Baby Shower: Purple Crochet Baby Hat

Let's bring this baby series to an end at the top...of the baby's head!

My baby shower gift to the mom-to-be was a crochet baby hat.  She wanted something with a little more pizzazz than a plain old beanie.  I searched through the patterns on Ravelry and Lion Brand for the perfect little girl's hat.

After sifting through about 20 different patterns I landed on this Violet Cloche.  You may need to be a member of Ravelry to see that link.  If you're a knitter or crocheter, it's well worth it to join! (And it's free)

It only took me about 4 hours and 5 restarts to get the hat to the size I felt was right.  I didn't follow the pattern exactly - I took out a row and had to readjust the shells as a result.

Once the hat was whipped up, I felt it was too plain, so I popped a little star on it.  The star pattern is also from Ravelry, A Garland of Stars or it can be found on the blog of the pattern's creator.

Holiday Baking Line-up

I am thisclose to being done with the third quarter (out of five) of my Master of Library and Information Science!  Very exciting, but even more exciting is the holiday baking that is about to take over my kitchen.  Cookies, cupcakes, bars, and dog treats are all on my to-do list.  (Too bad I don't have a fancy Kitchenaid Stand Mixer....yet...)  Tomorrow, I will be hitting up the store for all my baking needs, so today I'm sharing the starting line-up for Christmas 2011.

Dog Treats
Shadow rolls with a pretty tight crew of pups, so a few homemade treats with a nice Christmas bow will be perfect gifts.
1. Cinnamon Bites
2. Peanut Butter Cookies
3. Puppy Power Treats
All three recipes come from Throw Me a Bone by Cooper Gillespie with Sally Sampson.  It was an impulse buy over a year ago that I just found sitting with the rest of my recipe books.  This will be my first venture into homemade dog treats and I'm pretty excited.

Human Treats
1. Peppermint Bark
2. Graham Bars
3. Candy Cane Cookies
4. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. Sugar Cookies
6. Pinwheels
7. Gingerbread Softies
8. Plain, old Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (Because I'm a fatty, and have been craving them for weeks.)

Our lovely (fake) Christmas tree.

Here's hoping I can:
1. actually whip all of these up
2. not gain 30 pounds in the process.

Enjoy your week, INM readers.  Keep an eye out for recipe posts with pictures and a new Words on Wednesday.

I'm a Hooker Now

Word play!

I don't know what it was that inspired me, but a month ago I made the decision that I was going to learn how to crochet.  I immediately went to Joann Fabrics, bought myself the variety pack of crochet needles and a skein of yarn.

Susan Bates Crochet Hook Set.  My set is rainbow colors & way more fun than this.

My timing could not have been more perfect.  The archivist where I work informed me that she had recently started a monthly "Fiber Time" gathering.  It is a knitting/sewing/fiber working get together for anyone in the area to show off what they're working on, get advice, and enjoy each other's company.  The archivists enthusiastically offered to teach me how to crochet at the next meeting.  As I told her I'd definitely be there, a part of me wondered if I'd turned into an adorable 90 year old recently.  Boy, am I glad I ignored that annoying part of my brain.

Check out the pattern after the jump...

It's a Planket!

I have about 10 different projects floating around the house that I've been meaning to complete, but haven't gotten around to.  I'm great with excuses and procrastination.

There were no excuses for this project, though.  It was going out as a birthday gift for the little guy I babysit, which meant it had to be done yesterday.  Here it is!

 It's a pillow - it's a blanket - it's a planket!  

The inspiration and seriously simple  tutorial came from here.  I wanted to make something special for the little guy's second birthday, and when I saw this, I knew it was meant to be.  He loves being outside and watching his dad play lacrosse, so this is perfect.  It can be used as a pillow for cold bleacher (anyone else think 'bleacher' doesn't look right?) seats or as a blanket for sitting in the grass.

Unfortunately, I totally forgot to snap a pic of it unfolded, but hit the link to the tutorial and you'll understand the magic of the planket.

I wanted to challenge myself a little, so I decided to monogram his initials on with a zig-zag stitch.  Let's just say, it wasn't perfect...

But for a first go, I don't think it looks half bad.  Yes, my letters are a wonky, the seams are a bit...wild, and my J is teeny, but I love it.  It's hard not to love something that you put your blood, sweat, and tears into.  Okay, maybe no blood or tears, but I started out with a sweater on, and finished in a tank top.

I'd love to hear what you've recently made that's not perfect, but you love it anyway!  Leave a comment.

Reliable References

A few months ago I read a book called Reading the OED by Ammon Shea and found myself seriously enjoying the read. Shea spent one year reading through the whole OED, chronicling his adventure in this novel. Each chapter is dedicated to a letter of the alphabet. He begins each chapter with a little anecdote dealing with how he began his obsession with dictionaries (he owns thousands) to the horrible headaches he got each day as he read through all 21,000-plus pages. After each anecdote he lists his favorite words beginning with the designated letter of the alphabet and random connections he has to them (different dictionaries he's seen them in, varying definitions, etc).

To many this book would be a total bore - reading about someone reading the OED?! Sounds crazy to someone who doesn't have a love for the English language. I don't ever see myself reading page 1 to page 21,730 of the OED, but I can, honestly, see the appeal. Since I read this book I have bought myself 3 new dictionaries/thesauruses (i) and constantly look-up words I do not know. You can never have too many reference books, whether they be your run-of-the-mill dictionary to Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. I know that all of this can be found online (I am now the proud owner of a bouncing, baby Nook), but nothing, and I mean nothing, beats having a hard copy on hand.

I hope to one day have a room in my home that I can call my library, filled with leather-bound tomes, ratty classics, and shelves of reference books. If you see me when I'm 50 and I do not own the OED, then, please, slap me then split the cost of it with friends as a birthday gift for yours truly. You may want to find many, many friends to split it with considering it is over $1,000. And preferably find a nicely bound set. Thanks, friends.