Bloosgrl’s Weblog

Okay, I just really love Chinchilla yarn for scarves!  It’s so soft, which makes it perfect for the tender skin on your neck.  Plus, it drapes very nicely. 

Pattern: Keyhole Scarflet

Modifications:  I knitted this one in garter instead of stockinette.  I liked the garter stitch better for two reasons.  One, it didn’t curl at all.  Two, in stockinette, you can’t tell the difference between the wrong side and right side, which made it hard to know if I was on a K row or a P row.  The yarn is too shaggy for that.

My next experiment with this yarn will be this scarf.

Oh, I was so excited last night because I thought I had finished the hood for DD#1’s Wallaby.  Wouldn’t ya know?  The pattern says to knit 9 inches of length for the hood.  I had my daughter try it on today and it still needs another 3 inches before it will fit her head.  It would have to hurl one final insult at me before I finish.

Woeful Wallaby just may become wonderful again due to a little help from my friend and some great advice from EZ.  I’m already a few inches into the hood.  DD#1 is so excited!  I will post when I am done with details on how to finish this sweater from joining the sleeves on.

DD#2 has now asked for a similar sweater-”without the hood”.  I was tempted to say no, but I couldn’t do it looking into that sweet little face.  Besides, I think I will buy the yarn, measure her, swatch for gauge and then cast on for and EZ Percentage Sweater.  I can keep the Kangaroo Pouch Pocket instructions and burn the rest of the pattern!  I’m just so glad to have figured out this pattern.  When I ran into trouble, I was afraid that it would sit unfinished for a long time.  An additional month to complete it isn’t too bad all things considered.

I can’t believe how quickly Mr. Greenjeans knits up!  It seems so easy compared to the Woeful Wallaby!  I wish it had been my first sweater.  My guess is that I will finish by the end of next week and I’ve probably not spent more time on it that an hour a day and probably more like 15 minutes a day.  I’m about four inches into the rib and cable, and thinking that 12 inches will be a little long for me.  BTW, that is not me modeling for the picture, it is DD#1, so 12 inches is definitely too long for her.

I don’t know why I chose now to knit these socks.  After all, I won’t really be able to enjoy them until next summer, when the cable and lace pattern will be more appropriate.  I guess I just had the right yarn and felt like my skills had progressed enough that I was ready.  Anyhow, here are pictures of my progress:

Here’s the cabled heel flap.  I love the way it looks, but will have to wait until I’ve finished to decide if I like how it fits.  It’s certainly not thick and tight like a standard slip stitch heel.

And here is a picture of what little I have done of the front.  I love the color of the yarn.  The pictures don’t show off the subtle color changes I got when I dyed it.  My first Kool Aid dyeing experience so I can only give credit for the great colors to chance!

I have finished the Garterlac Dishcloth.  It was a fun and interesting knit!  My best advice is to trust the pattern.  There were a couple of places where it looked like I might be knitting the wrong direction and I really wasn’t.  The SKPs and K2togs do not leave for a very smooth finished product.  I had several gaps and big knots in it. I’m not sure if wool instead of cotton would help.  I do think smaller needles would have been an improvement. I used a size 10.

On the Wonderful Wallaby, I finally sucked it up and undid it down to where the sleeves join the body and began the yoke again.  After consulting Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman, and The Knitter’s Book of Handy Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd, I decided to leave the same number of corresponding stitches from the body on stitch holders as I did for the sleeves.  The Wonderful Wallaby pattern only has you leave 8 stitches from each sleeve on stitch holders and I was NOT looking forward to doing that again.  It just makes it too tight to knit around and killed my hands and my wrists.  Now I can say that part is not necessary.  Leave the same number of corresponding stitches on stitch holders for the body as the sleeves for each sleeve and it is so much less tighter.  You can always go back and close up by grafting or three needle bind-off, so the extra stitches are no big deal in my opinion. 

Today, I started tinking the Wonderful Wallaby back to where I joined the sleeves to the body.  It makes me want to break fragile items!  I did see a news story about that once.  People who would buy various breakable items like dishes and throw them against the side of their houses to deal with their anger.  I think I would be angrier afterward at having to deal with the mess!

In the midst of this frustration, I’ve had some great successes, too.  A couple of days ago, I finished the Faithful Companion Headband.  I made it from some leftover Panda Cotton in Strawberries and Limes.  I was a little worried when it was done, because it looked so teeny.  Turns out that it’s very stretchy and stays in place!