FO: Finger Knit Cushy Blanket

This project idea was hatched back in June when I came across 5 skeins of this enormous yarn in a thrift store. I'm not usually one for this huge yarn trend, but my mom had mentioned how she thought the chunky knit blankets were really cool and it lead to a whole discussion about how expensive the yarn is to make those and the idea seemed to dwindle away. So when I found a blanket worth of yarn for $5, I snapped it up and knew I wanted to make my parents this blanket sometime. 

The yarn is called Yarn Bee Eternal Bliss and is originally from Hobby Lobby for $7.99 per skein. This yarn is the Light Gray colorway, which is literally the perfect color for my parent's back room of their house, which is where they would watch tv with a blanket. This yarn is seriously 1 inch in diameter. So thick. I knew i couldn't do anything with needles for this yarn, so I looked into finger knitting. I came across this video on YouTube, which laid out the whole process and made this project so easy.

According to the video, I had the perfect amount of yarn for a 3 x 4 foot blanket, so I followed her directions and chain stitched 28 stitches across (which was 3 feet). I knit up the whole blanket one night on a zoom call for about 2 hours and then excitedly went in my room to lay it out and see how it looked ... only to discover that I had dropped 3 stitches on the edge throughout the project, one of which was in the first quarter of the blanket. Ugh. I had to unwind all the way back and set it aside. This worked out for the best though because now I knew what I was doing and I could involve my kids in making it again. They sat on each side of me and would pull up the loops on their side of the blanket while I worked on the center as we went. Now they can say they made this blanket, which is always a big deal for a 5 year old at Christmas. Also because I had already knotted the yarn together when I made the blanket the first time, I had an absolutely gigantic ball of yarn I was working from - seriously it was bigger than a basket ball. The girls thought it was pretty awesome.

Here is the purl side of the blanket. You can see me joins if you look close, but they really aren't that bad considering how big this yarn is. I secured each join with a needle and thread as well as the start and end knots just to make sure it holds up to washing. Our stitching could certainly be a bit tighter, which might have made it look a bit more even, but for never having done finger knitting before and also considering I was letting 5 year olds help me, I think it turned out pretty great.

So now my parents have their chunky knit blanket. It's so thick and cushy that it works well as a mat for babies in case they plop their heads down too quickly, and the openness of the stitches makes this not a super heavy blanket. It's just enough to snuggle up in without making you too hot, so it should be great for this Florida family. My kids have been using it everytime they go over to my parents house, so I know I have their seal of approval. I'm happy with how this turned out and would definitely try out finger knitting again if I come across this kind of yarn again.

Summary:

Yarn: 5 skeins of Yarn Bee Eternal Bliss in Light Gray - $5.35

Pattern: How To Finger A Knit Blanket by Play Hooky With Me - Free

Time: 4 hours

Machine Knitting: Buffalo Check Baby Blanket on the 22 pin Sentro Knitting Machine

If you've been involved in the knitting world on YouTube in the last year or so, you've probably seen the Sentro Knitting Machines. They are a circular, plastic, toy-looking knitting machine that is actually used by knitters (adults) for all kinds of projects. I had toyed with getting one or months, but it finally got me, and this project definitely helped me justify the splurge. My sister was having her first baby at the beginning of June, so I used that as the perfect chance to make this up.

I made this entire blanket on my 22 pin Sentro knitting machine in 2 days. Yes, really. I saw several tutorials and patterns making this same idea, but I knew I could figure it out on my own (controversial, I know). This entire blanket is double layered, because all the strips are knit in tubes and then flattened to seam them together. My sister really likes the black and gray baby trend that's been going around, so I decided to make this look like buffalo check. I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby in Greybead, Black, and White, and I made each square 17 rows, then switched to the next color, then switched back, etc until I had 12 squares per strip. This made my finished blanket 52 x 41 inches, so a good baby blanket size. Was the knitting perfect? Absolutely not, lol. This was my first actual project on the machine, so I learned a few important tips in making this:

• make sure the yarn is free flowing into the machine with no added resistance or you will get tucked stitches and weirdness
• snug your new color yarn after about 3 stitches, then tie it to the previous color after 4 or 5 rows
• don't crank too fast or you will drop stitches
• angle the machine on the edge of the table to the tube can fall freely and not bunch up or get twisted

Let's just say I'm thankful this project is double sided with the same color behind each square. If it didn't have that double layer, you would see ALL kinds of weird holes and spaced out stitches, but the double layer fills in the gaps. 

