Do Overs

I began a quilt a little before Christmas and I am still fussing with it.  The original intent was that it was for my office.  Well, it's my office part-time.  It's also a guest room with a Murphy Bed built into the wall.  When guests or the kidlet returns from college on break a big switcheroo takes place and presto chango, it's a guest room.  The rest of the time, there is fabric, thread, yard, and whatnots on most flat surfaces. 

The quilt was planned as a twin sized throw for the queen-sized Murphy bed.  You know, large enough to cover a tallish person (which accounts for nearly everyone in the family) during a quick snooze.

Then I got bored with the front and it magically transformed into a throw which at last measurement is 50" x 60", or 60" by 50".  Whatever.  The extra fabric went into a pattern on the back.  

Over the weekend I sandwiched it together and decided to machine quilt it myself - for the very first time.  Nothing fancy, just straight line stuff.  I've done a few lines and found it's not laying as flat as I'd like.  Especially as I worked toward the edges.  One would hardy notice from the front but it is bugging me when I look at it from the back... a little loose and puckery.  Looks like I need to spend some quality time with the seam ripper and start again.  Drat!  Though, I must say, it is toasty and warm on my lap as I type this.

Which means I have procrastinated by working on my little mohair granny squares instead.  I worked up a few and decided to see how they fit together from a size perspective.  Hmm.

Looks like some of my squares might need to an extra row or two and become granny rectangles.  I like the texture difference between the different yarns, but they do not work up the same size over the same number of rows.  No biggie for this project, but I will need to figure something out before I piece it.

The white, orange, and light blue are Kid Seta, which is 70% super kid mohair and 30% silk.  It is light as air.  If one could crochet fairy wings this is the yarn I would choose.  The dark purple is Giselle, 64% kid mohair, 25% wool, and 11% nylon.  It is a bit heavier and super duper fuzzy.

Both are quite nice to work with, unless you let your concentration lapse for even a moment (say howling at the American Idol auditions, or half watching the big play in the Super Bowl, or rescuing balls of yarn from an overly helpful cat) and you find you need to rip some stitches out. 

Don't even think of giving it a quick yank like most other yarns or it will reward you with a furry, fuzzy, knotty mess.  The trick is to go s-l-o-w.  It you think you are going slow, you need to go even more slowly.  Still, I think it's worth it for the cloud-like effect you get on a finished piece.