Homemade Gifts

Every year for Christmas I make some of the gifts for family members. This past Christmas I wasn’t able to do all that I wanted to. Maybe I’ll learn my lesson and start making gifts now for this year. HA HA or Not.

The two biggest projects I made was an apron and a hunting bucket seat. I sadly forgot to get a picture of the apron. I am happy with the way it turned out. It is a full length apron that ties around the neck and waist. The bucket seat was without a doubt a challenge for me. I have never made anything like it before and was limited on time. If I make this again I need to improve on the pockets that go around the side of it and maybe figure out a better way to attach them to the bucket. The seat part of the bucket came out a lot better than I thought it would. I even added a pocket in the seat for hand warmers. A warm bottom is important.

I found some cute unfinished wooden pieces that I just stained and then painted. I really like them and want to make more. I may even learn a bit about wood working. The box is meant to be a bug box. The metal at top is perfect to keep small bugs inside the box. The fire  truck and boat are both banks. I had also helped make about 5 knot blankets. The one in the picture was made for my husband. These type of blankets are easy to make. They just need a lot of space depending on the size of the blanket. The pink rug with Minnie Mouse was made for my niece. I used fabric paint on the bottom to help give it some friction so that it won’t slide as badly on the floor. The man card bottle opener was made by my brother-in-law. It fits inside a wallet like a credit card. Its really cool and I had to share it with you all.

Handmade Baby Shower Gifts!

I have been neglecting this site lately and for that I am sorry. I could go on and give you a ton of excuses but in all honesty I have been being lazy when it comes to my internet stuff. Mostly because sitting in this chair is sort of uncomfortable while pregnant. Heck sitting, standing, and even laying down is uncomfortable no matter where is it. It will be all worth it when I get to hold my little one. 😀 I am also getting myself out of this laziness and writing more posts and such.

I have just recently been thrown a baby shower and would love to share with you all the beautiful things my friends and family made for the little one. Everything i got was really cute or Very useful but that would be a lot of pictures so I decided to just show off the handmade stuff. As to be expected I got a few crocheted blankets. There are many other handmade items – bibs, wash cloths, booties, burp cloths, and an outfit. I love everything I got and can not stop playing with it all.

I would like to add that I had no idea I was having a baby shower. Everyone involved did a really good job at keeping it a secret from me. I am shocked that my husband was able to keep it from me for two or more months. I am sure that if I had flat out asked him if his mom was doing a baby shower for me that he would have cracked. This would explain all the times when I would bring up a baby shower and he would change the subject or leave the room. It was an awesome baby shower, and I was very happy to see everyone there. A ton of family and friends showed up and yes I cried and then blamed my hormones. 😀 A few of the people there I hadn’t seen in a long while. It was nice that they came.

A good friend of mine and her mom made the cakes and cupcakes. They were very well done and pretty. Since most people had come from other states, the baby shower was also like a family get together. Which meant that the guys were there as well. They were just outside eating, drinking, and playing games with the kids. They made the ambulance cake just for my husband, because he is a volunteer firefighter/EMT. He thought that was really cool looking. One of the younger kids begged me to cut the cake just so he could have a piece of it.

Crochet Thread, Not Just For Doilies!

Red Crochet Choker

When you hear someone talk about using crochet thread, most people immediately think of a doily. Those things are cool and all but I personally have no use for them. Well unless it is being used as a coaster. I do love working with the type of yarn, and you would be surprised by the amount of things you can create with it. Most of the projects I make are small; garland, jewelry, coasters, ornaments, etc. Just because the yarn is fine doesn’t mean you can’t make things like shawls, hats, and pillows. I haven’t started any large crochet thread projects yet. I never seem to have the yarn to make these projects, I write this while staring at my overflowing yarn stash. Those who crochet or knit understand this feeling. It is funny how you can run out of room to stash your yarn, yet at the same time not have enough.

My point here is that you can make so much more than just doilies with crochet thread. One of my favorite things to do with the yarn is to make leaves and flowers. I attach them to different things to add a bit more of something to it. Sometimes that something is color, other times a project just needs an embellishment. I string garland with these leaves and flowers up in the living room to match the seasons. Fall colored leaves for fall, snowflakes for winter, and pretty flowers for both spring and summer. It helps to liven up my apartments white walls.

Orange Blossom Mug Rug

Crocheting with two pieces of yarn together is fun and interesting. Mixing colors that look great together can make a project look better than before. Some of the snowflakes I make are worked with a blue and white. This gives them more of a winter vibe than using just plain white. Using two yarns also makes these snowflakes much larger than if I were to crochet with just one. Jewelry is another fun project I make with crochet thread.

Winter Snowflakes

Sometimes when you crochet stuff (say a simple phone case or change purse) with regular sized yarn it comes out bulky and can sometimes have too big of holes. When you make the same items with crochet thread it will become much slimmer and have smaller holes that coins and such can not slip thru.You will of course have to add stitches and rows if you are following a pattern and want to change to crochet thread. I recommend not doing this if you are just starting out. Another use for crochet thread is as boarders on sewn items. Many people do this to their hankies, sleeves, and pillow cases to give them a more delicate look. This would be a great idea for customizing your clothing. You can crochet at the ends of skirts and dresses, or around the neck of a shirt. There are so many more things you can do with crochet thread. Can you make more than just a doily?

Granny Talk!

Granny squares are one of the easiest things to crochet. Though when using other patterns “motifs,” they can get down right mean. The beauty of them is you can make just about any shape you want; circles, triangles, hexagons, ovals, and of course, squares. I could keep going and list all the shapes, but I believe you get my point. You can also connect them together in any way you want. Make a blanket or scarf for a simple project or for more of a challenge you can make socks or a bikini. (That’s right I said Bikini; I dare you to take that challenge.) Truly, the only limit there is with granny’s and motifs are your imagination and skills. To most people, “granny’s or granny squares” are a specific type of stitch technique. You start at the center in a ring with a number of double crochet stitches in a shell with a number of chain stitches between each shell. On the second row and up each shell is worked in the chain spaces. Any other crochet pattern is called a motif.

Here is a link for Granny Square video instructions!

Using different types of yarn and hook size can change the look, feel, and size of the granny/motif. Using a thicker yarn and hook would be good for a blanket, shawl, scarf, etc. While using a crochet thread and fine hook will be easier for earrings, bracelets, or cake banners. You can use any combination that suits your project. For instance, you don’t have to use the thickest yarn for blankets and such. I have even seen people make shawls with crochet thread. All i got for that one is: Wow, that takes a whole lot of something! 😀

The colors you use can also completely change the look of a motif. Using multiple colors can get very interesting. You can use colors to emphasize specific rows making them pop out more than the rest of it. Create patterns in your project after you have connected all the motifs together by strategically placing different colors. Maybe even arrange the different colors and shapes so that a picture appears.