I don’t have any finished crochet projects to show yet. I’m still working on my sister’s wedding shawl and ring bearer pillow, and trying to get my mom’s poncho finished up before her February 27th birthday. I have one panel done so far. Like Christina and Lesa though, I do have some crochet goodies to show!
I was keeping my crochet hooks, stitch markers, yarn needles, etc., in a drugstore makeup bag, and was tired of always having to dig around it in trying to find the right size hook I needed, my scissors, etc. I couldn’t find a hook case I liked at any stores, so I ended up buying a hook roll and notions bag from a seller on Etsy, Blue Kitty Designs. How cute are these?! I love the retro pattern and colors!
My hooks and notions have now gone from this:
to this:
The hook roll isn’t big enough to hold all of my hooks, but it has room for all of the ones I use regularly.The hook roll and bag came in the mail on Friday (I ordered them on Tuesday and got them on Friday – talk about fast shipping!) along with my February/March issues of Crochet Today and Crochet Magazine, and some yarn I had ordered from Joann’s for one of my PIF gifts (I have two PIF gifts to make). That made for a very good Friday!
I just got back a little while ago today from my brother Joe and sister in law Gehan’s house. My husband and kids and I went to see my new niece, Jenna. Yes, I finally got the spelling straightened out – it’s Jenna with a “J”! It’s actually ironic that’s she’s named Jenna, because if I had a little girl this last time I was pregnant (the one I miscarried) my husband and I would have named her Genevieve. I guess great minds think alike! My husband said I did good going to see her. He meant because I still have some sadness over my miscarriage. I do still feel sad about it still, and can’t help but wonder what it would be like if I had been able to carry the baby to term.
At the same time though, after seeing Jenna go through two diaper changes (including one so bad she needed a bath to get cleaned up!) and two feedings during the couple of hours we were there, made me realize that having a baby at this point in my life (with my husband working night shift, me working full-time and being in grad school, and having one kid in school with nightly homework, etc., and one about to start school in the fall), would have been totally overwhelming. I told Joe in a few months (when Jenna is a little older) he can drop her off at my house, and I’ll babysit her so he and Gehan can have a night out and I can get my “baby fix”, LOL!
Anyway, little Jenna is just ADORABLE! I wish I had some pictures to show of her, but my digital camera batteries had run low right before I tried to take some pictures. My husband took a few pictures with his cell phone, but he has the phone with him at work, so I can’t download the pictures right now. It’s funny how chunky she looked in the pictures my brother sent, but when I saw her in person, compared to my kids, she looked so tiny! I had forgotten how little young babies actually are.
My brother is such a proud dad – he barely put that baby down for a second the whole time I was there. He has 3 boys from his first marriage (two stepsons and one biological son), but this is his first girl, so I think it’s extra special for him. His second-oldest son, who’s 15, actually went to Wal-Mart and used his own money to buy Jenna some clothes – he bought her the cutest little bodysuits and hats and booties. For a 15 year old boy, he did a really good job shopping for her! I thought that was really sweet of him.
Speaking of baby clothes, I was planning on crocheting a few clothes for Jenna – the sundress I started, a sweater and maybe another dress, but after seeing how many clothes Jenna has (a dresser and a closet stuffed full) between gifts from family and friends, now I’m reconsidering it. I don’t want to spend hours making something that she’ll probably end up only wearing once before she outgrows it. I’m thinking now about crocheting something for her bedroom – maybe an organizer to hang on the door (to hold diapers, pacifiers, etc), or maybe a rug.
Besides crocheting, I also enjoy painting and stenciling wood items, so I am also considering painting a shelf for Jenna's room. I’ve never shown any of my painted items on my blog, so here’s one I did last year – a desk for my daughter’s room (I think you can click on the pictures to see it in more detail). My husband and I bought the desk for $25 at a secondhand store. It was brown with ugly tarnished gold knobs. I sanded the desk down and sprayed it with white primer, then my husband spray painted it pink and cream and I stenciled the flowers on the side with stencil crème paint. My husband then sprayed the whole thing with a coat of clear polyurethane, and replaced the knobs. One of these days I need to buy her a pink desk chair to go along with the desk.
Back to the crocheting, another thing I was thinking about making is a nursing shawl for my sister-in-law. She’s breastfeeding Jenna, and just drapes a receiving blanket over her shoulder when she breastfeeds. I was thinking it might be nice for her to have a pretty shawl to use when she goes out with the baby. I didn’t breastfeed my kids though, so I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not, and if I do make one, what shape it should be – rectangular or triangular? Maybe any of my blog readers who might have breastfed their kid(s) could advise me.
6 comments:
Haven't breastfeed but, it dones sounds great to use a shawl. Love the hook roll I wanted to make some soon as I get my new sewing machine have so many plans. Glad Jenna is doing oh so great.:)
I really like the hook case...the fabric is so pretty! Hook caes make things so much more functional.
That desk is awesome! I always wanted to learn how to re-do old furntiure, bur its hard when you don't have much outdoor space to work with.
I breastfed Pi for 10 months and I loves having a triangular shawl. It made it very easy to cover up without being too much fabric around the baby's face. On top of being functional, they're pretty, so a new mom doesn't need to look dowdy. Just my .02 cents. As an aside, I loved nursing...it was a great bonding experience for Pi and I.
Love the hook case. It's adorable.
I breastfed both of my girls but they refused to be covered in any way. That being said, I've seen some nursing moms with a poncho, though I would imagine a triangular shaped shawl Christina suggested, would be great.
what a cute hook roll! I got one from etsy too.
I breastfed both my kids, I've never heard of a breast feeding shawl. I think rectangular would work better. I used to just drape a blankie over the baby.
I breastfed my 3 kids and plan to with my 4th. When I had my 2nd, someone gave me a lightweight blanket I guess you can call it. Basically it was only a piece of fabric (where both sides were right sides) and it was trimmed with bias tape. I just took quick measurements of it and it is approx. 37" x 40". So not quite a square. Also, I rounded the corners. I thought it was perfect b/c it wasn't too heavy and the size was perfect to cover us both. I used other things with my daughter but nothing really covered me up like this one. I actually made one to use for my
3rd child. So, I think it's a wonderful idea.
I stumbled across your blog...you've made some wonderful projects! I breastfed my daughter for 12 months...my favorite thing to use to cover up when we were out in public was a crocheted blanket that was more of a rectangle, but if I had my choice I would have used a triangle shaped one (I guess that I need to learn how to crochet!)...it was light and airy, but did the job covering up. Good luck!
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