My Apologies, Paired with news

First of all, I am appalled at myself that I have not posted in so long. I certainly planon improving my writing schedule to prevent this sort of extreme lapse in future.

That said, here are a few updates--

1. Hunter's blanket is 100% finished! I will be giving it to him next weekend (not the one in two days, the one after that) and plan on having a full photo shoot.
2. Sockapalooza 4 is partially wrapped up. I sent Michaela her socks and to my delight, they fit her well and she likes them. What a great ending! I'm still waiting on the socks from my pal, who did send me an entertaining email.
3. I'm soon to start another Harry Potter scarf. This will be my four (!) HP scarf, in Gryffindor colours for my little sister.
4. The manly socks for my younger brother are finished too--they fit him well. I hope to sneak in a photo session soon.


More to come soon...



[edited 13.03.08 to add photo of sock-in-progress. Sorry for the strangulation effect with the yarn twisted like it is -- the socks are in good health, I promise.]

The End of An Era

A momentous occasion took place today. During a tense episode of "The Next Food Network Star," I cast off the final border strip of Hunter's blanket.

This project has carried me through many, many hours of TV and movie viewing, late nights, etc. It's been my fallback knitting for so long that it will be strange to finally finish the project. Of course, tonight doesn't mark the end. I've barely begun the arduous process of weaving in the ends--a project in itself!--and I still need to sew the corners of the border strips. Also, I am debating a crochet border for stability.

In anticipation of finishing the blanket, I started another project--my brother's long-promised pair of socks. They are his present...from last Christmas. Better late than never, eh? I'm knitting them in Knit Picks yarns--Essential in Navy and Gloss in Serengeti (gold). The toes and heels will be gold and the foot and leg will be navy with one gold stripe at the top. I'm doing a small patterned rib. There will also be his monogram at the outer edges of the sock. I'm knitting this pair on two circular needles, which I've never done before. I ordered 2 24" circs from Knit Picks as well, and I have been so pleased with the needles and the technique. I can't believe it's taken me so long to try this method.

I've still got my sock pal's sock on the needles too--the first one is nearly finished. I love the yarn, but the pattern (2x2 rib) is so boring. I wish I had tried something more interesting!

I Never Could Get the Hang of Thursdays

Sometimes days go by when I barely think of blogging, while sometimes I wish I had more time to keep this blog more current. I really admire the fantastic knitbloggers (and other bloggers) who manage to post quite frequently. However, my knitting progress, if measured daily, is not always that exciting. I have been working mostly (surprise) on the epic blanket. Now I am on the third border strip. I've enjoyed having copious amounts of garter stitch for movie and TV knitting, but it will be great to finally finish this project. It definitely wins for the largest thing I've ever knit.

Later on this summer, I plan to knit some vintage-inspired cardigans (for office wear to fend off the air conditioning!) from Interweave Knits.

Project Updates!

It’s been a great summer so far—lots of sewing, knitting, and reading before I start work. I’ve mostly worked on Hunter’s epic blanket, and I finally reached the border.


The other main knitting project is the sock for Sockapalooza, which I’ve been taking out during waiting times or car rides. The yarn is knitting up beautifully and it’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, one of my favourite sock yarns. I wish it were a bit heavier so I could use my size 2 sock needles, but I do have 1s that I’m using now.


Besides the knitting, I’ve sewn a green dress from Simplicity 4072. I was very pleased with this pattern overall. It fits well (the shoulders are a bit wide, but that is a common problem with commercial patterns and my personal fitting issues) and is quite comfortable. The sleeves are in two parts, and next time I make it, I think I’ll use just the upper sleeve.

I also have worked on my quilt, but hand-quilting is such a slow process that I’m sure I’ll be fifty before it’s done!

More blanket news

Here's an in-progress updated photo. The top edge is all crinkled from being gathered on the needle. That's the second-to-last section. The last section is half black, half blue, and will be knit at the exact opposite end. Then the border, in sand, will be knit all around. It looks wonky but isn't in real life.

Updates galore!

As the spring semester wrapped up, I became (surprise) increasingly busy. Now that the summer is ahead, I will have time to post more often.

Last week I went to Panama City for the RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) Summer Conference. At the conference, about 700 students from all over the country took seminars in the mornings and interacted in the afternoons. It was an excellent and informative week.


During the trip, I worked on the Turtleneck Tube Vest and the Sockapalooza 4 socks. The socks have already entered Sock Legend. The first time I started to knit, I decided to design a pattern where a diagonal row of yarnovers and decreases would zigzag symmetrically across the foot and then around the leg. However, I disliked the way the pattern looked knit up and decided to do a simple 2x2 rib instead. So, I ripped back the toe and started afresh. This time, I messed up the stitch shifting between needles and ended up with 2x2 rib...except for a section of 4 knit stitches. I unknit the foot section that I'd completed (not the whole toe) and got started again.

I also enjoyed a delightful moment as I reached the end of the second-to-last section in Hunter's blanket. The tan sections are the most boring, so I was very pleased to approach the 33 ridges needed. Then I re-checked my directions and realized that the section has 66 ridges instead. Fortunately I had two hours of 24 to enjoy whilst I knit these superfluous rows.

Project updates

I thought I'd post some progress pictures for my two current projects (there are more on the needles, but I'm mostly working on these two).

The first is Hunter's blanket. I've done a lot of it, but there are still a few sections left and the border as well. The pattern is from Mason-Dixon Knitting; it's the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket. Because it's in garter stitch, it's an excellent movie and tv project. The blanket in the picture below is on my charming roommate's bed (thanks Sarah!) because I didn't want to photograph it on the floor.


The other project is the Sierpinski scarf from Knitting Nature. It's for on-the-go knitting. I'm just knitting it in dishcloth cotton yarn.

And voila...

At last--photos on the blog! I have acquired a digital camera and will be adding photos to my posts. Now I can show the progress on the epic blanket and also add excitement for other discussions.
I took the above photo last weekend at Lake Norman. The tree had a wonderful, other-worldly quality to it.

On to the knitting:

Here is the massive yarn box for Hunter's blanket:


And here is the blanket so far:

Update on the blanket

After only starting the project on Friday night, the first block of the MLCB [Moderne Log Cabin Blanket] is done. I bound it off yesterday and picked up stitches on the right hand side for the next section. Since I cast on 76 stitches and knit 66 garter ridges...that's a lot of knitting for a weekend!
My picked-up stitches always seem to come out a little wonky. Even when I knit the stitch right after picking it up, and tugging the stitch so it's smaller, it still ends up looking weird. I like the wrong-side better--the little v's lined up look more uniform.

It's epic...

Yesterday I commenced a new project: a blanket for my friend Hunter's birthday.

Like most gifts that I knit, the project was chosen with his input. I'm basically following the pattern for the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket in Mason-Dixon Knitting. The yarn we chose is Caron Simply Soft in tan (3 skeins), navy blue (4), forest green (4), and black (4).

I love all-garter stitch projects for movie viewing and nighttime knitting, so this project will be great. Also, Hunter's birthday isn't until October, so I have plenty of time.