Category — Knitting

So I started my log cabin blankie last night. After a quick question to the Mason-Dixon KAL blog, just to make sure what I was thinking made sense, off I went! The first square went smashingly. Up first: picking up stitches on the side.

I’ve never done that before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The ladies in the book gave some good tips about what to do & not do, and I suspect I did just what one of them did: picking up the stitches on the WS so that I ended up with a line of the wrong coloured yarn on that side. No worries though, since this blankie is for me, I don’t mind. Up next: picking up the stitches for the third strip.

This I found to be much more difficult because the two strips were going in different directions (possibly because my second strip was done on the WS, which meant I was looking at things slightly differently). At any rate, I found it quite hard to pick up the stitches, as I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be picking up. At any rate, I managed to jam the needle through the same “row” of stitches which in the end, I suppose, is the important part.

I’ve done now three out of the four strips around the centre square, and it looks pretty spiffy. Although I’ve got that wierd yarn pulling thing on my last row after putting in the new colour, which I’ve always seem to have whenever I add in another yarn, so I suspect that’s just my technique (again, possibly due to the fact that I’m on the WS, but who knows). I’m quite pleased with the progress, and am actually glad to be at work where no knitting is involved, if only to give my poor fingers a rest! I’ll be picking it up as soon as I get home, as I’m anxious to see how it turns out with all the colours (I’m using 6). I’ll post a pic once I get home tonight and hopefully there’s some natural light to use. ha!

Oh, and a couple of questions about garter stitches:

1. How do I know which is the WS and RS of something done in garter stitch? As both sides are the same, it’s a little difficult for me to figure that out.
2. When counting ridges, do I include the one on the needle? That is, if I’ve got 10 ridges, then one immediately under the needle (I presume that’s the one I just knit), do I count that one too? I haven’t been, and ended up with a few extra ridges in my log cabin. Not a huge deal, but it might be in some other pattern.

Thanks!

Okay, the gods have been appeased, I started another project this week. I’m actually thinking I might just start my winter log cabin project, although I was kinda saving it for the winter time. But considering the crappy cold weather we’ve been having lately, it almost feels like winter…okay, winter on the West Coast maybe, but winter nonetheless. I’ll finish off my current dishcloth, and then start the log cabin. Can’t wait!

Check out my very first ballband discloth!! I’m quite pleased that it turned out. I was using three different ends of skeins, a denim blue, a baby blue and a green, and I think it turned out quite nicely. I still have some of the ends left, so I might just make another one. But I wanted to be sure I could actually do this, as I want to participate in a discloth exchange soon, and didn’t want to disappoint my exchange-ee. What do you think? Am I good enough to turn pro? Ha haha

Yee haw! After several false starts, I managed to get the Mason Dixon ballband dishcloth started. Check it out:

I’m quite pleased that I was able to actually get it started, and I can’t wait to see how it goes when the colours start to change. I’m using the ends of skeins for the dark coloured parts, just all wound together in a ball. So I won’t know what’s comin’ next till later! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

Even though I told myself that after finishing off my blue & white striped Mason Dixon burping blanket I would take the night off, I just couldn’t resist and started my next project: another Baby Bib o’ Love. But in a wonderful striped yarn (A Sugar n’ Cream Strawberry). In the evening I managed to get 40 rows, which is a good start, heck, that’s almost the entire bottom part, according to the pattern! Very nice. At this rate I should be done by the end of the weekend (due to television interruptions, haha), although the straps are harder than the bottom. The photo’s a bit blurry, but I was trying to get the row counter in the shot properly (that’s a “40″ on it, if you can’t quite see it). Very cool indeed.

So I spent the evening knitting underneath my new fleecy blanket while waiting for Great Aunt Daisy’s Apple Crisp to bake in the oven. Mmmm, was that ever a fun time! After it was ready I immediately scarfed half of it down (I only make a small tray of it at a time). Today I’ve got some in my lunch at work, and I can’t wait!