Archives for January 2013

I forgot to mention in my last post — the Silk Garden did soften up quite a bit when I washed and blocked the Cornerstone Blanket.

I am going to knit a wee blanket for Lucy, but am planning to use Noro Kureyon instead of Silk Garden. I think Lucy appreciates 100% wool more than silk/mohair/wool blend.

But right now I’m working on something else:

This is the start of a cardigan being knit from Shalimar Missy Bulky in the “Bluecrop” colorway. I’m using a U.S. size 9 needle and am getting 3.5 stitches to the inch in stockinette stitch. That’s the back I’m working on now, with a double cable motif going up the center.

The color in the first photo is more accurate.

The back is close to being done — I ought to be able to finish it today.

Particularly if Lucy continues to help.

My Cornerstone Blanket is complete!

I finished knitting the “body” of it late Sunday night and did  few inches of i-cord. I used the same size needle on the i-cord edging as I did for the body of the blanket, but I thought the edging looked just a little too tight.

Happily, Monday was a federal holiday, so no work for me. I picked up the blanket to review the i-cord edging . I decided to rip out what I had done and go up a needle size: to a U.S. size 7.

I’m glad I did — the i-cord knit with the size 7 needle seems perfect.

Several hours and several DVR-ed tv shows later, I had this:

That’s the blanket unblocked. Here is is being blocked:

I did not bother to pin it out, just carefully straightened the edges and left it to dry.

I’m very pleased with my completed blanket. After blocking (during which I did not stretch it at all) the completed blanket is 46″ by 69″ — a nice size to use as a throw.

I was also very happy knitting this blanket. It was an entertaining project from start to finish. I usually get a bit bored with a project towards the end of the knitting, but this kept me happy and engaged all the way through. I think that’s because I kept alternating techniques between mitered squares and a garter stitch border in the round. And as soon as I had enough squares completed, I joined them together. Then at the end? Applied i-cord! There’s a lot of variety in this project.

Now I’m thinking about knitting a wee blanket using the same techniques for Lucy.

Here is the completed fifth square of my Cornerstone Blanket:

This is the square with the largest center and very little border.

I started Square F, the last one, on Friday, and here it is in progress:

I hava a fair bit of knitting to do on this, but I may finish it today. Then all that remains is attaching these last two squares and the i-cord edging. I’ve decided to do the edging in the blue colorway. That’ll give it a nice pop of color!

Lucy sez:

“It’s the weekend! Kick back!”

Just popping in to report that Square D is done!

Not only is Square D done, but I have joined Square C to D, and then joined the two completed blanket strips. So here are four squares joined together:

At the center where the four squares meet, I picked up a couple of extra stitches on each strip to join via the three-needle bind-off. There was a bit of a gap there because of seam between the two squares.

Alternatively, I could have carefully sewn up the little hole that was in the center, but picking up and binding off the extra stitches worked nicely. I plan to pick up an extra stitch or two at each seam end as I do the i-cord edging around the outer edge of the blanket.

American Lamb

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for the skein of lovely American Lamb yarn. The Random Number Generator chose Amy as the winner. Amy has been emailed. (Oh, and click on the link above to visit Amy’s blog — lovely knitting and some very cute kitties!)

Lucy

That is indeed a Thirty-One tote that Lucy was sporting in my last blog entry. My buddy L-B gave me the tote a couple of months ago and it makes a fantastic knitting bag. And from the moment I brought it home, Lucy has been obsessed with it.

Today, I have a somewhat shocking photo to post:

Headless Lucy!!

I completed Square C of my Cornerstone Blanket at the end of last week:

I’m working on Square D now, the 4th of 6 squares.

Thanks to everyone (including Cornerstone Blanket designer Kay) who weighed in on the softness of Silk Garden post-washing in the comments. Apparently it does soften up quite a bit after washing. Go figure! I’m happy to hear this, and I’m very much looking forward to washing and blocking my blanket to see how it is transformed.

New Yarn!

A new yarn was brought to my attention: American Lamb, by Made in America Yarns. (Read more about the company here.)

American Lamb is a bulky weight 100% lambswool. It has 146 yards per 3.5 oz skein. It’s lovely and soft and would be great for whipping up a big cozy scarf or a fast hat.Pictured above, the “Blue Moon” colorway on top, and the “Fog” colorway on the bottom

Extreme yarn close-up:

The company very nicely sent me two skeins to try out. I’m going to keep one and knit a fast hat from it, and give away the other. I’m keeping Blue Moon and am offering Fog (a great color for a guy hat!) in a giveaway.

If you’d like to win my skein of American Lamb bulky wool in the “Fog” colorway, leave a comment on this blog post by noon Eastern time on Wednesday, January 16, 2013. A name will be drawn at random to give away the skein.

Lucy

I took this photo with my phone the other night. Not the greatest quality picture, but too cute not to share:

Lucy-in-the-box!