Old project finished: afghan

Here's a crochet project I'd started last year to use up odds and ends of acrylic yarns. Not sure why I hadn't finished it. All that I needed to do were a few more rounds to finish the edges.



Close-up of afghan's center:

On the needles: alligator scarf

I've started another Morehouse Farms scarf. This one is an alligator using Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice acrylic in taupe. I'll have photos when it's finished next week.

On the needles: another alpaca scarf

Since I still have alpaca yarn left, I'm making another scarf. This one is a lacy collage from Knitting Little Luxuries by Louisa Harding.

Off the needles: Gecko scarf, Pig

This time there's an animal theme to my finished projects. I finished the Morehouse Farms gecko scarf and gave it to my friends' son, who, as you can see, was a happy recipient.





My other finished project is actually something I knitted a few years ago as a baby gift. I'd never finished assembling it, but pulled it out of my stash of unfinished projects when my daughter said she needed a gift for a friend's baby's 1st birthday. The yarn was leftovers from another project that I did finish.



I'm not sure why I hadn't finished it when the knitting was done. For a stuffed knitted toy, it's so easy to assemble...no arms, legs, or head to sew on. I plan to make other animals from the pattern book.

Off the needles: Baby blankets for twins

Finished the blankets for my friend who's expecting twins. These are in Lily's Sugar & Cream cotton. I've knitting blankets in this before; it's soft and washable...just want you'd want in a baby blanket. These are just garter stitch squares: 100 stitches wide by 90 rows. The crocheted borders are from a new crochet edging book I just discovered: Around the Corner Crochet Borders: 150 Colorful, Creative Edging Designs with Charts and Instructions for Turning the Corner Perfectly Every Time by Edie Eckman.

Off the needles: Alpaca scarf

Finished & blocked scarf from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia in a fawn colored alpaca that I bought at the NC Fiber Fest. (Looks as if there will be enough yarn left for another lacy scarf.) The pattern I used is one of the simplest, I think, in Bush's book...no tricky nupps in this one.

Here's a picture of the beautiful source of the yarn:

Off the needles: white baby blanket

This is a pattern from Barbara Walker's 1st pattern book. I used 3 balls of Reynolds Kitten (which isn't made anymore). I threaded ribbon yarn through all the eyelets. Also, crocheted a v-shell border on all sides. This will be a gift for a friend who's expecting her 1st grandchild in October (a girl).

Here's a closeup of the border:



Labels from the yarn I used:

Ribbon yarn I used:

On the needles this week

Just started a gecko scarf for a friend's son. It's one of the Morehouse Farms patterns. I'm doing it in a baby-weight green & yellow acrylic. I'm about 1/2 finished & will have photos soon.

Still on the needles: yellow & lavender baby blankets for twins (going fast as they're just garter stitch squares), white baby blanket for friend's grandchild (almost finished; good since I'm running out of yarn), & purple & black cabled wrap (which my daughter says she will take when finished).

Another new project started.

Started another new project. This one is a cabled wrap using 2 stash yarns: (1) a black mohair/acrylic blend and (2) a thick&thin synthetic (no label on this one, so I'm not sure what the fiber content is...maybe nylon? A burn test indicated that it isn't a natural fiber) that is a twist of violet, green & black colors. I'll have photo when (or if) I finish it. This project will use up 19 balls of yarn from my stash (yay!)

On the needles this week: Baby blankets

I'm knitting 3 baby blankets this week:

One in white Reynolds Kitten yarn in a simple lace pattern from one of Barbara Walker's pattern books. When the knitting is finished, I'll weave a pink ribbon yarn(from my friend's destashing) through the eyelets. The finished blanket will go to a yoga friend whose daughter is expecting a girl in October.

The other two are in Sugar & Cream for twins that a friend is expecting. I'm knitting garter stitch squares & will be adding a crochet edging. One is in lavender with yellow edging & the other is in yellow with lavender edging. Right now I'm knitting the squares simultaneously on one circular needle so they'll finish up the same size.

My daughter says I should stick to shawls, scarves & blankets since I seem to have a major problem finishing sweaters. Well, we'll see if she's right. I have a bin of unfinished sweaters that I hope to get to later this year.

Noro Shawl Finished!

Another project off the needles! The pattern is from Knitted Shawls, Stoles, and Scarves by Nancie Wiseman.



Back view:


Here's a close-up the yarn. This doesn't give justice to the beautiful variety of colors these yarns have.




Label from the Noro yarn...I think this is a discontinued yarn:

Baby blanket finished

Here's the finished baby blanket I was working on. The cream yarn is a cone of acrylic that I bought years ago at a mill outlet. It has a bumpy texture that makes it very thick and squishy. I CO with 3 stitches & added one on each side till I used 1/2 the yarn. Then decreased one stitch on each side till I ended up with 3 stitches to bind off. The yarn-over increases created holes that seemed call out for embellishing. So, using a yarn I acquired from my stash-busting friend, I wove 4 strands through the holes. Here's a close-up showing how I ended with a tassel.




Here's the label from the embellishment yarn. It's white & blue with snippets of pink ribbon, making it appropriate for either a girl or boy baby gift.

Scarves from my Stash

One of the best ways I've found to destash those 1 & 2 odd balls of yarn is to knit or crochet scarves. And I have made major inroads this year as you can see from the photo. I've finished nearly 30 since January. Most are from acrylics (Red Heart, Bernat) since most will be donated to charity & wool is just not a good choice for items that won't be handwashed. I'll have some close-up photos in another posting.