Scarves and sticky problems

As it is now his birthday, I can share the present I made for my friend Martin.



I used Sirdar Tweedie, which is a lovely wool, acrylic and alpaca mix. It is chunky, soft and robust. Martin likes to walk up mountains, so I am hoping it will be long enough for him to wrap it around his neck several times to keep snug. I am pleased with this scarf, which was knitted lengthways to form the ribs. Each side of the scarf has its appeal.



I like the fact that each side is different.



After getting this present done, I was able to go back to my college projects. I started with the textured hat, which is my latest college assignment. I cast on the required 90 stitches and did my 2 x 2 ribbing for 4 cm, adding the additional stitch midway along the row and reverse stocking stitched for a couple of rows. Then I did my bobbles. I was really proud of my bobbles until I'd done another couple of rows. I started the next section of the pattern which was a leaf motif, and found that the stitch count was out. By one stitch. ARGHHHHHH! How is this possible I cried. I spent about 20 minutes searching for a dropped stitch and I couldn't find one. Eventually I worked out that one of my bobbles had pulled an extra stitch into the passed over stitches.



This picture shows how before the bobble there are four stitches, which are marked with a stitch marker in each, and by the time it gets to the needle there are only three stitches. So I knitted the pattern up to the missing stitch and dropped the stitch that was marked with a red stitch marker, shown above, as this was the stitch that emerged from the relevant bobble.



I unpicked the mess of passed over stitches to reveal the extra missing stitch and put a stitch marker in each unpicked stitch. Working on the wrong side, I then used a crochet hook to pick up the stitch next to the stitches I had already worked.



I placed the picked up stitch onto the needle which had the unworked stitches on it. I turned the work to the right side and purled the stitch. I then repeated the procedure with the other dropped stitch.



I then tried to finish working the row. However, despite fixing this sticky problem all by myself, without having to resort to books or the internet, the pattern did not work out as expected. I have counted and recounted the pattern and the stitches on my needles and they just do not tally. I think that the pattern is wrong, so I have had to put this project to one side until college on Tuesday when I can tackle the tutor about her pattern.



I am pleased I have sorted the bobbles out and I KNOW I have the right stitch count now as well. I could have just inserted an extra stitch to resolve the problem of the missing one, but it was a matter of testing myself and my growing skills at reading the knitting. I am very proud at sorting this problem out all by myself and it is helping me feel more confident that the pattern is wrong and not me. Its a shame I will have to wait to sort the pattern out, because I am quite enjoying making this hat. Until college, I will carry on with the Kidsilk Haze Scarf.



I have picked up the stitches down one half of the scarf and knit the ruffle. I have also half picked up the remaining stitches, and you can see from the picture how the finished item is going to look. I think this is going to be a gorgeous little scarf, when it is finally done. I really should go and finish picking up the rest of the stitches whilst it is daylight, because it is nigh on impossible by artificial light, but maybe I'll just take a little break from scarf knitting and enjoy a bit of lurking round Ravelry instead.

New Yarn, New Projects, New Techniques

I had college today. Sadly there were only 3 of us and I am getting worried that they may cancel the class if more people do not enrol. However, it did mean that we got alot of individual attention when we were trying our new techniques.

First new thing was knitting a leaf motif which involved making stitches with yarn overs and picking up between the stitches.



This leaf motif is used in a hat pattern that we have been given to do as homework. The pattern uses the leaf motif to increase the stitches in the hat. I am looking forward to this new project as it uses moss stitch, bobbles and the leaf motif. I think using all these new(ish) skill will be fun and I bought some new yarn especially.



This yarn is Rowan Natural Silk Aran and is an interesting texture. It is comprised of 73% viscose, 15% silk and 12% linen. The subtle shading in the yarn created by the blend of materials is very attractive and I think will go with most things. I think this will be ideal Spring or Autumn wear as it will go with my nice cream woollen wrap that I wear at that time of year. The wool was in the sale with 1/3rd off at Fenwicks. I couldn't resist this bargain as I needed aran weight wool for this project. As there was a 1/3rd off all Rowan wools, I decided to get a couple of balls of Kidsilk Haze, "just because".



I love this mink colour and I think I will probably make a cowl in this yarn - eventually. I have the pattern queued in Ravelry which calls for Kidsilk Haze which is called Abby and I think it will look lovely in this colour.

The other technique we were taught at college today was Gansey knitting. We had to design our own little pattern over 11 stitches wide and 12 stitches high. This design will be used on the back of some fingerless gloves.



