Busy fingers

I'm so close to finishing a gift for a baby shower I'm attending down in Houston this weekend. Just when I think I might be baby-free, another dear friend or loved one gets pregnant. And it's so easy (if a bit time-consuming) to craft something handmade, and it means ever so much to the recipient. At least, we makers of handmade things hope that it does.

I'm making a variation on this blanket for the shower this weekend.



Blankets are easy for these Texas babies, because they can be used nearly year round. Spread it on the floor and set them on top of it in the summer, or tuck it 'round them in the winter while they sleep. Alternatives being hats, booties, sweaters, etc., and no Texas baby is going to get a whole lot of use out of that.

So when a New York friend had a baby this spring, I was all set and determined to make it a little sweater. The winters go on forever there (or at least, it feels that way), so I know it will see some good use.



Its owner is named Luca and he's beautiful and cute as a button. I hope I get to meet him when I go visit my former city this fall. I'd never made anything with this many seams before - it did fry my brain a little. I dragged my feet and even more so when it came to simply sewing on the buttons - the last step. It seems I'd rather have yarn between my fingers than thread.



Although, if that's the case, I may not like my next endeavor as much: embroidery. I've been reading through this book lately, in preparation for starting my first projects.



I really think I'll love it though. It's a new way to make gifts or prettify things around my house. I want to have a whole stash of pillow cases like Alicia (geeze, I link to her blog a lot, don't I? Really though, that is one of my top five Alicia blog posts ever). I also want to make a set of days-of-the-week dishtowels (yeah, probably these) and swap them out for my raggedy, mismatched set. I'm finding that having pretty dishtowels makes kitchen time that much more fun.

Okay, must go watch SYTYCD now. I'm not going to say who I'm rooting for because frankly, I'm a bit torn. But they're all good eggs I think, so am hoping either way I'll be happy with the result.