I <3 Knit Fix

Gotta say that my new copy of Knit Fix: Problem Solving for Knitters is frakkin' AWESOME! Stupidly, I sat down an hour ago after a rather brain frying work day to start the cables of Saffron Cables. First row seemingly went ok. That is, until I was 3 stitches off on one of the charts which I found AFTER I started the second row. Sat down with my trusty new book, and it walked me through unpicking and reknitting cables without having to rip out hundreds of stitches. Where was this book when I started knitting again last year, and how did I go so long without it?

One Measly Row

That's all I knitted last night. One measly row of the Saffron Cables afghan. Took me an hour to finish, too. Granted, it was the increase row to setup the cable section so I don't feel like I did so bad while watching an episode of Nip/Tuck. After being accustomed to charts and straight forward sock instructions, the written directions were a bit challenging for me to follow. Though, I can't really say I've ever been one to follow written directions... I did get the setup row finished correctly the first time, so I should start on some chart work tonight!

Seedy Knitting

Seed stitch knitting that is. A decent chunk of the weekend was spent knee deep k1 p1 working on the border for the Saffron Cables afghan. Many hours and almose a full skein of yarn went into this 2.5" of seed stitch. I wonder if I'll have enough yarn as the pattern states that it should be 48 inches across, but mine is in the ballpark of 64 inches. Big warm blankie!!

Up close and personal with the Saffron Cables progress



To paraphrase the Cookie Monster, "B is for blanket and that's good enough for me!"

Saturday night, I finished up my covert knitting project. I'm really pleased with the results and took some pictures which I'll share after it's sent to its recipient. I want to order much more Gloss yarn from Knitpicks and work up some Christmas knitting projects :)

Covert Knitting

Sorry for the radio silence. My main project on the needles is for a secret online knitted item exchange. I can show you this much...



The color came out all wrong in the picture; it's really a deep burgundy color. I'm really pleased with how its turning out. I'll post better pics after I sent the surprise

I cast on the Saffron Cables afghan this week, too. 227 stitches crammed onto 60 inch circulars. This is going to be one massive, warm blanket :D

Finished!

YEAH!

Just kitchenered the second Hub Sock, whew! I learned quite a lot with these. One, don't change the brand of needles from one sock to the next. The change from Crystal Palace US1's to Clover US1's was the difference of about an inch in circumference. So, he has one sock that fits and another that's a bit baggy. I told Hubs that his next pair will fit much better :) Second lesson learned, plain stockinette feet take much fewer stitches than ribbed stitch ones. Hence, the horrible bagginess on the first sock. Third lesson, when making socks for size 13 feet, use long needles to keep stitches from falling off.

Project Stats
Pattern: Slipped Rib Stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Knitpicks Essential, used 2 and a half skeins
Needles: Crystal Palace and Clover bamboo DPNs


Hubs posing his new socks, never mind the dog fur tumbleweeds in the background :)

From the Depths of the UFO Pile

I give you...

Hub Sock 2.0!

Over the holiday weekend, I dug Hub's second sock out of the long forgotten project pile and continued knitting it. I managed to finish the cuff, heel, and heel turn. The heel saw some KIP action Saturday night at Symphony on the Prairie. We arrived roughly an hour before the River City Band took the stage - primo knitting time! The weather was gorgeous, so I knitted on into the performance until it got too dark to see the grey stitches.

Last night, I started swatching the Knitpick's Gloss yarn for a project I'm cooking up for an online swap. It's wonderful - nice stitch definition, beautiful silky sheen, buttery soft, and not in the least bit splitty.

Whew

It's done. Finito. Completed. Stick a fork in it.

Completed Kimono Shawl/Baptism Blanket

Today was blocking day. I was surprised that it took four rinses to get all the gunk and dirt out of the finished item. I always knitted it with freshly washed hands, just goes to show you how easily white yarn picks up stuff.


Blocking in Progress

Blocking made this much, much larger than I anticipated. It's now 51 inches in height and 42 inches in width. I had to move furniture to make room in the spare bedroom for blocking.


Close-up on Bedspread



Close-up on Couch

Project Details
Pattern: Kimono Shawl from Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle, 15 pattern repeats across
Needles: US 6 Crystal Palace Bamboo Circulars
Yarn: Skacel Merino Laceweight
Project Duration: June 16, 2006 - September 4, 2006 (only project going!!)
Blocked Size: 42" by 51"



On Bed Angle

Project Thoughts
Oy! Really, it was easy sailing on this project up until I screwed up its first bind-off. What better way to learn to bind lace off l-o-o-s-e-l-y than have to fix your first attempt for a week? This was my first lace project using lace weight yarn. Another lesson learned being that Crystal Palace circulars are just not a good fit for lace weight yarn. The stitches kept catching on the joins which drove me bonkers! Oh, another lesson learned, I need to buy a blocking board. I was scrunched down on my hands and knees blocking this for quite awhile.


Wide Expanse of Lace

Patience of a Saint

Oh, not me - I definitely don't have that much patience. Hubs does for putting up with me this past week madly attempting to salvage two months of lace knitting. As much as Kris has been patient with me, it now doesn't hold a candle to Bandit's patience level with me.

"Mommy, I am NOT a knitwear model!"

Behold, Bandit swaddled in the salvaged and finished Kimono Shawl/Baptism Blanket/My Bane of the Last week. As of late last night, I finally had all 167 stitches back on the needles after picking up insane amounts of dropped stitches. I did the last of the stitch fixes tonight, and bound off. The trick to binding off lace loosely enough is to use a broomhandle sized knitting needle for the bind off - this project used a US 6 and I used a US10.5 for binding off. It isn't a trapezoid this time!! *insert a little happy dance here*

Blocking tomorrow, so I'll post better pics and a project synopsis then!


Bandit better be glad I'm not having him model sweaters...yet :)