FO Friday: Chevron Lap Blanket

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Well, this Stashbustin‘ project is finally done!! It has been a little more than a month in the making. It may or may not have started out as a baby blanket.… But I kept working and working and after some friendly blogger advice it’s done now!! I used 12 skeins of yarn (9 from my stash and 3 I purchased to make the finished length I wanted). I have to admit that it’s actually a lap blanket. But I don’t care, I love it!! I am so obsessed with chevrons right now.

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Being made of Loops & Threads Charisma this blanket is machine washable and dryer ready. So this blanket has had it’s first bath and spin in the dryer. It did fuzz up a bit both during knitting as the blanket sat on my lap and in the wash/dry. But to me it adds character and is the hallmark of a much loved and cherished hand knit. The pattern by the Purl Bee was amazing!! Not the first time I have made this and won’t be the last!!

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I claim victory over this blanket of epic proportions!!! This blanket is destined for me. I might keep it in the car since my husband loves the A/C or it might be my couch blanket. If I leave it in the house….it WILL get covered in dog hair that never really washes out, lol. But I love my dogs and so it’s not their fault of course.

My Rav link is here for those who are interested. Happy Knitting to everyone and I’m off for a weekend of knitting fun! Should I start something new or work on one of my WIPs?

So many choices….

 

 

Status Update: Chevron Blanket

Progress on Stashbustin’ #7

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Five and a half stripes down on my Chevron Baby Blanket! I plugged some serious time into this project. I had a migraine most of Saturday. It was wicked, I got so dizzy I almost passed out when I stood up. As a lifelong allergy sufferer, unfortunately these hit me a couple times a year. Usually at wild weather swing. My husband basically ordered me to the couch so I wouldn’t fall or hurt myself. Upside, I had several hours of uninterrupted (quiet) movie watching while knitting.

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This is usually my bed time knitting but I needed a familiar and soothing project this weekend. Not sure when I’ll be done with this one, and I don’t care. It’s a warm and soft project they I’m thoroughly enjoying.

I get the day off from my big kid job for Presidents Day. I was hopeful for some knitting time but I have a doctors appointment and a meeting with an insurance agent. Exciting stuff right?

I wish everyone a happy Monday!

Status Update: Chevron Baby Blanket

Finally some progress on stashbustin’ #7!

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This pattern by the Purl Bee is addictive! This is my second go round with this pattern and its just as good as the first. This is my “calm before bed knitting”. I work a few rows every night and I’m almost done with my third stripe!

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This pattern makes me think of the Peanuts cartoon for some reason. I find peace and the ability to meditate while working on it. It’s really helping me deal with my Grandmothers passing. Slow and steady progress as row after row of stitches form on my needles. Nothing complicated, just garter stitch beauty.

I’ll be sad when this blanket is finished but I can’t wait to see the end result!

Now I am off to pack for another weekend family event (a much happier one). My other grandmother is turning 80! We are going to let our hair down and stuff ourselves silly! So I’m off to land of little to no cell coverage and no wifi, see you on the other side!!

Stashbustin’ #9

Digging through my stash turned up a bunch of Bernat Baby Blanket big ball. I purchased several colors of this super bulky polyester blend thinking it would make great baby presents.

I chose a sand brown color and CO on The Addictive Baby Blanket by Renee M. A few rows in I realized this yarn was not suited for this pattern. So I frogged it. Then I cast on an improvised checkerboard style blanket with seed stitch border. I really tried to make it work, but about 25 rows in I was getting perturbed!

This yarn is extremely hard to keep gauge in! And it’s mostly likely my issues. I knit pretty loosely and on top of this the yarn kept grabbing and sticking to itself. This created bumps and ugly sts in my finished work. It also lacks stitch definition in my opinion. It is super soft, washable, and bulky yarn knits so fast. I’m determined not to give up in this yarn! So I once again frogged my work….

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I am doing another improvised design. I cast on 100 stitches and worked a simple K1, P1 row followed by P1, K1 row to create a seed stitch pattern. I also stop every so often and give my work a little tug (downward) to pull the stitches into place and avoid “bumps” or “lumps” in my work.

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This blanket is destined for a dear friend I grew up with. We have literally known each other our entire lives. Her baby shower is in April so I need to get cooking. Hopefully this super bulky on large needles and no brainer pattern will speed along!

Happy Knitting!

Stashbustin’ #7

MORE WITH THE DESTASHING!

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I have a few skeins of royal blue and yellow Loops and Thread Charisma. These happen to be my high school colors and they have been burning a hole in my stash. I really liked the pattern of the Chevron Baby Blanket by the Purl Bee, just not the colors I chose the first go around or finished size. Time for another swing!

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This project has no specific person or event in mind. Just wanted to turn this soft yarn into a comfy blanket. I cast on 156 stitches to extend the pattern. These colors have soothing psychological effect on me after growing up surrounded by them (my dad has coached in the school district for 30+ years and our house is full of blue and gold!) Makes for peaceful knitting…

Follow my Ravelry progress here.

Happy Knitting!

FO: Chevron Baby Blanket

Destashing #4complete!!

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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.

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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.

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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….

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

Happy Knitting

Rest and Relaxation

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!

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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.

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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!!

A Headband For Every Head

One of my favorite projects for winter is the Trinity Stitch Headband/Neckwarmer by Anglea Juergens.

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(Ravelry link to my project here)

It’s so beautiful, yet a simple knit! I made like 10 of these things while watching the Olympics this summer. I had to even laminate the pattern page because it was getting so much use!

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I knit all mine using Serenity Chunky Weight by Premier Yarns. Yes yes….it’s acrylic. But it washes well (important when you sweat like I do scooping snow) and its oh so soft and squishy. Plus with my great coupons from Joanns it can be affordable.

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I can whip several if these out on a lazy Sunday for my “gift” stash. All though truth be told I have several in my own hand knit pile so I can where whatever color suits my fancy that day! The author is a super duper knitter and was so lovely to deal with on the purchase. I highly recommend this pattern!

Happy Knitting!

FO Friday: Baby Blanket Victory

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(Sorry for dark iPhone shots…but I finished late last night and just couldn’t wait!)

Victory is mine!! My soft green baby blanket is done and represents the first of many (I hope) stash busting projects! You can find my Ravelry notes here.

I used Caron Simply soft in a light green color and held the yarn double. I wanted bulky yet super soft feel. I am in love with this pattern because its only one row to memorize and makes for great TV and car knitting. This is the third time I’ve made this pattern and probably won’t be the last. A sure sign of a great pattern!

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Due to the holidays and my craft fair prep…..this blanket took a little under two months (ouch). This pattern is actually very fast, I just had to put the blanket on the back burner several times.

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This shot does the best justice to the color. And schedule permitting I will try to take some better shots this weekend. This blanket is destined for a little baby boy due in April? and his wonderfully excited parents. I can’t wait to meet him!!

Snow is in our forecast next week. And I plan to knockout my Christmas shopping tonight. Hopefully this combination will put my holiday spirit and knitting drive into high gear!!

Happy Knitting!!