I have a hungry squirmy baby in my lap...

...so this will be a quick post.

First off, here are our November swap squares. Sorry I'm so late getting them posted.

The pattern was the Victorian Dream square which you can find here.

Here is my contribution:


And my sister's:


One of my first post-Christmas projects will be to assemble mine, so stay tuned for photos of the completed blankets.

I didn't get much (well any, really) crochet done this week until yesterday. I have been pretty sucked into my video game (Knights of the Old Republic--I'm a level and a half away from completing it, fingers crossed) in most of my free time. But I did get a few quick stocking stuffers done yesterday and today.

First up, for my baby girl, I made this hat:



Those sci-fi fans out there might notice that this bears a slight resemblance to the Jayne Hat, and it was an inspiration, to be sure, also I had this yarn lying around leftover from the Amigurumi giraffe I made earlier in the year. Once I figure out knitting next year I will be making my very own Jayne Hat, for anyone who's wondering.

The other project I got done was this one, for my hubby:


Just a quick little beanie. I am kind of proud of the checker-board pattern I got going in the middle. I hope he enjoys it.

I also started on my cable-socks more in earnest this evening and am hoping to have them done for my own stocking stuffer by Thursday, but we'll see. :o)

Other than that, there's the Yoshi blanket, which I need to just find a groove on, I think.

So that's it for me this week. Off to tend to the baby. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Down the road I go...

Well, I got that shrug done for my party, which was last night. Here are a few photos for you.



The design is inspired by the Blooming Balero pattern I used a few months back (from an issue of Crochet Today) but is mostly improvised. I used a size K hook and two and a half skeins of Lion Brand's Homespun yarn in Lagoon.

It was super warm and fuzzy and people at the party were fairly impressed that I made it myself, which made me warm and fuzzy inside too. So that was nice. Definitely worth the effort.

Anyhoo, on to my other projects I go. I officially started the Yoshi blanket yesterday--just got five squares done while watching Jeopardy! but it's better than nothing. I have no expectations of this project being anything other than long term.

I am planning to start my cable socks today, hopefully. So off I go.

Hope you are all having a great one!

Santa Hats A-Ho-Ho!

I got my Santa Hats finished this weekend. They actually worked up pretty quickly once I got used to working with the Homespun yarn. It's still not my favorite yarn to work with, but it does feel so nice and plush in the finished project.

For these hats I used the Santa Hat pattern on Lion Brand's website and Holiday Homespun yarn in Berry and Starlight. Here is the finished adult-sized hat which is for my brother-in-law.


He actually is going to put it over his cowboy hat rather than wear it straight out (I know, it's weird, but this is Texas, apparently it's a thing). So the size I needed was a little bit larger than the largest size the pattern goes to. In order to get it the size I needed, I just added two rounds after I got to 50 stitches (increasing to 60 instead) and then followed the rest of the instructions for the largest size.

Here is a shot of both hats together:


And the baby seemed interested to know what was going on (and I wanted to make sure hers would fit), so while I was working on the pom-pom for her hat, I let her try on the almost finished project.


And here she is with her finished hat. Can't you tell she's just so excited for Christmas?


While I was working on these projects and getting used to working with the Homespun, I thought up a project I could use the other Homespun I bought for. My husband's company Christmas party is Thursday, and while I have a lovely dress to wear, it is sleeveless, and I get cold inside at the best of times. So I think I am going to try to make a little shrug/cardigan type thing. The other Homespun I have is a nice, pretty color that I think will go well with my dress and will not look too out of place. Also, I will be nice and warm in it. So that's what I will be starting on today. Fingers crossed!

Have a great week, y'all!

Yay, done with that!

I finished my Go Frogs! Afghan tonight, huzzah!

Here's a shot of the whole thing:


And here's a closer view of the squares:


And then another, even closer, shot so you can see the border, which I am kind of proud of:


Hopefully my friend that this is for is actually coming to the dinner party on Saturday so I can give it to her!

Next up are a few smaller projects--a pair of socks and a set of Santa hats (one for the baby and one for my brother-in-law). The Santa hats might be a trial though, because I realized when I was looking at the pattern that it is for the Homespun yarn that I had so much trouble with this summer. Sigh. But maybe the whole not being pregnant thing will make it easier to deal with or something.

I am also going to start producing a few squares a day for my Yoshi blanket I think. :o)

Hope you are all having a fantastic December so far!