Crochet Swaddling Blanket

Tags

baby afghan, baby blanket, baby gift, baby shower, blanket, gift, gift giving, handmade, handmade gift, yarn craft

Friends of mine are due to have a baby next month. I purchased a gift off their registry, but needed to include something more personal and handmade. Earlier this week, I attended their shower and presented them with this crochet swaddling blanket. They have talented friends and received many wonderful homemade gifts.

I used a double-stitch, Lion Brand Baby Soft Yarn in pistachio, and size J crochet hook. 71 stitches across and 43 rows created this ultra soft and light-weight blanket. I hope their baby loves it. ❤

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Red Mickey Mouse Coat

Tags

baby blanket, blanket, Crochet, crochet blanket, gift, gift giving

While growing up, I spent a lot of time with the three beautiful little girls that lived next-door to my family. Not only did I frequently baby-sit them, but we spent time together every single day. We even went on our family vacations together. Yeah, our families were that close, that they were our family!

I’ve watched them grow up from little babies into young ladies, and one is soon going to be a mommy. Her little boy is due to arrive this December, and I crocheted him a small pale blue baby blanket (using a v-stitch). I can only hope that he loves it as much as she once loved her red Mickey Mouse coat.

V-Stitch Detail

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Blankets for a Bouncing Baby Boy

Tags

baby blanket, baby gifts, baby nursery, baby shower, baby shower gift, blanket, craft, crafting, Crochet, crocheting, gift, handmade, homemade, it's a boy, postaday2011, present, yarn, yarn arts

These past few weeks I’ve been extremely busy creating all sorts of gifts… I made three blankets for my close friend’s baby shower. They are warm and cozy fleece blankets with a crocheted trim. I loved the technique so much, that I wanted to make more. And since April is raining babies, I finished these just in time for another friend of mine who is due tomorrow.

Trio of Baby Blankets

 

To create these blankets, I used a skip-stitch blade on my rotary cutter. I ran the blade along the edges to create holes to base my crochet trim. The trim on the green blanket has a round of single stitch and a round of half-double crochet. The trim on the blue blanket was made by two rounds of single stitches and then a round of double crochet. The cream blanket has a round of single stitch and the two rounds of half double crochet.

The perfect cozy wrap for snuggling a new baby…

What have you received as a homemade/handmade gift recently?

 

Detail of Edging

 

The Kindness of Others

Tags

afghan, baby blanket, baby gift, bloggers, crocheting, friend, friendship, infant, kindness, newborn, postaday2011, preemie, receiving blanket, swaddler, yarn, yarn craft

One of the reasons I love blogging? Friends, blog friends. Why not making friends through blogging. In my grandmother’s and mother’s time, maybe it was a snail mail pen-pal. When I was younger it was e-mail pen pals. I have friends who even have met their spouses on-line. Why not make a friend through blogging? Strangers that you connect with over the commonalities in your blogs and with whom you develop friendships. When they don’t post you worry. When you don’t post, they notice. I have developed several blog friendships and today I want to tell you about one of them.

Last month, my posting slowed down a bit and I shared a few reasons why. Many of my blogging friends offered well wishes, positive prayers and kind thoughts. One blogging friend took it a step farther. She had just finished crocheting a baby blanket and offered to send it for my friend’s preemie. A kind gift to welcome him into the world. Today, I received the blanket and a heartfelt letter full of positive energy. I cannot wait to deliver the blanket to this tiny guy, who is now over 4 lbs.!  In a world that is full of chaos and craziness, it’s refreshing to know that there are still genuinely sweet people. Thank you for your friendship and kindness Samina.

Beautiful Baby Blanket from Samina

❤ ❤ ❤

April Showers Bring Babies!

Tags

baby blanket, baby boy, baby crafts, baby gifts, baby nursery, baby presents, baby shower, baby shower gift, craft gifts, crafting, crochet blanket, crochet border, crochet edging, crochet trim, crocheted blanket, crocheted gift, crocheting, fleece, fleece blanket, half double crochet, it's a boy, nursery, postaday2011

It‘s a boy!

March & April seem to be raining babies (actually more like pouring), it’s hard to keep up with each bundle of joy. Today is a close friend‘s baby shower and I wanted to share what I’ve been working on for her lil’ baby boy… baby blankets of course!

