Warning: Blanket Under Construction

There are two things that I love about knitting. (OK, there are more than two things, but for purposes of this post I'm only going to write about two!!)

The first is the process--knitting is meditative, challenging, creative, essential; it binds me to all those who make fabric with sticks and string since the beginning of the craft and until the end of time.

Second is the spirit of community that knitters share. I especially value group projects. Oh, I know, some group projects have turned out so unspeakably ugly that only their mother could love them. I've organized a number of group projects and they all have produced items more beautiful than you could imagine.

Before I describe the current project that is the topic of this post, let me brag about one of my other group projects.

I used to teach an after school knitting club at the neighborhood elementary school. The children at the school are from more than 50 different countries in the world, mainly due to the fact that the University's student family housing is close by. Every year the kids, the teachers, mothers, fathers, grandparents, the school principal and even the school nurse would knit squares that I would then sew into a patchwork afghan. In 2003 I designed patterns to knit the flags of all the countries represented in the school!! Children from first grade through fifth grade worked on squares/flags, along with teachers, parents, etc., etc. Everyone was so proud of the resulting blanket.
In addition to the sense of pride that all the children had (can you see it in their faces??) I was most pleased with the how the blanket brought together the parents from different, and sometimes warring, countries. Dozens of people at a time crowded around the blanket at the annual school auction to locate their flag, or the flag someone they knew worked on. The blanket created a world community. I was hooked on group blankets!! (click the photo for a larger view.)

This year I started a fiber arts circle at my church. The ten of us meet regularly to create a smaller community within the larger community of our church. We bring our handwork--everyone knits, but some members are mainly quilters, or mainly weavers. We explore ourselves and our spirituality through the commonality of our love for working with fiber.

(NOW to the group project!!!)
The ten of us decided to make a blanket for the church auction in April. Because our church was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright we decided to make a blanket that is inspired by the the structure and the colors of our church. We debated the merits of various designs, various techniques and various colors. We debated the merits of everyone following a pattern versus everyone riffing on a theme. We talked about gauge and needle size. We talked about the number of squares and the size of squares. I talked about the mind numbing task of sewing the squares together, making an edging, etc.

We finally agree to knit bias squares, with mandatory color changes every 12 garter ridges and permissive color changes every 6 garter ridges except for the beginning and ending 12 garter ridges. We agreed on a gauge that would result in squares 11 inches on each side.

We selected colors from our church--the famous Frank Lloyd Wright brick red, the gold and tan of the limestone walls, the teal and greens of the bench cushions, the greens of the well loved trees on the property. We also took found these colors in the original drapery designed and woven by Frank Lloyd Wright's wife Oglivanna and women of the church. The drapery wore out years ago and is gone, except for a restored section that is on display in a locked case. We examined the drapery and found shades of purple, which we included in our squares. We went to a local yarn shop to select yarn and colors. We took a color card to our church, holding tiny bits of yarn to stone, floor, cushion and drapery. We held a meeting to wind the 33 skeins of Cascade 220 into small and medium size balls--five swifts and ball winders attached to a dining room table!!
Then, we retreated to our homes, to cafes, to automobiles, etc., to knit our squares.

As any experienced knitter would expect, the squares were somewhat irregular in size and the "rules" were followed to the best of the knitters' interpretations. Each knitter was proud of her work and eager to see the result.

We held a meeting at the studio of a group member who is a fabulous weaver--and who has a large table.


Ok. We had 35 squares to arrange. Five on one side and seven on the other side. My scientist husband (PhD from MIT) says that the number of possible arrangements of 35 squares in a 5 x 7 format is either 612 or "35 factorial". (my brother--a MENSA member--tried to calculate 35 factorial on my daughters fancy calculator and received the message "overflow error." ) I think we tried every arrangement with the squares on the table--our brains were definitely on "overflow error" mode! (My daughter just calculated 35 factorial on her calculator and received the answer of 1 followed by 40 zeros!!!!)



