I finally finished something(s)!

Remember when I moved about 6 weeks ago and I was like, "I'm going to be so productive and so crafty and make so many things in my new place!" Well...better late than never. I finally managed to finish two projects that were languishing half-done in the pre- and post-move weeks: the Baby Sophisticate sweater, and this mitered square baby blanket. I wanted to hide all the little woven-in ends on the back of the blanket, so I lined it with some scraps of chambray I pieced together, and then I tied it in a few places with contrasting yarn to keep the backing from bagging out too much. I'd have done a few things differently with the blanket, but at this point I'm just so glad it's done that I'll take it as it is. The sweater, I'm very happy with. It was a really easy pattern and it's so darn cute.

With those projects finished, I was able to tackle the first thing on my long list of other projects: a slipcover for our white Ikea loveseat. The fabric is actually a few curtains from Target that I bought on clearance; it's a cotton-linen blend and was really easy to work with. It's the first major sewing project I've ever done, and I'm pretty happy with the result. I have plans to make two others in different colors, and should have enough fabric left over for pillow covers too. By finishing this project my to-make list has actually grown: in the process of all that sewing & pinning I realized I *really* need a good pincushion, and I also noticed my sewing machine is getting rather dusty, so I'll want to make a cover for it sooner rather than later.

Hopefully now that I've broken out of my creative rut I'll manage to retain some momentum. The next big priority on my list is an afghan I want to give as a gift for an August wedding...it's about half done already, but even with air conditioning the idea of knitting a queen-size blanket in a heat wave makes me squirm. Time to put my head down & power through!

Blankie

Here is my finished Baby Chalice Blanket, which is for a niece who is due next month. It's unblocked because I worked up to the last minute before I had to send it for the baby shower. I was bummed that I didn't get to break in my new blocking panels from KnitPicks! Anyway, the yarn is Misti Pima Silk Hand Paint - it's mostly cotton with a little silk, so it's a bit special but still practical for a summer baby. I had hoped to have another blankie finished by now, and some booties too, but those will have to wait - hopefully they'll be ready in a month before she gets here!

Out of hibernation

I have really been awol from blogging this winter...Rita's prolific crafting is really putting me to shame, and reminding me that I'd better get to work on some baby stuff for a niece who's due in June. I spent the month or so after the holidays just working on my growing scrap blanket, which is fun & mindless after the holiday gift-making frenzy. I also knit a pair of knee-high socks for myself and crocheted a scrap baby blanket for my at-work charity crafting group. What else...oh, I also finally finished the cotton throw for my in-laws!

Now I have to shake off the winter lazies and get to work. In the last couple of weeks I knit a couple of chemo hats for a friend of a coworker (which I of course forgot to photograph), and started a scarf for I don't know who, knit a hat also for no one in particular, and started knitting a couple of uteruses (uteri?) for my sister's friend who is a birth care worker. So I'm starting to be productive again but I don't feel very focused - have to nail down some goals and get moving.

Front burner & back burner

There's still one holiday gift I have to finish - I started it on a bit of a whim, but I'm determined to finish this month. It's the cotton throw blanket on the left, and I'm not going to work on anything else while I'm at home, until it's finished. I was going to take it on my holiday plane trips but it was already too bulky to be comfortably portable, so I started a pair of knee socks for myself instead - a much better traveling project. These will stay on the back burner, relegated to subway and lunch-hour knitting, until the blanket (and a batch of charity hats) is finally done.

Making progress

Holiday gift knitting is coming along fairly well - I have two socks done, their mates are underway, and the brown vest is also past the halfway point! I also finished a last-minute wedding gift, the Plush Throw from Lion Brand, which couldn't be an easier pattern and shouldn't taken so long, but again, I blame Harry. Above you can see Penny testing the blanket for plushness (she deemed it acceptable). I should be starting at least one new gift this weekend now that the bulky blanket is out of the knitting bag.

Finally! Tree of Life afghan

It's done! And already packed up, along with the Baby Surprise Jacket, to be sent to its future owner. It's bigger than I'd expected, but still a very baby-friendly size - maybe about 3 x 4 feet? Since I ran out of the main color, and also because I really just wanted to be done with this, I skipped the leaf-lace border and just did two rows of applied I-cord in a different color for the edging.

A blanket

I thought I'd stop by and show off a small project that I've been doing this summer. I knew I'd slow down with my crafting, but I feel like I'm almost going backwards! 

In the spring I had an idea to make a new "lunch-time laying out on the Capitol lawn" blanket and I read about a fun quilt block and thought I'd try a Disappearing 9 Patch quilt. I haven't quilted in many years and the lack of space in my apartment basically set this up as 

a suicide mission. I slowly pieced, ironed, sewed, and trimmed to finally finish the quilt top this weekend. I also bought the backing this weekend. I have to quilt it next, which probably won't happen for a couple weeks. I just might have this quilt done before summer is over. (My cat seems to like it already!)

Been a while since I rapped at ya

As always, I have not been crafting as much as I'd like to be, but I haven't been a total slacker. The Tree of Life blankie is coming along; above left you can see I've started the second (& final!) Flower Garden section. It's coming out bigger than I'd anticipated but that's OK; I still think it's about right for a crib or for laying on the floor for the baby to squirm on.

