Three Things, Snow, A Ta Dah and A Granny Rectangle Tutorial

Hello,
 It is snowing! A lot. Crazy, yesterday it was in the high 50's F and raining. Fifty degrees in January is almost unheard of in this part of the country. Overnight it began to snow. I actually love days like this. Work and school are cancelled, my husband is off today too, and it is so pretty outside. This was at 4:30 this morning...

This was at 5:00...

Perfect day for building snowmen and then blankets and cocoa with a movie.

 Last Thursday we were in the middle of some very cold weather. Around 0 F. I made a cowl with some yarn I got for Christmas.

Once again, excuse my just out of the shower face and hair. I should probably think about this before I take these photos. He he. The cowl is so soft. Lion Brand Yarn Hometown. Just chain a circle as big as you want and sc in the back loops only. Don't turn at the end, it took about an hour to make.

 One project I have been working on is a granny rectangle blanket.  I don't like a chain foundation to show, I think it looks uneven. So here is what I came up with...

Ch. 31, then dc in the 6th ch from the hook. Work a dc in each stitch until you have 21 dc.  Join to the first ch with a slip stitch. You should have a loop at each end with 5 chains.

For the second row, change colors. I do it on the side, three dc's from the end.

When you get to the ch 5 loop, stitch 3 dc then ch 3 then 3 dc then ch 3 then 3 dc. That will make your end nice and rectangular.

The next row is where it starts to look like a granny square, only it is a rectangle. When you get to the corner you do 3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc. Just like a granny square. Easy peasy. Continue rounds until the blanket is as big as you want it. I am making a blanket for our couch, I haven't gotten very far yet. I am using up all of the rest of my Bamboo Ewe. I don't think it is being made any more. Bummer.

I hope this pattern is easy to follow. I will talk to everyone soon. I am going to go play in the snow now. :)

Ripple Scarf

Hello,
 It is very cold here. It was almost 50 F/10 C yesterday and today it is 9 F/ -13 C. I think that is crazy. I am wearing my new scarf today. I finished it on Friday, my friend, Heather, gave me the yarn for Christmas. Here it is...

Don't mind me, no make up and just out of the shower but, I wanted to post this before anyone woke up and I had to get busy. We had the family over yesterday for a late Christmas yesterday. Today we have to go down to see all of them to talk about what to do with all of Will's parents things. They are both gone now and we have to figure out the house. Not much fun but we have to do it. Autumn is up now and Will is getting up. I have feed them and then we will be on our way. I will talk to everyone in a couple of days. :)

Tuesday's Tallies

Hello,
 I have a new One-A-Day project. I finished my Granny Love blanket and we have been sleeping with it on our bed for the last two nights. I love how big it is and how it covers my blanket hog husband and myself on these cold January nights.
 I finished it on Sunday morning and decided to make the blanket that Autumn designed my new One-A-Day project. I had to order a few skeins of yarn to get enough and it should be here tomorrow. I started the blanket already though. I am going to stick to her design. At first I was trying to tell her it would look better if the colors were random and that we should use more colors. Then I stopped myself. She designed it and I promised I would make it for her. Here is what I have made so far...

This one will not be bed sized. She has several of those already. I like making blankets. I think this will be a throw for snuggling up on the couch.
 I am really happy that Fiona has taken over hosting the link party for the One-A-Day group. I was afraid it was gone forever. Thank you Fiona. She also has a lovely blog that you should pop over and read.

 I also made a hat yesterday for Autumn. I moderate a group, Everything Zen, on Ravelry and we are making several hats for our January CALs. Mine turned out very different than the pattern, but I used a larger hook and dk wt. yarn instead of fingerling.

With this yarn you can't even see the design. Oh well. I will talk to everyone soon. I have a lot of projects coming up that I will share soon. :)

Granny Love Ta Dah!

Hello,
 I am having a very happy weekend. Our weather is typical winter in Iowa. Cold, dreary and a bit of snow last night. Perfect. I love winter. Not many people say that. I love a cold, dark and snowy afternoon to sit and work on a project. Autumn was working on a project too.
 As I was sewing up the last of the ends on this huge blanket, 2028 ends if you want to know, Autumn asked me if she could use my graph paper and colored pens. Sure. She came up with this all on her own and asked if I would make it for her. Umm, of course I will.

