Baby Easton has a blanket

 .....and the baby blanket is done.

I really love the look (and feel) of garter stitch. It is so squishy! And garter stitch using Cotton-Ease is even more squishy which really helped make a repetitious pattern less monotonous. This blanket has a very simple pattern which is perfect for me since I love patterns that don't require me to concentrate too much when I'm working on them.

I love that I finished making this blanket just in time for Christmas. I was so excited to bind-off that I totally forgot my plan to use a different bind-off method using a larger needle like I did for the cast-on.

I am totally in love with this blanket. One of my favorite projects so far.

Pattern: Super Easy Baby Blanket from Purl Bee 

Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in "Seaspray, Lime, Taupe, Maize and Terracotta"

Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) and US 9 (5.5 mm)

Started: July 25, 2012

Finished: December 24 2012

My Ravelry link: Easton

My modifications: 

I cast-on 120 stitches, using size 9 needles and knit the blanket using size 8 needles.

I slipped the first stitch of each row (purl wise) and attached new colors using the back join. Each block of color was 34 ridges (68 rows).

Finished measurements: 38 x 27 inches.

Blueberry {ripple}

The Blueberry {ripple} is finished and in the hands of Nephew 2.0.

I am a bit worried that the size of this ripple is a little off. It isn't as square as the Brownie {ripple} and that bothers me. I didn't want to buy another skein of yarn for just a few rows, so after 5 skeins I called it done. But since Nephew 2.0 is taller than Nephew 1.0 I think I may need a larger blanket. I will have to ask him if he wants me to make it longer but I hope that once the blanket gets some use that it will stretch out a bit.

And of course the little stinker had to jump in on the action. It doesn't matter if you tell her no, she still does what she wants to. The stubborn look on her face says it all.

Pattern: Neat Ripple Pattern from Attic24

Yarn: Red Heart with Love in "True Blue" and "Black"

Hook: 6.0 mm (J)

Chained: 171

Finished measurements: 53 x 60 inches

Started: September 23, 2012

Finished: December 23, 2012

My Ravelry link: Blueberry {ripple}

Currently...

Playing... with my new iPod Touch (thank you Santa) what a difference there is from the 2nd generation to the 5th. I can't believe how crisp everything looks. And the apps! The apps all work! Amazing!

Finishing... quite a few knitting & crochet projects. I have empty needles and waiting yarn. I am itching to start anew with one of the many projects I have been dreaming to make. I just need to decide on which one.

Thinking... about way too many things at the moment. A couple of big deadlines coming up next month and I just can't seem to get them out of my mind.

Wondering... if I will find enough photos for my year in photos post. It might help if I actually started looking instead of just wondering about it.

Wishing... that the Christmas tree could stay up forever.

Scrunchable Scarf

I just love this time of year when it comes to my working on my yarny projects. It's the time of year when projects get finished and sometimes it's the time of year when projects get put away and kind of forgotten about. My grape scrunchy scarf would be one of the latter.

This scarf started out as a Christmas present back in 2010, but then I changed my mind and decided to make something else so it got put aside. It sat for quite awhile on top of my printer collecting dust. Then it spent some time hanging out in the closet where I didn't have to look at it everyday. I finally decided that it needed to be finished. It pretty much was already done, it only had a few rows left to knit. I don't know why it took me so long to do it but here it is. Another project FINISHED!

Pattern: Scrunchable Scarf by Susan McConne

Yarn: Premier Yarns Serenity Chunky Weight in "Grape Jam"

Needle: US 10 1/2 (6.5 mm)

Started: October 31, 2010

Finished: December 9, 2012

My Ravelry link: Grape Scrunchy

Merry Merry Christmas!

still here

Happy Non-Apocalypse Day!

Back in 2009

Way back in 2009...I scrapbooked.

I know, I know that was years ago but soon after that we bought a house and everything went into boxes. Recently, I opened one of these boxes and was surprised at what I found. I thought the box would be filled with scrapbook paper and finished scrapbook layouts. I was wrong. I found tons of pages in various stages of completion and lots of supplies too. I also found the following pages. These were the last pages I scrapped right before the move.

I have 3-years worth of photo-a-day projects. The first year was 365 Days (a self-portrait a day for a year), then I did two years of Project 365 (taking a photo a day for a year). Since Project 365 is a photography project I never really planned on scrapbooking them, but I knew I wanted to do something with all the photos I took. I just didn't know what that something would be. I love the look of photo books but didn't really think I could afford one and to be honest I am a bit intimidated when it comes to making one.

For these pages I wanted to concentrate on showcasing the photos so there is very little journaling (I pretty much just copied what I wrote on Flickr) and the pages are very simple.

Thanks for looking.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy 12-12-12

The start of the Blueberry {ripple}

I am 39 rows into my next ripple with only 21 days left until Christmas Eve. I have no idea how many rows I have left to go but I hope to finish crocheting this blanket in time to give it to Nephew 2.0 for Christmas.

I have actually been working on it a little bit here and there since the end of September, but I really haven't gotten very far. A fact that really shouldn't surprise me since apparently, I was in the same exact predicament last year.

I had all kinds of ideas of what colors to use but decided in the end to go with his favorite colors of blue and black and decided to use Red Heart With Love acrylic yarn. I had the hardest time trying to decide which yarn to use but thanks to SIX 50% off coupons the decision to use this yarn was made for me. You just can't beat paying $2.50 for a 370 yard skein. I have not used Red Heart in a very long time and the Red Heart With Love is a lot softer than the regular Red Heart. So far it hasn't been too bad to work with and hopefully it will be just like the regular Red Heart in that it will be indestructible and last forever, which is perfect for a teenage boy.