The results are fantastic, we think. The photos do not do the colors justice, however. The flash of the camera made the colors too bright and garish.

thirty five squares are sewn together as I write this. However, 35,000 ends need to be sewn in. We also need another column of seven squares. "Emergency volunteers" are knitting them as we speak. Also, more "emergency knitters" are knitting long 15 stitch bands of dark brick red to "frame" the blanket. It will be big enough for a coverlet on a queen size bed.

The blanket construction takes place at my house. It currently occupies the living room floor. It also occupies all of my knitting time for the moment. Group members stop by to drop off squares, strips or just to view the blanket-under-construction.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

Knit on, through all crises

More Crises
I don't know if you recall, but my youngest brother (age 45) had a stroke last fall. His recovery has been slow. Although he has been back at work, he is able to work only part time. In addition, his vision is not sufficiently restored to be able to drive or read well. Each day involves a tremendous amount of effort, physical as well as emotional.
Last Friday, after a week of full time days at work, he developed severe headaches. Although he went to the ER twice, the diagnosis was only tension headache. Finally, on Sunday morning, his vision was worse. One eye drifted off to the far side and his eyelid was closed. Another trip to the ER resulted in a MRI, which showed a tumor on his pituitary gland that had swollen and bled, resulting in pressure on his optic nerves. The headaches were the first sign of the swollen and bleeding tumor. Last night he had emergency neuro surgery to remove the pituitary gland. Once again he is in the hospital. Pituitary surgery would be difficult enough, but the recovery is compounded by his ongoing, slow recovery from his stroke.
I went to the ER and hospital last night to stay with my sister-in-law. The surgery went well and there will be further tests, etc., today. My brother is absolutely exhausted, as one might expect.

My Knitting Life
My knitting seems to pale in comparison with the seriousness of my brother's situation. However, my last two posts have not shared any photos, and I am proud of my few efforts on the knitting front. My graduate school projects have taken precedence this semester!!!

Saving Well Loved Mittens
First of all, my wonderful nordic mittens from Charlene Schurch's book wore thin. I described this problem in a previous post. The angora contrast yarn did not stand up to normal wear. Here you can see the broken and thin light blue angora.
I love these mittens. So, I dedicated two days to duplicate stitching all of the light blue angora on the palms and thumbs. I know, perhaps this angora will also wear away. But, I love the feel of the angora on the inside. Now, with duplicate thickness, I am hoping for two more years of wear.

Inability To Save Cold Teenage Feet
I have also been trying to make something that my 15 year old daughter will wear. She is the yarn-heathen, conservative fashionista. She won't wear anything that will call attention to herself. This means, she must wear only what EVERYONE else is wearing. Nothing on the fringe. It's cold here in Wisconsin in the winter!! She wears little white cotton sock-ettes and clog type shoes. She walks home from school, in the snow and cold, and her toes are blue with cold when she arrives home. I thought I had the perfect solution!! Wool sock-ettes!!! Fashion perfect. Hidden by the long jeans!!! Keep the toes warm. I used sock yarn she had admired.
See, aren't they cute and perfect??
I was very impressed with them. I used a picot hem at the top. And, they even fit!!

I bet the Yarn Harlot's three teen-age daughters would LOVE to have such a pair of sock-ettes!!! These socks, however, have stayed out of sight in my daughter's sock drawer since they were finished. They have never seen the light of day, much less the dark of the inside of a pair of shoes. Daughter-dear says she loves the socks. She just won't wear them. They would make her stand out. "People" will laugh. Other people would not be seen dead in such socks. Sigh..........

Saving My Sanity
I tend to take my laptop to knitting cafes in order to do homework for my courses this semester. Usually I have a small project in my backpack, purse or car and I struggle with concentrating on my homework when the project is whining and begging. Two weeks ago I was at the knitting cafe with NO PROJECT!!! I worked on my homework, but then I couldn't stand it any longer. My fingers itched. My brain needed the salve of rhythmic repetitive actions. I gave in. I purchased some yarn and some needles. Size 4. I have at least 10 size 4 needles--either straight pairs or every length of circular--at home. But I needed the NOW!! I purchased some hand dyed sock yarn and cast on. Here's the result.
A one-skein Seafoam stitch narrow scarf. 36 stitches wide. Size four needles. Aren't those colors fabulous????
Unfortunately, in my crazed, addicted state of mind at the yarn shop, rushed to get the project on the needles, I ripped off the ball band and tossed it aside. I believe it is ArtYarns sock yarn. Don't know which colorway.

