Well, I got the blanket for Matthew (finally found out his name) finished! I put it in the dryer at 11:00 last night.

I was trying to figure out how many hours I have into it and I think it’s somewhere between 30 and 50; maybe more than 50, but no less than 30… I figure that I worked on it for 3-7 hours a day, for about 10 days.

The reason it took so long is because this is fingering-weight, baby yarn. So, it’s tiny yarn, using a tiny hook. I used an F hook for the white yarn and a G hook for the blue/multi yarn. Though the same weight, the white yarn was not quite wound as tightly as the blue; so it has a wider gauge – hence the need for a smaller hook. Excluding the edge, the entire blanket is done in (US) triple crochet.

So, without further adieu…

Here is a shot of the whole blanket:

My OCD makes me cringe at the asymmetry of the square placement (two colored squares on one end and one colored square on the other). But, I knew I didn’t want to just make a giant square. It had to be a rectangle and it had to be in a 3×4 configuration. Not many options there. Hopefully mama isn’t weird like me!

Here is the edging:

I love this edge! It consists of single, double and triple crochet stitches. This makes a curled, sort of wave edge. I didn’t want to do something too ruffled, after all, this is for a boy!

Here is a close-up of one of the colored blocks:

I used the join-as-you-go method for joining the squares. I thought of doing the entire blanket in these particular squares. But, after setting a few next to each other, decided against it. It was just too much color – too busy. It needed large blocks of white to offset the blue and make it stand out.

There were about a million ends to weave in. That alone took me about four hours, last night! That’s the worst thing about color changes… They look great, but they’re a pain. But… In the end… It’s worth it…

So, there you have it! Matthew’s blanket! I am going to track grandma down today and give it to her.  🙂

Well, the baby was born the day before yesterday! EEK! So, I have been a crocheting mad woman, for the past two days! I’m on what could be the last round of the border… Unless I decide it needs some picots… Then I’ll have to do another round… I’ll lay it out when I’m finished with this round and see how it looks. Needless to say, I have not had time to take pictures. But, I definitely will, when it’s finished. It won’t make it to the baby, before he leaves the hospital; but it will make it to him before his grandma goes on her yearly pilgrimage to Arizona.

Sweetie put a roof on the goats’ manger. This is a good thing, because it means that: a) they can’t get into it and soil the hay, causing potential illness; and b) snow and rain won’t get into it, causing potential illness. So, I can rest easy that my precious boys’ food will be good enough to eat!

Well, it’s late, so I need to go brush teeth and get myself to bed. I just wanted to give you a quick update. I hope you all have a good night!

My sweetie talked with our friend (the one who’s having a grandbaby soon) and come to find out, the baby isn’t due until tomorrow! Yay! I have been given at least another week to finish the blanket! I’ll try to take some pictures tomorrow. I’ve made good progress; I only have two more squares to make, then I get to start on the border! It’s not as big as I was hoping… But, I know that it will get bigger after I run it through the washer and dryer. If it turns out that it isn’t big enough… I’ll have a little cry and then I’ll go buy that super-bulky yarn that I used for the last blanket I made. I know that will work up real quick.

I was so focused on getting the blanket finished that I ended up not doing school. But, I got my hair colored and my nails painted! I even made dinner! So, I haven’t been a total slug…

Oh and of course… As soon as I got three of my fingernails painted, hunny comes through the door: “I need you out here NOW! The goats got out!” Thankfully, they found a box of apples in the yard and that had their undivided attention… We were able to get their leads on and take them back to their pen. We aren’t quite sure how they got out… We think they may have pushed the gate open just enough to squeeze through. With the exception of them being able to get to things like grain and other foodstuffs, getting out of their pen isn’t that big of a deal. The entire yard is fenced and electrified. Our main concern (and the reason why they only have run of half the yard) is the hound. When he’s out there with them, he is in danger. They don’t like him much and we don’t want him to get hurt. But, everyone is back where they should be. For now.

Not a lot happening in my world…

I started the second half of my course (it’s a two-parter) and I think this entire course (or at least the vast majority of it) is dedicated to the Surgery section of the CPT manual. It’s just… Wow… A challenge… To say the least! Getting through this first unit took me about 5 hours. By the end of the chapter, I had a headache. Thankfully, quizzes can be retaken!

Most of the rest of my day has been spent crocheting the baby blanket. I’m halfway finished with the blocks! Yay! Unfortunately, the baby was due YESTERDAY! EEK! I’m working on borrowed time, now… It’s slow going, but there’s definite progress.

Aside from school and the blanket, I did some (very light) housekeeping and that’s about it. Kind of a blah day. Hope yours was great!

Well, today I’ve had a bit of a relapse on my cold/flu/whatever… The headache and sinus issues have returned; though thankfully, the nausea has not.

