A Quick Baby Shower Hat

One of my staff at work recently found out she is going to be a 1st time grandma to a little baby girl. She is BURSTING with excitement. The staff are going to throw a staff “grandparent sprinkle” so I needed to whip up a little hat.

I had some leftovers of worsted in my hat stash. The pink is some Woof Worsted from Lilliput Yarns and the silver is from K-Zip knits. I think the two tones work really well together. It’s 64 stitches on a US8 needle.

I did a 2×2 rib until it looked like enough and then switched to stockinette. And then I made up the crown decreases as I went. And it felt super great to eek out this hat and completely use up these scraps. Now I just need to make at least two more hats for other new grandparent coworkers.

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Baby Dreams Blanket

Ten out of ten skeins are complete and my Baby Dreams Blanket is in the books!

Pattern: Cast on 100 stitches and worked a half double crochet

Yarn: Knit Picks Biggo in Garnet Heather (I used 10 skeins or 1,100 yards)

Hook: US L hook (8mm)

This blanket is soooooo soft. And it has really kept my lap warm these past few evenings. I need to give this good bath to wash off all the schmutz collected as my two year old drug this around the house.

I think I will tuck this one away in my gift box for a future special baby. The yarn is superwash so it can be machine washed which is nice for sleep deprived parents and leaking babies, lol. And the icing on the cake is this was completed in time for the Down Cellar Studio podcast’s Pigskin Party KAL and it counted as a blitz project because it was over 1,000 yards!

Now that this is off the hook, I’m not sure I have a hankering to cast on another one. Just not yet anyway. Maybe I have thoroughly scratched my crochet itch?

Happy Crocheting!!

Baby Dreams Blanket Progress

My Baby Dreams Blanket is now four skeins in out of ten. And this project continues to delight me. It’s soothing and I’m getting closer to crocheting without looking every single stitch.

I am being very consistent to make sure all my skein changes are happening on the same side (on the back in this picture). That way I can attempt to hide the ends all on the same side and keep the other side clean. I am very glad I dropped down a couple of hook sizes. I am liking the fabric is not as open as my previous Knit Picks Biggo blankets.

Happy Crocheting!!

Baby Dreams Blanket Progress

My Baby Dreams Blanket is now four skeins in out of ten. And this project continues to delight me. It’s soothing and I’m getting closer to crocheting without looking every single stitch.

I am being very consistent to make sure all my skein changes are happening on the same side (on the back in this picture). That way I can attempt to hide the ends all on the same side and keep the other side clean. I am very glad I dropped down a couple of hook sizes. I am liking the fabric is not as open as my previous Knit Picks Biggo blankets.

Happy Crocheting!!

A Quick Tutu

My daycare provider is about to be a first time grandma. Her daughter is having a little baby girl in October. Both of these ladies hold a special place in my heart because they love my children almost as much as I do. So of course I needed to knit something!

I made a quick Lexi’s Knitted Tutu by Ashlee Lackovic this past weekend. I just grabbed some Caron Simply Soft acrylic for the waistband and some leftover Red Heart Boutique Sashay multicolor. This is just such a quick knit and it ends up looking more complicated that it actually is.

I finished off with some eggshell colored ribbon to make the waist tie. I think beginning to end this maybe took me an hour? The newborn size is like like 40 rounds of knitting. I can’t wait to wrap this precious gift up!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Zen Yarn Garden Baby Blanket

I’m so pleased to keep my FO train rolling! This week I finished my Zen Yarn Garden Baby Blanket!

Pattern: Zen Yarn Garden Baby Blanket by Staci Perry

Yarn: Knit Picks Brava Bulky in Solstice Heather, Cobblestone Heather and Red.

Needles: US 13s

Mods: Cast on 144 total stitches and worked extra stripe repeats. I also added fringe/tassels. My Rav notes are here.

I really wanted to use up every last inch of yarn and I had pretty decent sized balls when I bound off. So I thought…tassels! I measured and broke up my remaining yarn and added them to the points of my chevrons. This took the yardage of this blanket to 1,006 yards! I know the tassels are the most baby friendly but I can always remove them later. But for now I adore them!

I haven’t taken finished measurements yet but I have washed and dried this blanket. The above photo is taken on our king sized guest bed and it covers a good sized portion of it. Most of all, I’m just beyond thrilled to have over 1,000 yards of acrylic out of my stash and put to proper good (and washable) use!

Happy Knitting!!

One Last Stripe

I am getting SOOOO close to the end of my Zen Yarn Garden Baby Blanket. I only have one stripe and the bind off to go!

The last stripe is blue and I have almost a full ball to do it. I will certainly have leftovers and I have a small ball of grey and tiny ball of red left as well. My brain is thinking old school tassels on each of the points of the chevrons? Maybe not the most practical for a baby but would use up the last of yarn and give this piece a vintage feel.

I guess I could always add them and take them off later? Thoughts?

Halfway Done Zen

I feel like I need to do a little pat on my own back. I have powered through a whole metric ton of bulky weight knitting. I have reached the halfway point on my Zen Yarn Garden Chevron Baby Blanket.

I have used up just under half of the blue and grey yarn. And then I added in the middle color block of red. Instead of measuring these rows I simply knit until I ran out of red. This took just over 1.4 skeins of bulky red yarn out of my stash FOREVER….bwahahahaha.

I think the solid middle section in that pop kind of color really add to the color blocking of it all. And makes the blanket less sedate and more fun. It kind of blows out on camera but I adore it in real life.

And smart Rachelle decided to start weaving in my ends. I plugged on some episodes of The Good Place and went to town with my darning needle. I got all the loose ends woven but I’ll wait to trim them until after its washed and blocked. I only have four stripe sections left and this blanket will be done!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Westport Blanket

With a little concentrated effort and binge watching some Big Bang Theory re-runs…my Westport Blanket is done!

Pattern: Westport Blanket by Fifty Four Ten Studio

Yarn: Knit Picks Mighty Stitch (held double) in the Celestial colorway

Needles: US 13s

Mods: I added two extra body repeats before working the garter border.

The color is blowing way out in these photos. But this blanket is a deep royal blue and is PERFECT for my cousins little baby boy due in October. The finished size is slightly more rectangular than I would want but I used up just over five skeins of DEEP stash to make this blanket. This took 5.3 skeins or 1,111 yards of worsted weight yarn held double. It felt amazing to make such a beautiful project and put a dent in some yarn that had been collecting dust.

I really enjoyed the pattern as it was very well written. I noticed that Fifty Four Ten Studio has several other baby blankets that might be a good match for some future baby knits. Blankets in general take a ton of time but bulky knits like this really make it fly off the needles. And now this blanket is washed in baby safe soap and tucked in the cedar chest awaiting a baby shower!

Happy knitting!!

Westport Decision Point

I have reached the end of the pattern instructions for my Westport Blanket. I have completed the pattern recommended number of repeats. But I still have a yarn left and I really want this blanket to consume as much as possible. I’m at a decision point.

I know, roughly, how much yarn each of the stockinette block and garter rows repeat consumes. And I have one full and one partial skein left that I can hold together. I *Think* I have enough yarn for two or three more repeats and then the garter border and bindoff.

My only concern that is if I add too much more length that the blanket will become more of weirdly shaped rectangle and less of a usable blanket. This fabric texture and gauge has some good stretch to be able to shape it. But the high acrylic content tells me that it might not hold a blocking very well. I need some time to muddle on this one…but I REALLY want this off my needles soon!

Happy Knitting!!