Oh Baby! Crochet

These are some of the projects from the Oh Baby! Crochet book that I bought from Amazon the other day. I will have some more photos for the blog tomorrow as there are lots of things in the book. I find it to be very girlish even though some of the things are marked as for a boy.

The Frilly Dress by Diane Simpson is my favourite of the book. I do wish that people who I know had baby girls and the ones who I know who do have girls liked to dress them up in frilly dresses and not jeans and a T shirt.

The Hooded Baby Gown by Joyce Nordstrom is what I used to call a sleeping bag. I found them to be very useful as when my son was a baby we didn't have central heating and it got very cold at night. I had a couple of sleeping bags but in quilted nylon which was all the rage at the time. It was a very cold winter when Ian was born and he constantly kicked off his blankets so sleeping in a bag was the best alternative.

The Little Man Christening Set by Sue Childrens is not something that I would have put my son in. The jacket and hat maybe when he was a newborn but certainly not the lacy shorts and overlarge bootees.

The Bonnet by Sue Childrens has a little pair of Mary Jane shoes and that would make a nice set for a baby girl's christening.

The Boy's Striped hat and Sweater by Dianne Stein is a nice pattern for a girl but I certainly wouldn't make it for a boy. That pattern is too feminine and I would definitely never use a pinky lilac on a boy.

The Girls Striped Hat and sweater is also by Dianne Stein. I do like that hat and the stripey pattern on the jacket but I would alter the collar as it looks a bit large and off the shoulder for a baby.

The Baby Delight set by Darla Sims has granny squares to form the yoke and one for the back of the bonnet. Quite a pretty jacket but I would replace the ties on the jacket with buttons.

The Baby Biker Bibs by Paula Gron are a novelty item but I would have to alter the ties as they seem to be placed too close together to fit around a baby's neck.

The Overall Bib by Lucille LaFlamme is not an all in one but simply a front that has straps around the back of the legs to keep it in place. Pretty but I don't think that it would have much of a practical purpose as the crochet would not absorb much in the way of dribbles and food spills.

The Duck Hooded Towel and Bath Mitt by Helen Heaverin is very cute but I would think that it had more use as a wrap to keep baby warm in after a bath rather than a towel to absorb water.

The Bear Diaper Cover and Cap by Michelle Wilcox may be useful for the Mum's who use the cloth diapers but it doesn't appear to have any back rise shaping to accommodate the thickness of a diaper at the back. I suppose that they could be worn over a disposable with a T shirt to look cute. Not one for me though.

The Baby Hat by Nancy Nehring is similar to a pattern that I already have. I would not make this as I find it too difficult to crochet with loopy, lumpy, textured wool and unless the hat had got a border of this then it would look very plain. A bit strange though having nothing to fasten the hat with. Most babies would have that off their head and on the floor in two seconds flat!

There are a lot of accesories and baby afghans still to show. I haven't taken photos of some of the items as like the crocheted baby book they heavily feature cross stitch for the details and I am no good at things like that. To me it is more like an embroidery project than a crochet one. They do give detailed diagrams though if embroidery is your thing.

The bottom photo is just some freeform crochet that I have made to go with the roses for Artyarn's project in Accrington. The idea is freeform and just let your imagination wander. One of mine looks like a green loopy fir cone and the other something that is a cross between the Clangers and a disco ball! The yellow loopy one reminds me of a dandelion but with sea weed tendrils.

I got a phone call today from my friend Sue. We are off wool browsing to a mill tomorrow. My bank card will be taking another bashing. I have a good excuse for stash enhancing as I might not be out and about for a while after the op. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it. Internet shopping is not quite the same as seeing wool in the ball and skein and being able to feel it's texture.

Talking about the hospital my heart nearly stopped today when I got a call from the surgeon's secretary. She is usually the bearer of bad news so when she started the conversation with - "We have just got the results on your pre op tests" my mind was preparing for bad news. However she said I haven't got time to send a letter to you telling you where to report and what time to check in so can you phone me on Monday to confirm all of the details. I am not getting too excited yet as things can change over a weekend and an emergency can take my allocated bed. I hope that you are all keeping thoe fingers crossed as am I.

My long crochet jacket for myself is still progressing slowly and is about 16" long now and I am almost at the waist decreases. I had a break making the roses and the freeform so it's time now to try and get a bit more done.

I still have a lot of housework to do before Tuesday. I know that things like floor mopping will take a back seat after my op so I at least want things to be as clean as I can make them before I go in. Today I cleaned the bathroom and put the washed shower curtain and bath mats back. I cleaned the front room but that still leaves this room and the kitchen which is a day of a job. I will leave the bedding and bedroom until Monday when I might just pack my case ready for the hospital. I never got as far as packing it the last two times so maybe it will bring me luck if I do pack it up.

My niece has just text me to say that she can do my hair roots on Saturday but I am already going out so she will come on Sunday. It will be more awkward to do them after the op when I can't bend my knee for a little while because of all the dressings.

