Extra Panels in Blanket of Awesome

I got a comment on my original post regarding the extra panels, and realized that as a reader of blogs, I would find the process of adding to the original design interesting, so as a writer, should probably write about that!

The original blanket is meant to be more of a lap blanket, perfect for keeping on the couch. I wanted a blanket that could be used on a queen- or king-sized bed. This required lengthening the blanket in all dimensions. Making it longer was easy, just knit more repeats until it's as long as desired, roughly 80". I did that for the three original pieces, and then had to figure out how to make it wider. Some people also widened theirs, knitting the edges or inner piece again. I didn't like that solution. Instead, I wanted to make something that looked like it could have been part of the original pattern, if the pattern were originally made for a queen-sized bed. I tend to be better at taking something that exists and improving it (changing the decreases, ways things are attached, small technical details) rather than coming up with something 100% from scratch, so a knitting designer I am not. However, I think this modification turned out well!

In the original panels, the main panel is a nice mix of a lot of cables:

The side panels have one main cable, a lot of background stitches, and a nice border on either end, separating the panels. The edging braid is repeated in the last two pieces knit for the blanket, a top and bottom border as well:

I knew I needed roughly the equivalent of two more edge panels to bring the blanket to the size I wanted. I decided I liked the outside panels as-is so I wanted to add something in between the two original panels, something with some background stitching (the trinity stitch on either side of the main cable in that second picture) and some cables. I wanted the panel with many cables to fade into a panel of few cables to fade into the panel of one cable. I also wanted to keep the border braid in between each panel; the outside panels had one on either side so I would just need one on the side closest to the center in the new panels. Thus far, the general stitch count was set (about as many as the edge panels, give or take a few to make the patterns work), two motifs (more than zero trinity stitch, one braid on the edge by the center panel), and I knew that there would be more than one cable but less than three.

Both original panels have a fairly intricate and large cable down the center. Since I was trying to match them, I decided I should have a large-ish cable down the center, with trinity stitch on either side. I didn't want any stretch of trinity stitch as large as the stretches on the end, in keeping with the fading from many cables to a lot of background. I'd knit Valencia from Gardiner Yarn Works somewhat recently, and really, really, really liked the front cable motif. It fit the general cable requirements, fancy, large-ish, so I chose that one as my main cable:

Ooh la la, I know!

I also needed another smaller cable to break up the trinity stitch on either side of the main cable for this panel, so I chose a little fun one that I think I used somewhere sometime but I don't remember anymore because this was over a year ago. For that one, I decided how much of the trinity stitch I wanted on either side (one repeat on one side, two on the other, because it worked out nicely that way and you really can't do half-repeats) and then figured out roughly what size cable I needed to fill the rest of the space. I recall looking online, but am not sure where exactly I got that little cable from. Either way, it fit, I love it, and here's the panel I ended up with, shown off in blocked and unblocked format:

I love this blanket, love how well the panel I came up with works with it, and really truly am planning to knit it again, even if it was months and months and months of knitting. It ended up being late, actually, and I was knitting it in the car on the way to the wedding, frantically trying to finish the borders so I could give it to them there:

Had I not knit one of the borders 10" too far, it would have been fine, but I'm almost happier I didn't finish, because then I was able to give it one final block and take finished pictures of it!

Scrappy Mitered Blanket

I was almost able to get through this entire blanket using scraps. I had to buy another skein of red at the end, but since I was planning to use it in another project, that isn't a bad thing. I could have sworn I got more pictures than just this one, but oh well. That's black on the edging and blue with the white.

Pattern: Cousins' Miter Square Baby Blanket (mine)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in 5 colors

Needles: US7/4.5mm

Timeframe: September 27 - October 11, 2013

Mods: Used a different pattern for the colors

Problems: None!

I love this blanket so much! I will probably knit another one for myself when I have kids. Seriously. It's so squishy and quick to knit because it's all garter stitch, and you add the squares together as you're knitting so no real seaming necessary! Soft, squishy, cozy, and just plain wonderful; it's by far my favorite baby blanket and I hope the recipient enjoys it! It may be my go-to blanket for future babies.

