12 posts tagged “knitting”
... and a squinting cat. I woke her up and she wasn't too happy about it.
This little fish is the first of many for the Ecology Action Centre's Stitchin' Fish project. It didn't take too long to make: here is the pattern I'm using (without the mobile, obviously). I plan on making as many as possible and then handing them all over. Also considering picking up some polyfill and making little stuffed fishies. I messed up this one's other eye, but that's our little secret.
Also, below is the first item I have made without a pattern. I've never been very good at following directions, including knitting patterns, so this is a big deal to me. This was supposed to be a dishcloth, but due to a bad yarn recommendation, it's not really anything. It's a cotton-acrylic blend that would be great for doll clothes ... Still, nice colours, eh?
It's about 64 inches long with only a couple of small errors. For those interested, the yarn is Misti Alpaca chunky 2-ply, and the colour is wine melange. Yaaaay, it's finally complete! It took about two weeks. Still haven't decided what to do with it (give it away or keep it); at any rate it's too heavy to wear until next winter. Next up is a throw made on circular needles. I'll be practicing with beer bottle cozies first (for Mike, ahem), to get used to using circulars.
Ever have a project you're working on start speaking to you? "You know, I'd be perfect for Such-and-Such," but you really planned on keeping it for yourself.
Have you ever given something to a family member or friend and have them not react enthusiastically? "Oh ... thanks for the tea cozy, even though I don't drink tea and don't like this colour ..."
My scarf has been asking me to give it to a co-worker who has been admiring it. She loves purple and used to knit. Problem is, we only see each other at work; we're not friends per se. But my scarf, which should be completed this weekend, won't shut up. "D. would love me, you know it. She'd probably wear me in summer, she'd be that smitten with me." I thought I was knitting it for myself, but the scarf has other plans.
So I'd like to know if you've ever had a project dictate who its ultimate owner would be. Knit/crochet/sew something for your mother only to give it to someone else or keep it for yourself? Make something to sell but found yourself handing it over as a Christmas gift? And have you ever completely miscalculated and have a recipient give a half-smile and a bland "Thanks" for all your hard work?
Comments will help me decide who my talking scarf belongs to - me or my purple-loving, former-knitter co-worker.
My camera sucks for conveying colours. This is a rich, deep purple and a nice thick yarn. I'm on Ball 2 and just hit 28 inches. Yay me! It's outgrown my cute little knit bag (see post in my archives for a pic); I tried a grocery bag today, but that didn't last long - the needles poked through immediately. So now I'm trying to fit a shoulder bag inside a shoulder bag so I can continue taking this to work.
I'm also on the 5500-strong waiting list for an invite to Ravelry. I sure hope it's worth the wait.
The promised kitty cloth. Only two days to complete! I took it on a bit of an angle so you can see the pattern. More curling of the edges, but since it's only a cloth I'm not too worried. The scarf begins tonight. With the help of Hope I bought three skeins of purple Misti Alpaca. It's sooo soft, I can't wait to start knitting. Oh boy, a new scarf just in time for summer!
It's a bit difficult to see, but just over halfway into this ribbed dishcloth, I apparently lost count of my stitches. It seemed simple enough: two alternating rows of knits and purls. Not so. I started and frogged this cloth at least five times before I *thought* I successfully kept track of my stitches. Then everything seemed to shift over a stitch or two. At least in my final attempt the ribs picked up almost where they left off. The fun part is after my next dishcloth (with a purled cat pattern, we'll see how that goes), I'll be attempting a scarf with, of course, ribbing.
I finished this dishcloth in ... count 'em ... three days. *Applause* Bought the yarn on Thursday, started right away (okay, on my break at work), finished Saturday afternoon. I can't believe it. The corner I finished with is pointier than all the others, not sure why. Hopefully when I block it I will be able to round it up a bit.
Speaking of blocking, are you even supposed to block dishcloths? At any rate, my first attempt at blocking was this little blue heart:
As you can see, the top has an unintended shape. All four ends were curling in so I tried to uncurl them, with limited success. Also, I forgot to consult the pattern near the end; there is no "dip" in the top of the heart. Ahem. At least you can tell it's a heart, and right now that's all that matters.
The red dishcloth was knitted in 100% cotton, and I much prefer working with wool. Even though I was able to finish it in record time (for me), the cotton didn't feel as flexible as the wool. At times it felt like I had to force it from one needle to the other, and it wasn't just me knitting way too tightly. After a few more dishcloths under my belt, I will hopefully be moving on to a scarf ... and an excuse to buy a bigger knit bag.
This one only took me about a week to complete. My friend Hope will be sharing another dishcloth pattern with me on Tuesday, so I'm done knitting until then. As you can see, consistency is still lacking - pattern? What pattern? I will be borrowing my mother's row counter, which will hopefully help me keep track of my rows. It would be nice for my projects to resemble the picture ...
I had a closer look at the afghan pattern I bought when I first took up knitting (which I won't be touching until I have a few more projects under my belt). It looks much more complicated than first met the eye. Not only does it require at least two skeins of 10 different colours, but it also involves mathematics and invisible L-shapes and double knitting. Yeah, I see needing a lot of help with this one.
In the meantime, more dishcloths.
I finally finished my potholder, my first knitting project! *Applause* I took a more close-up photo of this poor piece of wool, but then you could see all the holes and how I totally butchered the pattern ... so this is as close as you'll get.
Speaking of the pattern, it was originally supposed to be a two-coloured checkered potholder. While I do have two colours, it was suggested I purl rather than change colours, as that would make it too difficult. Well, the pattern called for four balls of yarn (don't ask me why), and you're supposed to change between all four balls, so it got more than a little confusing when trying to substitute in purls. So I gave up and, going by the diagram of the potholder, wrote my own "pattern." As you can see, there are no obvious checkers in this creation of mine. Methinks I should leave pattern-making up to the professionals.
My knitaholic friend Hope will be sharing a more basic pattern with me next week; in the meantime I'm combing the Internet for really, really easy flat things to knit. Whee!
My Groups
-
Knitting Updated: 2 hours ago
-
House Cats Updated: 3 hours ago
-
The Eclectic Book Club Updated: 5 hours ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
