Here we go! This is the finished baby blanket. :) I decided that I liked the way it looked without all the ruffle trim that the pattern calls for so I didn't trim it off the way the pattern called for. It's bigger then I thought it was. It turned out really pretty and the pattern is really simple. I laid it out on the couch to take the pictures and was really surprised at how big it really was.

I have to get back to work on the princess blanket. But first, I have to go get more yarn for it. I have to replace the pink that I used from the stash. I was hoping that I would have the Princess blanket done by now, but it got set aside. It shouldn't take me all that long to finish, provided I can remember the pattern for it. I have the directions, it'll just take a little bit to get into the rhythm again.

Also of note, the other baby blanket I made was received and liked. That makes me happy. I like making people happy. :) I have so many people wanting blankets that it's not even funny. I don't mind though. I don't know how soon I'll be getting to them. It all depends on how soon I finish up the one that's in my bag. I will start working on that one again this week sometime. It shouldn't take as long, since I'm working it a different way than originally planned. I made it too wide to be a lap afghan, but turning it made it the right length for one.

And thus ends the crochet updates. ;)

So, I started on another baby blanket for another pregnant friend.  I'm over halfway done with it, which makes me really happy.  It's beautiful pink and really simple to do.  I found the pattern online. It's a smaller scale of another pattern that I had, which makes me really happy.

I need to get about finishing the main pattern so I can do the trim and get it sent off.  I was bouncing right along, but decided to take some time off to read my book instead.  I haven't taken a new pic since I got more length on it, so this is when I first started it.

Hopefully I'll get it done and sent off in plenty of time.  I finally got the blue one sent off and it's been received, but I've not heard anything about whether she liked it or not.

I picked up a sewing book while at Barnes and Noble not too long ago (Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew), and while many of the patterns are interesting, some of them are still above my ability (and to think, most seasoned seamstresses say it's for beginners). I found a cute pattern for bibs in the book, however. Sure, Sophie's a little old for bibs, but who wouldn't love a homemade bib or two for a shower gift?


Sophie and I went to JoAnn the other day in search of material for the bibs. She was such a trooper, helping me pick out fun prints, pointing out little details on the material, and shouting out colors whenever she could. I picked up quite a bit of material, but that's okay since I have quite a few friends who are currently pregnant. I'm going with a 100% cotton front and a cotton flannel back (nothing in between the layers). Sophie and I picked out three different sets of material: a set of greens, a set of oranges, and a set of prints that would work with white on the back.

The cotton prints were all on sale for 30% off, if I'm not mistaken (love to save money!). I picked up a few other items as well, including a self-healing folding cutting board (marked down to $9-ish from $49-ish), snaps, a snap setter, and a few simple to sew patterns for clothing for Sophie. The cutting board and the snaps will be used for the bib project, which will hopefully be underway soon.
 

As we returned home, Sophie and I stopped at the mailbox to get the stack we had let accumulate over about the course of a week or so (we're awful about picking up our mail) and there was a pile of magazines in the box along with all the bills and credit card junk. I had a chance to flip through the magazines shortly after dinner and the first one I picked up was Crafts n Things. Wouldn't you know it, the pattern for the bibs was actually in the magazine!
 

I spent time today putting the material through the washer in batches, each load with a bit of vinegar in the rinse to set the colors. All the pieces are folded again and in a nice pile, just waiting for me to get started. I probably won't have time to get started on this until next week, when I'll pull out the ironing board and iron, the sewing machine, and clear space on the dining room table. I'm really looking forward to working on these bibs, even if it means I have to slow down a little on the baby blanket.

Reader participation:  Do you have print and color suggestions for the bibs?  Do you have other ideas for sewing simple baby gifts?  Do you have a favorite gift to give (or receive) whenever there's a baby shower?  Feel free to share here. 

It seems as though the bug that took our house by storm has just about given up the ghost and I'm starting to feel somewhat human again.  B, Sophie, and I had to make an emergency trip to Tennessee to say goodbye to my grandmother.  She left this world January 12, 2008, after 91 years of life.  We brought home the bug as a souvenir.