Sierpinski Carpet Blanket (Finally!)

Motivated by this blog post and wanting to keep up my every-other-day posting, I am finally going to show off the labor of love that was the Sierpinski Carpet Blanket. This thing took FOREVER (first posted about it February of 2010, finished July 29, 2011) and was a mix of intarsia and stranded knitting. I've already blogged much of the saga, but here's the full story with links to previous posts where appropriate. I thought the idea of a Sierpinski Carpet as a queen-sized blanket would be an excellent wedding gift for some equally geek-tastic friends, so first started with a mitered square version:

The pattern was simple, as the Sierpinski Carpet pattern is quite easy, and the plan was eight of these mitered squares around a solid colored center mitered square. As you can see, the corner squares weren't exactly square. Okay, start again.

For the second attempt, I decided to just knit the whole thing in one go using intarsia and stranding to get the design I wanted. I figured that while separate squares might be easier to work on piece by piece, I know I hate seaming and the final product would look better as one solid piece. Additionally, since I'd be stranding anyway, making it in separate pieces wouldn't make the actual work any easier. Having over 40 bits of yarn going at once was a bit much, but I still managed to make it work and finally, nearing their one-year anniversary, I finished the blanket:

Backside glamor shot:

The border is a double border, mitered in the corners and folding over to the back as you can see in the last picture. This is so I could put a soft felt backing on it. The backing serves multiple purposes, keeping the floats from getting snagged and messing up the blanket, covering up the wrong side of the work, and giving a much softer side for cuddling under. The wool was a fairly scratchy yarn and should be quite warm, but isn't something most people would want next to their skin. After I sewed on the backing, it looked quite professional and finished. Some people apparently don't believe that it's handmade, and I've been told that at least one person scoured the blanket trying to figure out where I took the tag off to prove it wasn't handmade. I must say, that makes me quite proud of my work!

Pattern: None (Ravelry)

Yarn: Nikke Victor Shetland 9, a yarn I got in Japan during their New Year's sale.

Needles: US9/5.5mm

Timeframe: February 13, 2010 - July 29, 2011

Mods: None, it was my own pattern.

Problems: See above!

Baby Gifts!

I have a niece on the way, so of course, baby gifts had to be made!

We've got a baby dress that is more of a shirt, due to using a too-small needle and having not enough yarn:

Pattern: Little Sister's Dress (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Louet Gems in Burgundy and Old Gold

Needles: US1.5/2.5mm

Timeframe: November 28 - December 26, 2012

Mods: 2-color version, shorter and without bottom ribs due to lack of yarn.

Problems: None aside from lack of yarn and boneheaded needle choice.

A baby blanket:

For this blanket, my mom picked out a pattern for the blanket and I used stash yarn. I'm not too pleased with the softness factor and should have gone up a hook size or two to help with the softness/drape, but oh well, I wasn't about to rip it out and start back over when I realized!

Pattern: Baby's Best Bumpy Blanket (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Caron One Pound in Cream

Hook: USI/5.5mm

Timeframe: December 19 - 25, 2012

Mods: None.

Problems: None, unless you count wishing I'd used a different hook size.

I thought it looked a bit naked and unfinished without a border of some sort, so chose another stash yarn and searched through Ravelry and the internet at large for crochet borders.

Pattern: Lacy Vs Edging (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Caron One Pound in Leaf Green

Hook: USI/5.5mm
Timeframe: December 25, 2012
Mods: None, except that it's written explicitly for one blanket pattern and I used it on another, so my stitch counts were different.
Problems: None!

And a hat, but that one can't be shown off yet. I wanted to make bootees too, but I managed to get a cold that knocked me off my feet for a couple of days and didn't get there. Oh well, dress, blanket, and hat are still a good pile of gifts!

Blanket!

I realized the other day when updating The Score (after finishing my Brandywine Shawl) that I have not yet finished a project started before 2013 this year. There were only 3 projects from 2012 lingering on, and another 12 from earlier years that are still unfinished. Out of the 35 finished projects so far this year, they've all been started this year as well.

