Learning to Crochet

My sister is pregnant with her first child and we are all very excited. He/she will be the first grandchild for my parents. So... of course I have a ton of ideas, mostly DIY baby projects. Conveniently, I'm now learning to crochet and have checked out a very cute amigurumi (Japanese crocheted stuffed animals) book from the library called Tiny Yarn Animals, by Tamie Snow. It's a great book for beginners. (I'm working on the cute little koala because I have gray yarn and my sister loves koalas.)

 Also, yesterday my crochet-expert friend, Amy, came over to give me an introduction to crochet. She helped me so much. I've seen blankets that she made for her sister's children and others and they are so cute and modern. She also brought this book, 200 Crochet Blocks, which is great to go through to get some ideas for blanket blocks.