Frog Blanket

This new frog blanket is a big hit. E. says, "Hop hop hop hop hop..." every time he sees it. Polar fleece and flannel = uber cozy. 'Cuz the nights are still chilly, even if we're finally getting some well-deserved sunshine 'round these parts.

Monkey Blanket Update

As I posted before, I've been working on a really cute crocheted blanket featuring sock monkeys. I searched many local yarn suppliers for the right yarn for the monkeys themselves. Alas, I learned that none of them were carrying Bernat Denim-Style yarn in Rodeo Tan any longer. What to do? It just wouldn't be right if these monkeys were the wrong color, and I'm way too impatient to wait for an eBay order to arrive. After several agonizing trips to various stores, I finally found a replacement- Bernat Softee Chunky Twists yarn in Taupe. Yippee! Let the sock monkey crocheting commence.

Welcoming the New Rees Baby

My wonderful friends Liz and Matt and their cute little son Nathan will welcome a second child into their family at the end of May. I used 5 skeins of Lion Suede yarn to crochet this blanket; three were the color "Moonshadow" and two were "Taupe". I got all five skeins of yarn from my mom for Christmas. I hope it keeps Baby Rees nice and warm.

Holiday Posts, Delayed

The past 10 days have been a whirlwind of activity here, hence my long blogging silence. I have a backlog of photos and information to post, which I'll get to sometime today or tomorrow. For the moment, however, I'd like to share an awesomely cute photo of Isobel and Ophelia with one of the blankets I helped their mom Becky to create.

Cuteness Overload

Meet Vonn James! My wonderful friend Andrea recently had a little baby boy. I blogged a while ago about the sweater and blanket I made to welcome little Vonn into the world. Here he is, modeling the goods. In the photo above he's wearing a yellow angora sweater. Below he's sleeping on the green fleece blanket I made, and in the final photo he's sporting a red and yellow angora hat (which he'll hopefully grow into further as the winter progresses!) and the yellow angora sweater. The final photo also features his Grandpa James, after whom Vonn James is named. FYI, Vonn means "bright" in German and knowing Andrea as I do, I'm sure he will be bright in all senses of the word.

Welcome to the World, Peter Kenneth!

My cousin-in-law and fellow Rachel (yes, that's Rachel with an "el," not "ael;" you might not believe how much it matters unless your name is Lara and you're constantly called Laura) recently had a little baby boy. Prior to his arrival, I sent a polar fleece blanket to welcome him. I understand that his big brother Nate promptly fell in love with it, however, so I believe there will be two more polar fleece blankets (for Nate and his sister Eliza) on my crafting to-do list this summer.

I like working with polar fleece because it's made from recycled plastics and the softness and bright colors are, as Nate's response indicates, fun for kids. I'd be interested to know if anyone's heard anything negative about it, such as adverse impacts of production.

If not, a tip for those interested in making baby blankets like these: If you check the discount bins for fleece remnants at your fabric store and find two complementary pieces of 1/2 yard each (or so), you can cut each of the 1/2 yard pieces into two, and then sew one of each piece together (as above with Curious George and green), do the same thing with the other two pieces, and then sew those back-to-back so you've got a double-thickness fleece blanket, perfect for a little one. Because of a special remnant sale, I spent only $3 on the supplies for this. Crafty, cozy, and cheap!

Joint Project: Baby Afghan x2

My best friend from high school, Becky, and her husband Eliot recently had twin girls (Isobel and Ophelia). The girls are little bundles of C-U-T-E. Early on in her pregnancy, Becky decided to make an afghan for each of them. Many granny squares in, however, her wrists swelled up and crocheting was no longer an enjoyable-- or even possible-- activity. So when she came for a visit in December, Becky brought me the goods, and we tag-teamed to ensure that the little critters could be swaddled in handmade warmth upon their arrival into the world.

I am especially fond of Becky's color and yarn choices here. She chose bold, bright colors and we just made granny squares (large and small) at random until we had enough to put together two blankets. I love that the colors don't immediately connote "Baby" or "Girl" and though the blankets share a common color scheme, they are distinct. Just like Isobel and Ophelia.

And, in the spirit of good actions coming back to you many times over, Becky and Eliot got me a subscription to CRAFT magazine as thanks. (I'd been coveting CRAFT for several months, ever since my sister got me a copy for a Christmas present... but as a grad student, it seemed a big luxury.)

If you're interested in making warm things for new arrivals and/or their older siblings, consider joining the Dulaan 2008 Project. Dulaan 2007 just finished up, so you've got a year to get knitting! (Many thanks to knitter extraordinare Amy for the info on Dulaan.)

Granny Square Goodness

Recently I had two root canals. The first one required emergency work just before I flew (read: intense cabin pressure change) to a conference in Chicago, and the ensuing infection was hands-down the most painful week of my life. Even percocet wasn't enough to keep me from keening and rocking in agony for a few horrid days. Then, just as life was returning to tooth-related normal, another one bit the dust. I spent a fair amount of time on the couch during recovery, and this blanket is the result.

I wasn't sure if this blanket was postable material, really, since it's one of the few craft items I've kept upon completion. But I love how it turned out, and it's a nice reminder of one of the most memorable dharma talks I had from a Buddhist instructor (Godwin Samararatne, a Sri Lankan Vipassana instructor who taught me in Bodh Gaya). He said, "It is always important to recognize when you don't have a toothache." The idea being, of course, that a toothache can be incredibly painful when you're experiencing it, but that when you don't have one, it's easy to forget the pain.

There's a reminder of that lesson woven into this blanket. Perhaps it's ironic, then, that I've decided to hang onto it. Impermanence generally saturates my crafting; part of what I find most satisfying about making things is giving them away. In this case, however, the blanket isn't only a rainbow of granny square goodness. It's also a vibrant reminder that I don't have a toothache.