While on the road, I managed to sneak in a little knitting and am happy to announce I am done with the boats!  I still have plenty of that blanket left to knit, but there will be no more boats!  I've moved onto the cables and have to admit, it's actually fun again!  Of course, pictures will be forthcoming.

I'm working on a much larger entry than this, but I wanted to let people know I'm still here.  Because I love my readers so much, I'm going to do a bit of a link dump.

I was reading a post by Margaret Kerr on the ChaCha blog network when I stumbled upon a very cool link she shared in her Ocean Waves entry.  The link she shared was for FreePatterns.com.  The site requires people register before using the free patterns, but there is no cost.  They also have a good number of eNewsletters for people who like to have those little reminders (but they also make it easy to opt out of those newsletters for those who hate junk mail).  If you sew, quilt, cross-stitch, knit, crochet, or do any sort of crafts at all, stop by and check them out.  Remember, signing up is free.  There is no cost at all!

Along those lines, the link dump here is for free patterns of all types.  Enjoy!

• Knitty- This is an excellent source for quality knitting patterns, all of which are free.  Knitty is a quarterly online magazine that offers articles as well as patterns.
• Knitting Pattern Central - This site actually hosts links to free patterns all over the internet.  Some of the patterns will be in PDF format.  Some have pictures and some don't.
• The Daily Knitter - TDK is similar to KPC in that it hosts links to free patterns all over the place, but TDK seems to host more broken links.  When hunting for free patterns, every little bit helps.
• Crochet Pattern Central - Same as with KPC, this site hosts links to free patterns all over the internet.
• Free Vintage Crochet - The patterns here are also available in PDF format for download.  These patterns are all taken from older books and from what I can tell, most, if not all, of them have pictures.
• Free Quilt Patterns (1) - This site is like the Pattern Central sites listed above, linking to patterns all over the web.  Of course, as with many sites like this, some links will be dead.
• Free Quilt Patterns (2) - This site also links to other sites containing free patterns.
• Savvy Seams - Amazingly enough, this site actually contains original patterns.  There are only a few patterns listed here, but enough to keep a beginner quite busy for some time.
• Sew More for U -  There is a little more here than just links to free patterns.  There are also articles, tips, links to free software, and much more.  I plan to spend a little time here after the boat blanket is completed.
• Free Cross Stitch Pattern - Plenty of graphs here, but most of the patterns are made from clip art.

Reader Participation:  If you have any links for free patterns for any type of craft projects, please feel free to share it here.  If you have experience dealing with any of the sites listed above, please share them here.
 

I've turned into a monster. Seriously. Every time I sit down with nothing to do, I start crocheting. Yesterday and Today, I was playing with some really pretty cotton thread-like stuff that came from Peaches & Creme. I didn't like it to make blankets, it didn't work up as nicely as what I usually use. It was heavy and I didn't care for the feel of it. So, I went and found a dishcloth pattern that I really liked. It's called Over The Rainbow. I didn't think I'd be able to do it, just from looking at it, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. It worked up quickly and I really like the results of it.

Mom didn't care for the openness of the dishcloth, so she recommended that I find a different pattern if I was going to make more. I can see the point, since you want a surface to work with and the holes are defeating the purpose, so back to the site I went and found a really pretty heart dishcloth. It worked up easy, but I ended up miscounting the stitches, so it's uneven. I think I know how it happened, since I was watching a movie and chatting while I was working on it.

I also decided to play with some of the beautiful blue wool/mohair yarn that I have as well. I found this really pretty crochet pattern that I thought would look fantastic with the yarn color that I have, so I downloaded it.  Just for something a little bit different to work on since I don't have the right stuff for the princess blanket yet.

