Yarn Buster Blanket

So if you're like me you have a huge amount of yarn you have passingly bought, been given as friends and family clean out their own space, and the dribs and drabs of left overs once a project is complete.  This can grow to be a large pile of boxes at the foot of your bed--if you're me that is.  One great way I have discovered to start getting rid of these various bits is thanks to the supernova of infants being born into my life (none of which are mine).

Baby blanket after baby blanket left me with half used colorful and fluffy skeins and I began to see a lovely mixture emerging from the pile of yarn growing on my couch.  And so I decided that the next baby blanket would only use these bits.

I knocked off eight yarn remnants with this act of infant directed altruism/shameless baby pandering. EIGHT!  That's half the space of the stash I inherited from a friend who is moving to California.  A victory in anyone's book.

It's hard to see the navy trim on dark gray upholstery.

I used garter stitch on the bias, increasing with a k1fb on the last stitch of every row and once the edge was the right size for my purposes (30"), started k2tog at the end of every row.  Then I stitched on an i-cord trim (my first ever and I really like the way it turned out).

I used each color until it was completely gone, which is why there are such short stripes of certain colors.  I thought I would have enough with the yellows and neutrals left over from the honey themed blanket I made but I didn't and I really wanted to put a nave trim on those bright yellows so I went for the left over blue bits I had about.  I think it worked out really well and I am excited to see the little Belgian who will be born in December wrapped up in it.

One issue I did have in the beginning was remembering to increase on every row.  As you will see in some of the pictures one corner is more acute than right angled.  Such is life.  Before I ship the blanket off to Belgium I will attempt to block it, but, as I have said before, I don't generally have a lot of success with blocking.

Nevertheless, this sucker is pretty cool and the little lady who will be bundled in it come the new year will be even cooler!