On the right are some napkins I made yesterday, finally breaking in my new sewing machine (frakking awesome!). The fabric actually used to be a light cotton twin bedspread from Urban Outfitters which I bought a few years ago. When I got a bigger bed and I cut it down to be a tablecloth, but when I got a new table I put the fabric away for whatever. I used a blue thread to match the little blue accents in the print.

A couple requests

I'm finally getting around to showing off a couple of things I recently finished. I was asked to make both of these items. The first is a simple scarf. The yarn was not so simple. I'm a bad knitter and didn't even keep the label so I could mark what yarn it was. It was a pain to knit with though. I couldn't decide on a pattern for the scarf. I wanted something that had a little more style than a simple garter stitch, but I also felt like the yarn was the important part, not the design. I eventually decided on this pattern. Once I got into the pattern, it was quick to knit. And this picture doesn't do the yarn justice--it's actually quite colorful and sparkly.


The next item is a baby blanket/quilt. I was given all the supplies and the task to sew together a blanket with batting. I put it together like a pillow and followed the instructions I used for my knitted blanket backing. It worked out ok, with very little shifting. I then decided to practice a little hand-stitching and blanket stitched the caterpillar on and used a chain stitch for the legs and antennae. The hand-stitching went quicker than I imagined, and there was enough there for me to practice precision, something I'm not very patient at.


You may also notice a little (or not so little) knitted caterpillar toy with the blanket...I had this pattern I wanted to try, and thought that it was the perfect opportunity to do so! I actually doubled the pattern size, mainly because I have a TON of stuffing that I want to use up....I'm tired of it sitting around my apartment. Also, big toys are fun. I used a Caron acrylic yarn so the toy can be washed easily.


Finally, this isn't a request by anyone, but I was inspired by the erstwhile Tippi to start a scrap blanket. I have a ton of green yarn and thought I'd start by using some of that up. I also have brown in abundance so I might throw in brown and off-white. I can't wait to start it. Unfortunately, I'm starting a summer internship on top of my full-time job so knitting, sewing and all around crafting is probably going to be on the back burner this summer. Hopefully I'll have something to post though!

Tree of Life update

Yes, that's my couch upholstery - don't be jealous. Today I had jury duty, and while waiting all day (didn't get called to serve) I worked on the Tree of Life blanket. I got through 3/4 of the Flower Garden section, and finished the first of the three balls of Wool-Ease Sportweight I have to use for this project. I don't think I'll have enough to finish, since there are 4 repeats of trees in all and 3 Flower Gardens! Might have to leave out 1 repeat of each, or if that doesn't make a big enough blanket, I can hunt down an extra ball or two after my yarn diet ends in mid-July.

Edited to add: I double-checked and it's only 2 Flower Gardens & 3 Tree repeats! I should be OK for the body of the blanket but might have to simplify the border, which I'd rather do than buy more yarn. Also, I had jury duty again (and still didn't get called - civic duty = done for the next four years!) and finished the first Flower Garden, the next dividing section, and started the next Trees!

Current status

Here's a update on the ongoing scrap blanket; I've been working on it a lot lately as a nice break from garment knitting. It's the perfect mindless project to work on while indulging in TV on DVD. It's about 3 1/2 feet square now. I just really love scrap projects - I love the ugliness of them, how colors unexpectedly work with each other, and I especially love getting to handle all the leftover yarns again.

On the right is the beginning of a baby-sized version of the Tree of Life Afghan by Lion Brand. I'm using Wool-Ease Sportweight from Smiley's. It's slow going now that I've gotten to the interwoven tree branch motif - definitely not a suitable TV knitting project, I have to really focus on this one.

A baby shower gift

Back in March, I co-hosted a baby shower. The invitations asked all guests to knit up a square that would eventually be sewn together by yours truly. I finally finished it a couple of weeks ago. I'm now finally getting around to sharing it.

Some slight oversights (no specified yarn type or square size) created quite the hodgepodge of knitted squares. I had the job of making all the squares the same size, by adding an off-white border around the squares. I then had the joy of sewing cast-off edges together. I think my least favorite knitting chores are picking up stitches and sewing seams, but I got it all together.
I didn't want the back exposed so I thought I'd sew a flannel back on the blanket. It worked out, for the most part. I blocked the squares and then I blocked the whole blanket; it was still slightly wonky, but I got it to work.
In the end, this was a rather fun project. I haven't really worked with yarn and fabric before. It was slightly tricky to use my sewing machine with yarn. This was great practice. And what it lacks in beauty, I'm sure it'll make up for in memories.

Blankets for babies

Around Christmas last year the community service committee I belong to at work, and a group of fantastic crafty librarians, made a bunch of knit hats for a men's shelter. Blankets for Babies is the name of the newest project of the committee. We received a grant for the cost of materials and will start making the blankets soon. They will be simple flannel squares with an easy crocheted edging. Our goal is to make 50 blankets, which we will donate to a hospital's layette program for needy families. Today I made a sample/test blankie with an inexpensive store-bought receiving blanket and some donated yarn. Hemming the flannel and sewing a blanket-stitch edge took almost twice as long as the actual crocheting, which was super fast and satisfying to do. We were inspired to do both of these projects by my mom's prolific charitable crafting; I really can't wait until we have a big stack of cute blankies to give.