Socks For Me!!!
The two pair of Lucy Neatby Mermaid Socks that I made before Christmas went to good feet, but not my feet. Daughter #1 took the blue ones. Step-daughter took the fall colored ones. My feet needed some of those spectacular, snug-but-not-too-tight fitting socks. So, I cast on for myself.

Sock #1 done, sock #2 on the way. Don't you just love what this pattern does to self striping yarns?? It looks like entrelac, but it's not. Lucy Neatby, you're my hero!!

Church Project
I haven't blogged about this yet. My church has been growing in the past few years and we have missed the intimacy of the smaller congregation. As a result, the church started some Chalice Groups--small groups of 10 or so who meet regularly to explore some theme of issues and to create community. I decided that knitting, as a spiritual/creative activity, was a good theme for a Chalice Group. I started a group of fiber artists--some knitters, weavers, quilters--and we meet monthly. Each Chalice Group must do a service project. We decided to make a blanket for our upcoming church auction. Our church building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it is too small for the congregation. We are in the process/throes of having an addition designed and built. In honor of our historic structure (which remains intact) we selected colors and themes from the building. The blanket is still under construction--as will be the new addition at the time of the auction! Here are some sneak previews.




Square-placement design is driving us nuts!!!!

Milestones Reached
Daughter #2 has received her learner's permit for driving. Thus far she has spent 2 hours behind the wheel in a large and almost-empty parking lot. I was along for one of the sessions, in the back seat knitting and providing moral support. Dad was in the front seat giving directions. Daughter was behind the wheel nervously trying to accelerate to 15 mph, turn square corners,, etc, and telling Dad that his directions were confusing. Dad was trying to defend his instructions. I was trying to mediate. Knitting was essential to sanity.

I leave you with photos of our favorite season--SNOW!!! All the snow here is gone and spring bulbs are forcing up their tentative green shoots. We miss our snowman and snow tunnel.




Happy Spring to All!!!

el once de marzo

Here in the USA we tend to focus only on September 11 as the day our world changed forever. However, we need to remember that in Madrid, Spain, on March 11, 2004 terrorists detonated multiple bombs in train stations and on trains during the busy commuter time. Ten simultaneous explosions on four trains at 8:00 a.m. killed 191 people and wounded more than 1700 more. Yesterday, Spain honored the dead and wounded with a stunning glass memorial. In memory of those killed and injured by terrorist bombings the world over, let us all take the opportunity to learn more about those who are different than we are, about those from other countries and cultures and those who do not share our same religion. Reach out to someone you would not ordinarily talk with. Make the world smaller and more tolerant with your own actions. Maybe we knitters can begin to change the world!!

Not knitting!

I am sitting in a local yarn/coffee shop with NO knitting in my bag. How did that happen??? I have my laptop and my homework for three classes. Am I doing homework?? No. I'm browsing through knitting books I have already memorized, I'm inspecting yarn on the shelves and in bins, and I'm contemplating purchasing needles and yarn for a new project. Not that I need a new project mind you; I have several projects on the needles at home. I find it soooooo hard to focus on my homework.

The past few weeks have been filled with homework, visits from my parents, cooking, cleaning, shoveling snow, grocery shopping. Not much time left for knitting. Why is the world so incredibly boring without knitting? I despair at the fact I am not sufficiently witty or creative to make a living on writing about knitting or designing knitting patterns. Spending my life centered around knitting, wouldn't that be wonderful???

I don't have my camera with me so I can't show you the gorgeous view from the window--beautiful blue ski and the dazzling white snow atop the frozen lake. Ice fishermen are huddled on their overturned pails or cozy inside their shanties hoping for the best perch/bluegill/other fish to bite. I'm inside the shop, seated next to the window, drinking a latte and munching on some cherry/flax/pecan bread. I don't think you could ever get me to sit on a frozen lake, atop a plastic pail, with a string hanging through a hole in the ice--not unless it was warm enough to take off my mittens and knit. In that case, it would be too dangerous to be out on the frozen lake.

