Art, Craft and Needlework, December, 2012

[Ivy]

I made a baby pink poncho with matching wide brimmed hat with a flower on the brim to hold it up onto the front of the hat so the baby's face shows. It's adorable. I worked all day on it.

Next I'll do Mary Jane's shoes, tube socks, caps and bonnets. I've not got much room in the box. DH said he'll buy 2 more boxes at Office Max and I'll work on larger things, like the kimono wrap cardigan, a large sleeper bag, and a dress or two. I'll give Ddil and Dson the afghans at Christmas. They're already done. One's lavender and one's off-white edged in pink. It's sure a lot of fun.

I researched on-line some info how to get UFO's done. What I gleaned from my search is:
1- Collect all UFO's together in 1 spot.
2- Sort through them, prioritize which ones to do first.
3- Then just DO them!

I want to crochet myself a Granny stripe afghan in the New Year and the "bribe" I've made myself is to get ALL UFO's completed, and THEN I can do my Granny stripe afghan for myself. ♥

[Harriet]

That's interesting about gathering UFOs to only one spot - definitely an idea from someone who knows about UFOs. I really think they're not even UFOs unless there are a lot of them, because when someone has just a couple things they haven't gotten back to, they certainly know what they are/were meant to be. They're not unidentified. But when the projects pile up, it's not hard to forget some or to despair of some! LOL! To me, that's when you have a UFO situation, and that's when they can be found in several places in an attempt to neaten up. Do I have a UFO situation? Oh, yes! I guess mine are in one spot, in that they are all on the same set of shelving. Definitely have done the second, "prioritize". It's that third one that's the doozy!

Tagativity:

I've made one dozen of my gift tags thinking purely of fun/creativity, stopped (important step ), and then straightened/organized supplies into one box. I put a smaller box (greeting card size) of finished tags inside, on top. When I get into my gift wrapping marathon after decorating and see I need more of a certain type or color, I'll have my supplies right there to make more. Along with cards/papers, stickers, green ink pen and red fineline Sharpie, I have jute cord and holepunch in there for tags I decide to hang. Maybe I'll add a "tag-drawer" to my general gift-wrap supplies. These are just way cuter than others - probably because I just like my own ideas.

Oh, while I made some tags, dd14 sat beside me to finish up a watercolor project. After she cleaned up and looked at her "leavings" where she had tried out paint blending, she wondered if index cards can take a watercolor wash or spatter. So I may be getting some unusually colored cards to work with!

[Ivy]

Harriet, The gift tags sound unique! So does the watercolor idea!

I have a LOT of UFO's. In fact, I've got UFO's started, have no "clue" what hook was used or for what pattern. I'm going to "re-invent" patterns from the UFO's I've got. For instance, there is a 3' x 18" shell stitch start to a baby afghan. I'm going to crochet around and around it to make it look unique and it'll make a great lap robe, too.

I found a black 2-strand started afghan, so will see if I can make it into a shawl. I have long arms. Also, there is another 2-strand afghan started, which I DO remember where the pattern is, in a certain book, so I'll be able to crochet that.

My pledge is to finish up all UFO's so I can make myself a highly desired Granny stripe afghan. I just need to assign deadlines for the UFO's and I'll get down to my fun Granny stripe afghan.

Next on the list for the baby crochet are:
1- a cone hat in bands of yellow, then mint, then white.
2- tube socks to match each of the above colors.
3- 1 variegated yellow cone hat with matching tube socks. Then I'll stop and ship that box. Will do a stuffed dog for Christmas, my last thing for gifts, then get back to cardigans, dresses, headbands. sleeping saques, and make more shoes in different sizes. DH wants me to make a lavender poncho in a larger size for her, too. Are we spoiling her too much? She's not even here and she's got us wrapped around her little fingers already! It's so much fun though. We've never had a granddaughter; just 7 grandsons. She's a little miracle. ♥

[Nancy]

I picked up a black crochet shawl at the thrift shop and it's a bit small so I'm adding aqua colored thread and making it unique.

Also got the lime green yarn for Seahawks colored projects not sure what they will be yet but it's fun to plan!!!

[scattered]

ERGH! I had written a long post here and it is gone!

Ok, so this is where I post my projects right?

I pulled out the fabric yesterday for my planned 2 Fleece Zippered Hoodies for the DS's and Christmas Aprons. I found 1 4yd length of fleece material but not the second I did find a bunch of cut and started Christmas Aprons from like 2005 (DS13 was in Kindergarten) that I never finished. Which is a big help since I only have 12 days to get all this done. I have 2 pair of jeans that I rescued from DP/BFF (she was throwing them away because the zippers are broken) that I will use to make Aprons for DP/BFF's DH and DFil.

