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.