Itchy, Itchy

So the break is over.  But what next?  After receiving my latest "Knit Picks" catalog in the mail, I knew.  Don't ask me why, but I just love making bags.  Call it a tote bag, call it a purse, call it whatever you want, but I'm calling it my next project.  Like I really need another one!  *snicker* 

Now here is my problem.  I would love to do another felted bag, but my "real wool" stash is sorely lacking in anything appealing.  Yesterday, I pulled out my few, limited wool choices.  Blech.  I really don't have much of a selection. 

Of course, I have the itch NOW, so I want to knit NOW.  There are very few good yarn stores in my area.  Do I wait & order something wonderful from Knit Picks or Patternworks?  Or do I travel to places unknown to maybe find something to knit with today?  Well, yeah, that would be my choice! 

So why is that?  I live in a metropolitan area, we have loads of diverse cultural places.  But not many good yarn stores.  Granted there are some that are like 20-30 minutes away on the freeway, but not much in my general vicinity.  There is a Michael's not 5 minutes from my house, but they have nothing in pure wool.  Plus their selection is limited anyway.  Same with the local Pat Catan's.  I need a REAL yarn store. 

Sadly, it is Sunday, & a lot of smaller stores aren't open on Sunday.  Everyone needs a break, so I'm not begrudging them that!  Plus today is a busy day for us with visiting the Moms for their special day.  Well, I made a swatch yesterday with a yarn.  I'm not sure, though.  The colors are rather muted & dark, not the fun, cheery colors I would like to have in a bag.  But I may felt it anyway & see what happens. 

On a positive note, the last Psychedelic Squares afgan was delivered & received with much joy & enthusiasm!  My neice wanted one ever since she saw the one I made for my Mom.  Her birthday was in March, but I wasn't done with it then.  She was still just as happy when she got it in April!  Made my day!  Plus she asked me to teach her to knit.  What a bonus!  We are visiting my Mom there today, so maybe I'll take some yarn & needles & see what we can do!

Almost Home

Here I am, on the last leg of the journey.  The squares are knitted, they are sewn together in blocks of four, & almost half of those larger squares are sewn together as well. 

This project seemed like it went on forever.  I'm thinking it was because of my hands hurting so much while I was knitting it.  This made me take longer & more breaks than I normally would, which, of course, slowed my progress. 

But now the end is in sight & I can't wait to finish it.  It is way late for the special occasion that it was intended for, but I'm sure it will still be accepted by the recipient.  I've included some pictures of the almost finished afghan.  It is going to be a nice sized blanket, smaller than the others I've made, but still quite snuggly. 

Looking back, I think I prefer all dark to light squares.  While the mix of both is interesting, my preference is in the symmetry of the same color sequence.  I also think I would like to try a stockinette stitch one, if there is ever a "next time".  All three of the ones I've already made are garter stitch.  The advantage there being that it uses way more yarn than stockinette.  I still have a lot of scrap yarn left over, especially in those small amounts too big to throw away, but not large enough for a large project. 

Of course, it leads my mind to stray to future projects.  I'm thinking of another scrap yarn afghan using a different type of method.  I'm just not sure what it would be yet.  There has to be some sort of small panel so I can use those small amounts without worrying if there will be enough to finish.  Yet it has to be attractive.  I'm still thinking...& I'm sure I'll play around with some ideas when that itch starts again!  Right now, after this is complete, I'm taking a breather from any major projects.  I need the break, this one has worn me out!

Nearing The End

Finally, the end is near for the latest Psychedelic Squares afghan.  Only 7 more squares left, out of a total of 80.  Fortunately, I've been finishing off the ends occasionally, so there won't be too much of that left to do.  Then sewing the squares together, which can be challenging!  Sometimes, matching them so there aren't too many of the same colors together is...interesting!  Plus, sometimes the gauge is a bit off, so making sure the sides match together can be difficult as well.  But seeing it come together is fun & seeing the end in sight is a relief!

I wanted to have the new one done by last weekend, but my hands were not cooperating.  My fingers have been aching, which is not good, especially when its my knitting fingers.  I've been putting Flex-All on them & wearing my Hand-eze gloves, which has helped some. 

I've shown some pictures of the squares in progress, along with some pictures of the first squares afghan I made.  I'm making the smaller squares for this one.  The finished one used the larger squares.  I put a dollar bill next to both squares so you can visualize the size difference. 

The finished afghan was 6 squares wide by 8 squares long.  It is large enough for a queen size bed.  It is shown draped over my full sized sofa.  The latest one will be 8 squares wide by 10 squares long. 

The pattern recommends making half the squares dark to light & the other half light to dark.  I did that in the second afghan (no photo..yet!)  the current WIP.   One my first one, I made all the squares dark to light.  I think it still looks great & in my opinion, a bit more uniform in design.  I do like the mixed effect also, though.

