There are lots of new babies in my life and on the way which means I've been doing lots of crafting!
I'm pretty new to crochet but I already prefer it to knitting. Since I'm not a master crocheter yet I've enjoyed making these super simple jumbo granny square baby blankets. If you can make a granny square you can make this! No need to join squares, which I haven't attempted yet, just keep going around and around until the blanket is the size you want it.
I'm trying to expand my horizons with crochet. It's easier on my fingers and faster (for me) than knitting. To that end I found and joined a site called Ravelry. I highly recommend it for fellow stitchers! It's a social network and database for knitting and crochet meaning it's very awesome!. They have a huge searchable database of patterns that is very easy to use. You can search projects by age, gender, difficulty, cost (many are free), format (online, pdf, book etc.), and product (clothing, toy, craft...). Then you can create a library of patterns you like and a to-do list. The social part comes in because you can share which pattern you are working on, and update your progress. Then you can share a review and photo of your finished product that other users will see when they view the pattern. All very cool stuff, and did I mention the site is free!
Mr also bought me this book. I haven't tried anything from it yet but it's a collection of crochet stitches wonderfully organized with a large color photo of each stitch. I'm looking forward to using it to jazz up simple patterns, especially sweaters/cardigans once I figure out how the basics of those.
On to sewing!
I made this super cute baby carrier using this pattern by Jan Andrea I found on Pinterest. It's so easy I think even a beginner sewer could manage it. At any rate, I used some heavy weight "home decor" fabric from Walmart at something like $8/yd. The pattern used about 1 1/2 yds so for about $12 and an hour of effort, I had this handy cutey! Baby carriers usually sell for $25 minimum so I think this is a pretty great deal, plus I got to choose my own pretty fabric. I only made a very basic carrier but now that I know it's so fast, easy, and cheap, I can definitely see myself customizing future "luxury models" but maybe only after I've gotten to test drive this one so see what would be useful. Sure, the carriers online with retractable hoods, padded straps, and zipper pockets look cool, but how much of that will I really use? Only time will tell!
Anyway, if you sew and need a gift for a friend with a baby, I recommend this. I recently learned from friends that expecting moms end up with more baby blankets than they know what to do with so this seems like a practical, cute, and easy alternative for a gift made with love.
I also made a shopping cart cover with this pattern. Another quick and easy project. Way cuter and cheaper than a store bought cover. I bought my fleece on sale for $6 but even at it's normal $10/yd this project works up well below the usual $30 for a store bought cover. I haven't test driven it yet so any picture of the final product outside a cart just looks like a blob but I did customize the pattern by adding a pocket that the whole thing folds neatly into and I had enough fabric left over for a separate matching pouch. Maybe I'll go back and add some sort of closure to it and use it for toys and snacks.