Fall Crafts

 

It's that time again!  Time for a quick recap of what I've been churning out lately.  Up first, is this beautiful yarn that I turned into a replacement blanket for my god-daughter, Stella.  Way back when she was born I knit her up a blanket out of the prettiest yarn.  But...I didn't have an exact pattern AND the yarn I bought was final run.  So, when my blanket started looking a little small, there wasn't much I could do to fix it.  It wasn't perfect, but she was tiny way back then...so I gifted it anyways.  Then, a few years later when her sister Lucy came along, I made her exactly the opposite.  A blanket I had planned to be "baby" size turned out to be "big person" size.  Much LARGER than I expected.  

Anyways, long story short, I decided it was time to put something on the needles for Stella.  Time to get her something that'll last her a lot longer.  I just love this yarn so much - I've probably spent millions on her site over the years (ok, not millions).  The yarn is from a company called Spun Right Round and if you like variegated yarn, give her a try.  I love it so much.

Because I didn't use a pattern, and I know someday I'll wish I'd written it down - here's the run down.  

I knit this 40x50 blanket using 5 skeins of worsted weight.  I used size 10 needles and cast on 200 stitches.  I think next time I'd add an extra skein or two and add at least another 25, even 50 stitches to the cast on.

Onto quilts!  I started this quilt and the pretty rainbow one back in early October.  I had the fabric and pattern for months, but the summer is busy and we're not home enough to whip out quilts.  I love this pattern - it's by Suzy Quilts and it sews up SUPER fast.  You can use jelly rolls (the rainbow one was from a jelly roll) or yardage.  It comes together really quickly and it's super pretty.  I rarely choose solids but these turned out great!

This quilt went to my friend Jennifer for Christmas.  I finished binding it the night before I gifted it (close call!).  It was throw size (60x60) and I love the traditional orange peel quilting we chose for this one. 

This rainbow version is for the Murphy/Stout baby headed this way in the spring.  It's 42x42 and so pretty in real life.  I still need to bind this one so you'll probably see it in my spring crafts post as well.  My entire quilting area is covered with a Christmas train set and Lego village so it really slows my progress until that whole set up comes down.  

So - while that project sits on the sidelines, it didn't take me long to spin up these three new balls and get them on the needles.  These three pretty yarns will soon be cowls for Jamie.  I love having something on my needles and in the queue for quilting at all times.  I refuse to buy new projects until the current WIPs are done...but you can bet I always have a knitting project and a quilting project in the works.  I like having something to keep my hands busy in the evenings after the kids go to bed.  It helps keep me from scrolling on my phone and gives me a more productive way to spend the evening.