I found this pattern on freepatterns.com and thought it would be cool to try to work it up. It called for 2ply yarn and a K hook, but what I have is 4ply and I'm working with an H hook. It comes out to the same gauge, so it's all good. I like the way it's working up. It looks really neat and is working up quickly. I just hope that overall it doesn't take a ton of yarn to finish. I'll likely mix in a few white rows to break up the blue monotony, which will make it a lot easier on the wool. I've got a lot of rows left to go and I'm almost through one skein already.

Something else I've done with the pattern is to take it and cut it down to the width of a scarf and have been working that up with a skein of Red Heart soft sport yarn that my husband got me. It didn't work for the project it was for.  It was the wrong weight and wouldn't work with the hook that I use for it.  So I've got that in progress as well.

Since they were requested on another blog. The picture to the left is one of the 48 centers for the afghan that I have been making. I'd take a picture of the whole pile, but they're scary! But yeah. Those are the centers that I've been making. I still need to get the other shade of green for the next row of it. Then it's back to white for the final row. THEN it's time to weave the loops together and sew them together. After that, it's time to trim and finish it. I can't wait to see the finished product, which means I need to go yarn shopping soon. Won't be tomorrow, thanks to the weather, maybe one day next week will be nice enough. *bounce*

Today, I moved on to step two on a couple of them and put the green on a couple of the centers, just so I could take pictures. They look pretty cool, but they're going to be a pain in the ass to do to an extent, just like the centers were. I love the way they work up and how pretty it will be when they're woven together, but do a little, tie off, move to the next. It gets really monotonous and annoying, especially having 48 of them to do. Once I get more than a couple done and get a rhythm going, it'll probably go quickly. I got to the point where I was just firing out the centers like the world was ending. LOL

My next project is going to be my first afghan for donation. I've started the centers of the squares the other night, but I put it aside in hopes of finishing the baby blanket first. Tonight, however, I've spent the night trying to find a pattern that we KNOW we have somewhere around here. It's for the afghan that my mother made for me a couple years ago. We can't find the book and the pattern is not online as far as I can tell.

Heck, the one that I'm working on (pictured left) isn't even available online. That picture was from an ebay auction of the pattern (linked on the image). Someone clipped the pattern from an old (1985) Annie's Pattern Club book.  I'm not sure that was the brightest idea for this person to do, but it's their loss, imho.  Annie's books are just a treasure trove of great patterns.  My mother made many a crochet baby blanket and afghan from those books.  I have the actual complete book. It's been well loved. (aka beaten up and abused) My mother has made several of them and they look really cool when they're all done and sewn together. She's done so many color variations that it's not even funny. I will be getting to work on the centers tomorrow or so, tho. I have 45 more to make. Then I can figure out what other colors I'm going to use.

This is the first hat that I made. I had a bunch of leftover burgundy yarn from an afghan my mother made for me, so I figured I would work up a hat for Rob with it. I made him model for me tonight so that I could post pictures. No, he didn't want to. Oh well. He didn't get much of a choice. :P I told him to put it on so I could take pictures, can you tell he wasn't enthused?

This is one of the head hugger hat patterns that I really liked.  It was a quick and easy project that I worked up in a few hours.  I'm a slow crocheter, since I get distracted easily by shiny objects.. or something.

This, my friends, is the completed  baby blanket. I finished it just after midnight last night. This is the first afghan that I've made and first large project that I've finished. I'm psyched about that. I usually get frustrated and bored, then toss stuff aside. So I'm really proud of myself for getting this done. I just need to get it packed up and mailed off to the mother-to-be. That means I need to get her address from her when I see her online again.  Hopefully that will be soon so that it doesn't sit around too long. *whistles*

This was done with no pattern other than a basic granny square crochet pattern.  I learned years ago how to make a granny square and this is the same principle.  Just much much larger.  It's one continuous square with two rows of white thrown in to break up the blues some.  I used Red Heart  Shaded Dusk for the main color and Red Heart White for the white parts.  Simple directions, just keep going 'round and round the square until it's 30" or more, depending on what size you want.

I have done a little work lately on the Boats for Cameron blanket for my niece. It's still nowhere near finished, but it's getting there. I'm almost completely done with the boat panels and then I move on to the cable panels. Once the cables are done, I'll work on the border, and that is pretty much just plain knitting and/or purling per each row, so it will be fairly mindless.

