Baby Gifts: Winter & Spring 2017

I love making gifts for friends who are expecting babies.  I have made four so far this year.  Because they have all been given to the recipients, I can finally share photos!

This set was given to a new friend for her January baby girl.  The blanket is a striped corner to corner knit.  The giraffe has ribbon tags and a rattle.  The dino, for the 2 1/2-year-old big brother, is from my stash of finished projects.  And the hat was a “preemie hat” which turned out a bit too big.  The blanket was knit on size 13 needles with Deborah Norville Serenity Chunky Sprinkles in “Sprite” and Bernat Softee Chunky solids in “Baby Blue,” “Baby Pink,” “Seagreen,” and “Lavender.”

This next set was made for a February baby girl, the first child of a longtime friend.  Our older sisters are very close friends and this blanket is the same design as one I made last summer for the older sister’s first baby.  I wanted the little cousins so have matching blankies.  This yarn is Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable in “Winery.”  I used two strands held together and a K hook.  The border is a single strand of Lion Brand Landscapes Yarn in “Bordeaux.”   

This one is special.  A friend who lives over seas just had her fourth baby a few days ago.  She was very surprised to have a little boy after three girls.  Given that my family recently had a similar surprise (our baby girl after four boys,) I had to make something special.  For the little boy I made a blanket and a giraffe and bought a cute knit one-piece.  I gave his two biggest sisters (9 and 5) a silly card game my boys love, called “There’s a Moose in the House.”  Of course I had to make them each a moose to go with it.  And for the littlest sister (17 months) I made a quick cloth book from a fabric panel.

Here is a close-up of the blanket.  It is a simple shell pattern, but it turns out so nicely.  I used an I hook and Caron Simply Soft in “Soft Blue” and “White.”

And, finally, here is a set for a yet-to-be-born baby girl.  The mom-to-be is my childhood neighbor who was my “other sister” growing up.  I am so excited for her!  Usually I give the gifts shortly after the baby is born, but this one had to be ready for a baby shower.  It was so much fun.  My friend isn’t fond of pink, so I had fun choosing feminine, but not girly, colors.  Here are the blanket and giraffe I made

For the blanket I used a Dargonfly Pattern which I really love.  It is a lot easier than it looks!  I made a similar, smaller, blanket last fall.  This one was 6 dragonflies wide and 8 dragonflies tall.  I used the same border (described in the other dragonfly blanket post) but worked into the previous row of white sc instead of into the chains.  I used an I hook and Caron Simply Soft in “Lavender Blue” and “White.”  The Lavender Blue might be my favorite color ever.

Two days before the shower, just after finishing my giraffe, I decided to make a little African Flower turtle.  It matched the blanket, so I added it to the gift.  Isn’t she adorable?