Current WIP's

I have a few WIP's that I didn't frog over the winter. These are the ones that I felt like continuing to work on, for some reason or another.

WIP #1

 Granny squares in Aran, Buff, and Cornmeal. I'm still trying to decide if I want to add another color (not really) and how to sew them together. I really like these colors put together but I can't seem to find any of the Buff and Cornmeal yarn in the stores around here. So...I'm in limbo on this at the moment. All of these squares were made with yarn from my yarn stash. Now I'm out of these colors and have to buy some more.

WIP #2 

 These are the Knit A Block A Week blocks that I started in January of 2014. I had so much work in them that I hated to frog this project. So I picked up the knitting needles again and finished the blocks last week.

 After putting them out and a lot of rearranging, this is the final layout for the blanket when I started seaming the blocks together. I'm glad I took a photo of this as I referred to it often.

 This is a quick photo of the finished blanket. I absolutely love it! So does Small T. She has requested a knitted chevron blanket in white, gray and light blue for college. *sigh* I've never made one of these, so it should be interesting.

WIP #3

 Turqua granny squares with white centers. I used the yarn from my stash, thinking that I had a lot more of the Turqua. But no...I can't find any. So this project is in limbo until I buy some more yarn. Shouldn't be too long though.

 A gratuitous up-close photo of one of the squares.

WIP #4

 The Pink Camo knitted diagonal baby blanket. I finished this last week, but haven't taken a photo of the completed baby blanket

WIP #5.

The Cherry Red and Heather Grey chenille throw. This is in the beginning stages and I started it with yarn out of my stash. I think I have some more of it downstairs, but I haven't been down to search for it yet.

More WIP's without photos:

The first one is a white knitted baby blanket that I'm following a more complicated pattern on. I've never tried anything other than a basic or easy knitting pattern, so I'm hoping for the best with this.

The next one is a Seabreeze color baby cardigan that is crocheted. I'm actually to the part where I can sew in the ends and add the button.

Then I have a soft yellow baby dress that is crocheted. I'm only about 1/3 of the way done on this one.

These are ALL of my current WIP's.

LL Bean Colors

I have completed another Homespun Knitted Doll Blanket.

This time, I used what I call "LL Bean colors"....red, gray, yellow and white.

Here are a few photos of the blanket in progress as well as finished.

The edging is a simple sc edging done in a variegated cotton yarn.

The basic pattern for this little doll blanket can be found on my free knitting patterns page.

Knitting Makes Me Happy

I really enjoy knitting these days, and it makes me happy to sit and knit on one of these little Homespun Knitted Doll Blankets.

I gather up a bunch of small balls of yarn from my stash, regardless of yarn weight and color, as pair them up according to the way they look together. Then I grab one of my circular knitting needles and knit away. I really like the way the different textures work together, which makes it look homespun.

When I'm finished knitting the "body" of the blanket, I add a crochet border.

I really like the way this variegated baby yarn can look so different, depending on the angle and distance at which you see it.  This yarn is actually white with specks of blue and pink mixed in, but it really doesn't look like it.

Now that I have this little doll blanket finished, I can't wait to start on another.

Christmas Vacation - Crafting

I was really excited to be able to pick up my yarn and work on different projects during my four week vacation. Here are a few things I have completed during this time.

A Seed Stitch Infinity Scarf for Small T.  I used Red Heart With Love yarn in White.  It's the same pattern I have used previously, just half the width.  I started by casting on 19 stitches, which is just right for Small T's slight frame, and isn't so overpowering. This is finished now, and she loves it.  I just don't have a photo to share.  Sorry.

I made this hat for a friend's son. I used Red Heart Team Spirit yarn.

I completed this Homespun Knitted Baby Doll Blanket.

I finished this Diagonal Striped Knitted Baby Blanket.

I crocheted this Doll Blanket.

And this one too.

I knitted this doll blanket with more of my scrap yarn.

And this one too.

And I made myself some new slouchy hats. This one is Celestial (blue).

I really like this one.  It's Celestial, Autumn Red, and Charcoal Grey.

This one is Autumn Red and Charcoal Grey.  I like it too.

Small T made me clean my book shelves around the fireplace and in the process, I found all my crochet notebooks.  I didn't realize I had so many of them.  I've had a good time looking through them.

When I got tired of knitting and crocheting, I broke out my needlepoint bucket and started on a set of cross stitched pillow cases.

I have one of them done and have started on the second one.

Then I knitted another doll blanket.

I've really enjoyed spending time with my crochet and knitting projects and I'm really going to miss them when classes start again.  I'm going to need to find myself some small projects that I can work on every now and then, in short doses, so I'm not missing it so much these next four months.

New Projects

As if I don't already have enough to do, I started 3 new projects today.

 Another Homespun Doll Blanket.  I'm using some of my green, blue, white, and multi-color scrap balls of yarn for this.  Can you see some of the texture in the photo?  I'm loving it!

 This doesn't look like much, but it's going to be a crocheted infinity scarf.  I swear.  lol  It's a pattern I've got in my head and I'm writing it down as I go.

And this little piece is going to be another knitted scarf.  Another simple design in my head.

It will take me a while to get these done since my yarn time has been limited to just one day a week now.

Gauge

Something I never do is to make a gauge swatch.  I know.  It's stupid to not do it.  But I just don't learn.

This past week, every time I get on Facebook or look at a blog, the subject of "gauge" is coming up.  So, I have finally admitted to myself that gauge is important and I will strive to do better in creating a gauge swatch BEFORE starting a new project.

Something for me...

