FO Friday 23/15: Ruffles

Spiral Tarot

                          









      
So I'm sitting here with the light on as the thunderstorm and intense downpour has rendered it as dark as a bat's cave, wondering about the unseasonal weather - until this week, low temperatures, last week there were gales ... general weirdness.

Luckily for you and me, I took photos of the Ruffles & Stripes baby blanket ages ago:

It's pretty large,  about 43'' by 35'' (110cm x 90cm) and I used most of 6 balls of King Cole Baby Comfort DK, 2 each of White, Pebble and Mink  with a 5.0mm hook. The pattern was another delight from 'The Best of Terry Kimbrough Baby Afghans' . I am pretty chuffed with it, and will shortly be starting another pattern from the same book.

While I rest comfortably on my laurels, by popping FO Friday into Google you will find much more loveliness ....


                           

SAL Wednesday 17/15: Personal Growth

Housewives Tarot

 Ha ! Gotcha !

You should know better than to think I'd be writing some kind of New Agey type of self-development navel-awareness guff.

But I must definitely be turning into a grown-up, as I have managed to control myself and resist temptation for nearly a whole week ! Last Thursday, a package arrived - it had been delayed from the retailer, which didn't matter as that meant I had less time to actually discipline myself:

It sat there like this until yesterday afternoon, because I had promised myself I would finish the ruby baby cardigan before starting anything else. Yesterday morning I bought the final touch for the cardigan, 5 buttons - only to get home and find that the light had deceived me and they totally don't match the yarn. It would have been really unfair and unrealistic, let alone a waste of time, to expect me to sit twiddling my thumbs until after I've bought more buttons, wouldn't it ?

I'm glad we agree. I knew we were friends for a reason.

Ripping open the packaging revealed 6 balls of King Cole Baby Comfort DK, lovely soft quality acrylic with good stitch definition and machine-washable to boot - enough to start the 2 baby blankets I want to make; of course, I started with the one that isn't in my queue, the 'Ruffles & Stripes' baby blanket from the 'Best of Terry Kimbrough Baby Afghans' book; it uses US crochet terms, but that's easy once one has made the mental adjustment, and here is what it looks like so far:

Yeah, I know - classic neutral colors, perhaps not especially baby-like, but totally what the Mama will like.

Titch ? 

What about him ? 

Oh, right. In Aberdeen right now, which is almost suitable justice for his actions.

See what other beginnings have been made when you pop over to Life & Yarn ...

Up a Creek

Shadowscapes Tarot

 .... without a paddle in sight. 

I finally got the most recent shawl finished, then washed - and now it is blocking.

Great !

'Monday, the start of a new week, all my chores are done, the sun is kind of out, let's go start something new !' I thought, enthusiastically.

And then I screeched to a halt.

As we have discussed before, I have everything I need for about the next 4 items on my queue, and I am trying to KTQ2013.  However, there is a bunch of things not in my queue that have a deadline .....

A minimum of 2 baby sweaters, one just like the pattern below, and another one which I haven't yet selected, which will be in the relevant SIL's preferred color of dark red. Deadline: beginning of August.

 And I know you will recall my ambitions to crochet a baby blankey for the same SIL. After requesting expert opinions on difficulty (or really, total lack of same) in the Patterns forum of Ravelry, I chose the Heirloom Lace Baby Blanket from the top book: 

Item 2 with a deadline

Then both Mini Diva and Destructo Boy will need school sweaters or cardigans; 3rd deadline: beginning of September. I made myself a weak milky coffee and sat down with all of these:

 From this angle, you can't see actually how many patterns are there, but I am pretty sure it is in the hundreds. Of course, I only had to look for kids' patterns; I have chosen 2 or 3 for each child to select from when they get home today.

And I cannot cast on for any of them, as - and I know you will guffaw in rampant disbelief and amazement as did my DH when I told him - I do not have any yarn.

Well, of course I do - and you know that, since I share all my acquisitions with you. But I have none of the right yarn: I have no pale blue or white baby yarn for the 1st baby sweater. I haven't chosen or found a pattern for the 2nd baby sweater, let alone that I don't have any of the dark red yarn required (no, my Austermann Merino Lace is not appropriate). I don't have yarn for the blankey, or the right size hook. Mini Diva will require black DK, and Destructo Boy needs navy blue: I do not have any. Well, I have odds and ends, but not a sweater's worth, for sure.

So I have thoroughly enjoyed wasted my day so far, planning, and browsing through various yarn websites, as today is not market day and also the main LYS is shut on Mondays. When I get back from collecting the kids from school, I think I may just have to ease my creative addiction habit itch by adding to my Summer Garden Granny Square Blankey:
                                                                 

WIP Wednesday 67: Oh My The Color !

Well, I'm back like I promised, in order to talk about my current WIPS - it was dry and not too overcast today, so I also managed to take a couple of photos:

This is the beginning of a baby blanket using Jarol New Arrivals Baby DK Randoms in the colorway 307 .... Bubblegum, on 4.5mm needles. They got the name spot on, I think; although I am calling it Raspberry Ice. I'm using the stitch pattern ''Tilting Block'' from Barbara Walker Vol.II .

And I have also started making a Christmas sweater for Destructo Boy, who stated his color preference as black. Oh how much those of us with poor eyesight to begin with love to knit with black on these long dark winter nights so badly lit by dull eco-bulbs. So anyway. I have a nice vintage pattern for a DK raglan sweater with a placket neck, and I found a lovely chart for a skull while I was roaming the interwebz. 

 I'm using Cygnet DK, which Ravelry has listed as a worsted weight for its recommended gauge, interestingly; it feels like a proper DK to me, not light and skinny like some can be - and nice and soft too.

I feel I must divulge to you that I've been looking at fingerless mitten patterns. I'm somewhat afeard that this may be sailing way too close to the lee shore that is sock knitting ....

You'll find lee shore survivors over at Tami's Amis ....