Once upon an afghan...

Crocheting is one of my favorite things to do to relax or wind down. I learned and started to crochet five years ago. My first completed piece was a baby afghan, which I still have. And since then I have accomplished many other projects - all except one that I have given as gifts. No two projects have ever been the same, and that's only because I love to try new patterns that I come across and haven't done yet.

It is difficult to say if I've ever had a favorite pattern, but here are two that I have completed most recently.

The purple afghan pictured below is called Sweet Dreams and came from a Best of Terry Kimbrough Baby Afghansbook. The book is complete with 24 patterns and beautiful pictures of each cozy wrap. I love how the afghan turned out in the purple - and it's perfect for those little ones that love to push their tiny fingers through blankets.

The next one is a free pattern from Posie Gets Cozy. The Tiramisu Baby Blanket is as delicious as it sounds. This was the first time that I used 100% cotton yarn and I think it is gorgeous. Of course the ribbon weaved through the edge of the blanket ties it all together. Thank you Posie Gets Cozy - I did enjoy!

Perhaps you have favorite pattern you would like to share. I always love a new idea or project that I hope to get to one day. Or if you don't crochet, I would still love to hear what one of your favorite things to do is.

"B" for...Beanies, Beads, Buttons, and Bianca

I came across a pattern for an adorable crochet hat at my sister's house last week. Once I got started I just couldn't seem to stop and made another, then another, and yet another. Each time trying to perfect it or personalize the pattern. After making three, I realized that it seemed that I was favoring girls and thought I'd make one blue for a boy. However, no matter what I did with the pattern or any embellishment, the hat still screamed girl. In the end I gave in and let it be. I concluded that it was the pattern, with it's lacy appearance, that makes it very much a girls beanie. These were so fun and easy to make, especially when it came to adding the embellishments. The only thing now is that I feel challenged to create a crochet hat that's all boy - and when I do, I'll be sure to share.

You can find the pattern at www.ottobredesign.com.

This week, my sister and I attended a beading class in my neighborhood. We can make whatever project we choose and there are so many beads to choose from. This is probably the hardest part for me...making up my mind. But this time I made it easy for myself and made some earrings to match a bracelet that I had previously created using turquoise and smokey quartz beads. Bianca made a gorgeous matching bracelet and necklace. Check out my sister's blog to see what she made and you'll see that she is super talented herself in so many ways. She inspires me!

Then if that wasn't enough for one week (there's never enough, especially time to do all that I'd love to)...we sat down last night and put some more fabric covered buttons together for hair clips. I just love the simplicity and beauty of these.