I took progress pictures today, finally. I'm hoping to work on it more this week but I won't do another round of pictures until the cables are done.




If I actually take time to work on the blanket as I should, I will be able to get the boat panels done this week for certain. Of course, that's if nothing else interferes. I'm pretty sure B wants to be able to park in the garage again someday so that means we need to get cracking on the eBay stuff out in the garage which will cut into knitting time, I'm sure. Perhaps I'll knit a bit during Sophie's nap tomorrow and then work on eBay templates tomorrow night. I seriously cannot wait for this blanket to be done. There are so many projects I want to start, but I've vowed to not start another project until this blanket is completed. It's not that I don't want to do it. I'm sure I won't have time to knit anything else I want to knit, either.

Here's holding out hope there will be new progress pictures soon!

One of the projects that I've decided that I want to work on this year is to do something to give back.  I had thought about several different things that I could do to give back and I kept coming back to the idea of making afghans for the local nursing facilities in the area.

Many times you hear of people that put family members in a nursing home then rarely ever see them.  There are people who have no family, or have little to no personal items of their own.  I thought that it would be a nice gesture to make a lap afghan for someone and donate it.  There are ways to find a quick and easy crochet afghan pattern, something that you can work up quickly and make several of easily.

As soon as I thought of this, I shared the idea with my mother who is also a crafter.  She thought it was a fantastic idea and it's not overly costly, especially if you use left over yarns from other projects.  You can make some of the prettiest afghans with scrap colors, and never have the same thing twice unless you want it to be.

In many cases, you can contact your local art and craft supply stores and ask them for donations of yarns or other materials if crochet and knit isn't your thing.  You can even contact the yarn suppliers directly.  Some will send you supplies at no cost, or for shipping cost.  So give it some thought and see if you can come up with some sort of design for a craft project you can do to give back.

If this is something that you think you'd be interested in, contact your local nursing facilities, or even the local red cross, or mission to see if they would like to have donations.  Give back, it's good for your soul.

In my next post, I'll be writing about another crafting cause.

I love crafts and I love free, so to find a website for All Free Crafts pretty much meant heaven for me.

From what I have seen so far, they have free crocheting, knitting, and sewing patterns, along with free craft ideas for various holidays. There are also free patterns for crafting with the kids.

This site is excellent for beginners or for people wanting to try their hand at a new craft since patterns can be pretty expensive. There are several crochet patterns, including patterns for a crochet baby blanket and a crochet hat. I'll be hitting up the sewing patterns here to practice my sewing since I could really use some practice getting my stitches straight. Perhaps I'll be able to find a good knitted hat pattern for B after the boat blanket is done (worked on that today, by the way... pictures will be taken soon, I promise).

I also really like the All Free Crafts blog. There are lots of ideas for how to recycle old books, magazines, cereal box liners, and wrapping paper (I am on the hunt for how to recycle Christmas cards and plan to post about that fairly soon).

(Probable) Upcoming Posts:

• Ringing in The New Year and Keeping up with Resolutions: Craft Room Organization
• Boats for Cameron Knitted Blanket Progress Pictures
• What to Do with All Those Leftover Christmas Cards

I sat down and tried to figure out just what craft projects I want to do in 2008 and most of them are crochet projects.  In case anyone is interested, I thought that I'd make my first post of the new year a list of the projects that I'd like to work on.

After I finish the baby blanket from the previous post, I want to work on a special project for a lady whose family lost everything in a fire right before Christmas.  She collected a lot of things with lighthouses on them.  She had just gotten a brand new set of lighthouse canisters and lost them in the fire.  I want to find some different Lighthouse inspired craft projects to make for her.  I grew up with her family, in fact her youngest son was the first boy I had a crush on, so I want to do something for her.

