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Lila: A Combination Knit & Crochet Baby Blanket – FREE Pattern!

Posted in Knit & Crochet, Showcase, Tutorials , on January 8, 2014 ,

Lila baby blanket pattern by Lesley Karpiuk of thepinktoque.comWith our second baby, Lila, on the way (I can’t believe she’s due next month!) I of course had to whip up a baby blanket. I didn’t want to use the same pattern that I used for Liam just to mix things up a bit, and spent days going through patterns on Ravelry to find just the right blanket but couldn’t decide. I was torn on whether I wanted to knit or crochet; I prefer the look of knit, but crochet is so much quicker for me. What’s an indecisive pregnant mama to do?! I stumbled upon a Lion Brand pattern that both my husband and I liked the concept of, but I wasn’t super fond of the look of the particular lace it used, nor the fact that it was knit from the corner and increased from there. It got me thinking of doing something similar with alternating lace and garter panels, but with “prettier” lace. And knit flat across, back and forth, instead of increased from the corner.

I somewhat recently learned broomstick lace crochet, and I remember thinking it could easily transition to knitting needles to do a combo project, and the idea was born to make a baby blanket from alternating broomstick lace crochet and garter knit stitch panels. I couldn’t find anything like it, so I just decided to take notes and possibly write up the pattern to share later. I finished the blanket about a week before Christmas, but just got around to formatting the pattern to share publicly this weekend.

Lila baby blanket by Lesley Karpiuk of thepinktoque.com

I don’t go into detail on how to do broomstick lace in the pattern, so it assumes you are familiar with the technique ahead of time. However, I did add two links in the pattern to the resources I used to teach myself:

Video Tutorial (4 mins)

Written Tutorial

And as I’ve mentioned that it’s a combination of crochet (broomstick lace) and knit (garter stitch), you need to be able to do these two different techniques to be successful with following the blanket pattern, but I promise it’s super easy otherwise. I also included a quick video clip I took of myself transferring the stitches from the knitting needles after doing a garter panel back to do another broomstick crochet panel, so I think that will help. Of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to let me know either in the comments or via email.

Materials Needed for the Lila Baby Blanket
Size J crochet hook
Worsted weight yarn (I used Hobby Lobby Yarn Secret in Lilac, 2 skeins)
Size 8 knitting needles on 32″ cable (You’ll knit back and forth like on straights)
Size 35 or 50 knitting needle, or broomstick (I literally took the plastic broomstick off of my toddler’s play broom and used that!), referred to as broomstick throughout the pattern

GRAB THE PATTERN ON RAVELRY HERE!

I really love how the blanket turned out! Mine ended up being 20″ x 30″ unblocked. I really need to block it, because in my test swatch, blocking really made the broomstick lace panels pop beautifully. I’m sure I’ll get that done before Lila arrives next month, right?

Happy knit/crochet! Hope you enjoy the pattern.


My Handmade Soap

Posted in Soap , on February 24, 2010 ,

While my main focus is on the GEEKSOAPâ„¢ line, I do also make random designs in soap for non-geek purposes. The pictures in this post are just one-off designs I’ve created for others and given as gifts for a specific event or purpose. They are special requests or simply “just because” designs.

I will update this post with new one-off designs as I make them. These designs are not currently available for sale at http://www.geelsoap.net since I am not actively producing them, however, if you see something that strikes your fancy I would be happy to replicate the designs and make a special order of bars just for you.

I also take requests! My soaps would make a great gift or be a fantastic party favor and I can create just about any design that you’re looking for, including your company logo, in soap. Send me an email if you’d like to start working out custom order details.


Cousteau Cowl

Posted in Knit, Showcase , on February 20, 2010 ,

This is a knitted cowl pattern that I created in December 2009. The cowl was created to match the Cousteau Hat that I knit for my husband at Christmas, so my cowl pattern was inspired by the Cousteau Hat pattern by Typy on Ravelry.

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry.


Unoriginal Bordered Basket Weave Dishcloth

Posted in Knit , on February 20, 2010 ,

This is my unoriginal basket weave design for a knitted washcloth, created in June of 2009. I was in search of a good dishcloth pattern for knitting a gift to my boss at my summer job, and I couldn’t find just the right pattern. I liked the look of basket weave, so I came up with my own bordered edge pattern design featuring the basket weave in all of its glory. This pattern is available for free on Ravelry.


Huug the Hug Monster

Posted in Crochet, Knit, Plush , on February 20, 2010 ,

Huug the Hug Monster is a character and pattern design that I created in February 2008. The original Huug was knit, but I have since created a crochet pattern to make Huug, too. (January 2009.)

Huug was invented randomly one day when I envisioned this cute and cuddly monster who was built with disproportionately large arms meant specifically for hugging. I began knitting and tweaked the dimensions and the pattern until Huug came alive in fiber exactly the way I imagined him in my head.

Personal pattern not available. Character and pattern has been legally copyrighted.


Knitted Duck Plush

Posted in Knit, Plush , on February 20, 2010 ,

This is a design for a knitted duck plush that I created in December 2007, loosely based on a Lion Brand pattern whose body shape was achieved by folding a knitted square corner to corner to create a triangle. This pattern is available for free on Ravelry.


Gribblies

Posted in Knit, Plush , on February 20, 2010 ,

What in the world is a “gribbly” you ask?

from urbandictionary.com:
Gribbly/Gribblies:
“In gaming, an enemy/monster that is small and/or insignificant, and usually serves no purpose other than to irritate the gamer/opponent.”

and

“In tabletop gaming, a small annoying monster that does little more than irritate.”

So these are just tiny little insignificant creatures hiding in nooks and crannies that will do little more than just irritate you if they cross your path. They like to pester and annoy whomever they come in contact with, and I like to believe that gribblies are to blame for all of those little irritating setbacks in your typical day. Having a bad day? Blame it on the gribblies!

These are two creations I designed and knit in March 2008. They stand about an inch and a half tall, with the bunny a little taller than the frog due to its long ears.