Restarting

I've come to the desicion to restart the Welcome Home blanket. I'm planning on just using up the three and a half skeins of bamboo 10 thread I have. This coming Tuesday I head back to pick up more thread, since I did recieve a call more will be available. Some of those skeins are going to the dye pot. Assuming that ten skeins will be available, I will do half in green and three in a verigated shades from dark purple/burgandy to light purple, no white.

For the sizing of the blanket I'm just going to double up on the starter chain. The length of it seems to be long enough to last the baby a few months rather than a couple of weeks of use. I've just gotten to the point where I begin the second row, which is an eyelet row for the ribbons that must be added in after all the crochet has been done.

Setbacks are bound to happen

The pattern has set itself in my mind now. I can now go pretty quickly from row to row. Stretching it out I encountered a problem. The blanket is not going to be long enough. You see this pattern is worked by length not width. Since there is to be scallops at the end points I can’t see just ‘adding’ on to it. I have no choice, I have to start over. That’s a lot of hours wasted here. But lesson learned, always do a gauge before actually starting the project. I think if I would’ve done in twice the required length, it would have came out long enough for the baby. It just kind of chafes.
One thing I have a mind set to get is a thread leader. It looks like a ring but you run the thread over it so it doesn’t actually cut into your skin. I remember reading about it somewhere, so I have to do a internet search to find the actual name of this tool. It’s some kind of thread guide and I believe it was meant for knitters. My poor fingers have grooves in them from the thread pressure. Again, it’s not a need per se, rather it’s a tool to make my life a little easier. I can still crochet without it, but not for too long before the pain starts up.
　

Welcome Home steps 2

 I will continue my slowly but surely tempo on this blanket. I'm now on row 10 of 80. I could probably make it to 25 or 30 before I run out of thread. As far as stocking up and dyeing the bamboo, well that project will have to wait for the availability to open up. Searching online for the bamboo thread only lead to sellers selling the same skein at different prices. Apparently Aunt Lydia is the only manufacturer that deals with 100% bamboo. Goodbye my hopes of bulk thread purchases.
Current Progress: Row 10 begun

Yes, I can keep working

I scored two more skeins of the size 10 bamboo thread, locally! Talking with the salesperson, I found out that they get regular shipments roughly every three weeks and the batch is usually twenty skeins. Roughly, sometimes they get more, sometimes less. I was told to go back tomorrow afternoon, and the recent shipment was only ten because of limitations on their truck. I asked that they be placed on hold for me and told them I would be in later in the afternoon to purchase them. So tomorrow I'll have 3000 yards of 100% bamboo thread to keep working on the blanket project. I was also showed two different hooks that would give me better results with my current work than what I've achieved so far. I may pick those up too. It all depends on how much I have left after replacing my mattresses.

Where's my calculator?

I spent a ridiculous amount of time today splicing some more of the green bamboo thread and getting that wound on thread holders. So I go back to working on the blanket only to realize I won't have enough of the white to finish this project. Since we were already making a trip to the store, I tagged along hoping to get some more size 10 bamboo. Only to find out that the one store I knew for a fact carried it, no longer carries it. *angry breaths* I made calls to other local stores and get the same response, it is no longer carried in store but I may find it online. Just last month you could find this in crazy amounts everywhere, now it's no where to be found. *sigh*

I have three options here:

1. Order it in a large batch quantity online and pay a high amount of shipping
2. Get a couple of skeins of the same Spa brand yarn  in white and splice that as well.
3. Start over with different thread

I'm not sure what I'm going to do so I'll set the blanket aside for a couple days and see which of the above options appeals to me the most.

Welcome Home Blanket

Here I added some of the split green bamboo thread. I like the way the colors are blending. The 3 plys look to be the same size as the 10 but when stitched, they come out a bit thicker. Then again the difference may have to do with the fact that the white is crochet thread while the green is crochet yarn. I'm thinking of dyeing some more 'thread' for future projects. The bamboo skein is pretty reasonably priced and I think I can probably buy it in bulk online somewhere. But let's not jump ahead of ourselves, let's finish what's in front of us first.

This is by Terry Kimbrough. I purchased the best of baby crochet book and this is one of my favorite patterns in it.

Relavent posts snagged from my other blogger

 I had them take me to JoAnn's Fabrics store and I picked up four skeins of the softest thread I thought to put my hands on. It's a bamboo/Microdenier Acrylic blend, the brand is called Spa. It did run a bit pricey, but since I have the intention of using my limited crochet skills to make  a simple blanket for the baby, I thought well why not? I also purchased the hook size it had posted on the package sleeve. I started on it yesterday in between boring runs from this store to that store, and I'm really suprised and happy on how fast this is coming along. I have two and a half feet of it started width wise

This is a comparison on the new thread versus the size 30 I had at home. I was practicing the 'shell' stitch and while I think it is cute, it's very time consuming to do. That small strip of white thread is only 5 inches long!


I found a full skein of size 10 bamboo thread and one that was mostly used up. I also found a booklet on baby blankets that I purchased back when I was first put on bedrest and stayed a few weeks with the in-laws. There was also a package of plastic crochet hooks. Those hooks turned out to be trash. They kept snagging on the thread and the yarn. Now the recommended hook on the bamboo is 7 or 1.5mm, and I only have 2 sizes to work with. The 10/1.3mm is the closest in sizing so I'm using that. Here is the result of that:

That holder with the green is a splice of the bamboo/acrylic. My son had hopelessly tangled up a skein of it. I guess he loves the feel of the yarn because he kept rubbing it up against his face and arms, like a cat. I took that mess and split the 6 plys into 3. Okay I only did a little bit, and it split pretty much on it's own. The only problem I had was little bits of fuzz that would accumulate from friction, that I kept having to cut off. I got the white bamboo from Walmart and I think I'm going to get some more. The skein says it's 300 yards and the pattern calls for a total of 1790 yards. I'll use what I have now and see how much more I have to get, especially since I'll be switching between the white and green. I can also use any left over thread in white to tat with.