FO Friday: Memory Blanket

Posted on March 15, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I was cleaning out my knitting storage and came across a surprise, my memory blanket I made in 2011! By 2011 my knitting had progressed from scarves to many many garter stitch baby blankets. At the time I had a slew of family and friends all having babies. It seemed that they would never stop. I think I made like 8 or 9 blankets in 2011?

After all those projects I had a ton of random acrylic baby blanket yarn left over. It was all different colors and yarn weight and I didn’t really want to store it. So on a whim, I just cast on a whole bunch of stitches and started working. I knit until I ran out of one color and then started the next one. I finished the project shortly after Christmas. I distinctly remember sitting at my Grandma’s kitchen table playing dominos with the family and trying to knit the blanket at the same time because I didn’t want the project to run over into 2012.

It’s not the best or prettiest blanket I have ever made, but it’s special to me. I can look at the various stripes an see all the babies I had knit for: Sofia, Bentley, Devin, Jackson, Orion, and Ely. And it’s perfect blanket to throw on my bed on a cold night or cuddle on the couch with. Isn’t it cool when something you knit becomes more than just FO?

Happy Friday and Happy Knitting!!!

FO Alert: Test Balaclava #1

Posted on February 7, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Finished my first test balaclava/stashbustin’ #8 project!

I just wanted to work with the pattern to learn the building blocks of a balaclava for the special request of my coworker Kevin. I had a skein of Bernat Denimstyle and it didn’t have enough yardage to knit the full length of the pattern as written. So I chose to knit a shorter version. My Rav page is here.

It fit my husband much better than it did me. The yarn was delightful to work with and the pattern was easy to follow. I like the seamless construction but not the all over ribbing. I think I will take out the ribbing on the neck and only keep it around the face opening to keep the fit and stretch. I will also make the cap portion a little taller and the face opening a smidgen smaller.

I really hope that I can come up with a really cool FO for my awesome co-worker. I feel under pressure because he is a wood worker and understands quality construction and the value of hand made! I’m about to cast on test #2!!

Happy Knitting!!

FO: Chevron Baby Blanket

Posted on January 23, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Destashing #4complete!!

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

Adventures in Ice Skating

Posted on January 21, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Saturday was an amazing day! We spent the afternoon with friends at a baby shower/housewarming. I presented the Momma-to-be with her own One Row Blanket in sage green. She was delighted! I also threw in a baseball cacoon/snuggly of my own design and improvisation as she is having a boy and Daddy-to-be has high hopes for his athletic future. We all used to live in the same town but they moved early last year so we can’t see each other very often. It was amazing to spend time with some great friends. I can’t wait until we get to meet their son! I hope to be able to share some snaps of the baby wrapped up in hand knits in a few weeks.

On the drive back to town my husband told me he had a surprise for me since it was our first weekend together after he started his new job. But he wouldn’t tell me or give me any hints…argh. So when we got home we ate an amazing grilled chicken dinner and watched a movie. I was thrilled and delighted to have such a sweet date night. But it wasn’t over…at 9:30 my husband brought me my shoes and coat and said ‘let’s go’!

He took me ice skating for the first time ever in my life!! Our town has a local semi-pro hockey team and after the home games they let you free skate for just a few bucks. While it gets cold in Kansas, it never gets cold enough long enough to freeze any lakes or rivers. And I grew up in the boonies so we didn’t exactly have access to ice rinks. IT WAS AMAZING and it really wasn’t that much different than roller skating. A few turns around the rink and I was hooked! Not to mention its a GREAT workout and my ankles/legs/behind are sore this morning to prove it!! It was such a great feeling to fly across the ice next to my husband. It will definitely be included in our regular date night options. Sorry no photos as I was deathly afraid of flying across the ice and crashing thereby smashing my phone. But trust me it’s cool!

