Bata Blanket #2

Yes, I am making the Marble Baby Throw from Lion Brand Yarn again.  This time for Vince's sister, who is having a boy.  I have made it twice now, they are listed below:

• Bebe Throw
• Bata Blanket - Part 1
• Bata Blanket - Finish

 

I named these blankets for the language of the recipients.  Bebe for my girlfriend who has Spanish spoken in her house and Bata for my Filipino boyfriend, whose these blankets went/will go to his Filipino friend and sister.  Bebe and Bata mean baby.

I am using the same yarn I used for the Bata Blanket: Berroco Comfort (50% Cotton, 50% Acrylic).  The colors I chose this time are Seedling (green) and Coffeeberry Heather (dark brown).

I checked out her gift registry and she had lime green and dark brown bedding as her color theme.  So, I did my best, even though Seedling is a bit darker than the lime green of the bedding.

I am crocheting, mainly at night, while TV watching.  But during the week, it is hard to have more than 30 minutes to work on it, so I have been reading.  I am crocheting the bulk of it on the weekends.  I have to finish by the beginning of September, for she is due September 12. Plenty of time.

Famous last words....

It is more than half complete.  This blanket takes a total of 4 skeins of yarn.  Since it is only 2 colors, 2 skeins each of Comfort color.  I am on my second set of skeins = more than half done.

In search of some natural lighting and background, I may have chosen poorly because the bushes are almost camouflaging the blanket!  You get the idea and this picture accurately portrays the colors of the yarn.

Think of this pattern as one big Granny Square.  I love how it is so easy. 

 

I have a feeling that this will not be the last Marbled Baby throw I crochet this year.  There is always someone having a baby and off the top of my head I can think of two women I know that I could crochet this for.  So much for knitting for myself...better warm up the crochet hook.

Indecision City

I bought this beautiful yarn for a project way back last summer, in July 2012.

It is Alpaca Silk (50% Alpaca / 50% Silk) from Blue Sky Alpacas.  It is sport weight and it is in a rich purple color.  I bought 3 hanks of it from a woman on Ravelry for $24, including shipping.  That is a fantastic deal, because online, one hank goes for about $14.  It's like getting one free!  Love it.

My original project idea was from a book called French Girl Knits by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes:

Interweave Press

This book has beautiful French-inspired knitted garments, with seamless construction.  The project I was going to choose to do was called Delphine, a lacy tank top:

Delphine, Interweave Press

Once I copied the pattern and started to do my research on needles and gauge, I discovered that I needed 7 different sets of needles: 2, 3, 4 circs in two separate lengths and then another circ in yet another length.  Ahh, oh crap.  I don't want to be doing all of that!  Yes, gorgeous tank, not so fun knitting experience.  Ugh!

I was bummed when I came to terms with it in my head.  I then poured over my knitting pattern library (with the help of Ravelry: I have it all in their database, where I can search the patterns without actually thumbing through all of my magazines).  My next choice was another lacy top that will use about the same amount of yarn.

It is from Debbie Bliss's Magazine, Spring 2011.

Debbie Bliss, 2011

I chose Cropped Lace Top, pattern #13 (lucky 13, I hope).

Cropped Lace Top - On Right

The sweater is the one on the right.  The construction is knit in 2 pieces from bottom up.  Seam together. Uses one set and size of needle.  Sounds good to me.

I am using size 5 circular, knit flat, not in the round.  I actually started this one and when I got to about 2 inches knit, I was half through one ball...I only have 3.

I put waste yarn through the loops and took it off the needle.  I had 13 scallops (pattern repeats) which measured over 24 inches across.  I need it to be only 20 inches...Drat!  I did not do a meaningful gauge swatch.  I knitted one to make sure I got the pattern repeat down, then casted-on.  My bad.

I even went to the beach with it when my sister came to visit:

Siesta Key Beach, FL

So, I did what anyone would have: I ripped it all out.  Ugh.  Yup, back to the drawing board.  I continued my pattern search and came up with a cute shawl that can be draped into a wrap, shawl or scarf.  It is called Summer Flies shawl.

