cashmerino

My friend Jeanne has asked me to crochet for some new babies in her family. I’ve had such a lovely time doing it because she chose Baby Cashmerino yarn which is soooo soft and a dream to crochet with. Above is a photo of the 4 items I have made: 2 ripple blankets, a boy’s hooded jacket and a girl’s cardi.

The girl’s cardigan is from Nicki Trench’s book Cute and Easy Crocheted Babies Clothes, unfortunately the pattern only goes up to 3-6 months so I tried doing it with a bigger hook and it has come out suitable for a 1 year old. I think it’s such a pretty pattern with the flowers on the front.

The boy’s hooded jacket is from a Hayfield pattern which I’ve made a few times now. It’s hard to photo flat as the baby’s hoods are always so big. I love faux cables on crochet work, a lovely touch brightening up a baby’s jacket:

 

And finally a photo of the 2 ripple blankets:

I love rippling, I especially love rippling in Baby Cashmerino; it is so soft and every stitch you hook you can imagine a tiny soft newborn wrapped in it. Just lovely!

 

Baby blanket with applique boat

I made this blanket using the same aran yarn and stitch as for the baby sleeping bags – just using up the yarn of the 3 for 2 offer. I decided it needed livening up a little so appliqued a little boat. It’s the first time I’ve done applique with crochet, so very pleased with the result.

Baby cardigans

I’ve been crocheting fasten than I’ve been blogging! So now I have a whole pile of finished items to show :

This little boy’s cardigan in 0-3 months size is made using James Brett Cotton On yarn from here; it is so lovely and soft – perfect for a baby and reasonably priced too.

The pattern I used is from Sirdar; they seem to have recently updated their range with some suitable for little boys rather than traditional matinee jackets. I got mine from here. I think the toggles make a perfect addition to bring it bang up to date!

I loved it so much I also used this pattern and yarn to make a brown version:

Again I love the little wooden buttons; I’ve found that choosing the right buttons can make or break a garment and is well worth the little extra money to get something special.

Another Baby Sleeping Bag!

I enjoyed making the first one so much I made another! This time with a little flower on the chest for a little girl. As I don’t have a granddaughter this is for sale on my Etsy site here.

Knitted Baby Boy’s Jumper

The only article I managed to knit for my grandson was this little jumper which was shown in an earlier blog under a Work In Progress. Here is the finished article:

So cute! I love the shawl collar, adds an extra special finish to the design.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, there are many pregnant mums at my work and I have been crocheting some little baby clothes for them:

This is a little cardigan, same pattern as the blue and brown one earlier which I made for Shantelle’s little boy:

Becky wanted a little hooded jacket and blanket so I made these:

Such fun making things for others!

Baby sleeping bag

I love this baby sleeping bag I made using Aran wool. I remember when my own children were small we had one which was so useful. After a day out visiting, we would pop the children in their pyjamas knowing they would fall asleep in the car on the way home. The sleeping bag kept them warm and was easy to remove without waking them up once we were home. I hope this one will prove as useful .

I loved the stitch, it was: double crochet, half treble, treble – all done together in a cluster. Then worked backwards and forwards in lines – rather than in the round. That way you get the effective way the clusters stand up on the previous row.

I then went on to use the same stitch to create myself a Kindle cover:

Reading and crochet put together – you don’t get much better than that!

Flopsy bunny

This cute little Flopsy Bunny is crocheted using Paton’s 100% cotton double knitting yarn. I’ve made a few of these now from a pattern in Simply Crochet, Issue 2. You can see some of the others for sale on my Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DressedInCrochet

oh.. and here’s a back view of its cute little cotton tail:

I love the way its ears and just right for tiny fingers to grab hold of. I can see it being a friend for many years …. and probably another one needed for when it goes in the wash!

Baby bootees and beanie hats

The pattern for the bootees was simple and straightforward and came from Simply Crochet magazine, issue 2. You can run them up in an evening using left over yarn from other projects, but I love the design. I found some cute little toggles to give them the finishing touch:

Using the leftover yarn from the Striped baby blanket (see earlier post) I made these little beanie hats:

The pattern is from Nicki Trench’s book Cute and Easy Crocheted Baby Clothes. The colours haven’t come out very well in the photo but one is in Wobble (green) and the other in Choo choo train (duck egg blue).

Striped baby blanket

Continuing the baby theme….! I’ve just completed a stripey blanket for my Grandson – who is due in 4 weeks time. I used Sirdar Snuggly baby double knitting yarn and the colours sound as gorgeous as they look: I used choo choo train and wobble, as well as the more ordinary teal, pale blue and white. I know it’ll wash and wear well for many years. I’n hoping it is the right size to fit the cot, but it’ll also be good for swaddling the baby, in cooler weather than we have today! I did a ribbon trim, trying to match the choo choo train colour, as all babies like some shiny ribbon to rub between their fingers.