Luckily, when I picked up the Broomstick Lace Afghan I found that it was much closer to complete than I realized, and I had quite some time in cars and hanging out where I was able to finish it. It's the oldest yarn-based project I had, started back in 2007. All three of my non-Steotch-Along cross stitch projects are older, but I don't have any older knit or crochet projects.

Pattern: Broomstick Lace Afghan (mine)

Yarn: Caron One Pound, over two skeins!

Needle: US50/25mm

Hook: US/4.0mm

Timeframe: Summer/Fall 2007 - June 29, 2013

Mods: None!

Problems: None!

As I was taking these pictures, my little black cat decided to hide under the blanket-covered chair; she loves blanket forts:

Of course, she couldn't just enjoy the blanket on the chair, she had to help me out further by darting forward to get some action shots. Of the blanket.

I'm not sure blankets need action shots.

Apparently she and the other cat disagree. Now that my cream colored blanket is (again) covered in much darker cat hairs, I believe it is time to put it somewhere they can't get to it.

If you were wondering about the purple claws in Picture #3, we currently have Soft Claws on our cats. We're re-finishing the floors and wanted to see how they reacted to them, in case they end up scratching the floors. They adjusted to them very quickly, and really the most annoying thing is that they seem to shed claws much more quickly than the packaging would lead us to believe. That's why I didn't stop them when they were doing this:

Chasing Stripes Blanket

There were some more baby blankets made for the explosion of babies this year. One was a "Chasing Rainbows" blanket that I made with stripes instead of rainbow colors, so call it a "Chasing Stripes" blanket. I never got great pictures of it, but I did get at least one okay picture of the finished product:

Pattern: Chasing Rainbows (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Caron One Pound in Leaf Green and Ocean

Needles: US8/5.0mm, US10/6.0mm for the bindoff

Timeframe: September 2 - 25, 2013

Mods: Every 9th row was knit with the blue, every 10th row purled and rows 1 - 8 knit using green. The bindoff is a 3 stitch reverse (purled) I-cord and I think it works very well with the stripes!

Problems: I should have used a larger needle to get a looser gauge and less-scrunched blanket, but I don't think the baby will care!

This was, like the first two, made from stash yarn. One great thing about all of these babies is that I'm using up a lot of stash that isn't already earmarked for a specific project - not as much as I'd've liked this year, but a lot! I may make this blanket again using these mods and thinner yarn or bigger needles. I like how it turned out, but I'm not sure I love the final shape. It's interesting. That may be a good thing or a bad thing and I haven't decided which yet.

Lap Blanket

This one's been in the sidebar for awhile (and the post has been a draft for nearly as long at this point!). It's a test knit I did a couple of months ago, and is pretty cool. I used the nest o'yarn I showed off before as a bit of a spoiler. Regarding that nest of yarn - do NOT recycle a thrift store sweater and then try to wind it all around the niddy noddy. Not cool. Not easy to deal with later. It looked like Big Bird had been hanging out at our place, and left his nest by our bed.

This is an awesome blanket based on naturally occurring spirals. It's great for babies or for your lap. I keep the blanket at work for when it's cold. Here in Japan, all the women have blankets at their desks. They also always wear skirts, but it's amusing to me that it's totally acceptable for women to have blankets at their desks.

I love the clean edges next to the YOs. The decreases look marvelous, and the way the knitting swirls around - I'm looking at the blanket more than my work!  If you want an interesting lap blanket for the geek in your life (could be yourself even) or for the spawn of a geek in your life, I highly recommend this one.  Awesome, simple design, something you can get into the rhythm of and just go.  Fairly quick knit as well.  I didn't do the best job of blocking it into a circle.

Pattern: Helix (Ravelry)
Yarn: Recycled 100% wool sweater from GoodWill, nearly half.

Needles: US9/5.5 mm
Timeframe: January 1 - 31, 2009, one of the first projects of the new year.
Mods: None.  Test knit, so pattern had to be followed to a T.
Problems: Only user error in skipping a YO or K2tog in a couple places.  Fairly mindless pattern, but you still have to pay a little attention!  Stitch markers, they are useful here.

