Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Cotton Candy Quilt

Name: Cotton Candy Quilt
Pattern: Sock Yarn Blanket by Shelly Kang
Size: 34 inches by 39 inches
Craft: Knitting
Made for Alba
Start date: June 20, 2009
Completed date: July 14, 2009
Needle size: US6/4.0mm and US8/5.0mm
Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquards
How much? 3.5 skeins, 350 gram, 1211.0 yards (1107.3m)
Colour: 06130 Boys & Girls
Yarn: Bernat Baby Sport Solid
How much? 0.43 skeins, 150 grams, 478.6 yards (437.6m)
Colour: Rosey Posey
Modifications: 1. Cast on 41 sts 2. Made the squares horizontally so that the final product is a rectangle (I didn'tlike the zig zag arrangement in the original pattern) 3. Added ruffle border

See it on Ravelry!

After knitting the Vivian sweater, I wanted a relaxing and mindless knit. I had a stash of these Baby Jacquard yarn in the closet and I couldn't wait to get started. I won't get into how much I love this yarn because I feel like I am always declaring my love for this yarn. Jim bought me this stash last year when Baby Jacquards were first released in Canada. I love knitting in garter stitch- easy, fast, mindless, and the results are amazing! I love how squishy and plushy the blanket is. I had a wonderful weekend sitting at the cottage staring at the lake while I was making this. It was pure bliss. Doesn't hurt that my cute boyfriend was sitting beside me either!


What I did for this blanket was cast on 41 sts. On the wrong side, I would knit across. On the right side, I would knit to the stitch before the middle stitch and K3tog, and then knit to the end. I did this until there was only 1 st left on the needle. Do not cut the yarn and just pick up/cast on so that you have the next 41 sts for the next square. The yarn changed colours on its own, so there was very little weaving in the end to hide the loose ends.

This blanket was a pleasant and mindless knit until I got to the border. When I got to the border, I tried out several options and they all turned out really bad. I tried borders with little hearts, i-cord borders, and lacy borders. I also had to decided whether to continue using Baby Jacquards or find a solid yarn that would match with this. This was a struggle for 2-3 days of knitting. At one point, I felt defeated. I had come along so far with this blanket, but I just couldn't put the finishing touches on it to make it a beautiful blanket. My mom even suggested that I put the blanket away and "just forget about it". I just couldn't and knew that I had to persevere.


I finally found a border that works perfectly with this blanket. I have to say, the border definitely made the blanket and it was well worth the struggle. I used a solid pink yarn that matched the blanket. I love the ruffle border- it is so girly and sweet. This border consumed so much yarn, but the end result was well worth it!

Overall, I am thrilled with how this turned out. I can't wait to see Alba crawling on it one day.