Sweet Things for Easter. Part One.

I came across the blog molly chicken, and she has some really clever and adorable things, and has kindly shared tutorials on many of them. I’ve never tried this type of thing before — stuffies I think they are called — but I couldn’t resist. It’s a chicken with a pouch in front that holds a stuffed heart or whatever else you would like to put in there. My plan is to make another for my other daughter and put them in the Easter baskets. While I was photographing this little guy in the beautiful 38 degree Chicago spring weather (note the buds on the tree!), my husband stuck his head out the door and said “Jill, what are you [this is where he sees that I am actually doing a photo shoot of a stuffed bird and there is a pause]... oh no.” And then he disappeared back inside. He really thinks I’ve lost it with the crafting and this blog, but I know he gets a kick out of it!

Sign ’o the Times Gift Bag.

When my kids (ages 4 & 2) are invited to a birthday party (which seems to be every other weekend) they make the birthday card for their friend. Not only does it save a few bucks, but it is truly fun for them – they keep busy for 10 minutes, and it is really nice to give something handmade to the birthday boy or girl. And now, at Michael’s, I have discovered kraft paper bags in a variety of sizes for CHEAP. The large one we bought in the photo was 99 cents. And honestly, I am going to start doing this to save money, because by the time you finish buying the wrapping paper/bag, ribbon, tissue, etc. it costs about as much as the toy! Anyway, I had the girls paint the bags and they had a blast, so this is going to be our new move... everything but the toy – handmade.

Super Easy Tie Blanket Tutorial.

This blanket is my go-to baby gift. My daughter received one from her aunt and we use(d) it all the time – mostly as a place to play on the floor, lounge and sleep. And babies can never have too many blankets. The best thing of all is that its so easy to make... I feel kind of silly writing a tutorial, but here it is!

THINGS YOU NEED
1.5 yards of fleece of one design
1.5 yards of fleece of a complementary design
sharp scissors
ruler

STEP 1



Cut the fabric into 2 rectangles of the same size.
The exact size just depends on how big you want your blanket. (I use as much of the 1.5 yards of fabric as possible, so baby has a lot of playing room, with extra room for playmates and even mommy when she is so tired she needs to pass out on the blanket too.) There are many ways to make the fleece pieces the same size, using rulers, t-squares, slide-rules, an abacus... but I like to use this very scientific way: I lay one piece [a] down on the floor, and cut off the rough edges until it could pass as a rectangle. Next I put the other piece [b] on the floor, and then put [a] on top, then just trim [b] to the size of [a].

STEP 2



Using sharp scissors, cut strips about an inch (or maybe a tad bigger) wide and 5 inches long around the entire perimeter of the rectangle.
To see what happens at the corners, see photo below. Some people cut the corners out first.



STEP 3



Tie the strips together as shown, knotting it two times (top fleece to bottom fleece) around the perimeter, and your blanket is done. Bravo!

Knitting and knitting and knitting...

I haven’t blogged for awhile because I have been knitting and unraveling the same hat (Mega hat) for a week and a half. I am in the process of knitting it for a third time. But this is the last time I’ll be making this Brangelina hat... I’ve finally figured it out and will be moving on. Oh — in the past week I also knit the hat in red, but cast on 50 versus 64 stitches, figuring it would have to fit someone in my family. And then something strange and fantastical happened – cue the creepy music – it fits everyone. So I gave it to my youngest, almost modeling it in the photo above.

One thing I learned this week for those interested: Jo-Ann Fabric stores do not carry a Clover bamboo double pointed needle bigger than 10.5. Like the Alamo having no basement, it is just one of those things they don’t teach you about in school.

Mega Hat.

I just finished this hat, created from the Brangelina pattern from Crazy Aunt Purl. Well, it was fun to do and the hat is heavy and warm for the Chicago weather. However, it is way too big. It is Mega Hat. The problem was a combo of two things: I knit the whole thing in 10.5 size needles and the instructions said start in 10 and switch to 11, etc... so perhaps I should have stuck with that. And the other thing was that I did not measure my head, but just started knitting according to the directions. So now I know! And on a side note, the top of the hat is not actually pointy, it is just the branch underneath poking it out. I just went back to look at Crazy Purl’s and hers looks a lot tighter and flat against her head. I’m going to try again.



My family just left — my parents and brother were visiting from out of town, and we had a great time. We bowled, went to the zoo, museum, watched movies (this is a great one... a family favorite). I wish they lived closer.