Kari’s blanket

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Color Lovers

Today’s topic asks bloggers to talk about their love or confusion of color. It’s funny–only a few years ago, I would have said that I always, always gravitated toward rich jewel tones, especially blue, purple, and green, and rarely knit with anything else. A quick look through my Ravelry projects proves it:

I figured this trend would continue when I started designing last year. After all, I’m the one who gets to pick the colors I want to knit with, right? Oddly enough, though, I’ve found myself using more neutrals and dark, muted tones than before. Having to think about the styling and wearability of the piece changes things.

Here’s a snapshot of some of my designs that proves it:

Of course, I also have these, so maybe I haven’t gone as far from blue and green jewel tones as I could have, heh:

A look through my yarn cabinet also shows a weakness for impulse yarn purchases in blue, green, and purple:

My WIP basket

The current swatch pile

I’m going to continue attempting to branch out, color-wise, but I’m not sure how much luck I’ll have with all this yumminess calling to me. I think if I could only knit from Madelinetosh jewel-tones for the rest of my life, I’d be perfectly happy.

Star Wars Baby Shower

Warning: picture-heavy post ahead! (It has a little to do with knitting, I promise. Hang in there.)

I threw a baby shower for my best friend yesterday. She’s a Star Wars mega-fan from way back, so we came up with the idea of having a Star Wars theme! I couldn’t resist the opportunity to put my new camera of awesomeness to good use.

I made Yoda Soda by mixing lemon-lime soda with lime sherbet:

The favors were lightsabers (pretzel rods dipped in melted candy coating and sprinkles):

The gorgeous mama-to-be:

We played games, decorated onesies, and watched her open presents:

Recognize this? It went over really well with everyone! All of the non-knitters were impressed that both sides looked good, which I thought was pretty awesome :-)

The shower took a lot of planning, but everyone seemed to have a great time. The mama-to-be was very happy. So it was all worth it :-)

My favorite picture of Kari and me

Eeeeeeee!

My new pattern made Ravelry’s Top 20 hot right now list! First time!

And the more than 400 favorites in 24 hrs makes me very happy too :-)

New Pattern: Kari Baby Blanket

The baby blanket pattern is now up for sale! You can find it here.

It’s gotten a really nice response on Ravelry, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy :-)

Now I just have to keep the sample in pristine condition until the baby shower next month… hmmm. Some cat-proofing may be in order.

FO Friday: Kari’s Blanket

A little late for FO Friday, but here’s the finished baby blanket in all its glory:

I’m really, really happy with the way this turned out! Also, I’m delighted afresh with my new camera. These pictures were taken on the bed in my apartment, with limited light, but I don’t think you could ever tell.

I’m happy with the way the back looks post-blocking, too. It’s kind of a neat design in its own right:

The specs:

Pattern: My own. I’ll work on releasing this one (self-publish via Ravelry) as soon as the two Knit Picks sweaters are done. Hopefully within the next few weeks.

Yarn: Knit Picks Simply Cotton. The mama-to-be this is intended for wants organic clothes for baby, so this was perfect. Love the depth of the color, and it got even softer and smooshier with blocking.

Notes: I’m holding onto this FO until next month, when I’m throwing my bestie a baby shower. I can’t wait to give it to her…

This may be a contender for best picture I've ever taken.

TILT: Blocking

Thing I Love Today: the magic of blocking!

The baby blanket is done. I’ll have better pictures by Friday, but I thought a walk through my blocking process might be interesting.

I use these foam mats I bought at the hardware store to block everything. They were cheap and they do the job. The only problem is that they have some kind of magnetic attraction for one of my cats, so after two years they all look pretty much like this:

All four mats, with guilty cat for scale

Here’s the blanket as it came off the needles: crumpled and narrow. This pattern (my own) includes quite a bit of 1×1 ribbing, so this was to be expected.

Size before blocking: 22" by 32"

Then I measured carefully and spent waaay too much time using every pin I own to stretch it to size.

Kitty inspecting my work. She doesn't look impressed, does she?

I got a nifty new steam iron a few weeks ago. It does vertical steaming as well as horizontal, which is awesome for quick sweater touchups before photoshoots.