A Little Different

After all of my pre-Christmas knitting, I decided that I needed a little break. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? :) I hadn't crocheted in a while, and my brother had given me some yarn for Christmas (pretty good for a college student to think about his sister's domestic pursuits!), so I decided to make a baby blanket for our new little one. I think that it's important that he has some items that are his and not just hand-me-downs from his big brother (although there'll be plenty of those, too!). I also now have the hindsight of knowing how busy my life will be in the weeks and months following a birth, so I'm trying to plan ahead, at least a little. The pattern I used is Tiramisu, a free pattern, by Alicia Paulson. The body was a very simple single-crochet pattern, but the edging gives it that little something extra. I'm very happy with how it turned out!

I also made the fanciest and least-practical potholder ever. But it sure is cute! This pattern comes from the Japanese-translated crochet book, Kyuuto! Lacy Crochet. The patterns are mainly schematics with some written instruction. Crocheting this potholder has helped me branch out and learn how to follow a schematic better. I also had never completed a project using lace thread before. It took some getting used to, but I'll definitely do it again. This potholder is now being used for decoration-purposes only in the kitchen. I wouldn't dare try to take anything hot out of the oven with it!