Monday 18 February 2019

In The Making - February 2019

A roundup of the things I'm working on at the moment.

I've only finished one of the things I was working on last month, the Knit Baby Jacket by Yarnspirations Design Studio.


As I finished the Knit Baby Jacket I cast on another little cardigan for Eleanor's friend's baby. I've gone for a short sleeve one this time as it will be summer by the time she grows into the 6-12 month size. This is Autumn Leaves by Nikki Van De Car. I'm using Knit Craft yarn which I picked up in Hobbycraft in the Lemon colourway, though it's a more saturated yellow than the name lemon would have you believe. It was only £1.50 for 50g and though it's nice and soft, it is a little bit squeaky being acrylic. I should add that I don't find all acrylic yarn squeaky, the Sirdar Snuggly which I used for the Knit Baby Jacket was lovely to knit with but I suppose you get what you pay for, it was more expensive than the Knit Craft.


I've now finished one of the socks I'm working on for Eleanor. Socks don't usually take me long to knit but I haven't been picking my knitting up as much as I usually do, and I've also been working on other things so they're taking longer than normal. Eleanor won't mind, she's got plenty of other socks she can be wearing in the meantime.


A little bit of work has been put in to my commercial yarn scrappy blanket. I have two on the go, the other is made up of squares from hand dyed yarn. It's been a while since I've picked either of them up to work on but I really enjoy adding the squares so I need to make more of an effort with them.

I've given myself permission to put the cardigan I'm knitting for myself to one side for now, I'm not enjoying working on it at present so I'm hoping that absence makes the heart grow fonder. We'll see.

40 comments:

  1. Wow, that blanket is fabulous, what a great idea. I really like the patchwork look of blankets made from small squares but don't have the patience to do them anymore, frankly - all that sewing or crocheting together bores me to tears. I made two for the twin beds in our spare room a few years ago and haven't made any since!

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    1. The best thing about these mitred square blankets is that there's no sewing up or crocheting together. You pick up stitches along the edges of the existing squares when starting a new square, so easy. The squares are really small so it'll take some time to finish the blanket but I don't mind a long term project, it's fun to knit.

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  2. You're very busy with so many projects! I use acrylic yarns, like Stylecraft Dk, when I knit baby cardies and such. They soften up really well with Woolite and fabric softener. Cheap acrylics are fine for baby cardies that'll they'll grow out of really quickly and they're rarely directly touching the skin anyway. The blankets I've crocheted for Rachael and Charlie were lovely and soft after washing and softening. I don't have more than one thing on the go as I tend to like to get things done and finished Best, Jane x

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    1. Acrylic yarns are great for baby garments as they can be washed in the machine. Who wants to be hand washing when there's a baby to take care of, they go through so many clothes that you'd spend all day at the sink. I find some acrylics, like Stylecraft as you mention, really good, some others, not so good. I enjoy having a few things on the go at any one time so that I've got a choice according to my mood.

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  3. It's great having a few things on the go so that you have plenty to choose from when interest wains in one project. I am still procrastinating on seaming together a cardigan but that didn't stop me from starting another one - this time a top down seamless pattern. I wouldn't be surprised if it was finished before I got around to seaming the first one.

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    1. I rarely knit anything which requires seaming these days, I loathe it. I would definitely complete a seamless cardigan from start to finish before I got round to seaming one.

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  4. great projects, I wish I had a little one to knit for !I know not one person who has a little person or a little person on the way..

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    1. Same here. It's been years since I've had a baby to knit for so I'm making the most of Eleanor's friend having a baby, I do so love knitting baby garments.

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  5. I love your scrappy blanket! I especially like the fact that there is no sewing of seams at the end!

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    1. I definitely wouldn't have made this scrappy blanket if I had seams to sew at the end. Can you imagine, all those tiny squares, it doesn't bear thinking about. I like the randomness of it.

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  6. Some great projects on the go there. Lovely to ring the changes and work on what you feel like doing xcx

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    1. I used to work on one project at once but I can't imagine doing that now, it's nice to have a choice.

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  7. Wise to put aside, some project that isn't being fun! Why should our "fun," feel like "work"???? :-)))))

    ✨✨✨✨

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    1. Exactly. I'm sure I'll want to pick it up again soon, I really want the cardigan, I'm just not enjoying working on it right now.

