I love crocheting baby girl gifts! :)

Little Josie - isn't she just precious?!

Whenever I hear about a friend of mine expecting a baby girl, I get SUPER excited to start picking out fun crochet patterns, colors, and textures. Not to say that baby boys aren't fun to crochet for, but there is something about all those pink, purple, ruffly things that are so irresistible!

Close-up of the Red Heart Unforgettable yarn in Candied. 

I found some beautiful pastel colored roving yarn at Michaels. It is soft, washable and great for a crochet pattern like this V-stitch blanket. I like this pattern for a baby blanket because it has holes in it and, because of that, is more breathable. Also, babies tend to like to poke their little fingers in the holes. :)

The blanket almost done but kind-of naked looking without a border. 

The yarn I used for this blanket is Red Heart Unforgettable in Candied. I used this pattern found on the Lion Brand yarn website.  I can't quite remember how much yarn I used but I think I had to buy at least 2 balls of the Unforgettable yarn. I used a size K (6.5mm) hook.

Finished product! 

Upon finishing the blanket, I decided to look through my leftover yarn and find the right color/texture for a border. I found a nice light turquoise color from Hobby Lobby called I Love this Yarn. I used the picot edging pattern for the border, which is also written in the pattern. I like the little spike look and the turquoise border pulled all the colors together. I've always felt blankets look incomplete without a border. The border really does pull everything together. 

So, along with the blanket, I used up some leftover yarn to make a baby hat. I used Baby Bernat yarn in Little Petunias from JoAnn Fabric. It is SUPER soft and thick so it works up quickly. I love using this yarn for baby blankets as well. Plus, you can have a tiny bit of yarn leftover from a blanket and still have enough to make this adorable hat! 

Baby Bernat yarn in Little Petunias color scheme

I used an N (9 or 10mm hook will work) and used this pattern. After finishing the hat, I found a few different colored buttons and sewed them on. 

I found some adorable little turquoise Mary Jane shoes at Old Navy to complete the gift. Aren't little girl gifts so fun to give? 

Such pretty colors! Who WOULDN'T want to receive this for their brand  new baby girl?!

Even Josie likes the mesmerizing colors of this blanket! :)

First attempt at crocheting a baby dress!

Close-up of the front of the dress.

I found a cute crocheted baby dress pattern and decided to be brave and try to make it. I used this pattern I found online. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Spring Brook and a size H hook. I usually don't like working with variegated colored yarn because if you crochet evenly, sometimes you end up getting into a pattern where all of one color is only on one side of the project. But, luckily, this shell stitch pattern doesn't get into a noticeable pattern with the colors. The pattern was surprisingly easy because it is done in one continuous piece instead of having to sew pieces together, like most crocheted clothing.

The back of the dress with functional purple buttons.

I was pleasantly surprised as to how it turned out! Once I was done crocheting and weaving in loose ends, it was time to pick out buttons. So many choices!!! I have jars and jars of buttons. My family knows how much I enjoy crocheting so they buy buttons at garage sales and thrift stores when they find a good price. I am SO thankful for that. I sorted through them to find some matching buttons. I usually take some time to sort through the buttons by color, too. It makes it easier to find what I'm looking for next time. I decided on some pearly white buttons as decoration on the front of the dress and some small purple ones on back to close the dress.

The finished product!

The dress is so tiny it could fit a doll! I forget how small babies start out! This one is made for a newborn to 3 months old. I would definitely want to put a onesie on underneath, but it would certainly be cute on a brand new little baby girl!

Cabbage Patch doll hat

The beginning of my Cabbage Patch hat.

 I decided to try crocheting a Cabbage Patch hair hat for my adorable niece, Sydney. I used this pattern with I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby in brown. I made the 6-9 month size. For the pigtails, I took the instructions from this pattern.
 This hat uses the loop stitch to create the main part of the hat. The pigtails are done using strands of yarn folded over and tied in place with yarn. Then, the pigtails are tied onto the hat using more brown yarn.

Hat is almost complete. Pigtails just need to be tied on.

 I have many fond memories playing with my Cabbage Patch doll. It took some digging at my parent's place, but I found her! I was trying to replicate her hair and I think these patterns NAILED it.

The finished hat held next to my Cabbage Patch doll.

 As you can see, the hat looks remarkably like the original! To finish the look, I actually took the white ribbons from the my doll and tied them onto the hat.

My SUPER adorable niece, Sydney, sporting her new hat! Isn't she too sinkin' cute?!

Mug cozies

My cute little mug cozies.

I like to crochet and I love to show my appreciation to my niece's child care providers. What better way to combine these two hobbies than to crochet a little gift for them! I bought the black mugs from the Dollar Tree and then crocheted the mug holders using this pattern.
I altered the pattern slightly because the mugs I'm using are a little taller than the one she used. I started off chaining 11 (instead of 8) and then finished the pattern as it was written. That just made the width of the mug holder a little bit wider. I used I Love this Yarn from Hobby Lobby. It is soft and there are lots of color choices. I happen to have a TON of buttons on hand so I found a couple I liked and sewed them on. Then, I filled them with chocolates and a gift card to a local coffee shop. Aren't they adorable?!

A bright idea

My little light bulb treat containers ready to be delivered.

 A couple of child care providers in my area went through a program called Bright and Early. To achieve Step 2 required lots of work as well as passing an observation. When the programs I were working with achieved Step 2, I wanted to reward each of them with a little something. I found these adorable glass light bulb containers at Hobby Lobby. They have screw-on lids and just enough space to fit in some Reese's Pieces. After filling each one, I tied a little note on with curling ribbon. The note read, "You are an important 'piece' of our children's BRIGHT futures. Thank you for all you do." I made one for EACH person in the child care center. They all deserve praise because they are great at what they do and their job is so important!