Seaming this beast took as much time (if not more) than cranking out the pieces. I tried out 2 methods of seaming the strips together- crocheting the edge stitches into each other, and mattress stitch. In the end, I liked the smooth look of the mattress stitch, so that is what I used, but man did that take a long time. Also being a double layer, this was quite warm to seam together in May/June in Florida. Just saying. For seaming, I started from the center of each line and worked outward, trying to make sure the squares lined up to give the plaid look I was going for. I think I mostly succeeded. This project is a major yarn hog though, so be warned. This baby blanket took almost the entire 4 skeins of yarn. Because of this, it's wonderfully squishy, but it is certainly a blanket for colder times.

Since this was a gift for my new nephew, I decided to add one of my tags :) Then hopefully he will know where this came from when he gets older. Part of why I wanted to make this was just to learn the construction, but also to see how sturdy it felt with all that seaming. I'm pleasantly surprised at how together this blanket feels. I was afraid the weight of the other strips would cause them to pull away from each other and create gaps, but if I didn't tell people it was made in strips then I don't think they would ever know.

I let my other new nephew test it out before I sent it to the recipient, and it passed the cozy baby test with flying colors :) 

All in all, I'm really happy with this project. You can't beat the speed, and for baby gifts this will give me a very impressive look without all the time I would usually have to spend (which is why I don't ever knit blankets - I get bored). I am certain I will be making more of these blankets for other new babies in the future, and it really makes my purchase of this little machine feel more justified. I have the most ridiculous yarn stash, so I'm excited about the greater possibilities of using it quicker.

Summary:

Yarn: Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn 2 skeins in Greybeard, 1 skein in Black, 1 skein in White: $14.96

Pattern: My own based off Koala Knits and Calumet Knits You Tube videos

Time: 2 Days

FO: Bright and Sunny Granny Square Blankets

I feel like every one of my posts lately start out by saying something about how old this project is, and this one will be no exception! lol Sorry, not sorry. This is another good competitor for my oldest UFO, and other than my Hostess Apron I think it is. But holy cow it's done! Let's take a look.

I learned to crochet in August of 2012 when my lovely friend Leigh taught me how to make a baby hat. So I started off making circles (which I'm super grateful for) and progressed to making amigurumi shortly after that. By the time January of 2013 rolled around, I was pretty well versed in crochet, but I kept seeing all these things called Granny Squares when I looked for new projects. Turned out that most people make granny squares as their first project when learning to crochet (or so it seemed), so when I saw a cute blanket design that was granny square I decided I should make it up almost as a rite of passage since I hadn't ticked that style of crochet off my list yet. I thought it would help me grow better at crochet... or something...

In truth, the yarn came before the project. After learning to knit and crochet in 2012, I became a yarn stashing fiend. Craftsy was a newer thing and they had all kinds of supplies from companies that seemed so fancy, one of such products was this Cascade Cherub Kaleidoscope Aran yarn in the Sunripe colorway. They had a sweet deal on a bag of 10 skeins and I jumped at it, not knowing anything about this yarn or what I could use it for. Shortly after it arrived, I decided a blanket would be a great way to turn that bag of yarn into something usable since this was a soft acrylic and it was variegated (which I know I don't like to wear).

