Back by popular demand: the ripple blanket!

My sister-in-law commissioned me to make a blanket for her to give to her sister as a wedding shower gift. Her sister loved the ripple baby blanket I had made for my nephew, so she requested an adult sized version in brown neutrals.

The original baby size

This is a comfortable sized blanket for a couple to snuggle up with on the couch. It is not very heavy, yet not too light, either. And the colours are quite pleasant; gentle ripples of white, cream, and light brown.

The adult sized version

I found some adorable wooden tags with "Handmade" engraved into them, and with their dark grain, I thought they would be a perfect tag for this blanket. I stitched one onto the bottom corner over a white ripple for maximum contrast.

Handmade tag

After a quick wash (it is next to impossible to keep Annyong away from a knitted blanket), I folded the afghan up and tied it up with a ribbon and button. 

All wrapped up and ready to gift

I included a care tag I designed with washing instruction and my name on it. 

Personalized care tage

I'm excited to pass this project along for gifting. I sure hope the recipient is happy with this special homemade gift. 

Welcome to the world Baby Lina!

My BFF had a baby this week, an adorable little cutie named Lina May! Of course, I have a knitted blanket ready to present to the new little princess. 

I decided on go with a star shaped blankie, because I thought it would be interesting, and I hadn't done anything like it before. This is a crochet pattern, and it was really quite easy once I got the centre star figured out. After that, it just radiates out, getting bigger and bigger with each round. 

I chose a rainbow of bright colours, because my friend likes bright colours. In retrospect, I would probably leave out the grey if I did it again. At this point though, I'm already committed! 

To get ready for Lina's arrival, her mom and I made some slip covers to refashion an old glider rocking chair that was given to her. This is the before picture:

And this is the after:

Wow! What a difference! Proof yet again, that you can DIY anything with the right internet tutorial. 

Welcome little Ladybug!

My BFF is having a baby soon, which calls for a baby shower! Myself and another friend hosted this past Sunday, and it was such a lovely party. The mom-to-be received so many beautiful and useful presents, and everyone enjoyed some food and treats.

We decided on a ladybug theme, inspired by a cute ladybug cake I saw on Pinterest and was looking for an excuse to make. I designed and printed these invitations to send out to the invited guests. 

We stuck with the ladybug theme in our decor as well, using red and black streamers, balloons, tissue paper pompoms, and fans. We also had some banners and mobile hangers with ladybugs on them. I found these tiny wooden ladybug stickers at Michael's, so obviously I had to buy them, and we stuck them all over the place. So cute.

My co hosting friend made a diaper cake and a stroller out of blankets and bibs with ladybug accent ribbon. They turned out great! 

I crocheted a ladybug corsage for the guest of honour to wear using this pattern from one of my fave blogs, Repeat Crafter Me. 

We made a delicious apple punch in my mom's fabulous punch dispenser, and had coffee and soda available as well. For food, we had tiny sandwiches, stuffed mushrooms, mini caprese skewers, fancy cheese and crackers, taco dip, veggie and fruit trays, a plate of mixed cookies, and ladybug/baby girl themed sugar cookies from a local bakery. These cookies were also our take home favours. 

After eating and opening gifts, the guest of honour cut into the adorable ladybug cake. I made my favourite four egg yellow cake, filled with strawberry sauce, and iced with a quick vanilla icing. Then I used Wilton fondant to cover and decorate the cake.

I usually make my own marshmallow fondant when I make a fondant cake, and it is usually a little terrible. I find it difficult to work with, and you need to use so much icing sugar to roll it out, otherwise it turns into a big sticky mess. Also, it is so hard to tint a nice rich red or black, and it is so very sweet to eat. Like, teeth hurting sweet. 

