Can't Stop Progress!

I still don't get the whole photography thing... one day I get great photos, so I think "oh, I found the right settings"... then the next day it looks like total krap.

Anyway, my Mondo Cable Cardi is progressing very quickly with the body just about done. Just a few more inches, then I'll do the collar. Then the sleeves. I'm very glad I chose this yarn, as it's nice and drapey (important with A line shaping). Plus so soft and comfy. I'm looking forward to casting the bottom off so I can actually see what it's going to look like on my figure.

Meanwhile, I am also progessing very quickly on the Kool Kardi:


The first sleeve is done and attached to the body and I'm well into the second sleeve. (and the coffee cup say "Luck Off, I'm knitting"... ya that's it. As I'm way too lady-like to have a coffee cup that says what you think it says... heehee).

I'm on a definite Chicknits kick again (I find her designs very "knittable" with the added bonus of being very wearable... which is why the Kool Kardi is #4 on the Ribby Cardi/Pulli line for me). I've already downloaded Miss BB and have the Black Water Abbey yarn ready to go. Need to finish either of the two projects shown here or Patrick (which is also progressing... but not really photo level progressing, as the front looks EXACTLY like the back so far).

Okay... an other cup of coffee, then the decision on which project to work on. Hmmm, I might shower at some point, too.

4/6 Cables

Movin' right along! Just finished the 4th cable row (there's a total of 6) and the A-line shaping has been started. Fingers crossed this will not look hideous on me!

You know a project is going well...

when you update photos daily!

I've divided for the sleeves and have 3 of the cables done (out of 6 total!). It actually looks like a sweater now! I hope to get to the A-line increases today?

It IS Mondo!

My Mondo Cable Cardi is just two rows short of dividing for the armholes. Wow... that was fast. Let's hope the rest of it goes so quickly!

It's a little difficult to get a feel for the cables with it all bunched up on the needles, but so far, I'm very very happy with how it's coming out (love this yarn). I'm hoping that this looks good on me, as I already have an other yarn I would like to use to make an other....

A Tale of Two Patricks

Patrick the Second is progressing well. I have the back completed (notice the lack of any armscye) and the front is cast on.

However, friends of ours completed their Patrick:


This is the Baby Granny I made with Patrick and new mom Chrissy. I'm not sure how much he'll get to use the blanket anytime soon thanks to the heat and humidity. The kid has been blessed with a great gene pool and some of the most grounded people I've ever met as parents.

Meanwhile... I've been sucked into a new project:


Bonne Marie over at Chicknits has an other lovely new pattern. The Mondo Cable Cardi. While I normally avoid A-line shaping, I think I can wear this (the key is that it's a cardigan and "hangs open"... I know I can't wear the pullover). I think it's going to be a great comfy cardigan.

I'm using one of my fave yarns: Moda Dea Silk n Wool in aquatic. Which took some to decide even with Matt's input. Both the yarn and the pattern met with his approval (heehee). I've already knit one skein, so it's going quickly (love the whole top down construction!).

Must get Monday Morning Chores done... then back to ye ol' knittin' needles!

Back to Knitting

Thanks to everyone that left me comments about My Granny Is Scrappy Afghan. It was definitely a fun project... and you know there will be more grannies in my future.

However, I'm back to the knitting thing. Matt's new & improved Patrick is progressing very quickly:

The arty shot of Patrick the 2nd
The advantage of doing a project for the second time? I don't have to learn the pattern stitch... already know it! So the pattern is purely for cast on numbers.

The techincal shot of the pattern stitch

I've also been working on a cardigan for me:

The Kool Kardi
The pattern is Chic Knits Ribby Pulli, but I've cardiganized it (I didn't use the Ribby Cardi pattern, as the gauge suited the yarn better for the Pulli, and the pattern is written to be worked as one piece.)

The hand dyed yarn shot of the Kool Kardi
The yarn is Knitpicks Bare Worsted that I hand dyed with Kool Aid and Egg Dye. In my fave colors of greens. Yum. The body is at the armholes, and I've cast on the first sleeve. I've been working on this as my breakfast project, so it's not going to be done as quickly as if I were working on it full time (it might get bumped to main project as I progress... as I'm really looking forward to wearing it this fall!).

One of these days I need to do a project clean up. I have a bunch of projects started that I just will never finish (for various reasons). Maybe that will be next year's goal... if I can reach this year's, of couse!

My Granny Is Scrappy

With plenty of white yarn to finish the simple border, the granny afghan is complete. Let's do some project details, shall we?

Pattern: basic 4 round granny square

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby in 8 colors, plus white

Hook: G/6.0mm

Specifics: Each square is 3 rounds of random colors with the 4th round done in white. There's 15 rows of 20 blocks for a total of 300 squares. The border is just one round of crab stitch (reverse single crochet).

Overall impressions: This is one of my favorite baby yarns, so when they expanded the color palette with some brighter colors, I thought this would be perfect. It is. The afghan is a nice size, the dk weight is light and the baby yarn is nice and soft. I did no formal planning on colors or layout... tried to not put too similar colors near each other, but didn't kill myself. I can't say enough how thrilled I am.


My only complaint: it did sort of suck a lot of time, making my goal of 24 finished projects for 2009 waaaay behind schedule. I might have to re-evaluate the sock thing...

Who Chose This Hobby?

Gena can't wait for me to finish
For me, the hardest part of knitting and crocheting is counting. Quite simply, I suck at counting (however, I can alphabetize in my sleep... go figure). I was down to the last strip for my afghan.

