some of the latest FOs

I've been trying to wrap up some of my WIP lately, mostly to declutter the couch of half knitted items, make room to start on new projects, and keep my sewing room tidy. Since it's nice and bright (due to a blizzard!) I was able to get some photos in my sewing room this morning.

First up is a giant granny square blanket! The thought of making zillions of granny squares then sewing them together was pretty daunting, so after seeing Joelle's Giant Granny Square Blanket on The Purlbee I decided to just keep on going with round after round of color. My latest color combo fetish is pink and navy, so although this matches absolutely none of my decor I'm hoping to be able to use it in a baby's room someday.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft -  Dark Country Blue, Ocean, Grey Heather,

Soft Blue, Coconut, Soft Pink and Watermelon

Amount: One 6 oz. skein of each.

Hook: Size H8

Pattern: Granny Square

Finished Size: 42" x 42" when slightly stretched

I just kept going until I ran out of yarn. There is probably enough for one more round of navy but I liked ending with the pink. I only have scraps of the watermelon left. I really enjoyed having this project to work on. It probably took a few weeks but I didn't work on it every night, and sometimes I just did a round at a time, especially towards the end. This is pretty loose and drapey, probably more of a spring or summer throw. My toes always seem to pop out between the dc's. Overall, I really enjoyed making this blanket and would definitely make another one. Just think of some of the color combinations!

My second blanket is also a Purlbee pattern, although technically this one isn't finished yet. I used the Bulky Baby Blankets pattern in seed stitch. I think this would look better in the recommended yarn, but I didn't want to shell out for the Spud & Chloe Outer when I don't even have a baby yet! This tweedy yarn was on sale so I picked it up with this project in mind. There must have been some extra yardage because I made it well past square before I even realized. I do like the yarn but I kind of wish I hadn't gone with the tweed. It's not very baby-ish. I think a bright color yarn for the binding will brighten it up. Oh yeah, did you notice it's not quite finished? I'm tucking this away for the future and I can choose the color when the time is right!

Yarn: Gedifra Riana Big in White

Amount: 8 skeins

Needles: Size 15, 29" circular

Finished size: haven't measured it yet but the width is about pattern size

Finally, something that's not knitted! My husband has an iPad for work (lucky duck, right?) and although he told me not to get too attached to it, as soon as he brought it home this case idea popped into my head.

I absolutely love the leather Apple logo applique!

I have a bunch of this tan leather but I don't sew with it often, so this was nice practice. I want to make a matching travel bag for myself for our London trip, so this was kind of a warm-up. The tweed has a great soft texture and holds its shape with some interfacing. The leather is very stiff and really provides support to the case. Also the lining is wool felt, which is soft for the screen and also adds a bit of thickness. I used a velcro closure...I was on the fence about this. I think it takes away some of the classiness but I wasn't sure about using a magnetic snap around the electronics. Does anyone know what the rules are for that?

I think I might make a few more of these for the shop. I just need to make sure I can still find the tweed fabric because it's very pricey, so I only picked up a yard. I wish my camera was better because the color is so much richer in person. There is a warm brown tone to the fabric with flecks of gold and orange throughout. I can't wait to use this tweed again!