Raspberry Rib Knitted Blanket

I have not done a knitting post in awhile so I thought today might be a good day to do that. This pattern is called Raspberry Rib Blanket.  I got in a book called Easy Timeless Blankies sold by E-Patterns Central. I think I will give this one 4 stars because it can be really easy to get off set with whether you are doing a knit stitch or a purl stitch.  Because I am often a multi-tasking knitter, I like simple patterns.  But I absolutely hate having to tear things out because I messed up.  And with this pattern I didn't notice a HUGE mess up until I was rows and rows away.  I think that's the other issue is I put a blanket up for awhile and I don't get back to it for weeks--so I forget where I am!

See that big mess up!

The other thing with this blanket is that either I am really bad at measuring or this is a pattern that is really hard to measure!  It ended up being huge! I measure as I get farther and then I figure out how many more rows I need.  People that do this for real probably do a gauge before they start, but I just want to get to making something that I don't really gauge. I guess somewhere down the line with this pattern I thought I needed so many more rows before I measured again.  I didn't really need that many! I thought about tearing it out but it looks fine, it's just huge.

See what I mean?!

This, however, is the first blanket that I made with the intention of selling it.  Usually I make blankets with someone in mind but this one was just for fun and I thought about selling it.  Would you guys buy it? With or without the mess up?  Now that I know what I'm doing I could just do another one and try not too mess up :)

What it is suppose to look like :)

J is for JoAnn's

So in the spirit of continuing to catch-up, I wanted to share this picture of a happy Saturday a little while back.  Living in small town Utah, any time I wanted yarn or knitting supplies, I either had to order it or wait until I went out to the city (2 hours away). Then a few weeks ago, a JoAnn's opened 30 minutes away! I have gone almost every weekend that they have been opened.  I have doubled my bamboo knitting needle supplies.  I now feel like I can do two projects at the same time, because I have access to the resources.

I cannot express in words very well how exciting this is.  It is a brand-new shiny store.  And knitting has really gotten me through the last little while. It has really also made me want to take up scrap-booking seriously and sewing.  There is so much I can get now!!!

This is the new yarn that I got on the first weekend opening:






My yarn organization is finally done:

Diagonal Knitted Baby Blanket

So, back in March I reviewed a Seed Stitch Blanket pattern that I had finished knitting.  I have another blanket that I have finally finished!!! I feel like I started this in like May trying to get it done by July for the baby--and I didn't get a chance to. But I finished it for Young Women in Excellence and I was so proud!! So I wanted to share the awesomeness of this pattern. I call it the Diagonal Knitted Baby Blanket.  The pattern is from Lion Brand and they call it Neptune Baby Throw.

First of, I would rate this pattern a 4.5 stars. Because the awesomeness of it is the fact that it is super easy once you get the hang of it. It is also SUPER adorable! And I like the multi-color idea of it.  The serious negative to this is a knitting marathon! You think it will go super fast because you increase by a row and you get a lot of blanket fast and then it goes really slow as you add a stitch each time.  But the pro with that it becomes a nice really big blanket perfect for tummy time!

See what I mean by big?!

The color isn't great but you can see what it looks like
and I used pink and purple here.  I have also used blue and green before and it is super cute.

Anybody else made this blanket? What did you think?

Yarn Giveaway!!

This is a sweet giveaway from Lion Brand Yarn.



Go here: http://www.favecrafts.com/sweeps/Lion-Brand-Yarn-Prize-Package-Giveaway to enter ASAP--because it ends tomorrow.

Which brings me to a completely separate thing....I would like to do a giveaway because I have always thought that this would be a great way to say that I have become a real blogger if I did a giveaway.  But what should I give away? Yarns? Books? Gift cards? Let me know in the comment box what you would like to try to win :)

Knit-along Step 1: Get Yarn

So...I was in Provo today for UCSS Conference (more on that tomorrow)....and after the conference I stopped by JoAnn's. Now you know that I have A LOT of yarn...so I really shouldn't be buying more...but I am because I am going to start a new project...which is also dumb because I haven't finished the one I am working on now.  So why am I doing this? Because of a knit-along!

I have seriously always wanted to do one of these....but either A. it is crochet B. it is too soon that I figure out it is happening and I can't get materials because I live in a small town or C. it is like a sweater or something that looks SUPER complicated.  This one actually doesn't look too bad because it is a scarf...but it does have that "intermediate" thing on it which always makes me nervous!!!

