The Year of the Blankets

Are you tired of blanket updates yet?

All of these blankets were wips, and my hope is that I will have them all finished within the year so that I can start some more blankets, because you can never have enough blankets. I need to make a ripple and granny stripe blanket! I have an urge and it won't stop until I fulfill it. So I am trying to finish these off. I am pretty sure one of them needs to wait for a while because I am out of yarn, and that yarn is expensive, but I am saving so lets stay hopeful shall we?

Oh, how I loved this when I started it. Pattern from Ravelry. One of my first starts from there too. 

The yarn is a discontinued yarn Helen from Novita. But I managed to snag some more colours of this when I was in Sweden a couple of years ago, so each row will be a different colour I think. With grey as a border. I might take this one completely apart and start again. Making each square a different colour and the grey as a border and to crochet them together. I have only two different pinks and one purple 

  and the grey those not really suit it as anything other than a border…. But I do have four or five skeins of each colour so I guess the blanket will be baby sized. Unless someone finds me some more yarn.

This blanket you should know. It is not finished, and I am waiting for my mother who bought some yarn for me to make it bigger. I want it to reach from my toes to my head. At the moment it stops at my chest :)

 This is my longest blanket Wip, I remember my mother helping me to get this started right after I finished my first ever Granny blanket. And since then I have learnt a lot about yarn and techniques, but I still love this blanket, even if it takes forever to do. I have used up some of the yarn since, and that is partly why it has taken so long, to find suitable colours to continue. I feel a bit impressed because I have lost the chart since, but, I am able to continue anyway because the pattern is fairly simple, but that only means that my skills have improved since starting, because that is something I would have needed my mothers help with…. Too bad though that the pattern is missing, because I remember it had a lovely edge around it…. If anyone has the pattern please let me know, I think it was from Familien, and the pattern was called sukkertøy something. But I think I will survive without it, so don't stress. :)

Two are finished! Yay Me. And hopefully the first one will soon be delivered to my cousin, if not by me, then by mail or something. :)

I am truly in love with this blanket, even if the white makes me a bit to scared to really use it as I am a real spiller and spill most of my food when I am eating. Yes, I always have food on my face and clothes after a meal. I am a real clutz.

I got mail

Several weeks ago I ordered something from Sewandso and one of the items would be delivered way later than the others…. I wondered why none of the packages arrived. Then one day they both arrived in the mailbox. It was not until later when I looked at one of the parcels I understood why it had taken more than three weeks to go from the UK to here….

Thailand is not really similar to Norway on any level isn't it?

The case of the bookmarked blanket

BOOKMARK PATTERN ONE, SECOND SET:

And, I made some more bookmarks, I have another blue to make and then I have finished with this pattern, then I have another bookmark pattern in mind. 

And this is the yarn I will make my granny stripe blanket in later, or the ripple, we will see which one I tackle first. But before that I have to finish at least one more blanket, I think this one is close to being finished.

 BLANKET NUMBER THREE:

It now has 5 x 7 squares and reaches almost to my chest. There is no way it will be finished in time for the Ravellenics :S, as I am positive it will be too small. Maybe it needs another category? I will look and see if something springs to mind. I wish you could see how the colours really look, because the colours never look remotely right when I take pictures…. The dark purple and brown look like the same colour… I will miss having a warm blanket on my lap in the evenings when I start other projects… This yarn is so warm. Oh well, I could always start another.

Hook CASE NUMBER TWO:

I made another hook case. This button too is an extra from a sweater. And it is mostly made up from stash, the inside is white, and the outside purple, I had three rows left and the assembling to do when I ran out of yarn. The colour I bought is slightly different, but I think it works. 

I think it will be a Christmas/birthday gift for someone.

(Sorry for the bad photos, it is dark and gloomy today here).

 I like how it turned out, I didn't need to block it as it is the perfect size, all I had to do was use a bigger yarn... 

 Even if I still have no idea what row number 44 really want me to do. But I am getting quite good at just doing something as I go though.

No pictures of Mimle this time, as she is in her digging box and wishes not to be disturbed.

Tuesday is Here

C-ute actually has a decent music video, even if it still looks a bit cheap, I wish they could do the same with the other groups too.

The dance reminds me of Perfume, and I must say I love the mannequin pose. Reminds me of MM's Souda We Are Alive! 

I like the song a lot, even if it slowish, C-ute is best at the faster songs I think.

I like that all of their clothes looks like something they could wear in private.

Maimi does not need a bag when she has her hat?

Nakky is quite the stalker on the bench with her camera…..

How is my blanket doing?

