scrubjayspeaks

Yeah, so, totally forgot to do any updates about this for a couple weeks. I have been working on it, I swear. Not a ton, but yes. Partly because I've messed up a knuckle on my left hand and I've been trying to give it some time to recover (I...suspect this might not be something it recovers from, but we're going to stick our head in the sand about that for the moment.) Also because I did a bunch of sewing instead the last couple weekends, including embroidering some shirts.



But here it is. Starting the sixth set of berries now, and still just starting in on the second skein. I wish the pattern said how many rows total for the basic blanket (it doesn't, as far as I saw). Then I could calculate how many rows I need to get done in, say, a week to be done by any particular date. It's a lot easier to hit a target I can see.

Also, since I'm using them as an excuse, here are the two embroidery designs I added to some shirts.



These are some of the polo shirts I've been converting into henleys. The pink one had a company logo on the sleeve that I wanted to cover up. I added some little stem and bud flowers to each button as well, using the same set of colors. The green one didn't have anything to cover up; I just really wanted to do it. I'm not wildly happy with how that one turned out--I wish I had a wider selection of colors to choose from, for a start. But it's acceptable.

I've got another one in the queue that I'm thinking of adding mushrooms to via either applique or felting. Uh. Provided I can get some decent felt/roving to work with, mind you.

Behold! The Sekrit Blanket (First Iteration)!

My bff since high school (who had better not be reading this, it is a surprise, go away) is going to have a babby, a nibling for me to spoil. The first stage of which is to begin constructing many soft things suitable for tiny humans. Starting with a small, relatively simple blanket! Which I'm going to post progress on, because if you're not blogging something, is it even really happening? *g*

This is why I took a trip to the Fancy Yarn Store out by the coast. After much debate and advice from the staff, I settled on Berroco Remix in New Leaf. This is a 100% recycled yarn, which is nice in and of itself. I picked it, though, because it had a soft hand to it without seeming overly delicate. It's washable and a mix of materials that should have a decent life on them. It was also a price that I felt was reasonable for this particular project. I looked at some truly lovely yarns that were much more expensive (and which I am almost certainly going to buy eventually) but I wasn't sufficiently confident in my abilities to do justice to something like that. Next time, for a fancier pattern, though--yes.

Speaking of patterns: I'm using the Diamond Berry Stitch Blanket from Daisy Farm Crafts. I liked the textural element of the berries, which works well with a solid color yarn. It was also sufficiently interesting to be worth making without being overwhelming. I've. Uh. Technically only made a blanket once before. (Rainbow granny squares, very cute, totally fucked up the border, so now it has an unintended ruffle edge.) If you don't know this about me, fair warning: my technique for learning any skill is to attempt something totally beyond my level and just bulldoze ahead, fueled by spite and obstinance.

Anyway! Onward to the current progress pics!





I've gotten through the first set of diamonds and am on to the second set. This was the critical point, which would determine if I was going to have to frog back the whole damn thing. Because something wasn't...quite...right? According to the pattern, it should be alternating lines of five and four diamond clusters. Either I'm nuts or there's something off with the pattern. Because I have a large blank section at the right side of the first row. It's not centered. And if I only did four diamonds in the next line, it would be even more off-center.

As it turns out, I can do five in all lines and it will just alternate between right- and left-aligned sets. Which is fine! It's just not what is described or depicted in the pattern, and I don't know why the mismatch has happened. I didn't get clever and change anything about the pattern and I'm just doing the basic size, not one of the expanded ones.

This always seems to happen, and I don't know enough to diagnose the cause. I'm just glad it's going to be balanced and I won't have to start over. *hands*

I still have several crochet baby blankets from when I was born, made by family friends. The idea that I get to be that person now fills me with joy. Maybe something I make will be that beloved soft thing someone holds onto all their life. I've always just used cheap supplies, half-assing my way through projects because they're just for me. And I never crochet as often as I want to because, well, what am I going to do with all that stuff once I make it. Making for someone else, though? *chef kiss* (RIP my bff's closet space, I guess. :D)