She colored in a patchwork blanket that she wants me to crochet. She wrote all that on the page too. I didn't know she even knew what Ravelry was. Kids pay a lot more attention than we give them credit for. I was so happy that she came up with this. I have been wanting to make one of the granny patchwork blankets that I have been admiring and now I have a reason to. I even have the yarn. When the stores around here discontinued one of my favorite yarns, I bought all of it that I could find. It is Debbie Stoller's Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe. 

This is my new project that I will start today. I have a sweater I want to make for myself but, I am a sucker for making things when someone asks me to. I can't resist.
 Now for the big reveal. Last summer my friend, Tracy, and I decided to make granny square blankets. She has had an amazingly busy year, watching her granddaughter and welcoming her new grandson in to the world. I don't think she had time to make herself the blanket. She had baby things to make. Lots of baby things. Did I mention both babies are under 2 years old. Tracy is a really neat lady and I got to know her through a swap on Ravelry. I started the blanket and got about half done and decided I didn't want one edged in cream. Ha ha, I also decided that I didn't want all the squares to be the same size. Since I was making this for my bed, I was allowed to change my mind. I have not shown any photos of it since I changed the plans for it. Here it is...

I love my new blanket. It is 6 and a half feet wide and 7 and a half feet long. Perfect for our queen size bed. I will get a shot of it on the bed after my husband wakes up. Don't think he wants me in there taking pictures right now. Lol. 234 squares. 216 small squares and 18 large squares. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday. Talk to you soon. :)

A New Cowl

Hello,
 One of the highest compliments you can pay me is to ask me to make you something. I think that is true of a lot of us who make things. If you ask me to cook, sew, crochet, embroider or knit you something I will stop my current projects and do it. On Thursday my boss/friend, Heather, came into the nursery and said she would pay me if I would make her one of those round scarf things. It is cold in her classroom and it is nice to have something around your neck to keep you warm. A scarf kind of gets in the way. This week a few of us have been wearing cowls. It has been around 10 F/-12 C all week and we have all been cold. So I went home and spent more time looking at patterns than it actually took to make this...

I hope she likes it. It took about 2 hours to make while I was having my coffee this morning and watching Law and Order, (Law and Order and NCIS have been on around the clock since the holidays and I have been hooked). This is the pattern. I used an H hook and worsted wt. yarn from my stash. Now I am going to work on my blanket. Still joining. Talk to everyone soon. :)

A Hat

Hello,
 I made a hat today. I spent hours yesterday working on joining my Granny Love Blanket and it is almost done. It is too big to take with me anywhere though. This little hat was the perfect project to come with me today. I made it for a CAL we are doing in a group on Ravelry that I moderate for. Here it is...

My favorite little model got bored pretty quickly. Lol. You can see Granny Love lurking behind her. Soon for the big reveal.
 This hat was a fun, quick and portable project. Just some granny squares and some dc stitches. I used 200 yds. Heart and Sole sock yarn, in Antique Rose. The pattern called for 300, but I even added some squares and one skein was exactly enough. It is so cold here and that hat is actually for me. We are expecting snow tonight too. Perfect hat and scarf weather. I hope everyone is having a great start to the New Year.

A Knit TA DAH

Hello,
 I have been having a nice New Year's Day. I got up and made my coffee and finished my first ever knitted project. It was just knit and purl. I didn't follow a pattern or anything, I just very badly wanted to finally finish something that I had knitted. I used two skeins each of Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA in Honolulu Pink and LA Tan. I cast on 24 and knit the first four rows and then alternated knit rows with purl rows. The last four rows of the scarf were all knit too. Here it is...

I have to say that I am pretty happy with how it turned out. A while back I saw a scarf I really liked and I am going to make another scarf like this one. I like the one Alice made because it won't roll up. This pink and cream one is already a tube. I don't mind too much. It is warm and I wore it out for a walk this morning. It is not even in the double digits (F) yet and the scarf was soft and warm.
 After I do a few chores I am pulling out the Granny Love Blanket and setting to finishing it up. It is in a big plastic tote in the basement. Then, when that is finished I am going to work on new projects. Yay! I like having finished projects and being guilt free to start new ones. I hope everyone is having a Happy New Year! Talk to you soon. :)

P.S. Yes, there are still some Christmas presents in that one photo. We still have our big family party to go to.