Friday, April 23, 2010

languish no longer, my pretties!

My March and April knitting has consisted of finishing up a bunch of old projects that have been languishing far too long. It doesn't make for the most fun knitting (or blogging, for that matter), but it's great to get these things off the needles and get my knitting corner organized for our upcoming move.

Case in point: an Easy Peasy Squares Baby Blanket. I finally ordered one last skein of yarn to finish this up!
Pattern: Easy Peasy Squares Baby Blanket, by Kelly McCraw ~ on ravelry
Yarn: Missions Falls 1824 wool, 7 skeins ~ cornflower
Needles: Clover US 10 bamboo circular

Notes:
Easy pattern, great squooshy yarn! I tweaked the numbers and pattern repeats a bit. The garter stitch edging does pull in a bit, but blocking helps. I think "cornflower" is a misnomer for this color. A real cornflower looks like this:
Curious... Then again, my color knowledge is largely based upon the giant Crayola boxes of my childhood, so what do I know. Crayola is most definitely a significant cultural phenomenon, though, as otherwise millions would have no idea what "burnt sienna" looks like.
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Blue-green hues are really rocking my world lately, though, as I've also cast on for a Buttercup top in this shade of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy:

It doesn't look too much yet, as it's knit on size 4 needles, and I can't overdo it since the hemp/cotton/modal blend is a little tough on the hands and wrists!
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Also in the "finish the frack up department"...

I'm following this tutorial to apply an i-cord border to another baby blanket that has been languishing for months, waiting for just this very step.
It went very well on the bound-off edge, but working on the next side is making me crazy! Also, it would have been wise to go up a needle size or two for the edging. Keeping it loose prevents the edging from pulling too much.

12 comments:

Katie M. said...

Very impressive! I commend your finishing-up efforts. Plus the blankets look super snuggly.

Anonymous said...

What cute blankets! And good choice of yarn: it's both smooshy and washable.

Jenn said...

I'm finding I don't really have the patience for I-cord edging. I have a hot pad that will be ready for felting just as soon as I finish the last 1/3 of i-cord edging...you know the edging that has been sitting in my basket since October waiting to be finished.

Cute blankets! I'll have to fav that pattern. My youngest daughters favorite snuggle blankets are the ones that were knit for her...by others since I was not knitting at the time. I'd like to return the favor for a baby or two in the coming years.

sula said...

I love the feeling of clearing out the backlog! And I'm with you, that is no cornflower color. Great projects, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with the Hempathy.

Amy said...

Clearing out wips is such a fantastic feeling, isn't it? Can't wait to see the hempathy sweater. I love the way the yarn looks, but as you said it's pretty rough on the hands.

Chris said...

Congrats on the finishing frenzy! I'm weird. I love i-cord bindoffs and i-cord edging. :) Also, that is not cornflower. That is some sort of steely blue.

La Cabeza Grande said...

I applaud your blankets and the rest of your finishing efforts. I'm a fan of Mission Falls too. :)

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caitlyn said...

Lovely baby blankets! I'll have to look at that pattern on Rav.

elizabeth said...

Very nice! Those blankets look so comfy! And I appreciate the reminder that I started a summer top out of the same linen/cotton yarn last year and gave up after a few inches (size 4 needles did it to me). I need to pull it back out!

stringsofpurls said...

I love the word smooshy! Very nice work!

knitseashore said...

I love what you said about Crayola. I still keep a box of 64, and was upset they changed some of the names. Crayola is as good as Pantone in my book! :)

Congratulations on finishing up those UFOs!!! I'm battling a sweater and am going to throw a parade when I finally get this baby done. Ugh.