I had sooo much fun with my first stranded knitting project I began another right away. It was as much fun, but I ran into issues.
The good news? My tension improved. Yes, the stitches were larger than straight knitting, but they were consistently big.
The not so good news? I cast on way too many stitches. This bad boy could have fit Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
See what I mean? Humongous! Pattern is cute, but good grief it was big!
I used my 'go to' cure for all my wonky knitting issues.... felt it! It shrunk considerably but was still very, very large. While it was still damp, my sister-in-law popped it in the dryer. That helped a little more. Still big, for me anyway, but no longer unwearable.
And the end result?
What? You thought it was going to look like every other hat walking down the street? Nooo. My sister-in-law asked for tassels, and there you go. Tassels. Adds a certain whimsy, don't you think?
Pretty darn cute, if I do say so. And found a new home with my sister-in law in Alaska. She was a huge help in salvaging this project.
Learned a BIG lesson on double checking one's math before casting on.
About a month ago I began my first sweater - ever. I've crocheted for a long time, but have never made a sweater. It's not ready to show but I can give you a sneak peek.
The pattern is called Nimbus and can be found here. The sweater is cute with short sleeves and cropped, but I prefer my sweaters with long sleeves, so I'm tweaking the pattern a little. I have finished the back and sleeves and have the right front well underway. That leaves the left front and collar. I hope to have it finished in a couple of weeks.
I can't wait to see how it turns out. Fingers crossed.
I had a skein of yarn remaining after I finished my first ever knit scarf for the Sweetie. I thought I would make a quick hat.
This would require that I learn the other stitch in knitting - the purl stitch. Back to the cyberseams website to watch another video...about a thousand times. I grabbed some left over yarn and decided to practice.
First ribbing where you alternate knit and purl stitches. And the stockinette stitch. Hey, cool. It doesn't suck. How cool is that?!
So, on with the project. The pattern was also found on the cyberspace site Basic hat. Perfect for a rookie. I had to use ribbing, the stockinette stitch and figure out decreases.
And the end result... drum roll...
It's time for a close up. And if you've been knitting for 10 minutes more than me, you will see a basic flaw. Which I discovered on another piece. But that's a blog for another day...
Flaw or not, it's still super duper soft and I am thrilled that I have two stitches in my repertoire. Whoo Hoo for me!
I blabbed to everyone that I was learning to knit. It was going to be a practice piece. I will swear on a stack of bibles that it is riddled with mistakes. But I kept slogging along, and it became a little easier each time I picked it up.
Then before you know it I couldn't put it down. There was a certain rhythm to it. And it didn't seem to take a lot of effort to 'make fabric'. I was working on it in the yarn group on Wednesday's. Then going to work on the bus. Then on the bus home from work. Then instead of reading before going to bed. On an airplane. In cars. Instead of blogging. It was crazy.
Somewhere along the way, the Sweetie decided he liked it. He didn't have to. After all it was a practice piece. Full of errors. So a scarf for Sweetie it became. I didn't finish in time for his birthday, but within a couple of days.
I thought it might go nicely with this knit jacket he already owns.
Eco Duo is an undyed variegated yarn. The colors are in longer runs than dyed yarns which provided for nice wide stripes fading into one another.
Of course, it is alpaca. It has a lovely drape. Perfect for this project. And super soft.
I gave it to the Sweetie right after I finished weaving in the ends. He wore it around the house for about an hour - in June. Must be true love... or extra points in heaven.