I am pleased with the way my little sketched design looks, on the swatch and can't wait to see what it looks like, repeated on the gloves. These gloves are to be done in double knit weight yarn, and I think I will use the nice alpaca that I bought yonks ago on ebay. I will probably use the hot pink colour as I think patterned gloves are a bit more feminine. I'll keep the navy alpaca for some nice manly gloves for later in the year.



I've been wanting to use this yarn for ages, and can't wait to use it, but as I have just finished my Inaugural Gloves, I think I will do the hat first.

Oh and as an aside, I blocked some more of the squares for my KAL Blanket.



I now have 5 squares done. I think the having the cabled squares next to each other, like this, is really effective and will make a nice frame for the blanket. I can't wait to get started on the next part of this blanket, it is great fun seeing the design grow, in the way I imagined.

Noel the Sweater Cat

I have finally finished my ginger sweater cat, which was a test knit for Elizabeth Jarvis, otherwise known at BettyKnitter on Ravelry. He was such fun to knit. I had abandoned him for a little while because other commitments got in the way, ie college and birthday knits. I hated leaving him half finished, but I could resist him no more. I knit up the little raglan sweater last night which I really enjoyed as I have never tried raglan before. It felt like a little mini tutorial and it took all the scary out of the technique. I am much more likely to have a go at the a full scale sweater now.



I am pleased that I didn't have more than one ball of the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk as it meant that I had to use some Rowan Pure Wool in cream to accent the kitty. He has a cream belly and chin and the tips of his toes and tail are also cream. I think it makes him look a bit more authentic. The sweater was knit in Sirdar Snuggly which I had laying around from my fair isle projects. All in all the wool used is gorgeous, soft and huggable. I had just enough ginger yarn left to finish the sewing up and I finished doing his face this afternoon, before sewing him into his sweater.



All in all I would definitely recommend any of Liz's patterns, as has an eye for the fun and the unusual. This one, in particular, is a very firm favourite and I know I will knit more of these little kitties for the Kitty swap group I belong too. I am going to be ahead of the trend, because as soon as this pattern is posted, there will be a flurry of these little kitties winging their way across the globe. For Ravelry users, the pattern is free and available here.

The Matrix

My other half declared today that there was no point in surfing the internet as he as read it all, except for the knitting pages, which apparently take up half the internet. He didn't know about the existence of the knitting pages until recently, and believes it to be the dark fuzzy underbelly of the internet, where the stitches form a warmer version of the matrix and everyone wears woollen accessories. Maybe it's knitted in this.

Success in the Face of Disaster

I have had a project waiting to be finished for what seems like aeons. It was intended to be a felted notions bag, and unfortunately the felting was a bit rubbish. The bag didn't shrink enough to be a notions bag, so it sat in a sad sorry heap, glaring balefully at me. I put the project to the back of my mind as a disaster project and moved along to other things.

Then, I decided to tinker with the blog. You may have noticed a couple of subtle changes to my layout. The main change is in the left hand sidebar. I have linked up my Ravelry projects to my blog, so you can see how I am progressing with my ongoing projects. It works in a very clever manner using complex computer code I do not understand. I muddled my way through the installation of this gadget by following step by step instructions made by people far more educated than I. I am very pleased with the gadget, BUT, it shows all my outstanding projects. There at the side of my blog is a stark reminder of all the projects I don't have finished. At the top of my list at 95% complete was my felted notions bag. I decided to sew it up and then I could clear down the project and it would no longer be chiding me from the sidebar every day. Here is the finished project.



I am happy to say, this bag is the perfect size for a shoulder bag. It snugly fits the bag swapper I bought for my Frankenstein Bag, which means I can use the bag as my "just popping to the shops" bag. I used a couple of the buttons I got from my Let's Knit Subscription booty haul, and they fit the buttonholes perfectly. The strap stretches to just the right length for a shoulder bag and because it is crocheted, it should be strong enough to take all my crap. So I feel I can say, I have, indeed, achieved success in the face of disaster.



So now I have finished a couple of projects, I feel I am justified in starting a new one. Admittedly my new project is an emergency knit. I have a friend who's birthday is next week and he has always admired my knitting and he was dropping large hints last week about how he didn't have anything knitted. I feel that I must at least try to knit him something for his birthday. I bought the yarn yesterday at my Knitting Group and I have cast on. I will post more details after he receives his gift.

Also at my Knitting Group, I was excited to see that most of the yarn for my KAL Blanket had come in.



