First Ever Baby Sweater, Thanks Melody’s Makings!

When I found out that my Sister-in-law was having a baby, I just had to make something for her! Usually, I would make a blanket or a girly romper and booties. But this time I had to make something different…. she was having a boy! Yay!! I haven’t had a little itty-bitty boy enter my family in awhile. I was beyond excited!

Then, I started to freak out… what should I make? I live across the country from them so, I didn’t know how the weather is going to be. I didn’t want to make something that wouldn’t be used. Then, I remembered that Melody’s Makings had done a Create-a-Long with a little sweater!

Lightbulb! That’s what I’ll make… Had no idea what colors I should use so I asked my SIL what two colors she liked… Blue and Beige. Sounded like a pretty good combo to me! She wasn’t sure about that since she didn’t know why I was asking. I told her to trust me. he he he

Since I knew what pattern I wanted to make, I went to the Michaels right away and found some great yarns that went together nicely! I picked a Dark Navy and Beige. They are a Worsted Weight yarn which is what the pattern called for. I grabbed extra skeins of yarn because I was thinking about doing a blanket as well (that I am still working on, I’m sure I will share with you when I am done).

Melody’s pattern was originally written up to be done using stripes, but I had decided to make it a solid color for the body (Dark Navy) and the edging to be done in the other color (Beige). I need a couple of buttons for the neck opening so I heading over to Joann Fabrics. I was able to find buttons that worked well with the body color, but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. I was kind of hoping for some cute little themed buttons to use on the sweater. But they didn’t have many in the size that I needed. So, I went with blue ones with a little marbling to them.

When it came time to starting on the project, I decided to work on the 0-3 month sized sweater instead of the newborn sized. I just don’t like taking chances on the size of the babies when they come out. I’ve made some hats in newborn sizes and they turned out to not fit their babies very long because the baby was born much bigger then the “normal” newborn size. It does hurt a little knowing that you put all of that time into something that wasn’t used because the baby grew out of it too quickly.

When I finished up the little sweater I wrapped it up and sent it to my SIL. She absolutely loved it! I was so proud of the work that I had done, being that it was my first sweater. I look forward to the next one that I get to work up.

Please let me know what you think of this itty-bitty sweater. Would you make one using this pattern? How about the colors? Did Mama pick a good color scheme?

Here is the Ravelry link to Melody’s Makings pattern! Be sure to share your finished piece if you make one!

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/21-days-to-sweater-success–crochet

Crochet Pattern Designing

Last year, I released my first ever crochet pattern on Ravelry.com! (In case you don’t know, it’s a member only site for crochet and knitting patterns. So, you must sign-up with them in order to browse their collection.) It’s something that I have been wanting to do for awhile but I have never actually finished one. It was part of my “doing something for myself” thing that I am trying to do every day.

Actually, a couple of years ago I was in a creative link group where we had to decorate a Target $1 tree and post how we did it while including the links to the pages of the other people in the challenge. It was pretty fun! For mine I created a crochet cover for the bottom of the tree. It was a pretty easy pattern . That is where I started thinking about over things that I could make/design.

The two that I have created and put on Ravelry, are both mug hugs (something that you wrap around your mug so that it stays warm and doesn’t burn your hands). The first one was a free pattern and the other was a paid pattern. I’ve had a bunch of people download the free pattern which is pretty exciting. I hope to be able to get more people to purchase the pattern as I upload more things that I design. I know that it will be a slow process. But I have faith that they will do good.

My first pattern is called the Simply Sweet Mug Hug. It’s a simple design that just uses the Single Crochet Stitch and Chains. It’s very basic but quick to work up. You can easily complete this while watching your favorite afternoon show or waiting for dinner to cook in a crock-pot!

You can tell that this was my first design because the image isn’t that favorable. I wish that I had taken better photos of it to use for advertising purposes! Maybe I will redo that in the somewhat near future…

My latest one is called the Mossy Love Mug Hug. This one features the moss stitch which is still a basic stitch and easy to work up. It works great with variegated yarns because of the texture of the stitch. That is why I used this yarn by Red Heart.

I created both of them to be used as stash busting projects so, that left over yarn, from that blanket you made three months ago, doesn’t go to waste! Because we all know how much extra yarn we have to hold onto because we don’t want to waste it.

