Three things: Recently

Book with tissue paper flower (made by BK)

1. Reading: Last night I stayed up waaaaaay too late reading a book. And the kicker is I still quit at only 88%, according to my Kindle. So many questions unanswered! There was just no way to stay up any later and make it to work this morning. (I was reading “How the light gets in” by Louise Penny.)
2. Dreaming: I also fell down the rabbit hole last night when I came across these amazing advent calendars on Etsy. I looooove them. I am so tempted to scrap my knitted countdown (whatever holiday that ends up being for) and just make a ton of these. I initially saw the reindeer one, but BK said she really liked the snow globe one, and after reading about it, I like the snow globe one, too – because a lot of the days use pre-made pom poms! I’ve almost even convinced myself I could pull off the snow globe one before December 1 (yikes! my delusion is strong). Regardless, I would also love to make the birthday one (what a fun idea!) and maybe just the ornaments that go on the Halloween one. She also has a free heart pattern you can sign up for, and I’m tempted to scrap all the little knitted ones and make 14 hearts for Valentine’s Day. But then again, BK has been after me to knit this little superhero girl.  So that one will have to get done one way or the other.
3. Planning: to knit this Peanut vest for a dear friend’s little boy. This pattern is so darling, and am looking forward to purchasing some yarn for it this weekend!

How to make the best burp cloth ever

My friends, one of the best gifts we got for Baby Knitsnips at my baby shower was some handmade burp cloths. BK LOVES them. They were used lots when she was tiny, of course, as a regular burp cloth, but also as something soft to put under her head so she didn’t spit up directly on her stroller, to comfort her as she fell asleep, to clean up tiny messes, to play peekaboo… They’re still in use today!

So when we found out that we had a friend having a baby, my mom suggested that I pass on the great gift and make some for my friend’s baby.

I heartily agreed, but I was a bit nervous about flexing my minimal sewing skills.

I believe the friend who made the burp cloths for me used cut-up receiving blankets. However, I went to JoAnn’s with my coupons and purchased flannel.

Mr Snips and BK went with me to pick out the fabric. We tried to pick things we knew would be special to the couple and their little boy. We settled on soccer balls, umbrellas (she’s British!), race cars, American football, and rocket ships. For the cloths I wanted to be the same on both sides (soccer balls and rocket ships), I got 2/3 yard. For those that I was doing different on each side, I got 1/3 yard. I made 7 cloths, and have enough to make at least 7 more.

So how do you do this?

1. Cut a rectangle the size you want. I used one of the larger ones BK had that I thought was a nice size. I don’t have the ones I made in front of me any more, but my guesstimate is about 11” x 5”. As you can see, mine aren’t all the same size (that’s fine – the baby is going to spit up on it!). For those that are the same on both sides, I cut so I had one fold to save the matching and sewing up.
2. Put wrong sides together. Sew around all 4 sides, leaving a small gap to pull the fabric back right side out.
3. Pull the fabric through the hole to be right sides out.
4. Sew over the gap you left, making sure to catch your ends.
5. Trim your threads and try to tidy up as much as possible.

That’s it! Easy peasy (after my mom helped me get started!). You can wash them in warm water and dry them all the way. They hold up amazingly and just get softer with each wash.

While I have to say my sewing is not the best, and there are certainly some uneven seams, they were made with love, and I hope my friend’s baby gets as much use out of these as we have out of BK’s. She’s due any day now, so we’ll soon see!

A new year

Welcome to 2012, everyone!

2011 was a pretty good year, but not without it’s challenges. I’m excited to begin a new year, and have made a few craft-related resolutions I’d like to share with you.

1. At best guess, I completed somewhere around 21 projects last year (I didn’t keep a very accurate record and didn’t put all of my projects on Ravelry). I’d like to complete more that that this year. I’ve started a count on the right side of this blog where I will keep my updated numbers. As a note for the rules of this, things that were on the needles in 2011 but not finished, will count toward this total.
2. Complete my first pair of toe-up socks. I’ve started that this morning.
3. Complete a lace or lace-like project. I hate knitting lace right now, but I want to complete one project to show myself I can do it. I am currently contemplating a scarf for this, but I may wuss out for a smaller project. Who knows what the year holds?
4. Knit only from my stash for the first two months of the year. My husband has suggested we buy more furniture for our craft room (which he insists is an “office”) because my yarn is starting to overflow the containers I currently have for it. I don’t want to buy more furniture (takes away from yarn money!), so I’ll start knitting it into useful things. And besides, I already have about 5 projects planned anyway.
5. Learn to use my sewing machine. I have my grandmother’s beautiful old sewing machine and have no idea how to use it. It was a 2011 goal to do this, and I never got around to it.
6. Complete one sewing project on my own. My mom is going to teach me how to sew to begin with, but I want to be able to do one project on my own.

Now I’m off to continue working on that first pair of toe-up socks…