I love these colours and I am even more excited about this project now. I have also bought a soft yellow yarn for the centres of the flowers in the design.



This is Sirdar Calico, which is cotton and acrylic, but doesn't feel too different to the Elle Elite. It is only to be used in small amounts, so I thought I would save myself a little money and get the cheaper yarn.

I have also finally finished designing the lay out for the blanket. Clare my LYS owner demanded to see what I was ordering all the yarn for. I took the design in with me yesterday and I had general approval from all attending. I hope to gain more enthusiasm when they see the actual squares rather than just some unidentifiable scribbles. I will try and neaten up my design so I can post it on here for you to see, but don't hold me to it!

Inauguration Knitting

I have come to the conclusion after reading Facebook, Twitter and Ravelry yesterday that there was much knitting being done while President Obama was being inaugurated. I assume this was a combination of knitters always knitting when given the opportunity, and the inspiration of all the knitted accessories on display during the ceremonies. In honour of the day in question, I have re-named my angora gloves Inaugural Gloves, as they were finished off during all the tv coverage.

I was inspired by the new President's speech and hope that he can live up to, just a part of, what everyone expects of him. As a Brit, I had no part to play in electing this charismatic man, but I am impressed that the American public chose to follow a path of hope in troubling times. So often, reports on global politics are sad and troubling, but for once there was much happiness and optimism on the news. Inauguration Day was really an extraordinary moment in history and I look forward to seeing what happens next. Now, away from the politics of yesterday, and back to the knitting!



These gloves are so warm and fluffy, they feel like I am wearing nothing but warm air around my fingers. However, the gloves are a little large. This is because the pattern called for fingering weight yarn and I used double knit and didn't really allow for the difference. I think if I was to do gloves again, I would use this concept but work out my own pattern according to the gauge.



I don't know whether to try and "rescue" this project by felting them to shrink them to the correct size or not. They seem to stay on my hands alright, and they keep my hands warm, so I don't know if I should mess with them or not. I have a spare finger (I don't know how this happened, but it did) which I will try to hand felt to see how much it shrinks and how the appearance will differ. I think felting the angora will reduce the fuzziness, which I don't know if I will like. But, that is why we test felt, no? I will post a before and after picture after I've tried it out.

As well as watching tv, I was at college yesterday, and we were introduced to flaps and ridges.



I am really enjoying learning about new textural theories. Hopefully, I will have an occasion to use my new knowledge soon. I think we are going to be given a new project to practice our nascent skills on, in the near future.

In the meantime I am knitting more blanket squares.

The Milkweed Project

I just found an interesting post on Ravelry. I am thinking of joining in with The Milkwood Project which is going to use strips of knitting and crochet to make a giant Milkweed pod. It sounds fascinating and I have just signed up to show interest. I love the idea of crafters joining together to make the components of an art installation. Using materials local to each crafter, the finished piece will be of global manufacture.

If ever you have fancied being part of something bigger than yourself, or taking part in an exhibition, this is one way to do it.

Click here to get the full details of the project. You never know, in the finished piece, your patch could be right next to mine!

Gloves, Scarf and Wool Winding

This week I received my much anticipated Wool Winder from Texere Yarns. I have been postponing the purchase of this item for ages. I have always had something else to spend money on, usually yarn. I decided that I needed to get the huge cones of yarn, I purchased over the summer, wound so I could actually start knitting with it.



These are the two cones I bought, AFTER winding 7 balls worth of yarn. Each cone is made from a single ply of wool, so I have wound a strand from each cone into each ball to make them 2-ply. I also wound my Louisa Harding Grace Silk and Wool, from the skeins into balls. I really want to knit with this yarn and I knew I wouldn't be able to use it, until it was wound into balls. I did a couple of other balls as well. Here is a a picture of all I wound. As you can see I really got into the groove!



I hope to get much use out of my lovely little winder, now I have invested in it.



Yesterday was at my weekly visit to Mary Clare, for the knitting group. As predicted, my friend encouraged me to purchase the Kidsilk Haze, in order to knit the scarf for college. She is SUCH a bad influence. I have been able to justify my purchase to myself by mentally labelling this scarf as Christmas 2009 knitting. This way I kill three birds with one stone.

1. I get to knit with very pretty yarn.
2. I knit a college project
3. I get a really really big head start on my Christmas knitting.

This scarf has been much fun to knit so far. I have been gazing longingly at this particular colour since I started going into Mary Clare. I'm sure someone in my huge list of present recipients will like this.



