Yes! A Bit of Knitting!

I actually have knitted a couple of things recently. Yes, they are "just" baby blankets, but both are a new technique to me so I actually learned a thing or two!

Both blankets were made on the Brother KX-350 from Diana Sullivan's Swirl Baby Blanket video pattern.

This one was made with Vanna's Choice acrylic yarn in rust and white with the tension dial set at 7. It used EXACTLY six skeins of the yarn - three of each color - and I had to "squinch" a bit to get the rust edging done. There was just the tiniest bit left over of the white.

Why rust and white? Those are the colors for University of Texas, and the parents-to-be for whom this blanket was made both attended that school. That's why the not-strictly-baby-color scheme.


I can make "baby-colored" stuff, too, though. So here is the second of the two blankets, made from Bernat Baby Coordinates on tension 3. The yarn was in my stash and I forgot to weigh the finished product, so I have no idea how much yarn was used. :-( Boo for forgetting important details!

I ran out of time to get this one finished before we left for our trip to Ohio and Indiana, so the ends were weaved in while riding in the car, and the light steaming was done in the hotel room in Zanesville, OH. First time in years that I'd needed the hotel iron, and I was glad that it was there. Actually - it was a nice iron, with a retractable cord. If/when my iron ever gives up (probably never, since I rarely use it), I want one with a retractable cord.

Before I sold my USM, I made a couple of other baby blankets that were not intended for anyone. Since they are riddled with errors, it didn't seem likely that anyone would want them. But, not so! The friend who got both of the above blankets was thrilled (at least, she did a great job of ACTING thrilled) when I asked her if she would like to have them. The larger of the two, with the blocks of color, was made from Caron's Simply Soft. The brand of the other yarn has gone the way of many other things: right out of my brain. And I don't remember how much yarn or what keyplate. What I do know is that the edgings on these were hand crocheted and took far longer than the actual knitting. I did learn about keeping the yarn un-tensioned on the USM, and also learned about sewing as you go - a technique which came out better in the round blankets above.

This one is the smaller of the two, and the pattern is from the Bond Gifts and Toys Pattern Book.

This is the larger of the two. It's made from the pattern in the "teaching booklet" that comes with a new Bond machine. I left off the fringe as it didn't seem safe for babies - way too easy for that cutesy fringe to get stuck in a little throat.

 Missing from my blog, I realize now, are pictures of all the socks I've made this year. After I get the laundry done, I'll see if that mistake can be rectified. At least Danny loves his socks and wears them!