I'm not a quilter. I love the idea of quilts, especially old quilts made with old cotton, and hand finished, they are just amazing. I admire the work of many contemporary quilters with all the fun designs and intricate piecing, but I am not drawn to that sort of craft. I think it's too detail oriented for me, or something, but as I said, I still love quilts.
When Mini was out growing all the baby size blankets, I figured I'd make something to replace them. This very simple pattern came to mind, as I tried to figure out how to avoid having to be super precise with my cutting and my stitching. I liked hers so much I made one for myself, for cool nights sitting on the couch knitting, or embroidering, or reading...you get the idea.
I created a PDF of the pattern, including the layout I used. You can of course just lay all your pieces out on the floor and move them around until you find the combo you like best, but this will cut out that aspect, and let you just get down to cutting and sewing, if that is how you prefer to work. The finished size is a large lap blanket.
A new knitting project! Oh, I can't tell you how good it feels to have all those other projects done and ready for use! It's almost as good as the feeling of sitting in a super clean house after a industrious bout of Spring Cleaning...which I wish would just happen magically this year...
A Kicking Bag! How adorable,this is?! It's sort of a skirt with a sewn bottom. Perfect for the new baby, as there are no legs to contend with. I'm using Malabrigo Silky Merino (a lovely blend of Silk and wool). The Pattern called for a sock weight yarn, but I wanted to use this, so I cast on 104 stitches instead of the 128 and the sizing is almost exactly the same. It's a very basic, and straight forward pattern so can easily be altered for any size yarn.
A Chicken Dust Bath is a strange sight to behold. 10 of our chickens were all wriggling around in a pile, in the softest part of the thawed dirt in the yard. They were scratching and clucking and rolling all over the dirt, and each other. Their feathers were all mussed and legs were flailing. I'm assuming this is normal chicken behavior and they are just really happy to see the return of the dirt...or they've all gone made at once. Husband said it looked like a chicken Mosh Pit...a pretty good description, actually.
One hen was not participating, rather she was pecking the dirt near the coop. I don't know if she was uninterested in the antics, or if she was just not invited. Either way, she did not join in.
I'm currently making the same kicking bag! Did you get it off Ravelry? I think that I found it through soulemama. I am at about the same place as you... but have been working on and off for about 2 weeks. But I think I might me using smaller yarn. :) I'm loving the project!
Posted by: Courtney | February 17, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Yes, Ravelry, and I may have seen it first on Soulemama...not sure, but I do recall she made one. If you are using the yarn it recommends it is smaller. I'm using DK weight, so I have 104 stitches in a round compared to the 128 which you probably have. I'm enjoying it, and find it a great reading project since it's just knitting in the round after that pretty little band. I will probably make at least 1 or 2 more, it seems like it will be great for a swaddled baby, as well as for daytime use. Very practical.
Posted by: Amy | February 17, 2009 at 05:37 PM
I'm cracking up over the chicken mosh pit... :)
Posted by: jennifer | February 18, 2009 at 08:57 AM
It was quite the sight. I tried to take a video, but they weren't as funny to watch on there, as in person. It was too hard to really see what they were doing. I'm glad they were enjoying their frolicking time so much.
Posted by: Amy | February 18, 2009 at 09:28 AM