299 squares.

How did that happen? Did I lose one (possibly... they did get moved around a bit). Can I not count to 300? (most likely).

Anyway, one more quick block and the final strip is sewn up. It just needs to be attached to the main blanket... then a quick border (as I don't have a lot of white left) and then I can get back to some sweater knitting.

One Month Later

The granny afghan is still the main focus, with 2/3 of it sewn up. I started this afghan July 13 and worked almost exclusively on it for the past month (emphaisis on "almost" there).

I should have it finished in a few days... maybe even by the end of the weekend? I think it will come down to how big of a border I want to put on (and that might be dependant on how much yarn I have).

I was asked in my comments if I was following a plan for sewing up the blocks... and just like the color combos on the individual blocks, I'll say "sorta". I'm trying to not put too similar of blocks together, but I'm not killing myself on it. I'm stacking twenty blocks, then sewing the strip to the rest of the afghan. Each strip I'm careful to balance out the blocks, then I try to find the best match to the afghan. Sometimes I have no choice but to have two blocks similar next to each other. I simply don't care enough to rip and move. Overall, it won't really be noticable, and since it is a "scrap" afghan, it just doesn't bother me. Much.

The yarn arrived for my hexagon afghan, and I'm trying very hard to not start that until this one is done (and I have also been working on Matt's new Patrick sweater... it's a nice break from sewing to get a little knitting in too).

Okay, off to sew up a strip of granny squares.

Hot + Humid = Wool Sweater

So it's the hottest it's been this year with high humidity. Let's go over what I'm working on:


I'm sewing afghan blocks together... 'cause there's nothing like a lap full of afghan squares on a hot and humid day.

Oh, and since it's so nice and hot and humid, let's cast on a wool sweater for Matt:


Ya, not even CLOSE on color to say the least. The yarn is indescribable. Brown, khaki green heather? With some hints of gold? I don't know... but it's frickin' stunning. The pattern is my nine millionth attempt at Patrick. I've tried this sweater with several different yarns, and even finished a disaster version.

The finished one ended up being a "test knit"... there's several problems with it. Some my fault and some the pattern's fault. The Beaverslide Fisherman weight is way too heavy to knit at this gauge, and the sweater is stiff as a board (soft and lovely, but it stands up by itself). Wrong yarn/pattern combo. The pattern... well, I've used Black Purl patterns before... they aren't proofed. They are full of errors, which I can get around. However, this one has a serious issue for my husband. All sizes use the same sleeve. So if you are making the 40" or the 52", all sleeves are 19" wide. Matt's biceps measure 13"... that's a lot of extra fabric for his small frame. Not a good look. So that means I'll make some sleeve adjustments (I'll probably do about 16-17" sleeves. I also will probably drop the semi-insert just in case I need to adjust that sleeve width and just do a traditional dropped sleeve.

Let me say... when in doubt, use Cascade 220. It truely is the workhorse of wool yarns. Great to knit with. Fabo colors (did I mention how frickin' stunning this color is?). Super stitch definition. Doesn't pill. It's soft enough that even Matt will wear it. Why did I even try a different yarn for this pattern?????

Okay... I've got 18 more blocks to sew up today!

Beta Testing

Let me say that sewing up granny squares isn't nearly as much fun as making granny squares. However, I'm zipping along faster than I expected, with 1/3 of the blocks seamed up (and the ends woven in as I go... always a good idea).


Jake has been kind enough to Beta Test the 20 block columns as I go to make sure they are cozy enough.

Hopefully, I can get an other two columns done today, but I also would like to work on Matt's new sweater (still on the boring ribbing), as I'm feelin' the need to work some cables! I should have photos of it in a day or two (hopefully... using a really dark brown, so I'm not sure how the cables will photograph).

Answering the Big Question

Which is "what do 300 granny squares look like?"


Spread out on a the dining room table.



Stacked between the posts on my wooley board (and you thought a wooley board was just for blocking sweaters).



Piled in a basket.



That's what I have left (hmmm... maybe I should do one more column? we'll see... probably don't have enough white).



I like granny squares.

Two Vs. One

Okay, I admit... I'm really missing knitting. While I'm still completely obsessed with granny squares (they will be done tomorrow hopefully... then I just have to sew together 300 granny squares. Piece o' cake, right?), I think I'm going to have to get a little more knitting time in.

I consider myself much more of a knitter than a crocheter. I usually prefer it... but this current obsession on granny squares has taken me out of my knitting mojo (or maybe my knitting mojo was already gone and I used the granny squares to tie me over?). Either way... with fall around the corner, sweater weather IS coming... and that means I'm going to cast on a fall project as soon as I finish all the granny squares for this afghan.

Ahhh.... an excuse to swatch? (meaning I'll be casting on a sleeve this weekend!). Hint... it's a project I've already done. That didn't work. And wasn't knit for me. Any guesses?

I'll put a Hex on you

Ya, so I'm not done with my traditional granny square afghan (hey, only 44 to go! well, plus seaming), so I'm already swatching for my next one. This time I'm going to give a hexagon a try.

I only bought 1 skein of 4 colors to swatch this one up. Notice I also did an attach as I go method. Love the weight and the colors... but I'm not sure 4 colors will be enough? I wanted to keep the centers all the same with the 3 other colors mixed. Maybe I'll look to add a 5th color to help mix the colors up a bit more?

Meanwhile.... must get back to the traditional grannies!

41 and counting

Happy Birthday Sweetie! Just remember: you're never too old to ride a bike!