Baby Prentice's Blankey

I made a very soft and fuzzy baby blanket for a girl that I work with's baby who was born 2 days after my own birthday this year. Her name is Erin and she works on my team at Hubbard but out of her home in Austin Texas. We've become good friends and I wanted to make something for the birth of her first child, Connor Jackson Prentice.

I originally had a cute pattern that I had created with my knitting-guru, Lisa, however when I started working with the yarn I had bought for the project, I realized you couldn't even see the stitches. I felt it would just make more sense to do a simple garter stitch. Then I came up with the idea to switch my size 7 circular needles with a size 15 every few rows to create a "stripes" effect. It came out pretty cool. I used a "lemon lime sorbet" color that was some kind of cotton nylon blend... and as uber soft and yummy as it feels, it was a true pain in the tush to work with.

The issue I had with this yarn was that a.) it kept falling apart on me and b.) since it was essentially 2 pieces (one a white cotton fluff and the other almost a colored floss) that I kept splitting stitches thus increasing on almost every row.

I have to admit that the blanket came out as more of a baby-cape as it was so much larger on one end then the other, but, oh well... I'm pretty sure baby P won't care TOO much. It's super soft and I'm hoping the time it took to FINALLY FINISH this sucker will outshine the fact that it's totally homeade looking.

Welcome Baby Connor and congrats to Erin and Mark Prentice :-)

My first Prayer Shawl

A few months ago my Aunt Shelly was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in a few years. As more of a preventative measure she decided to move forward with a double mastectomy. I know this was a scary decision, and on top of having a few breast issue scares myself and her being an Aunt that I am closest with, I wanted to make something for her that let her know how much I was thinking about her and how much I love her.

My mom purchased a book for me called "the Prayer Shawl companion" by Janet Bristow and Victoria Cole-Galo with various patterns and explanations about the history of the prayer shawl ministry. I chose a pattern that I felt reflected the meaning and beauty of what I was trying to create (and let's not lie, it looked like something I could actually pull off).

I picked out an off white Boucle yarn that came in 140g skeins. I think it was an acrylic/poly blend but it really looked like a forgiving yarn (keeping in mind that I was still hesitant if I could really knit this successfully) to work with. I actually only ended up using about a skein and a half with size 11 straight needles. The pattern mentioned that using larger needles would give the shawl a lacier affect and using smaller needles and/or thicker yarn would make it more heavy.

It was actually fairly easy to pull off as the pattern really only had 3 rows to keep repeating. The second and third row were simply knit row 2 and purl row 3. Easy enough. Row 1 was a bit more difficult: k1, k2tog, k4, yo, k1, yo, k4, k2tog twice, k4, yo, k1, yo, kn4, k2tog, k1, repeat all.

I then added tassels on the ends and of course my little tag that says "hand made by Erin" (I know I know, this pushed me over into a classified geek).

This was actually the first real gift I have made with my knitting that I'm really proud of. My Aunt Shelly had her surgery last week and is healing exceptionally well. She was also deemed cancer-free. My only hope is that my prayer shawl can assist in a small way to keep her spirits high in knowing she is very very loved.

The Paddle Scarf

This is probably one of the funniest looking scarves (and I say that very lovingly) I've ever made but I attribute it all to the itchy yarn I selected and the fact that it looks like an oar. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic way to learn several different stitches in one project. I guess I take back the ugly comment because my knitting guru (www.sifudesignstudios.com) and dear friend created the pattern, but as much as I admit it is a genius way to learn, I will never wear it but will always appreciate it's worth.

So keeping in mind I already "knew" how to knit when I started the beginning knitting class with Lisa, this was the scarf that literally changed my life. Okay that is a bit dramatic, but during the birth of this scarf I not only mastered knitting "Continental" but found a true love of the craft.

To start this "paddle" we chose a basic wool yarn with size 8 bamboo "sticks" as I like to call them. Using the garter stitch cast on, we started with the basic garter stitch for 40 rows. The garter stitch is simply knitting on top of knitting so both sides show the same thing. We then reversed the fabric by purling on top of the knit row and then alternating purl and knit rows. For several rows after each switch, we worked with the Stockinette stitch which is knit one whole row and then purl one whole row. After several switcharoos, we learned the rib.

I like the ribbed stitch as it's a bit more advanced looking. The rib stitch is simply a knit 2 purl 2. Something to keep in mind about this stitch is the ribbing actually puckers the yarn so that you lose some serious width. For example, when going from the stockinette stitch to the rib stitch, the scarf went from approximately 6 inches across to perhaps 4 inches (see photo) successfully creating the paddle look.

Repeating all above in the reverse order, the scarf was complete... and the fascination of knitting was official. Although there was scarves made before and will be countless projects to follow, I owe my skill and obsession to this silly scarf.