Stained Glass Blanket - Second Pyramid!

Another pyramid was made for my stained glass blanket! The whole is really coming together, and I couldn't be happier!

Stained Glass Blanket - First Pyramid!

I finally decided to bite the bullet and jump on the cozy memories blanket train.

For those of you that don't know, the "cozy memories" blanket is a fad that is sweeping the knitting world, and the term is a catch-all for mitered-square scrap blankets.

In my case, I decided to make my squares about three inches, and use fingering weight yarn. I also decided to add a little black border between the squares to off-set them, and set them on the bias. I've decided to call this my "Stained Glass" blanket, and I'll be updating you every fifteen squares or so!

Soon, I plan to come out with a tutorial for the process that I'm using, but I'm planning to get through all the steps before I start releasing it.

So far, I have used scraps from:

• Firefly Weave Socks
• Eisregen
• Pickle Harbor Socks
• Waimakiriri Socks
• Birthday Moss Socks
• Accidental Socks
• Rose and Thorn Socks
• Gallifrey Sunset Shawl
• Inara Wrap
• Sweet Nuttins Socks
• Marin Hat
• Razzleberryfest

Ravelry Project Page

Vladimir the Aggilator

Meet Vladimir the Aggilator.  Vladimir the Aggilator has a buddy named Rob, who happens to be a good friend of mine.  Vlad takes Rob everywhere he goes and they always have crazy adventures and take pictures together.  It's a delight to see.

Recently, Vladimir had a sad day, in which he fell and broke his leg.  Like a good friend, Rob gave him immediate medical attention, and he is back on his feet and doing well once again, but I decided a get-well gift was in order, and so I knit Vladimir the Aggilator a get well sweater.

I hope he likes his gift (and more importantly, I'm glad it fits!).  Below, I'll write a quick synopsis of the technique I used.  Since it's probably not an exact pattern anyone would ever want to repeat, I'll write it more as a concept, explaining how I created it, in hopes that others could recreate the process.

1. Find your measurements.  I knew that I wanted the end result to be about 8cm in circumference and 4.5cm tall (2.5cm to be below the armholes, 1cm for the armholes, and 1cm above the armholes).  I also knew that I wanted the "back" section to be slightly larger than the "front" section, as far as armhole placement, so I approximated 4.5cm on the back, 2.5cm on the front, and .5cm for each arm hole.  I used these measurements to place my buttonholes and armholes.
2. Cast On and Knit the First Rows.  Using the Channel Island Cast On, I cast on 44 stitches (about 9.5), and throughout the entire body, I knit in a P1K1 rib, following the Cast on ridges.  I chose to do this because the ribbing would give if my measurements were wrong, and the extra 1.5cm could be used for a buttonband.
3. Make a Button Hole. On the fifth row, I k2tog over the 5th and 6th to last stitches, and on the sixth row, I knit 5 stitches and then did a yarn over, making a button hole for my 1cm buttons.  Work 4 more rows.
4. Bind off for Armholes.  On the fifth row after the button hole, work 10 stitches, cast off 2, work 20 stitches, cast off 2, work 10 stitches.  Work the next 4 rows only in the section before the bound off stitches.
5. Create and finish Armholes.  Using the other end of the yarn, attach and work 4 rows across the section between the armholes.  Cut and repeat with the final section.  
6. Create the second Button Hole.  Return to original working yarn, which should still be attached, and work across, casting on 2 stitches over each armhole.  On this row, you should k2tog for the second button hole, and on the following row, yo.
7. Finish Body.  Work 4 more rows and bind off.
8. Make Sleeves.  Pick up 10 stitches around armhole and work in stockinette stitch for 4 rows.  Bind off.  Repeat for second armhole.
9. Finishing.  Weave in ends and attach buttons.

Ravelry Project

(For those of you wondering, yes, I used scraps, so this was a Cold Sheep project, and yes, that's the same Rob I made the cowl for, which he happens to be wearing!)

Doesn't he look so happy in his sweater of love?  <3

Hot Pad

I still have not gotten up the courage to quilt the top that I made back in May (yes, I do mean a year ago).

In the mean time, however, I have accumulated two more quilt tops and am working on my third.  (I decided not to publish each of those since I am trying to catch up, as I alluded to last week.)

So, with all of these tops stacking up, and the babies all born and growing older, I decided that I had to conquer my fears somehow, and whipped up a one-block sandwich with some scraps to practice quilting in the ditch.  Hey, I had to start somewhere.

I quilted it, did cheater binding, and decided I felt proficient enough to try to quilt for the third time.  (Yes, I have quilted a few blocks and then ripped it out a few times.  Please don't judge.)

We'll see how it goes, but in the mean time, here's out household's newest hot pad!


(Bonus points if you can figure out where the scraps are from!)