If you have any good lighthouse patterns that are crochet or plastic canvas, let me know! I want to do as many as I can. :)

After I do that, I'm going to work on a couple of afghan's for next Christmas.  I want to make one for my nephew in blue and green and I'm considering making one for a close friend in bright pink.  I don't know what patterns I want to use for either of them, so throw crochet afghan patterns my way!

I also have plans on making a set of place mats for my mother, and work on expanding the range of stitches and styles I can crochet.  I'm kind of limited right now, but I'd like to get past the beginner patterns.  I want to make a Celtic knot throw for over our bed as well.  So, yeah, that's my 2008 plans.  What are yours, friends?

Christmas is over, which means my frantic rush to get all crafts done and out of my house is over as well.  My sisters received the gifts for my nieces and everyone was fond of the decoupage boxes and the knotted blankets (I have borrowed Sophie's knotted blanket several times already!).

The lids of the paper mache boxes were the most fun of all the Christmas crafts I put together.  Decoupaging is so much easier now than it ever has been in the past because there are so many stickers available thanks to all the scrappers and card makers out there (nearly no tiny detail cutting necessary).  In the photo here, I have two different sets of stickers shown, but I did use three different sets of stickers (all purchased at Michael's, a local craft store).  The vintage looking cards shown were cut from wrapping paper found at Hobby Lobby, another local craft store. 

Each lid made was different, but only slightly.  They all had the same ribbon around the edges and the same music paper, but the placement of the stickers and the cards are really the only differences.

Hi, there! I just want to start off this wonderful blog by welcoming you all! In case the little description isn't enough for you, this post is just more detailed information about what to expect me to post.

This blog is for all things sewing, knitting and crochet. I'll post about various projects I'm working and how you, too, can make those things. I'll also post my progress and final projects with tips on understanding that particular pattern (especially if I've made it up myself), things I found confusing, difficult, or uneccessary, things I found easy to understand, easy to do, or great embellishments.

I'll also try to find things in the news pertaining to these arts! Yep, every now and then special knit or crochet items make it in the fashion news.

To start you off, I'll give a brief list of projects I'm currently working on:

• Scarf for my niece (Christmas present)
• Mommy and Me blankets (for my husband's co-worker who is expecting his first child with his wife)
• Little Bear Blanket (for my son)
• Beefy Beanie (for one of my best friends)
• Pegasus Bag (for my other best friend)
• Many pairs of slippers (for various friends and family)

That's only the tip of the iceburg, too! Sound fun, though, huh?

So, be sure to keep an eye out for what might be your favorites because I'll be including free patterns and links to different sites with tools, tips and free patterns.

This is the project that I'm working on right now.  I am making a baby blanket for a good friend of mine.  She told me recently that she is having a little boy, so I thought that it'd be nice to make her a blanket.

I found in my travels this beautiful veragated blue yarn that I had to bring home with me.  At the time, I  had no specific project in mind, but I thought it was absolutely beautiful.

I started working up a simple, basic crochet pattern of a granny square.  Something I've always been good at making since I learned to crochet.  I put it aside after a short time, since I had no real plans for it and didn't want to waste the yarn.  Once I learned of my friend's pregnancy, I decided to turn it into a baby blanket.

I have no instructions for this, other than the basic granny square pattern that I was given years ago, just expanded to add rows to make it large enough for the blanket size.  Below is the basic granny square directions.  Give it a try and see if you can come up with a design of your own.

Standard Granny Square

Materials Needed:
Worsted weight 4ply yarn, any colors.
Size G or H aluminum crochet hook
Yarn needle

Abbreviations Used for this pattern:
* Ch------Chain
* dc------Double Crochet
* slst----Slip Stitch
* sp------space
* rnd-----round
* rg------ring

Directions:
RING: Ch 4, st in first ch to form ring.

RND 1: Ch 3, 2 dc in rg. Ch 2, *3dc in rg, ch3. Repeat from * 2 times more pulling the ring taught as you go then working the yarn tail into the last 2 dcs. Ch2, slst in top of ch3.

