Houston, We Have A Blanket

I finished the last bit of Jellybean’s blanket and got the whole mess into a bath!!

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A CRAZY amount of lint came off this blanket. Not surprising as my lap was covered with lint as I knit. Now I have it stretched, flattened, and drying in the basement (with the help of a fan)! I’m hoping to begin crocheting the border tomorrow night!

Happy Knitting!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day to those in the US!!

This is just a quick post to show you something awesome, my last hexagon for Jellybean’s blanket! Just need a little more decaf and then power through to the end…

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Of course it needs a good bath and blocking to flatten out the hexagons. And I plan on crocheting a simple single crochet border, probably in green? So it’s not done but oh so close!!!

Happy Knitting!

WIP Wednesday: Jellybean’s Hexi-ghan

I only thought I was done….

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My blanket for jellybean is just slightly off of a square. I know it will stretch some when washed and blocked. But I really want more of a long rectangle.

Argh, that means at least one more row right when I thought I was done. Must knit faster… Only 5 weeks to go!

Happy Knitting!!!

Saturday Night Snuggles

I’m *fingers crossed* down to my last row of jellybean’s blanket!! Then it gets a good soak and blocking to flatten out those hexigons!. I have yarn left over so in considering a single crochet or some other basic edging to go around the outside to give it a more polished look?

In the mean time my snuggle bunny and I have some knitting to do!!

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Who needs socks when you have a fur blanket!? Lol

Happy Knitting!!

Sweater For Fall

I’m less than two months away from Jellybean’s arrival and I find that pregnancy has fired up my urge “KNIT ALL THE THINGS”. I’m almost done with Jellybean’s blanket. Only one more row to go and then a simple crochet edging and it’s done!!

Yeah yeah…I have two pairs of socks on the needles for #sockswithsarah. And I haven’t really touched them except for a stitch here and there. I’ve been really busy nesting in my nursery, cooking tomato sauce, making apple jelly, and having some alone time with the hubby before Jellybean gets here.

I perused my Ravelry cue looking for an easy to wear open front sweater. Something I can throw over a long sleeve tee in winter or tank in the spring! And I found the Cuff to Cuff Sweater by Julie Farmer.

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(Photo: © Coats & Clark)

I love this sweater for so many reason not least of it will be forgiving to my post baby body as I adapt to being a mom, lol. This sweater was Knit ‘n Style in 2012 and I’ve had my eye on it since. I have some smushy Berroco Vintage in a lovely teal/blue color burning a whole in my stash. I picked up a sweaters worth at a LYS closeout sale last year for a steal.

Any change to get this done before Jellybean…who knows? I’m not stressing about it. Everything will get done eventually. Just need to take good pattern notes along the way in case it takes a longer than expected time out!

One downside to this project….the yarn is not caked. Sigh, time to break out the yarn swift and ball winder. So much winding to do before I can put yarn on needles!!!

Hustle and Bustle

Greetings from the great steamy state of Kansas. Mother Nature has ratcheted up the temps in the last two weeks along with with the humidity! This combined with week 31 of pregnancy has tested my ability to do most everything. But I digress….

I’m still making progress on jellybean’s blanket…

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I’m in the fourth or fifth row? Nearing the end where I must decide on an edging techniques. Only 60 some days to jellybean’s arrival!!!

My schedule is packed for the next month or so. Four small baby showers, 8 gallon bags of tomatoes to can, baby room decor to complete, apples to pick, gobs of doctors appointments, and finally one last hurrah of a barbecue at our house before Jellybean takes over.

I may be insane but I promise to keep you updated!!

Happy Thursday!!

FO Friday: Sprout Cardigan

Ladies and gentlemen….we have a winner! 20140720-072515-26715709.jpg 20140720-072514-26714640.jpgI had to add almost 5 inches of garter stitch to the bottom of this sweater. But you know what? It looks pretty darn good! This is now a very comfy and gorgeous sweater.

Pattern: Sprout Cardigan

Yarn: Berroco Comfort Chunky in Pumpkin

Size: Medium (I should have made the large)

Needles: US 9

Even with all my struggles with this sweater, I still love it. This is definitely a keeper in my wardrobe. Not to mention on of the few sweaters that fit around the growing baby bump. I think all of my initial problems would have been solved by simply making the large sweater. The large version better fits my torso length even those my bust measurement matches up with the medium. Please don’t let my struggles deter anyone from this pattern. It is a pretty nifty garment!!

Happy Friday and Happy Knitting!

On Being Inside Out

In my last few #sockswithsarah sock updates I’ve had a few curious questions about the fact that my socks are knitting inside out. And I would I would share why. Two things:

1: I like working in what I think of “modified magic loop”. In other words I have two dpns that I use like two circulars or one extra long circular. I then have a third needle to work the active yarn. And normally the socks are right side out and the active stitches to be knit would be on the needle closest to my body.

2: I have very long fingers. And now I have developed pregnancy induced carpal tunnel in my hands/wrists. I couldn’t stand to work very long on my socks.

My local yarn shop owner overheard my problem awhile back. She had a nifty suggestion….turn the darned thing inside out!  

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This allows the active stitches to be knit to be on the back needle. I’m still knitting…no purling. But the slight difference in distance allows my hands to relax more and my fingers to be less cramped. I’ve had almost zero carpal tunnel since switching styles. And when I’m done….I just have to turn the socks inside out 🙂

Not sure if this makes sense. Not sure if it’s a knitting thing or just something weird that works for me. But I had enough comments I wanted to share with the world. Sorry if the photo doesn’t help me elaborate the point….I’m about to turn the heel after completing the gussets.

Has anyone else every done something a little different to solve a knitting problem?

Sprout…..Take Three

Some of you may remember my Sprout cardigan frustration and attempted fix. I cast on an astronomical number of stitches around the edge of my cardigan and worked several rounds. I won’t say how many Netflix shows this took. But alas it wasn’t to be, the whole thing looked awful. Too many stitches around the collar and lapels and not enough length added at the bottom…

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So what you see above is take three! I frogged my last attempt and picked up solely along the bottom. I’m now working back and forth in garter to add length. Because this project is a mix of garter and stockinette anyway this should just blend in. Fingers crossed!

I don’t want to give up on this project as I find myself attached to this sweater. I want to wear the darn thing!! I’ll keep you posted 🙂

Happy knitting!