Baby Blanket - Ta Dah Moment

The baby blanket that has been in progress for the last few weeks is now finished.

Although it is perhaps not really done to say so ones self, I am pretty pleased with it.

There was no definite plan or pattern just a desire to create a blanket from different patterned squares. The five patterns I used were

Heart shaped bobbles

Double half shells

Crossed trebles

Corner to corner

Single half shells

I made four of each pattern to make a four by five square blanket. Big enough for a pram (sorry 'travel system' I was informed the other day!) or car seat without being too bulky. The yarn used is a mix of cotton and merino.

Blocking came next in an effort to get the squares to approximately the same size. My tension must be questionable as some squares of the same stitch had to be coaxed to match each other. They took several days to dry thoroughly, which led to some impatience, humming and tutting but finally they were ready for stitching together.

It took a number of changes of mind and moving squares around to decide on the final arrangement before stitching them all together.

It had been my intention to do a foundation row of double crochet (uk terms) and a border of bobble stitch but it just did not look right. After a little more experimentation I used four rows of double crochet and a final row of half treble shells.

The border finishes it off neatly and blends in well with the five different patterns.

The baby is due at the end of next month so there is still time for a few more makes before he/she arrives. We do not know what it will be as my niece and her husband have chosen not to find out, so it will be a lovely surprise for us all.

Five on Friday - WIP's and a Ta Dah moment

How did it get to be Friday again so quickly????

But it is lovely to be joining with Amy at Love Made My Home for the Five on Friday roundup.

There seem to be rather a large number of bags around my house that have WIP's in them and I am trying to reduce that number before starting, or dare I say, purchasing more yarn/fabric/pretty embellishments for new projects. There are lots of ideas buzzing around in my head - that's the problem/temptation with Instagram and Pintrest, with all the lovely, creative projects going on in the crafty community. Well so far, so good, the only purchases I have made recently have been sewing thread in colours I had run out of and they were half price so that doesn't count does it?

1. Pear Napkins

I made some table mats last year using left over fabric from another project and the plan had been to embroider a set of napkins to match. The napkins were purchased, threads sorted and that's as far as I got. Earlier this week I met with stitching friends from the Embroiderers' Guild and decided it was time to finally get started.

It is ages since I have done any hand sewing as knitting and crochet have been my preferred crafts during the winter evenings. I had forgotten how much I enjoy hand stitching and the rhythm of the needle is very soothing.

2. Preparation for JETS

Not so soothing is preparing materials for the JETS (Junior stitch group)! The volunteer helpers met last Saturday and we have planned the monthly activities up to the Summer holiday. As mentioned in a previous post the group now has a sewing machine so often two activities are going on, a hand stitched project and a machine stitched one. In February we will be making embroidered heart brooches and a soft toy puppy. As the purpose of the puppy project is to learn to machine stitch round shapes it was decided the pieces should be cut out for the students. I prefer them to cut their own patterns out but this can be tricky for the younger members of the group. A set of puppies are all cut and ready in a range of coloured fabrics so the bonus is not having to transport a whole box of fabric to the session. It limits decision time on what fabric to choose too!

3. Baby Blanket

Work has begun on the crib/car seat blanket for my niece's baby, due soon. Ooh, it is getting exciting now. The yarn is a mix of cotton and merino and is soooo soft and lovely to work with.

So far there are four heart squares and three and a bit cross treble squares. I was originally planning to make the blanket 3 x 4 squares in these two patterns with a deep border on it. I am now leaning towards 4 x 5 squares in five different patterns - four squares in each pattern. I have enough yarn to do the larger size but will probably have to get more yarn to complete a border. 

Who knows? I'll let you know the final decision later.

4. Long Socks

These socks were started at Christmas but had not been out of their bag since New Year.

I was delighted to discover the heel had been turned on the first one when I pulled it out of the bag to photograph this morning! A good incentive to knit to the toe and finish it. Another good incentive was finding all my hand knitted socks in the wash this morning so I had to put on a shop bought pair.

5. Ta Dah Moment!

Completed shawl

The Close to You shawl that was taken on holiday and very little done is finished - hurrah!

I really enjoyed making this and love the colour blend of the hand dyed wool from Abstract Cat Yarn on Folksy. The pattern by Justyna Lorkowska is simple and straight forward but really effective.

The picot edge complements the pattern beautifully.

Blocking was completed on Tuesday and I have been wearing it ever since. There is something very satisfying about wearing something you have made - especially if you are happy with it. (A few disaster have been recycle or found themselves in the bin!)

Well, now I have shared my WIP's I am going to have to get on with them so there can be a few more Ta Dah moments. There is a deadline attached to the blanket so that will take precedence but the socks may have to take a back seat - it will depend on how chilly my feet are........