I am still doing one square a day. Happily. Have I told you why I love granny squares so much? I love things in three, the flow of them and the counting is very soothing, I usually prefer even numbers to odd, but three is a very aesthetically pleasing number for things to be in. So I love it. I love counting, I hate math, but this is not math, this is rhythm, and I like that. I have always counted things to calm myself, steps, squares, cabinets, and I have always hated when they stopped at odd numbers, so I had to count again. Sometimes I like counting things I know the answer to, like fingers. I walk somewhere with music in my ears and count my fingers. I touch the tips to each other and mutter to myself the number, and since I am only counting one hand but I have two I count in doubles. It is very soothing.

I also love the use of colours, with just small changes things can look drastically different. And at the moment I am doing mostly one coloured squares. Whereas on the last blanket I used multicolored squares in different pink shades. I still use pink in this one, but here the colours are less vibrant, more muted and they mimic my feelings at the moment. 

And the weather. 

If I have counted correctly there are only six days left of the Olympics, so I either have to make one more row on the long row so that it counts six. Or I can make as many as possible and hope that I can finish ten and do two rows, which will be more blankety….

I don't think it would count as a finished blanket, I think it is too small, and I doubt I would feel satisfied with it being this small…. But we will see when Sunday comes.

Mimle is resting. Look at that adorable tummy, I wish my tummy was just as cute and yummy.

My blanket is growing

I have a total of 27 squares in my blanket. And I have faithfully done one every day of the Olympics. (The blanket was a wip before).

Mimle is pleased about the progress. As long as she gets treats she will happily pose for some photos.

The yarn is made of  20 %Alpaca, 15% wool and 65% Acrylics, so it is quite warm and snuggly and i love having the blanket on my knees while crocheting in the evenings. I think this will turn out to be a warm winter/autumn blanket for all those cocoa drinking nights.

I think if I left the blanket on the floor someone would drag it under the sofa and sleep on it. But there are enough Mimle Fibers already in it, the joys of the molting season, which thankfully seems to come to an end soon.

Today I have plowed some snow outside and made a path to our door, almost killing my wrist in the meantime, and I am contemplating pizza. 

Crochet Hook Bunny Photoshoot and some tunes

 Mimle and I tried to take some pictures of my finished item. I bribed her with treats, and apparently, some other bun might try to steal her treats so she ate them super fast. Like we starved her or something. She was not patient or nice and tried running me over several times in her frantic search for treats.

Hei, Mimle, we can't see my crochet finish, you are in the way. And the treats are on the floor as well as in my hands yes, but you have to eat the one on the floor first...

Oh, yeah, and I am wearing this sort of jeans, that is what you get when you watch too many late 90's to early 2000 shows, you think this style is the bomb. But I do love my "snekkerbukse". It is comfy, warm and surprisingly very soft, unlike the one I had when I was thirteen. 

Anyway.

Where are the treats, do you have them in your hand?

Eat the ones on the floor first, Mimle.

I spot the treat, now give me!

And then she jumped over the crochet hook case and I got a good shot of her bum, not really what I was aiming for Mimle, but yes, your butt is cute. Now try to stay on the other side so that I get both you and the project in the same frame, please?

Like that. A very regal pose. Bunny knows there are no more treats and are finally chewing the ones she had in her mouth. Sillybunny.

And, it is Tuesday Tunes here, so I leave you with a very funny song, which apparently is about dieting, but when you look at the lyrics it is not really a pro diet song.

I love Berryz, they always have such fun songs. And Momoko, I love your grown up hair, but Risako, a little tip, yes, when you colour your hair blonde it is a good idea to do the brows too, but it would look better with a shade darker on the brows than your hair. I have dark blond hair and black eyebrows, it looks a bit silly, but that is why I have a fringe….

My Crochet Hook Case is Finished

Halfway through, and yes it is too small….

The chart:

I mucked up abit, though, more than just the gauge, but I merrily trotted on, I did not let any small mistakes deter me from making a finished object. No Sir. So I winged it after I got stuck. Luckily for me, I got stuck right about halfway through the back, so all I had to do was just pretend everything was alright and do the same as I did on the first side of the back. Turned out ok.

And I added four rows at the top. I think it is just the right size, barely of the hooks.

So now, the case is blocking by itself.

I hope it will turn out to be a success, if so, I am posting the front and better pictures tomorrow. :)

Also, I think I will go through my stash, since this used just one ball of yarn, maybe I have some slightly bigger yarn I can use to make another. That or just use double the white I have used on this one.

Btw, my blanket is chugging along. I am doing it like a pro and sticking to my plan, one square a day. And by the end of the Ravellenics I will have a finished lap-blanket thing. 

Also, I found some more of the yarn I am using to make that blanket too. Yay.

Crochet Hook Case

I am making a present, I hope to finish it soon, because it is intended to be a 70th birthday present for my aunt. I think I have started it with yarn that is too small, because the gauge does not seem quite right.

I think it is a bit too small for the crochet needles, but I hope it will stretch a little, if not, I think I will just try and add some more row of stitches at the top to make it long enough for the crochet needles.