After discovering that I only had enough fleece for one, I took DS20 to the fabric store to pick out his fleece. While there I found a great remnant for DP/BFF (I always check the remnant bin) for a pair of slippers which she needs. I called her DH on the way home and he couldn't remember her shoe size but agreed to text me later on the sly (which he did). Then this morning while looking at the pattern I realized that one has a hoodie but doesn't zip and one zips but doesn't have a hoodie, DS20 will not wear it unless it does both. I called DAunt/BFF who does costumes professionally. She advised that I cut it out and do a mock-up using a sheet. I have now decided to do it using an ugly (IMO) flannel sheet that Mother left when she moved out, and finish it and send it to her. I figure she will like it for spring/summer, and DAunt/BFF loved the idea.

I am also making candles.

Craft ToDo/TaDa
Flannel hoodie for Mother
Fleece Hoodie for DS13
Fleece Hoodie for DS20
Slippers for DP/BFF
XMas aprons
denim Aprons
Vase Candle for DP/BFF
pebble candles (this will be an experiment)

Happy Crafting Everybody!

[Ivy]

The tube socks pattern I'm using are called, "Crochet Pattern: Super Simple Baby Socks" from a crochet blog. The site is:

http://www.crochetspot.com The URL goes on into "......." on the bottom of the paper, but I'm sure you could find it there, where she lists all her patterns in the margin. Another way to get the pattern is to go to:

http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com

I also made a cone hat from Caron Brites yarn. It's from a blog, too, so if you'd like to see the photo of it on-line, this is the URL:

http://peanutzmomspatternplace.blogspot.com/ You can also find it listed as "Candy Corn Newborn Hat" at the crochet pattern central site, too.

I made the top of the cone in white, the middle section in mint baby green and the bottom in yellow. My next "plan" is to make matching tube socks and if there is still room in the box, I'll add Mary Jane shoes again and/or another hospital top. When the box ships, I'll be working on 3 3/4-years-old dgrson's stuffed dog toy for Christmas. After it's done, I'll go on to box #2 and #3 for the baby girl. I plan on making flower and bow headbands, hats, sweaters, dresses, Mary Jane shoes, 2 shrugs to keep her arms warm, etc..... A lot of things are in larger sizes, too, so she'll have nice things from birth to up to 12-months sizes. Later in 2013, I'll be making her size 2 items, too. Nothing like looking ahead in life! Right!

[Nancy]

I finished up a couple of gift bags last night doing some time in the mom cave that felt great!

[Ivy]

I'm working on a shell-stitch Pound of Love dark lavender sweater dress I found on Ravelry. The awesome part of it all, is how the pattern designer had a link in her pattern, posted, to print up, which shows how to make the sleeve holes! She did it in contrasting stitches, it was a no-brainer easy way of learning! I'm now on the shell-stitch skirt, the sleeves and trim, buttons in back are next. It's a pattern for a 6-8 Lbs. baby using a "G" hook, but I'm using an "H" hook, so Baby Girl will be in it longer. I'll make some Mary Jane's and a bonnet to match it, too. I'm thinking about edging the dress in white, making a white bonnet and white Mary Jane's to match anything! It's so much fun to work on baby girl things, after 7 grandsons!

After the baby crochet box is shipped, I'll do some cleaning, and will start a stuffed dog toy, for Christmas.

Then, it's back to baby girl crochet. I'd like to do a couple of cardigans and a pinafore dress in a larger size, flower headbands, and bow headbands.

[Nancy]

I got a list of the yarns I need for next two projects.
Navy blue and white to go with the seahawk color project maybe ski caps for the guys.
Red white and green maybe some blues I'd love to have one of those Christmas holiday or winter sweaters folks love to make fun of! LOL!

[Ivy]

I realized how I wanted to crochet up my gift stash in the New Year, and today, it hit me that I AM! It's all going to Baby Girl crochet, etc.... I want less yarn on hand, get it crocheted into hats, afghans, girl clothes, and I want to finish UFO's and get a handle on my yarn clutter. Have the Baby Girl to crochet for is a force that I can't seem to control. She'll be the cutest dressed little baby girl/toddler in America! It's so much fun. I can't explain it, but it helps me feel more Peaceful and Hopeful about Ddil's high risk pregnancy. I feel more useful because I'm contributing, rather than crying around and worrying about it all. It keeps me more positive, too. I LIKE that feeling! It's GR8!

Will be working on the stuffed dog toy this weekend, for dgrson's Christmas toy.