This weekend’s rainy Saturday provided me with the opportunity to start the “brown cow” pattern from Susan B. Anderson’s Spud and Chloe on the Farm.  I’m already finished with the body, just have to fill it with stuffing and the rest should come together over the next couple of nights.  So far it has been a great project to work on and not just because it is an easy knit, but because every time I pick it up, I think of this scene from Friends… oh how I love Joey.

Once Maddy was born and I knew she was a beautiful little girl, I came back home and started to knit her a baby blanket fit for a little lady. I had about 12 skeins of Amy Butler’s Organic DK, so instead of letting them sit on my shelf any longer because let’s face it I was not going to finish that sweater vest that I’ve been “working” on for over a year, I cast-on to make my version of Stitch and Bitch’s Big Bad Baby Blanket.

If you’ve knit the B.B.B.B pattern before you may not see what I changed up but if you look closely I only knit 10 rows in seed stitch and only did a border of 5 seed stitches. I didn’t alter anything else but I think that it helped make the blanket look a little larger from past versions that I’ve made.

And I love how it turned out and the yarn being made of 50% Wool, 50% Cotton made this blanket so soft and so warm, I think going to pick up a few more skeins to make her a summer sweater. Do you remember your first baby blanket?

Before Maddy was born, I knit a few newborn hats for her in neutral colors. But now that we know she is a beautiful little girl, the pinks and purples have been pulled from my stash and have been knit into new born hats.

And because Easter is this weekend, I decided that she needs a hat with bunny ears. The pattern is a combination of the newborn hat pattern and the bunny ears from Babbity Rabbity ears. Don’t worry, I promise to post the pattern this evening.

My niece Maddy was born on Wednesday and I cannot be more ecstatic that she has joined the world!

Needless to say, I’m already planning all the things that I am going to make her, like onsie dresses and an Easter bonnet.

4 Foolproof Ways to Make a Baby Laugh from Son of Shark Pig on Vimeo.

I’m also making tons of plans for things I would like to do with her someday but most of all, I can’t wait till I get to make her laugh! What was your favorite thing about becoming an Uncle or an Aunt?

This weekend I started knitting the Forever Baby Blanket pattern from Purl Bee. The yarn is Glen from Debbie Bliss and is a lovely oatmeal neutral color, perfect for a boy or girl. And the yarn’s 30% Alpaca, 30% Merino Wool, 40% Microfiber blend, will keep the baby warm and make it easy to wash. Now, I have four to five days to 22 more inches and bind off before the little one gets here.

Also, if you have time today or tomorrow please stop by Rivets & Roses (a great wedding photography site) and vote for my friends Matt and Maggie who would like to win R&R’s Wedding Photo Giveaway.

After a long weekend visit with my parents, I realized that I hadn’t done anything over the weekend but go to out to eat and hangout with family. Even though it was a nice break from my busy crafting weekends, it was a little nerve racking because my niece or nephew’s due date is about two weeks away, and I haven’t put a dent into either of the baby blankets I started about three weeks ago.

I know that if I turn into a bit of a hermit crab/knitting machine, I’ll be able to finish at least one blanket before the little one arrives. But what if I couldn’t spend that kind of time on a project? What are some last-minute crafted baby gifts one can give? Well have no fear, I found a few knitting and sewing projects from PurlBee and one from projects past, that look like they can be made in about 5 hours or less.

Like this Flannel Receiving Blanket from PurlBee, perfect for someone born chilly time of year.

This is the Five Hour Baby Sweater pattern that a friend knit in a weekend. If you have parents that aren’t finding out the sex of the baby, you can make in a nice light green or yellow and then add more gender specific buttons once the baby is born.

These cute, comfortable and absorbent Liberty Bibs can be created from fabric from a local store or you can buy a kit (once they re-stock) and get everything to make 4 bibs.

Last but not least are the Baby Moccasins, or as my friend Jo Ann would say, “baby mocs.” I’ve been meaning to knit these for the last few years but for some reason they always get moved to the back burner, but I think that my niece or nephew will have to have a pair for bumming around the lake this summer.

I hope all the project ideas help, and let me know if you all have any other ideas!

Yesterday, I stuffed and sewed together the Pound Puppy I started over a month ago. If you aren’t familiar with what a Pound Puppy is, go here to learn how cool 1980′s cartoons/stuffed animals were. If you are familiar with what a Pound Puppy is, the answer is “Yes, I do plan on making an adoption certificate for the recipient.” If you’re interested in making your own, I got the pattern out of Susan B. Anderson’s Itty Bitty Toys. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

The weekend up North was lovely. We ate tons of food, drank tons of Wisconsin beer and took lots of naps! I made the monkey bread and spinach souffle recipes but was too groggy on both days to remember to take photos. Both turned out well but I have to make the monkey bread again because I was not pleased with some of the dough not being baked well enough and the caramel sauce overflowing or leaking from the bunt pan.

What I did remember to take a photo of, is the log cabin wedding blanket. I know another log cabin blanket, but after finishing up the other blanket I know the pattern pretty well and have enough episodes of Vampire Diaries to watch, that I think this one will fly by.

Also, I keep forgetting to show you all what my Secret Santa Lily, from Sweat Shop of Love‘s gift exchange made me. A knit yoga bag! Pretty awesome, right? The patter is call Om Nava Shivaya Yoga bag and you can find it on Ravelry.

Did you know I have an Esty store? Well, I do. It it called the homemade goodness.  I try to do most of my knitting work for folks by request but every once and awhile I will put something up in the store but I usually take it down because it doesn’t sell. So I thought I would ask you all, what do you want to see in my store? There is a Google form embedded below and if you fill out the “survey” I’ll share the results on Friday and begin to make some changes in the store.

This past weekend my sister and I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law in St. Paul, MN. Since we both came in from different states we decided that we wanted the menu, games and decorations to be simple and fun. My sister with help from our mom, handled the menu and made three delicious salads and finger sandwiches… I promise to post all of those recipes as soon as she emails them to me.

I handled the game, which I wanted to make completive, fun and creative and non-traditional, so I thought of “Baby Project Runway.”

Here are the rules:

Break the party up in to design teams based on the size of your party. Give each team a onesie and access to fabric, ribbon, scissors, fabric glue, safety pins and a needle and thread.

In the same style of the show Project Runway, explain to them that they have (number) of minutes to create a onesie for a style, ie Rock ‘n Roll, Hippie Chic, Jetsetter, etc with the supplies available to them (I put everything on one table).

When time runs out give everyone a stuffed animal or baby doll to wear the onesie and have a fashion show, just like they do on the show. Oh and the judge or “Heidi” is the Mom-to-be.

I think I might have missed something, so post if you have questions about the game.

I had such a great time at the shower and it was so nice seeing all the love my future niece or nephew has waiting for it. I almost forgot! For my baby gift I made the felted slippers and the Classic Baby Cardigan from Debbie Bliss’ Essential Baby.