Baby Boy Blanket Trio

 

This trio of blankets complement one another, while each being unique. One cream blanket has a dark country blue border, one light blue wrap is made with a dark country blue trim and there’s another cream blankie, this time with country blue edging. Each blanket is made of fleece with a crocheted yarn border. To create these cute snuggle wraps, I used a skip-stitch blade on my rotary and ran it along all four edges of a fleece rectangle. For the first round, I used the new slits to single crochet around the edge of the blanket, four stitch in each corner hole. The second round, I used a half-double crochet.

Fleece Baby Blankets with Crocheted Trim

 

Depending on the width, one yard of fleece can cut in half to make two blankets.

Congratulations Brandi & Josh! Welcome baby Brick!

The second half of March, posts have been few and far between. Thanks for being patient and supportive everyone! I tried to start my Spring cleaning this week and catch up on all the baby crafting I need to be doing in these baby bonanza months…

Baby Gifts for BFF

Tags

Baby, baby blanket, baby gift, baby gifts, baby shower, diaper bag, fleece blanket, Sewing, sewing project

I’ve recently heard from other moms that diaper bags are too frumpy, or they’re too small or that with the zipper you can’t easily open it and grab something when you’re on the way…

When my one BFF found out she was pregnant, I decided that I wanted to make her a cute diaper bag, bigger than most and with an easy access top. I decided to use faux leather to stitch together a diaper bag, that could double as a beach bag or something ex post (baby) facto. Overall, the bag’s shape turned out really well, the stitching is off in a few places, even using leather needles, the material was too tough for my lil’ sewing machine (ah, how I miss the machines at the costume shop). I used cute napkin rings to attach the straps to the bag. I think if I ever make one again, I’ll just sew the lining and use a strong bonding glue for the leather and maybe add a stiff insert between the lining and the exterior.

Finished Diaper Bag

Unfinished Pocketed Lining

I wanted to fill it with cute things for the baby; a Baby’s Memory Book, a cuddly teddy bear and I made a chocolate-brown changing pad and navy satin trimmed fleece blanket. I also filled it with a few diaper bag essentials, hand sanitizer and slim wipes case, diaper cream, alcohol wipes, diaper sacks and a grooming travel ring (with comb, brush, clippers and forehead temperature strips).

Diaper Bag Goodies

Since I had a lot to prepare for her shower, I didn’t get the diaper bag finished in time. I took it to her on Monday when I went to help her set up her nursery.

My BFF had her baby boy at 12:01am Wednesday morning. He is adorable and I’m thrilled for them. Congratulations Horst family!

What are your baby gift thoughts?

Baby Blankets

Tags

Baby, baby afghan, baby blanket, baby gift, baby shower, baby shower gift, crib blanket, Crochet, crocheted blanket, fleece blanket, gift, gift giving, satin blanket binding, satin trim

I remember how much I loved the texture of my crocheted baby blanket against my skin as a child. I also remember the cold smooth satin trim on several of my other blankets. I remember tactile details throughout my life

Hubster’s cousin is having a baby boy in August and this afternoon (actually, now) is her baby shower. I made her two blankets, one crocheted, one fleece with satin trim. The main color in the nursery is between a spearmint green and light sage green, with lot’s of neutral tones.

For the crochet blanket, I used my size “I” crochet hook to double stitch 52 rows with 70 stitches.  I created a striped pattern with the spearmint, chocolate, cream and tan plush yarn (8 rows spearmint, 2 tan, 1 cream, 2 tan, 8 spearmint, 2 cream, 1 chocolate, 2 cream, 8 spearmint, 2 chocolate, 1 tan, 2 chocolate, 8 spearmint).

Conner's Crocheted Blanket

For the fleece blanket, I used a cream-colored fleece and chocolate satin blanket binding I used cream thread to create the contrast n the blanket binding.

Conner's Fleece Blanket w/Satin Trim

The blankets complement one another, so they can be used alone or apart. I also gave her two board books, my favorite children’s bedtime stories, Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. I folded the blankets, stacked the presents and tie them with a chocolate ribbon!

Looking forward to Connor’s arrival!

What do you remember from your early days? The smells? Tastes? Sounds? Or touches?