Helping out Mama: with Living Apockylypse

Posted on the 23 May 2012 by Nfldratheart @nfldratheart
While I'm waiting for baby to arrive and enjoying those first few moments once Pip has arrived I've got a few wonderful ladies looking after my blog. So grab a cup of tea, sit back, and get ready to meet some fantastic people! --------------------------------------------------------
Hello there Newfoundlander at ♥ readers!I'm Pocky, the gal that spends her days fighting the zombie grind while chasing her crafty dreams at night. Some of you may know me from Living Apockylypse (yep, that's me over there in the sidebar), but I also joined forces with Margot & Gillian over at ApoCALypse to bring you some great craftalongs. If you love some of these projects, you should definitely come join us for our CAL kick off starting June 1st!
Ok, so from that little into, I guess you can figure out that I'm a crafty soul that loves any excuse to work on a few more projects. Naturally I jumped at the chance to share some cute craft projects while we let Margot spend some quality Pip time. It seems like quite a few of my friends decided to bring sweet, little bundles of joy into the world around the same time. So I've been scouring the internet & my ever growing crafty library for some cute little gifts to make. Holy moley are there tons of cute baby patterns! Trying to narrow it down a bit, I decided to focus on one of the cutest parts of a baby...feet. I just love those little tiny toes, but sometimes they need a little protection. So I'm going to share a few super cute patterns to cover those tootsies.
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I first came across this adorable pattern for felt baby shoes a few weeks ago & knew instantly I had to make some for my friends babies. Yarn crafts are my specialty, but I love to take a stab at sewing projects when I can. After looking at the instructions for these little shoes, I felt confident enough with a needle & thread to whip up a few pairs of these. It looked so incredibly easy & since I had some deadlines fast approaching, I figured this might be a great go-to project.I shopped the local fabric stash (a.k.a. Momma Bear's mountain of fabric) & within the first hour of crafting I had the most adorable pair felt baby shoes ready to be sent on their way. This is definitely a perfect idea for those last minute baby gifts!
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A few years ago, when a friend of mine found out she was having a little boy, I searched high & low for boy friendly patterns. Goodness gracious! Do you have any clue how difficult it is to find crocheting/knitting patterns that aren't too cutsey for a boy? Well try it sometime. After searching everywhere, I finally found the perfect few patterns for some Chuck Taylor inspired booties. Unfortunately the exact pattern I used has disappeared on the internet, but here's a super cute pattern for knitters.
While this project may not be quite the quick fix that the felt shoes are, it's still whipped up quickly. That's the great thing about baby projects, they are ideal for crafters that need some instant gratification. If you are searching for a boy friendly project, I can assure you that these will be a big hit.
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I absolutely love all the cute little details of the first two projects, but there are times when I want something simple, easy that can be customized with a little work. Those are when the most basic projects come in handy the most, & are usually gender neutral. I've got to say that a gender neutral project is definitely high up on my 'go to baby project' list, because it seems like so many of my friends are waiting until the baby is born to find out if it's a boy or a girl. That's why I love this project, it's simple enough & switching the color of yarn can make it for a boy or a girl...or you can just pick a neutral color to play it safe.
So there are my top three choices when it comes to bootie makin' time. If you're curious about any of my other crafty searches, stop by my blog & check out what fab finds I've come across.

What about you? Do you have any favorites?