The stitch pattern is really simple;

Row 1: K
Row 2: P
Row 3: K1, (Sl 1, K3, PSSO) repeat until one stitch left, K1
Row 4: P1, (P3, YO) repeat until one stitch left, P1



After a few rows I didn't have to think very much, and the scarf grew very quickly. We are meant to be putting a frill round the outside next week in the class. Part of me wishes we could leave it simple, like this, but the finished item we were shown looked nice as well.

After getting up to the length of scarf required for my homework, I thought I'd have another crack at my angora gloves. I have been knitting odd digits in between other projects and have now finished them all. I have even joined up all the fingers of one hand and knitted down to the start of the thumb gusset. Its very exciting to be able to put the fingers on my hand and see how snuggly and warm these gloves are going to be, when they are finished.



Hopefully I will be able to post more updated pictures after the weekend, when more progress has been made. Phew, another very full day of yarn related activities.

New Term + Texture Knitting = More WIPs

I had my first knitting and crochet class of the new term this week and we were a very select group of people. There were three of us. I really hope it was just lots of ill people (in a purely selfish way) as I don't want them to cancel this class. The first thing we learned was bobbles. Here is my disgusting little swatch, but I enjoyed learning the way of the bobble and I am sure I will use them during the course of my knitting now.



At college, as well as bobbling, we were also given a pattern for a scarf that should be knit in Kidsilk Haze. I think that is just reckless, encouraging the use of gorgeous, expensive and addictive yarn. When I am at the knitting group at Mary Clare on Thursday I just know I am going to find a couple of balls falling into my open bag (after paying for them of course). It doesn't help that Linda from my knitting class is going and she will egg me on, she is such a bad influence on my spending habits.

On top of the college project, I have had another familial request for knitting. My mother has commissioned some arm warmers. Of course there is nothing on Ravelry to fit the concept my mother has in her head, so off to the drawing board/sketch pad/spreadsheet I go. I really hope the maths will be easier than for the socks! Luckily I have plenty of stash left over from the late lamented Fair Isle Tank Top. I'll keep you posted when I have a concept all worked out (well, cast on anyway).

I have also knit the first square of my KAL Blanket. It is in a hue called "Chocolate", methinks it is of the Dairy Milk variety rather than Green & Blacks but it is a nice colour nonetheless. I have decided to try and block these squares as I go, as there are going to be billions of them by the time I have finished.

During Blocking


after blocking


Neither colour on the above photos is absolutely accurate, but it is somewhere between the two. I love the texture on this square, it makes me think of bark, especially in this colour. I know it doesn't resemble bark very much, but that is what springs to my mind when I look at it. This square will form the base row of the blanket. I have already cast on the next one, as technically I should be aiming to knit around 8 blocks a month. I don't know if this is possible, but there is only one way to find out.

I am afraid I may also have been led astray from my original concept, because I bought the first edition of The Knitter magazine and it is totally gorgeous. The photography is beautiful, as are the patterns, and the thing that caught my eye was the section on cabled cushions. I am very tempted to use one of the cushion patterns for a middle section of the blanket, especially as they included bobbles! I shall have to think about this as it does not look straight forward, but it would be lovely to have a large couple of central panels rather than lots of little ones. With one or two large centre panels, I can hang all the little squares around the nice big centre. If you are interested in the pattern I am talking about, use this link to get a preview of the magazine and you will also see said pattern.

I would definitely recommend the magazine if you are a more experienced knitter as most of the patterns looked pretty tricky and not something I would attempt just yet. I don't think I will be buying the magazine very often, but as it won't be sealed in plastic I will always be able to flick through and buy it if there is a pattern I really want. I am just grateful that I didn't totally fall in love with the magazine, because I buy too many already, I don't need another purchase every month. Thank god for the subscriptions!

Two Finished

I have been knitting like fury this last couple of days and can report, with much satisfaction, that I have finished two projects! I have to admit though, that it took a bit longer than it should have done. I am afraid, I got cocky on the second sock and didn't read my own pattern instructions, not once, but twice, so I ended up knitting the toes three times. However, the finished toes are rather fabulous, even if I do say so myself!



I used a video on YouTube to show me how to graft the socks this time, and played it and replayed it whilst I stitched, and I think this careful copying has finally nailed it. I have saved the video in my YouTube favourites so I don't lose it when I need it again. If you want to use it yourself, it is here.