Ravelympics/Knitting Olympics

I have about seven unfinished posts languishing. I need to finish those and post them, but before I do, I shall attempt to blog progress for Knitting Olympics/Ravelympics daily. For anyone reading my blog but not in the know, you are supposed to set a challenge for yourself, begin when the Olympics begins, and end before the Olympics are over. For the Ravelympics, your challenge can be to finish things that have been languishing, rip out half-finished projects that you'll never complete, or even spin or dye yarn. For the Knitting Olympics, your goal is a challenging project (or multiple projects) that really stretch your skills as a knitter, whether in pattern difficulty, size, a new technique, or any combination of the above. I bought yarn for a couple of queen sized blankets in Tokyo, which need to be finished by August, so I'm using one of those as my Olympic project.

For these projects, on Ravelry there are different categories or events to "compete" in. I'm making a blanket and designing it from start to finish, so I'm in the designer's biathlon and the slalomghan, and the blanket will include colorwork, so it's in the Nordic colorwork challenge as well. The designers biathlon is making a project, from swatch to pattern, in the Olympic timeframe. This is a fairly large undertaking, as it's only a gold medal finish if you have the pattern up for free or sale through Ravelry by the end of the Olympics, which means pattern designed, sample knit, pattern written up, layout finished, pictures taken, and all of it packaged up nicely in a pdf. I figure that since it's a blanket that I'm designing, I may as well get the pattern written up and on Ravelry as well.

The Yarn

Due to time zone differences, the Olympics started at 11 am on Saturday here, so I had the local knitters who are participating in the Ravelympics over. We tried to watch the Opening Ceremonies, but it wouldn't stream, rolled some sushi for lunch, watched Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and spent a very long time knitting. I got an initial 10" block done, bound off, and now it's drying so I can figure out if if changes much with washing. I also learned that I'll want a fairly stretchy bindoff for this one; the k2tog bindoff is way too tight and doesn't allow the edges of the square to stretch out to the full 10".

Non-stretchy Bind Off

Today, Day 2, I should be finishing the square (if it dries) and finishing the pattern for the other 8 squares. The blanket will be a queen sized blanket of 9 squares, 8 patterned (the same pattern) and one plain square to make a Sierpinski Carpet. Once I've got the easy one color square done, I'll be able to finalize the design for the 2-color ones and get started on those. I need to do more than half a square per weekday and at minimum one square per weekend day to make it. This will certainly be a challenge, but that is what I signed up for!

Clapotis KAL

Last month I defended my dissertation. In thanks to my committee, I knit them all a Clapotis, five scarves in five different colors, and with the leftovers, I made myself a dissertation blanket. I wasn't sure I'd get it all done in time, but between dissertation delays, conference knitting, and a final KAL, I got the scarves done and enough of the blanket done for a picture.

Pattern: Clapotis (Ravelry mine 2 3 4 5)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Paints in Sunset, Peacock Feather, Spring Brook, Rose Garden, and Oceana

Needles: US8/5.0 mm

Timeframe: January 9 - June 9, 2016

Mods: None!

Problems: None!

For the blanket, the stripe order was decided by how much yarn I had left of each. I wanted to be able to continue until I was out of yarn, even if that meant doing a partial repeat of the colors. I do wish the blanket were a bit longer, but it's a good lap blanket (cat approved!) and will probably stretch out with use. 

Pattern: Eco Throw (Ravelry mine)

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Paints in Sunset, Peacock Feather, Spring Brook, Rose Garden, and Oceana and Caron Simply Soft in Black

Hook: USI/5.5 mm

Timeframe: June 8 - July 18, 2016

Mods: Worked until the colors were gone, used six colors not three.

Problems: None!

FOs to Show

Here are some of my latest FOs.

I did finish the Thujas today, so they are done and ready to be wrapped for Christmas. The variation really isn't much, so I'm going to deal with it.

They were done in Caron Simply Soft Shadows, for ease of care later, softness, interesting colors, and niceness to my wallet.


