Tada! Future Nephew Blanket

Another finished project post! The nesting phase never really kicked in while pregnant. I must have post-partum nesting!

I started this blanket last fall after I found one of my sisters was expecting and due right after me. I had 2 girl blankets finished, but no boy ones. She ended up having a girl so I had one ready when my niece came along. 

I used my favorite zigzag pattern from The Purl Bee. http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2011/9/15/whits-knits-chevron-baby-blanket.html

I think this is the fourth one I've finished. The variegated part blends in a lot in low light but stands out in daylight. 

Now that I have this one finished, I want to start another! 

Tada! Birth Announcement Cross Stitch

I finally had a chance to wrap up Henry's cross stitch. I had all but the personalization done before he was born. Strange enough, it took me 7 weeks to add his name, date, birth stats and get it framed. 

I had some trouble when it came to finding a frame. The finished size was 12x12. Unfortunately a 12x12 frame doesn't have a 12x12 opening. I ended up finding something that had a 13.5x13.5 opening and I hit Michaels when frames were 40% off and I had an additional 25%. Score one for Jen!

Few of my favorite parts. 

I love the raccoon. Too bad real ones aren't that cute. 

First piece I could sign like this. Usually I just use a JTE and last two digits of the date. Full year fit nicely here. 

Now that there's a newborn in the house, we'll see how many Tada posts in have now! 

Little Projects

Two of my nephews had birthdays recently and we were at their birthday party over the weekend. I realized I should have something for them late last week. Seeing I'm the master of last minute projects, I decided to make something. Then I realized my niece had a birthday not that long ago. The. I remembered my other nephew also had a birthday in that timeframe. 

I can make 4 last minute birthday presents with a 5 week old baby, no problem. I came across a tutorial for crocheted balls on The Purl Bee (http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2013/7/26/whits-knits-crocheted-balls.html). I have a plethora of leftover yarn that needs to be used. 

I made a total of 4 in about 3 hours. I didn't think to take a picture with all 4. Mine didn't turn out the size in the tutorial. I followed the extra small size for the white one and small for the brown.

They were fun to make and my niece and nephews seemed to like them. My sister commented to my niece that it's an "Approved to throw in the house" ball.