Despite not feeling so hot, I’ve been making progress on the granny square baby blanket. I am fashioning four small squares into one larger square and then putting a border around it. I expect the finished blanket to have a total of 12 larger squares (3 x 4). I have two of the larger squares finished and have two rounds (out of three) on the smaller squares for the next block finished. Once the larger blocks are all put together, I’ll put a border around the whole thing and call it good! I’ve been given a bit more time… My friend will be staying in town for a week beyond the baby’s birth. So, I have a few more days than I first thought!

Other than that, all else is well, I’m happy to report!

Hi! Hello! Good evening! I just wanted to give you an update; it’s been a while since I’ve posted…

I finished the first part of a two-part course in school. Got a B on my final. I’m glad about that! I have five or six more units to go, and then I’ll be finished with this course. One more course to go and then my externship! Woo hoo!

Also, I started the baby blanket for my friend’s first grandbaby. I started the Baby Checks blanket, but the yarn I got is too thin – it’s a fingering-weight baby yarn. The pattern calls for a worsted-weight. So, the squares are coming out really small and it’s going to take a million (well, 144 actually) and they are taking me too long to make. So, I’ve decided to go with a simple (but attractive) granny square.

The yarn is very pretty; mostly blue and green, with little spots of yellow, purple and pink. I like it and I don’t think there’s too much pink (we know it’s going to be a boy). The other color I’m using is white. The white gives a nice balance to the blues and greens; and I’m alternating the colors, in the squares.

Doing the granny squares, I really don’t have to count and fiddle with math, too much. Plus, crocheting in the nice big spaces between the clusters, is much faster than having to really pay a lot of attention to which stitch you’re working in. I’m working it in triple (or treble) crochet, so it’s really working up quick. The baby is due in six days (eek!) so I gotta work quick! I’m using the join-as-you-go method of joining the squares. Yay! No sewing! This is her first child, so hopefully she’ll be a few days late and I’ll be able to get the blanket to her mom (my friend), before she gives birth!

I found a pattern for my sister’s scarf. It’s also crochet. I’m a little disappointed in myself. I really wanted to knit it, but it’s just proving too difficult. And, since I want her to have something fancier than garter stitch or stockinette, crochet it is. But, it’s a fabulous, lacy pattern! So, I think she’ll like it. And the yarn is fabulous! I got the proper-size hook and as soon as I’m done with this baby blanket, her scarf is getting done! Hopefully I don’t have any more last-minute baby blankets to make!

I had a lovely dinner with my family, last night. It was really nice to see everyone. We haven’t seen each other in a few months, so it was good. I took my camera and intended to take pictures, but it didn’t happen. Ah well, I was more concerned with chatting and catching up. I had kind of a freaky experience with another driver on the way home. I won’t go into details (all is well), but suffice it to say… Next time I think I’m going to be out driving on lonely roads at night, all by myself, I will have my little gun with me. My sweetie is in complete agreement…

Well, it’s getting late and I need to get my lunch ready for work tomorrow. I hope you have a good night (or day – depending on where you are!)

Well, in my illness, I haven’t felt up to doing much. But, last night I felt like playing with yarn.

Since I have a TON (six skeins each) of the pink and brown yarn, for the Sunrise Sunset afghan, I thought I’d use it. I still haven’t purchased the proper hook for the blanket, so I can’t really make it yet.

I got an e-book called “Go Crochet! Afghan Design Workbook” by Ellen Gormley, and there are some terrific motifs inside. I decided to play around with a few of them: two octagons and a square. Squares are used to fill in the spaces that are left when four octagons are stitched together. You could also use two triangle shapes.

First, here is a photo of the square that I made for the Sunrise Sunset afghan. As you can see, it is quite rippled. I believe this is due to the fact that I’m using a hook that is too big.

And from the book, here is the Octagon Medallion Motif:

Also from the book, here is the Purple Pansy motif. You can’t really tell from the photo, but it is an octagon – well, it would be if it were blocked. This one included a first for me… It was my first time ever doing a front-post double crochet. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be!

And last but not least… Also from the book, the Cherry Cordial motif. It would be a square, if it were blocked.

The really neat thing about all of the motifs in Ellen’s book is that they are mixable. Each motif has 13 stitches on each side. In some instances, a person will need to change hook/yarn size, in order to get them to fit together properly. But, once you have your gauge down, they all fit!

The three motifs I chose worked up quickly, and I imagine that they all do. That’s the nice thing about little motifs, you get them finished fast.

I know I’ve been very neglectful of this blog. But, I’ve been ill. I just wanted to let you all know that I’m still alive, but feeling terrible, of late (the flu, I think). I’ll post more, when I’m feeling better.

Here’s another photo of the hound. I realize that the one that I have posted, is not such a good picture.

You can see that his ears are perked. He HATES my camera. In fact, a split second after I snapped this photo, he jumped off the couch and hid in the bathroom.

Besides the fact that he is being threatened with a scary camera (which is the vacuum cleaner’s cousin, don’t ya know) he is in his favorite place. On the couch, amongst the pillows.