Twist off the Old Granny Square

For the past few months I've been hemming and hawing over what sort of gift to make for my dear friend who is pregnant. I wanted to be different, original, unique even. I've made so many crocheted baby blankets that I couldn't even begin to remember what they were all like or even who they were for. "I'm not making another baby blanket." I said. I'll make her something with my homespun, something useful.

SO...I knit the baby soaker from a few posts back. It was a very nice soaker, but for some reason it just didn't seem to be the "it" project. So then other avenues of handicrafts were explored and discarded. I even tried to find enough roving to spin up for a layette set or...or...well something babyish. Finally I broke down and went to the dreaded local superstore "just to look at the yarn possibilities," I said.

Guess what happened. No, I can wait, give it a good guess. Yup, yarn came home with me along with a vision in my head for a new baby blanket. Yes, another one. "I'll just do granny squares in different colors," I said. Then when the thought of sewing all the squares together dawned on me, I just kept on adding to the first one until it got really big. Well, it needed a border, so I made one. Then I decided to put little squares around the big one. Then another border. After that, of course it needs another border, with all the colors right?

What you are seeing here is the result of my obsessive compulsive personality. Isn't it pretty? Now for a matching pillow. Bwahahaha!

Stocking up for Winter

I promised to share some of the other projects I've been working on with you all, so here's another one. It seems so strange to be knitting things so obviously Winter-ish when it's roasting outside, but that's exactly what's been happening here.


I present to you Exhibit A, the Fuzzy Wuzzy Ear Warmers. They are knit it in four sizes, Large, Medium, Small and child's. They are all knit out of some of my hand spun wool yarn that wasn't selling in my ETSY shop. I didn't use a pattern or anything, but all the same I worry about accidentally being labeled a copycat. Sometimes a design is so straightforward and simple, I'm sure many people have had the same idea before I did. It's a little hard to see in the pictures, but they are just a simple band with a big fat cable in the middle. My dear hubby is the dashing model in these pictures (isn't he a cutie?), but I might see if I can find a different one when I list them in the shop later.


The ear warmers are uber-warm and very comfy, so I do hope that someone sees them and takes advantage of a good deal. Iowa winters can get pretty cold, so I'm keeping one for me too. Yay!

My First Wearable Baby Item

Wow! It has been forever since I updated anything here. I apologize to all my followers for dropping off the face of the planet for a month. During that time I have completed several small fiber projects, which has given me a bit of a sense of accomplishment.

I'll share just one of them with you for now so I have something to talk about for later. Nice strategy huh?

One of my oldest and dearest friends recently told me she is successfully pregnant and into her 25th week. She's had several miscarriages in the past, so I am wildly thrilled for her and her hubby. Here's the thing, they are not finding out the sex of the baby until it gets here in August. This presents a bit of a challenge for those of us who want to make gifts for the little one.

I've made plenty of baby afghans in the past, but this time I want to make something different. I looked around for useful baby items and ran across the idea for wool knit soakers. (For the childless out there, like me, a soaker is just another name for diaper cover.) It just so happens that I was plying up a gender neutral yarn off my wheel the other day and when I swatched it out, the gauge perfectly matched that needed for the Curly Purly Soaker Pattern by Marnie Ann Joyce.

It's knit in the round using 3 different needle sizes instead of increases for shaping and is really a very easy pattern to make. It is written with the assumption that you already know how to make short rows and indicates where to insert them if you choose to. They just add a bit of fullness through the seat. If you have a thin child or one in trainers, you may choose to opt out of the short rows. I had it knitted up in one afternoon with no problems at all.


There is one place which might cause a bit of confusion, so I'll just tell you now so you can breeze right over it. Right after the last set of short rows you actually start knitting flat to form the flap for between the legs. Just knit flat and do what the pattern says and it should turn out fine. Instead of grafting at the end, I just knitted the 2 rows together to form a secure seam, invisible from the outside. Around the leg holes I did 7 rows of 1x1 ribbing, but now I kind of wish I would have done more so she could fold it up or leave it down. Well, there is always the next one, right?

I'm planning on making her several soakers in different patterns so she can find out which kind she likes best. Every baby is different, so what works for some might not work for others. I found a helpful group on Yahoo for wool soakers. If you are interested in more soaker patterns and expertise, it's a good place to go.

Well, that's all for now. Check back soon because I'll be telling you all about the other stuff I've been up to soon. Have a lovely day!

My Very First Lace Blocking Ever!

It's hard to believe that in all my 20 plus years of crocheting and 6 years of knitting, I have never once blocked any of my projects. Yes, I know, it's a bit of a secret shame really, but up until now I've never really needed to.

I made a sample of yarn for my sister's wedding shawl and I needed to know how it would knit up. So I took it and just knit a very simple lace pattern scarf. Of course, then I had to figure out how to open it all up. A little research and a little cash later resulted in a package arriving from Knitpicks yesterday. It contained foam interconnecting blocking boards, lace blocking pins in a nifty little case and corrosive resistant lace blocking wires. It's an investment I have been pondering for quite some time now, so it wasn't exactly an impulse buy, but it was close.

It took about half an hour to soak the scarf in lukewarm water to make the fibers slide past each other when blocked. Then the "real work" started. It took another 15 minutes to slip the blocking wires in all the outside stitches of the scarf. Here's where it got really cool though. I laid out as many foam board pieces as I needed and put them together just like big puzzle bits. It took 2 minutes to completely pin and stretch and re-pin the wires to the board. Voila! Done! Perfectly stretched lace. How awesome is that!?

I do have to note that not until I was finished did I realize that the textured side of the blocking boards is supposed to be in contact with the yarn. I really don't think it was meant to keep them from sliding around on the table. I also realize that one end of the scarf is much skinnier than the other end, and I think it has a lot to do with binding off too tightly. Well, there's always next time, right? Chalk it all up to experience.

I wish I would have taken pictures of all the steps from start to finish, but as you can see, it's pretty easy work. These items will more than pay for themselves in saved time and effort. My sanity will be a rest too, which is priceless.

Returning the Favor - I'm Featured on a Blog Too!

Great news today! For the very first time ever my Etsy shop has been featured on a blog. It just so happens to be the blog of the Create Crochet Team, which I am a member. They are really wonderful group of people. If you are trying to decide on what group to join, and you are a fiber artist who crochets or makes crochet supplies, I would whole-heartedly recommend the CreateCrochet group.

Peanut and Tommy, who was featured here a few weeks ago, is the one who wrote my feature and she did a wonderful job. So drop by and check it out.


As a parting gift, here's my favorite picture of Willie when he still loved me. In fact, I think it was the day before we had him neutered. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Showing Off - Just a little bit

Remember a long time ago when I first started this blog and said that I had made a neck warmer with some of my hand spun yarn? No, well...I did and yesterday I finally took a picture of it to put on here. It's a whole lot prettier in person, but this will have to suffice. So, what do you think?

This weekend has been all about revamping my Etsy shop and getting some more yarns listed. Check out all the yummy new stuff...PLEASE!

Sorry this has been such a short post, but I'm on a roll and need to keep going. Have a lovely weekend everyone!