FO: Chevron Baby Blanket

Posted on January 23, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Chevron Baby Blanket is finished thanks to some windshield time this past weekend. I used several skeins of Knit Picks Biggo and Premier Serenity Chunky Heathers out of my stash. The end result is baby butt soft and very kooky.

The pattern was an easy two row repeat that was easily memorized. The Purl Bee writes a great pattern! Great TV knitting and the bulky yarn flew off the needles. I’m not 100% sold on the color combo. I was shooting for kooky unisex, but I’m just not sure. The end product also ended up more like a beach towel shape than blanket (to me at least). I didn’t swatch for gauge so that might be my bad.

I started with blue then transitioned to grey, then pink, grey again, and finally green. The chevron shape showed up really nicely with the garter stitch.

I will definitely make this pattern again. I’m just not sure this FO is something I will give away. It’s funky and might be a little too funky for my average friend. I’m going to call this one a win as I used yarn from my burgeoning stash and it was fun to make. It might just be destined for my “secret” some day I’ll have a baby FO stash….

Time to cast on something new! I have lots of yarn to destash!!

Happy Knitting

Nerd Alert Moment

Posted on January 22, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Just a short post to show my final Christmas present to myself (finally arrived from Amazon)… I think I have a serious yarn/knitting problem!

It’s so amazingly gorgeous and makes me smile. I may or may not have squealed when it arrived. I just had to share this nerd moment.

Hello, my name is Rachelle and I have a yarn problem and I don’t care who knows it!

Just A Little Love

Posted on January 22, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Just a little love and sunshine to start your day! May your day be sunny, bright, and merry!!

(Rav link here)

Happy Knitting!

Rest and Relaxation

Posted on January 19, 2013 by atangledyarn84

It’s finally Friday and I’m free for a three day weekend! It’s been a busy week so I’m ready to let my hair down…

Destashing update!

I just started my third stripe on my Chevron Baby Blanket! Only two more to go. This is proving to be a very relaxing project with a memorable pattern. Great for TV knitting.

So I’ve put my feet up for the night with a great glass of red moscato and some Castle on DVD. Knitting, wine, and Nathan Fillian…..I love my life!

Happy Knitting!!

Something For My Husband

Posted on January 17, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I never knit for my husband. He proclaims yarn to be “too scratchy”. I’ll pause for the gasps of horror…..

He grew up with those horrible acrylic afghans that everyone had in those awful colors. Never fear yarn devotees! I’m working on converting him, I thought I’d start small and make something cute/fun. In the last year he has fallen in love with Dr. Who the British television show. I saw a blog by Knittyfordrwho where the author, Lorenia Lemas, posted a pattern for a tardis washcloth. I had some bright blue Cottontots Solids in Little Boy Blue, so off I went!

The pattern was easy and fast! I knit the whole thing up watching two TV episodes. The pattern only uses knit and purl and practically flies off the needles. Interesting enough to keep my attention but not complicated enough that I couldnt watch TV. It was a nice break from my Chevron Blanket and the never ending garter stitch. I even used yarn from my stash! Finished project was pretty smart looking if I do say myself.

Upon presenting it to my husband he immediately snapped a photo and sent it to his Dr Who buddies. I think I picked up a few cool wife points and got him to dip his toe into the yarn pool!

Happy Knitting!

A Wonky Cowl

Posted on January 16, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I snagged a great skein of Berroco Borealis at my LYS a few years ago….but only one skein. I can’t remember why I only bought one and I have had a terrible time deciding what to do with this 108 yds of lovely yarn. It’s a great mix of blues and greens and has great “squishy ness”.

I searched Ravelry and finally found something that tripped my trigger so to speak! I found Wonky by Brittany Wilson, a creative one skein cowl. It is knit in the round and the decreases and increases cause it to come out in a zig zag shape….or wonky!

It has stockinette sections and checkerboard sections that sort of lean. Best part is that this pattern was free! This was a well written pattern but stupid me misread it the first go round. I had it 2/3 done and had to frog it completely after I discovered my error. I blame the TV show I was watching, lol. I persevered and re-knit. I even added one extra pattern repeat to make it a bit taller for me. Even with re-knitting it, I knit this item in one evening and had time to wash and block it.

It looks really nice against my black wool coat. The yarn isn’t the softest but its very warm! It felt good during our trip to the dog park today as its 30 degrees here!

Happy Knitting!

FO: Waves and Ripples Blanket

Posted on January 14, 2013 by atangledyarn84

First destashing project complete!!

Waves and Ripples Blanket is complete! This blanket is destined for my cousins Josh and Amy (saying this because I’m very confident they don’t follow this blog) who are due in April. They aren’t finding out the babies sex so I went with unisex colors of cream and white.