A fellow knitter on Ravelry, esqknits let me use her finished pic to show what it would look like when it's finished:

Summertime Blues by esqknits

How beautiful; I think that looks very stunning, especially in that aqua blue.  I'm still sticking with the purple, so I can only hope that it is as eye-catching as her Summertime Blues shawl.

Third times a charm??

Weekend Shrug - Finished

Okay, let's call this the Two-Weekend Shrug!  I did mainly work on this on the weekend days, so it is safe to say that it was a quick knit.  I bought two hanks of Berroco Weekend and I ended up only needing less than 1-1/2 hanks.

My last post, explained the source of the pattern and a bit about why I chose this to knit:

• Weekend Shrug - Part 1

Continuing with the open weave pattern, I need to knit to a length of about 15 inches.

Once I had 15 inches knit, then I knitted the ribbing again, like in the start.  I have essentially knit a rectangle, with ribbing at the top and bottom of the long sides of the rectangle.

There was a special bind-off method that was needed to mimic a cast-on edge, called Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind-off.  Elizabeth Zimmermann was a British-born knitter that revolutionized the modern practice of kntting, so essentially she is the Mother of Knitting.  What she says goes. :-)

So, this is how it is done.  First, when you are ready to bind-off, you cut the yarn really long; put it on a sewing needle.  Thread the yarn from right to left through the first two sts, purlwise.

Second, thread the yarn from left to right into the first st, knitwise.

Third, pop the first st off the needle.

Repeat, threading the needle in this fashion until you have threaded through the last st on the needle.

The bound-off edge looks like the cast-on edge.  Yippee!  Even if it doesn't, who is going to know??

Then I sewed the ribbed edges together for 3-1/4 inches on each side; folded the ribbed edge that will be on my neck and I was DONE! 

I went by Brandon Yarn Boutique to show off how much I had done (I was at the final ribbing part at the time I stopped by the shop).  There were other people there and enjoyed looking at my project.  I loved hearing their praise and comments.

How neat is this little shrug?  I can't wait to wear it!  This will be my newest favorite article of clothing.

I am vowing to make only practical pieces.  I have several items that I have knit and barely wear because it's too warm out or it only goes with one thing.  That is a good-intention statement, but in my UFO pile there are wool items and long-sleeved pullovers. Sigh.... 

Weekend Shrug - Part 1

Hooray!  

I'm back to knitting and blogging.  This is a good thing!

My newest project (yeah, yeah, I know I have a few UFO's hanging out there) is called my Weekend Shrug.  It was a free pattern on Ravelry called Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher published in her blog: 10 feet high.

Kelly Maher's pic of bolero - Front

Kelly Maher's pic of bolero - Back

Isn't that cute?  I wanted something that I can do in cotton or cotton blend, versatile with my spaghetti strap and sleeveless blouses, and will be a quick-knit.

I went to my local yarn shop (LYS): Brandon Yarn Boutique to find the perfect yarn.  I knew if I went to Joann's or Michael's, I'd end up not liking the yarn I chose or something, so I decided to splurge and do it right.  My time is worth it!

Anyway, I chose Berrocco Weekend (75% Acrylic, 25% Cotton) in Pitch Black.  I am using size 8 and 10.5 knitting needles.

Weekend is a nice acrylic/cotton blend that feels and acts more like cotton than acrylic.  It is not springy like acrylic, but true to form like cotton (aka, no give).  Just what I wanted...something that can get thrown in the wash; carefree.

First you start out by ribbing a k2, p2 on the 8's.  I would use my 8 circs, but they are tied up with my UFO Cabled Cardi KAL.  Oh well, I have so many straights, that is what I used.  It was a little awkward because I used the 14" ones, which gave me arm fatigue holding them up.  I did not realize how spoiled I had gotten with the circs!

Little ribbing

Next you start the lace or open weave on the 10.5's.  These were even more awkward to work with at the 14" length.  How did our foremothers knit all day with these things?!

Kathy, my sister, talked my into buying the 10.5 circs.  Her convincing argument was that you only have to buy them once and you will always have them.  So true...consider me convinced.  I printed out a Michael's coupon and bought them at 40% off.  Yeah me!