As you can see, the pattern in the socks does not line up exactly, and I think this is because my tension was very slightly tighter on the second sock. I don't think it matters though.



After wearing the socks for a few hours, I can safely say that they are very comfortable, with my one complaint being, the sole of the heels feel a little bit narrow. I am sure that as I try more socks patterns and different heel turning techniques I will find the perfect heel and amend my saved pattern accordingly.



With that in mind, I have bought some lovely Wendy Happy wool in the colour Pisces to make my next socks. I have chosen Grumperina's pattern Jaywalker which seems to be very popular and some people have already used a combination of the sizes worked together, the way I want to.



The colour is not great on this photo, as the colours are more greeny in real life. But I think this fabulous bamboo/nylon mix will look beautiful in this pattern and wear really well.

In addition to my completed socks, I have finally finished (trumpet sounds) the Fair Isle Bag. I can't believe I have been knitting this since November!



I attached the strap inside the bag, to the base and then stitched it around a piece of binding, using mattress stitch. I then stitched the strap to the top of the bag to keep the bag in position.



I had thought about lining this bag, but I really can't be bothered when nobody but me is going to see inside it. If I find the strands of yarn catching, I may change my mind. But as far as I am concerned it is now in the "completed" list.

I started knitting the test pattern for BettyKnitter last night. I got this great cheap yarn from Kangaroo. It is Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Aran in Burnt Ginger. It is scrumptious and as it was the last ball, I got it very cheap. It is soft as butter and I wish I could afford to knit a whole garment in it. However, until I win the Lottery, I will have to stick to single skein projects like this one.

.

When I have finished knitting, I will post more about this. Until then, please excuse me while I feel smug about completing, not one but, TWO projects this week!

Needlecraft Workshops

I go to a knitting group at Mary Clare in Leicester. It is a fabulous shop and I love the friendly atmosphere and the treasure trove of all the craft materials, of which more are revealed each time I visit. One of the many lovely things about Mary Clare, is its groups and workshops. I attend the knitting group every week on a Thursday afternoon between 2pm and 4pm, but there are also quilting, and cross stitch groups. The people who attend these groups are friendly and welcoming and are always keen to inspire and assist.

During 2009, there will many needlecraft workshops held in the shop on frequent Sundays between 10 am and 3 pm. These workshops are being run by Jenny Andrews and can be booked by telephoning 0116 255 1866. The schedule of the workshops is below.

Mary Clare Workshops

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Hobby workshop needlework

If you know of anyone in the Midlands who may be interested in attending an interesting and enlightening day out, please point this information out to them.

Updating the World

I haven't been knitting much over the last couple of days. I have been spending hours toying with my computer. This is all because of a new person I met on Ravelry. I read her blog and she mentioned something called Twitter and her arguments for using it were so splendid, I thought I would give it a go.

Once I signed up, I am CraftyCripple on Twitter if you are interested, I then had to find people to "follow". At this point I found the Twitter Knitters on Ravelry and got a few people to follow. The main reason I wanted to get Twitter was to post updates of my status to my Ravelry pages. This is a fab new little feature for Ravelry. The Code Monkey at Ravelry is a very clever chap indeed. It is no wonder the site is still in Beta because he just keeps adding more and more splendid features every time we blink.

The main problem, for me anyway, with adding Twitter to my collection of social sites is that I now spend so much time on the internet being social, I spend very little time actually crafting! So in an aim at efficiency I have found a fab little addon for my browser. It is called Yoono and it sits in the side bar of my browser.



My browser is Firefox, but it also works with Internet Explorer. This handy dandy little gadget coordinates all my social networking in one place. Yoono automatically updates with all the Facebook postings my friends make, including status changes and new photographs. It also updates my Twitter and MySpace accounts both for me and from me. If I used other social sites it could update those aswell. Not only does it take care of updates for me, but if I used an IM I could put that in the sidebar too. I have Yoono check my email and my Google Reader and aswell as all that, I can use Last.fm too, one of the cleverest things EVER, so I can have music I like while I surf. There are some widgets I haven't explored, but to be honest, the ones I have mentioned do the job excellently.

So now all the time I spent checking and updating my social sites, I can spend crafting! What's the betting, I just waste more time on something new instead. I have always been so easily distracted by the new and shiney!

First Sock

I have finished my first custom built sock. I love it, and it fits so snugly, it's fantastic. It was worth all the frogging, maths headaches and swearing. I have typed up the pattern and to test it out I am going to follow it exactly for the second sock. When I have finished the second sock, I will know that I can refer back to these calculations whenever I want to do another 4-ply sock. It is such a relief to have socks that don't cut into my ankles.