I've been cooking a LOT these past couple of weeks. Every meal. I made amazing crepes, if I do say so myself. This right here is one of my two FOs for the day food-wise. I made Focaccia bread to go with the stuffed shells I made to use up some of the pasta sauce I made yesterday. I really made the bread because I'm making Garbage Bread on Tuesday, and won't have time to make the dough so made it today. It uses pizza dough, then you sprinkle on garlic salt and oregano and basil, cover with mozzarella and pepperonis, roll it into a loaf, cut vents in the top, then bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until it's all nice nd golden brown. Anyway, the bread is noteworthy though, because it tastes exactly like Goldfish crackers. Not lying here. Exactly. I made the bread the way it is listed in Joy of Cooking, 75th anniversary edition, by making pizza dough, not rolling it out all the way, drizzling it with olive oil, and adding toppings. The toppings were Parmesan cheese, a sprinkle of garlic salt, and a dash of oregano. Just enough garlic salt and oregano to be tasted in every bite, not enough to overwhelm. I usually take an engineering approach to my cooking and measure it all exactly, but I didn't this time. Apparently it makes bread that tastes like Goldfish. Who knew?

These are a test knit for Gardiner Yarn Works, Seeded Rib Wristwarmers. I used up the leftover yarn from the Hemlock Ring Blanket (next) and man, they are nice! We've had a cold snap, and they've been warm and comfy. Lee said it looks like the knitting is taking over, as I was wearing a knit cardigan (bought, not made), these, and a scarf.

Yarn is Vanna's Choice in Chocolate, took a bit more than half a skein for the pair. I weighed them at work so I can use other leftover yarns if I had enough, and they are about 28 grams apiece, so a little more than half of the 100g skein.

This is the Hemlock Ring blanket. It's for my grandfather as a recover quickly present for his hip surgery. He's good now, and I do believe he has the blanket, though I haven't called to confirm. That's my official blocking blanket for anything that is too large for the board, not my bedspread or anything. The bedspread is zebra printed!

This took just over three skeins of Vanna's Choice 100% acrylic in Chocolate. Again, the acrylic was for ease of use and lack of strain on my wallet. $10 for a whole lap blanket and a pair of wristwarmers? Count me in! I didn't quite block it well enough. I did the steam thing after washing it and letting it air dry for awhile, but I think it was still wet enough that I didn't allow the steam to penetrate enough. I tried the hold the iron less than an inch above the surface, but it didn't work too well. Next I'll try the cotton sheet version, and see if it works better. Damn acrylic.

Blocking, Part I or I Knit an Amoeba!

When you finish knitting lace or Fair Isle knitting, chances are your knits will look more like an amoeba or other strange creature than what you were intending. It has nothing to do with knitting skill, it's just how it goes. So, I finished a few amoeba-like projects and decided it was time to get the blocking blanket out. I have a blocking board, but it's in storage at home since I wasn't sure I'd have a spot to put it. My blocking blanket is a large rectangle of leftover leopard print fleece my grandmother gave me as a blanket, since she had no idea what she originally bought it for. Her sewing room is FULL of fabrics bought for never-made projects, fabrics that were on sale and pretty, and leftovers from projects. A lot like most knitter's yarn bins. So she's been slowly cleaning it out, going down and organizing, removing bolts every so often, using scraps for pillows and mending, and I've got me a soft, nice leopard print fleece that's awesome for blocking on. I unfolded the blanket and placed it on the floor in blocking preparation. Lee took one look and said "This means there will be pelts all over the floor for days, doesn't it?" He thinks all of my blocking pieces look like pelts when they're pinned out and drying.

So, I have the blanket out, and now, for the amoebas!

Jellyfish, or Hemlock Ring?

Arrow pointing the way to knitting lessons, or Mystery Stole 3, a.k.a. Swan Lake?

Argyle socks with ghost/alien blobs, or Aaargh-yles?

These will be washed, stretched to within an inch of their miserable yarn-y lives, and once they are dry, should look like something to be proud of! Though the socks really don't look that bad.

