Baby Blanket Sunny Cables & Crowns

A colleague asked if I would knit a baby blanket for her second child. I knit one for her first child, which she really liked. I was pleased – people don’t often ask me to knit things for them (truth be told, not many people know I knit – mostly family and a few close friends).

It took a while to find something – I wanted to replicated the first blanket, but that yarn is no longer available. I eventually landed on Caron Big Cakes in Grape Jelly color. It took two cakes to complete the blanket, and I was careful to continue the ombre pattern when switching colors.

That said, I bought the two cakes at different times and from different vendors. If you look closely you can tell, but the colors blend well, and the ombre colorway diminishes the difference between one skein (cake) and the other.

Pattern is Sunny Cables & Crowns from Our Best Knit Baby Afghans, published by Leisure Arts. I’ve had this book for a very long time, and have knit several baby blankets from the patterns. It’s available from Amazon and in Kindle format. If you like to knit baby afghans (or have a reason to knit baby afghans), this is a good book to have handy. The patterns are easy, lovely, and quick to knit.

Cozy Toes – Fidget Socks

Life is crazy – I’m sure yours is, too. Thank you for visiting! I still knit, but my diligence in documentation has slipped this year.

This is Fidget Socks (free pattern from Ravelry), using Cozy Toes yarn by Yarn Bee. The yarn used to be available from Hobby Lobby (Yarn Bee is a Hobby Lobby brand), but I couldn’t find that it is still available. Too bad – it’s a nice yarn and easy to work with. A little elastic. These socks knit up a bit big. I like the self-patterning color, and was pleased that the heel of the sock was distinctive. I used two small skeins for this project and took care to match the stripes.

Good People

August road trip through Michigan with B. If you have never visited Michigan, put it on your list! Michigan has beautiful parks and friendly cities.

Frankenmuth was toward the end of our trip. It is a Bavarian-themed city with a touristy downtown and a perpetual Christmas theme.

We stopped at a charming upscale boutique targeting older women’s fashion. We didn’t purchase any clothes, but found a yarn and knitting nook in the back!

Brenda was immediately taken by a sample scarf of black and soft grey yarn. Very long, and would make a great winter scarf. It also looked like a relatively easy project and an interesting pattern.

The pattern is Good People, available on Ravelry. Yarn is Emma’s Yarn Hella Hank in colorways Elephant and After Dark. Hella Hank is hand-dyed 80% marino, 10% Cashmire, and 10% Nylon.

I started at Christmas time, and completed it in mid-January. It was a great diversion and fun to knit. The hanks are 600 yards each, so it took a LONG time and resulted in a LONG scarf.

I’m pleased with the outcome – it is a very soft scarf, and very layer-able.