Alas, I also can't show you the pair of Lucy Neatby Marietta socks I finished for myself, made out of flourescent green, yellow and black Trekking yarn, or the first of a pair of Mermaid Socks, another Lucy Neatby pattern, made out of some rose and green Trekking. The first of the Marietta socks is here. Thankfully, I can't show you that I've made NO progress on my husband's Dale sweater. However, I would like to show you that I actually duplicate stitched the palms of a pair of Norwegian mittens I made last winter--I used angora for the lighter color and it did not hold up to wear on the palms. I won't make that mistake again. It took an entire Harry Potter movie plus an evening of CSI to repair the palms. I must remember that angora is only for dress mittens, not for everyday use. It feels sooooo soft, but it doesn't stand up to driving, opening doors, running the snowblower, etc.

I'm sure my husband would want me to take a photo of the 15 balls of yarn sitting on a table in the family room since Thanksgiving. I intended to use up that yarn before Christmas on hats, scarves, etc, etc. I still haven't put it away. I'm relieved I can't show you that I have not yet removed the Christmas decorations from the front door. We still have deep snow on the ground, so the season isn't officially over!!

Thanks for listening to me. I will return to my homework--an analysis of Walk Two Moons, an essay for Spanish 226, and planning an interactive instructional technology lesson. Urgh........

Twin Happiness

I have two wonderful daughters, fifteen years apart! They are my pride and joy and I have loved every minute of motherhood. Some minutes, of course, I would have paid someone to take them off my hands, but, as does labor, those minutes fade from one's consciousness.
However, I daily thank my lucky stars that I did NOT have twins. I admire mothers and fathers of multiples. How they make it through every day is a feat that should be studied by efficiency experts. I know that I would not have survived to the first birthday of a set of twins, should I have had a set.

My daughter's choir director had a set of twin boys four days ago. This woman also has a 2.5 year old daughter. She is a middle school choir director. And the director of three youth choirs at our church. And the director of another serious youth choir. And she does solo performance work. And, did I mention, that she just had twin boys??? I've had a hard enough time making two blankets for the boys, much less pushing them out during LONG labor, then feeding them, diapering them, feeding them, diapering them.......
Last October I knit this fabulous Debbie Bliss Alphabet Blanket for the baby, that was later determined to be two babies. I used the softest acrylic yarn every produced--by Pinguouin--called Mousse. I'd been waiting to know of a baby so that I could make the pattern. The knitting was great fun, but I didn't want to repeat it. It requires a pattern at one's disposal for every other row. Bummer.
I knew I had to make another blanket for baby #2. I know that twins are close, but I didn't think they would want to share their lovey blanket. So, I had a problem. The Mousse yarn has been discontinued for quite a number of years. The yarn I had was in my stash for who knows how long. Fortunately, I found more of the same yarn, in a brighter blue, on E-Bay. But, I didn't have a lot of time to complete the second blanket. And, I wanted something I could knit without keeping a pattern at my side. So, I decided to make Bonnie Evans' Pinwheel Blanket, found here on the internet. then I started to worry. What if Baby #2 was jealous of Baby #1's fancy alphabet block blanket?? Would Baby #2 develop an inferiority complex because his blanket was plain?? And, what would the mother think??? Fortunately, the pinwheel blanket has ten segments. I knitted in the numbers from 1-10, in reverse stockinette.
After completing half of the numbers I realized that the numbers would have been more recognizable if I had done them in seed stitch, rather than reverse stockinette. But, I was knitting on a deadline and I was not about to rip out the interior of the blanket. There are some limits to which I will not go for a baby blanket-- that will absorb spit up, spilt milk and worse. The "9" above looks pretty good, but the "1" below gets lost in the curling of the reverse stockinette. I tried blocking it, but I know the acrylic will "sproing" back to its curling. I don't think the mother will notice--she's got her hands full with other matters now.
I applied the same lace edging that was on the Debbie Bliss blanket, so that the two blankets look like fraternal twins, even if they are not identical twins like the babies. I used an acrylic called Smooth, dk, by King Cole. It has the glow of a satin blanket edging. I thought that the babies might like to chew on the edge, and this yarn should stand up to chewing better than the fuzzy Mousse. I would not recommend the Smooth for anything that requires backbone. It is the drapiest stuff I ever used and it was hard to keep the yarn on the needles, even when using bamboo.
Here is the entire pinwheel blanket. I love it. the numbers worked out great. Not that I would like to have twins myself so that I could knit another one, however.