As I have the second half of the book photos to show you tomorrow I might make you wait to see any wool purchases that I buy tomorrow. Is that mean of me? Hee Hee

Plus size Crochet - Part Two

As promised - the rest of the photos from the Plus Size Crochet book. I am sorry that your scoop neck cardigan didn't turn out right for you Bea. I will let you know what happens with mine should I decide to make that design.

Although I like the stitch pattern of the lime green lace pullover I would change the sleeves to longer narrower ones. Since I made my blue cardigan with the bell sleeves I have decided that any extra width that hits around the hip area is just not flattering for me.

The pink pocket cardigan is very basic and as such is not grabbing my attention at the moment. I don't think the addition of baggy pockets right on the stomach area is very slimming so I would make it without those. Another photos where the model is wearing a cardigan a couple of sizes too big for her.

I do like the design of the black and white sweater. I am not sure if I would make it in two colours though. I would maybe choose a nice patterned yarn instead.

The bag looks quite attractive but as you know I am not a fan of crochet (or knitted) bags as I am no good at sewing and they stretch beyond belief if they are not firmly lined. Plus the straps tend to carry on stretching when they are crocheted in the direction they are on the pattern.

The poncho definitely does not have any pizzazz for me. I personally think that it is awful. There is nothing about it that I like - sorry.

The orange cardigan is another example of a pretty cardigan being worn by a two sizes smaller model. I think this is where the comments on Amazon about the garments not being flattering come from. There are plenty of pretty plus size models so I am sure that they could have found one large enough to model these cardigans better.

The striped cardigan pattern I do like but I would choose more subtle shadings for the stripes. Those colours are a little too bold for me. They remind me of a deckchair although I do think that downward stripes make a flattering garment.

I like the turquoise aran style cardigan. Once again it is too big for the model but if you look past that I think that the design is a good one for autumn and winter months. I do like the swagger coat style. One for my to do list I think but I would hope that mine would fit me a bit snugger. Wearing clothes too baggy does not flatter anyones figure.

The elegant mohair shawl is a nice bigger size to fit anyone who is a plus size. It would be useful in the winter as a warmer or in a lighter colour to take on holiday for those colder evenings to put over a sundress.

Although I like the style of the short sleeve pullover the stepped edge is definitely not for me. I would make it as a conventional shape chaining all of the stitches on at the bottom edge. I think that it draws attention to the hips with the different length steps.

I am not that keen on the bow tie pullover. I have never been a fan of cutaway style patterns that reveal too much of what is underneath. Not for me I am afraid but still I do like a good majority of patterns in this book so I can't like them all.

I got a phone call today from the hospital. Providing that I pass my pre operative tests they are bringing my operation forward by a month. All being well I should be in toward the latter end of this month. I am not getting excited as yet as there are still a lot of things that could go wrong between now and then. I know that I sound pessimistic but they had issues about my weight at my last pre op test and I don't think that I have lost any weight since then.

The other book didn't turn up today even though it was posted out he same day as this book. Still I may have post tomorrow. Today I have finally finished the bands off on Baby B's aran cardigan and stitched on the buttons. I will post photos tomorrow.

Torrential rain again for most of today. It started to brighten up around 4pm so it was a bit late for doing any shopping. I prefer to go in the morning when there are less people in the shops as it makes it easier to navigate Pearl around the aisles.

Waiting for 11am

I was chatting to my neighbour Carol over the fence yesterday. She was wearing a blood pressure armband and every few minutes it kept buzzing and inflating which caused us great hilarity. She is being monitored for a day and night to see just how high her blood pressure is. She is only in her 30's but she is a smoker so maybe that is causing it. In the course of our conversation she suddenly burst out laughing and said I like your new plant pot holder. I went around to see what she was pointing at and discovered a weed growing out of my car. Now this is definitely a sign that not only has it stood idle in the driveway far too long but we must have had too much rain! My son arrived later and his eyes immediately saw the weed and yanked it out. He said did you not see it? I said I thought it looked pretty and by the look on his face I thus confirmed his opinion that his mother is stark raving mad. When he was a teenager he once said "You know it hasn't been easy growing up with a ding-bat for a mother!" I did mention to him, in passing, that it might be hereditary so he soon shut up. He came last night to pick up Buster to stay with them for a few days.

After Buster went I went into a cleaning frenzy. The soon to be gone suite got a thorough hoovering to rid it of all dog hair. It was really hard work as hair does cling to velour (moquette) type fabric but I think it looks pretty good now. I like this suite - it is lovely and comfy but the constant hoovering was becoming such a chore. I have washed everything that isn't nailed down and have even done a load this morning when I first got up as the sun is shining and it will be dry soon. I am sitting here waiting for 11am when I am to ring the ward to check if my bed is still available so will leave this blog open so I can add a footnote.

I am also waiting for the postman to see if he has my Interweave Mags which Pavi Yarns have posted. It will be my luck that the Post Office will hang on to them for days and I won't be able to read then until I get back. I have not even got dressed after my shower. I don't want to tempt fate by putting my going into hospital attire just yet.

I rang at 11am to be greeted with - who are you? Oh who is your surgeon. I will let bed management know that you have rung and if there is a bed then they will ring you later. What is your number? Is it just me or does this not sound too promising? Watch this space.