When I came across the free Traditional Granny Square pattern by Donna Higgins, I just started making squares. I would make few, get bored with doing the same thing over and over, and switch to another more exciting project. This trend went on for YEARS. I would be all determined when I picked up my bag of squares only to fizzle out within a few days and set it aside to make something else. When I picked it up back at the beginning of May, I had maybe 20 squares done. Shameful, I know. I just didn't love making granny squares since I was able to make much more complicated projects. Anyway, in the vein of finishing old projects during the lock down period, I sat myself down and started churning out blocks again. What was originally intended to be a large blanket for my bed became the perfect opportunity to make blankets for my lovely girls instead. I wound up just making squares until I got down to the last skein and a half of yarn. I had no idea how much yarn it would take to add a binding to the two blankets, so I stopped making squares and started joining them together at that point.

I wound up with 2 blankets that are 6x7 squares each. I also used a HUGE white skein of yarn I got at a thrift store to bind the squares together. It was one of those 1 pound skeins (I'm pretty sure it's Lion Brand Pound of Love but it had no label) and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to use up all that yarn so I had it earmarked all this time for just this project. 

Once I had all the blocks combined, I started on the borders. I did 2 rows of the white all the way around, and I actually ran out of my white ginormous skein with about 1/4 of the final row left on the first blanket binding. Happily, I also have a bunch of Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in white that was given to me, so I used that on the second blanket and to finish the first. Then I just did a basic scalloped edge in the pink yarn around both edges. Turns out that I could've done 1 more row of blocks on each blanket given that I have almost 2 full skeins of the pink variegated left over :/ Which I find ironic considering this project was contrived solely to use this yarn up. Oh well. By the time I saw I was going to have that much excess, there was no way I was going to pull out all that work and add more. So now I have some extra yarn to make pillows or something in the future, lol, at least that's what I tell myself.

This was the pile of ends I had to weave in! Isn't that crazy? That's like 1/2 a skein of yarn right there. It took me a few hours to do all the weaving in, but it wasn't bad, just time consuming.

All this was worth it to see the smiling faces of my girls when I gave them their new blankies! I'm not sure how much they understand about me making these for them (though anytime they seem me knitting anything, Penny points at the project and says , "Mommy, blankie?"), but they LOVE their new blankets. They love blankets in general, to be real, but they particularly like these. Maybe it's the fun color, maybe it's the soft yarn, or maybe they actually know what it means that their mommy made it for them :)

So even though this project took 7.5 years to finish, I'm really glad it took that long. If I had finished this sooner, it would be a big blanket for me, which would be used occasionally I'm sure but wouldn't be as loved or meaningful as it is now that I was able to make 2 blankets for my little ladies :) These have become their blankets in their crib every night - quite the distinction. I'm glad to have this project off my mind, but even more so glad that it can be enjoyed for years to come by my favorite little people!

FO: Someone Else's Blanket

Years ago, I had a big shopping problem. I would spend money on stupid things that I didn't need just for the sake of "the deal." Target clearance sections were my downfall. Then one day I found myself in a very bad financial situation - not due to my shopping habits, just for the record - and I had no choice but to majorly cut back on shopping. This turned out to be a great thing overall, but that doesn't mean I quit my shopping fix cold turkey because I was lucky enough to find the Thrift Store. I always had shopped a bit here and there at thrift shops, mostly for vintage items to sell on Etsy or eBay, but after this fiasco it became my place to get anything (mainly clothing) that I didn't make myself. This lead to countless hours in the craft section, because let's be real - I love craft supplies, anyway, but particularly since I couldn't afford to buy them new, I was extremely interested in scouring what was available second hand. Occasionally, I would come across half finished projects and lament for the person who started them and was unable to finished for whatever reason. A few of them I decided to buy and try to finish myself just to do the previous maker's work justice. Fast forward to now, years later when I've already re-donated a bunch of these projects I just had to have at the time, but there are still a few projects I just couldn't bear to part with. This post is about the first one I have actually finished.

