Christmas Gift Creations

I did actually get around to a little making for a few gifts this year, but not as many as I originally planned :(

For the two new babies I made personalised Christmas stockings in the same style as the ones I made last year for the baby bunch. Instead of crushed velvet, I used calico. Each one had a Gingerbread lady stuffed toy inside (purchased from Wilkinsons).

For the baby bunch, I made personalised drawstring bags again in calico. They are fully lined with the initial of each child sewn on with blanket stitch, and then their first names are embroidered onto the initial with a simple backstitch. Each drawstring bag had a mini chocolate selection box, a set of bath crayons, a candy cane and a push and go aeroplane.

For my Mum I made a twisted crochet cowl, very similar to the one I made for my Christmas OU swap partner. It has an eyelet edge again, and is made up of mostly mock moss stitch. It was crocheted in the round, so the twist was put in at the start when I joined the foundation chain.

I had intended to make my sister-in-law a Betty Boop bag, and even started it, but ran out of time. I will finish it though and then keep it for her birthday.

I also intended to make my sister a crochet top. I only got about as far as buying the yarn :/

Mr Bogert got his crafty on and made pickled onions. We have several jars now to keep us going. For his Secret Santa gift, he gave a jar of the pickles and also made a jar of curry wurst sauce (just add sausages!) and baked a loaf of bread to go with it. I know it's supposed to be secret, but I don't think the people doing the secret Santa come on here (and the recipient knows it was Mr Bogert anyway).

I also received a lovely homemade gift from my OU crafter friend as part of the swap. Just look at this fantastic apron made with lovely matryoshka fabric. I love it!

I showed off my OU swap creations in a previous post.

The Smaller Person also had a very thoughtful homemade gift from one of the baby bunch, made by his Mummy. She made lovely personalised tote bags (great minds ;D) which had a couple of books and a soft toy inside. We really do appreciate all things homemade in this house!

Birthday Creations

I just thought I'd share with you a couple of extra things I made for the Small Person's birthday last week.

After she saw the Smaller Person's crochet robot, she asked if I could make her  princess doll for her birthday. I was just going to make a standard doll and dress her like a princess, but then I came across this crochet pattern for only a couple of pounds (and I know I can use it again). It was simple to follow and turned out just as it should. I might have to have a little browse of the other patterns...

At the moment she really likes 'Brave'. She wants to dress as Merida for her Princess birthday party, and we'll be watching Brave at the party. I saw the picture of the finished doll on the pattern and I knew it was just perfect. I didn't have time to make the accessories or split the yarn for the hair, and I think the safety doll eyes on the original look much better than the felt and stitched ones I have sewed (and they're a little to high on her face in my version), but I was still quite pleased with her, and the Small Person really like her.

She took her Merida doll to school to show her friends on her birthday. We don't normally allow her to take toys into school, but this was a one off for her special day. She told me at dinner that her friends liked her doll and they all took turns playing with her at break time. She also said that she told her friends that her Mummy is just 'so really clever and makes lots of good things'. Awwwww. I have a fan! :)

The other make for her big birthday was a felt rosette in pink and purple that has a big number 7 and the words 'Birthday Girl'. I made it in exactly the same way as the Big Sister rosette I blogged about a few posts ago.

Big Sister Card

I almost forgot to show the little card I made for a new big sister. (I showed the gifts I made in a previous blog post)

It's just a simple pink card blank with a white silhouette stuck on. The silhouette is of two little sisters cut out of self-adhesive glitter paper. I hand sketched the silhouette onto plain paper after looking for ideas on google images, then I transferred the outline to the glitter paper, and carefully cut it out. Then it was just the simple task of peeling the backing and sticking it in place.

The new big sister is only a tiny little dot herself (she's 22 months old - or thereabouts), and is friends with the Smaller Person. We think she'll make a great big sister (she already knows how to handle all her little guy friends!)

Another Blanket

This blanket is for baby Annabelle, the doll kind, not the real version :)

My sister-in-law has a baby Annabelle doll and she really wanted her own special blanket for her, so as part of her present for her birthday this last Saturday, I made her this pink white and cream one.

I've used ordinary DK in a shade of pink. It is made by alternating rows of double crochet and treble crochet. For the last 14 rows I switched from the pink to the white, then to cream (the last 4 rows). I have embroidered a letter 'A' in the pink yarn on the white band to finish it off. The switch to white was intentional, but I was finishing the last bit off by the light of my bedside lamp and picked up what I thought was white yarn, but was actually cream - oops! The yellow light of the lamp made it hard to see the difference. I don't think the few rows of cream look too bad though, and it's lucky that the joining point wasn't mid row.

