Why Knitting Groups Rock: A Testimonial

Back in February I began a baby blanket for my assistant who is due in May. I had some serious Goldilocks issues with the blanket.

The first was too scratchy and heavy, but I loved the pattern. Then I bought lighter softer yarn, but it made the pattern too floppy, so I switched patterns and things were going ok, but it just wasn't right and it was very slow going.

So Monday night at my knitting group, my sassy knitting pal (we call him "the yarn whisperer) said with all kinds of sarcasm dripping from his voice: "There is this other craft, called crochet, and it works great for baby blankets!" I should mention he was crocheting a baby blanket as he said this.

Now I started out a crocheter and since learning to knit have hardly picked up a hook, but I knew crochet was great for blankets and had actually found a pattern. So last night I started in crochet and have already done more than the 6 weeks I spent waffling on the knitted version.

It is great to have a group of like-minded crafters in your life to give you the encouragement, warnings and ideas that good yarn-loving folks need.

I love how this is coming out, I love how the resulting material feels and at the rate I am crocheting I will be done in plenty of time for baby's arrival!

A Gift Complete, A Gift Abandoned

I finished the little baby socks to go with my earlier posted hat:


They still need to be washed and blocked, but are complete in plenty of time for the April gift-giving at my last hair dressing appointment before the arrival of the baby.

I hit a major snag (every pun intended) in the Corded Rib socks I was making for my mother's birthday. What I thought was an extra YO resulting in a bigger hole than normal was actually a dropped stitch (that I somehow made up in the heel construction). When I poked at it to investigate it ran all the way down the leg and left me so distraught I frogged the whole thing. No birthday socks for Mom. It is OK really as I just made her a pair for Christmas.

Taking advice from experienced knitters I decided to start a new exciting project to get me out of my rut. Last night I cast on for my first color work project! The Ivy Socks from A Cuff Above jumped out at me from a Knit Picks catalog and I immediately ordered the book and the suggested Knit Picks sock yarn (which is fantastic to work with).

Between finishing the baby gift and this exciting new project I hope to jump start my knitting again!

Kitchener Stitch

No matter how many times I do it, I cannot remember how to Kitchener Stitch. I always need to re-read the instructions like 10 times and sit in a quiet well-lit room to be successful.

After many attempts at creating a baby sock/booty I think I have achieved success. One down and one to go and I will have a nice pair to go with the hat for my hair dresser's baby.

Pictures soon!

In a Rut

Not unlike the rest of my life, my knitting has taken a turn for the hopeless. I am spinning my wheels on a number of seemingly-endless projects and none of them are making me happy at all.

The bad part is that all of them are intended as gifts for others and the idea of frogging them all is nauseating.

So, what to do? Suffer through and hope I will be filled with a sense of perseverance and accomplishment? Procrastinate until it is too late and I can give up? Start a new and exciting project to jump start my enthusiasm?

I could apply these same questions to nearly every aspect of my life right now. Wish I had some answers.

Look, It's a Hat!

Look, an itty bitty baby hat! So cute!

The cashmerino feels really nice in stockinette. So I am thinking of revamping the matching socks to just have a ribbed cuff and a stockinette foot. The ribbing all the way down the sock is a little stiff for delicate little baby toes. I have plenty of yarn left so I could probably get two revised socks without having to frog the 1 I have done in 2x2 rib.

I will work on the alternate sock tonight and see how it comes out ...

Baby Blanket Revamp

So I started a baby blanket for my assistant about a month and half ago. I like the blanket a lot (it is about 1/3 done) but not as a baby blanket. It is too heavy and a little scratchy for a baby with the acrylic yarn (which I chose for its machine washableness).

Originally I was just going to swap out the yarn and use the same pattern. I bought Knit Picks Comfy Sport which is 75% pima cotton and a tiny bit acrylic and also machine washable. The pattern calls for worsted weight, I didn't think it was going to be a problem, but it was.

The Wavy Cables and Eyelets pattern of the original plan did not hold up with the thinner yarn and was very messy looking. So I went in search of a blanket pattern written for sport weight yarn and found the Staggered Squares pattern on the Bernat site (you need to sign in to see patterns).

This is a 16 row pattern repeat and I have gotten through 2 repeats and really love the result. Not sure this pic will do it justice:



It is soft and looks very pretty in person. I am determined to keep going. The pattern is tricky, but I am trying to get through 16 rows a day and we will see if I can get it done and shipped by the middle of April!

So Many Socks, So Little Time

So, if you read my last post you know I have 2 sock projects half done. Teenie weenie baby socks and big girl socks for me.

Of course I cast on for another pair of socks last week. The Corded Rib Pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks in a really pretty blue Happy Feet sock yarn for my mom's birthday:

Now a keen observer will think "boy those look an awful lot like the Waterfall Rib socks you are already working on." That casual observer would be right.

Sensational Knitted Socks is a great resource and they have a variety of patterns in various stitch #s. The corded rib is a 4 stitch pattern and the waterfall rib is a very similar style in 6 stitches. They are so close that I cannot go from one project to the other for fear of confusing the pattern repeat.

So for now I will focus on the corded rib as they are time-sensitive and the baby sock which is a very simple 2x2 rib and tiny. Hope to have these two sock projects done by the end of March.

Also, I have completely revised the baby blanket project, more on that later!

Bad Bad Blogger!

Due to travel and IT issues I have not posted in over 2 weeks! Shame on me.

Double shame on me for not having more to report. I have finished one tiny baby sock (it has been Kitchenered closed since this photo):



And one me-sized Madelinetosh sock in this gorgeous blue and funky waterfall rib pattern:


And have noticed a mistake in the baby blanket I am making for my assistant. There is a garter stitch border that you knit at the same time as the pattern and in 2 places I somehow have stockinette. I noticed it out of the corner of my eye when I wasn't even working on it. I was only about 1/5th of the way through and I wasn't totally in love with the yarn for a baby gift... but, I did not frog it! I am going to finish the one I have on the needles at a later date for myself. It is very pretty and I won't care about the little mistake.

I ordered new yarn for Katy's version and hope to cast on again this weekend. I will need to knit like a mad woman though as I only have 2 months... (in a side note, I sent her a gift from her registry, so I really have more time if I need it and can send the blanket along after the baby arrives).

Luckily no trips in March, so I hope to get a lot of knitting done!