Tag Archives: bernat

FO Friday: Crocheted Rainbow

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My Crocheted Rainbow is complete and I’m both elated and sad. Happy to have such a beautiful blanket but sad I don’t have this project to look forward to each evening.

Pattern: My own made up nonsense of a half double crochet over roughly 180 to 200 stitches (I can’t remember”

Yarn: A mix of Loops and Threads Charisma and Premier Chunky Solids

Hook: 10MM or N

This blanket was a fantastic stashbuster. All told I used up eleven skeins of yarns that date back to at least 2013. My blanket weighs 1,100 grams and used roughly 1,199 yards of bulky yarn. This project cleaned out half a drawer of yarn from my stash that I really didn’t have a plan for.

Bonus, I really learned a lot about hook placement in working on this project. I learned how to catch both legs of the stitch and eliminate lines in my fabric (or how to create line when I want them)!

I’m already planning my next stashbusting crochet blanket project. This time I’ll hold off until after 9/25 so I can count all the yards for the 2020 Pigskin Party KAL.

Happ Knitting!!

FO Friday: Baby Boy Blanket

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I kind of fell down the crochet rabbit hole and couldn’t put it down. And then viola…I have a finished Blue Baby Blanket!

Pattern: Crochet Blanket of my own improvisation

Hook: N or 10MM Hook

Yarn: Bernat Blanket Ombre in Teal Dreams

I cast on a whole whack of chained stitches and just started doing a half double crochet stitch. And then I worked through the first ball of yarn and started the second. It was at this point I realized based on my unscientific and not counted cast on, that if I continued on this path I would end up with a long skinny rectangle. And that wasn’t what i was going for in a baby blanekt. So I crocheted until I got to something that was square-ish and then I started working around the edges to add a border with my remaining yarn.

I ended up with a 29 by 33 inch blanket. So while not square, its close enough for me. I really found this a project I couldn’t put down. With the super bulky yarn it I could really see progress. And that just felt so good! I got two LARGE skeins of yarn out of my stash that amounted to roughly 439.6 yards out.

I have no plans for this FO. I think I will just put it in the gift box and wait until I have a need for a cute baby gift. But this has left with me with the itch to do another one of these projects but that would mean buying more yarn for a project I don’t have a recipient for. I think I will put a pin in that thought and see if it keeps coming back.

Happy Crafting!!

A Second F Bomb

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In an attempt deal with my current load of stress..I’m knitting more F Bombs! My second one is off the needles!

I really think my duplicate stitch needs work but is improving. This time I held the red yarn held double double to see if I can improve the coverage and making the F more pronounced. I think I like how the stitches stick out, but I think I can make the stitches more cohesive.

I’m giving myself a break considering I’ve been a supervisor for 60 days and a worldwide pandemic has hit in the meantime. I’m going to keep knitting through adversary and strife! I think I’m going to start a third F Bomb…..

Happy Knitting!!

A Finished Jellybean Blanket

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I managed to squeak Jellybean’s Purple blanket in before sunset and before PB’s arrival.

I did end up doing a SC crochet border around the blanket edge to neaten it up. I took the last half skein of yarn and just went round and round till I ran out. I think I made two full laps. Using the locking stitch markers I was able to (mostly) keep the same stitch count across the blanket. Consequently this blanket is the most square I have ever made!

My stitch gauge kinda changed here and there. But the important part is that Jellybean loved it. And he’s actually keeping it on his bed! Not to lay under mind you….just to pet, lol. He loves it because Mommy made it…..and it’s all purple. That’s a win in my book!

Happy Knitting…..I mean crocheting!!

WIP Wednesday: Jellybean’s Purple Blanket

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I have been indulging in another nesting project. Jellybean’s love of purple has not abated and his blanket has been giving me stares of shame from the WIP bucket. I had started off like gang busters on this thing back during the Pigskin Party football KAL. I finished one skein in record time and then promptly let pregnancy and other projects steamroll this right to the bottom of my list. Now I have this crazy arbitrary idea that this needs to be done before PB gets here because Jellybean NEEDS a super hot blanket at the end of May in 90+ degree Kansas weather.

In the photo above, I have completed (almost) three full skeins out of four now. I have the fourth skein split in half. My plan is to use the first half to grow the blanket and then the second half to put a simple single crochet border around the edge to hide the few places where I lost and had to add back an edge stitch here and there.

