Block Stitch Birthday Present

My baby sister turned 18 on 11/11.  Let me go cry in the corner for a second.

Ok, I'm good.  I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she told me that she wanted a crocheted blanket.  I was very happy to obliged her.  She picked out the colors and that was as much as I told her about it.  I gave it to her on her birthday and she absolutely loved it.

I used Homade@myplace's blog for this pattern and I used Loops & Threads Impeccable in Aran, Soft Taupe, Claret, and Chocolate Brown and I Love This Yarn in white for the yarn.  I used about 1.5 balls of each of the main colors and one skein of the white.  The border is the main 4 colors in a single crochet around with 3 single crochets in the corners.  It turned out to be 60" x 70" of pure softness and I almost couldn't give it away.

Just a quick note about this pattern:  The ends are absolutely atrocious because there are soooooo many of them.  I had to make sure that I was weaving them as I went.  I would do about 10-12 rows and then stop and weave.  It was the only way that I was able to stay sane at the end.  I HATE weaving in ends so that's what worked for me.  

Until next time!

Courtney

Psst: Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @hagemc

Introducing Ivy Quinn

Last time I posted, I was still pregnant and ready to pop...

Well, I finally did.  Ivy was due on 9/7/15 and I took the picture above that day.  At 2330 that night, as Steve and I were getting ready for bed, my membranes ruptured.  We made our way to the hospital and little miss Ivy Quinn Ehle was born on 9/8/15 at 1731 at 8lbs and 19.5 inches.  I couldn't believe that she was finally here and that I had helped make this little human.  Here's a picture of her right after I met her:

A couple days old:

Close to two weeks old:

And two months: 

She's now a little over two months and starting to settle into the routine of being part of the family.  At the date of this posting, she slept the whole night last night (!) and is starting to smile at people she knows in response to them.  I love talking to her just to get her to smile at me.

I could talk about her all day and post pictures of her too, but let's talk about my other love for a bit: crocheting...

Last time I posted, I was in progress of a blues ripple blanket:

and now it's finally finished!

It turned out really pretty and I'm very happy with it.  Of course I started other WIPs since than, but I'll save those for another post.  Thanks for coming to the blog.  Follow me on Instagram, @hagemc, as well for more daily updates and pictures.  Until next time!

Courtney

Two WIPs down, many to go!

I felt very productive many weeks ago in terms of crocheting, but then I always lack the motivation to get on the computer to blog.  I like to use my phone and iPad for most things, but this website is one the few sites that I cannot do on my phone or iPad due to I cannot upload my photos.  But I'm here now so let's do this!

 

I started a small blanket about a month ago thinking that it would go super quick and I would get that instant satisfaction that I love so much...yeah.  It didn't quite happen that way.  I used a single crochet, double crochet stitch and it just took so much longer than I wanted it to.  I had to struggle to finish the blanket and in the end, I wasn't even that happy with it.  I used Caron's Simply Soft yarn in limelight, soft pink, off white and blue mint.  I used a simple single crochet joining method and then a shell stitch in the green around.

But I am much happier with how the triceratops rug turned out!  I purchased this pattern from www.irarott.com or you can find her on Etsy under IraRottPatterns.  I absolutely love her patterns.  They are so easy to follow.  I used Red Heart Super Saver in Dark Orchid for the main color and mulberry mix for the muzzle.  The main color was crocheted with three (3!) strands of yarn held together so it is very thick and sturdy and more than a yard across.  This pattern is super simple, but I found myself having to take breaks because my wrist was hurting using that thick of yarn!

 

Now that we've discussed my finished projects, here's a couple more that I started, because one can never just have one WIP.  I started a ombre blue ripple blanket and at the time of this posting, it is almost done, so hopefully I'll have details of it posted in the next couple days.

 

 

This is the latest WIP to get started.  It is a simple shell stitch and I know this one will take me a while to finish.  Thankfully I began my maternity leave today and will have about 8 weeks to catch up with some crochet and bond with my little girl (once she decides to make her appearance!). 

 

I'm currently at 38 weeks and 5 days, so hopefully next time I post, I will be sharing some newborn photos of little Ivy Quinn!

Until next time!

Happy Hooking!

Courtney

 

 

 

Starting a new thing!

So I've tried to do a blog before and it failed miserably because I was always so busy with work, school and home life.  Now that I am finally graduated and just beginning my nursing career, I should have more time on my hands to blog about all the crochet, crafts and fun times in my life.  So let's begin!

Here is my latest creation that I finished. 

Isn't it just amazing!  I got the pattern from the Felted Button.  You can find her on Etsy, Instagram or on her webpage, www.feltedbutton.com.  She has many more patterns to buy and a couple that are free as well!

And this...this is Norbert!

 

 Norbert came about from a friend who has a stuffed animal collection and she was on her way to take her NCLEX-RN (RN licensing test) and I told her that I needed to make her a stuffy to go along with her collection.  I had this pattern sitting around for a while, from WhimsicalLittleFox on Etsy, and I knew I just had to make it for her!

 

If you would like a Norbert of your very own, you can head over to my Etsy page, www.etsy.com/shop/courtscraftsandmore, and you can order one for yourself!  Norbert can be customized with any color combination!

 

Here is another one of my WIPs that I just completed today!  It is a pattern that I found on Ravelry for free and I worked it up with Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn brand.

It is so bright and cheery!  I will be placing it for sale on my Etsy account later today, so if you're interested in purchasing it, head that way!

 

And last, but not least, here is one of my many WIPs that I have right now.  This little guy will become Leonidas the Lion.  I'm hoping to finish him up sometime this week, but we will see!

Thanks everyone!  And until next time!

Courtney