Deri's Gift

I recently finished a gift for someone very special to me. My friend Jessica and I have a unique friendship. We met online in World of Warcraft. Her toon's name was shortened to Deri, and mine to Auri, so we still call each other by those names when we talk on the phone sometimes. We knew each other for about a year before we ever met in person, and that was only after I drove across the country to see her.

Her husband Andrew is one of the sweetest, strongest and kindest men I have ever met and Jessica is just about the best person I could ever imagine knowing. They welcomed a son into their family a few years ago and I had made him a blanket long before he was even conceived because I knew they wanted babies. Now, their second son is due any moment now and I just finished a little gift box for him.

I made the 10 stitch blanket for him in Berrocco's Comfort DK in the colorway Balance Beam. Then, I had so much yarn left over that I made booties, and then I felt it needed one more thing so I whipped out a little doll called Knubbelchen.

The blanket was a lot of fun to make, though I must admit it got a bit tedious as it grew and the edges seemed to take forever. It was a fun project to take with me places to work on and it got a lot of compliments and comments.

The booties were very simple and quick, I would like to make a few more of those in other colors some time and maybe tweak the pattern a little bit.

 

And the Knubbelchen I am just in love with. It is the most adorable little doll and I can not wait to make more of them to give to other babies I know!!!

I hope that I can get out to the post office soon. I should be able to do that tomorrow. Even if the package is a bit late, I am sure she won't mind!

Diamonds and Dogwood

I've been on a roll this last week. I bought the PVC pipe and joinings to make my own home made knitty noddy, I've dyed some light weight sock yarn, done some color tests on other yarn and been working hard on a few knitting projects.

I got stalled on my 10 stitch blanket because I bought all the yarn from my yarn shop and they had no more and had to order more.  That should be in on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. I am looking forward to getting back to work on it.

My knitty noddy was fun to make. My son helped me out by holding the pipe while I used a hacksaw to cut the lengths I wanted. I realize after I made it that I should have bought the 1/2 inch pipe and not the 3/4 inch, but it will work all the same. I put the yarn back on the noddy to ball it. Next on my list of things to make at home is a lazy susan ball winder. I just need to save up enough to buy the parts I need.

I dyed the yarn for a bookmark for my sons teacher for an end of the year gift. I used Wilton frosting dye and sea salt for the mordant on it. I picked the colors to try and create a fade from pink to yellow. It is of course WAY MORE than I need for a bookmark, so I am trying to think of what else to make with it. It is too thin for hexipuffs, maybe more lace or some baby socks.

I don't like how the bookmark came out, so I will probably make a new one.



I started a shawl just because I have always wanted a super pretty one to have. I found a pattern that didn't look too hard for a first one. It it the Freya shawl from Ravelry. I loved the design with the increases happening throughout so the pattern was circular.

And I found out that a good friend of mine is expecting his second grandson so I am making him a blanket for the little guy. His family is a big fan of baseball and really like the LA Angels. I am doing a nod to baseball diamonds by making a diamond pattern, and then a baseball itself by doing it white and there will be a red stitch around the edge. I hope they like it. I wanted it to be pretty without being OMGBASEBALL.

I am really enjoying dying my own yarn. I think I may want to dye some and see if I can sell it. That might be a good way to bring in a little bit of extra money for some fun things. I will start small. They have some nice superwash wool at my yarn shop for a good price, I will buy three of them and dye them in a few popular colors and see if I can sell it on Etsy. If they sell, I will use that money to buy three more and go from there!

I wonder what colors I should start with. I am inspired by spring. I have a vision of a light green fading to a medium green, then a white space, a gentle pink fading out into white again. I was watching the dogwood flowers bloom and they just felt like the whole reason why spring even existed this year for me.

10 Stitches of Patience

I have now started three blankets for a baby my friend is having. She lives far away and has a baby due in.... gosh, six more weeks now. And I wanted to make her a blanket for this one.

I started one but ended up not loving the yarn or the pattern so I put it aside. Then I started another one, but the color changes were a bit above my skill level at the moment and I was being crazy and making it up on my own, so I had no pattern to fall back on.

That blanket now lives in a Duplo box, half finished and destined to be pulled apart and turned into something else. Maybe a cute hat.....

A couple weeks ago at knitting one of the more advanced knitters, who has a Knitting Super Power of somehow remembering EVERYTHING she has ever learned about knitting and always being willing to stop and help anyone, was making a 10 stitch blanket.

It starts off as 10 stitches knitting each row, then turning a corner with short rows and continuing on going around and around.

I had some DK yarn I had bought with the intent of making slippers for my son, but decided that I didn't like the colors on it for slippers. It lived in my stash for a few months until I needed something with changing colors to make this blanket.

The blanket started out easily, going fast and corners were turned rapidly, it grew in size and then it slowed down. Each side feels like it takes forever now. But so far that is my only complaint about this blanket! I am even daring to learn to knit backwards sometimes, though my confidence in this is shaky.

The blue line is where it started.
I might have to knit some toy cars with this,
it reminds me of a little race track or game board.

I am not sure how much bigger this will get, though I did buy two more balls of yarn for it! I am hoping to finish it in time, but I have had a few things interfere.

Wound up with a migraine yesterday that has left me feeling icky all day and long into the night and now this morning all I have the brain power for is rambling on here. And all this beautiful sunshine (which may have been the cause of my headache!) has had my family rushing out into spring at top speed because WOW is it gorgeous out there. But, there is no way to knit outside with two kiddos who get into everything dangerous the moment I get out the yarn.

I did get a suggestion that I should crochet myself a sun hat, since I can not find one that fits me in the store. That project might have to take precedence to the blanket... I am sure that my friend will not mind if it is a little bit late!