FO: Waves and Ripples Blanket

First destashing project complete!!

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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!

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

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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.

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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

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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!!

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FO Friday: Boot Toppers/cuffs

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

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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!

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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

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.

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