Yarn Over, Pull Through

"Learn To Knit" Afghan Completed

Yep, it's finally done.  It took me about 9 months to knit, but it was well worth it.  My big lesson from this project was that all the fancy knitting I've seen over the years but was afraid to attempt probably wasn't as difficult as I imagined it would be. 

The project is from Barbara Walker's, Learn To Knit Afghan Book.  It's a nice way to increase your knitting expertise, and you get a product at the end of all your hard work.  You can see more details on Ravelry (I'm HawaiiHooker).  I decided to give it to my cousin, Delores, for her 80th birthday.  She really loves it, so I'm happy.

Ok, now it's back to crocheting full time.  I'm working on an easy afghan for one of my daughter's friends, so I'll try to keep you up to date on my progress (if I can get out of this "I don't feel like writing" slump).

UPDATE:  7/28/09

Sarah, who's just getting started on her afghan, posted a comment asking me to suggest any instructions or pattern tips that would help her on her journey.  Yes, I do have a few tips.

• The best tip I can give is to enjoy the process.  I don't knit that much, and when I do it's usually small projects, so completing a square gave me a sense of accomplishment without needing to hurry up and get the whole thing done.
• I was also looking forward to learning new knitting skills, so that made it fun for me.
• What made it a little easier to follow the pattern instructions was making a photocopy of each pattern and putting it in a see-through sheet protector.  Trying to knit from the book was awkward.  And I could carry the one or two pages with me if I went out with my knitting.
• I also put highlighter tape on each line of instruction to help me keep my place in the pattern row.
• The lace patterns were the hardest for me, only because I kept loosing my place in the row of instructions.  So I wrote each line of instruction vertically on a piece of paper, one step per line.  For example, I would rewrite "yo, k1, yo" as "yo" on one line, "k1" on the next line, "yo" on the third line.  For some reason, it was easier to follow than reading horizontal instructions.

I hope this helps, Sarah.  Thanks for stopping by!

Save KNITTY GRITTY

Yes, I know what you'rethinking.  This is supposed to be a crochet blog, but we are all fiber artists, and I credit Knitty Gritty with getting me back into doing a little knitting every now and then.

So what am I talking about?  Apparently, the Scripps Network, which owns DIY and the Home and Garden TV (HGTV) channels, is airing Knitty Gritty in the 2 - 5 am time slot, depending on where you live in the country.  Actually, this would work for me since I'm 5 hours earlier than EST, which would put the program on as early as 9 pm.  I'll have to check that out. 

But the really sad thing is that the network apparently is not going to renew the show.  I also noticed that I haven't seen Uncommon Threads in the lineup either.  They apparently didn't survey their audience to find out what its needs are before making this decision.

With the plethora of home repair shows on that channel, I really don't understand why they seem to be moving in the direction of snubbing craft shows.  At least this is how it appears to me. 

Anyway, if you want to save the show, please go to the link below and sign the petition.  Also, leave comments about why you want the show to continue.

http://www.petitiononline.com/1234lulu/petition.html

I Can't Believe I Knit the Whole Thing!

I mentioned a while back that I was doing a little knitting on the side and I wanted to show you the fruits of my labor.

I started and finished this garter-stitch scarf a while back, when I bought those beautiful Lantern Moon, wooden knitting needles.  I figured I'd stick to knitting every row since I hadn't knitted in so long.  I think I was in my twenties the last time I actually knit knitted something (a sweater for my brother?).  The one thing that I wasn't sure of was how to weave in the ends.  I had to start a new ball of yarn since I was using scrap yarn (Red Heart worsted weight) for this.  With crochet, you can easily weave in ends at the base of the stitch, on the wrong side of the row.  But knitting stitches aren't as substantial as crochet stitches, so I wasn't sure where to weave in the end, so I made a knot (GASP! I know, I know, knots or verboten in needle work, but I didn't know what else to do - so sue me!).

With the shawl, I wove in the ends along the sides of the shawl - so, no knots.  The pattern for this shawl appears at the Neaveau web site (actually it's at Interweave Press's site - the pattern appeared in an isssue of this mag), which I talked about a while back.  It's really easy to make.  You cast on two stitches and then increase at the beginning of each row, at the second stitch, until the shawl is the size you want it.  It was really easy to do while watching TV.  All I had to remember to do was the increase at the beginning of the row.  The pattern calls for the use of scrap (or recycled) yarn, but I decided to stick with one yarn, one color, to make it a easy as possible to do.  After using up three skeins of Lion Brand Fuschia Homespun, I'd had it and so bound off at that point.  It could probably  be a little larger.  The triangle shape doesn't seem to work well with my figure because it feels a little small, despite the fact that the shawl itself seems big.  Maybe after I wash it, it'll be looser.