Once the open weave portion is done, then you knit the ribbing again, back on the 8's, and connect the corners which meet under the arm and sew.  Right now, I would consider myself only about 25% done.  I have about 6" of the open weave knitted and I need about 18".

I will not let this shrug stay a UFO for long.  I have been wanting a black short-sleeved shrug for awhile and have been too cheap and lazy to go shopping for one.  I figured that I would be crafty and just knit the darn thing myself.

Cheers to a quick knit!

Origami Sweater - Part 1

In my fog of knitting a few [hundred] Christmas gifts, I decided to start a project for myself.  Nothing like putting pressure on myself.  Meaning, I'm not done with my Christmas knitting yet, but I am throwing a sweater in the queue for myself...that I started already!

My local yarn shop (LYS), Brandon Yarn Boutique, was having a sale, so it was a perfect time to shop.  My intention was for myself, I won't fool anyone.  I picked a few projects that I had on my mind and went down there.  Luckily, only one panned out.

I am knitting the Buzios pullover from Berroco.  It was a free pattern from their website and it is knit with Origami (48% Acrylic, 19% Nylon, 17% Linen, 16% Cotton) in a green and blue blend called Turtle Bay.

Pic from Berroco website

As usual, I went down a needle size than what was recommended so that I could achieve the correct gauge.  So, I am using a size 7 circulars.  This sweater is knit in the round from the bottom up.

Here is the yarn.  It is actually not really yarn, but has beautiful colors.  It is several different types of string held together then wrapped with a black thread to bind it.  It's like working with a thin cord.  I don't see this sweater being all that warm, but since it is lacy and open, that was never it's intention!

I casted on and I was off!

The stitches in this sweater are a lace stitch and seed stitch.  There will be stripes of seed stitch alternating with the lace stitch.  I was joking with a fellow knitter and we were saying how seed stitch takes a lot of time.  I told her that this is half seed stitch and I said that this was a project doomed to be a UFO (unfinished object) before it even starts.  I was only joking because this yarn was pricey and it was not going to sit in the closet, unknit!

I'm actually chugging right along on it.  The seed stitch stripes are great for knitting while watching TV or chatting.  The lace stitch stripes, I need to pay attention and count the stitches after each row.  Lace stitching is made up of a lot of yarn overs (yo) and decreases, so you can miss one and not realize it until a row or two later.  Fixing lace is not fun.

I snugged a long pillow through the sweater so that you could see my progress.  From the bottom up, I knitted the seed stitch for 1", then there is the lace stripe, 2" seed stitch stripe, and another lace stripe, then a seed stitch stripe.

The lace stripe: A close-up.  To date, I have knitted a bunch more, I just have not taken any more pictures, but it is pretty much the same: alternating the seed and lace.  Since I am knitting in the round, there will be no seaming.  Once it's done, it's done.

But, since I'm still finishing up some Christmas knitting, this sweater I will work on in the background.  I have only a few more items to knit for gifts, but I'm dragging my feet on them.  One involves stranding, which is like using the yarn wrapping technique that you use for fair isle knitting (multi colors).  I do not have much practice with multiple colors.  We shall see.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff in the pipeline.

Related Links:

• Origami Sweater - Part 2

Fuzzy Wuzzy

I am starting my Christmas knitting early.  I am on a roll and have completed two hat and scarf sets.  I don't know how many items I will make as Christmas gifts, but I will just knit until I run out of time.  That always seems to work :-)

I start out by buying some really cute yarn at a local store; they were inexpensive so I figured I'd buy a bunch and figure out what to do with them later.  The first set of yarn is a wool-like multicolored strand with a novelty strand of mini fuzzy nubs on them wound together.  I'll call this set of yarn "Fuzzy."  The brand is Gala Yarns and I believe it is a yarn company that must buy out other company's yarns and recycles them.  So I am being green by knitting something with recycled yarn.

Fuzzy

The second set of yarn is a brown worsted weight acrylic yarn with a novelty strand of mini fuzzy nubs on them wound together, like in the other yarn.  This set is also from Gala Yarns (again, being green).  I will call this set of yarn "Wuzzy."

