JD’s Baby Blanket!

 

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Baby blankets take a lot longer than I thought they would. JD was a month old by the time his blanket was ready for him. Although it took a while, it turned out absolutely great! I used Bernat Baby Coordinates in blue, white, green, and a variegated green/yellow for the stripes, it’s about the size of a crib blanket. I started the blanket in late August, and finished it in early November. Now if I had not started working again it would have been done on time, however that was not the case. I’m extremely happy with how this turned out, the feather and fan pattern made it simple and elegant. Happy Birthday JD!!

Now I’m on to my next project. This is going to be a simple K1 P1 ribbed scarf with a pocket on each end. This one is for my Aunt Philene, she’ll need it during the winter in the “Windy City”. I started it about a week ago, but wasn’t very happy with the gauge, so I ripped it out and I’m starting on larger needles. I knit in English style, and have decided this will be a great project to teach myself Continental style. It has proved frustrating, I’m not used to knitting that slow. I’m doing my best to not give up though, practice makes perfect after all!

Baby Blanket Redo

So I knitted a mere two inches on the first baby blanket pattern I choose and realized this just wouldn’t work. While I absolutely love the pattern, I chose the wrong yarn. It’s turning out way to heavy for a baby blanket so it is being retired for now. I don’t plan on ripping it out, but I don’t plan on working on it for a while. I figure I’ll finish it as an afghan.

So the search was on for another blanket pattern that I liked. I chose the classic feather & fan pattern, since babies love to tangle their fingers in stuff, not to mention it has a great look to it. So I picked out a simple pattern (check the link to the right called “Baby Blanket #2”) and found some really pretty baby yarn. It’s turning out excellent and has been a joy to work up. While the pattern is using seven different yarn colors, I have chose a base of powder blue with white and mint stripes. Every other mint stripe was replaced with a variegated yarn of a light blue tealish color with yellow green. I was actually rather surprised how well they all went together, but having that variegated stripe really gives the blanket a pop. At this time I think the final measurements will be approximately 30”x46” so it will be a crib blanket. I’m using size 8 needles for a slightly tighter tension and a cast on of 154 sts. My gauge is at 4 sts x 5 rows = 1”.

Finished Baby Snuggle!

So I was able to complete most of the hat on the plane trips this weekend. I saved the stem for when I got home. It all turned out really well and I can’t wait to see little J.D. in it. 2 1/2 more months!

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Baby Snuggle & Blanket

Baby Snuggle:
I generally use patterns as suggestions. With that said, the pattern I linked on the side bar to the baby snuggle is kind of what I’m doing. I took from that pattern the snuggle idea and turned it into something even cuter. Instead of the Owls around the top of the snuggle and bottom of the hat, I did a self made vine pattern around the top of the snuggle with nothing on the rim of the hat. To complement the vine pattern, the hat will have a green stem on the top and a twisty vine down the side. So when it is complete, the baby will have a little pumpkin hat and be snuggled into an orange snuggle with vines around the top. I can’t wait!

So the bottom part is finished and I’m very happy with how it turned out. The orange I chose is very rich and combines well with the dark green I chose for the vines around the top. The first hat I made is a little small I think. So I’m going to whip up another one just a tad bigger. We’re going on a trip for the weekend and I fully expect to finish this hat in the nooks and crannies of down time that presents. Like on the plane…. :)

Baby Blanket:
I love the pattern I chose, but I really hate the way the backside looks. I know I’m not doing it wrong, and it really doesn’t look that bad, but I don’t care for the unfinished look of it. I almost want to put some backing on it, but that is a whole new mess. So I either need to come to terms with the backside or choose a diff pattern (which I really don’t want to do).

I used a baby blue and cream for the “honey comb” sections, and a pretty green for the outline. I like how the colors are turning out together. I’ll post pictures once the project is a little farther along. I’m shooting for a finished size of 4x3 feet. So I guess it’s more like a small throw.

Girly Dragon

I was asked by a friend to knit a "girly" dragon for a little girl who has a hard time finding girly dragons. I purchased the pattern for this little gal here, and began my project. Life has been rather busy, so this took a couple months of picking up and putting down to complete. As each piece of this puzzle has a few things going on, it wasn't a piece I could just knit without looking :)

It seems that every toy I knit becomes a member of that elite northern club..."The Misfit Toys"

The finished product is alright. I ran across a few things in the pattern that I decided to change to make it tighter, and I didn't seam her correctly. Since this lovely lady is for a little girl, I figured she wont notice all my mistakes.

Instead of embroidering the eyes on, I opted for cat eyes. I love the way they make a toy come to life. However, once they are on there....they don't come off. So make sure to place them just right, and do it before you close the head... otherwise its a pain. I hadn't thought of putting them on there until after I had closed the head, so I had to stretch some sts behind the ear to slip in the back pieces. When I snapped in the eyes they looked fine, but later I noticed they weren't quite level...

I also decided not to do the little daisy's. I had a cute little flower I sewed on instead.

The wings are made with short row shaping, but I made a couple small changes to part of the pattern half way through. Instead of slipping one, I did wrap and turn, then knitted in the wraps, this fixed some holes that were being created by the slipping. Also, every time I came back to the wing edge I just knitted to the end, this eliminated an elongated stitch that was creeping in on me, and made it look more uniform.

If I tackle this project in the future, I will definitely rewrite some of the pattern. I have a hard time seeing the point in knitting the entire thing flat, there are plenty of places to knit in the round and avoid having so many loose pieces and later seaming.

I did enjoy this project, but I was very happy to see it come to fruition.