FOs that all seem to be purple and blue for some reason…

I’ve got a confession to make. I’m a bit scared to write this post. I’ve been writing so infrequently lately that I’m worried I’ve forgotten how. My conversation skills are a little rusty lately too, and I know I keep repeating the same conversations with people, especially on the rare non-toddler related subjects!

I suppose it comes down to the fear of having nothing worthwhile to say. It certainly feels like every post I’ve written since Claudia was born has been a feeble excuse for why I haven’t done more, written more and made more. Yes, I have my hands full with my beautiful, clever, funny little girl, but I’m not a total martyr! She is my biggest distraction, but she is also my biggest inspiration too.

I have found time to crochet and knit, mostly for her, and at some point I will get around to posting the couple of patterns I’ve written. I just have to be realistic as to how many productive hours there are in a day! That said, there is  quite a backlog of finished objects building up that I’ve only posted pictures of on Instagram, without the details of what patterns and yarn I used. Thrilling stuff, I know, but it’s nice to keep track of it somewhere!

So here are a few of the projects I’ve finished recently:

Stormy Crochet Dress

This was a pattern from my stash of crochet magazines, the Little Kisses pinafore dress from Inside Crochet issue 42. I used Patons Mirage, a cotton and bamboo mix dk that is now discontinued. It was a bit splitty but nice and soft. Don’t ask me how it washes because I haven’t dared to yet! The pattern was lovely. It took ages to do the skirt but it was simple enough that I wasn’t having to refer back to the pattern every five minutes!

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Super Chunky Garter Cardie

Sometimes I just want something that is quick and easy, especially when Claudia seems to be growing out of things faster than I can make them! Another discontinued yarn, this time from Robin. It was a super chunky acrylic but I don’t remember what it was called. I suspect the cardigan will stretch with wear, but at least it will grow with her! Claudia loves the fluffy squishiness of the finished cardigan, and sometimes I find her cuddling it! The pattern was this one available for free from the Lion Brand site.

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Three Colour Sleeveless Cardigan

Short sleeved or sleeveless cardigans are great for babies and toddlers because you don’t have to worry about the sleeves being the wrong length after only a few months! It’s also easy to get coats on over the top them. This pattern is one I wrote myself, and I kept it fairly simple, with some post stitches used on the button band and to form the ribbing. I’m in the process of writing up the pattern and making it in a second colourway. I used Stylecraft Special DK, so there are potentially hundreds, or even thousands of colour combinations!

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Crochet Beach Hut Doorstop

I made this for my mum for her birthday Christmas Mothers’ Day. It did languish, utterly ignored between deadlines! The pattern was from Issue 20 of Simply Crochet magazine, and making the main piece was very dull. The fun part was making all the little details and decorating it. The original pattern suggested cutting shapes out of felt, but I decided I wanted everything to be crochet. This meant a fair bit of making it up as I went along, but I think it works! The dinghy (and its paddles) is based on the one we had on family holidays, the pinwheel is for Claudia because she loves them, and no beach hut would be complete without the ever present seagull!

The seagull is probably my favourite part, and I had planned to embroider some bird poo on the roof, but I changed my mind at the last minute! There is such a thing as being too realistic! I made the roof a little larger, with a bit of an overhang and used a dark grey yarn so there was a bit more of a contrast with the walls, because the original matching blue roof in the pattern just didn’t look right to me. I also switched to Stylecraft Special DK instead of using cotton.

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Little Easter Bunny Dolly

I started making this for Claudia last year but it was too small and fiddly for my baby-addled brain, and of course inappropriate for a dribbly baby who stuffed everything in her mouth! I did (just) get it finished in time for Easter this year, and as Claudia is still young enough not to object, I’ve named her Tuppence! Claudia was very pleased with her, but Molly is still her number one dolly. The pattern was in Issue 29 of Simply Crochet magazine, and I used Drops Muskat.

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I can only take partial credit for this last project: Claudia’s easter bonnet! Okay, so the hat was from Poundland, and I helped (a lot) with the glue, but didn’t Claudia do well sticking all those pompoms on?

I’m one proud mama!

Beth

🙂