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/multidirectional-curved-scarf

I wasn't a huge fan of the colors.....but I did like the grey idea so I got....

They should match the yarn the pattern asks for....and I really like the colors--I hope it will turn out great. P.S. It starts Tuesday so there is still time to jump in if materials aren't hard for you to find.  Go here for more info. 

I Love Yarn Day Part 2

So yesterday being "I Love Yarn Day"---I decided this weekend would be a yarn weekend for me...because I didn't get a lot done yesterday.  I had wanted to organize my humongous pile of yarn and in the midst of the projects that I am in the middle of.  After looking at a variety of ways to organize my yarn on Pinterest....this was still my favorite option.

http://blog.lionbrand.com/2012/02/02/12-tips-on-how-to-organize-your-yarn-stash/

The next step was figuring out what to put the yarn in to make it look like this.  I saw that some people put them inside shoe organizers--and I didn't like that idea.  Others thought of liquor boxes that the ship the bottles in.  I thought that might be kind of cool, especially I could stain them and decorate them.

So I thought of these at Wal-mart...they are fabric drawers that can go inside a bookshelf type thing.

I only got four of these...two navy and two natural ones....and I didn't get a shelf thing because first I didn't know for sure if they would do what I wanted them to do...but also, I have that vent--smack dab in the middle of the where I am working.  And I don't want to cover it up. So I have two on either side. And they look pretty good with yarn in them.

But...as you can see I still have run out of space!  I have decided to get six more...a nice even 10 but I'm still not 100% sure that will be enough.....I might get 12--we'll see. But I can't stack them--tried that and you can see how they buckle a little even with the bags with yarn on top.  And then there is the huge bag of projects and these...which I thought looked cool in their little containers.

But I'm not quite sure how I am going to get a shelf thing in there....but I'll be back at Wal-mart Monday since I will be in Vernal anyway and see if I can't figure it out.  I might be able to even do a piece of wood all the way across and create my own shelf...but I'm not sure if they will support that.

I Love Yarn Day!

So today is I Love Yarn Day! Yep there really is such a thing. When I found out about this...I thought that I would come home from work and just knit all night in honor. Today when I knew what I had on the schedule that I might come home and organize all of my yarn that I haven't done since we moved in. But then I didn't come home until almost 5.  And as soon as I hit the couch my eyes involuntarily close--a sign from my body that I am more tired than I think I am.  So I think this is going to become a yarn day weekend.  So I can knit part of the day on Saturday and Sunday along with organizing my yarn.  I really want to finish the blanket that I am working on! So today...I am going to show you some of my great funnies about knitting that I found today.

So funny!

Especially when it is my students...because they usually come
from money and like expensive things

This was a 365 project....she made a square a day.  And not all of them went into this blanket
Def. crocheted...http://bit.ly/17ZL0G8
A little bit too tempting as I approach the end of this 365 project...

Y is for Yarn

As a knitter, I have learned a lot about yarn in the last couple of years that I have been doing this.  I don't know if this happens to other knitters but I get partial to certain types of yarn.  Because I do a lot of baby blankets I am very partial to Bernat Softee Baby yarns.  The blue, pink, yellow, green, and purple are perfect colors for babies in a variety of combinations!!

I also really like Red Heart yarn...mostly because it is cheap! LOL! I also love Lion Brand yarns...but also really love their website for FREE patterns--and not just for knitters--they have crochet patterns too.

Y could also be for yawn....I did my first full day back to work after my fainting spell....and it really wore me out--so I'm going to bed!  Good night all!

Yeah I should totally take pictures for Bernat...haha def not with my cell phone

Seed Stitch Baby Blanket

So..I have mentioned before that I want to share some of my knitting projects on here. Today I finally finished a blanket that I have been working on for a while!  I got this pattern from Lion Brand..which has a WHOLE bunch of free patterns for knitting and crocheting.  They call it Seed Stitch Baby Blanket which is very appropriate.  It is a very simple pattern and for that I give it 4 stars.  It doesn't get 5 stars is that it is REALLY easy to mess up.

I am the type that knits while doing something else...listening to a book on tape but more often than not watching a TV show or a movie. This was a pattern that seemed really easy to screw up and not know it for like three or four rows because that's when you can really see it.  So if you end up trying this pattern, be careful to make sure that you get your knits and purls in the right row.

But it turns out pretty well when you're done...at least I think so.

The whole blanket!

A close up on the corner so you can see the seed stitch and stockinette stitch alternated