The granny square blanket has reached a momentary stasis, until I buy another (another!) ball of yarn. After making the next set of squares, I'll move on to arranging the squares and determining the final layout of the blanket. My color sense is still a work in progress, so I'm dreading this part of the process. However, I'm sure it will end up looking just fine etc etc. I'll try to get some pictures of the progress as it comes along.
My laptop cover - started several months ago, in a quest to familiarize myself with creating colorwork and using bold palettes - is so nearly finished, I can taste it. I have only a few dull but necessary tasks to complete: While the ends have been sewn in, I still need to trim them nice and short. There dozens of these, and I really don't like trimming ends. Perhaps I'll just leave them alone - who would see them anyway? I also need to find and sew a button in place, for my wee loop to snuggle around. Normally I enjoy selecting buttons for a project, but I'm very stumped as to what to use for this, and I don't want to spend ages looking for a single button. Instead, I'll probably raid my stash, which is currently packed away. I can't access it until this weekend, so I've got time to consider my option. A toggle seems best suited, but I'm positive I don't have any of those lying around.
The granny square blanket has reached a momentary stasis, until I buy another (another!) ball of yarn. After making the next set of squares, I'll move on to arranging the squares and determining the final layout of the blanket. My color sense is still a work in progress, so I'm dreading this part of the process. However, I'm sure it will end up looking just fine etc etc. I'll try to get some pictures of the progress as it comes along. Last week I'd hoped I would be starting to sew my blanket together, but that was apparently too ambitious of a goal. Instead, I am continuing to plug away at making my granny squares - but I've made a lot! Although, while the stack is continuing to grow, it has got some more growin' to do. The pattern is still entertaining, with enough repetition where I can whip out a square from memory whilst watching television (or, the most recent season of Orange Is The New Black on Netflix) but because each round incorporates a different stitch, or set of stitches, it's not mindless work. I did break down and buy a skein of navy blue yarn, which does slightly defeat the purpose of being a stash-busting blanket. I'm also tempted to purchase some purple. Yay or nay? I do like the rainbow effect, but I also want to rein it in a bit.
I've really fallen out of habit when it comes to Work In Progress Wednesdays, but now that I have Wednesdays off, I don't really have an excuse. I tend to spend these days knitting (or, lately, crocheting) anyway. I try to stay motivated to get out an explore the world a bit more, but... nah. I like knitting! I'm particularly excited to be house-bound today, because it's 108°F (42°C) today! This weather is more suitable for iced tea than hot tea, but both are acceptable beverages for knitting. For this WIPW, I'm sharing a granny square blanket that I started this week, which uses up leftover skeins of aran weight acrylic yarn that I had floating around. I've always wanted to turn these leftovers into a granny square blanket, but I finally found a pattern that I like: Sunburst Granny Square by Priscilla Hewitt. However, the last granny square blanket I attempted was quickly aborted when I realized how much time it would take to sew in all of the ends! As a compromise, all of the squares are made in two colors, with some white Red Heart making up the outer-most row.
I used to be much more a yarn snob, but lately I've found the cheap craft store acrylic perfectly useful for household items that I expect to get a lot of wear. Perhaps this is due to lately finding a few brands which are of a rather high quality, with a rich and interesting color palette. Or, I've been converted because most of my recent projects have been intended for babies, and goodness knows that wool is wasted on them. Still, I am a lover all of animal-based fibers, and I'm planning on using pure wool for my next sweater project. I hope that next week, I'll have some photos of the squares being sewn together. What are you working on this Wednesday? This is probably a bit cheeky, but I've taken a photo of this week's knitting project, and I ain't gonna say what it is - yet. You're very welcome to have a guess at what it will be. I'll give you a hint: it's not for wearing.
All shall be revealed soon! I know that I am a rather selfish knitter. Whenever asked who I'm knitting for, the most common answer is "myself." My explanation - and a rather reasonable one, I think - is that I wouldn't want to knit for someone, only to have them not like the gift, and then feel obligated to display excitement and interest in it, and worry about how many times they have to wear it, if they can just give it away, if they have to return the favor.... Perhaps these fears are unfounded. But there is a lot of social etiquette around gifts, especially those hand-made. Personally, I love when things are homemade, and appreciate the extra effort and thought that goes into these gifts. Very few have been total duds, and even these I find a way to make use for. But, who wants to spend all of their time knitting (and it is a terribly time-consuming activity, as much as I love it) only for the finished object to be a disappointment? This was a really crappy attitude to take. I'm slowly coming around to the idea of knitting for others more often. To start, I've been introduced to the world of charity knitting. There are loads of options: The UK Handknitting Association website has a collection of charitable causes to take on. Loving Hands organizes group charity knits and drop-off points for donated knits. The number of causes that knitters and crocheters can support is tremendous, and leaves a lot of room for creativity. Children's charities love stuffed toys of any shape or size, scarves and socks are ideal for interesting repeating motifs, and if you want to make something I'm guessing you've never tried before, there are the famous knitted boobs. I wildly admire those generous folks who are the opposite of me, i.e. they mostly knit for charity. And there are plenty of those type of do-gooders about. My new knitting ground has taken on the project of knitting jumpers for newborns in Swaziland, who are often sent home from hospital wrapped in newspaper. One of our group members, a midwife for the NHS, visits a hospital there occasionally on sabbatical and donates her skills. We hope to donate our knitting skills as well, with as many jumpers as we can manage before November. Hopefully her luggage can stand it! The pattern is dead easy, and has benefited lots of newborns thanks to knitters from all over the world. I normally knit in rather muted colors, but the pattern requests dark, bright colors, and I am happy to oblige. I've already finished one in a royal purple, the above jumper is over halfway completed, and I've got plenty of time until November to make some more. I'll let you know what the final total is.
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Mo Made This!
Knitting, crochet, sewing, baking, reading, and other domestic pursuits. Archives
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