So when I saw this stuff in black and red at Michael's, I figured I would give it a try. It couldn't be worse than the marshmallow stuff! And oh my goodness, it is a million times better. It was a dream to roll out, like rolling silk! It is so smooth, and the colour is so rich, and it even tastes good! And the best part? No icing sugar required at all!! I am officially a convert. I'm not sure I will ever use the marshmallow stuff again. Usually when I make a fondant cake, there is just a constant flow of swearing coming from the kitchen. My husband isn't convinced that I like making cakes, because it sure sounds like I hate every minute of it! But this time, he thought I hadn't even started yet because I was being so quiet! Amazing stuff, my sanity loves it. 

I gave the butterfly rag quilt to my BFF for her baby. The butterfly fabric is so perfect for her, and who doesn't like that cozy minky? I made a little label (which I had a heck of a time addressing, as I don't know baby's name yet), and hand stitched it on the back of the quilt. Then I folded it all up and tied it with a ribbon and a button. 

So after such a lovely party, momma has everything she needs for her new little gal. I can't wait to meet her!

A hat a day keeps the doctor away

This week was apparently hat week around here! I banged out three hats and a coordinating diaper cover in the span of  6 days. Gotta love crochet for speedy finishes! 

The first hat I made by request for my mother-in-law to give as a gift (my first commission!). She wanted a cowl style hat, and when we saw this pattern with little bear ears, we loved it. We guessed what size to make, as the giftee is a pretty tiny little girl, but upon completion, the hat looked a little small. So I made another one in a larger size. This hat is a fast project, and comes together easily. And is adorable with those little ears! 

Size comparison

Annyong the model: cats love cowls

Since I was on a roll, I decided to keep the hat train rolling and make a hat and diaper cover set for my soon-to-be-born nephew. His mother wanted something cute to use as a prop for newborn photos. We had browsed pinterest together and she picked out a few favourites, but left the final decision to me, as she wanted to be surprised. (Hopefully she doesn't read this before he's born!) I decided to make a puppy hat, because their first born son loves dogs. I used this pattern from the blog Repeat Crafter Me.  Her instructions are super clean and easy to follow.  I had so much fun crocheting this piece; the ear flaps and those braids are adorable. I was freaking out from cuteness at every step. 

Add the diaper cover in, and this is a complete set!

Too cute!

 I made these in a 3-6 months size by mom's request, as their first son never fit anything newborn. Even with that, I marvelled the whole time about how tiny babies are. I can't wait to meet this little guy!!

Pink and purple club ruffle blankie

I've been plugging away at this blankie for what feels like months! It is crochet, so easy and quick in reality, but it feels like I've been working on it forever! I don't know if it is the row after row of half double crochet stitches, or the tedious ruffles, but this hasn't been a joy to put together. In fact, I wrote a little Haiku about it. For those of you who don't remember high school English class, a Haiku is a little poem that has five syllables in the first line, seven in the second and five in the last. 

 Luckily, it is super cute, so it makes up for the seemingly epic assembly time. 

This is put together with 120 half double crochet stitches and 100 rows. This makes a blankie that is about square. Then at every 10th row, I used a single crochet stitch to attach the ruffle made from Sashay yarn from Red Heart Yarn. 

You have to use a bit of a special technique to crochet with this stuff. To start, using the same yarn you made the blanket with, make a slip knot and make a single crochet stitch into the front loop of the first stitch of the desired row. Fold the first inch back over the ruffle yarn and insert the hook through the yarn, then put the hook through the front loop of the next crochet stitch on the blanket. Then yarn over with the blanket yarn and pull that through the ruffle yarn and through the loop on your hook. This leaves you with a nice ruffle above and below a single crochet stitch. You can fluff the ruffle to make it more even or pull some back under the single crochet if there is a portion that is too loose. I liked the look of a tighter ruffle, so when I inserted my hook through the ruffle yarn, I made sure it was folded over in two layers. Experiment and see what style you like best!

I love the colours and the ruffles, it is just the perfect amount of girlyness, perfect for a sweet little baby or a feisty toddler. I think I may put this into my etsy shop (The Homemade Heart Shop) as my first completed ready-to-ship item!