Big Project Finally Complete

For the past couple of posts I've been telling you that I'm almost finished with a project that I've been working on for a while.  I'm happy to say that it is finally COMPLETE and I can share it with you.

A hand-knitted blanket!

I've been working on this blanket since January, but the second it got warm outside I stopped working on it.  When it starts to get chilly here in Jersey I almost immediately get in the mood to knit.  Yes, I realize that some people consider this to be an old lady hobby, but to be honest I could care less.  I find it relaxing and I feel accomplished when I finish a project.

This is not my first blanket (see below for others I have made), but it is the first blanket I've made for myself. 

This is the most tedious blanket I've ever done, even the most detailed knitting project I've done in general.  The pattern that I followed (for the most part) can be found at Free Knitting Pattern: Fireside Patchwork Afghan, but you may need to create an account before you can view the pattern.  

Since this is a blanket that I made for myself, I did not follow the pattern exactly, instead I adjusted things for my own liking.  

Things I did different from the pattern you'll find at the above link:

• I did not use Lion Brand Yarn or shades of brown.  Instead I went with Loops & Threads Impeccable Yarn (found at Michaels) and the colors Heather, Lavender, Amethyst, Chocolate and I believe the other purple was called grape (which can be found here except for the grape color).
• I did not check my gauge, nor did I block my squares.  This unfortunately was a problem when  I went to sew the squares together and had to fold some squares back to make them the appropriate size.
• I added a whole row and column to the original pattern (Only 4 x 5), which means I had to make more squares (10 more).  I created a new arrangement of squares that accounted for the extra row and column (this way there weren't two of the same square in one row or column if I could help it).  This made my blanket big, but cosy enough to use on the couch (roughly 47" by 70"). 
• I crocheted a border around each square and then crocheted the squares together instead of just hand sewing all of the blocks together.
• I also crocheted the border around the whole blanket instead of knitting.  Knitting it seemed time consuming and more confusing using the pattern instructions.
• The back of my blanket looked AWFUL.  I'm not very good at carrying yarn along so that it stays really close to the finished product (so there are a lot of gaps you can get fingers and toes stuck in).  I was going to back the entire thing in fleece, but after talking to my mom about it I decided to use flannel instead.  I went with a simple brown flannel because I want you to be looking at the part I knitted, not the flannel.

Backing the blanket with flannel was not as easy as I would've liked (because the yarn stretched and the flannel did not), but I'm happy with the outcome.  I did not sew the flannel to the edges of the blanket, rather the edge of the knitted squares.  This was part personal preference and part that I could not find flannel in a color I liked that was wide enough.  Also, as advised by my mom I sewed the corners of the squares to the flannel so it would not shift around.  I made little x's like the picture above so that they didn't look messy on the front or back of the blanket.

While I'm very happy with the overall product, I do have recommendations to those of you who decide to try this pattern:

• Test your gauge for each individual square for a more concise size for each square (my block #6 was WAY too big and my block #4 was too skinny)
• Block your squares.  I really think this would've paid off for me.
• Sew your flannel to the actual corners of the blanket (not the corners of the knitted part).  I believe that this is one of the reasons that my blanket seems to bubble instead of sit flat.
• Take your Time.  This project is time consuming, so if you start it try not to get frustrated with how long it takes or try to hurry through it because you may mess up some of the squares.  even though you may not be able to see it in some of these pictures, I have a lot of mistakes that I attribute to trying to speed through this project.

If you do decide to make this blanket or even scarves using the patterns from the blanket send them to me!   I'd love to see your creations!

Sewing Project: Complete!

This summer I decided that I wanted to do a sewing project since I’d be living at home and I could use my mom’s sewing machine.  I am by no means a pro at sewing, so I wanted to pick a project I knew I could do and one that wouldn’t take me forever to finish because I know that I get bored and not finish.  As all of you know I did not get to a sewing project over the summer, but I did manage to pick something out.  Now that J and I both have jobs we’ve been apartment hunting and think we’ve found something, so I decided I needed to make this project a reality and quickly!

