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finished: wagon wheel baby blanket

this moment

I am so excited this is finished because I’m really ready for a new project. It turned out just as beautiful as I had imagined the day I found the sweater.

this moment

I couldn’t wait for it to dry, so I took pictures while it was blocking. I don’t normally block blankets, but because this is a gift, I wanted all of the squares to look perfect.

this moment

Some friends have asked me about my seaming technique on this blanket. I took pics along the way so I can post a tutorial. My next blanket will be joined as I go. Maybe it won’t take so long to finish.

original post: You can see parts of the original sweater in my first post about this project.

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my creative space

this moment

In my creative space today I’m working on the border for the wagon wheel baby blanket. It’s been almost a year since I started this project. Yikes! I really lost momentum when it came to seaming the squares.

Now they’re all together and the first round of the border is finished. I’m just hdc-ing around until I run out of black yarn, which was reclaimed from a different sweater. I hope to have a finished pic very soon!

What’s in your creative space? Join in the fun here!

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almost finished: baby blanket

baby blanket squares

I’m thinking this blanket would be finished already if I didn’t rip out and redo so many of the squares. My nephew was born last week. Thank goodness this is a nice, lightweight cotton yarn. I think it will make a perfect blanket for Spring.

I need to think about yarn for the border. I won’t have enough of any one color to make it all the way around. Would a multicolor border be weird or fun?

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double crochet with a twist

When I mentioned that I started doing my double crochets a different way, a few people wanted to know how I was yarning over. (Is yarning a word?)

Basically, I was yarning over front-to-back instead of back-to-front. It doesn’t seem that it should make that much of a difference, but going from back-to-front gives the stitch a bit of a twist. The texture is more defined.

wagon wheel square

Once I saw the difference, there was no going back. Only problem was all of those squares I made on vacation. I’ll admit that it took me awhile to get up the courage to rip them out and start over. But after seeing the difference, I knew I had to do it.

wagon wheel square

interesting note: the extra little twist uses up a bit more yarn and makes the squares a bit more bigger.

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my creative space

crochet bath mitt

Remember this sweater yarn? I finished my first square. I know this is supposed to be my vacation project, but the pattern is so addicting. Maybe just one more? It’s not like I don’t have plenty of other things on my to-do list. Ha!

pattern info: This is Wagon Wheel #2 from Granny Crochet Favorites. I modified the last round to be hdc instead of dc stitches. The colors in the book are seriously dated, but the patterns are really quite lovely.

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my creative space

my creative space

This week in my creative space I’m unraveling a sweater. I wasn’t planning to buy anymore sweaters. I don’t need anymore yarn. But I saw these little sparkles and all I could think of was a patchwork baby blanket.

I love the primary colors. New parents are always swimming in pastels. Bright colors are a nice change, don’t you think? Plus, take another look at those sparkles!

my creative space

I’m planning to crochet solid color squares, so this will be the perfect vacation project. (Yes, I’m planning ahead for vacation projects.) I’ll seam them up when they are all finished. It would be easier to join them as I go, but I need a portable project for the plane, the beach, sitting in traffic, etc.

I’m getting pretty good at this unraveling thing. I hardly had any waste yarn — just a bunch of pesky knots at the end of each color change. And even they didn’t go to waste. My daughter took the pile of ends and put them in a bowl for her stuffed dog. He had ramen yarn noodles for lunch.

Make sure to visit more creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog.

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my creative space

my creative space

Today in my creative space is a little mindless crochet. I had started knitting my second charity blanket square (here’s the first one) and it just wasn’t turning out right. It may have had something to do with my daughter messing with my row counter, stealing my pattern and pulling stitches off my needles. I finally gave up and pulled out my crochet hook. She still tries to “help out” with it, but does a lot less undoing with this version.

This photo was taken at one of my favorite places: our screened-in porch. The evenings have been lovely for outside time this week. Speaking of lovely, you should check out the beautiful spaces over at Kirsty’s blog.

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my creative space

my creative space

After a few weeks of circles, I really needed to get back to squares. I didn’t have anything particular in mind. I just grabbed this little basket of wool that I use for wrapping packages and started making grannies. I’m thinking it will be a bookmark. I need a new one for my summer reading. Speaking of which, look what I happened to spy at the library today: three of my favorite Rs! After just flipping through the pages, I’m already in love.

Check out other creative spaces that you’re sure to love over at Kirsty’s blog.

question: I check out a ton of books from the library on sewing, knitting, crocheting, and vintage/cottage style. I never thought to write reviews of them on my blog, but it just occurred to me that maybe someone out there might be interested. If you are, let me know. I’d love to share some of my favorite books with you!

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knitting and planting

planting seeds

Today was another slow day. I feel bad for my daughter. She’s getting bored with this mama-isn’t-feeling-well business. I tried to make today all about her. Most of the morning we hung out on the living room floor. She did her thing and I worked on another charity blanket square.

After lunch, the sun came out, and we spent some time on the deck planting seeds. She painted this little flower pot in school for Mother’s/Father’s day and her teacher put a packet of marigold seeds in it.

planting seeds

We planted a few in the pot and some other small containers I found in the garage. She was having so much fun that I decided to make some paper pots so she could keep on planting. Toilet paper rolls cut in half also work well. You can just drop the whole thing in the ground when it’s ready!

planting seeds

It was a good, but tiring day. I am ready to be feeling better and back at my sewing machine. Those upholstery sample totes are calling my name!

stash: Acrylic yarn from my stash. I don’t remember where I got my PotMaker. I’ve had it a long time. It’s just like this one.

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recycling a sweater directly into a blanket

Toward the end of last week, I wasn’t feeling very inspired. Maybe it was the high pollen count? Maybe it was the non-stop conversation with my three-year-old? Maybe I just needed a little creative break? I decided a few days on crafty autopilot would be good for me, so I grabbed a sweater and started unraveling.

sweater unravel crochet blanket

Since I only unravel when my “helpful” daughter isn’t around, I still have some of the original sweater to show you. This is one of my trade sweaters. I usually don’t mess with acrylic, but this sweater was so pretty and soft. Plus, it’s super bulky weight yarn and it’s working up fast.

sweater unravel crochet blanket

I’m crocheting a petite afghan with a simple granny square pattern. The yarn is even more lovely after being unraveled. The kinks are falling out as I crochet, so I’ve eliminated that whole soaking and drying step. I’m curious to see just how big it will get.

Has anyone ever gone from sweater to blanket? How did it work up for you?

recycle: I wonder how many people we could keep warm if we turned all of the sweaters destined for the landfill into comfy blankets?