So it's basically been 6 months since I last posted on here. So much has happened! Our daughter Rachael was born July 28th....after 30 LONG hours of labor. Talk about exhaustion! Oy! All I have to say is whenever we decide to have #2, s/he better not take that damn long, or I'll be begging for the knife! :-p I had so many wonderful, helpful visitors after she was born, I never would have been able to do it without them! Chris came home beginning of October and finally got to meet his daughter!! It was quite emotional, as you can imagine, as well as an adjustment. It didn't take too long for Rachael to get to know her Daddy though, since he was able to take paternity leave. Our first holiday season with her was very low key and laid back....no traveling for us, and no one was able to come and visit. But it was still a very nice holiday season, and lots of love and gifts were sent our way! Okay, it was mostly for Rachael....she is one loved little girl! So that's the last 6 months in a very small nutshell. Most of you probably know all the details anyway.
So on to the point of this post....Christmas Crafts!!! Woo!! So many things made this year, where to begin?! Well some of these are baby crafts or crafts for friends, so it's not all for Christmas. So here goes the rundown!
1) Baby gifts for our friends Kara and Aaron, as they celebrated the arrival of their daughter in October.
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| Burp cloths matching their vintage story book nursery theme. |
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| Pacifier clips! |
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| Reds blanket! Emblem embroidered by my Aunt Dory. She really made it look awesome! (I so want an embroidering machine!!! lol) |
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| Rachael being my model. :) |
2) Baby gifts for our friends Matt and Erin, who celebrated the arrival of their son this fall as well.
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| Crochet blanket laid out. |
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| Close up of the stitch...I love this stitch! |
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| The edging, reverse single crochet, also known as a crab stitch. First time using it on a blanket, pretty neat look! |
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| Pacifier clips! Had to make a Hokie one, and found this super awesome beer bottle cap fabric I had to use as well! |
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| Blanket and pacifier clips |
3) Baby gifts for our friends Nicole and Adam, who celebrated the arrival of their baby girl in October as well. I had made her a blanket for their son when he was born, so of course I had to make their baby girl one too!
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| I love this look...Bavarian crochet looks so beautiful! But seriously takes forever after about round 6. lol |
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| Close up on the center |
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| Close up of the outside and edging |
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| Pacifier Clips for them as well! |
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| Burp cloths too! |
4) When my friend Andrea came to visit, we made a trip to Joann's Fabrics. I'm always looking at fabric there, and found this really bright and colorful home decor fabric I knew would make such a fun apron! So I was going to get the fabric to make myself one, and offered to make her one as well, which she quickly agreed to! These are pictures of hers, as mine became more of another test to perfect the pattern layout. But I think I've nailed it now, and it's perfect to make more for my Etsy shop! :)
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| Apron Front |
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| Apron back |
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| Decorative Buttons |
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| Pocket |
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| Towel Loop |
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| Adjustable neck strap! |
5) Aprons for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for Christmas! Lydia (my SIL) likes to experiment in the kitchen, and Susan (MIL) likes to bake occasionally as well, so I thought they'd like aprons for Christmas. We also try to do some handmade gifts every year, so this was right up that alley! I loved the way both of these turned out, and the pattern for Lydia's will be offered in my Etsy shop as well! :)
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| Lydia's Apron Front |
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| Apron Back |
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| Apron laid out |
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| Pocket and Towel Loop |
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| Adjustable neck strap on both aprons! |
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| Susan's Apron Front |
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| Apron Back |
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| Pocket, Towel Loop and Bottom Accent Fabric |
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| Accent Buttons! |
6) Christmas Gifts for my niece Kara!! My niece is about a year and half old and LOVES her play kitchen stuff! So when I saw an apron set on her Amazon wish list, I asked my SIL Jessie what Kara's sizes were so I could make her a set instead. My original plan was to do puppies or kitties since Jessie said she loves them, but then I saw this elephant print fabric in Joann's and just fell in LOVE with it!! It is SO dang cute, I had to order a LOT more online so I can offer it in my Etsy shop as well! Jessie said she loves it and wears it every day, and now uses her own oven mitt for her play kitchen oven rack instead of stealing her Mom's. She's just too darn cute! :) I also made her a winter hat to match one I made for Rachael...it was a quick work up and super cute as well!
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| The whole apron set, including mini spatulas I found at the PX!! |
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| Apron includes pocket, 3 utensil slots, and adjustable ribbon neck strap! |
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| Cute little pleats at the bottom |
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| Chef's hat!! |
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| Adjustable to grow with her! |
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| Oven mitt front |
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| Oven Mitt back |
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| Winter hat! |
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| Close up of the flower and a truer color shot of the yarn |
Well that concludes all my projects from 2013!! Already working on another baby set for a friend, planning another baby set for another friend, and so much to make for my Etsy Shop! That should be up and running in the next couple of weeks, so be sure to be on the lookout for the link! But trust me, if you're friends with me on Facebook, you won't miss all the advertising I'll be doing!! :)
Happy New Year to all my family and friends, here's to a wonderful year of health, happiness, and love in your life! :)
And as always, Happy Crafting!! :)
