Crochet Baby Pumpkins

Today I want to share with you these three adorable little crochet pumpkins I made for my niece and two nephews! I was feeling the Fall Spirit a little early, and these were actually complete weeks ago -- but I wanted to be sure the packages had safely arrived before I showed them off on the blog.

Crochet Woven Basket

I think we've all been having the "Back to Work Blahs" so I haven't been working on anything big (sewing, etc.). I did cash in the rest of my Christmas gift cards on a few more sewing supplies, some yarn, and a magazine of crochet patterns. I was pretty psyched about the crochet patterns because they were for things besides scarves, hats, and blankets! One of the patterns that caught my eye was this woven basket pattern. I thought this might be a good way to use up some of the yarn I had in my craft closet and learn a few new stitches.

The yarn in the basket is only a *small* sampling of all the yarn I have left in my closet

Blue Chevron Baby Blanket

Things have been quiet around this blog lately - but not because I've been idle!  I've spent the past month and a half working on a very special gift for my sister-in-law's baby-boy-to-be, who will be debuting this February.  His mom lives way up North, so I figured she could use something to keep her and baby warm until the snow melts or they move back South - whichever happens first.

A special bundle for the bundle of joy

I've been getting better at crochet after I cut my teeth on my other nephew's crochet blanket this past summer and I really wanted to try a new pattern.  I absolutely LOVE crocheting patterns (once I get the hang of them, of course) because I can count much more easily.  For example, this pattern required me to crochet 11 single crochet, do something special, then crochet 11 single crochet, etc.  It's much easier than trying to keep count of all 225 stitches in each row!  Not to mention, crochet stitches look so pretty when done in a pattern.  I was really amazed at how easy the chevron pattern was.

Rainbow Crochet Baby Blanket for New Nephew

My brand new nephew is here!  And I couldn't wait to practice my newly-learned crochet pattern, the V-Stitch, on a new blanket for him.

The art of "Procraftinating"

Update:  My Latin-speaking husband has recommended I use the term "Procraftinating" as opposed to "Craftcrastinating" because it actually makes sense.  Suggestion taken under advisement.

OK, I'm not totally to blame for not working on my Outlander costume anymore this week.  I did have to wait for the jersey needle to come in (though I could have just driven to the store to purchase it instead...).  However, mostly I'm nervous to start the costume because I'm afraid it will be too difficult and I will mess up and then I will be sad.

But that's OK - I'm apparently at my most productive when I'm procrastinating.  Or in this case, "Procraftinating".

First up, I spent an entire evening assembling this gorgeous beast.

Note the multiple stacks of as-yet unused fabric

The dimensions are slightly smaller than I thought they would be, but I am able to store most of my crafting supplies in here.  I have a section for sewing, crochet, coloring/drawing, and even my old scrapbooking stuff from back before I figured out that making digital photobooks and then printing them was way, way easier.  Hopefully now that I can see all my stuff I'll be more likely to use it!

Crochet Cowl - Another Outlander Inspiration

While I'm waiting on the special sewing machine needle to come in the mail so I can finish my Outlander dress, I decided to occupy my time with some other crafts!

Outlander has apparently caused quite a stir in the crochet and knitting community because of its plethora of fabulous cowls, wraps, etc.  As such, there has been an explosion of copy-cat patterns emerging online.  Learning to properly crochet has been on my crafting to-do list ever since a few friends and I decided to pick it up together a few months ago.  I understand how to do the various stitches, but following patterns has been the bane of my existence.  I have been trying and failing at a shell pattern scarf over the past month, and so decided to take myself back to Crochet 101 and follow an Outlander pattern I found online.