Crochet Projects: Baby Sweater and Shoes

Since a close friend and neighbor has recently had a baby, I've really enjoyed making cute baby stuff for her!  Baby things are super fast to make, and they use relatively little supplies.  I had some left over yarn from my niece's baby blanket, so I put it to good use as a sweater and Mary Jane style shoes for our neighbor.

Photography: Spring in Holland (MI)

I just want to share with you a few of the photos I've taken since the world came back to life after winter.  It's so refreshing to watch spring unfold in Holland, where daffodils and (of course) tulips and flowering trees abound!

Click below for more photos, and enjoy!

Crochet Projects: Mother's Day Totes

In the last year, my appreciation for homemade gifts (both given and received) has increased very much.  As a girl, I was always encouraged to make things to give to my mom and dad, particularly on Mother's and Father's days.  Without any income (besides an allowance which our parents gave us anyway), time to spend personalizing a card was all me and my sister had to give.

So for Mother's Day this year, I was really excited about another opportunity to make a homemade gift.  Both my mom and my mother-in-law really liked the Starling Handbag I made during the winter.  Why not make a springy-er version for each of them?

Sewing Projects: Infinity Scarf

It's been a few weeks!  I've been so busy making things that I haven't had any time to post about them.  I guess that's a good thing, although crafting under a time constraint is a little less than relaxing sometimes.  Anyway, before the busyness of Mother's Day craft projects set in, I had time to make this infinity scarf.  What's the bonus about this project, besides having a new wardrobe addition?  It cost me nothing to make!  Here's how:

New Blog Design

Hey friends,
Thanks for the recent support and encouragement about this blog.  Although I started this as an unpublicized way of organizing my craft projects, it does mean a lot to have others appreciating what I've made and finding their own inspiration from it!  Crafting has always been a hobby of mine, but it is something that I've been careful whom I talk to about it.  I've been afraid that most peers would think I was a nerd for enjoying "old lady" things like sewing and crocheting.  So thank you for being the ones who haven't judged!  I am so blessed by the opportunity to be creative, and I hope you are too!

For those of you who normally read these posts through a feed subscription, come check out the actual blog!  I've just made my own header, and I'm kind of excited about it :-).

Thanks again,
Caitlin

Card-making: Wedding Invitation

As wedding season approaches, I'm beginning to reflect back on my own wedding almost a year and a half ago.  A friend recently asked how I designed our invitations, and I was both flattered and more than happy to share with her how I made them.  Now I'm sharing the idea here for anyone who is interested.  Be warned, these are not the simplest invitations to make, but hopefully my instructions and templates will give you a few ideas to get started.

Crochet Projects: Baby Elephants

Perhaps my favorite project yet! I stumbled on this pattern from Lion Brand's website a few months ago. Knowing that a close friend is expecting a baby at the end of April, and also that she is planning a jungle-themed nursery, I knew this precious little elephant would be a perfect shower gift!

Crochet Projects: Tote Bag

Just a few weeks ago I finished this tote bag as a project carry-all for craft night with my friends. This was a major stash-busting project- more so than I anticipated! I began with almost a full skein of some cheap medium-weight sage green yarn (I forget the brand) and a decent amount of some similar lavendar yarn. Then I found this pattern on the Lion Brand yarn website (one of my favorite places to find patterns, if you haven't noticed).

Crochet Projects: Glittens

These began as a Christmas request from my sister-in-law for some long-cuffed convertible glove/mittens, also called "glittens" (or perhaps mloves). I made a bold decision while wandering around Target one night, thinking to myself that I could more easily make such a pair than I could find in a store, and for cheaper too! I left Target and went to Michaels, bought the perfect color yarn, then went home hoping that a free pattern existed. I was lucky to find this pattern, which with some slight adaptations turned out to be perfect! I was not so lucky with my yarn choice, though, as the Super Bulky yarn worked up to make oven-mitt sized gloves. Not good! So as I hinted in a previous post, that yarn became other things and I bought a new yarn. After my sister-in-law was so happy with her pair (she wears them every day!), my husband and then my mom requested a pair also. I do not have a photo of my sister-in-law's pair, but I will include details of what yarn I used and what changes I made to each set of glittens.

Crochet Projects: Warm Headband

Before it gets too warm outside (and yay, spring seems to finally be around the corner!), I better share a few more of the cold-weather accessories I made this winter. This headband has already seen a lot of use- it's perfect for quick walks or longer cross-country ski trips, especially to wear with a pony tail. The back is tapered so you can move your head around without the headband slipping too much.

Crochet Projects: Simple Beret

This project was one of the first of the season. I'd been hoping to make a hat which would be easier to wear without squishing all my hair flat. After I found this bamboo yarn, Bamboospun in Sea Blue, I was so excited to start the project! This helpful video from Threadbanger taught me everything I needed to know about making the hat. I basically followed the directions closely, but ended the hat with a row of double crochet to make the hat tighter and to add an interesting edge.

The hat took about 1 1/2 skeins of the yarn, which is unbelievably soft, with enough left over to make my sister-in-law a nice cowl for her birthday! If I can get a photo of that, perhaps I'll share soon.

Photography: Cedar Waxwings

This post is quite unrelated to the other recent posts, but I am still excited to share this! As I gave up Facebook for Lent, I thought this might be an okay place to share. A few days ago, my husband discovered some Cedar Waxwings hanging out in the berry trees near our home. When I came home soon after, he turned me right around, handed me my camera, and told me I had to come see them. We've only seen these birds once before (from a distance) as they usually just pass through our area of Michigan while migrating further north. They arrive in a flock, eat all the berries, and are gone within days. Sounds a bit like a swarm of locusts, but they are SO beautiful that you can hardly hate them.

Here are a couple of my favorite photos from our photo shoot with the birds!