Also, if I commented on anything in the past couple of hours, and my posts are not coherent, I have had three glasses of champagne and a large glass of Jack and coke this evening. Yes, the majority of this post was written a few days ago, when I had the camera out and took pictures and uploaded them, and so is mostly coherent. I think. I still have a couple of pre-written posts, but since I can't seem to sit at a computer long enough to check my e-mail, let alone post, I am spacing them out. So for you, my two readers, you get posts, and you even get posts with pictures, yay!

Hemlock Ring from Way Back

Along with that Blocking Part III post, I never did a final post for the other two projects that I blocked in that session. I never even took better pictures of them after blocking! To rectify that, here's an FO post and usage recap for the Hemlock Ring.

It's made from acrylic, so it was never going to keep its shape well since I didn't melt it into place well enough. I left this one with my mom and it's a lap blanket kept on the couch and I believe mostly used by the dogs at this point. Being in Japan, I can't get a better picture of it, but that's all right. My grandfather absolutely loves his, the first one I made, and keeps it by his chair in the winter for constant use. It's always gratifying when the objects you make are actually used by the people you make them for. I'd love to knit my grandfather a sweater, I just need to make the sweaters I have stash for first and get a bit better at understanding shaping and construction. The blanket:

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket (Rav)
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice, 4 skeins of Taupe

Needles: US10/6.0mm
Timeframe: November 2007 - January 2008
Mods: None

I really liked this yarn for an acrylic and would use it again anywhere that shaping or holding its shape (like lace) wasn't an issue. A plain blanket, a stockinette sweater, a scarf, they would all be great in this yarn if you wanted an easy care, low-cost acrylic. Not the best for this pattern though and I would definitely recommend wool if you're thinking of knitting it!

Blanket of Awesome

This blanket has got to be the hardest, most rewarding piece I've ever made and gifted. Possibly second to the Sierpinski Carpet blanket, but they're close.  It's lovely, awesome, amazing, took ever-so-many hours and then some, and came out absolutely gorgeous.  I will likely make another one for one other friend's wedding, if she gets married someday, and may someday make one for me as well.  I loved the yarn I used, however, and getting more of that, especially at the price I got it at, would be difficult.  This is one yarn that, if I do manage to find it again, would buy 120 more skeins in a heartbeat for two more blankets.  This was the absolute perfect marriage of yarn and pattern, and for the amount of yarn required, highly inexpensive!

This was for a friend's wedding in August (of 2009). I spent most of my vacation in July and a good portion of the first part of my travels in the US working on it.  The edging took a heck of a lot more time than I'd've thought, considering how long everything else took!  It may have also been because I'd seamed all the blocked panels and was thoroughly finished with working on the huge, warm pile of wool in my lap in August, and so was slower than I could/should have been.

I cannot describe my love for this yarn enough.  It is so warm but light and gives great cable definition with a soft halo from the cashmere content, it is thin yet does what it needs to, and is just perfect all around.  This amazing wool/cashmere yarn was on sale when I got it for a mere $2/skein.  Yes, $2/skein at a New Year's sale in Tokyo.  Well, $20 for a bag of 10 skeins.  I estimated 60 skeins for the project, and used 54, absolutely perfect.  Had I realized how amazing this stuff was, yes, I would have spend $500 right then and there and gotten enough for two blankets in white and one in charcoal, probably, and maybe even an extra blanket's worth, just in case.

Pattern: Burridge Lake Aran Afghan (Rav)
Yarn: Cashmere Wool Nature, 53.5 skeins

Needles: US7/4.5mm
Timeframe: February 1 - August 15, 2010
Mods: Some.  I wanted a queen-sized bedspread, so I lengthened the panels (22 repeats for Panel B and 33 for the side panels).  I also designed additional panels to complete the bedspread, which I am planning to write up nicely and offer for anyone else who wants to do the same.  I think the new panels complement the rest of the amazing design well.

Love, love, love the way this turned out.  Absolutely love it.

Biscuit Blanket (with Bread) and a Topflappen

I made this awhile back, for a Thanksgiving party, and never actually photographed it in use. It's much prettier when used rather than lying flat like a sad little blanket. I had a housewarming party to go to and decided to make a walnut bread (Joy of Cooking's Nut Bread) and this was the perfect way to transport it. I even managed to remember to take pictures of it before I left!