The pattern also calls for number 15, 30-inch, circular needles, but I used a series of number 11 needles.  I first started off on straight needles because I was intimidated by the circulars, having never used them.  But as the shawl increased in size, I realized I had to get the circulars, so I got a pair of those Addy Turbos that guarantee you'll be a speed-demon knitter using them.  Well, my concern wasn't speed, just knitting the darn thing.  They took some getting used to - the yarn was very slippery on the needles, and I had to be careful not to drop any stitches.  These needles were only 24 inches long, and I realized again that I needed a longer pair.  So I got an inexpensive pair of Susan Bates 36" teflon (I think it's teflon or plastic) needles.  These felt much more  comfortable because the yarn wasn't so slippery going on and off the needles.

The knitting was a nice break from the crochet.  I worked the shawl a few evenings a week, in between crocheting.  I think I also stated earlier that I can't do much knitting because it really wreaks havoc on my wrists, hands and shoulders.  It's always a good thing to take stretch breaks every once in a while, even when you're crocheting, so your hands don't cramp or your carpel tunnel thingy doesn't get aggravated.

Update:  "Knit, knit, knit."  Did you notice I changed the title of this post??  The past tense and past participle of knit is knit, not "knitted" or "knitten" (that even sounds weird).  It's one of those weird irregular verbs.  And to think I majored in linguistics in college. Oh well ... that was over 30 years ago.

Guess What I Did?

Bought a pair of $26 knitting needles!!  No lie!!  See, that's what happens when you attend a charity  function at your local yarn store.  I decided to do my duty and volunteer to sew up crocheted and knitted blocks that other volunteers had made to create afghans and lapghans for Project Linus and Habitat for Humanity.  It just so happened that the even took place at my LYS, Stitch DC on Captiol Hill in our Nation's Capital.  They have a beautiful selection of wonderful yarns and these absolutely gorgeous knitting needles by Lantern Moon that one of my co-volunteers, a knitter, bought.  So of course, I just had to have a pair.  They are size 19 needles and hand made.  I figured I could do up a quick scarf or something, using some scrap yarn.  Here's what I've done so far.  I think I cast on too tightly so it kinda pulls in at the bottom.  I understand there are a lot of ways to cast on, so if any of you knitters out there can give me some hints on how to do it better, I'd appreciate it.

I also bought 2 skeins of this wonderful alpaca-silk blend yarn to make Christmas ties out of.  It  wasn't until I got home that I realized I needed one of the ball winders to wind the skein into a ball I could work with.  I had to make due with my office chair.  It worked ok as a pair of hands to hang the skein on.  Shucks, I should have taken a picture of it.  I'll do it with the next skein if I can   remember.  So here's what I've done so far with this yarn.  I'm using the same pattern I used for the turquoise and tangerine ties, but since this is a sport weight yarn, the fabric is much lighter and it doesn't fill firm enough for a tie.  So I might try a double strand.  I think I can get a double-strand tie out of one of these skeins.  This yarn is from a company called Blue Sky Alpacas and the yarn is made in Peru.

Here's the child's afghan that I pieced together and added a border to.  I had to take everything home because I hadn't finished by the store's closing time and I didn't want to leave it for someone else to do.  I didn't realize until I got home that some of the pieces weren't the same size, so I had to add two sections to either end (see the narrow strips on the left and right) to make everything  come out even.  I also did a lot of decreasing around the border so the thing would be more or less a square.  I think it turned out rather nicely.

I've been pretty busy, so that's why I haven't posted in so long.  I attended a funeral on Friday, an all-day affair that left me whipped when I got home.  Then on Saturday, evening I attended a Christmas gift-exchange party with a group of friends, except that on Saturday morning and into the afternoon, I was still working on my gift.  It was a nice little lined pouch that I crocheted to hold tarot  cards; I used left over Lion Brand Homespun in several natural hues.  I lined it with a satiny acetate in a matching color.  I would show you a photo, but I was in such a hurry to get it done that I forgot to take one.  Then on Sunday, I did the volunteer thing at Stitch DC, and Monday, I had to prepare for the 2 instructional design projects I'll be working on.  I'm glad I finally got a chance to post today.

I'm still trying to figure out how to add links to my "book list" list.  When I figure that out, I'll have loads of books to recommend (did I mention that I'm a "book junkie"?).