Crafting Goals for May / WIP Photos

Alrighty, so this morning I stumbled upon a thread at Crochetville that asks what your goals are for May. Well, considering how many WIPs and UFOs I have hanging around, I felt that setting up a few project goals for the month might do me some good, if only to pretend like I'm actually getting stuff done *lol* So, here are my crochet goals for this month:

1. Finish the belly bean's afghan
2. Finish my brother's afghan
3. Finish the "Lacy Sleeveless Top" in time for the hubby's swearing in ceremoney (June 2nd)
5. Finish DD's kitty ear hat (which has been sitting unfinished since last October)
4. Start and complete at least three, maybe four or even five FO's for my online store
5. Start at least one more large Christmas gift

And, because I promised WIP photos of my major projects, here you go. The first is the afghan I'm doing for my youngest brother, either for his birthday or for Christmas (haven't decided yet). It's just a simple rectangle granny square afghan, in black WW acrylic.

The next is the pile of granny squares that will, soon hopefully, become my belly bean's afghan. It's going to be small, just enough to cover him/her in the car seat or stroller. I finished the last of the green squares last night, so all I have left are 12 pink and 4 blue, then to stitch them all together - which I have never done before, so hopefully it works out.

And finally, my Lacy Sleeveless Top. I'm finding the fabric is a bit thick and stiff, but hopefully a little washing and fabric softener will help. I hope to have this done by the time Hubby's swearing in for the army rolls around, I'd love to wear it to that. I'm on repeat 6 of the torso pattern, have to do 14. Then the bust and trim and whatnot.

And a close up of the pattern:

Works in Progress

So, first post in a new blog. I don't have any finished projects to show off, so I guess I'll go over what I'm working on right now.

Currently, I have two projects I'm actively working on: a baby blanket for my belly bean, constructed of granny squares in blue, purple, green, and pink Bernat Baby Coordinates, and it will be crocheted together using white yarn, and a rectangular granny square afghan in black WW acrylic yarn for my youngest brother's birthday in June. I know, a blanket seems counter intuitive, but I'd like to give all my family members an afghan, so I might as well start with the soonest occasion.

I'm also in the process of planning birthday/Christmas gifts for the rest of my large family. I won't have a lot of extra cash come Christmas time, as I expect we'll be moving on base some time in the late fall/early winter and will need to purchase furniture and the like. So, I'm going to try and make a lot of gifts. So far, I have the following items planned:

Birthdays:
Alex (brother #2) - Black granny square blanket
Steven (brother #1) - Book thong + novel
Mackenzie (dd) - Animal Ear Hat
Kayla (sister) - Messenger Bag - black, green
Alex (hubby) - Penguin Amigurumi

Christmas:
Mom - Rectangular granny square afghan - black, teal, rose pink, hunter green, burgundy
Nick (bff) - Rectangular granny square afghan - mixed colours
Alex (hubby) - Round Ripple Afghan, army green, camoflauge, black
Mackenzie (dd) - Barbie clothes, Cabbage Patch clothes

I have a lot more that need to be decided on, but it's a start at least. All the afghans will need a LOT of time to complete, so I really need to get going. It's going to be a busy few months!