You can follow the links to find them on Ravelry.com (you will need an account to view them).

Simply Sweet Mug Hug

Mossy Love Mug Hug

Please keep an eye out for more patterns, as I have been dreaming up a lot of new designs. I just have to get the time to sit down and work them up!

Blanket Sizes…

It’s the rainy season here in Southern California which means that it’s the perfect time to work on blankets. I mean, who doesn’t like snuggling up on the couch with a hot mug in your hand when it’s chilly? So, why not grab your crochet hook and start crocheting one!

The project is always on my lap when I am working on it, so it works as a way to keep me warm while I work on it. I mean, you have to make sure it serves it’s purpose right?! Like baking… you HAVE to taste test before you let other people try your baked goods!

I’ve made a few blankets in my time, but I never know how big to make them. I follow some patterns, which give you a finished size. But the ones that I just make up as I go, those I never know if I make the right size. Everyone that I have given one to always says that it’s perfect… but is it really? Or are they just being nice? This is the stuff that constantly runs through my head.

So, I did some searching on Pinterest and found an awesome diagram that Jennifer of A Crocheted Simplicity made, that lists all of the sizes that you would ever want to make! This is aw-mazing!! I have pinned it to my Crocheting Board so I can reference it every time!

I just had to share this fine with all of you! I hope you cherish it as much as I do! Thank you for this awesome piece of wisdom, Jennifer!

Make sure to go check out her site for other amazing crochet things!! https://www.acrochetedsimplicity.com

New Me = Updating Blog

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

With this newly found ambition to work on my blog again, I have decided that it is time to update and clean up my blog a little bit. Most of you should know that I have three girls now instead of two… oops. Hehehe

Guess the name doesn’t work anymore. Now the question is… should I keep the name and just continue with what I have been working on. Or should I change the name to something else? If I change the name then I have to change sooooo many things! I would have to redo my blog, email, Etsy, Facebook and everything else that I had set up for previously for my Blog.

That’s a lot of work and it might confuse anyone that might be following me. Do I chance losing some of my followers for something so little as a name change? Something to ponder… but not something that I feel I have to con to a conclusion about right now.

What is everyone’s opinion and thoughts on this subject?

The Benefits of Having Hobbies

Photo Credit: 422737, Pixabay

Hobbies provide many benefits, including increased productivity in other aspects of your life, new friends, and even improvements in health. A hobby can also provide you with a break from a monotonous and stressful life. If you don’t have one, it might be a good time to consider taking one up.

Structure and Balance

A hobby helps you to structure your time by forcing you to spend it wisely. Knowing that
completing the task you’re working on frees up time for a hobby motivates your brain to work faster. Otherwise, without anything other than work to look forward to, your brain takes far longer to complete the same task. A hobby effectively boosts your time management skills. Schedule time for your hobby following work hours, and see if it makes a difference in your distractibility at work.

Having a hobby gives your life balance. When your only interests are your work and personal relationships (two aspects in life that tend to have ups and downs), you don’t have anything that gives you unfailing pleasure and stress reduction.

“Hobbies provide you with pride independent of the ups-and- downs that define your career and your interactions with loved ones,” says Business Insider. A hobby helps you prioritize a work- life balance.

Dreams and Friendships

While you may have once dreamed of becoming a famous actor, you’re probably not starring in the next Hollywood film. Hobbies allow you to pursue your passion in a more realistic setting.
Most people don’t end up working in their dream careers of acting, music, art, or sports. Having a good job doing something you like is great, but you probably still have that itch for your dream, and a hobby allows you to continue pursuing your dream on the side, whether it’s through a weekend improv group or a club sport.

Participating in a hobby gives you an opportunity to meet new people. Making a friend while participating in your hobby means you’re bonding over a shared interest. One study showed that we actually form friendships mainly because we have shared interests with individuals. Friends benefit your life in multiple ways – they help you live a longer and healthier life, help keep your mind sharp, and help you cope with life’s ups and downs.

Health

Maintaining a hobby helps to keep you healthy. Obviously, some hobbies provide physical activity, such as gardening and sports, but all hobbies exercise your brain, which boosts memory and cognitive abilities. Hobbies also combat stress, especially job-related stress. One study revealed that people with creative hobbies recover better from the demands of their jobs.
In fact, the researchers suggested that organizations should encourage their employees to participate in creative activities.

