Last Minute Baby Gift

I have been procrastinating on the baby gift for the last mom I will be supporting at work, mainly because her baby has been procrastinating on arriving.   After 3 false alarms, her baby will be here this weekend as she has agreed to an induction (that I couldnt talk her out of if I tried lol), so I realized I needed to get on the stick making a baby gift.   I have coordinating boy outfits with a lion, a bear, a frog and a whale and I decided to go with the whale motif, using this pattern (with slightly less crazy-eyes).

Coupled with a $1 clearance three-piece organic cotton baby set and its a great last min gift.

I just finished another adorable baby set, but I don't want to risk the recipient seeing it, so those pics will have to wait.

Utterly Redonkulous

This is one of those hand made gifts that went a bit too far, I think.   My neighbor will either love it or just nod and smile politely and pack this hat away for perpetuity.   But she is expecting a girl after already having a boy, so maybe she'll be down with the deliciously, syrupy cute stuff. 

It started out ok, with this super adorable little outfit and a matching cupcake toy/rattle.   (loosely based on this pattern)

But then I decided it needed a hat.

  

Here's the hat as modeled by life sized newborn doll, baby Jack.   I made it a tad big for Jack's head, since the outfit is 3-6m.  

I am veering dangerously close to crocheted-doll tissue box cover territory here....

Under attack from UFOs

UFO = UnFinished Objects

Yeah, I have been enjoying my break from school by starting umpteen projects and not finishing them.   I also failed at a baby hat.   Started a giraffe that was supposed to be a baby toy and will end up being the size of said newborn.   And bought a pile of baby clothes to coordinate crocheted critters with.   Said critters that I will never have time to make in the week before school starts. 

As for completed objects, I did finish this adorable mouse set for a friend's new baby.  I love him to pieces and think I will definitely be making more of these guys.   He's white because that's what I had on hand and I used cotton yarn which made a nice sturdy doll for little baby hands.   He also has bells inside.  I tried to put some scrunchy material in the cookie and its just barely audible.  I'll have to experiment more with this concept.

I also made this cute rattle.  It started as a ring, but I didn't like how the rings were coming together, so I just attached the tube to this star and threw in a couple bells.   Bells, bells, bells.  I love bells!  Can you tell?

Now back to my pile of UFOs before they abduct me.

Last Minute Birthday Gift

Between a week of shuttling my son an hour each way for his special needs summer daycamp, discussing a potential move Down Under with my husband, finishing up the demands of my summer semester of college work and my regular life....I realized late Wednesday that I needed a gift for a Friday morning birthday party, with no time for a store trip.

Then I remembered I know how to crochet.  I have been wanting to try my hand at playfood, so I tried out a hodgepodge of patterns for my friend's 4yo little girlie.   Since it was such a mashup of foods, I threw it all in a Whole Foods grocery bag and hoped it would be well received. 

Ice cream cone...it came out a tad large for my tastes.  I'll probably try to make it more kid-sized next time.

Cupcake w/ cherry.   Super cute, maybe next time slightly less psychedelic frosting.

Carrot.   This pattern confounded me, so I just started to wing it and I think it turned out a bit lumpy, but we'll just call that "handmade character."

Oreos.   How cute are these?   So simple, too!

Strawberries, got a bit confusing on the greenery but I think I pulled it off.

Next time I might plan better and do a more coordinated gift, like a dozen assorted cookies, fruit salad or a picnic lunch.   Lots of potential for cute kid gifts though.   As long as the kids and parents don't mind a little "character."

Baby Gift, Sweat Catcher and Swap Package!

Been busy, but wanted to wait to post pics til the recipient received her baby gift.  This is one of those gifts that looked better in my head than in finished form, but it was still cute enough to send.   I didn't get it done before baby J arrived, but it should still fit at 1 week, even if she was 9 lbs at birth!  I think in the future, I'll stick with premade appliques and just working the hat, booties and toy around it.   My hand sewing skills leave a lot to be desired.

Close up of critter:

Next up, I was working on Soap Savers for a swap package, at the same time I started Couch to 5K, and realized that the soap savers would make a great iPhone holder.   Done in cotton, it works well to contain the inevitable sweat that accumulates from my unglamourous attempts at fitness.   Better than shoving the phone in my sports bra strap at least.   Plus it crocheted up in <30 mins.

And finally, the dreaded swap package.  I joined a friend's surprise Swap Craft thinking I can make something cute for kids or babies, but the person I was matched with wanted something for the home.  Ugh.  I stressed, I searched, I pondered, I asked... I even briefly considered the crochet doll toilet paper cover.    But in the end, decided to go for bath goodies - 2 oversized washclothes (round and square), 2 soap savers (see pattern link above) and my standard gift of the bath mitt.  I added some pretty posies and a bar of handmade soap and hope the recipient likes. 

And all prettied up for mailing:

Next up, can you guess what this is supposed to be?

That Goldfish Ate mah Baybee!

I bring you installment #2 in my "Amigurumi + $3 Walmart Onesie" project.    Except I do believe the fish is a tad big.   But he's just so cute! 

Here's another perspective to show how he will compare to the size of the newborn baby he just may devour.  I should probably make a smaller fish, but as you can imagine, I'm ready to move onto the next project.   And the embroidery...blech. 

I think if I added a third eye, he would make a cute Simpsons Fish.

I will destroy you with yarn. You will be destroyed, by me, with fibers of acrylic.

My crowning acheivement...MoJo JoJo from The Powerpuff Girls.   The consummate villian, a genetically altered, repetitive talking mutant chimp.   Perfect for the desk of my BFF Karen, who may or may not be genetically altered herself.  But she does have desires to destroy people. 

Starting with a Chuck the Monkey Pattern, I tweaked his legs, changed colors, dropped the tail, designed some clothes and added the hat.   Of course, I also had to make two of these at the same time, since my daughter would never allow me to send the finished product off to Aunt Karen without a fight.   Because of my ADHD tendencies, I forced msyelf to create 2 (or 4) of every piece.   I know myself well enough that if I made it to completion, it would be very difficult to force myself to start over at the beginning.

One more pic of the back.  I think the cape could have been longer, but by that point, I was all about *finishing*!

Now onto my next big project!