Knitting Sandwich

naptime catchup

so i find myself sitting during naptime with the computer within easy reach!  

 that's a pretty rare happening of late, so i figured i better jump on it and get some computering done!  i made a quick round to a few blogs, just to see what i've been missing (it's a lot by the way, y'all have been busy in my absence).  

i've been using blog lovin' to keep track of blogs and while i don't mind it on the computer i really don't like their mobile app.  it's frustrating to me when i'm on my phone, which is much more likely to happen during naptime, and then i never get around to checking the blogs like i want to.

so tell me - what service, if any, do y'all use to keep track of your blogs?  and do you find it mobile device friendly?  i need a new system so i can keep up with reading posts from my phone.

 this photo, which while showing how sweet thora is when she sleeps, also serves to show you why i'm on the computer and not crocheting... my crocheting is just out of reach... that little spotty pile of baby blanket in the background... also i find crocheting a little harder to do while holding a sleeping baby than knitting.  so this most recent crochet blanket is going slower than it might.

 this is an older photo of the project (an annie baby blanket - rav link) that i found on the computer (since i obviously can't get up and take a picture with a sleeping baby and a computer on my lap!).  i'm guessing that i've got about twice as much done on it now as when i took this.  i'm loving this pattern, it's so sweet and reminds me of those candy dots from when i was little, that came stuck on the paper in rows and you always ended up eating almost as much paper as candy (or was that just me?)

i feel that perhaps i've rambled on enough here, i've covered topics from blog reading to paper eating, so i think we'll call it good for today!  i was just so excited to have the computer and some time to use it i figured i should pop in and say hello!!

-melissa

 

squares of the (every other) month

since my last double v square of the month post we've unintentionally moved to a "squares of the every other month" format.

march:

 may:

 july:

 i'm still moving forward with this project, just at a slower pace.  and these days i consider any forward progress, no matter how small, something to celebrate!  

 7 of 9 squares done!  please don't think my slow pace indicates a lack of interest - i'm loving this project especially when i get to lay them out and the squares meet up and all those right angles come together.

 speaking of celebrating forward progress (at a not so slow pace...) someone turned one year old at the beginning of the month!!

 she's got places to go and things to do, this one... the world had just better look out!

 -melissa

Seeing Stars

My friend Lainey is a science buff.  She and her husband decided to decorate their son Robi's nursery with a space theme (Houston being one of the homes of NASA and all that). 

I was thrilled to get in on that theme with a quilt.

And some black holes for the back?

Ok, maybe not black holes -but it is never too early for a little color theory.

I think this sweet boy approves.  

-Lindsey

all i want to do is crochet blankets

it's true... i've been gone from blogland for a while now, and all i've been doing is crocheting blankets.  i can't stop.  i don't want to stop, so i'm just gonna roll with it until i decide to make something else.  

so let me catch up... back in ahem february/march i made this granny stripe blanket for kathy's new baby:

 i also made this random granny square blanket with some leftover acrylic yarn to send to bundles of joy:

 i believe it was at some point in march or maybe april that i finished the 2015 weather blanket... 

 i have to say, this was a pretty momentous occasion... i really loved making this blanket, and i love how it turned out!  the edging reminds me of kneesocks someone would wear at the roller rink in the 1980's.  

 ever since i discovered lucy of attic24's blog i've wanted to make one of her afghans for my family to snuggle under.  for two years i had a big pile of vanna's choice yarn set aside for this very project.  well this spring/early summer i brought that dream to reality!

 it's her cosy stripe pattern and it's already seen it's fair share of family snuggle time:

and then, (i told you i have a problem) i used some of the leftovers from the cosy stripe to crochet some solid granny squares to make a blanket for bundles of joy:

 there you go!  pretty much all caught up!  i've started a new blanket project, but i think that can wait for another post ;) 

i hope that all of you have been well, i look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing what you've been up to!

-melissa

Mini Murals

We have been seeing these murals pop up on utility boxes all over the neighborhood for months.

Sabrina and I love looking out for them when we are out and about.  This one is my favorite so far. 

I thought a box hunt would be a fun way to learn about following a map.

I went online and and discovered it is a much larger project than I thought, it spans the whole city of Houston!

 This may just be the first box hunt.

The project is constantly expanding.  

Have you stumbled upon any pleasant surprises in your neck of the woods lately? 

-Lindsey

Another blankie?!?!

I have been sucked back into blankie's irresistible clutches.  

After my first blankie's regimented structure I was yearning for something more whimsical.  I remembered my agonizing squares where the miters were in all different directions.  

 A perfect starting point for an anything goes blanket.  

 

Not sure where this is going but I am enjoying the ride.

 

-Lindsey

a crocheted easter

It seems the Easter bunny is partial to crochet.  I didn't even realize it until sitting down to write this post but somehow all of my Easter projects were crocheted this year.   

First, I made a set of egg-rattles with the leftovers from Johan's weather blanket.

 

And then couldn't resist making Mateo a snuggly grey Totoro (inspired of course by Melissa's blue totoro ). 

Since I was hosting Easter this year for the first time, I made these egg vase holders to help dress the table.

I got the idea from a picture I saw in a German magazine.  I just crocheted around wooden rings that I found at the craft store (and had to eat a LOT of eggs that week). 

I have to say, as a person who considers myself to be pretty exclusively a knitter, it's surprising to see how all these crochet projects snuck in there.  But, you know what, I enjoyed making every one!  Three cheers for crocheted Easter! 

-claire

 

a special kind of magic

Back when Mateo was 9 months old, my mom gave him a hat that she had knitted some time before.

It was henceforth officially called the "grandma hat" and it accompanied him everywhere he went.

We never really gave it a second thought when the following seasons it still fit just fine

and still kept him warm through all his adventures

and breaks from adventures.

Now that he's three plus, I had to stop and wonder for a moment about this amazing hat that simply always seems to fit just right.

Like grandma's love it only seems to get bigger and more comfy with time.  

Grandmas have a very special kind of magic.  

Thank you grandma and long live the grandma hat!

-claire

third annual knitnight swap

my knitnight group's third annual swap was held last monday.  i was crafting for mischa, whose questionnaire stated that she liked rainbows and all things sciencey/dna- related.  a quick ravelry search produced the rosalind franklin shawl (rav link) and i luckily had some rainbow jojoland melody yarn in my possession from a destash another member of knitnight had a few years ago.  they turned out to be a perfect combo!

i'm happy to report that it was well received!  i was much relieved, because i haven't knit anything that required this much thinking in quite some time!  it reminded me how much i love cables... but also that my new mama brain is better suited for things like zen circles and granny squares.

 and what did i receive in the swap?!?  this awesomeness made by melissa d:

 i'll admit i squealed like a little child when i saw it.  how stinkin' cute are those little guys?!?!  (kate, don't answer that :) )  and they go perfectly right next to my fireplace, i couldn't be happier!

i'll chalk knitnight swap #3 up as a success!

-melissa

squares of joy - february edition

my february double v block has been completed!  i can now finally match up the four mitered corners... (i was tempted to cheat and do it when i had the first corner of the block competed, but i want you to know i waited until today. )

 yay!!  totally worth the wait!  i'm really enjoying watching this project slowly come together, all the sismple geometric shapes and right angles juxtaposed with those diagonal lines from the mitered squares... it's very rewarding to watch an idea you had in your head come together right before your very eyes.

already looking forward to seeing what next month will bring!

-melissa