Flower Potholders

This is another project that I'm blogging about in November, but can't post until after Christmas. I made these potholders for my sister based off of this pattern. The pattern itself was kind of hard to read (the blogger said she originally wrote it in Norwegian, than translated it to English, but it's still in UK terms) but I was able to decipher it. I actually re-typed the whole thing and saved it so I wouldn't have to keep deciphering.

My sister's kitchen is red and black, so I picked out those colors, along with some white, in cotton yarn. I alternated the colors and number of rows of each color to make them all a little different.

After finishing them, they were a little wonky, so I decided to follow the advice from this awesome crochet library book I found (which I kind of want to keep) and blocked them.

Blocking (I learned from the library book) involves using some type of moisture to help the crocheted item flatten out after being stretched during crocheting. I pinned them all to my heavy piece of foam, then soaked them with a squirt bottle. After letting them dry completely, I unpinned them, and they were perfectly flat.

I hope she likes them. I bought some orange cotton yarn on sale at Fred Meyer the other day, so I might try making us some too.

Ruffles and Dots Blanket

This has been the longest running and biggest crochet project so far. I got the idea from Maybe Matilda and the tutorial for how to do the bobble stitch from here. I used quite a bit of yarn (I think I got up to 6 skeins) but it turned out really cute and I hope to use it with our next baby.

I used Bernat Softee Chunky yarn, which is thick but really soft. The blanket turned out pretty thick, somewhat thicker than baby blankets normally are, but it will be nice and warm.

I used a size J hook and some math to figure out how to work out the bobbles so they would all be even. The blanket ruffle was supposed to have two rows, but I went around the whole thing with a row of single crochet before I started doing the double crochet ruffling, and ended up cutting it so close with one row of ruffle (I had literally 12 inches or so of yarn left over, I didn't think I was going to make it) that I just decided to leave it at that. Besides, I think I like how it looks with just one row, another would have been too ruffly. 

This was a really fun blanket to make, it went together pretty quickly, and it was a very mindless crochet project, you didn't really have to count much, just had to look at the blanket to find out where you were.

Now I want to start on another crochet blanket... hmmm... maybe an afghan this time...

Hat for Baby Audrey

Just finished a baby hat today, I think this just might be the cutest thing I've ever made :)

I used this pattern that I found off of Pinterest (I love that website, if you don't have an account, get one!!). Instead of making the newborn size (I've realized I crochet pretty tightly, so if I follow the pattern exactly it turns out too small) I made the 3 month size, but also added 3 extra rows to make sure it would be long enough.

So cute!! I love the flower, a close-up below.

I tried it on Madelyn's monkey, she thought that was pretty silly.



Quick and easy and Oh-So cute. Now if this baby would just get here so I could try it on!! (I've still got 3 months left, it's going to be a little bit of a wait).

Maternity Jeans

 I'm getting to that awful point during pregnancy where you feel huge and nothing looks good. I have literally 1 pair of jeans that look good on me, one that are too big but comfortable so I wear them, and 2 that are awful, but I've had to wear when my other ones were dirty. And I'm cheap, so I don't want to shell out $30+ on a pair of jeans that I'll only wear for another 3 months. Thanks to this tutorial from the blog grosgrainfabulous I finally got inspired to make my own. I followed the tutorial for the main idea, but changed a few things and cheated a little :)

One of the problems I have with maternity jeans is that they are never long enough. I have to routinely buy jeans in size long because average is always too short. And maternity jeans in long, while they do exist, are very difficult or expensive to find in stores. And like I said, I'm cheap, so while I know they are sold new, that's not really an option for me. So instead, I found a pair of regular jeans at Goodwill for $8 that were cute and flattering, and most importantly, long enough. I made sure they fit well in the butt and hips, but obviously wouldn't zip.

The tutorial said to cut out the zipper completely, but since this pair of jeans were pretty low-riding as it was, I didn't really want the top of the stretchy band to start that low. So I tried them on and zipped up the zipper as far as I comfortably could, then marked it with a pin.

Then from that pin line, I cut off the top of the jeans at an angle to the first belt loops on the sides. The tutorial had you cutting all around the back too, but I wanted to leave the belt loops on in the back so I could use them to help put on the jeans. I tried them on again to make sure it was a good fit so far.

Okay, here is where I cheated. Instead of buying a piece of stretchy jersey, I used a belly band that I've had but didn't really use this time around. I knew it fit well, and I didn't feel like buying some jersey that might/might not fit and might get awkward as it stretched out. A stretchy cami would probably also work really well, something you wouldn't have to worry about serging up the sides (since I don't have a serger).  The tutorial also had you only doing a half band, and after about 20 weeks or so, I really think the full panel maternity pants are much more comfortable, so I wanted to make sure I made that kind.

I tried on the jeans with the belly band, then carefully pinned the band to the top of the jeans. This was kind of difficult, I actually had to have my husband help in the back where I couldn't reach. I also pinned the front part to my underwear in a couple places, so be careful of that too. Once everything is pinned, carefully try sitting down and moving a little bit, to make sure they are comfortable. Then carefully take off the whole thing and finish pinning it, making sure the band is stretched evenly around the edges of the jeans. (I really mean carefully, I poked myself a few times getting these on and off).

Then I used a zig-zag stitch to sew around the edges, making sure to not catch the bottom of the band in the stitch. I went around twice, since there will be a lot of pulling on those stitches. Around the front I did one line of stitches right below the edge, then one right on the edge to help prevent some of the fraying. (The tutorial had you pinning the two pieces wrong side together, but after getting it how I wanted it, I didn't feel like trying to do that. It would have made for a nicer front, but since I left the back uncut, it might not have worked as well that way.)

Once it was all sewn together, I trimmed off the bottom of the band, and voilà!! A new pair of pants!!

 Yes, that is my ginormous belly. 27 weeks down, getting close to the end!

They are so cute, and I actually feel good in them. I have one more belly band, might make one other pair so I can make it through the last 3 months of winter before this baby comes.