Unique Baby Blanket

I wanted to make a baby blanket that was bright and colourful just as my Daughter-in-Law Chizzy  asked for. She wanted a bright colourful blanket or anything else for the baby so I came up with this.

This is Left side of the blanket.

This is the Right side of the blanket.

You can see the blanket is colourful and very bright. The colours are much brighter in reality than they are here.

This is close up of the Duck and the Baby face on the blanket.

This is a fish that I knitted and worked some embroidery on it as well to make it look a little more interesting.

Teddy was fun to make as he was smaller than the pattern stated. To make him smaller I used a smalled sized needle. He looks quite cute on the blanket and being green a little different.

A tree with bright red apples on it seemed to balance the whole thing out.

I started off by selecting the colours I wanted to use in DK yarn and used a 5mm circular needle and knitted back and forth.
Starting with one stitch I increased until I had a really full cable needle then started to decrease. I used the same pattern that I use for my 8 inch Square.
I changed the colours as I felt like it using the bright yellow as a single row of Garter stitch to break up the other colours.
When the square was complete I made the motifs and carefully sewed them in place. I went round the edges of the motifs to stop little fingers getting stuck or picking at the motif.
Then came the borders, I picked up stitches down one edge and knitted 10 rows then bound off. I did the same on the other sides so there are no mitres and did each side a different colour. By using different colours I was able to keep the colour scheme of the blanket going rather than have all one colour.
I think I have come up with something different that no one else will have. Fingers crossed Chizzy likes it.

Blanket Buddy

Every baby likes a blanket to cuddle and this character offers that and is easy to make.
I made mine bright yellow so it is suitable for either a boy or a girl. It can be carried with the ears and will probably be chewed on when baby is teething.
Blanket Buddy

Joining Swaps

I love to join in various swaps on the Knitting Paradise forum and one that I have joined in with is the Friendship Blanket Swap.
We send out an 8 X 8 inch square to a different person each month and when we have enough we can sew the squares together to create a unique blanket.
The problems is you can get squares that are not the correct size so what do you do with a square that is not the size stated?
If it is 6 X 7 inches like one or two I have had it is easy to alter it so it will be 8 X 8 inches.

This square was a little small but I love it

Pick up and knit stitches down one side and knit until the square is the size you want. Then pick up and knit along the bottom edge and again knit so it is the size you need. Don't worry if you don't have the same colour yarn it will add to the uniqueness of the blanket.
I love the squares I get and by using this method will be able to use all of them. The one in the picture is lovely as it has my initial in it and I can easily alter the size and make it fit into the blanket.
So don't get upset when a square is a little on the small side make it bigger.
Modular knitted squares

Meet Patch

This is Patch he is a teddy with a difference. I wanted to make something that had some bright colours in it but could not find exactly what I was looking for.
I used the pattern from this site Joyful Toys.  Benny Bunny was made using the pattern from here as well. I made a few modifications like adding a waist and the patches on the teddy. I  added a waist to Patch so he will be easy for little hands to get hold of. The patches were sewn in over the knitted stitch, it is called Swiss Darning it was my first attempt at this and turned out ok. I may try it on other projects later on like a cushion cover but that will be after I have finished making things for my Grandchild who will arrive in June.

My Easy Cowl

This Cowl was knitted with yarn sent to me in a swap on the Kniting Paradise forum and I loved the colour and the way it knits up. So a big thank you to Lynda from Watford for sending me this lovely yarn.

Row1 * K1, YO Repeat from * to end of row

Row 2 * K1, slip the YO off the needle repeat from * to end of row

Repeat these two rows until you have almost used up the yarn leaving enough to Bind off and sew with.

It was easy to make and can be used around the neck or as I am wearing it over the head as well.

Easy 8 inch Square

The Forum Knitting Paradise has a lovely Friendship Blanket Swap that I have joined. We make 8 inch squares and send them off to our partners that we are given.
My biggest problem has been trying to find an accurate pattern or an 8 inch square.
So I decided to work out something myself.

Here is what I did:
Needles I used were 5mm
Yarn DK

Any yarn can be used just use the needles appropiate for the yarn.

Cast on one stitch
Knit into back and front of this stitch (KFB first stitch)
You now have 3 stitches on the needle.
KFB of first stitch and knit the rest.Do this for every row.

 Keep doing this until you have enough stitches to measure 11.5 inches. Your square is knitted on the diagonal so the 11.5 inches is half way across the square.

Decrease as follows:
Knit to the last 2 stitches and Knit 2 together (K2tog)
Do this for every row until you have 5 stitches left on the needle.
Bind Off the last 5 stitches.
You now have an 8 inch square.

Add different colours to make diagonal stripes or keep it as a solid colour. Add embelishments like a knitted flower for variety. Simple to make and knit whilst watching your favourite TV programme.

Sites I have added

I have added sites that I found useful especially the How to sites. I often see something in a pattern that I have no what it means like SSK.
So off I go to the internet and look it up and there it is on You Tube a simple video showing me what to do. The mystery is solved and I can go back to the pattern and not be afraid of trying something new.

The Knitting Forum Knitting Paradise is brilliant. They are friendly bunch and make you feel welcome and no question is ever seen as silly. They will help you out and give advice from how to do something to where to find a pattern. They also have great swaps to take part in as well.

The Yarn site is great for yarn that is hard for me to get hold of and not too expensive either it is UK based so perfect for me.

Ravelry is perfect for patterns joining is free and you will find patterns galore that are free to use. I love it for finding easy to do patterns for things like afghans, scarves and shawls.

The dish cloth site is lovely and you don't have to use them as dishcloths either. I made a cushion cover from the patterns and it turned out really well. I used DK yarn ( 8ply in America) rather than cotton yarn.

  The Stitch Library is just that a library of stitches. You will find all sorts there from simple Knit and Purl to the more intricate lacey patterns.

So lts to see and find out if you want to.