Josh is my cousin and I absolutely adore his wife. She and I are very much alike and have been known to let our hair down together at more than one family wedding. They got married only a few months after my husband and I five years ago. We had a pact for a long time to hold out with having kids (much to our respective parents chagrin). Now she has left me high and dry. With the birth of their child my parents will be the only ones without grand kids…and I haven’t heard the end of it yet.

Such is life! Despite her betrayal (kidding) I really wanted to make her something special!

I used five skeins of Brava Bulky and an improvised design of my own.

I used left and right leaning decreases and increases to create chevron stripes. See my Rav notes for the details. I simply worked one skein clear to end and then changed colors. Easy peasy! I did run out of yarn as reported in a previous blog post. Luckily I was able to source enough in the right dye lots online.

This project was hard to put down and took no time at all (even with waiting for yarn). Loved the texture of the yarn and I felt very connected to the project of my own design. This blanket will be washing machine and dryer friendly and super duper soft for baby.

I cannot wait to give it to Josh and Amy and oh ya meet the newest addition! Now on to other projects…

Happy Knitting and may Monday be kind to you!

Author/Book Review: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Posted on January 13, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Using some of my wonderful Amazon gift cards from Christmas I picked up a few volumes written by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka the Yarn Harlot! I had been interested in reading her books as she is the reigning queen of knitting books.

At Knits End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much is AMAZING!! I finished this text in less than a day. It’s full of snippets of wisdom, humor, knitting lessons. This is destined to be read over and over again. Not to mention it’s earned a permanent place in my collection. I highly recommend this book to knitters of all ages and skill levels!

Yarn Harlot: the secret life of a knitter
This volume explores the different facets of knitting life. I connected a great deal to this book as my knitting habit has reached a level that one (not me) could call obsessive. Each chapter is a delightful, poignant, or instructive story about knitting that intertwined into a volume on the highs and lows of knitting. Another great read that didn’t take me very long to read!

Things I Learned from Knitting… whether I wanted to or not
A list of 44 things every knitter is bound to learn through their knitting adventures. Each chapter is prefaced with pearls of wisdom like, “beginning is hard, continuing is hard”. This book is more than just knitting, it’s a commentary on how knitting is like life. Stuff happens and how you deal with it is all that matters. This is a great coffee table book, sure to start great conversation especially among knitters!

All three books were excellent and I can’t wait to track down her other books!! Now I need to do some knitting so I have a few FO posts later this week!

Happy Sunday and Happy Knitting!

On the Subject of Trying New Yarn

Posted on January 11, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Despite my recent destashing efforts….I still bought new yarn. I can’t help it! I had never seen or worked with it before AND it was on sale!!

I picked up some Boutique Rigoletto Sequins by Red Heart online from Knitting Wharehouse in red, black, white, and cream.

The yarn comes in 10 yd hanks and includes a pattern for Evening Sparkle Scarf. I have to admit even this seasoned knitter had to YouTube how to work with this mohair like tube if yarn. After some basic instruction it was ridiculously easy and EXTREMELY FAST. I knit up all four hanks in two hours total.

The yarn is a bit fiddly and like a boucle or mohair it’s very good about sticking to itself. Not a yarn for ripping back errors! But when the pattern calls for CO 2 sts and then knit every st until you run out of yarn…..it’s not very likely you will have to.

I was a little disappointed that it didn’t make a longer scarf. I like length so I can wrap and contort the same scarf 100 different ways so I never get bored. Also, I knit the same pattern four times with the same gauge and all four scarves turned out differently!

Rav link here.

This yarn would be excellent for knitters who need instant gratification, a quick last minute gift, or even someone who is just learning. For me? Not so much, I enjoyed playing with a new yarn but its not a knit I’m likely to do again. Ill stick to my Boutique Sashay or Starbella Flash for scarves.

Happy Knitting and TGIF!

Stashbustin’ #5

Posted on January 10, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I found a few skeins at the bottom of my stash that I procured at a garage sale. Mostly some Lion Brand Homespun, a skein of baby yarn, and a skein of sock yarn. It got me thinking of something that happened at my last fair.

I had the pleasure of meeting the director of the Topeka Crochet Guild at my last craft fair. She mentioned that they always take donations of yarn to make projects for local shelters and charities. So in the spirit of charity and needing to unclutter my life, here is what I’m donating!

The make hats, scarves, blankets, and much more for those in need! So I went through my bag of hand knits and found some of my first “projects”. Surely they will keep someone warm this winter even with uneven stitches and crazy yarn choices right?

I get the double whammy of the feeling of charity and the glow of reducing my yarn load! I think I might even join the guild, they even welcome us knitters! I’m always looking for new fiber friends 🙂

Happy Knitting!

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

Category Archives: Knitting

FO: Chevron Baby Blanket

Nerd Alert Moment

Just A Little Love

Rest and Relaxation

Something For My Husband

A Wonky Cowl

FO: Waves and Ripples Blanket

Author/Book Review: Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

On the Subject of Trying New Yarn

Stashbustin’ #5