My Little Irishman

My little fair-haired irish boy! He is growing up way too fast. On St. Patty's day Geoffrey turned 5 month old. Sheesh, time is flying by!

Window to Spring

It appears that spring has sprung here in Southern Indiana. With that in mind, I had my boss fix up this wreath for above the fireplace. I have had this vision in my mind for a wreath with white flowers in it for a long time. So, the wreath turns out how I like it, now I'm not sure I like how my fireplace looks. Dang it!

Crochet Chick Hat

He is so darn cute! Geoffrey is sporting his new Chick hat. I have been trying to get a hat pattern that would fit him. Finally, I had to put several different patterns together to get what I wanted.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PATTERN IS COMPRISED OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT PATTERNS. I MADE THE 6/12 MONTH SIZE AND GEOFFREY'S HEAD IS 16 INCHES AROUND. THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT GIVING OUT A PATTERN.

Sizes to fit Preemie (6/12 mos-18 mos).

MATERIALS:

Bernat® Softee Baby (140 g/5 oz; 361 m/395 yds) (this will make several hats)
Size 3.75 mm (U.S. F or 5) crochet hook or size needed to obtain gauge.

GAUGE
18 dc and 10 rnds = 4 ins [10 cm].

INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions are written for smallest size. If changes are necessary for larger sizes the instructions will be written thus ( ).

Note: Ch 3 at beg of rnd counts as dc.

Ch 4.
1st rnd: 11 dc in 4th ch from hook. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 12 dc.

2nd rnd: Ch 3. 1 dc in same sp as last sl st. *2 dc in next dc. Rep from * around. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 24 dc.

3rd rnd: Ch 3. *2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in next dc. Rep from * to last dc. 2 dc in last dc. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 36 dc.

4th rnd: Ch 3. *2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in each of next 2 dc. Rep from * to last
2 dc. 2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in last dc. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 48 dc.

5th rnd: Ch 3. *2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in each of next 11 (3-2) dc. Rep from * to last 11 (3-2) dc. 2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in each of last 10 (2-1) dc. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 52 (60-64) dc.

6th rnd: Ch 3. 1 dc in each dc around. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.

Rep last rnd until work from beg measures 3½ (4½-4½) ins [9 (11.5- 11.5) cm].

Optional Brick Stitch Edge: * skip 3 chains, sc in next chain, chain 3, 3 double crochet in same
chain. Repeat from * across row. End with: single crochet in next chain. I HAD TO ADJUST THE PATTERN TO GET IT TO FIT THIS HAT, SO MINE DID NOT END WITH THE SINGLE CROCHET.

Buttons were used for the eyes and beak. I also made a small pom-pom for the top. Let me know what you think!

A Few Finished Projects

As promised, here are my projects that I finished on my "retreat" weekend. First up is a little quilt from this wonderful book. I am not sure why I fell in love with the colors green and pink. I have neither one of those colors in my house. I had the little quilt pieced and had been toting it back and forth to stitch and bitch for months. I guess I was doing more bitching than stitching or I would have finished it much earlier!

Then I worked on a cute little spring table topper. I usually am not too keen on applique, but I love chicks! I finished the button hole stitch on it this afternoon.

Besides these little projects, I got my sewing room cleaned up AGAIN this weekend. Did some small sewing/mending projects, which I hate. Finished up a little hat for the baby. Just need him to try it on in the morning to see if it fits!

Weekend Crafting Retreat

Last weekend I had the pleasure of a mini-vacation. A friend of mine got a group of 7 fellow crafters together and we rented this chalet. It is only about 45 minutes away from my house, but I still count it as a vacation.

Projects, creativity and food galore. It was a blast. I did finish, well almost finish, a couple of projects. Each girl helped with a meal. We had so much good food, some good wine and lots of inspiration. We decided we would have planning meetings to start working on another get-away. Can't wait!

P.S. I will post pictures of my FINISHED projects soon!

My Valentine

This is my valentine this year! Geoffrey. Grandma's little stud muffin.

A Few Junkin' Finds

I finally got around to taking pictures of some of my junkin' finds. I picked up these goodies on our way back from Atlanta.

This some type of feeder. It has a hook in the center of the tube. I think it will probably get planted with something this spring.

I have always wanted one of these buckets. It was an ice cream maker in it's previous life. I think I might fill it up with forsythia. Not sure yet. Suggestions welcome!