I finally finished something for me.....

the Seed Stitch Infinity Scarf, knitted in Red Heart With Love.  The color is Blue Hawaii.  :)

The Beginning...

 I've started another Seed Stitch Infinity Scarf today.  This one will be for ME.  Yep, ME.  It's high time I made myself something.

I've been pretty busy today so this is all I've gotten done.  Yikes!

Another Doll Blanket

Today, I finished knitting/crocheting another Homespun Doll Blanket.

 The body of the blanket is knitted and it uses scraps of Caron's Simply Soft yarn as well as some white Sugar 'N Cream cotton and various types of Red Heart yarn.  I like the way it looks to an extent, but I regret all the ends that had to be sewn in.  It was a real trial.

The edging is crocheted.  I did 2 rounds of sc working (sc, ch 1, sc) in each corner.  The 3rd round is (sc in next 3 sts, ch 3) all the way around, working a (sc, ch 5, sc) in each corner.  The 4th round is worked in the ch 3 or ch 5 space as follows (6 dc in the next ch 3 sp, sl st in the next ch 3 sp), all the way around, but for the corners, you sl st in the last sc before the ch 5 sp, then work 8 sc in the ch 5 sp, then sl st in the first sc after the ch 5 sp.  I hope that makes sense.

This blanket was made using the same pattern as the original Homespun Doll Blanket on my blog.

Homespun Doll Blanket - Free Pattern - Stashbusting for Stashaholics

Yesterday, I finished my latest pattern called the Homespun Doll Blanket.  I call it Homespun because I'm using up my little balls of scrap yarn, giving it that homemade feeling that I just love.

This blanket includes various types of yarn, such as Caron's Simply Soft, Bernat Baby Coordinates, Lily Sugar 'N Cream cotton, etc..  I chose several balls in various colors that I thought worked together.  The darker stripe is actually a darker purple.  There's lavender, white, blue, pink, dark purple, and a variegated pastel cotton.  Since all of this yarn came out of my stash, this is a Stashbusting for Stashaholics project.  Yay!

This blanket is knitted and has a crocheted border.

Here's what I did:

I took all my small balls of yarn and starting with one of them, I tied another ball to it, rolling it up into a bigger ball as I went.  By the time I was finished, I had all the colors tied together and wrapped up in one big ball.  When I was knitting the blanket up and reached the end of the yarn ball, I had to add a little bit more yarn, so I suggest having a few "extra" balls of yarn laid out to the side in case you have to do this too.

I used a set of size 9 straight knitting needles and a size G crochet hook.

To begin, cast on 80.   Knit each row for the entire length of the blanket.  My blanket measured 18 inches across and 18 1/2 inches long BEFORE I added the border.

The border is 4 rows of sc, with a (sc, ch 1, sc) in each corner.  I worked 2 rows of light blue, then 2 rows of lavender.  The 5th row of the border was a decorative one.  I did a (sl st, sk 1 st, 5 dc in next st, sk 1 st, repeat around) border and at times I did have to fiddle a bit to make the stitch pattern work out nicely for the corners, which was 9 dc in the ch 1 space in the corner.  But you can't tell that I skipped an extra stitch here and there.

So, that's the basic pattern for my Homespun Doll Blanket.  I have LOTS of small scrap balls of yarn and I've already rolled up my next big ball of yarn for another one of these.

Inspiration

Today, out of the blue, I was inspired to create something out of my head.  So, I'm starting a new little project of the "easy" variety.  Once I have it wrote down and all finished up, I'll share it with everyone.  It feels good to be "creating" something again.
***Edited to add....Instead of working on my other projects today, I "went to town" on this one.  This is what it looks like now.

Knitting

I have an "on the go" knitting project for this Summer.  It's another baby blanket and I take it back and forth to the pool with me every day.  If I have a bit of spare time when we aren't busy, then I'll break it out for a row or two of knitting.  Otherwise, it doesn't get worked on.

Knitting

A few weeks ago, I did a little experimenting with some different knitting stitches. I took the k1, p1 stitch and tried it out on an even number of cast on stitches, instead of an odd number.  Just to see what it would look like.  I have to say, that I loved the texture of it, but it turned out so much smaller than what I thought it would.  I used the same number of stitches that I use for the knitted blocks but I can see why it's much more suited to a ribbed item now.  I'm glad I took the time to mess around with this.  I really learned something and I need to do this more often.

Seed Stitch Infinity Scarf

 Over the course of the past month or so, I decided to teach myself a new knitting "pattern" called the seed stitch.  I looked around on the internet and found a pattern that I really liked.  It is the Seed Stitch Infinity Scarf and you can find it here.  I used one skein of Red Heart With Love in the color Coffee and a pair of size 11 knitting needles.

 I'm used to doing only the knit stitch, so it took me a bit to get the k1, p1 stitch pattern going.  But once I did, it because addictive.

I worked on it whenever I had the chance.  Especially when I had some time in the recliner after getting home from the pool.  Then, I realized...I'm getting closer and closer to being done and finally had the required 62 inches of knitted scarf finished.  I sewed the two ends together and then posed for a couple of quick photos before heading to the pool.

I have to say....I just LOVE this scarf!!!  I made it for Small T, but I will definitely be making myself one as well.  It turned out really light weight and super soft and squishy, even with it doubled up around my neck.  Heck, other than my funky tan that I have going on, this is even a fairly decent photo of me this Summer too.  :)

28

As with everything else this Summer, I am so far behind on my knitted blocks.  I'm just now starting Block #28, which is the first block for the month of July.  Shame on me!  But, the pool just takes over my life during the Summer, so...I'll just have to play catch-up.