After two years of on-and-off knitting, I finished the third panel of the Burridge Lake Aran Afghan on Saturday morning and seamed the panels together.
I've modified the pattern slightly by using a provisional cast on and leaving live the stitches at the top of each panel as I planned on knitting on the top and bottom bands. So, this morning I picked up the top stitches and then did one knit row to even everything up and then went off to my Monday morning knitting get-together. At knitting group I cast on for the top band and did a couple of rows. Not happy, so I frogged it and started again, this time casting on one stitch less than the pattern said. Knitted on for a bit. Still not happy - this time with the cast on - so I frogged again and cast on yet again. Got home and knitted on a bit more, then had a good look at it and realised that knitting on one stitch from the body of the blanket every other row meant that the top band was growing too quickly for the width of the body, so I frogged back almost to the beginning and started doing an ssk with one top band stitch and one stitch from the main blanket on right-side rows and p2tog through the back loops on wrong-side rows.
Fingers crossed, this is going to work!
I'll let you know in a few days or so as I reckon I should be able to get this finished within the next week (although I've probably just jinxed myself). Better make sure the camera battery's charged.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Your knitting and crochet time: 2KCBWDAY7
Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys.
My knitting time is generally any time of the day or evening when I get a few minutes, or I decide to have some knitting time! Most mornings I get the children off to school, walk the dogs and then feed them and then sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and my knitting for an hour (or more, if I get carried away and forget the time). I'll usually get my knitting out again in the evening after the children are in bed and the dogs are fed and settled, especially as hubby usually gets control of the TV remote!
I rarely use public transport, but I have been known to get out needles/hook and yarn whilst waiting for appointments, especially hospital ones where they always seem to be running late (even if it's the first appointment of the day).
I do go to two knitting groups. Monday mornings and Friday mornings will usually find me knitting and nattering at one of two local-ish pubs (drinking coffee or tea though) although I never seem to make a great of progress on those mornings. To much nattering probably!
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Something to aspire to: .2KCBWDAY6
Something to aspire to.
A short one from me today.
I aspire to being able to crochet a pineapple doily. Not that I need a pineapple doily - I'd just like the satisfaction of being able to make one!
That's it really. I thought about it and that's what I came up with. I'm always amazed at how beautiful pineapple-type doilies look and one day would like to make one of my own. First, though, I've got to learn how to follow a crochet chart!
Friday, 1 April 2011
Wildcard: 2KCBWDAY5
I tried to write a poem, but have decided to spare you my efforts and use the wildcard for today's post!
Embellishments
For a while now, I've been meaning to make a scarf or shawl and add beads to it. I've even got some beads. Two packets in fact. One packet has blue beads in it; the other has bronze-toned beads in it. Neither have been opened and I can't even remember how many beads are in each packet. I'm not even sure I'd wear a beaded scarf or shawl if I'm being honest.
I did think about adding beads to the cuff of a sock, but then realised that the socks would probably fall down due to the weight, so I'm back to square one with how to use them.
I'm not even going to think about the big heart-shaped 'bead'/embellishment I've got in my sewing box. I have a feeling it was a free-thing that was sent to me with some yarn I bought. I hope so because otherwise I have no idea what possessed me to buy it.
Embellishments
For a while now, I've been meaning to make a scarf or shawl and add beads to it. I've even got some beads. Two packets in fact. One packet has blue beads in it; the other has bronze-toned beads in it. Neither have been opened and I can't even remember how many beads are in each packet. I'm not even sure I'd wear a beaded scarf or shawl if I'm being honest.
I did think about adding beads to the cuff of a sock, but then realised that the socks would probably fall down due to the weight, so I'm back to square one with how to use them.
I'm not even going to think about the big heart-shaped 'bead'/embellishment I've got in my sewing box. I have a feeling it was a free-thing that was sent to me with some yarn I bought. I hope so because otherwise I have no idea what possessed me to buy it.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Day 4: Where are they now? - 2KCBWDAY4
Years ago (as in 20+ years ago) I made an aran sweater. It wasn't the first aran sweater I'd made as prior to that I'd made an aran waistcoat and an aran sweater for my Dad. This aran sweater though, was for me. Or so I thought. I bought the yarn locally - cream with a just-visible tan fleck. The yarn was, apparently, shower-proof. I don't think I made any mistakes when making that sweater. Even the sewing up was done neatly.
And then, one day my Mum asked if she could borrow it, so I got it out of the drawer so she could wear it. Somehow, it ended up going back into her drawer and there it's stayed ever since. It's even moved house with her - twice.
I asked her about the sweater when we had the snowy weather late last year, expecting to say that it had gone to sweater heaven. "Oh, yes dear" she said. "I don't wear it very often as it's so warm, but when it's very cold like this I'll wear it when I'm walking the dog".
So, well-made and looks good (if I do say so myself) and still going strong after 20-odd years. It's just a shame it's not me who gets to wear it! On the bright side, it does give me the excuse to make one of the sweaters from the re-printed Alice Starmore Aran Knitting.
And then, one day my Mum asked if she could borrow it, so I got it out of the drawer so she could wear it. Somehow, it ended up going back into her drawer and there it's stayed ever since. It's even moved house with her - twice.
