crayon
A friend of mine is having a baby, and I'm thinking of crocheting her a baby blanket. The 100% superwash merino wool I'm using for the current socks in progress is nice and soft, and comes in some great colours. I can create the blanket in stripes, so it'll be portable like socks. If I work on it all fall, I should have it ready in time for the baby.
However... I calculated the yarn cost (plus shipping), and it's going to be $85! Yikes!
Elann will be coming out with some nice looking superwash merino (dk, so it'll go faster), but they don't have a good orange or yellow, and no black. However, it'll only be $55.
$55 is still steep, but better.
KnitPicks Crayon would only be $30, but I think I'd prefer the merino.
Hmmm... I dislike dilemma's like this. :P
I wonder if any of my friend's other friends would be interested in chipping in? I'll ask around.
Oh... and when I have the pattern converted from a picture into a pattern, I'll let you know. ;) Don't you think it's going to be a cute pattern? Educational too... once the kid is learning to read. Unisex, and okay for toddlers and somewhat older kids.
Oh... planned dimensions = 36"x42" (not counting crayon points). From the searching I did, that seems to be a fairly standard blanket size.
8 comments:
Neat idea! I know of an easy -to-use program created by a man named Ernie Negus that converts pictures to graphs, plus, it's free, but it's for Windows. It's called Print 'n Stitch.
Something else came to mind while reading this post: Instead of asking people pitch in with money, maybe people wouldn't mind lightening their stashes to support your efforts? Just a thought.
Well, that would be a good idea except that none of the other people in the department knit or crochet. No stash there to lighten. ;)
did you consider maybe cotton?
cute idea.. very cute..
Crayon is cotton. (After I checked this post, I discovered that Crayon doesn't have black either.)
Shine doesn't have all the colours I want either.
What about Encore worsted? It's acrylic (I know, horrible stuff sometimes) and wool, washable, feels good and it comes in lots of colors, and it's not very expensive. I used the Encore Chunky for an Einstein coat last year and really liked it a lot. Just a thought.
I think the pattern is really cute, and like you said, versatile.
Sallie
I wouldn't object to a small amount of acrylic, but 75% is more than I want to go. I have a cardigan made out of wool-ease, and hate it.
So, my original intention was to make the blanket out of Lanett (by Sandnes), and 15 balls plus shipping would come to ~$85.
Sandnes also makes Sisu, which is what I used for Deneen's socks. It's 80% wool, 20% nylon, and machine washable. It doesn't say merino, but it felt *really* soft, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was. It's a little cheaper, and so 15 balls would be a bit over $70. It also has great colours, and having a bit of nylon is fine.
I also see that Sandnes has a 100% wool DK weight yarn (superwash, no word on merino, never used before) called Smart. It's between the two prices, and would work out to about $75. I'm hesitant to buy a new yarn without feeling it first... ooo! It turns out Ram Wools stocks it, and in *tons* of colours. :) It's even somewhat cheaper at Ram Wools, and if I can get it while I'm in Winnipeg, I'll save shipping! (Although I'll have to pay tax.) That'll come out to under $70 US (with tax), and be faster to knit, since it's DK. Hmmm... perhaps this is the way to go? I'll have to do a "feel test" in Winnipeg.
Have you thought about using Encore worsted? It's wool and acrylic (I know, sometimes nasty stuff). Encore is soft, washable, nice to work with, and it comes in lots of colors. Used Encore Chunky for an Einstein coat this past fall, and really liked it. Just a thought.
Sallie
Sorry for the double post, but it did not show up when I first looked.
I agree with you that I would not want to knit or crochet anything until I could feel the yarn. I find, too, that sometimes although a yarn feels good on the skein, it does not feel the same when I work it up. I have several projects that fell through, because the yarn did not feel good in the pattern I was using.
Sallie
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