Duke's Baby Chucks

I made another pair of baby chucks this week for my friend Kimsey's brand new nephew Duke. I actually decided to make the soles of the booties differently than I made the other baby chucks I winged a few weeks ago. The reason why is that I was using a different yarn, which was softer, thinner, and makes a less sturdy fabric. The yarn I was using was from mill ends in a baby chennile. Supersoft, and perfect for baby booties, but just not as thick as worsted weight yarn.

So, I made the sole in rounds and added the toe. Then, I did the same upper (or hi-top) as I did before. I made the tongue of the shoe a little longer and more pronounced. Then, I decided to add a star logo like the all stars have. I made it by stitching in black 5 sc in the round and then a round of hdc in white. Then, I sewed the circle down to the shoe. It's kind of puffy (stuffed with the ends), but I like it.

Hooray for Auntie Kimsey!

LaRusso Lovebird Hat

Whilst measuring the noggin of one of my coworkers so that his wife could crochet him a hat with my help, another coworker asked if I'd be willing to make a custom hat for his baby. Of course, I love making baby stuff, but I was especially excited when he told me that he and his wife wanted a hat that looked like their lovebird. I thought it would be an interesting challenge and a lot of fun.

Together, we came up with this design of what the hat could look like.

The biggest concerns that they had were that I made 4 gray toes on the bird (to match their lovebird), included wings, and found a very bright green. Luckily, I still had some Caron Simply Soft - Brites in Limelight.

I did the main hat in half double crochet, with earflaps. Sizing-wise, the hat is currently a few sizes to big for her, as we're hoping that she can wear it comfortably next winter. Woven hats during an Austin Summer just don't work that well. The wings were made the same manner as the ear flaps, but larger and with a picot edge. The ties were done in long rows of half double crochet in a Red Heart Charcoal. The toes were made out of "X's" made also in half double. And the beak and the eyes were done in scraps of yarn in single crochet.

Here is the Lovely Lady in Her LaRusso Lovebird Hat

Isn't she adorable?