RND 2: Sl st in the first 2 dc's and in the first ch 2 lp. Ch3, 2 dc in ch 2 sp, ch2, work 3 dc in same sp. Work the following 3 times (Ch1, work 3 dc, ch2, 3 dc in next ch 2 lp.) Ch1, join with slst to top of ch 3.

RND 3: Sl st in the first 2 dc's and in the first ch 2 sp. Ch 3, 2 dc in ch 2 sp, ch 2, work 3 dc in same sp. Ch 1, work 3 dc in next ch 1 sp. Ch 1. Work the following 3 times (Work 3 dc, ch2, 3 dc in next ch 2 sp. Ch 1, work 3 dc in next ch 1 sp. Ch 1.) Join with sl st to top of ch 3.

RND 4: Sl st in the first 2 dc's and in the first ch 2 sp. Ch 3, 2 dc in ch 2 sp, ch 2, work 3 dc in same sp. Ch 1, work 3 dc in next ch 1 sp. Ch 1. Work the following 3 times (Work 3 dc, ch2, 3 dc in next ch 2 sp. *Ch 1, work 3 dc in next ch 1 sp. Ch 1.* twice) Join with sl st to top of ch 3.

Continue rounds until you have the desired sized square.

Changing Colors:
To change colors at beginning of each rnd Fasten off after slst to top of ch3. Leave yarn about 3" long and weave end into work before adding new color. Slst new color in ch 2 lp and proceed onto the next rnd in pattern weaving end into work as you go.

Tip for Keeping each Square SQUARE:
As you work the dcs for the corners, pull them to the right for the first side of the corner and to the left for the second side of each corner. Since you are working in a ch 2 sp, the dcs should slide freely so that they are tight against the dcs of the previous round.

Finishing:
Work 3 sc in corner; work sc evenly spaced along top edge to next corner; work 3 sc in corner; work sc evenly spaced to next corner; rep from * once more. Join with slip st to first sc.

Sources:
http://members.tripod.com/Crafty_Lady/grannysq.html
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/projectsheet?pid=e02066

Nothing in the world like an afghan from Grandma. Sure they are a similar stitch you have seen before, but in Grandmas, you can see the love. Wrap it around you, and it feels like Grandma is giving you a hug. They are a treasure. I cherish every one she ever made for me. If this was a Grandma blog I could go on forever. She was awesome, and still is to me. I wish I knew how many she made over the years. I am sure the yarn could wrap around the earth at least twice.

Even after she passed, my new born children were brought home in their own "Grandma B" afghan. I remember crying in the hospital to my mom, after my 3rd child was born. (She died earlier that year.) Telling her how Michael won't be coming home wrapped in one. Well much to my surprise, Grandma, in her infinite wisdom, already had one made for him. She had it tucked away in the attic for me, just in case. I think I cried even more when I saw it. When I had #4, there was an afghan for him too. Apparently she made a few, just in case. She even had a box full of doilies made for me, for when I had a bigger house.

I can still see her sitting in her favorite chair, crocheting Barbie clothes for me. She would make me headbands to wear in my hair, ponchos, vests, booties and more. I thought they were the greatest things she ever made. I finally asked her one day to teach me. I must say, I didn't know Grandmas could lose patience with their sweet granddaughters so quickly. She kept telling me "No! not that way." and "Your stitch is to tight." She would rip out what I did and start it over. Her joy of passing along her craft was soon forgotten. I think she was thrilled when I gave up. She was able to relax and enjoy it again. Every afghan I ever started, she finished. I still have her crocheting needles someplace around here. When I find them, I am going to give it another shot. It wont be the same, since she isn't her to yell at me anymore, but I am determined to complete one on my own in her honor.

Her favorite pattern was "Birds of Paradise", as shown in this picture. She would crochet them in any color you wanted, usually two. I am having one heck of a time finding this pattern online. If anyone has a clue, please leave a comment I would love to see it.  Not being a crocheter, I am not sure what all her patterns were called. There was a zig zag, a clamshell, one with long rows and tassels. Many others too. Some of my favorite afghans were the ones that she made from all her left over yarn. Multi colored is an understatement. They ended up pretty funky looking.

