2013 - October Recap

What a busy month.  Then again, I always say that.  This month I got a lot accomplished on my crafting.  I finished my blanket and worked on 2 shawls.  I also got to see some great movies this month.

<3 Heather

Finished Object Friday - White Centered Granny Blanket

I promised that the finished object page would come shortly and thankfully your didn't have to wait that long.  I have some other things finished but I want to weave in ends and block.  Hopefully I will get that done eventually. 

Anyway, this blanket has been in the works since April 2012.  It started when I was playing around with some left over yarn from my Penguins Hat.  I was inspired by the blanket in the "Twin Ta Da" post on the BunnyMummy Blog.  She made two small baby blankets for twins but I just love the striking look of the white bordering all of that color.

She made her blankets using Stylecraft Special DK.  I honestly went out and bought a whole bunch of colors to start to make it but got impatient while waiting for the yarn and pulled out the left overs from my hat.  

Ta Dah!

I really loved the yellow gold color and how it seemed to just glow.  So down the rabbit hole I went and started purchasing colors of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.  I started with 7 colors Gold, Teal, Denim Blue, Purple, Pink, Red and Orange.  After making some squares, I realized I would need more colors so I bough the Dark Green and the more of the original colors.

First look at all of the original colors

After some work, I got impatient and started to put together some sections.  When I really counted out how many blocks I had, I realized that my blanket wasn't going to be very big.  So more colors were added again, this time a Mint Green, a Magenta, a Sapphire Blue and a Cinnamon.

More Colors!

This doesn't begin to calculate the amount of white I used.  I completely underestimated how much white would be needed and kept buying more.  Unfortunately, as I was finishing the specific color of white I was using was re-tooled to be off white.  So there is some variation but I can't tell in my apartment.

Lots and Lots of White!

When I put the blanket together, I have never been a fan of the look of join as you go.  Instead I chose to use a slip stitch join on the backside of the blanket.  It does leave ridges but I am happy with the look.

And the back of the blanket.

I did a thicker border for this blanket.  I did a round of single crochet (US), two rounds of double crochet (US) and a 10 stitch scallop pattern.

Love the Scallops

So that's it, a lot of hard work but I am so proud of this blanket.  I already washed it and it came out looking good.  Now for the best part the snuggling!

Check out more Finished Objects at Tami's Amis!

<3 Heather

Ravelry Page - White Centered Granny Blanket
Hook - 5.00mm/H
Yarn - Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Colors -  010/Teal (2); 024/Mint Green (1); 025/White (9); 033/Orange (2); 034/Gold (2);  036/Purple (2); 037/Magenta (1); 038/Pink (2);  101/Off White (19); 204/Sapphire Blue (1); 208/Blue (2); 506/Dark Green (2); 609/Cinnamon (1); 610/Red (2);
Duration - 16 Months

WIP Wednesday - Orange you glad

Back again with a really crafty week.  My Dad was home sick Thursday and Friday with flu symptoms.  He had chills, was achy and a headache.  I knew he was going to be fine but this is the first time he has actually been sick since mom passed and it brought out some old anxieties in me.  Its hard when you have this urge to take care of someone even though you can't get there to do it.  Anyway, I think I caught whatever it was he had because Monday and Tuesday this week, I had similar symptoms.

Aside from getting sick, I had a great weekend.  I was able to finish my blanket by weaving in the ends, taking pictures and washing it.  I even have the post for Friday all ready queued up and ready to go.  Go me!  While it was a bit chilly, I was able to get some of the golden light before sunset to set off my blanket.  I can't wait to show everyone.

Other than that, this week was fairly laid back.  Other than knitting things and going home for church everything was pretty quiet.

 Shapely Boyfriend

It's alive!

The last time I posted about this was in January.  I did work on it through the winter but once spring came, I no longer was longing for a cardigan sweater.  I put it aside and figured that I would pick it up in the fall again.  Earlier this month I looked at the sweater and though I wanted to work on it, I delayed because I wasn't sure the original size was going to fit anymore.

I have been going to a nutritionist about my weight and she has me on a strict diet to help me lose weight.  I can't have fat, sugar, carbs, and dairy but I have lost 15 lbs so far, basically all I can eat is lean protein and veggies.  I figured that given my knitting speed, I wouldn't be able to wear it until next fall so I decided to make it with a 42 inch bust.

I began with a new skein of yarn and once that was used I ripped out the needles on the old sweater and started to use the yarn that was already knitted.  I was about 4 skeins into the sweater and I didn't want to rip it out and re ball it.  So I am carrying around 2 sweater, once that is growing and one that is shrinking.

What I didn't anticipate would be how much faster this is going.  I think because I understand the pattern I can just zoom through it.  In a week and a half, I have already surpassed what I made on the other sweater.  I just finished the waist shaping and have 8 more rows until the hip shaping.  I actually think that if I keep up this pace I may be able to finish it next week.  Thank goodness for large needles and chunky yarn!  I haven't been this fast on a project since my first hat.

Cherry Sundry

I haven't had a chance to work on this given my dedication and focus on the shapely boyfriend cardigan.

Quaker Foxhunt

Well the new skein of yarn came in last week but I haven't restarted it yet.  This skein is actually wound with the orange on the outside, so now the internal debate begins orange first or green first.   I am actually going to wait until November to start.  If I dedicate to working on this project like I have on the cardigan, I may be able to turn it in for nerd wars.

So that's all for this week.

For other WIPs check out Tami's Amis and Frontier Dreams

Check out my new meme Movie Madness Monday

<3 Heather