Crafty Rantings

I'm Crafty. I Rant. These are Crafty Rantings!

Saturday, June 03, 2006

More on Tie Blankets

For some reason unknown to me, I cannot get the picture of the ties to upload correctly so you will have to use your imagination. The backing for the penguin blanket is a mild yellow which matches one of the light yellows on the blanket. At some later date perhaps I can add the picture in here. It's ok on my computer but blogger doesn't seem to acknowledge it. Ah yes, someday we will talk about how computers and crafts do and don't mix.

A Tie Blanket



I made this blanket a while ago and sent it to my daughter. It is the first homemade present for my first grandchild due in December. I picked out the fabric because I love Pooh and it was colorful. I made it 1.5 yards by 1.5 yards which is just short of an adult sized and big enough that my grandchild can use it for many, many years.

I decided after making a bunch of blankets for other people for Christmas last year that I needed to make something for myself. My friend Susan taught me how to make these and so, of course, I made a bunch for Christmas presents. Well finally I found the perfect fabric - penguins! This fleece was so beautiful that I didn't mind paying $10/yard for it. I know it's the most expensive blanket I've made and yes, it's for me, but you know... I AM WORTH IT! Since you can't really see the ties, just the penguins, I purposefully took two shots so you could see the penguins up close and personal and then another so you could see the ties. I laid this out on my big leather chair and a half (a late Christmas present to myself in January, 2005) and it looks bigger than most of the blankets I've made. The good news, however, is that when next winter rolls around and I need it, I will be using it a lot. I have been exclusively using Susan's rainbow fleece blanket that she made me but I think that now Susan's blanket is gonna have to let Grammy Penguin's blanket take over. :) I can't seem to get the picture loaded with the ties so I will do that in the next post.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Brooke and Baby Booties



Brooke, you bad girl! You have turned me into a baby bootie making addict! She told me they were really easy to make and that the pattern was in "The Knitter's Bible" which I treated myself to for Mother's Day. Well, Brooke, darling, you didn't lie! They are incredibly easy! I finished this pair this afternoon in about 3 hours. These are yellow (hard to tell) and the small size and will go with the yellow afghan I made (see earlier post) to give to Dawn who is having her first baby any time now. Dawn's Mom and I are best friends. I had made a couple of pair of the bigger ones and thought I'd try small ones to go with her afghan. Well now I am addicted. Besdies the larger pairs, I am now going to make smaller pairs to match the larger pairs and I think I'll make a set of big and small in two other colors I have hanging around, just for fun. I will now have to give booties with the blankets (a matching set is always nice) because they're so easy. So I've spent the weekend baby booty-ing. Thank you Brooke! And all the babies I gift are gonna love you just like me. :)

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Leaving The Comfort Zone

I have been going through a mid-knit crisis of sorts. I actually put a project away yesterday and told my friend LB that I just wanted to put it in the closet and never touch it again. I am discouraged. A crisis of knit. I think I have been working on too many new things. I was comfortable in the old k1p1 genre. Nothing complicated. Now I know how to felt, m1, w&t and just am going places I'm not sure I'm comfortable with yet. I am out of my comfort zone and it is making me not only doubt my abilities but taking some of the joy away, too. So when I finish the next two small projects, I am going to take a week off (I hope I can! I have a project I really want to do but it's not for me.). I am also wondering if some of it is because I haven't made anything for just me lately. All the new things I've learned are overwhelming sometimes. I'm not comfortable anymore. So to get so I'm comfortable again, perhaps what I need is a small break and then when I start again, start with the Spring Fling purse which will be for me. I've been pushing hard and working on a lot of things. I guess we all need a break. So maybe it's only a mini mid-knit crisis. Time to not rush anymore. And take a few days off. I will sleep a little more, relax and then by next weekend I will be ready to knit 'til I drop again. :)