I asked her about the sweater when we had the snowy weather late last year, expecting to say that it had gone to sweater heaven. "Oh, yes dear" she said. "I don't wear it very often as it's so warm, but when it's very cold like this I'll wear it when I'm walking the dog".
So, well-made and looks good (if I do say so myself) and still going strong after 20-odd years. It's just a shame it's not me who gets to wear it! On the bright side, it does give me the excuse to make one of the sweaters from the re-printed Alice Starmore Aran Knitting.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches – 2KCBWDAY3
Day Three: 30th March. Tidy mind, tidy stitches.
How do I organise my stash? Not very well really. It's in various containers and bags. I did buy two big bags from Lidl last week. They're those under-bed storage bags that are designed for putting winter duvets in when you swap to a summer-weight one, etc. As someone who hates being cold and has a winter duvet on in summer and a winter duvet + patchwork quilt made with thermal wadding in winter, I don't need duvet storage. So, I've half-heartedly organised my yarn stash so that all of my acrylic and cotton yarns are in one of these storage bags. The rest of my stash is in a few baskets and I've also got a couple of sweater's worth of yarns on the shelf in my wardrobe. Oh, and my 'best' sock yarn is in a flowery bag (so I can grab it in an emergency!).
One day, I will have a room that's just for me, in which I will arrange my yarn-stash on shelves, my fabric (although I haven't got a great deal of that) will be neatly folded and my books, both fiction and non-fiction, will be on shelves rather than in boxes. I don't think it's going to be this decade though!
Some of my yarn is documented on my Ravelry page, but I go through stages of listing it as soon as I buy it and not getting round to it, so it's not up to date and, if I'm honest, I'm not sure I want to see exactly how much I've got. Maybe once I've knitted my stash down a bit I'll be more up-front about how much I've actually got!
How do I organise my stash? Not very well really. It's in various containers and bags. I did buy two big bags from Lidl last week. They're those under-bed storage bags that are designed for putting winter duvets in when you swap to a summer-weight one, etc. As someone who hates being cold and has a winter duvet on in summer and a winter duvet + patchwork quilt made with thermal wadding in winter, I don't need duvet storage. So, I've half-heartedly organised my yarn stash so that all of my acrylic and cotton yarns are in one of these storage bags. The rest of my stash is in a few baskets and I've also got a couple of sweater's worth of yarns on the shelf in my wardrobe. Oh, and my 'best' sock yarn is in a flowery bag (so I can grab it in an emergency!).
One day, I will have a room that's just for me, in which I will arrange my yarn-stash on shelves, my fabric (although I haven't got a great deal of that) will be neatly folded and my books, both fiction and non-fiction, will be on shelves rather than in boxes. I don't think it's going to be this decade though!
Some of my yarn is documented on my Ravelry page, but I go through stages of listing it as soon as I buy it and not getting round to it, so it's not up to date and, if I'm honest, I'm not sure I want to see exactly how much I've got. Maybe once I've knitted my stash down a bit I'll be more up-front about how much I've actually got!
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Skill + 1UP – 2KCBWDAY2
Day 2's brief:
Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?
I've looked over my last year of projects and I think the thing that stands out the most is that my confidence in my ability to crochet has grown. My grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was a child (Nanny Tankard died in Nov 1981 when I was 16 and I'm now 45, so that was a few years ago!). However, other than being able to make treble and double stitches, I never really progressed beyond the 'how to' stage. In the last year, however - and mostly thanks to Lucy@Attic24 - I've completed three crochet blankets (Summer Garden - no photo - an Easy Ripple and a Granny Stripe using up various balls of DK I had in my stash). I also used the Granny Stripe pattern to make a bathmat and now have a Granny Stripe blanket on the hook. Sorry the photos aren't very good - I can't find where I put them on my computer so have linked to my Ravelry pics.
Knitting-wise, I think the main thing I've learned skill-wise is one of tension. Not in terms of doing test-swatches, but rather using tension to adapt patterns. I have two daughters and have made each of them a cardigan using the February Lady Sweater pattern, but working out which size of the pattern to knit to fit each of them using DK yarn and 4mm needles instead of the Worsted/Aran-weight yarn the original pattern was knitted in and I did the same for my recently completed purple cardigan, which I made for myself.
Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?
I've looked over my last year of projects and I think the thing that stands out the most is that my confidence in my ability to crochet has grown. My grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was a child (Nanny Tankard died in Nov 1981 when I was 16 and I'm now 45, so that was a few years ago!). However, other than being able to make treble and double stitches, I never really progressed beyond the 'how to' stage. In the last year, however - and mostly thanks to Lucy@Attic24 - I've completed three crochet blankets (Summer Garden - no photo - an Easy Ripple and a Granny Stripe using up various balls of DK I had in my stash). I also used the Granny Stripe pattern to make a bathmat and now have a Granny Stripe blanket on the hook. Sorry the photos aren't very good - I can't find where I put them on my computer so have linked to my Ravelry pics.
Knitting-wise, I think the main thing I've learned skill-wise is one of tension. Not in terms of doing test-swatches, but rather using tension to adapt patterns. I have two daughters and have made each of them a cardigan using the February Lady Sweater pattern, but working out which size of the pattern to knit to fit each of them using DK yarn and 4mm needles instead of the Worsted/Aran-weight yarn the original pattern was knitted in and I did the same for my recently completed purple cardigan, which I made for myself.
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