Stress wreaks havoc on your workplace productivity and is one of the biggest causes of lost productivity in the United States, costing companies more than $300 million every year. Even worse, stress also negatively affects your overall health. It can lead to headaches, fatigue, upset stomach, as well as issues with appetite and sleep. Stress can also lead to anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, and drug or alcohol abuse and addiction. If left unchecked, stress and its many side effects can contribute to other health issues, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Schedule time for your hobby following work hours and see if it makes a difference in your distractibility at work. You’ll also benefit from its stress-relieving capabilities, and you may even meet a new friend. If you don’t already have a hobby or interest, just try out something new.
You’ll never know if you enjoy baking or pottery unless you give it a try.

Article contribute by: Maria Cannon
Ms. Cannon believes we’re never too young to dedicate ourselves to a hobby. She created HobbyJr to encourage young people to find a hobby they love.

Sunset Family Livings’ 2015 Spring NICU Challenge!

Sunset Family Living has hosted winter NICU Challenges before (I’ve participated in two of them) but this is the first time that they have hosted on in the spring!

Like the other challenges, they ask you to agree to make a minimum of 10 NICU hats to donate to your local NICU/Hospital/Birthing Center. In exchange for that promise they have 10 different hat patterns from 10 different awesome designers to give you! Please click the image above to go to their site and sign up! I will be signing up for this event and will be posting the hats as I make them!

You can find the info about how to enter on their blog here: Sunset Family Living: 2015 Spring NICU Challenge

Please feel free to share your completed hats on here as well! I can’t wait to see all of the hats that are created!

Get Any One Pattern Free from Melody’s Makings!

My friend Melody is generously giving everyone One Free Pattern of their choice for the next 36-ish hours in her Ravelry shop! She has some adorable Knit and Crochet items in her shop too! I will tell you… it was hard for me to pick just one!

 

After flipping through her Ravelry shop a few times I finally decided to pick the Entrelac Basket Knitting Pattern. I mean who wouldn’t choose this pattern? It looks so fun/cute with that little baby on it! Belly Beautiful Portraits took the most perfect picture for this piece! Please be sure to check out their website as well (link below)!

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Melody’s Makings:

Website: http://melodys-makings.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelodysMakings
Ravelry Shop: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/melody-rogers

Belly Beautiful Portraits:

Website: www.bellybeautifulportraits.com

 

Back at it… again!

Hello everyone! I am proud to say that I am back at it! This time I am hoping to be able to stick with my blog. Since the last time I posted I have made a lot of things that I wish that I could have shared with you all! So, from here on out I will be posted the new items that I have been working on! 🙂

I’ll catch everyone up with what we have all been up to! I have been crocheting, designing and working on teaching myself how to knit when I have free time. I am now the organizer of a mommy group here in Irvine so, I am very active in that. My oldest has been in dance for the past couple of months. She loves it, and is just super cute to watch dance around with her little friends. The little one has been getting so big, so fast! She is no longer my little baby and is fast approaching two! Crazy!
I have been working on a lot of things, both in real time and in my head. hehehe My desk is forever a huge mess of work-in-progresses with more waiting to be worked on. I am hoping to add a big to-do project to the list this weekend! My friend Loren (from Pandora’s Craft Box) will be going thrift store shopping with me this weekend!  Can’t wait!!

Welcome to Crafting Mommy of Two’s blog!

Here I am trying to start a blog again. Some of you might be wondering why I have started, yet again, another blog. Well, the simple thing is that I haven’t found one that I like yet.

So, here I am giving wordpress a try. I will be working on setting everything up over the next day or two. But for now I want to say thank you for stopping by!

For those of you that are wondering, I am a stay-at-home-mom of two beautiful little girls. My oldest is going to be 3 at the end of summer and my youngest just turned 1 last month. My husband works full time so, when he is gone I spend my time with the girls and doing anything crafting when I get a spare moment here and there.

Because of my love for crafts, I started up an Etsy Shop a little less then a year ago. Here you can find a lot of my crafting things, mostly photo props. You can check out the shop here… Crafting Mommy of Two’s Shop

I think that is enough sharing for now. I’ll stop by again later!

Good Night!

Robin