Tuesday, 21 February 2017

Stashbusting to a Deadline

You think you have all the time in the world …

 the baby's due date is months away …

 and then Expectant-Mum's-Best-Friend casually mentions that the pregnancy is already 37 weeks along …


37 weeks already !

(sound of shocked crochet hook crashing to the floor)

That's not much time at all until baby is due to arrive and I haven't even started on that blanket I plan to make for him!

That was the situation at the end of January when I believed baby wasn't due until May when he is actually due in March! I needed an easy pattern and quick smart!

Forget the speedy blanket that I made in 2015 as is not suitable for a baby. I find the thick, chunky yarn a bit too heavy for a baby, even though the wool-acrylic blend was light for its bulky weight rating.  Also the holes between the stitches would be too large; a baby would get fingers and hands caught all the time.

My solution: return to an old favourite–"Bear Necessity", an aptly titled pattern by Candi Jensen, taken from her book of cute and gorgeous baby blankets, Candy Blankies: cuddly crochet for babies + toddlers. 

A square baby blanket made up of 9 squares, joined by blue borders. Each square is white with a tan circle in the middle. The circle is a teddy bear's face. Facial features are embroidered in black yarn. The ears are shaped like half circles and stitched on to the surface of the blanket along the top edge of the tan circles so that they can flap about. The blanket resembles a tic tac toe game except there are faces where the noughts and crosses should be and the entire blanket is finished off with a plain blue border of solid crochet around the perimeter.
"Bear Necessity"
Pattern by Candi Jensen.
Crocheted by Jodiebodie 2010

I have already made this 'Teddy Blankie' twice before, and its match "Purr-fection" once, so I was very familiar with the design and knew it could be made very quickly.

A square baby blanket made up of 9 squares, joined by pastel pink borders. Each square is white with a pastel pink circle in the middle. The circle is a kitten's face. Facial features are embroidered in blue yarn for the eyes and dark pink yarn for the nose and mouth. The ears are shaped like small triangles and stitched on to the surface of the blanket along the top edge of the pastel pink circles so that they can flap about. The blanket resembles a tic tac toe game except there are faces where the noughts and crosses should be and the entire blanket is finished off with a pastel pink plain border of solid crochet around the perimeter.
"Purr-fection"
Pattern by Candi Jensen
Crocheted by Jodiebodie 2010
I had some stash yarn ready and waiting: white for the squares, tan for the teddy faces and ears, and I am sure I still have a reasonable amount of blue stashed away too.  

A blanket of 9 crocheted squares, the pattern uses intarsia techniques for the faces and the ears are stitched on later.  The ears are free to flap about; small and simple for little hands to grasp.  

The facial details are embroidered in simple stitches. Rows of deeper crocheted colour create the blue bands around each square. Simple stitching joins the squares into strips and then the strips to form the blanket.

A square baby blanket made up of 9 squares, joined by blue borders. Each square is white with a tan circle in the middle. The circle is a teddy bear's face. Facial features are embroidered in black yarn. The ears are shaped like half circles and stitched on to the surface of the blanket along the top edge of the tan circles so that they can flap about. The blanket resembles a tic tac toe game except there are faces where the noughts and crosses should be and the entire blanket is finished off with a plain blue border of solid crochet around the perimeter.
"Bear Necessity"
Pattern by Candi Jensen.
Crocheted by Jodiebodie 2008.
This was my first attempt.
It was hard to get the ears to show clearly
in the photo because they kept standing upright!
While this project is super fast (I can make 1‒2 squares in a day), I am not a fan of hand sewing so, this time around, I will deviate from the pattern.  My only worry is whether the white yarn will stretch all the way. That's okay though, because I have a standby.

The new nursery includes baby lemon yellow in its decor.  My stash has one skein of that colour in the same yarn as the white and tan.  If white runs out, yellow can be used instead for some squares.  Yellow will still contrast well with the tan teddy faces and always looks fresh with blue and white.

I've been madly crocheting away to get as many squares done as possible because it will probably take an equal amount of time to do the borders.  This is the crochet deadline mentioned in the earlier post, "Summer Scorcher" (10 Feb 2017).

Note-taking is necessary to calculate whether 9 squares can be made from a skein and a half of white, 8 ply acrylic. My gut feeling is that it will be touch and go. Initial calculations are inconclusive, it's that close. It is very much a torment!

Wish me luck as the game of 'Yarn Chicken' continues … 

Links, References & Related Posts


Jensen, Candi, Candy Blankies: cuddly crochet for babies + toddlers, Sixth & Spring, New York, USA 2004

Jensen, Candi, Candy Crochet: 50 adorable designs for infants and toddlers, Sixth & Spring, USA 2007

Ravelry:
Jodiebodie, Ravelry pattern pages:

Lupey Loops:
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10 comments:

  1. mamasmercantile22/02/2017, 07:50

    Fingers crossed for you that the yarn last. It is certainly a wonderful pattern, the bears are a delight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie22/02/2017, 16:31

      Thank you. I have made a design decision that uses a little more white yarn per square than the original pattern but it looks neater... I'm now reconsidering!

      Delete
  2. catdownunder22/02/2017, 07:50

    you do live life "on the edge" don't you? Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie22/02/2017, 16:37

      Hahaha! I love your turn of phrase, especially since the 'proof of this pudding' will literally be in the edges!

      Figuratively, living life 'on the edge'? Yes and no, Cat. I am a bit of a risk taker in many things and have had some amazing times and gained a lot of wisdom because of that, yet at the same time, I can be extremely cautious in other areas of my life.
      How about you?

      Thank you for the good luck wishes; I think they will be needed! ;-)

      Delete
  3. Meredith23/02/2017, 01:07

    IT is going to be spectacular, what a lovely gift. It would have taken me a year to make. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie23/02/2017, 14:32

      Thank you, Meredith; 'tis the month for baby blankets methinks! :-)

      Delete
  4. Breathing Life25/02/2017, 06:38

    Very cute blanket. I am knitting a baby blanket for some baby in the future someday. That is how I stay ahead of the curve. lol. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie25/02/2017, 12:59

      Good thinking, Mary-Anne! I don't think I will ever be 'ahead of the curve'. Most of the time I run from 'behind the 8-ball'!

      Delete
  5. Tamara26/02/2017, 00:33

    Love the blanket design. Go fingers of fire and meet that deadline!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodiebodie26/02/2017, 00:51

      Glad to have you 'on the cheer squad'! Thanks, Tamara :-)

      Delete

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