Crochet Toddler Blanket Pattern

Usually my son takes no notice of things that I make. He is supremely unimpressed by it all, and I don't blame him. He's a little boy! So if I ever do make something that he gets excited about, it really makes me happy. This was one of those things. Now when people come over, he invites them to, "Come look at my new room! Mom made it for me."

The blanket fits perfectly on the IKEA Gulliver bed.

It takes about 5-10 minutes to do a row, depending how fast you are. So a couple of rows here and there, on car trips, while watching your favorite show, and it's really not so daunting. And the pattern is as simple as they come. It really only consists of a chain and then one stitch- HDC (half double crochet). There are all sorts of tutorials on YouTube. You could really start learning to crochet today and be making this blanket by tomorrow!

Here is the pattern that I used:

Materials:
size J crochet hook
Red Heart Super Saver small skein of yarn in 6 colors
(You could use any worsted weight yarn, this kind isn't as soft as some but you can't beat the price.)

Row 1: Chain 180
Row 2: HDC in 2nd chain from hook, HDC all the way across, chain 2 and turn
Row 3: HDC across, ch 2 and turn (178 stitches)
Rows 4-16: same as row 3
Rows 17-32: repeat rows 2-16 in a new color (switching colors can be scary at first, there are lots of tutorials for that too)
Etc.

So basically the entire blanket is just HDC stitches, with 16 rows of each color and six colors total, making 98 rows. And that's it!

Flag Jars

I can check this off my project to-do list. You just have to imagine flowers in the jars though. (Those cost money so they are coming later.)  All in all these were pretty cheap to make. Now I can use this decoration for Happy Memorial Day/Flag Day/Independence Day/Patirots Day/Any Day...I guess that means all summer long.

Pink and Gold Baby Shower

I found these pictures of a baby shower I threw for a good friend a while back.  The main accomplishment here is that I think I spent $30 total on it.

Here's what I bought:

• gold spraypaint for frame (that I had already), and flower vases
• tissue paper for garland on ebay (there are lots of tutorials for those), as well as pink utensils, plates, and gold cupcake liners
• pink and gold candies 

Everything else I had already. The napkin holder is from IKEA, as is the doily plate. I made three different kinds of cake and made little labels for them using tags and toothpicks stuck into Rolo candies. I also made a little print for the frame that said, "Welcome little lady". The cupcakes were Cherry Almond Vanilla and are SO delicious.

It was a really fun party to prepare!

Bright Nursing Cover

This is the third nursing cover I've made. This isn't anything like Alli's quilting masterpieces but it felt good to get the sewing machine working! It's my favorite baby shower gift I guess since I seem to give them every time. Last April I made myself cutting instructions so I wouldn't have to measure and figure it all again. So glad I did. It was pretty quick to whip up that way.... except for the fact that I had a baby on my lap while sewing. I felt like my Grandma Beverly. Love her. She had 6 children and was always sewing something for someone. My mom said she always had one of the kids on her lap while sewing. I think that's why I didn't mind too much- just trying to rise to Grandma Beverly's expert sewing level!

Next time I think I want to make the strap at the top a little shorter. After it was sewn  it seemed to hang too low. I took a short cut and just folded it over and sewed on top. I only had a few hours to spare before the party so no seem ripping was going to happen. I love the bright colors! The mom-to-be doesn't know the gender but I thought this will work for either since it's really for mom.

Grandmother Necklaces

I'm running the risk of debuting a mother's day gift before it arrives to our mothers but oh well. (Mom, if you happen to see this, it's on its way!) I made these necklaces of my mother's mother and my mother in law's mother as gifts for them. We always seem to give gifts or thoughts to our moms about how we appreciate them as our moms. But this year I thought I'd give our moms the gift of their mothers, both whom are busy in heaven. My thinking was that wearing these necklaces they can have Mom close to their hearts on Mother's Day.

I changed the photo color from b&w to sepia on one to go with the old time bronze color better. The other had perfect coloring already. I love how they turned out.

Thanks to the how-to on the blog Saving With Sarah this was something I felt was do-able. And it was.

American Girl Matching Ruffle Skirts

I made these as a gift last year and didn't ever take a very good picture of them, but it's a project I'm going to want to come back to and remember and make again! Matching skirts for a girl and her American Girl doll. I used stretchy ruffle fabric and just added a black elastic. No hemming or anything needed, just sew it straight up the back! I would have gone crazy over this when I was little.

*special thanks to Ashley for the gift idea and showing me how to do it back when I could barely sew!