The right side of the crochet.

The wrong side of the crochet.

After I'd finished it, tied off and woven in the ends, I sat there in bed and thought 'Those few rows don't look quite right'. I asked Mr Bogert what he thought, but I said you probably can't see can you? (Because he's colour blind, and struggles to distinguish between similar shades), but he said 'what? That the very top is a different colour? I can see that.' sounding as though he thought he was being very helpful.
'You can?'
'Yeah, right there. hang on, fold it out' so I unfold it.
And he says 'There's the one colour, and there's the second colour', pointing first to the main pink part of the blanket, and then to the white band.
' I can see that. That's the part that's supposed to change colour! I meant at the top here...'
'Well I didn't know. I can't see. Leave me alone, stop picking on me...' and he rolled over with a pout. Poor Mr Bogert.

We gave the Blanket to his sister this last Sunday whilst we were at his Mum's for dinner. Now baby Annabelle can sleep soundly under her warm blanket :)

Welcome Merryn!

Our friend's baby girl has arrived safely and almost bang on time. The blanket that I blogged in this post here now has the embroidered patch attached ready to go to it's new home.

Isn't Merryn a lovely and unusual name?

The Smaller Person's friend, Little Miss, is now a very important Big Sister, and so we didn't want to leave her out. I made a crochet Daisy Fairy doll, which we are sending to her with some white chocolate buttons and this 'Big Sister' felt rosette that I made just after I heard little Merryn had arrived.

I sketched out what I intended to do.

The main blue circle was embroidered first, using felt for Peppa's head, dress and the whites of her eyes. I have blanket stitched the edge of the felt pieces, apart from the eyes which are attached with black thread in a french knot. The mouth is a back stitch and the arms, legs and feet are chain stitched. The words are stitched in back stitched metallic pink thread.

I cut a wavy edged circle from bright pink and a strip the same colour felt for the ribbon ends. The strip was folded in half at an angle and placed under the pink wavy edged circle, with the blue embroidered circle on top of both. They're all stitched together with a back stitch in metallic pink thread around the edge of the blue circle (through all 3 layers). 

I opened a brooch pin and slipped it through 2 little slits (at each end of the pin) cut into a second blue circle the same size as the first. I stitched this in place with matching blue thread and closed the brooch pin. This second blue circle with the brooch pin attached was blanket stitched in place to cover the back of all the stitching. All finished and ready to go!

You can just about make out the small stitches where the brooch pin is held in place.

Little Miss seems to have quite a few Peppa Pig things, so I'm hoping she recognises Peppa  and likes the badge!

Congratulations to the whole family, and welcome little Merryn Grace-we look forward to getting to know you :)

Finished Daisy Fairy

Here she is, all complete (after seeing her half finished in this post).

I found the hair surprisingly fun to do, but wish I'd made the fringe a little longer.

I'm not as happy with the face as I hoped I'd be, It's nice, but I think it's missing something, I just don't know what. I suppose it's just because I'm thinking of the original which used proper doll eyes rather than black felt like I have used.

I am still very proud of her though. I would definitely like to make another (if I ever find the time!)

Now we're just waiting for her new owner's baby sister to arrive in the world so that Daisy can go to her new home.

Happy Birthday Mother!

Yesterday was my Mum's birthday. She's taken the week off work, but she's spending it decorating, but she took a break from that too for her birthday, and her partner took her out for a nice lunch.

We dropped by with her birthday present (and the kids played with some of the ferrets!). This birthday I made a crochet basket and filled it with a few different balls of yarn in neutral colours (she's likes neutral) but different types, and also this great book by Nicki Trench. I have this book too and really love some of the projects in there. I hope Mum does too.

I also slipped in a couple of mini Thorntons chocolate bars (dark choc and mint and Dark choc and ginger) because everyone deserves a bit of choccy for their birthday!

Fairy in Progress

Since finishing the last baby blanket, I have been working on this little sweetie to give to another little sweetie who is due to become a big sister at some point over the next couple of weeks.

Front view



Back view with little green wings

The pattern is available for free here. I LOVE this pattern. I've found it easy to follow and it has worked up just like the photograph.

Back view again

I just have to add her features and her hair and then she will have a personality to go with that cute little daisy petal skirt.