Look how snuggly! lol

This blanket came to me in a very large shopping bag - it was clearly intended to be at least queen sized when it was finished, and it was still on the horrible plastic cable needle to make it with. The bag had the blanket on the needles as well as about 4 Caron One Pound skeins of navy yarn to make the whole project (they made it with 2 skeins held double), and it only cost me $2. At the time, I figured even if I didn't do anything with the blanket, I at least got all that yarn for a great price, but I just could never bring myself to unravel the completed section. The big problem in this purchase = NO PATTERN. I was so bummed when I got the bag home and saw that the pattern was nowhere to be found. What would the odds be of finding the one random blanket pattern that some previous person used to knit this up? Very slim, I can tell you. In one of my moves/stuff purges, I made the decision that I would just finish the blanket the size that it was by adding a seed stitch border to match the already completed edge. That was a few years ago now, lol. So earlier this month when I finished my Dahlia cardigan, I saw this large bag just sitting in my sewing room adding to the clutter, and I decided to FINALLY buckle down and finish it even if it was just so it wouldn't be sitting in a ripped up bag anymore.

After all the years of carting this around and putting off working on it, I had the entire thing off the needles in about 2 hours. Isn't that ridiculous? Most of that time was spent untangling the two skeins of yarn barf that was going on. But it's like anything else - you just have to be in the mood to make something, and with all the stress I've been going through these past several months, I just didn't want to start anything new - I am on finish it up mode. I actually only had to knit the seed stitch area near my face in the photo above.

The pattern is really lovely, and it's a shame it wasn't included, though who knows how much longer I would've put off finishing this had I actually HAD a pattern and intended to knit a queen size blanket, lol. So it's probably better this way. At least now I have a lovely blanket that no one else will even know isn't the way it was initially intended to be, but that is pretty and useful nonetheless. I don't buy unfinished projects anymore, but that's not to say I don't recommend it for others. It's an interesting challenge figuring out what to do with something already partially made. I'm thrilled to finally have this done. Yay for finishing old projects!

Let's have a close up look at that lovely stitch pattern :)

So now I have a slightly odd shaped blanket that is long enough to cover my body on the couch and just a little bit narrow but enough to stay warm. Thank you, lovely knitter who made the rest of this blanket! I will put it to good use for us both :)

WIP Wednesday: Geek-Along, Teaching Knitting, and Sew Much More

This week has been quite filled with making things :) I managed to finish my first square for the Geek-Along this weekend - my Tesla coil. I decided to do my blanket in crochet, and I learned how to do "tapestry" crochet just for this project. It's actually really easy, the only part I struggled with is figuring out which way to twist the yarn when I changed colors to avoid gaps in color. I got much better with this as I went on, so the top half looks much better in my opinion. It was pretty fun - it's nice to do something really simple where technically it's all single crochet. Following the chart and changing colors for the picture prevented me from getting bored with it like most every other blanket I've tried to make. It definitely bolstered my confidence in the project as a whole, so last night I started my next square: Bunsen and Beaker.

I grew up watching the Muppets (I'm of the Muppet Babies generation, after all), and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker were always some of my favorites. So when faced with which square to work on next, this was the obvious choice. So far I'm sticking to the colors suggested by the designers (I mean, OF COURSE Bunsen and Beaker had to be green and orange). I pulled some Red Heart Super Saver in Spring Green and Red Heart With Love in Mango out of my stash, and I think these are bright and fun colors for the block. I managed to get this far last night before I decided to sew instead, ha ha.

I was asked to teach a knitting class for an activity at church in May that my mom is heading up (they are calling it "Get Your Granny On!" ha ha and they can choose to learn knitting, sewing or crocheting). Since the class will only be about 1 hour of real instruction, I wanted to choose a project that at least seems attainable to the new knitters. As boring as the idea sounded to me at first, I decided on teaching them with a washcloth/hotpad (whichever they want to use it for). I looked up simple, free washcloth patterns and at first thought that one of the knit/purl pop up design ones would be easiest since it just uses the two stitches, so I made this to try it out:

