In the Works

I am anxiously awaiting my For the Love of Cupcakes swap partner to receive. This is a bit nerve-wracking as I just mailed this morning. As soon as she has received I will post pictures and descriptions. I made some similar items for my sister-in-law and will post those once they have been received as well.

I am starting on a crocheted shawl for another swap, this time a round robin. The pattern is called Evening Shawl and I found it first on Ravelry.com but have since found it again on LionBrand.com using a different weight of yarn and called Elegant Shawl. I'm using I Love This Yarn Sportweight, available at Hobby Lobby, in black and an F/3.75mm hook. The yarn 100% acrylic, so it is washable, but this brand is very soft.

The instructions are not the best or easiest to follow, even though I've been crocheting a long time, but I think I have the pattern down and have high hopes it will turn out well. Thankfully, the swap has a really long crafting time, so I can try something else if it doesn't work out the way I would like.

Pretty Petunia Cloche

I bought the crochet pattern for the Pretty Petunia Cloche from CharmingCrochet on Etsy.com when I discovered I was expecting a little girl. It worked up pretty easily and uses so little yarn you could make multiple hats or coordinating accessories. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn, which I love using in children's items because it really is soft with a lot of drape but 100% machine-washable acrylic.
The hat is absolutely adorable, but my daughter is on the petite side shall we say and won't be able to wear it any time soon.

Now that I've pulled out the hooks and yarn, I couldn't resist picking up some ridiculously sweet patterns from Crochet My Love on Etsy.com and can't wait to get started on them. There is a seriously ruffled diaper cover and Vanna's Choice yarn calling my daughter's name.

Baby (and Toddler) Afghans

I made two mini-afghans in the past month - one for my 3-year-old son and one for my daughter on the way.

My son's afghan is made with Baby Bee acrylic "Sweet Delight" baby/sport/3 in Blue Baby Camo. I bought it at Hobby Lobby and it is really soft and has a lot of stretch and drape to it. It would probably be great yarn for a pullover sweater but I live in the South so my son doesn't really need a sweater. I just improvised one big square, crocheted in rounds. The finished size is approximately 33"x33".

Above is a close-up of the stitch pattern. I chained 4, then joined to form a ring for the center. I chained 3 and made 15 dc in the ring and joined with a slip stitch. Round 1: Ch 3 and 4 dc in the same stitch, then dc in the next three dc and make 5 dc in the next dc three more times, joining with a slip stitch to the chain three. After that I just kept making rounds of double crochet with five stitches in the center dc of each corner. I had three skeins and stopped when I was out of yarn.

My daughter's is made with Loops & Threads acrylic "Snuggly Wuggly" baby/sport/3 in Paisley Prints and Soft Lilac. I bought it at Michael's. I followed a pattern from a Leisure Arts booklet "Lullaby Layettes" by Alice Hyche (I've had it for a good decade or so), but with a much smaller border. The finished size is approximately 28"x28". Below is a close-up of the stitch pattern.

Baby afghans are quick projects that are great for practicing new stitches, particularly if you stick to only one or two colors so you don't have to make color changes.