As you can see, it is more stretched where the red hook is, so I think it might fit with just a little bit of coaxing.

If I can manage to make one, I think I will make another for the Ravellenics. And then some, because I do know quite a lot of people who have crochet needles lying about everywhere. 

I have seen quite a bit of sewing designs for knitting/crochet needles, but since I am not the most avid seemstress, I thought I might crochet one instead.

And yes, I did buy too much of that white yarn to finish both blankets, but then I can always use white yarn. Let's just hope I don't have to scrap this project because I don't have any suitable yarn, so cross your fingers that this yarn will do.

If you want to make one yourself, the design is This one: and the best part is that it is free.

No Bunday without some bunny pictures:

Mimle has a tunnel.

Who says bunnies have expensive taste. A cardboard box is very cheap, let us not mention her taste in hay, that she will only eat two kinds, and one of them has to come from the other side of the world….

Bunny Molt

Bunny is molting. A lot. You can see everything she has molted for a couple of years in the bag.

Look at her funny molting pattern on the nose.

The carpet is full of hair, after cuddles, and her little bottom too. 

We vaccumed a few days ago too.

One day I will have someone make me some Mimle yarn.

But she is adorable, so I guess we need to take out the brush again tonight.

Remember to brush your bunnies people so they don't get hairballs.

My other blanket is also finished

Mimle is demonstrating how big it is. (And how tiny our apartment is.)

and how crooked, but warm and cosy the blanket turned out. Even if it is unblocked.

 The light brown knitted square is yarn from my grandmother.

The grey square by Mimles bottom is yarn from Ida's grandmother, and the one by her left ear which is in purples are also made from yarn from our grandmother. (we think)

The orange ones are from my friends grandmother and the white sparkly yarn is from boyfriends grandmother.

You can barely see on the grey knitted square in the top right corner has some white crochet ribbon-thing  on it we think is from my aunts mother in law.

I finished it off with leftover yarn from the last blanket. Three rows of white.

Where are the treats?

The recipients name is IDA. The I was made by my boyfriend. The D was made by her brother and the A by her little sister.

This blanket was a joint effort. My friends helped a lot. All the yarn was from stash, some from my grandmother, boyfriends grandmother, my friends grandmother and the recipients  grandmother (although my grandmother is also hers as she is my cousin)

Congratulations on finishing your masters!

Tadah Blanket

My Pink Granny Square Blanket is Finished. I have been busy taking pictures, stretching my blanket and taking its measurements. 

Some Details:

Width 76 cm

Length 142 cm

I think it weighed around 1 kilo. A little less than bunny who is 1,6.

Some more blanket pictures, just because.

Yarn Stashing Bunday

Yesterday I was at the store buying groceries and I thought I'd pop by another store to buy some more of that white yarn because I will be using it to finish off my cousins masters degree blanket. And then I saw that they had a sale, so I went a little nuts. (well not really because I spent the amount I had as a maximum spending limit). I got 15 balls of yarn. Buy 2 get 1 free is excellent. And so I will show you my stash.

I also bought some yarn on Finn.no, a place where people can sell off their unwanted things.

So, here goes. Don't be scared, because I have a plan for all the yarn and now that I am almost finished with two out of three blankets I can soon start another right?

Firstly, a closeup of the yarn I got in my swap on the Ravelry forum. I love this yarn. I think maybe one will be a doily, but I am not sure. And the other a lacy summer shawl. I think.

This is some of the yarn I bought at the sale, I started a little bit with it and made a bookmark. See my last post.  But I think I will use the rest and knit some wrist warmers for the Ravellenic Winter Games 2014.

This is the rest of the sale yarn, a cheap acrylic, called Baby Soft from Nille, I am hoping to make a Granny Stripe Blanket. I know I have to buy some more, but some of the colours are leftover from my finished Pink Granny Square Blanket (pictures will come later).

So I am being responsible and using what I have. I think this will be a nice spring blanket. That is what those pastel-y colours remind me of anyway and soon there will be spring.

This is the last of my stash. Patons Cotton Top in Shade 6428, and the little used blob on top is some remnants my mother had that I inherited, she knitted a vest with it before I was born and finished it some years ago, I got it because apparently it did not fit her anymore or the colours were a bit more me. I LOVE that vest, and the yarn and I was so happy I found some yarn that resembled this a little bit. I wonder if there is enough to make another vest? For me? If there is, I will try and knit one. Perhaps I will have it finished by the time my non-existing daughter turns 20?

Anyway, I love my new yarn and I will try to knit and crochet a bit more this year too.

Not impressed.

And since I promised. And because it is Bunday. 

Here are some pictures of bunny frolicking yesterday. Today she has spent most of the morning sleeping under the sofa.

Mimle made a mess with her newly devoured hay cake with chamomile. But she loved it and says thank you. May I please have another?