Monday, 16 April 2012

neopolitan ripple baby afghan

Hello there! Today I'm bringing you a crochet post.


I've recently gotten back into the swing of crocheting again, now that summer vacation is near I will finally have the time to start lots of new projects and get back to work on some older ones.

Today I'm going to showcase one of the three baby afghans I made last summer. I found out in fall 2010 that I was going to become an aunt to two little girls! I have to brothers who are a year apart, and their daughters are two months apart. The first blanket I made for Cecilia is a simple, small, granny square using bright cotton yarn. My brother didn't find out the gender for Cecilia, so I made her blanket gender neutral but still vibrant and pretty!

The younger of my two brothers, however, found out that he was having a little girl! Trinity was born on July 2nd, 2011, and this is the afghan I made for her.




I decided on the Neopolitan colour scheme because my sister-in-law is a fan of brown/neutrals, and this way there's still a splash of pink for the little girl! I crocheted this length wise, and it felt like it took an eternity. The foundation chain was originally supposed to be the width, but I wound up making it way way way too big. I wanted to make the afghan a bit bigger than a baby blanket, so that she could still cuddle up with in when she's a bigger girl!

I wish I'd taken to keeping track of the sittings and hours it took to make my crocheted pieces. This is something I'll have to remember to do in the future!

 I had just barely learned how to make a ripple afghan using straight rows of double crochet. This is a pattern creating a series of triangles, to make a lacier effect. My grandmother and mother taught me this pattern from memory, and I've since made another baby blanket with the same pattern, as well as started one for myself!
 I love the lacy effect the stitches have thanks to the dc, ch, dc series of triangles!

Be prepared to see a pattern soon-- I've been working on writing one out!
What do you think? The cotton yarn is still surprisingly warm, and I've been told the girls love to feel the texture of their blankets.

Tomorrow I have my last two final exams, and then it's off for summer vacation! You'll hear from me again at the end of April.

Friday, 13 April 2012

good luck cookies

This morning I had my first of four final exams for the Winter 2012 semester at school. Know what that means? Summer vacation is less than a week away! Just three terrifying tests between me, and a nine day vacation to see my nieces!


But, how cruel is it that my first final is on Friday the 13th? We had such good weather this week I literally spent an entire afternoon crocheting adorable dishcloths on the porch. Bought a new dress, went to a bridal shower, played with my cat. Watched a LOT of True Blood, don't get me started. And then, last night I studied.

But, when I decided it was time to take a break i made a simple risotto for dinner, and used up the scraps of my baking supplies on these cookies. These cookies are phenomenal, everything you want out of an oatmeal chocolate chip. They're soft, gooey and perfect with milk.

After the clock rolled over to midnight it felt like all the evil friday the 13th bad luck, and this morning it really seemed like the day was out to doom me. But, after my allergies cleared up things didn't seem so bad! It was rainy and gloomy all morning, and now the sun is starting to shine, and I'm thanking these cookies.

these are my good luck cookies, because they make perfectly every time!

 They're so good I hardly have any pictures, they were eaten up so quickly!