Granny Stripe Flowers Crochet Blanket

I started this granny stripe blanket when I finished Baby JT's crochet blanket back in October last year.  I didn't need to buy more yarn because I already have a big stash, but I couldn't resist the colours of Lincraft's Esther range and at A$2 per ball, it's a super bargain (and you know I love a bargain!).  

I've never worked with polyester yarn before, and I initially found it coarse (but this was straight after working with a delicate baby yarn), but it does create a warm and sturdy blanket.  I used a 4.5mm crochet hook because the yarn felt thicker than an 8 ply yarn.

Much to my chagrin, I'm still unable to chain correctly even though this was my 13th crochet blanket! Rather than chaining 150 stitches of various tensions, I joined granny squares together instead. Being Chinese, I had to have 8 colours so I added "beige" but it looks more grey to me.

Each end of the blanket consists of 8 granny squares joined together using this great method by Bella Coco and I followed Happy Berry Crochet for the flowers. Each stripe of colour consists of 6 rows separated by 2 rows of white yarn. I finished this blanket towards the end of May, and will wait for warmer weather so I can wash and reshape it.

Pom Pom Scarf

My Mum asked B, who turned 2 in February what his favourite color is and he said blue. I have a good supply of Lincraft Cosy yarn of various colours and had a ball of this lovely denim blue which I thought was perfect for B. The pattern is a variation of Martha Stewart's Basic Scarf Pattern, but I cast on 28 stitches and only knitted one lot of the ridge pattern. The 100g of yarn produced a scarf measuring a little over a metre. I added the pom poms made from left over yarn from B's beanie using a 38mm pom pom maker.

Ballerina Princess Quilt for Baby S

Remember my best friends C and D who live in Singapore? Back in September 2016, I received wonderful news from them ~ the arrival of a baby girl!  Baby S was a delightful surprise and I was super excited and overjoyed by the news.

I had a set of five ballerina quilters quarters I bought years ago from Lincraft, and added a pink floral fabric to sew together into strips.

I tried free motion quilting for the first time and I can't believe I waited so long to tackle it!  It's not as intimidating as it appears ~ I traced the design using a squiggle quilting template and off I sewed!  I didn't sew as fast as the ladies on YouTube videos, but I sew like I drive...slow and overly cautious!

I had a piece of Disney princess fabric from my fabric stash which was the perfect size for the quilt backing.  The quilt is finished off with a pink ribbon bow sewed in each corner.

I met Baby S when I traveled to Singapore in November to personally deliver the quilt. I adore Baby S even though she frowned at me when I held her for the first time!

Green and Yellow Granny Square Baby Blanket

A belated Happy 2017 to you!  I start each year's blog post lamenting how I never have enough time to devote to doing things I love, and this year is no different!  I should really change...but I'm such a creature of habit so I probably never will.  I have been making things, but haven't had time to record my projects until now...and it's March (sigh!).

Back in October 2016, K & M had a new addition to their family, a Baby Boy named JT, brother to Baby B (who turned 2 last month so now he's Toddler B)!  Since K & M didn't want to know the gender of the baby, I chose Patons' Big Baby 4 ply acrylic in colours (from left to right) 2582 (green), 3911 (green and yellow), 9927 (yellow) and 2656 (white).  This was a really lovely yarn to work with, and apparently the blanket is frequently used and appears to be in good shape with no pilling which I'm super pleased about!

Using a 4mm crochet hook, I crocheted 10 rounds in colours 2582, 3911 and 9927, and 2 rounds in the white to trim each square. I made 8 squares in each color and crocheted the squares together with the white yarn.  The blanket was completed with a round of green yarn.

Even though I bought 2 balls in each colour (I'm not exactly a less is more girl when it comes to craft supplies), I only needed 1 ball each to complete the gift.  I rushed to complete the blanket (which was on a Friday night and Baby JT was born on the Sunday), so I didn't measure the final size, but it should be good to use for a little while.  Now what to do with the remaining balls of this lovely acrylic?...