baby blanket » Sassy Does It

While I’m waiting on the edge of every seat I’m sitting in today to hear a-n-y breath of the first election results, I might as well confess a sin.

It wasn’t premeditated, I swear.

I was downtown Saturday night and while walking back to my car, I passed Walgreens. The devil on my shoulder said, “Hey, you know, I betcha (*wink*) they’re selling half-off Halloween candy in there.”

Did I summon the angel supposedly keeping watch on the other shoulder? The better angels of my nature, maybe? My common sense? No way, Jose.

I stepped inside, and with purpose.

I took my time perusing the wall of 50%-off candy, knowing out the gate that the Reese’s cups were coming home with me. Bidie likes the Peanut M&Ms (I’ll have a wee lookie at those, too, if forced), so I added those to the pile in my arms - two bags’ worth, to “stock up”. As if this is something we stock up on, like canned goods on sale.

And oh, the candy corn - who can leave that out, right? It’s tradition.

Needless to say, this candy then became my dinner. Yeeeeaaaaah.

The next day I could almost see the empty calories dripping from my thighs.

I ate half of the candy corn bag that first night, and I’ve made pretty good progress on the second half since then. What am I eating? A delicious mix of wax and high fructose corn syrup combined with a melange of artificial flavors - awesome.

[scurries away to eat another handful of candy corn]

In other news, Curlicue is coming along. Oh, girls, I’m so excited (girls = girls, boys, women, or men) because it’s looking and feeling so nice. Still happy with my bright pink choice, and the Blue Sky Alpacas cotton is soft and dreamy to knit with.

Pattern is easy, although I did struggle for a little while because reading the pattern literally (usually a good place to start) led me astray. There’s one bit I needed to figure out, and then everything was fine.

All of the even rows, 2-12, have a variation of knits and yarn-overs that end the same way:

Written as…
Row 2: k2tog, * knit 5, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, knit 2, sk2p * last repeat is finished off with a ssk.

Added clarification that saved me…
Row 2: k2tog, * knit 5, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, knit 2, sk2p * last repeat is finished off with a ssk WHICH REPLACES the final sk2p.

Yeah, I spent a lot of minutes trying to find out how to unearth three more stitches to combine into one for the sk2p double decrease (the one that was supposed to precede the final ssk single decrease). And even if I found those three stitches I’d end up with one stitch too many in the end.

After racking my brain and actually charting out the stitches in Excel [insert joke about math geek here], I realized that the last ssk doesn’t simply follow the last sk2p, but rather replaces it.

Got it now.

You’ll find the whole pattern as written by Skruddevutt here, but FYI if you want to make this blanket, keep the above clarification in mind.

The only other deviation from the pattern I’ve made is to add a 3-stitch garter border on each side along the length of the blanket because I think it ties together with the garter border as written for the top and bottom, plus I think it finishes it off nicely and thwarts any rogue attempts of stitches to curl under.

Oh, and I did down-size the needle size on this again before I cast on - I just didn’t feel it was tight enough gauge with the US 5, so now it’s at a US 3. I know the stitches will blossom upon the first wash, but I just wanted a more substantial look, and thought I’d make any other adjustments to dimensions via blocking in the end.

As it stands, I’ve used 1 of my 4 skeins, so the finished length should pan out around 32 inches. It’s 26 inches wide right now, just as planned (funny how gauge can be your friend in this way, huh?).

Now I’m cranking along on it and it’s fun and easy. I worked on it during my plane ride to Kentucky yesterday and I was chirpy the whole time. It’s a very lovable pattern.

What was that about Kentucky? Yes, Kentucky. I didn’t realize for a while that this work trip fell on Election Day, but yaaaaaiiiiis, it sure did. So the election parties (or depression-filled gatherings) around here might be a little one-sided tonight - if there are any gatherings at all. But, as Lish texted me today from Texas (that’s where her job planted her today), there’s no reason we can’t find a little place on our own later to raise a glass of bubbly from our position in the minority (as determined by our current surroundings). Oh heavens, I’m so hoping there is something wonderful to celebrate!

