Baby gift and sister's bday.

This blanket was made for the baby of an old, dear friend. Her baby was born in late July - very healthy and lovely. I loved this pattern when I saw it on the Purl Bee blog. I especially loved the seed stitch version, which is the one I used. I don't normally go for the yarn they use on the Purl blog because they are usually rather extravagant, yet luxurious. I couldn't resist this yarn - it's organic cotton and the softest yarn I've ever worked with (yarn details are in pattern - link above). The Spud & Chloe yarn also comes in amazing colors - I loved this bright orange color so much! For the edging, I searched and read around on people's blogs to find general instructions for a shell or fan edge on a blanket. My method for this type of thing is to decide how large/long I want the fan to be (matching the size of the overall project), then adjust around the corners as necessary to make a longer fan come around each corner. Basically, a fan on either side of a corner may need to be shorter or longer to make the corner fan occur at just the right place. Hopefully that makes sense - it's not an exact science by any means (for me, anyway).

The cute little piggy I found at a booth of Renegade Brooklyn with Danielle last summer. I only mailed the blanket to my friend around Thanksgiving (running a bit behind as usual), so have been hanging onto the piggy since then. I should know and report the name of the vendor, but I apologetically can't recall. There are several other great baby blanket patterns on the Purl blog site that I'm planning to try out soon - the stork is returning in the spring and then again in the summer among our friends.

I made this hat for my sister's birthday. It's made with Lorna's Laces Swirl Chunky ("Watercolor" colorway, I believe). It was the first hat I crocheted, and it was trying for many reasons... I can't seem to find the pattern link anymore - I was using the Droid in the car to search for patterns. Doesn't matter really, since the pattern wasn't good at all - I ripped out and started over three times before the sizing was right (much too large initially) and didn't even end up following the same stitch pattern. In the end, I used the pattern to get an idea of how to design the top and crown of the hat, then went rogue from there. I have a habit of just winging it with hats, which works most of the time with a knitted hat if you do just a bit of math up front, but this one was definitely a learning experience - with no method to my madness. I was happy with how the whole thing ended up and really loved the edging - seemed to tone down the color just enough and make it look more finished.

The edging is a worsted weight wool yarn - pretty standard spin with a gorgeous dye, but I can't recall the brand - picked it up at a yarn store, Broad Ripple Knits, in Indianapolis that I love visiting when we pass through. It's a really cute shop with a good yarn selection and in a great neighborhood - college area with fun shops, cafes, bars, breweries, etc. We've been to the Broad Ripple Brewpub twice now and enjoy their beers - they also have great food. We normally try to add in some couple fun to our holiday family vacationing, and have stopped through Indianapolis for a night the past two years on the way to or from Wisconsin to visit my mom's side of the family. This year, we also stopped in Cincinnati to visit from friends and that city is amazing! If it wasn't so dang cold in the winter, it would make it on a list of cities where I think I could live.

Wow. Ok, so this post pretty much catches me up to the recent holiday crafting, so that will be coming up very soon. Exciting. :)