I decided in the end that a duvet cover would be my project.  Over the summer I’ve been following so many home decorating blogs and I feel so inspired.  Unfortunately for us, most apartments we’ve looked at do not allow you to paint the walls.  What you end up with is a cold feeling white (or really a yellowish-white) room.  Our current comforter is black and white, which just adds to the bleakness of the room.  Here is what our old apartment bedroom looked like (please ignore the disarray of the room in this picture, I think we were starting to pack things up for moving:

See the comforter does nothing for our room at all.  What I really would like is a way to add a punch of color in the room through the room décor.   The easiest thing would be to buy a new bedding set that has the colors I want, but the bedding in the picture above is only a year old, so I can’t really justify buying a new set, nor do I really want to.  Thus the project idea came up of making a duvet, this way I can update the colors but keep the same comforter.

In my searching I found two ideas that I absolutely loved.  The first can be found here and the second can be found here.  After thinking about it for a while I decided to make the first duvet cover, but using the colors from the second one. 

Color Palette

I decided to compromise and create the first duvet idea with the colors from the second.   It took me a while and trips to a few stores before I found enough fabric that I liked together (19 different patterns is hard to find when you limit your colors) and still I feel my end result could have been more cohesive but I’m content with how it turned out.

I followed the pattern exactly for the front part of the duvet so if you are interested in making this yourself then check out the link above.  I definitely recommend rearranging your pieces multiple times until you find your favorite combination.

Now here is where what I did differs from the pattern above.  The backside above calls for you to make additional strips, but my mom recommending simplifying the project by purchasing a king size sheet (my bed is a queen) and sewing my panel to the sheet.  Well, in my search for sheets I found a clearance duvet that I loved and I had 20% off (Sweet!).  Now you’re probably thinking, Wait did she get rid of all of the work she already put into the duvet? Nope, I decided to make a double-sided duvet!  Why not get double the use out of it?

So here is what I did:

1.     On the purchased duvet I ripped apart the seams and kept the side that I wanted to be on the other face of my duvet to the side.

2.     I then used the other part of the purchased duvet and pinned my sewed duvet panel on top of it (Front to back).  I did this as to make sure that it was big enough, straight and it helped to make some of my fabric less see-through.  This turned out to be a good idea for me because I ended up having to add some length and width to the panel I created.

3.     Next I sewed the two pinned panels together using the spots where I could see the seam ripped out as a guide for how much of an edge to give the two pieces.  I also made sure to not sew over the buttons/button holes so I could just use the ones from the purchased panel instead of having to do it on my own.

4.     Then I sewed my two final two panels together (face to face) and made sure to NOT sew the end with the buttons/button holes shut.

5.     Next I sewed ribbon to the corners. This is so I could tie the corners of comforter in place (and the comforter would not shift around inside the duvet). This is Step 8 if you need further instructions.

     Now you can turn the duvet so the correct sides are outside and the comforter is inside.  Once you’ve done this button the end and you are done!

Here are what my two different finished looks are:

AND

I hope that wasn’t too incredibly confusing.  Feel free to ask if you have any questions on how to do any part of the duvet!

Lazy Day

So last night was my official last day at the retail store I've been working at for the past two years.  It really didn't feel like I was truly leaving the store, maybe because it is possible I will go back after my internship or because I'll be seeing some of the girls Wednesday night because one of the girls is also leaving the store (but she's actually moving away).

I can't tell you how lucky I've been.  When I used to work at the swim club I worked with some really great people, in fact, some of my best friends.  When I left there and had to find a new job near school I really wondered how anywhere would live up to the fun times I had at the pool.  While working at the store blew...I mean seriously you think going from food industry to retail you'll deal with less picky people but they're even worse in retail, the people I worked with were fantastic.  A lot of employees came in and out of the store, but there were people that I worked with that I hope to know a long time from now, they are fantastic people.  I only hope I have more luck throughout my internship and hopefully the rest of my career.

Today is my only day off before the beginning of my internship.  The kids don't come in until the 7th, but we've got to get the classroom together before they come in.  So today I'm being lazy before the running around and keeping up with second graders begins.  Other than running over to the gym in a little bit I only intend on doing some reading and knitting the rest of the day.  Oh and making some pizza for dinner (yum yum yum).

Here are some pictures of the baby blanket I'm making for J's nephew that is due in January!

This is what it looked like in the beginning.

This is what the almost finished product looks like.

All I have left to do is weave in these ends.

What the front looks like.

What the back side looks like.

 Off to the gym!