Well, I was definitely doing a bit of nail-biting on this baby shower present, but I managed to get it done just in time. I sent it to my sister so she could bring it to the party. It went out in the mail last Wednesday and was received Friday - and the shower was yesterday! (Me doing my happy dance!)

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Ta Da! The "Love & Kisses" Baby Blanket

I've worked on this Hearts ZigZag stitch baby blanket for the last three weeks or so. I love the end result, and now that I've finally finished it, I'll know better what to do in the future if I should ever decide to make this again - give myself plenty of time (considering this stitch is made up mainly of single crochets) and to go up at least one hook size to save my poor arthritic thumbs! I also included one of the Cuddly-Baby amigurumi dolls by Lilleliis that I made a while back.

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For a reward (and to give my still aching thumbs a MUCH needed rest), I bought a present for myself of a butterfly cross stitch kit from Rachel Nichols of LeiaPatterns. She has a delightful assortment of cross stitch items, and you can just buy the pattern or the kit (with or without a hoop). She also carries adorable needle minders, wooden pendant blanks to cross stitch, and 20% off your first purchase for joining her email club.

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Rainbow Cross Stitch Butterfly by LeiaPatterns.


I have already started the butterfly, and even though I haven't done any counted cross stitch in a long time, it seems like it's going ok. The colors are beautiful and vibrant, and I really can't wait to finish. Best of all, my thumbs aren't complaining!

As always, happy crocheting!