Monday, November 21, 2016

Mermaid Tail of your Dreams

Mermaid Tail Blanket

A long time friend of mine contacted me after seeing a picture on the internet of a mermaid blanket. She loved them but they are expensive on Etsy and this friend is also 6 foot and some. Getting anything in her size is a challenge to say the least. She is such an amazing person and quickly gave me creative freedom and just asked not to make it overly girly (no pink). I still had a few balls left over from making Aryiana's halloween costume a few years back and some coordinating colors and went over to Ravelry to find a free pattern to work with.

www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mermaid-tail-afghan


Blanket is worked from the top to the bottom with a shell stitch. Nice easy pattern to follow along and once you have it down its easy to work while watching tv and what not. I started alternating colors, the first few color change rows are too small and you have a hard time spotting them. After that I started doing three rows in each solid color so they would stand out.



















Changes to Pattern

Blanket: This blanket is made to order so I needed it to measure 70" without the tail. The decrease is only 10 rows so I worked my blanket until it was 3-4" shy of 70" and followed the decrease pattern. I also added a shell picot edge to the top of the blanket and stitched it down.
















Tail: After working up the tail pattern and attaching it to my blanket I took a step back and realized the tail was way too small for this huge blanket, I needed to make it bigger. I just worked a few rows of SC around the bottom and 3SC in the corners of blanket and added the same shell picot in blue to the tail.
















Sure hope she loves it! This beast took about 10 balls of red heart yarn in Wildflower, Blue, Green and Light Blue and almost two months to complete. Shell stitches take a lot of yarn but they have the scale effect that I wanted. Such a great idea and pattern. Have fun with the color changes and decorative edges to make each blanket unique. I can't wait to start on a kid sized one for my little girl, she will love it!

Thanks for taking a look and enjoy!

Friday, November 18, 2016

For Those Baby Girl Toes!

Basic Baby Booties!

Baby shoes are something I never thought I could crochet. I have tried a few different patterns only to end up pulling them out or throwing them away in frustration. So when I found a pattern that had the word BASIC in it I had to pull out the yarn and give it another try. This is a great easy free pattern found on Ravelry, nice and easy to read. Both shoes are made the exact same way, there is no left or right until you put the embellishments on.

ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-baby-booties



Here is my first pair made with mostly scrap yarn, in my favorite colors. All the yarn is Caron Simply Soft, in white, aqua and red. I also sewed on a small pearl. This pair doesn't have the leaf and flower feel at all.




















Second pair of baby shoes made to match a baby blanket. Caron Simply Soft in white and purple, the green is heavier scrap yarn. This pair has the leaf and flower feel and I love that the Simply Soft Yarn has a pearly shine to it that matches the pearl in the flower center.



These baby shoes can be changed up so many was with just embellishments and colors. I cant wait to make some with petal flowers or buttons! So much fun. Thanks for taking a look. Check out the other posting around the blog and Enjoy!


Monday, November 7, 2016

Baby Blankets For All

For All The Babies!

Oh my gosh, I love babies, and everyone I know had a baby this year. Even before genders are known I'm searching over baby blankets I can make, saving them, and considering the yarn I would use. I started on a pattern I had my eyes on for a while after finding out a friend from Florida was expecting a girl in May.

This is a free pattern found on Ravelry. It is worked in a round from the center out and is so stunning that I had to make more.

ravelry.com/patterns/library/fluffy-meringue-stitch-blanket

Fluffy Meringue Stitch Blanket- Made using Caron Simply Soft yarn in the color Cream. This took 5 skeins of yarn and a little over a month to make.



Not only did I get to gift this beautiful blanket but my amazing photographer friend also requested a blanket from me. She sent me a photo and I got to go to a real yarn store for the first time!!!! I picked up some bright pink fiber and headed home to figure out what to do. After much trial and error I chose to knit my fiber with PVC pipe, rather difficult, and very new, but after a few rows I got it down. It was a totally new experience and it was so fun to make.

Fiber Knit Baby Blanket Photo Prop- 1lb 5oz pink fiber and took about two weeks to make.


After making the first fluffy meringue blanket and posted pictures I got a request from my grandmother to make another one for my cousin and his wife who was expecting their first baby girl. In our family we have a tradition to receive a blessing blanket for your first baby. Not the last blessing blanket made.

Fluffy Meringue Stitch Blanket- Made using 5 skeins of Caron Simply Soft in White and took a month to make. 

Honeycomb Baby Bonnet- Extra Caron Simply Soft in White. Works up super fast in less then an hour. 



So I couldn't help myself and had to make another one of these blankets and matching bonnet in whatever color I wanted. I picked a yarn I had a few balls of and work on it on a road trip. 

Fluffy Meringue Stitch Blanket- Caron Simply Soft yarn in Light Green, 5 skeins used and it only took two weeks with a lot of time in the car. 

This blanket and bonnet are available over in the Etsy store, Head on over there for easy purchase and quick shipping. 

After so many girly baby blankets I was thrilled to hear of a friend in Utah and his wife were expecting a baby boy. I looked through my yarn and pulled out my six skeins of vintage Caron Dazzle air yarn in a shimmering grey and some Red Heart yarn in black. I also made this cute baby a batman cape, hat and mask. 

Cluster Stitch Crochet Baby Blanket- Worked in Grey and black. Took a little over a month to make. Easy pattern and so many ways to make it look different.



Just sent off my most recent blanket to its new amazing little baby girl. A good friend from middle school and his wife just welcome their first baby. After seeing my other blankets she requested a blanket and we spent a good while picking out a pattern she liked and I got started. 

Mayflower Baby Blanket- Worked in Caron Simply Soft yarn in white. Blanket took 6 skeins of yarn and a little over a month to make. 



Baby blankets are so fun to make, I have another few in mind I would love to make and few more people expecting babies. Hope all the families enjoyed their blankets and new bundles of joy!