To me, Wal-Mart is one of those necessary evils. I hate shopping there, but their prices are so low on some things, that it just has to happen occasionally. A while back I went on a bead shopping spree. They actually have some pretty fun beads there. This necklace is made up of beads purchased at Wal-Mart, and oddly enough, this simple necklace has received more compliments than many other necklaces I’ve made.

The fish makes such a great focal point, and the details on some of the beads accent it really well.

Another great detail is the swirl above the fish. I made this simply by bending an eye pin about a third of the way down, and shaping the rest into a swirl. I tried to make the swirl a bit on the “rough” side in order to fit into the earthy feel of the necklace.

All total, the beads for this necklace (including the fish) cost me less than $10, with plenty of beads to spare. Not a bad price and very simple to make!
I wanted to make something a bit more practical for a baby than just booties and a hat. At first I thought about doing some kind of towel and/or washcloth type thing, but this is not my friend’s first baby, so I’m pretty sure she has plenty of that stuff. So I decided on a bib. Yes, she probably has plenty of those too, but a bib at least can be coordinated with clothing so it can be functional and cute. I made this pattern using bits of 100% cotton yarn. I’m pretty happy with how the embroidery turned out. I’ve never done anything like that before, so I was a bit worried. Sadly, I didn’t realize until later that I should have added some leaves…oh, well.
Technorati Tags: knitting, baby, bib, embroidery
Part 2 of my baby gift is the adorable pair of booties. The pattern is found here. As you can see, there is a little cable down the center with a pink ribbon tied into a bow…matches quite well with the hat =) This pattern was nice and easy to follow, as I have never made booties before.


A friend of mine is due to have a baby girl any day. So naturally I have been making stuff! First on the list is a cabled hat found here. It was a very cute pattern that was much easier than it looks. I thought the sizes were a bit small, but then again it’s been a while since I’ve had a newborn to put a hat on =) Here are a couple of shots of the hat:



It was made with good ol’ Lion Brand Baby Soft yarn in white with a nice little pink ribbon laced through it. I didn’t manage to get a shot of the top of the hat, but the cables all join together quite nicely in the center.