I found a website that talked about the squares afghans.  I was flattered when I found a picture of my finished afghan (off my webiste), but it mentioned that the picture was tantalizing but small.  I made sure these pictures are large & plenty enough to give a good taste of the magnatude of this project!  Did I mention that this afghan is my favorite to snuggle with?!

 

Scarf-a-palooza!

Finally, here are pictures of the two scarves that I finished for my daughter.  The cream scarf was made with a lovely soft merino wool, I just love this yarn.  Sadly, I don't think its being made anymore.  I used a stitch I discovered while working on the bookmarks, a lovely lacy faggotting stitch.  It was open enough that it didn't use too much yarn, so I was able to get a 5 foot scarf from it!  My daughter didn't want any fancy finish to the ends, so they are just plain.  The pattern is the same on both sides, so it worked great for a scarf.  I really like the look of this one, its light & lacy appearance is deceptive...it is very warm!   My daughter has said she tells everyone that I made it for her!  That's a good feeling!

The pink scarf is made with a cotton blend slubbed yarn.  The slubs are multi-colored, there are blues, yellows, greens & white mixed in.  A very soft fun yarn to knit with.  The stitch we decided on is a dropped stitch pattern, slightly open, but not too much so it is still warm.  Both sides are different, & though I like both sides, my daughter & I like the opposite side better.  Again, there is no fancy finish to the ends, so I just did a few rows of K2, P2 rib to keep the continuity of the pattern.  Plus it gives the ends some body & firmness.  It was a fun scarf to make, & the stitch pattern made it go very quickly, even though it is about 5 feet long. 

However, I'm tired of making scarves.  It gets very boring & tedious doing the same pattern over & over again for 5 feet or so.  Both of these were fun & quick to make, but I found myself quite restless towards the finish of the second scarf.  It will probably be a long while before I make another scarf.

Currently, I'm working on some squares for yet another Psychedelic Squares afghan.  I'm making smaller squares, so I need to make 80 total.  I have 38 done so far.  I'm hoping to have it all together by the end of March.  So say a little prayer to the Knitting Goddess to help my fingers stay fit & healthy so I can get them all done!   Of course, pictures will follow as I get closer to completion & of course, I will share a picture of the completed afghan!  Now, back to work on the squares!

More Bookmark Pictures!

Here are the rest of the bookmark pictures.  I made a total of 14, one which seemed too thick, so I kept it for myself.  It was made with Red Heart Luster Sheen, not even sure if they make this anymore, mine is about 20 years old!  I tried to press it out to open the pattern a bit, but that didn't work too well, so...learn by trial & error!

Doing the bookmarks & having so much fun with the faggotting lace stitch gave me an idea for my daughter's scarf project.  Since I was having so much trouble finding a stitch that didn't use too much yarn for it, the faggotting stitch seemed ideal.  It really doesn't use much yarn at all, & it still has enough body to give some firmness to the scarf.  I knit up a sample & my daughter loved it!

Needless to say, the scarf was whipped out in just a few days.  She really liked it, & snapped it up immediately to wear.  I wanted to do something a bit fancy with the ends, but she wanted it plain, no fringe or edgings.  I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with what I thought was a unique scarf idea.  Then, the next day, the Knit Picks catalog shows up in my mailbox.  Guess what type of stitch pattern they show for a scarf????  Well, their's has fringe.   

Now if only I can get it away from her for a little while so I can get some pictures to show the cyberworld!  I hope to have some in a few days!  But in the meantime, enjoy the remaining bookmark photos!

Bookmark Fun!

Here are more pics of the bookmarks.  These were really so much fun & so quick & easy to make.  The really lacy ones were made in just a few hours knitting.  Not too bad, plus they just look so pretty.  Here is another pattern, too! 

Bookmark Patterns

 

Bookmarks The Spot!

The secret is out of the bag, or wrapping paper in this case!  I made some bookmarks for the ladies at work.  These were very fun, & I used a lot of pretty lacy stitch patterns that I just loved.  I had some fine white baby cotton left over, perfect for bookmarkers.  I also used some multi colored sock cotton, but I didn't have a lot of it, plus it is a bit...wild!  Since they had few stitches they worked up very quickly & I was able to have them completed in a week.  Many thanks go to my sweet husband for making up little envelopes for them, since I was still knitting them late Tuesday evening! 

Many of these feature the lacy faggotting stitch that I fell in love with during my stitch pattern search.  All have relatively the same stitch count, but the sizes vary due to lateral spread of the lacy stitches.  I tried some different finishes also, some have tassels, others have beads, some have twisted cord, some have I cord.  Some patterns will follow!  Hope you all like these as much as I did!  Merry Christmas to all! 

Lace Bookmark Pattern