Rainbow Baby Blanket

Last January, a new little nephew showed up and it is my intention that all new members of the family receive a handmade item from me.*  Since he was arriving in January in Iowa and would be living in an old farmhouse about a half-mile outside of town, I decided whatever I made would need to be very warm.  Enter the Rainbow Ripple Baby Blanket (ravelry link), made in Cascade 128 superwash.  It's been awhile since I crocheted a blanket, but the pattern was easy and uses double crochet which is what my fingers naturally want to make whenever I crochet for some reason.  

My ripple blanket, often
co-opted by Cate or the cat.

The Ripple blanket is an old crocheted blanket standby, and always reminds me of the 1970s.  My mom loves making them and I think we all have one.  She's never made a circular one, though, so I wasn't too worried the new baby would end up with two of the same blanket (quelle horreur!)  The original pattern called for Borocco Comfort in pastel colors which I substituted for Cascade 128 superwash in bright rainbow colors because wool is warmer than cotton/acrylic and I prefer bright colors for babies.**  I ran into a problem when I couldn't find an orange that I liked and so went with variegated red/orange/yellow instead.  I then added the variegated green because I thought it might look odd with just one variegated yarn.  The Cascade 128 was lovely to work with--a nice squishy yarn that made for a very snuggle-worthy blanket.  Cascade calls it a bulky-weight yarn but I think it's more of a heavy worsted or aran-weight (I also think their worsted is more of a dk weight).  The middle three colors on the blanket are all 1 skein each and the rest are 1.5-2 skeins.  I basically stopped when the blanket seemed "big enough" and got sick of double crochet.  It's a little less than the width of a queen size bed in diameter (which is 60 inches wide).

 Specs:

Pattern:  Rainbow Ripple Blanket; instructions were quite easy and I memorized the pattern quickly
Yarn:  Cascade 128; squishy and cuddly-soft
Hook size:  H
Made for:  nephew
Find it on Ravelry: here

The new parents were most appreciative of the blanket and have decided to give it a place of honor on the back of the living room recliner during he warmer months.  

*Unfortunately, sometimes intentions are all the little one gets because life gets in the way of knitting/crocheting/sewing and by the time I finish, the baby is starting kindergarten.

** And, it's called the Rainbow ripple blanket and who ever heard of a powder blue, pink, mint green, and pale yellow rainbow?

UnFinished Objects

Life has been pretty busy around here, but not necessarily in the knitting and sewing departments.  I don't think I've completed anything for several months, now!  I have a bunch of UFOs laying around, however.

UFO 1:  Cate's Easter Sweater

That's this past Easter, not Easter 2014.  It's a pretty little thing made using Rowan Calmer, a lovely cotton/acrylic blend that is sadly discontinued.  I missed my Easter deadline, but continued to work on it thinking it would be a nice summer sweater (light sweaters are a necessity in the SF Bay Area).  Unfortunately, Cate grew faster than I knit and I started to realize that, once complete, the sweater would not fit her.  :(  However, she has a cousin, Elena, who will be turning 1 at the end of Nov.  Elena lives in Atlanta, so a lightweight sweater would be perfect for her.  The knitting is done, I just need to block it, sew the side and arm seams, and add buttons.

UFO 2: My Turquoise Shrug

When I realized Cate's sweater wouldn't fit her, I put it down and started crocheting a shrug out of Rowan Calmer in a very pretty shade of turquoise (back when Calmer was discontinued, a local yarn store put their remaining stock on steep discount and I snatched up a bunch of it).  The shrug pattern I"m using is very simple; you crochet a large rectangle, fold it in half lengthwise, then sew a short seam on each end of the long open side.  This makes a nice, short-sleeved shrug.  I would like one that's around 3/4 sleeve, though, so I'm making a much longer rectangle.  After doing the seaming, I plan on picking up and knitting some ribbing around each opening to give it a bit more shaping.  I've been working on this one here and there, but crocheting hurts my wrist so I've had to take a break.

UFO 3:  Mom's 2012/2013 Christmas Socks

Every year, I make my mom socks for Christmas.  That is, every year except last year.  I started this pair of socks, but, between having a toddler and using my knitting time to make things for that toddler, I barely got them started.  I am using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Byrne (I think, I lost the ball band and the colorway doesn't look exactly the same on the website, but it's close) and the Spring Forward pattern from Knitty Summer 2008.  I now have the foot and part of the leg done on one of them.  Maybe they'll be done by Christmas this year, or maybe they will turn into 2012/2013/2014 Christmas Socks!

UFO 4:  Purple Woolies

I knit a wool diaper cover for Cate using Malabrigo yarn and the Sheepy Pants (Ravely link) pattern.  Before adding elastic to the waistband, I tried them on her and they were enormous and I was thinking I was going to actually have to cut off a large portion of the top so that the crotch wouldn't be hanging down to her knees, so I set them aside.  That was several months ago.  Now, they are still too big, but not as bad as before and I simply turned under about two inches at the top instead of the one inch that I originally intended.  I've almost finished sewing down the waistband after which I will add the elastic, sew the waistband closed, lanolinize them, and they will be good to go!

No sewing UFOs right now, sewing's a lot harder to accomplish since I can't take it with me to the park or doctor's appointments (though I've actually considered starting to sew garments by hand simply because it seems like it would be easier than trying to find time to clear off my desk and sit down at the machine!).