Swaddle-a-doo for more than two

Marine Corps Kids is getting ready for a set of triplets, so I made these three swaddlers to send to the new mom. I don't know if the babies will be boys or girls, but I hope these are basic enough to be usable.

I'll be packing these up with gifts from other donors for the new babies.

Swaddle-a-doo

I felt like crafting tonight, but after days of long meetings at work, I didn't have the energy to take on a big crochet or weaving project. On days like this, Edgerydoo is the best! I can make something cute relatively quickly.

I love all the baby cocoons that I've been seeing online lately, and decided that I could make a fast swaddler with the Edgerydoo. Here's what I came up with. It took less than 2 hours to complete!

I need a new mom to tell me if it's practical, but I think it's cute if I may say so myself.

This will be donated to Marine Corps Kids.

Blue Baubles

This woven scarf was made with a dark blue and red thread for the warp, and Bernat Super Chunky for the weft.

From a distance it looks like a dark blue solid, but close up it has a lot of color woven in.

I added some blue and clear beads to the fringe for a little extra sparkle.

I have a dear friend who is a very talented and accomplished jewelry designer. From now on, I'll leave the beading to her!!! I love beads, but they're tiny, and stringing beads onto thread takes more patience than comes naturally to me. In the end, I love the look of the beaded fringe, but I don't have what it takes to sit and string beads very often.

Tuscany

Just finished weaving this shawl which I'm calling "Tuscany" because of the warm red and apricot tones. The photo doesn't show the subtlety of the colors, but there are a lot of apricot, soft green and blue tones in the shawl.

This will be donated to Marine Corps Kids as a nursing shawl.

Color Weaving

One of the things that I'm really loving about weaving is how different yarns work together. When you mix yarns in crochet, you pretty much know what it's going to look like. When weaving, the colors combine in surprising and delightful ways.

I just started a new project, and it took me some time to figure out what yarns I wanted to use. For the warp I used a thread that is a mix of apricot and green shades (sounds odd, but it's nice). For the weft, I'm using Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds in Deep Red.

I really wasn't sure how these two yarns would blend, and I was afraid that the red would make the thread look like mud. Instead, it brings out the warm yellow tones, and is blending beautifully!

In the photo, the colors appear more harsh than they do in real life - perhaps its because of the flash - when the project is done I'll have to photograph it in natural light. I'm hoping this will become a nursing shawl for Marine Corps Kids.

Weekend Projects

We had guests this weekend, but I still managed to work on a few projects.

Yesterday I made a Moebius Shawl. It was fast and fun to make and it turned out well. Unfortunately, it didn't look good on me. It did, however, look great on my sister-in-law who was visiting, so I gave it to her. I didn't take a photo of it, but it was made in shades of blue, purple and green - great colors for her.

I had some yarn leftover, so today I made a Butterfly Cap. This is such a cute hat and a simple pattern. It works up quickly. I'll be donating this one to Marine Corps Kids for the Holiday Family Gift Drive.

Strawberries and Cream

This tiny blanket was "interesting" to make.

The yarn is very textured and stuck to itself, so it was challenging to work with. This blanket has more visible mistakes than any woven project I've made yet, and that annoys me to no end. I almost quit in the middle, but that would make me a quitter.

I finished it, and am glad that I did. Despite the mistakes in the weave, this is the softest blanket I've made. The fabric drapes beautifully and is very silky.

It's machine washable and really "appropriate" for a baby. The mistakes really bother me, but what makes this yarn so hard to work with, also helps to hide the errors. Hubby thinks that this is too soft and sweet to not belong to a baby, so I'm going to donate it to Marine Corps Kids and hope that the baby who receives it enjoys the softness.

Purple Passion

I wove this shawl using a very chunky soft purple yarn, and a color change yarn for the warp. I wasn't sure if it would work. After I warped the loom, I was afraid that the thinner yarn wasn't sturdy enough to hold up, and that it would fray or break. Luckily, it didn't, because I just love the way this one looks.

I wish I had made it just a tad longer. I used a complete skein to warp the loom, and I could have used 2 skeins. I may go back and buy more and try this one again. I really like the way the thick yarn looks, and because it's so thick, it worked up really quickly.

It was fun!

My favorite Yarn Shops

For charity crochet, I can ususally find what I need at the chain craft stores like Michael's and Joann's. The both recently expanded their yarn assortments and have some fun options.

Since I got into Weaving, I'm having fun using some more interesting yarns, and spending more time in the local yarn stores - very dangerous places I might add.


The are two local yarn shops that are so delightful I wanted to blog about them.

The first it "In a Yarn Basket" which is here in Bloomington. The store is delightful. The owners and workers are some of the nicest, most helpful, and downright funny people I've ever met. They remember their customers, greet them like family, and are always there to help and provide excitement. I love going to In a Yarn Basket. A visit to the store is always fun, and their yarn assortment makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop!

My friend Kandy recently told me about another great yarn store not too far away. This one is in Morgantown - about a 40 minute drive for me, but worth it! Sheep Street is an amazing store! It is on a sheep farm so you can actually see and interact with some of the sheep that these amazings yarns come from.

The owners are very knowledgeable, and are just friendly, smart, and warm people. Prices are great and visiting the store is a complete experience. I challenge you to leave without buying - I don't think it can be done - not with the beautiful yarns and great prices they feature!

For Rosy

I made 3 crocheted caps and a woven shawl for my friend Rosy who will be starting chemotherapy soon. I hope they will feel like a hug during this difficult time.

The hat and shawl set were made with Click yarn in a pretty shade of rosy purple. The flower pin can be removed and/or moved to the shawl.

The purple hat was a stash buster. I used small amounts of Caron Simply Soft in 3 shades of purple for a simple but colorful hat.

The blue and brown hat was made using my pretty popcorn rim pattern.

I hope Rosy likes them and can feel the support and love from across the miles when she wears them.

Birthday drawing - win a beautiful pair of earrings

So today I turn an age that seems much to old for my level of immaturity. I am deeply rooted in my middle-aged years, but I still feel like a kid. I hope I never lose that - while responsibility is important, maturity is over-rated.

No better way to celebrate one's birthday than to party with ones friends, so I invite all my web-friends to party with me! And there will be a party favor! In the comments section of this post, post a link to a photo of something you made with one of my patterns (if you know how to post a photo in the comments section post those instructions too). Every entry will count as a chance to win a sparkly pair of sterling silver and cubic zirconia earrings in a random drawing of names.

Only legitimate Wormie patterns count in this contest. For a listing of my patterns go to Wormie's Pattern Place. Entries will be accepted today through Sunday (10-2-09 thru 10-4-09) so there is still time to make something new!

For each entry, your name will be added to a pool. My wonderful husband will draw one name from a hat, and that will be the lucky winner. If you win I'll ask you to e-mail me your name and address and will snail-mail the gift to you. (Sorry - USA addresses only)

Thanks for partying with me!

--- The Birthday Worm---