And a New Beginning/ Cozy Memories Blanket-Knit

Yup, I decided to use up some acrylic yarn that had been hanging around my yarn basket for..........a couple of years.  When I first started knitting, without knowing better of the quality and luxury of other fibers, I bought alot of acrylic yarn due to cost. If I had to pick 2 favorite brands from Joanne's or Michael or Hobby Lobby, it would be Hobby Lobby brands, I Love this Yarn and I love this Cotton. Also Caron Simply So Soft, and Lion Brand Hometown. The colors are gorgeous of all the ones if you are making something requiring solids.

However, I do love the Indie Dyed yarns the best and I have quite an accumulation of these as well in my stash.

But something drew me to start on another blanket. I'm still working on the scrap one but I will say I learned some things from it that I should do differently and this intrigued me along with "Robin's Egg" colorway of a Caron Simply So Soft brand as I looked through my stash this week.

This was my progress up until yesterday morning. I have since added 2 more squares on a drive to see my daddy until my shoulder couldnt take the pain anymore.

I'm really enjoying my Springy bee here. This is the only way I enjoy bees though.

I find casting on and connected the squares still a bit challenging but have improved somewhat.

I have a gazillion ends to weave in.

The lighter color gold did not even have the ball band on it in my stash but I am thinking its a Caron Simply So Soft as well.

The darker squares are called Honey/ Simply So Soft/ Caron.

The beautiful springy blue is Caron's colorwary Robin's Egg.

Spring is a time for fresh new colors. I dove into this but have a gazillion other projects including cross stitching projects on the  needles in progress.

I'm about to have shoulder surgery on Wednesday and have heard so many different stories of recovery, which some quite frankly scare me but I think the worse thing is I may not be able to knit or cross stitch for a few weeks.

I'm going to set up my needlework stand and have a project on the ready in the stand so that I may try to tackle left handed stitching only. Even if it's slow, it's something.

Honestly, I think later on knitting will help rehab my hands. We will see.

I wish it was not my dominant arm that will be out of service but I'm thankful I have an arm!

Thank you all for the prayers for my daddy. I went to see him yesterday and he is so much weaker. He just looks in my eyes and sometimes grimaces like he wants to cry. I talk to him, took pictures of me and him when I was about 6 years old and that was the only relief I saw in his face. He looked at me and I could tell by the top of his nose he was smiling inside. 

The situation with him is breaking my brother, my mother, and mine's heart and we again thank you for your much needed prayers and thoughts. Besides burying my son in 1985, this has been the second worst if not the same grief and heartbreak I've ever had. 

I read an Irish saying this week that deeply describes the feeling.

"Losing a father is like losing your umbrella in a storm"

and that my friends is how I feel because my daddy was my rock.

Slow and Steady Project--Cozy Memories Blanket

Progress~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I actually have a few more squares finished since these pics have been taken but I thought I would share my very slow progress. I've really enjoyed reaching into my leftover DK basket and having a sense of accomplishment with each square.

I had many ends to weave in, so I decided to do that as I go.

They are not all perfect but measure approximately 3.5 inches each

I have no idea how big I want this to be. I think I have a long way to go before I think about it too!

Of course, in my dreams I would like it to cover a good portion of a double bed.

That would take years. 😄

Update on daddy:

Spent 3 days with dad this week. He had developed pneumonia, spiking a temp of 103 on Sunday night. He is doing a bit better and my brother made a visual chart with letters on a clear plexiglass 16 x 20 set up like this:

A  B  C  D

E  F  G  H

         I  J  K  L  M  N

        O  P  Q  R  S  T

           U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Each letter is in caps and in a block. The vowels are put on the ends for ease.  He can only communicate with nods yes or no.

With this he has followed well with spelling words out with the use of this chart with only staring at the letter until we align it on the opposite side and point. It's actually very unique and I think my brother did a great job at making it. Very clever.

While he is quadraplegic and has a trach, this is about the only way we can communicate. The therapist has talked to me and my brother about trying next week to use something to help with his trach. 

He does get frustrated and tired sometimes and we respect that and let him rest.

One of my cousins came to visit and my brother, my cousin, and myself sat around daddy's bed talking about alot of things we did together when we were very young. I could tell my daddy enjoyed that alot. My brother and I talk to him about things we used to do as kids and he can't smile but he can nod and roll his eyes and sometimes, maybe it's me, I can see a smile in his eyes. He does say with his mouth I love you and of course, we say alot of I love yous to each other. 