This is the Heart For Ruthie pattern, which I found for free on Ravelry. In theory this was super easy, but holy cow was it crazy following that chart! I decided to make a garter stitch edge instead of moss stitch like the pattern, and I kept messing up reading the wrong line. I had to start over 3 times! Even though the stitches are simple, I decided that following this chart would just be too complicated for a new knitter (especially considering I've followed charts before and had a problem), so I kept looking. I decided to try out this one next:

This is the Feather & Fan Dishcloth pattern, also found free on Ravelry. I was glad to find a pattern that used all the same stitches I used on my first knitting project: knit, purl, yarn over, knit 2 together. I found other feather and fan patterns, but they all included slip slip knit and sometimes even slpo! Definitely not what I wanted to teach for newbies. This pattern worked out great! It was ridiculously easy to memorize the lace pattern and I had this whipped up in about 1.5 hours. This was the example to show the ladies what they will make if they sign up, so I don't have it now, but I plan to use it myself soon :) I've heard good things about knitted dishcloths, but I always thought they would be too boring to make. I also tried this pattern out by teaching my mom to knit - and she took to it wonderfully! This is no small miracle since her mom had tried to teach her when she was younger and pronounced her as hopeless (my mom is left handed, so she tends to be difficult to teach). I was amazed at how quickly it clicked with her and she has completed 3 repeats of the pattern so far :)

I've also been very into sewing lately, and I have 4 finished projects that are waiting to be blogged (!), which is pretty crazy for me. I'm going to space out the posts over the next 2 weeks, so look for them coming soon. Here is a sneak peak at something that I transformed just last night:

This skirt is not a skirt any longer (insert evil laugh here). I'm pretty pleased with how is turned out, so I'm hoping to get pictures of it soon.

So, stay tuned here for more fun creations coming up the next week or so :) In the meantime, head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others are stitching up!

WIP Wednesday: Secrets Revealed and New Project Planning

Things have been moving right along with the Fuzzy Mitten Mystery KAL, and this week I managed to actually make up the clue, lol. It's the shell! The mystery is officially solved - it's a turtle :) I was right! 

The nicest part about this clue is that the designer included instructions on how to knit it in the round - bless you, Barbara Prime! lol I really don't enjoy seaming and I don't mind using dpns at all, so this worked great for me. I only had one snag though ... I was knitting and knitting, getting closer to the moment that I would close things up and  be finished. I kept thinking, "Where does the pattern say to stuff the shell? Does it not get stuffed? That's so weird!" and I kept knitting anyway. Then it hit me - I was changing the original pattern - the pattern is actually written to knit flat and then seam, so you would stuff it after it's completely knitted - ugh oh.

I had already finished knitting the main part of the shell by the time I figured this out. Not wanting to unpick my stitches, I tried stuffing it through the teeny tiny cast on hole on the bottom first. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but with determination it worked, lol. Also, for the record - I HATE this kelly green yarn. It's Loops and Threads Impeccable from Michael's (their in-house brand) - I purchased a skein a few years ago and remembered it was similar to Red Heart With Love, when I saw this awesome kelly green I snapped it up. They have definitely changed their product! This yarn is awful. It's so grippy that I could barely get it to slide off my needles, and it gripped itself ridiculously too so it was difficult to keep the stitches even looking. I had another skein of this yarn, and I took it back I was so unhappy with the kelly green, lol. So just be aware if you're in the market for acrylic yarn - stay away from this stuff!

I'm kind of sad to post a picture of my Agatha cardigan, lol. It looks almost identical to the last photo I posted of it. I did knit a few rows this week, but that was about it. Again, I'm working all over my house and redoing furniture in my spare time, so it hasn't left much time for knitting. I'm not too worried about it though since this is a long-sleeved wool sweater and our temps are in the low 90s in the day already. Ugh. I hate Florida summer.