This sock yarn is lovely and thick, perfect for the current cold weather. I am cracking on with the second sock and I have already got the cuff underway.

The only problem I can see with this sock, is the grafting. I followed the instructions in my Vogue Ultimate Knitting Book. They were very clear instructions, but I made the mistake of doing it last night when I was tired. I made a mistake and had to frog again. As the wool had been frogged already it was starting to get a wee bit fuzzy. I think this meant it didn't pull through to tighten very well, especially as I think I might have split the yarn. As the wool was already a mess I made the decision to leave it be and improve my technique on the second sock.



Please note that the seam is not crooked, it is just the position of my toes!

As I am test knitting my own pattern with the second sock, I thought I would mention that I have been asked to be a test knitter! Me, a newbie knitter, is getting to test knit a pattern. I was so pleased to be asked by Liz Jarvis, aka BettyKnitter to have a go at her Sweater Cat. I love this pattern and have been waiting with baited breath for the pattern ever since I saw her first designing it. As soon as I have finished my socks, this is definitely going to be the next project on the needles. Who could resist a cuddly kitty just waiting to be made?

Knitting Recipes

I have started to work on my angora gloves using the i-cord fingers recipe given by Nona Knits. I am really amazed at how simple the principles of knitting a finger are. I started last night and I already have three fingers.



I have labelled the fingers, as recommended by Nona. I can see the point in marking each finger as it is bound to get confusing. I have also seen on the Ravelry Pattern Page that several people have lost their fingers before knitting up the gloves, so I have made sure that they are put safely away in a project bag, with the yarn. I don't to have to knit the gloves twice.

I was right about the yumminess of this yarn. Already the gloves are feeling so soft and snuggly, that I know when they are finished, the gloves will feel amazing. I love the fact that there will be no seams on the fingers. So far this recipe seems to be working out just fine.

With the success of one recipe, I thought I would try another recipe. A few months ago, I started to cast on some socks based on a set of instructions. These socks got abandoned despite my initial good intentions. I have no excuse other than the overwhelming amount of gorgeous yarn I got my mitts on. I frogged the socks and put them on hold. I have now dug out the very first yarn I bought online, and tried again with the instructions. These socks will be more winter appropriate than the ones I frogged as the yarn in nice and thick. These socks will also be plain and simple stocking stitch so I can gauge whether these instructions work. I have swatched up the yarn, and decided that as my foot and ankle do not match, unlike the instructions, I am going to have to jiggle the pattern a little.

I started with a 3mm circular needle and cast on 70 stitches. I then knit 1x1 ribbing for 1.5". Then on the next round I carried on ribbing for 15 stitches and then 3Ptog. I did this another 3 times, which reduced my stitch count down to 58. This reduction is fairly invisible in the ribbing. I have coloured the 3Ptog on this photo. The smaller amount of stitches is at the top of the photo.



After the reduction, I ribbed another 0.5"and then started to knit all the stitches. This has now brought the measurements being used, at the ankle, in line with those laid out in the pattern, i.e. the same width as my foot, less 0.75". I am hoping that the rest of the pattern will work out without any more jiggling. This is what I have so far.

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Once I have done the whole sock I will type up the pattern and keep it for future use. I am sure no-one else will want it, because no-one else will have the same feet and fat ankles as me! I still think it is a good idea to write it up, simply for future use, because I really, really want to knit lots of socks.

Edited to Add several hours later......

GAhhhh my maths sucks. My reducing down from 70 to 58 was so totally wrong, I started again. I have now worked out what I hope will work. I will let you know.....

Blocking

I never cease to be amazed at what a difference blocking makes to a finished item.

I blocked my Porom, and here are the before and after shots.

Before

After


The shape of the hat is so much smoother and the stitch pattern opens out so you can see all those YOs I sweated over. Oh and the ribbing did seem to tighten up a little so I am reassured about wearing this hat out in public. Phew!

I also blocked the KAL Blanket square. Again, here are before and after shots.

Before

After


It looks so much more polished, not to mention it now lays flat without being pinned!



Just look at the stitch definition you get with this yarn, its gorgeous. I am definitely using Elle Elite for my blanket. It drapes nicely, feels so soft and I really like the muted colours the range comes in.

So in summary, blocking rocks!

Oh, and I hope you have a very happy New Year, and that 2009 brings you all that you wish for.