Sunday, February 01, 2009

Babies Galore

I have about 15 friends who are pregnant right now.

Well, that might be an exaggeration, but it's at least 4.

Normally I like to craft gifts for new babies but I'm pretty overwhelmed by the number of them this year. I'm going to take it one baby thing at a time, see how far I get.

I've got the fabric picked out for gift #1 - a baby blanket made using this tutorial at the Purl Bee. I think it'll be pretty cute and snuggly and a lot faster than crocheting a baby blanket, which is what I did for the last baby. (See pic below - this is the Tiramisu pattern by Posie Gets Cozy.)

If anyone has suggestions for other quick but awesome baby gifts, I'd love to hear them!!

7 comments:

Ellen Bloom said...

Baby Bibs! Baby Bibs! Crocheted from kitchen cotton. It's like making a dishrag with ties! There are tons of patterns out there.

Anonymous said...

That blanket will be so incredible - and so simple, this could be a go-to gift. Babies can never have too many nicely sized, well-made and cozy blankets. Your friend will get a ton of use out of it, very thoughtful!!

I love the bib idea, though will say that I, personally, find ties to be a big pain in my a**. Think big buttons (very well attached, of course), snaps (same) or possibly "velcro" (but that would be more work - blarg).

Other quick and easy gifts that are destined to get play:
- flat-pants (http://home.pacbell.net/kapleo/blog/domesticspherepatterns.html - scroll for pattern)
- booties, sewn, crocheted or knit (I love these ones: http://www.saartjeknits.nl/ - free pattern on right)
- soft toys, made with natural fibres - my kids loved this felted wool bunny I whipped up, it was small which made it a quick knit and easy to toss in my purse

Beth said...

Try making a rag quilt. I recived one for my second son and use it for sleeping, play time, and to cover him up outside. Here is a simple tute to give you an idea. http://quilting.about.com/od/babyquiltpatterns/ss/easybabyquilt_6.htm

Or what about taggie toys? The michael Miller site has some cute tutes. http://www.makingitfun.blogspot.com/
you could even take a finished wooden ring and attach fabric strips or ribbon by sewing them on to make little tags, http://patchyapple.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/quick-ribbon-ring-teether-toy-tutorial/

And of course soem baby shoes! I just whipped up my first pair using your tute, and love the way they turned out! much nicer looking that the stardust shoes one ^_^

Lisa said...

Thanks for the encouragement and ideas! I had kind of given up hope on being able to make gifts for everyone but maybe it is doable!

Krishell said...

That blanket is going to be awesome!! I love the fabric you picked out. I think a rag quilt is a good and fairly quick project. Maybe a hat and bootie set for fall and winter babies?

MooBear Designs said...

I love the good ol' toy bell in the block. A friend made me 2 blocks and a small ribbon hanky (it's not big enough to be a blankie hehe) with matching fabrics and my 4 mth old loves these toys the best out of all her store bought ones!! I love the wooden ring tutorial too.

Unknown said...

I have a wonderful book of crochet borders for afghans (got it a a craft store) you can buy 1 yd of a printed or plain fleece (you can even use flannel) and then poke holes around the border using the book as a reference for how many (eg multiple of 3 +2) then just pick a coordinating yarn and crochet the border into the holes you punched. this has been a go to for me as it takes only a few hours to complete!