Birthday Beanie

Woohoo!! I finally finished writing about all my projects from 2015 and reviewing their patterns!! Time to talk about 2016’s projects. And what better way than with my birthday gift to myself?! When I visit family out east I usually spend most of my time at my brother and sister’s place. They have two cats so I have to be really careful with what projects I bring with me. But last year wasn’t a problem since it was over my birthday I brought along the yarn I would need for my present to me 🙂

On Black Friday 2014 I picked up Red Heart With Love in Boysenberry and Peacock. The Boysenberry might be my most favorite color yarn to date. It sat in my stash just waiting for the perfect pattern. Turns out it was Crystalized Designs’s Ribbed Beanie Pattern!

To obtain gauge I needed to go up to a 6mm hook. I have a bigger head than what’s listed in the sizes so I knew I would have to ‘tweak’ the pattern a little. I was surprised at how little I had to do that! For the ribbing I added two more rows totaling 74 instead of 72. If I make this again I might add another chain or two to the beginning to make it a little bit wider. To join both sides I sl st through front loops of both edges.

The body of the hat I wanted a little loose. So I did a total of 28 rounds before the last two decrease rounds (rounds 7 and 8). If making this again I could probably do 26 rounds. Beginning on round 14 I changed back to the 6mm hook. And beginning on round 18 I changed to a 5.5mm hook.

I had all intentions of adding a pompom when I got home but it’s now the end of September 2017 and I still haven’t done that. Oops. I also attempted to make the matching Ribbed Mittens but they’re still thumbless. Double oops. But out of all the hats I have to wear in the winter this one is my go to!!

On The Hook:

• Baby Girl Dress
• Angel
• Baby Boy things

Basketball Beanie

Last gift for Baby K was really for Dad. He coaches girl’s basketball so I couldn’t let this beanie escape me! I used RHSS in orange and black with a 4.0mm hook. I started off with CTbL’s Infant Basic Beanie Pattern. I’m never going to stop mentioning this pattern. I used what is now my standard 0-3 months size. I did the whole hat in orange except for the very last round was done in black. I wanted it to be the middle black line around a basketball. So almost like I had cut one in half.

I used Boomer Beanies’ 4 Pack of Sports Hats for the placement of the black lines. The pattern went into great detail about where you should start and end each line. It was a total lifesaver! Lots of pictures really helped here. I definitely recommend this pattern pack for the sports lovers in your life!

On The Hook:

• Floor Poof
• Mandala Shrug
• Graph Designing

Hockey Skates

Here’s the final gift for Baby L and the second piece to his hockey set, hockey skates!! Aren’t these so adorable!! I can’t get enough of these! As with the helmet I also made these for a second time. Be on the look out for that second review as well!

A while back I had won the entire pattern library of Newborn Knots! It was crazy awesome! She’s got some new stuff that I don’t have but that’s ok. Looking through her designs I thought that her Boys or Girls Baby Work Booties #11 pattern would be perfect for a pair of hockey skates! Just had to do some slight adjusting. I used RHSS in black and white, Purl Essence Sincerely Metallic in Glitter Gray and a 3.75mm hook.

On Round 3 of the soles I did the first sc in the same stitch rather than the next. I free handed the skate parts and attached those BEFORE working on the boot. I changed colors from white to black at the start of Round 4 rather than between the sole and boots. I did a total of 8 sc on the first row of the tongue rather than 7. See, only a few minor adjustments. They turned out so freaking adorable!!

On the Hook:

• Baby Boy things
• Mandala shrug
• Graph Designing

Ava Boot Cuffs

I can’t remember exactly why I decided to make these other than I knew they were going to be a gift to my great friend L. I can’t even tell you what made me go “L really needs a pair of boot cuffs” but something did and I made them. She’s told me she loves them and I got pictures way back in October 2015 when I gave them to her. She could be lying for all I know and I wouldn’t care. Because I asked her before hand if she would like some and she said yes. So if she doesn’t like them that’s on her 😉 But I really do think she does 🙂

The Ava Boot Cuff is from designer Michelle from Two Brother’s Blankets. I absolutely adore all her designs!! Her clothing is so amazing! Sadly, I have yet to make any of her other patterns 😦 One day though because I have several tops saved up for myself. Like the Camden Hat, Houston Hoodie, and Siesta Sweater just to name a few. If you’re not familiar with Michelle’s work you seriously need to go check her out. Like right now. Why are you still reading this?!

I used Red Heart Super Saver in Buff and Medium Thyme and a 5.5mm hook. Sadly, as with everything apparently, I wasn’t able to meet gauge. The pattern was simple enough that I was able to wing it for my measurements using the pattern as a guideline. And it worked out fabulous!! On the fourth round of the body of the cuff I changed to Medium Thyme and then back to Buff for the last two rows. Then to spice it up, I took a piece of the Medium Thyme and threaded it through the rows above and below the color stripe. And then I added a few buttons to each cuff as well. Now that I have boots that I wear pretty often I think I might need to whip myself up a pair, or two.

On the Hook:

• Bacon and Eggs Scarf
• Baby G’s things
• Saint Francis doll

Monkey Lovey

This last part of the baby shower gift is a two parter. It’s part paid pattern and part my own made up stuff. I was seeing loveys everywhere and needed an excuse to make one. So when better than now, err then? It was my first one so it was a bit daunting. Especially the ones with just a head and arms then the blanket. And with only instructions reading along the lines of “sew arms and head to blanket” I was really put off of making them. What if I didn’t do it right and it didn’t look good? What if they fell off? Doubtful based on all the amigurumis I’ve made over the years. But I really was nervous and scared to make one. So I found this pattern for a Monkey Lovey by Jackie Ramsdell and decided to give it a shot.

I used Red Heart Super Saver in Coffee and Buff with  4.25mm (head) and 5.5mm hooks (blanket). I used the head pattern as written and just changed up eyes and ears. The eyes were supposed to be made in three pieces and sewn on top of eachother but I didn’t want to do that and just made one circle and changed colors each round. The same thing was to be done with the ears but I just changed colors. Looking back I either should have made two pieces (one coffee and one buff) and sewn them together. Or I should have made two pieces (one with both colors and one coffee) and sewn those together. Because the way I did it you’re able to see the color changes from the back. I didn’t even think of that. But I had probably waited til the last minute and was out of time as is.

Because arms and stuff scared me I just finished with the head. I didn’t want a regular back and forth blanket like the pattern had and instead did a regular granny square that measures 14 x 14 inches. I finished it off with the crab stitch aka reverse single crochet. If you don’t know what that is, I highly recommend looking it up! I love adding it to any size blankets for a super simple edging.

Overall I think it turned out rather cute 🙂 I’ll definitely be making more loveys in the future because they are a lot easier than full ami’s (umm hello! less parts to sew together) and they’re just as cute. Maybe one day I’ll conquer adding arms. So far that day hasn’t come yet. Maybe this year??

On the Hook

• Baby G’s things
• Bacon and Eggs Scarf
• Planned Pooling Scarf