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  8. I like all your projects it's good to have a few on the go together it stops you from getting bored. I hope that you manage to get back to your cardigan I know that when I fall out of love with something and put it to one side I rarely go back to it. have a great week. :) xx

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    1. I enjoy having a selection of projects on the go. I'm sure I will go back to my cardigan, I don't intend to leave it long, I think a rest will help me to start enjoying it more again.

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  9. I use acrylics alot as I have problems with wool they can vary alot, I to have a few projects on the go, I normally only do one at a time, but I'm enjoying mixing it up.

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    1. There are some acrylics which are really squeaky, especially if you're knitting with warm hands, but there's some really good ones on the market too. I'm a big fan of Stylecraft and I enjoyed knitting with the Sirdar Snuggly too. I used to work on one thing at a time but I enjoy having a selection of projects to choose from now.

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  10. Love the blanket. I like to have several projects on the go too.

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    1. I'm enjoying the randomness of the blanket, it's fun to see a hotchpotch of squares. I definitely enjoy having a choice of projects on the go to work on.

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  11. The yellow is so lovely and vibrant.
    Loving the socks.
    Stashbuster blanket is coming along nicely.

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    1. I love that yellow colour, I'm a big fan of yellow anyway but I just love this shade. The blanket is still very small but it will grow, albeit slowly.

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  12. Great advice on the sirdar snuggly. I will check into it for some more baby sweaters I plan to knit! I love your yellow baby gift

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    1. The little baby cardigan is such a pretty pattern and I'm enjoying knitting with this vibrant yellow colour, it will be such a lovely combination.

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  13. I haven’t made myself anything for a while Jo I have been too busy knitting bootees for Freddie as his mum tells me they’re the one thing he can keep on his feet when he goes out. I didn’t think modern mums used them so much anymore so it was lovely to receive a request for more. I’m cross stitching at the moment and the a bit of crochet,

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    1. It's lovely when baby knitting is so well received and appreciated. I know that Eleanor's friend has used the little garments I made for the baby over and over so I'm pleased to knit some more for her. My cross stitch and crochet has fallen by the wayside in favour of knitting.

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  14. Three great makes. Your scrappy blanket looks so effective.

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    1. I'm really enjoying putting mismatched squares together in the blanket and seeing how they look together, it's such a lot of fun, I really enjoy working on it.

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  15. Love the look and sound of all of your projects.
    That baby cardigan is a gorgeous colour-way.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I think the baby cardigan will be pretty once it's finished, especially in such a sunny colour.

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  16. I enjoy having several projects on the go, that way I am never bored with one or the other. I love yellow, one of my favourite colours and perfect for babies. I am not a fan of acrylic yarn but baby garments need washing so often that it is the best option. Your blanket is going to be fabulous, love scrappy blankets more than any other type. x

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    1. It's definitely good to have a choice of projects on the go, it keeps things interesting. There are some good acrylic yarns, especially for babies. As you say, the little garments need washing so often that it's good to be able to put them in the machine. I'm enjoying working on my scrappy blanket, a fun project which will definitely be long term, it grows so slowly.

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  17. Jo is there a way you can email me notice when you have a new post up? Im trying to convert my list of favorite blogs this way. IF not no problem!

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    1. There's a Follow By Email box in my sidebar. Hopefully that will work.

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  18. Lovely projects, I especially love the blanket.xxx

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    1. The blanket is such a fun project to work on, and it uses up lots of little scraps which are left over from other projects too.

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  19. Looks like you have loads to keep you busy, I love all your projects. That blanket is incredible.

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    1. Plenty to be getting on with at the moment, and plenty I'm wanting to cast on soon too.

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  20. That blanket is lovely. Things like that tend to go in fits and starts. I made a patchwork quilt (that still needs to be finished off!) and it took me years.
    You did the right thing putting the cardy to one side, there's no point if you're not enjoying it.
    x

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    1. I still haven't picked the cardigan back up, but I will. I know the blanket will be a long term project, as you say, you go in fits and starts with things like this. I do enjoy working on it though.

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