Also, I had kind of a sad morning a few days ago, and decided to console myself by trolling Ravelry boards. I had seen the Geek-Along last year posted by various people, but it just didn't interest me at the time. For some odd reason, this project really appeals to me now. Random! The cool thing is that this year they are making all the blocks with patterns for either double knitting or tapestry crochet - pretty cool. I'm actually contemplating making two blankets - one crocheted with the official blocks for this year so I can enter the contest at the end of the year and one knitted with random blocks I like from last year along with ones I make up myself. I think it's a fun idea. This year's theme is Mad Scientists (the example block up there is for Tesla), so I think it could be a fun project. They will release 48 free block patterns and the blanket is designed to be made up of 24, so you can choose your favorite blocks as you go. My only change I will make is to use worsted weight yarn instead of sport - I have very little sport weight yarn and my stash is overwhelmed with acrylic worsted, so it's the obvious choice. Anyway, I haven't technically started any blocks yet, but I've watched videos on how to crochet intarsia so I'm itching to get started when I get an evening to myself. The Ravelry group is here if you want to join in the fun!

So that's what I have going on this week :) Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what else is happening in the yarn world.

WIP Wednesday: Easter Animals Edition

I almost don't believe it myself, but I have finished all of my wips from last week! Prepare for a pretty epic FO Friday, lol. Luckily, there are always tons of cute things to make so I didn't go without a project ... or 3.

First up is the Silly Duck from Fuzzy Mitten. There is a sort of unofficial knit-along for this pattern this month, so I decided to jump in on it. It's a super cute design and the pattern is half price, so why not? I decided to use a mystery yarn that came in the big bag of yarn I was given. It took me forever to figure out what it was but I liked it so much that I endured the search, lol. Turns out it's Red Heart Value Textured Yarn and I absolutely love it. Of course, it's discontinued and you can't even find it on ebay anymore. Oh well. I'll enjoy the skein I have. This yarn is great for knitted animals - it's just fuzzy enough without making it to where you can't see the stitches. I'm also using some old Caron Sayelle in baby yellow for the feet - another thrift store yarn that I am newly in love with. It may sound strange, but the yarn is actually a little stretchy, so it makes the stitches hold together for a tighter fabric = perfect for animals! And I have this yarn in a bunch of colors - hooray! lol I'm really excited to finish up the duck. I'm about half way through at this point :)

This next project is a new/oldie. I was at a local thrift store on Friday night after work (I was actually there to buy knit fabric) when I saw this weird box in the craft section. It was all taped up and you couldn't see anything from the outside, but it had a little label on it that said Bucilla Yellow Brick Road Coverlet Kit. I asked the cashier if I could open it up before I bought it just to check it out and she let me cut into all the tape and I found all this stuff inside. For some reason, I loved the blanket and wanted to make it, lol. I know it's kind of silly and definitely 70s looking, but I think it's cute. The weirdest part is that the kit had everything - all the yarn and hooks to make it - except the pattern! I was so bummed! I didn't buy it that night, but I decided to see if I could find it on ebay that night. I found where someone else had put the same kit up for sale and they had taken pictures of all the pages of the instruction! Score! lol So having the pattern I went back and bought the kit the next day - and it was only $3. Everyone I show the blanket picture to thinks I'm crazy, lol, but I don't care, I'm making it. Incidentally, the center section is Tunisian crochet (thus the long "afghan hook" in the kit), so this will be a great opportunity to give Tunisian a try :)

And I have been dying to make my own Well-Dressed Bunny ever since I found the pattern a few weeks ago. I blame Watership Down for this desire :) Plus it's coming up on Easter, so what better time to make up a bunny? I put off making it because I really wanted a honey/brown color for the body and I didn't have it in my stash. Thank heavens for an April Fool's Day sale on Joann.com :) I got 2 different yarns in hopes that one would be the right color, and this Patons Canadiana in Flax is exactly what I wanted. I can't wait to make him up! Maybe I'll really get on the ball and make the Bunny Puppet too. Here's hoping!

So that's my crazy list of things I'm up to now :) Head over to Tami's Amis' Blog to see what lovely things other are making.