Doubly Divine

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After the post about mine and Anna's Divine Hats, my friend Anne requested some for her girls.  She wanted a neutral hat with some interchangeable bright flowers.  She figured this way she could make the hat coordinate with whatever she bought for her girls' winter coats. 

We decided to go with a white hat.  I had a huge cone of Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton.  I wasn't sure how this would work up for a hat, but it is gorgeous!  Its warm, its soft, and best of all it won't make the girls' foreheads itch like wool or acrylic might.

I made 2 different types of flowers, the Picot Flower and the 5-Petal Flower (two of my favorites!).  Anne gave me some color preferences and I was able to use scraps leftover from other projects to make her the 4 flowers. 

I sewed a large button on the back of each flower.  It fits perfectly in the shell spaces from the pattern but doesn't stick out much on the backside of the hat.  This way the flowers can be easily and quickly changed on the hats, or even left off if my friend needs to bleach the hats (little girls and white fabric typically lead to a good soak in bleach now and again!).  Anna modeled both hats for me and didn't complain about the button on her head at all :)

Twin Blankets

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A friend commissioned me to make 2 more baby quilts for her dear friend who is expecting twin girls in January.  This time I FINALLY figured out how to do that silky blanket binding without it slipping all around and getting bunchy.  This was a major accomplishment for me - it only took making 4 blankets to get it right!  She wanted pink and brown, but she didn't want the blankets to be identical.

Using the pink and brown color scheme, I made these two blankets with the same pattern, but opposite colors.  I used the same pink and brown butterfly fabric to tie them together.  Backed with the softest minky fabric, I hope these blankets will be treasured for years by their soon-to-be owners!

Simply Divine

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Saturday afternoon, between a fundraiser for our neighbor with leukemia and the traditional trick-or-treating I was able to squeeze a couple hours of crocheting in.  I realized that my winter gear was severely lacking (as in I have about 30 scarves and no hats or gloves) and decided it was time to break down and make something.  Central Indiana can be frigid mid-winter, and I'm notorious for not drying my hair before I go out, so a hat is an absolute must!  I used the Divine Hat pattern, which has been a favorite of mine.  Its simple, quick, stylish, and super warm (and it matches my scarf - bonus!).

After seeing mine Anna decided that she wanted one too, so today after church we picked out the colors (the multi-colored and orange yarns are leftover from the Fiddlehead Mittens I made last year).  She requested a little flower for hers.  She really wanted to wear that flower right up front "like a soldier" (her words, not mine), but I convinced her to wear it on the side for me for at least one or two shots.  We took a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon looking for a place to take some pics of her new hat, and Anna took the shots of me above - not bad for 4 years old!

If you're interested in the changes to the pattern, check out the details on my Ravelry page

A Little Something For Me

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As most crafters I rarely make something for me.  I may make things that benefit me (like clothes for my little girl) but I rarely craft something simply for me to use.  I found this amazing yarn a few months ago at a sale in a LYS in Indy (Stitches and Scones).  I couldn't resist buying it simply for the colors.  Isn't it gorgeous?!  Its also amazingly soft and a dream to work with.  It is Skacel Zauberball Crazy, a sock yarn that is fairly new.

this photo from the Webs website

I wanted a simple pattern for this yarn to show off the colors.  It was a fine gauge and I figured it would make a perfect airy scarf for fall.  I chose the Clapoits pattern.  I had been eyeing this pattern for a while, just not sure when or whom to make it for.

 In my opinion it turned out perfectly.  The colors are very striking and perfect to wear in fall.   The pattern shows off the yarn without dominating it with too much pattern, but still adding visual interest with the ladders.  I will most definitely make this scarf again.  The pattern is easy to memorize and its the perfect type of project to stick in my purse and work on while I wait in the line to pick up or drop my kids off at school!  I don't have a picture of me wearing it yet, but I have had it on almost every day since its completion :)

Dino Baby Set

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Here is another burp cloth/rattle set (for the same client as the giraffe set - she's got lots of pregnant friends!).  We chose this darling dino fabric (Oh Boy! by David Walker for Free Spirit) and coordinating stripes from My Needle and Thread.  The backing is a blue flannel. 

The dinosaur is the Oliver pattern.  I love the spines down the back and the cute little nostrils on his nose!  This pattern has some cleaver construction, but is a little difficult to interpret.  I'd say the pattern is for an advanced crocheter. 

Giraffe Baby Set

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My most recent custom order was a burp cloth and rattle set for a friend's baby.  She wanted a giraffe theme and non-traditional colors.  I found these gorgeous animal print and coordinating polka dot fabrics on Sew and Sew Fabric and bought a lovely leaf-green flannel for the backing.  There is cotton batting as the middle layer to make these cloths nice and absorbent. 

My friend chose the Gina the Giraffe pattern for the rattle and I matched the colors to the animal fabric.  I just love the way this set turned out!

Now Starring...

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 Baby gifts!  A friend just hired me to make 4 different baby gifts for her 4 friends who are due at various times over the next 6 months.  It was so much fun going through the process of deciding what she wanted made for each one and tailoring the gift to their preferences! 

The first of the four I finished in record time in order to make it before the baby arrived (I think yesterday was the due date).  The gift was another Chromium Star Blanket done up in the colors of the nursery:  brown, teal and white.  I love the way these turn out and have heard they're excellent for wrapping up a baby in.  Unfortunately I only got this one not so great shot of it before I sent it off to its new home.