Here are some closer pictures:

and this:

Current Works In Progress

I’ve got quite a few WIPs going on at the same time at the moment. I’m doing a baby ripple blanket in a lovely pale blue for my grandson who is due in 6 weeks time – so exciting! I got the pattern from Lucy at Attic24 http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/neat-ripple-pattern/comments/page/5/#comments Its made the pattern much more simple than others I’ve seen. The foundation row is tricky, (I had to unpick mine 5 times!) but once you’ve got it right, the rest is easy as you can read it to check it as you go – if you know what I mean! The very pale blue yarn I’m using is John Lewis’s own as its paler and more subtle than a lot of others on the market: http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-heritage-baby-4-ply-yarn/p359261?colour=Baby%20Blue

So here’s a photo of the baby ripple blanket so far:

and a close up of the stitches:

I have enjoyed rippling!

My other main Work in Progress at the moment is to be a blanket for my daughter Jude’s bed. She knew she wanted a blue blanket so then we spent many happy hours (for me!!) looking at pictures, and designs. She decided she liked the granny square one done Matt on his according to matt blog: http://accordingtomatt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/granny-square-blanketthe-sequel.html I was thrilled with the idea of making millions of small granny squares because it makes crochet so easy to transport – I can always fit one ball of yarn and a hook in my handbag for those unexpected moments of hooky. This was on the condition that I was allowed to crochet it together, as I knew if she wanted a sewn seam it would just stay as millions of separate small granny squares! So we had an agreement. Stylcraft double knitting had to be the yarn. I’ve heard many people on other blogs raving about Stylecraft and I had yet to try it. What a find! Just as everyone else says it is cheap but soft and smooth when crocheted – far superior to other acrylic yarns. So we chose a selection of colours based on blue with some greens and purples thrown in:

I was so thrilled when all this wool arrived in the post – such a treat! I have 2 balls of 9 colours. I haven’t yet decided whether to do a repeat of 3×3 squares across the blanket or to be random. We shall see. So I have nearly made half the blanket so far. Here’s a few of the squares I have made:

But then I have a 3rd Work In Progress to show you.

I felt the need to knit. And mixed in with all these blues for Jude’s blanket was 200g of a gorgeous pale blue called Cloud which would be just enough to make a beautiful baby boy’s jumper…..and I could always get some more Cloud for the blanket later… Poor Jude, she’ll feel so pushed out by her nephew!

This is the pattern from Sublime:

You can see why I had to make it! Absolutely gorgeous.

So far I have made the back, the front and one sleeve:

not such a great picture. but gives you the idea. However, this all reminded me why I usually crochet instead of knitting these days – I had pain all over my shoulders and collar bones and neck. So I’ve had to stop for the time being.

But at least I’ve got lots of crochet to be going on with 🙂

Baby Girl’s Clothes

There seem to be far more crochet patterns for baby girl’s clothes than for boys. At the beginning of Tess’ pregnancy we didn’t know the gender so I happily made both! Here are some pictures of what I made:

This is a lovely little matinee jacket from Jenny Watson’s crochet book, made in neutral beige.

Next is a lovely pinafore dress to be worn with white long sleeved t shirt and white tights. This was adapted from Nicki Trench’s book: Cute and Easy Crocheted Baby Clothes:

Then another one from Jenny Watson’s designs using her Rose baby wool – lovely and soft:

There’s also a cute lacy hat to go with this:

I love that photo it really shows off the beautiful stitch detail.

The last girly creation is a little cardigan, again from the Jenny Watson collection but made using Galaxy wool with sequins. I wanted something different from the traditional baby look of pastels – I think this fits the bill nicely!

Congratulations!

We heard my daughter Tess is expecting our first grandchild – great joy! For a crochet addict like me that means only one thing – the best excuse in the world to buy lots of yarn and make all sorts of baby clothes. Of course at the beginning of the pregnancy you don’t know the sex of the baby, but isn’t that just a lovely excuse to make both boy and girl clothes? Some suggested gender neutral colours like yellow and green, but I really didn’t mind the extra “work” involved in crocheting both boy and girl clothes :p !!

So first stop was a baby shawl. It’s a lovely pattern in 3 ply so lots of hours involved but a perfect mix of easy but interesting repeat pattern. Made in Sirdar Baby Snuggly yarn its soft but washable and tumble dryable – a must for sicky babies, but still beautiful enough to be used as a Christening shawl.

Here it is spread out over the sofa:

and a close up of the stitch: