B's Pink Blankie

It's a good thing I cranked along on that pink blankie, because an impatient little miss decided to make a slightly early appearance.  Mum and baby are doing well (as are big sister and dad).

Here's Miss B's pink blankie.  It's the Baby Squares Afghan pattern by JoAnne Turcotte, which I got at Saybrook Yarn in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, where I bought the yarn - Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby DK Solid in a beautiful soft pink.

 

Too many projects

I often have more than one project going at a time, but at the moment, I have four - yes, FOUR - scarves going, and I started a blanket yesterday.  As much as I hate to put my lace scarf and corkscrew scarf in time out, I'm going to focus my energies on one particular scarf - a royal blue ribbed scarf, for a friend - and the blanket, a soft pink number for a dear friend who's expecting a certain special young lady to arrive in the next couple of months.

I love knitting baby blankets, at least I do at this time of year.  I have a pattern that I LOVE, that works up quickly, due to large needles and a double strand of yarn, and is soft and cozy and WARM.  The blog background photo is of one the blankets I made from that pattern; here are a couple of them:

 

Blanket for Princess Q                                                     Closeup of blanket for Prince B


As much as I love the pattern, it seems like a heavy blanket for a springtime baby, so I'm working on a different pattern, with a lighter yarn, for this blanket.  So far, I love it.  No sneak peeks - I have a feeling a certain mommy might see it!

Why Throwing Yarn?

I love doing a variety of crafts.  My craft room/office houses paraphernalia for stamping, scrapbooking, quilling (though not quilting), sewing, counted cross stitching, beading, crocheting, and knitting.  (Yeah, I might need an intervention.)

Since a very young age, I've loved doing various paper crafts; I think my mum, also very crafty, taught me to cut paper snowflakes as soon as I could wield scissors.  She taught me to sew, too.  There were a couple of crafts that she loved (and still loves) that just fascinated me: knitting and crocheting.  I so wanted to learn how, but she couldn't teach me; she's a lefty.  For years, I watched her knit sweaters and mittens and hats, and wished I could follow her lead.  I tried following directions in books, and got absolutely nowhere.  I could crochet a chain, and that was about it.

The summer I turned 15, I spent a week during summer vacation with family friends.  I swam in the lake, picked blueberries, and learned how to knit.  There are a couple of different ways to knit, Continental and English; I was taught the English way.  I still have that first piece kicking around somewhere - kind of a sampler of stitches, about the size of a Barbie blanket.  When I got home from my week away, I dug out a pattern for a stocking cap, and knitted it in rainbow stripes.  I was on my way.

I know that, if you're a regular reader of Throwing Spoons, you're probably assuming that that's why I chose a similar-yet-different name for my crafting blog - and you'd be partially right.   I learned recently that the English method of knitting is sometimes known as "throwing," as you wrap, or "throw" the yarn over the needle.  Voila - the new blog had a name.  So, welcome to Throwing Yarn!

Just starting up!

I've had a cooking blog for quite a while, but it seems like more of my creative energies of late have been going into my crafting endeavors.  Throwing Spoons didn't seem like the place to share those projects, so I present: Throwing Yarn!