Thank you for the prayers and the positive thoughts sent out way. It really means alot to all of us.

On the writing homefront, I have got more accomplished in writing a book.

It's a devotional for medical professionals. I'm learning a new program actually on a new computer.

I like the lightness of the MacPro and indeed find writing at his bedside one of my best creative writing spots while he is napping.

Due to copyright, I cannot give out the name of the book as of yet but in time, I will.

I have a publisher that connects with me from time to time and is very interested in the final product.

Not too unlike my knitting, I can find times in which I can write more than others.

Find What Makes Your Heart Sing!

Jennifer

Cozy Memories Blanket Start-DK weight

A rugged start; Having that been said, I am LOVING the mindless knitting of the mitered squares!

I listened to many tutorials when I finished this DK square for how to align and attach them as I go.
The ones that spoke to me most is in two parts on You Tube:

the first

the second

both by Simply Maur Crafting. I think she did the most thorough and simplest explanation of making a mitered square and joining to another.

However, my second square I joined, the pink one, looks bad on edges because I was doing what she suggested by knitting through the back loop on the end of every row and slipping the first as if to purl at the beginning of each row. I'm sure my technique is wrong and I am going back to listen to these videos again because my edges are not clean. I'm hoping by joining the next squares it will help this.

I have no  pattern of colors at all just using my leftovers of DK yarn. Here are some of them.

I modified the pattern on Ravelry by Kemper Wray to CO 32 stitches/ putting my marker after stitch 16. I reduced number of stitches to still yield a 3 in square but with DK.
The rest of her pattern I followed exactly and is FREE.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-coziest-memory

I found out when I finished the light green one with sock yarn that although the finish is gorgeous, realistically I had WAY more DK leftovers than sock yarn so I went with making a DK weight blanket. And for right now, I need to use up what I have.

this is the right side as noted by my progress keeper to remind me.

you can see my wobbly edges I hope to fix when casting on the next square.

Of course the first block is made with 2 yarns, one in Lake Shore Bluff by Lorna Laces/ DK, and the other is all wool DMC miniskein.

The second block is DK weight but is made with a more drapey and flexable yarn. It is from my LYS from a couple of years ago. I made a shawl in it but I can't remember the name or content of it. I do know it's DK, I think combo of Merino wool, silk blend.

I was happy about the actual join side to the square. It took me 3 tries to get it right and I think it will improve the more I do it. 

Well, this is definitely a work in progress and will be a memory blanket, hopefully for the process of knitting it. That part has been enjoyable.

I am trying to attach and knit one square a day.

This will give me time to knit other projects in between. So this is a slow burn kind of project.

Have a peaceful Sunday,

Jennifer

Starting a Cozy Memories Blanket--The Mitered Square Knit

So, I've had this on my mind for so long, going through knitting podcasts that I love to watch and admiring the mitered square and the results of many of those together!

I really wanted to use sock yarn leftovers for this blanket. However, I have much more DK weight yarn than fingering weight/sock weight yarn. So this is my first sock yarn/fingering weight square.

I decided to start this pattern on Ravelry.

Using #2 DPNs (actually Boyes aluminum)

Yarn for this square is the one from the sage color in my last shawl (I have yet to block).

I know many people will laugh probably but I'm feeling very satisfied with memorizing this little pattern and can see why  it's been the hype for some time now.

I actually had some wooden DPNS from Knittters Pride and started this on a drive down to see my daddy (as the passenger) which gives me a good 3.5 hours of knitting time.

I felt like the Knitter's Pride was dragging so much PLUS they were just a wee bit too short for my comfort from one row to the next.

So after many sighs, I asked Mr. Darcy if he knew the next town that had a Walmart and he graciously took me in and I got the last #2 aluminum needles DPNs left!!

I thought at first with really inexpensive needles  that  these may not work well but be a temporary fix.  Ironically, these are PERFECT! The best 2.97 spent ever.

I think this will be a great little project to work on for each square in between other projects.

The fun part I'm sure is casting on for the next square...........and then the next.......

I hope you are enjoying a new project on your needles this week too!

Till later,

Jennifer