Pattern: Biscuit Blanket (Ravelry)

Yarn: Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Naturals

Needles: US7/4.5mm

Timeframe: November 8 - December 12, 2010

Mods: None - nice pattern!

Problems: None!

 

In addition to finally photographing the Biscuit Blanket, I made a potholder (Topflappen in German) as a housewarming gift. Originally, I had wanted to do two, using the same colors but switching the main and contrast colors,  but ran out of time when I had one center bit of each color done. They are small and quick projects, but very few projects are small and quick enough to start the project, experiment with it, rip one mostly-finished center, and then re-do on the same day, especially with the number of times I had to rip back because I missed an increase on the row below or somesuch. I don't crochet all that often. I will be making a few of these for Christmas, so it was a good excuse to test out the pattern and use up some available yarn. When friends left Japan this past summer, I was given a pile of yarn including a bunch of DMC Senso. I haven't put it into my stash because some are partially used and they have large cardboard bobbins in the middle making it difficult to weigh how much yarn there is, but they are great for potholders! I did a bit of Facebook snooping to see what colors could match my friend's kitchen, and upon finding a couple of kitchen implements in lime green, decided that of my available colors, orange and green should work:

Pattern: Gehaekelte Topflappen (Rav)
Yarn: DMC Senso Microfiber Cotton

Hook: 3.25mm/USD
Timeframe: September 3, 2011.
Mods: I made a 14 petal flower and went around the center with the contrast color too.
Problems: Not really problems so much as figuring out which translations/modifications I wanted to use! Final pattern I used is here.

WIP Update

WIPs, let me show you them!


First off, we have the blanket I've been working on for AGES, finished up to 60%, then ripped back to get a better product.  Points for integrity, but probably not enough to compensate for the lateness.  Ah well, this is an awesome project and is coming out very, very well.  Look at those floats!  And those intarsia joins!  Of course, not amazing, but pretty gosh darn great if I do say so myself.

I am going to finish this off with an applied I-cord edging and cover the back with some gray fleece.  I think I will attempt to attach the fleece with the applied I-cord somehow.  I may do some other kind of edging, to make the fleece attachment easier, something like a crocheted edge or something, but I've been leaning toward a six stitch I-cord the whole time and still think that sounds pretty good.  Any ideas on how to attach the fleece?  I think I may baste the edges with long stitches, and pick up stitches through those with the I-cord to attach it.  Or something.  Holes in the fleece?  Something other than I-cord?  Since everything else about this blanket has been wrong from the get-go, I'll probably end up doing something other than I-cord, but not until I've at least tried the I-cord.  Hopefully before failing miserably and ruining the fleece such that I'll have to buy a whole new piece.  Do they even come in queen-sized blanket from fabric stores?  Will I have to sew smaller pieces together?

That's my big at-home, watching movies, winding down after dinner project.  Of course, I have some other projects going as well.  I've got Rhiannon on the needles for my traveling sock project, though when the first one is finished I'll probably switch to some Christmas presents like a scarf or pair of socks rather than jumping in to the next one.  Yes, another WIP going into UFO status, but I won't be wearing these anytime soon so I may as well get working on other things!  I'm down to 12, yes, 12! WIPs, so I don't feel too bad about letting another one languish.  Wait, isn't that how the insane numbers start?

I'm also using a cross stitch to break up the monotony of the huge blanket.  Still the ornaments.  Three 100% stitching complete, six needing backstitching and other details, three others started.  Once I finish those I'll pull out the Art of Disney Mickey and the Fireman (scroll down for project pictures) again, but I think I can finish the ornaments faster than that, so ornaments first!

All of the other projects that show up in the sidebar as in progress are really more in hibernation.  Nothing else is really at a state of more progress than it had been last time it was seen.  I am kind of getting itchy for a quick finish though.  Funny how when that happens I cast on about a bajillion things, thinking that this one MUST be faster than the last one I started thinking it would be quick.  I went through all of my sewing fabrics the other day, and the only thing that stayed my hand was that the winter and traveling bumped me up into a higher size than my easy patterns.  At least I've got some really long cycling vacations planned soon!