Fingers crossed I can maintain momentum on this. My bump is growing daily and it makes it hard to craft, knitting or crochet, in a comfortable fashion long enough to make any progress.

 

One Skein Down

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Jellybean’s Purple Blanket is one skein in!

The jumbo locking stitch markers are a HUGE help to this novice crocheter. I have thus far (knock on wood) been able to maintain 10 stitches in between the markers. I have had to fudge once or twice but no one can tell and the blanket is still square! I do struggle with consistent tension. But that will come with time and practice. I don’t find crochet as therapeutic as knitting so I don’t know that I will devote a ton of time to crochet versus knitting. But it’s nice to have that tool in the toolkit.

I leave this project in the living room where Jellybean and I both can see it. He reminds me every once in a while that his blanket isn’t done yet. So it’s good motivation to add a few stitches every night. Now I only have 2-3 more massive chenille skeins to go….

Happy Knitting….er, I mean crocheting!

A Purple Blanket for Jellybean

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The ongoing sleep deprivation by a certain small human in this house has continued. My child is a happy and healthy robust 3 year old that simply does not need as much sleep as some other children his age. That being said he (and we) are still needing to find ways to cope with some relaxation and snoring issues. We have been put in touch with a fantastic regional children’s sleep clinic and we all have high hopes that this will be good for everyone.

That being said my Jellybean is also VERY attached to the color purple. If it’s purple….it’s his. He received a purple sparkly throw blanket for his third birthday and it MUST be with him in bed for sleeping. He doesn’t want to cover up with it necessarily….it just is there for comfort. We have had some nights where said blanket cannot be located and it’s the end of the world. So industrious knitter that I am had him pick out some purple yarn at Joanns so we can have TWO acceptable purple blankets.

He chose some Bernat Blanket Brights in POW Purple. I also got a new and lighter Clover crochet hook in the appropriate bulky size and some locking stitch markers to help me count across my piece. As a novice crocheter I sometimes have trouble placing my hook and unintentionally add or drop stitches.

I also decided that I wasn’t going to wing this blanket. I went to Ravelry and did a search for a pattern that suited my needs. I found the Hudson Baby Blanket by Jamie Williams. It’s basically the blanket I have been improvising but checked for gauge and the better directions for adding height when turning rows. I did modify from the pattern by going up to 90 stitches from the pattern recommended 64. I need my blanket to be more child sized than baby sized. Jellybean is already wearing clothes from the boys section at 3 years old….

I’m hoping to have this baby done up soon so the blanket crisis is a thing of the past!

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Crochet Rainbow Baby Blanket

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Oooof, crochet is hard for me. While I like it as a break from knitting and give my hands and arms a different workout….it’s just not intuitive to me. Nevertheless my Rainbow Baby Blanket is done!


Camera angles hide a multitude of sins. I’m still working on not losing stitches as I turn and crochet. But this bulky chenille yarn doesn’t help. It’s a perfectly serviceable blanket just not so much rectangular like it should be. Given that it’s main job will be warmth and the absorption of baby bodily fluids I don’t know I am bothered so much.


The finished size is roughly 34×40 inches. I used three skeins of Bernat Blanket and size K hook. All it needs now is a bath in baby safe soap and tucked safely away for the wee one to be born!

Cast On: Crochet Rainbow Baby Blanket

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One of my longest and favorite friends from childhood recently let me know that she will be welcoming a tiny bundle of joy this summer. Okay, based on the size of her husband….may not be so tiny, but I digress.

My crafting time is pretty limited but she has worked CRAZY hard to get pregnant so she (and the baby) deserve something special. I knew Joanns was running a sale on Bernat Blanket and I found this amazing color!

The momma knows the sex of the baby but I don’t. So I figure bright rainbow suits either way. I’m doing a blanket similar to the Little Roses For A Little Princess one from last year. For this one I chained for 48 inches and I’m doing a half double crochet stitch and just working until I’m out of yarn or it’s big enough. Whichever comes first.

I love how fast bulky crochet goes so I’m already almost through the first skein! The colors are also helping to brighten up the dreary winter nights. I just have to watch myself so I don’t miss too many stitches and start going trapezoidal!

Happy Crocheting!