green – Yards of Happiness

Blanket Knitting, Piece by Piece

When I first learned how to knit I did what every knitter does, I made a million baby blankets. I’ve even made a few lap blankets and couch blankets for loved ones. And after a bit of time I started to loathe knitting blankets. But I’ve always wanted a blanket for myself after some of the really pretty and fun ones I’ve made. So that got me thinking…what if I made a blanket piece by piece?

Knitted Triangle Sampler Afghan by Karen Baumer

Clearly I thought of this before because as I searched my library I realized I purchased the Knitted Triangle Sampler Afghan pattern YEARS ago. So I pulled it out and realized they have a lovely blank chart for you to create your own color palette and pattern if you don’t follow theirs, so I spent a few attempts coloring and this is what I ended up coming up with.
Untitled
It was inspired by a quilt pattern I saw on Instagram and I decided that I wanted to do some bold pops of neon colors and ground it with some black and white. I should also note I’m making this blanket with acrylic yarn. Why you might wonder? It’s what I make all my baby blankets with, specifically with Caron Simply Soft, but I also know with two dogs I want something I can wash and dry a million times over and just not worry about it. So I dug into my stash and went with the following block combos:

- Neon yellow and teal
- Neon pink and purple
- Black and white
And it will only take me 1 1/2 skeins per color combo to finish the blanket. I whipped up a couple of blocks over the weekend and I liked the color combos, so I’m going to keep it going. I need 81 squares total, 27 of each color combo. And on average it takes me about an hour to complete one square. So I’m down 3 squares and have 78 more to go, LOL. But I also know this is the kind of thing I can totally do when I just need a mindless knitting project. I don’t have a crazy pattern to memorize, they’re garter stitch blocks made with simple decreases and increases and I can always just throw a color combo in a small project bag and always have it with me when I need something quick to do.

And Cher has already claimed one square for herself. This is exactly why I knew I needed to just make it with the acrylic I had in my stash. Anyone else work on a blanket like this? Any tips?

FO: Boardwalk (Test Knit)

Remember that test knit I finished way back in May but couldn’t post about? Well, the pattern has been released and I can finally share the Boardwalk sweater with you.
Boardwalk test knit
I know at first you’re thinking, okay it’s a nice sweater but what’s special about it? Well…I’ve been wanting to knit a sweater with buttons down the back and this pattern is for a cardigan you can choose to knit to wear the buttons in the front or in the back. They just alter the shaping a bit depending on how you wan to wear it. And honestly, you could wear it both ways in my opinion regardless of how you knit it.
Boardwalk test knit
I knit this entirely with Miss Babs Yowza (it really is a favorite yarn of mine for it’s durability, softness, the colors AND it has 560 yards per skein). The body is knit with the colorway Spread Your Wings that I bought at the 2017 Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and had been holding on to for something special and the ribbing was all done in the colorway Rainforest. It’s really pretty teal blue that I originally used in my Technicolor Dream Coat. I love when I can finally use a yarn I’ve been holding on to and the color and the pattern turn out beautifully.
Boardwalk test knit
I was sad that I was knitting this sweater and wouldn’t be able to wear it until the fall because I love the fit and style. It has a split hem, it has a bit of ease built into it and I just love the buttons down the back. I decided to pick up the flecks of purple in the Spread Your Wings colorway and do varying shades of purple going from light to dark down the back.
Boardwalk test knit
I enjoying doing a few test knits a year. It’s fun to see the process for designers and I always enjoy helping making a pattern clearer. Plus I get a sneak peek at what’s coming down the pipeline! I’m actually working on another test knit right now for a different designer that will be released in August so you’ll see more secret projects soon! Does anyone else enjoy test knitting?

July 9, 2018July 9, 2018 by IamDWJ Categories: blue, Color, FO: Finished Object, green, Knitting, Miss Babs, multi, Sweaters, YarnTags: #yardsofhappiness, backwards sweater, knit cardigan, knitting, test knit, Tin Can Knits, Yarn 10 Comments

FO: Green & White Guthrie

I really should rename this top to Prim & Proper Guthrie because that’s what it feels like to me. It’s very lady like with the high neckline, the soft color palette and the fit. But whatever I call it, my Guthrie sweater made with cotton and a bamboo blend is finished!
Guthrie
If I did this in cotton again, I would do the entire piece on size 6 needles, just to give myself a bit more ease with cotton knitting. I started on size 5 needles because that gave me gauge but with cotton, I didn’t have a ton of give so I moved up a needle size to ensure it would fit over my chest. I’m glad I did.
Guthrie
My main modifications to this pattern were choosing the size medium instead of the large because I wanted it to be a closer fitting top, making it short sleeved and changing out the last pattern repeat on the body. I loved the circular pattern and decided I wanted to do another repeat of that before I started ribbing.
Guthrie
I have to say, I understand now why people love colorwork. It looks super intimidating and fancy but with a little bit of patience, it’s not so scary. Now I want to make this in wool (perhaps a blend so it’s not too heavy) for winter as well. I really enjoyed making this one.
Guthrie
And now I’ve got a new summer top to add to my wardrobe! YAY!