Wuzzy

I decided to make a hat and scarf set for my friend's two daughters.  I made them a hat last year (I Heart Hats) as well, so they can add these to their collection.

The scarves are first.  It is a pattern that I am improvising on.  Here is my pattern:

• Any yarn, at least one ball of 50g (more if you want fringe)
• Size 8 or 9 knitting needles (8 if thin yarn, 9 if thick yarn)
• Work the following pattern until you run out of yarn or reach the desired length:
• CO 16 st, loosely
• Row 1: k1, *yo, k2 tog, repeat from * to end
• Row 2: p
• Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until you reach desired length
• Bind off loosely
• Cut fringe in 10" pieces for fringe that is about 5" long once attached
• For Fuzzy, I used 3 strands of yarn for each fringe
• For Wuzzy, I used 2 strands of yarn and one strand of ribbon for each fringe
• Attach fringe at the ends of scarf at the ribs

This pattern created a ribbed look with eyelets (holes) in between each rib.  It was to have an easy pattern to mindlessly knit without a pattern, but different than stockinette.  

Here is Fuzzy, while in the works:

Here is Wuzzy in the works:

Next was fringe.  I cut 54, 10" strands for Fuzzy and 36, 10" strands for Wuzzy.  Wuzzy also had 6, 10" strands of purple ribbon cut.  

I explain how to attach fringe in a past post: Quintet Scarf.  For Wuzzy, I placed the ribbon one on each end and one in the middle, so there are 3 strands of ribbon weaved in at each end.

On to the hats.  The hat pattern is a pattern I have used in the past and love it.  It is very versatile.  That pattern is available in my I Heart Hats post.  This time, the yarns were pretty thick, so the bottom edge did not naturally roll, so I made them like beanie hats.  You gotta roll with the punches and just go with it.  

How cute, huh?

Here are them as a set:

So, I can officially cross two little people off my list.  Not too shabby.

Bebe Throw

I had a baby shower to attend yesterday and so I have been working on crocheting a baby throw.  Crochet goes by much faster than knitting and I was running out of time (shocking, I know) and needed one.  Her husband's family is Puerto Rican, so they are very immersed in the Spanish culture, so they call "baby", "bebe".  That will be the name of my throw.

I chose an easy crochet throw from the Lion Brand collection of patterns and it is pretty much one big granny square.  Here is a pic from their website:

Isn't is sweet?  It is a throw that I believe I can start and finish in time for the shower.  I went to Knit 'N Knibble and browsed their huge selection of yarn and settled on the following:

It is Snuggly by Sirdar and it is a dk weight baby yarn that is 55% Nylon/45% Arcrylic.  I normally do not like using arcrylics because they are often not soft or are prone to pilling.  This acrylic blend yarn is definitely the exception: very soft, does not have that dense, plasticy feeling you can feel when you rub it between your fingers.  It is lightweight and really a pleasure to work up.  I bought 2 of each color and used an I hook.

I chose 3 colors rather than 4, as the pattern suggests.  This is a pattern that you can do any color in any order and not worry about it.  The sex of the baby will be a surprise, so the 3 colors I chose were a buttercup yellow (Daisy), a sage green (Summer Lime) and a light blue.  I thought the blue was another shade of green at the time I purchased it, but when worked up, it is definitely blue. 

I started that very evening with the center square:

I will repeat the color order as you see above.  I will crochet two rounds of each color.  I took this throw in the car with me and crochet to and from work ( I carpool and often am not the driving), so this worked up even faster than I imagined.

I'm almost done in the above picture.  I bought 2 balls of each color and plan on crocheting until I run out of yarn.  I ran out of yellow first, which is supposed to be the color I end on: perfect!

Here are a few of the finished throw:

Now, here is a picture from the baby shower:

She loved it!  She said it was very nostalgic from her own childhood.   That was the only homemade gift at the shower, which had to complete with some pretty nice gifts!  A homemade gift is special in it's own way.

Now, I am off to start another baby blanket for a friend that had her baby already.  Better late than never, I always say.  It will be worth the wait.