She always used Red Heart yarn. She would save the label and search for a certain dye-lot when she needed more. Now I see they have "no dye-lot" yarn. She would have loved that. When she would give someone an afghan she would always include a Red Heart label so they would have the washing instructions. She always said Red Heart held up the best. You didn't get fuzz balls after washing it.

This post is more like a tribute to my Grammy. I couldn't help myself. The joy over the years with her is priceless. Now we have her heirlooms to enjoy and remember her with, and we can still feel her love. You all go out and crochet an afghan for someone special, so they have something to wrap themselves in when they want to have you near.  I think I just might go wrap myself in one now. Happy Holidays!

Of all of my holiday crafts this year, the ornaments were the simplest, but only because they were small and easy to manage.  The baby blankets took a bit more time but were mindless and could be done without looking once the material was trimmed and the fringe was cut.

I made three ornaments of each design, one set of three different ornaments for each of the girls (click the image for close up view).  I probably could have had them all finished in one night if I hadn't had to deal with a cranky, teething toddler.  All three designs are from the same fabric, which I purchased at Hobby Lobby (the closest local craft store with fabric).  Each design also has a different color ribbon and felt backing.  To finish off the ornaments, I used a hidden stitch.  These stitches allowed me to close up the pillow without anyone being able to see the seam (the best way to close a pillow, but must be done by hand).  It's very simple and for these ornaments was extremely quick work.

There is still one blanket left to complete, but that can be done at a later time since I'm not shipping it.  The two blankets being shipped just have to be wrapped and boxed now.  The fabric for the blankets was purchased at Hancock Fabrics (it was quite a large bag for enough fleece for three blankets!).  The only supplies necessary for this blanket are the fleece, safety pins (or straight pins, but safety pins are named "safety" for a reason), and scissors.  After finishing the blankets, I washed both using the gentle cycle, cold water, a little All Free & Clear, and Downy Vanilla Lavender fabric softener.  Normally I don't use fabric softener for baby items, but there was so much static electricity when making these blankets and since they're going to the Great White North where it is cold and heaters run all the time, I knew it would only get worse.  My sisters can wash the blankets again if they'd prefer there to be no fabric softener (although they smell and feel so wonderful now!).  Besides trying to make sure any and all dog hair had been removed (only important because both of my sisters have dogs), trying to remove a little of the static electricity (Static Guard stinks and I don't know how baby friendly it is), I also washed to remove the green fuzz balls from the fleece.  They are all over my living room and my clothes and my dog as well.  I was a little apprehensive about laying the blanket out on the guest bed for fear I'd have to vacuum the duvet cover in there, but not one green fuzz was found.

It feels so good to have finished objects.  One of these days I'll actually make something to keep, but all of these projects are gifts for my nieces and my daughter.  The baby blanket will probably see the most use, especially since one side has the alphabet on it and they're coming to the age (Sophie has almost learned her entire alphabet now, and she's the oldest of the three) where they love to learn and show what they've learned.  I just wish I could be there to watch them as they open their gifts.

Paper mache has not been appealing to me since I was a child, mainly because of the mess.  Thankfully, my local craft store carries a nice selection of already made paper mache boxes in various shapes and sizes.  I had a difficult time selecting the boxes for this particular Christmas project, but I think the boxes I picked will be perfect.

The purpose these boxes have is to serve as a decorative place for my nieces and my daughter to store the Christmas ornaments I make for them each year.  I know this isn't a gift that will excite three children under the age of two too much this year, but I hope someday they will appreciate it.  Of all my holiday crafts this year, this is by far my favorite.  I'm honestly pretty impressed I remembered how to decoupage since it's been years... and years.

Because these boxes needed to be shipped to a land far, far away, I didn't want them to be terribly enormous.  I also wanted them to fit under the Christmas tree if the girls decided they wanted to leave them out (years down the road when they're on their own, that is).  Because of their purpose, the boxes couldn't be too small, either.  I plan to make lots of ornaments through the years.