But you know I found myself doing? I kept noticing all the hand knits that everyone was wearing. It was fairly frosty in the rink. Scarves, hat, beanies, cowls, sweaters, boot toppers, ear warmers…..so much delicious yarn everywhere. I couldn’t help but think….”I could make that!” “Oh that’s pretty!” So much yarn worn by people of all walks of life, ages, and styles. There was boho-chic, chunky knits, downtown hipster, crazy novelty yarn, and just down right warm and snuggly amazing-ness. It’s crazy how many knits you can find when you start looking. I’m beginning to think I have problem when I can spot a hand knit from half a block away.

On top of all this, I made great progress on my Chevron Blanket during all the car travel time and movie time. FO object post coming soon!!!!

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!

FO Friday: My First Sweater

Posted on October 19, 2012 by atangledyarn84

I finished my Stockinette Shrug. I used Berroco Vintage DK and the Lion Brand Glitter Shrug pattern.

This sweater took me over a month, but I was running three to four shows a week at the local community theater. So my knitting time was limited to say the least, ha! I loved loved loved the yarn! It is wonderfully soft for a wool blend and I didn’t have any problems with it splitting. While I was hoping to make this project with larger yarn and bigger needles to make it faster, I was glad I chose this yarn. I will definitely use it again!!

I did have one major hiccup, see that blog here. I survived that disaster and my skills (and sweater) are better for it! I even managed to make pretty seams for the first time ever 🙂 !

My only regret is that when I washed and blocked it….I blocked it a bigger than I intended. I made the sweater a bit wider across the shoulders than I intended. I wore it to work this week and ended up having to safety pin it to my tank to keep it from slipping off my shoulders. No worries my friends, I can remedy this the next time I wash it.

Finishing this project has really stirred the sweater itch in this knitters’ soul. But alas, I promised myself I would learn socks first. And on top of that, I have TWO craft fairs to prepare for this fall. A knitters work is never done!

For now just enjoy some FO photos! Happy Friday!!

FO Friday: Boot Toppers/cuffs

Posted on October 12, 2012 by atangledyarn84

Because its FO Friday I want to talk about my boot toppers I started awhile back.

Those simple cuffs seem to be all the rage this year! I am starting to see them pop up in other blog posts and Ravelry queues. See my project link on Ravelry.

I knit these in bulky weight extremely soft and silly yarn. Because of this they worked up very quickly! However I failed to take into account my own body.

I am a lifelong and avid volleyball player. In volleyball you spend (or should spend) most of your time on the court up on your toes and the ball if your foot in what is mostly a perpetual calf raise. Long years of this have given me very muscular and round calves, thus making it hard to fit into tall boots. Last year I happened on an pair with elastic vents on the sides that fit me! Though even with the elastic they are a snug fit…

Therein lies the rub….my toppers are bulky. They fit into my boots with some coaxing but are not comfortable to wear for long. I love how the simple rib turned out and the color is amazing for fall.

I am not defeated however! I am in the final stages of finishing my Stockinette Shrug made with Berroco Vintage DK and I have yarn leftover! I want to adjust my topper/cuff pattern for DK weight and try making them again. I think a thinner knit “fabric” will suit my body needs better and they would match my sweater!! Who know I may throw in a hat to match, ha!

I choose to look at this project not as a failure but as a learning moment. I am not going to frog my bulky originals. Who knows I may find a friend with skinny legs who wants super cool cuffs for their boots! I still need to finish the matching scarf but its at the bottom if my priority list.

I hope to finish, wash/block, and seam my sweater this weekend, stay tuned!!!

Happy Knitting and TGIF!

FO – Frilly Knit Scarf

Posted on August 31, 2012 by atangledyarn84

Just a little FO this Friday. I had a three hour car ride to kick off my labor day weekend. Only took me 2 hours to complete (in between chatting with the hubby)!

It’s Frilly Knit Scarf by Red Heart made with Red Hearts’ Boutique Sashay in Salsa. I made one small change to the pattern, I only cast on five stitches instead of six. I wanted a little more length and it doesn’t change the look of the scarf very much.

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

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