We shall soon see.

FYI, just polished off that bag of candy corn. I know I’m bad, but man, that’s some tasty fructose.

Tags: baby blanket, Blue Sky Alpacas, candy corn, election, pink

Oh, joy - a Monday without work. At least work work, the kind that involves a commute. Mostly I’ve had a down-low kind of weekend, and I’ve managed to milk it by keeping the lethargy theme steady throughout today.

This weekend I’ve alternated time between knitting (halfway done with that second sock), looking at knitting patterns, and being cozy with family. The knitting patterns I focused on yesterday were of the baby blanket variety. One of my closest friends is due with her second baby late this year, and although I don’t know if the baby is a little he or a little she, I figure it’s time to get poised with at least a pattern, if not the yarn and/or a decision to go with a happy unisex color or colors.

I’ve made a couple of baby blankets, the second and more successful of which I posted about here. The first one, while very nice to the touch and just lovely when folded, was a little challenged in the way of symmetry.

Aha! I've come back to haunt you from 10th grade geometry.

It came out trapezoidal. That is, in the shape of a trapezoid.

I had decided to knit the Favorite Blue/White Blanket, a Bernat pattern available for free. This was the third or fourth knitting project I’d ever attempted - the first blanket, and the first thing not to be made on fairly big needles with a fairly bulky fiber. It was certainly my first baby item, and I was very nervous about the delicateness of it all.

Favorite Blue/White Blanket

The US 7 and US 8 needles to be used seemed teensy weensy to me, and as much as I was determined to make a go of this pattern, I found that the notion of casting on more than 60 stitches made me sweat a little. I decided not to tempt fate in altering the recommended yarn (it didn’t occur to me then that gauge isn’t quite as important for a blanket as it is for a sweater). I used Baby Softee as instructed, in, you guessed it, blue and white. It seemed to me if the pattern is called Favorite Blue/White Blanket, better not to mess with Texas. Blue and white it was. Good thing the baby in question was a boy.

The trapezoid FO was the obvious result of nerve-induced too-tight tension on the starting end of the blanket. The stitch was actually very pretty - nice texture, yielding a lightweight fabric that wasn’t too lacy or fussy - but it took me days to get through the first couple of rows. This wasn’t because the stitch was difficult, but because I was inadvertently pulling each stitch so tightly that none of them would slide down the needle without a lot of elbow grease. An obvious fix, you say (duh, stop pulling them so tight), but I just thought that these were the inevitable and wily ways of working with smaller needles.

With progress, my stitches gradually yet increasingly relaxed. By the end of the blanket, my stitches were loosey-goosey, happily flying off the needles. Didn’t really dawn on me until it was done that it was a leetle off from a rectangle. Even blocking couldn’t bring it back into shape - but oh well, it was done, and the myriad of stitches I’d made were ready to embrace that little newborn, no matter how asthetically imperfect the collective whole of the stitches might have been.

I packed the blanket up and sent it off with love to the adorable Q and his mom, who is one and the same Kimlee I visited in Richmond recently. She was very gracious about the trapezoidal nature of the blanket, and made me feel good about the uniqueness of my humble handicraft. It made my heart sing when, during my recent visit, I noticed the Blue/White Trapezoid draped across the rocking chair in the nursery. I took a few surreptitious snaps while everyone was downstairs, and brushed away a little tear of joy at the sweetness of finding it there.

I know, I’m a sap.

So. Now I’m looking at patterns for the next blanket up to face the vice-like grip of my needles. Below are my finalists. Colors may depend on baby gender…or maybe not. Suggestions welcome on color or fiber, but it’s the pattern that I need to settle on first. Help me choose!

Please drop me a comment below with your favorite pattern, or at least your favorite category: