Afghan Gift Take Two

As my last attempt to make a knitted afghan as a gift for my aunt turned into a total UGH! I decided to try again, but this time I went with a bulky yarn to speed things up a little.

 

Chunky Afghan:

Yarn: 2 balls of each: Bernat Softee Chunky Solids in white, natural, dark taupe and linen and Loops & Threads Charisma in taupe

Needle Size: US 10 1/2 (6.5mm)

Pattern Source: Maple Grove Blanket (available on Ravelry)

 

This was a wonderful blanket to knit while watching TV, and as it grew it kept me warm while I was knitting. I think my aunt will love it, and I can't wait to give it to her!

Close-up of lace detail.

Small Stuffy

I bought an issue of Mollie Makes a few days ago. It's an old issue, but I was really excited to buy it because it came with the fabric to make this:

 

 

Took me a morning to hand stitch it together, and it is so cute!

 

Baby Hats

The child size hat.

I made two pumpkin hats, one for my nephew and one for a co-worker. They turned out fantastic and they are really cute.

 

Baby size hat.

Pumpkin Hats:

Yarn: Loops & Threads Impeccable Solids in orange

Needle Size: US size 5 (3.75mm) and 7 (4.5mm) 16" circular needles

Pattern Source: Pumpkin Hats (free Ravelry download)

 



Close-up of the leaf.

These hats were a really quick knit and the pattern was really easy to follow. I decided to only put one leaf on my hat because I liked the look of it.

 

 

This hat was also made for my nephew. I love the color block, the two colors worked really well together.



Forward and Reverse:

Yarn: Rozetti's Always Dreams and Vanna's Choice Prints

Needle Size: US 6 (4.0mm) and 8 (5.0mm)

Pattern Source: Leisure Arts #75357, Knit Celebrity Slouchy Beanies for the Family by Lisa Gentry



 

Love it! Can't wait to see it on my nephew



A Secret Hat

I have finished one of the projects I have been working on in secret for my boyfriend. I had to wait until he goes out or is sleeping so I could work on it, but I got it done!

 

 

 

Naturally Confertable:

Yarn: Rozetti's Always Dreams

Needle Size: US 6 (4.0mm) and US 8 (5.0mm) 16" circular needles

Pattern Source: Leisure Arts #75357, Knit Celebrity Slouchy Beanies for the Family by Lisa Gentry

 

 

I really enjoyed knitting this hat. The pattern is great and the yarn is so soft and nice to work with. I am thinking of getting a couple of more balls so I can make matching scarf to go with the hat. 

 

 



UGH!

I finished making the blanket I was knitting for my aunt about a week ago but I couldn't bring myself to do a post about it since I felt really discouraged about it. Here's what happened: I had finished knitting it and it was looking awesome, but I wanted to make sure all the stitches would show nicely and the blanket would sit well. I decided to steam the blanket to kill the acrylic (as had worked beautifully in the past), but unfortunately, this time it didn't it didn't turn out so good. I made a big mistake while steaming it: I didn't follow the direction of the pattern, I just went in a straight line. This turned the squares all wonky on one side (I saw that I had made a mistake on the first half, so the second half of the blanket turned out great). To top it off, there was drops of hot water that fell from the nozzle of the steamer right onto the blanket causing the acrylic to get over-killed and creating holes. Seen from one side the blanket does not look so bad, but I won't be giving it as a gift, I will keep this one for myself and work on something else to give to my aunt.

 

The 'good' side of the afghan.

 Afghan:

Yarn: Mary Maxim Starlette in Soft Taupe

Needle Size: US size 9 (5.5mm)

Pattern Source: Knitted Black Afghan from Knit Simple Fall 2013

 

The pattern was excellent, and all the different stitches really kept me interested in making it. The different squares were easy and small enough that I was able to carry this project with me. I will chalk this one up to a learning experience and move on to my next afghan project.





You can see the holes created by the drops of water in the center of this photo.

Finished Christmas Present

I have another Christmas present now checked off my list. This one is for my mom. She asked me for a cowl in a blue color. When I saw this yarn, I absolutely loved it, so I had to buy it. I don't know if she will like this color, or this style of cowl (it is not a 'lush' as I had originally wanted), therefore, this is only 1 of the 2 cowls I will be making her. The next one will be a worsted weight cowl in a blue yarn.

 

Jeweled Cowl:

Yarn: Araucania Botany Lace 

Needle Size: US size 8 (5.0mm) circular needles

Pattern Source: Jeweled Cowl (free Ravelry download)

 

I did not add the beads to the pattern, as I thought the colors of the yarn were good enough to keep this project interesting to look at. I enjoyed making it, and it didn't take me as long as I thought it would to knit up, considering it was lace weight yarn.

 

 

Now I am on to my next Christmas project. I am trying to finish making the Squared Afghan I started for my aunt ages ago. It is almost done and I hope to be able to show you the finished object soon enough.

 

Until then,

Happy Knitting!



What's on my needles?

A lot of stuff...  On top of the Smocked Lace Scarf for my mother-in-law and the Squared Afghan for my aunt , I have added a few more projects to my WIPs list:

 

Jeweled Cowl: A beautiful cowl that I am knitting for my mom for Christmas. The yarn is  Araucania Botany Lace and I love the jewel tone colors. I am using a (free) pattern that I found on Ravelry. I am omitting the beads since the colors of the yarn are enough for this project.

 

 

Naturally Comfortable: A slouchy hat that I am knitting for my boyfriend. It's a quick knit but since I can only knit it when he isn't around, it is taking my awhile. I am using Rozetti's Always Dreams yarn and a pattern from the booklet Leisure Arts #75357, Knit Celebrity Slouchy Beanies for the Family

by Lisa Gentry.

 

Zig-Zagged: Another project for the boyfriend for Christmas. Again this is taking me awhile since I can only do it when he isn't around. The yarn is Opal's Sweet & Spicy in a colorway that he chose (I don't think I would have ever picked up this yarn on my own). The pattern is another one from Sock Innovation called Cauchy.

 

So far that is what is on my needles, and I have told myself that I am not adding anything else until I finish some of these projects. I have a list of projects that I need to finish for Christmas and it seems to get longer every day. I hope I will have time to finish everything.

 

Happy Knitting