Firstly, I must warn all of my readers that decoupage is no laughing matter.  Quite plainly, the goopy white stuff is about as messy as it gets.  Various forms of glue may be messier, but decoupage is really just another type of glue with a fancy name to make it sound important.  Knowing this, I put newspaper on my work surface before doing any decoupaging (I was pretty certain my husband would frown on me decoupaging the dining room table, although given the right supplies, that could actually look pretty cool).  I made sure all my supplies were close at hand, and started measuring at cutting to get ready for the pasting.

A bit about the supplies.  I found two very beautiful Christmas wrapping papers at Hobby Lobby, along with the three paper mache boxes.  One of the papers was a line from a well known Christmas carol printed with the melody.  The other paper was a collection of vintage Christmas cards.  I am currently banned from buying more Christmas paper (we have one of the larger Rubbermaid tubs nearly filled with paper), but this paper had a purpose and was allowed without comment (thankfully - I adore the music paper!),  I also picked up the Mod Podge (decoupaging medium) while at Hobby Lobby.  Other items were purchased at a later time.

After laying out the newspaper, the first order of business was to cut enough of the music paper to fit around the bottoms of the boxes.   I tried decoupaging three different ways.  For the first box, using a tiny piece of tape, I secured the paper to the box, then glued the paper down using a thin line of Sobo craft glue.  I later decoupaged the entire outside of the box, but really only used the decoupage medium and not the actual technique of decoupaging.

The second box was decoupaged in the true sense of the word, but came out with many wrinkles I simply couldn't remove.  I really didn't like the way it turned out so for the third box I decided to paste down the paper with a little bit of the Mod Podge on the starter edge and then not use the paste again until the opposite edge.  Once secured, I then decoupaged over the box and it pretty much turned out the same as the first box.

I selected round boxes for this project, and round is not conducive to wrapping without a little creativity.  The paper I picked up has these marvelous grids on the back that made it extremely easy to do the majority of this project.  I took my little Scotch paper cutter (seriously, this is one of my favorite wrapping tools in the history of convenient tools) and cut strips about an inch wide all the way around the box, top and bottom (click the photo to enlarge).  I then decoupaged each individual strip (two at a time) and pasted them to the box.  On the bottom of the box, they overlapped a bit to create a circle.  After I had these strips pasted down is when I decoupaged the bottom of the box.

Once all three of the bottoms were done, I started on the tops.  I had to find a circle in my house large enough to act as a template.  I found a Christmas platter that was a bit too large, but better than anything else I found.  All of my pots and pans (even the big stock pots) were just a smidgen too small.  Once the circles were traced, I spread the Mod Podge all over the top surface of the box lid.  I flipped it carefully to place it roughly in the center of the paper I had laid out.  I had to fight the curling (it's possible to see a bit of the curling in the photo, especially once the strips are cut), which made the process a bit of a challenge. 

The grid guidelines were the most helpful when doing the bottom of the box, but I was still able to use them a bit for this portion of the cutting.  I cut the paper into fourths around the edge and then split each of those fourths in half, and so on, until I had fairly even strips (all eyeballed, no measuring for something like this) all the way around.  Going back and forth between sections instead of trying to go around in a circle is pretty much what kept my strips close to even.  Since the platter was just a bit too large for the template, I trimmed the excess from the lid prior to decoupaging with my trusty little Exacto knife after folding the strips into place.  I spread the Mod Podge on two strips at a time, folding each strip carefully over the edge of the box as I went along.  It took a while, but the end result was worth it.  Of course, it wound up being hidden mostly by one of the finishing touches I added later.

Because baking, cleaning, and sleep are all calling my name quite loudly, I must stop here for the night.  Please, stay tuned for the continuation of the decoupaged paper mache boxes.   All three have been completed and all three are slightly different.  There will be plenty of pictures to share.  Also, don't forget to check back for pictures of the finished ornaments as well as the finished no-sew knotted fleece blankets.