My 15 year old decided the blanket made a great shawl. But I don't think she would want to wear it outside of the house!!
Earlier this month, Brooklyntweed posted a nice retrospective of some great Komi mittens he made last year. He commented on how well they were standing up, etc. Well, my retrospective pales by comparison. Below is a pullover I made for the 15 year old when she was 9 or so. I used a Sirdar yarn that was nothing but fuzz held together with thread. I couldn't tell when I was knitting or purling. In fact, although the pattern called for ribbing, it was impossible to tell that I had ribbed, or when I had dropped a stitch! And, I couldn't tell front from back or inside from outside (it was knit in stockinette). In fact, the 15 year old calls it her "dryer fluff" sweater. She never wore it when she was 9, or when she was 10. But, when she was 11 she wore it when the weather was so cold that she couldn't stay warm. Since then, she wears it on the coldest days of the year, but not out of the house. Somehow, the sweater grows with her!! the sweater looks just as good (or bad, depending on your point of view) as the day it slid off the needles.


I'm wondering whether she will take it to college with her???
My next retrospective is a modified tote bag from a Just One More Row pattern. I used leftover wool warn from my stash instead of the Himalayan Silk called for in the pattern. And, I made a ribbed strap/handle that I attached to the side gussets rather than the I-cord short handles attached to the front and back panels. And, I lined it and the handle/strap. I love it. I have used it for three years now and it still looks as good as the day it slipped off the needles!! Everytime I am in public with it, I get comments from men and women alike. Knitters and non-knitters. Of course, I live in the snowy, down-home, unfashionable Midwest where we can get away with almost anything. But, I love, love, love the bag. I loved the construction and the knitting. I did not love making the lining, so I outsourced that part of the project to my mother. (she hates to knit, but has sewed for about 70 of her 81 years. She wanted to know what she could get me for christmas, so I allowed as how I would love a lining for my purse....)
Finally, I give your this belated valentine strawberry. It was in the box of strawberries I purchased for Valentine Day dessert. I hope you had a loving day with your family and/or friends.

Fabulous February

Ah, I love February. Christmas is done; the Christmas ornaments, decorations and tree are packed away (we hope) and we can get on with the serious business of enjoying winter. Finally, here in Wisconsin, we have snow on the ground, bright blue cold skies, and serious winter temperatures of 0 Farenheit at night and in the single digits during the daytime. Snow crunches underfoot and all the knitted hats and scarves come out of the closets!!! My daughters leave the house wrapped in items I made for them. It warms a mother's heart.

My Komi mittens, from Charlene Schurch's book Knitting Marvelous Mittens are finished, felted and on my hands keeping them warm!!! In my previous post, I proudly showed how I had inverted the color design on the palm of the mitten, just for fun. I blithely did the same on the second mitten, but forgot to watch for the thumb placement. Rats!!! Pay attention, Gail!!! Oh well, no one notices that my mittens are different for each hand and I kind of like the "joke". I love looking at the difference in the patterns on each hand. I also made a matching earwarmer/headband using the Mountain Colors yarn. Today ears need to be covered to avoid frost bite.
I just purchased a new computer--a MacBook laptop. I love it, but am still getting used to the programs. I thought I had adjusted colors and turned all the photos to be right side up, but when I went to load them onto Blogger, I only found the original photos to upload. The colors in the mittens should be brighter and they should be standing up. But, you can get the idea, I hope.

I am also having a great time designing a blanket for one of the twins expected soon by my daughter's choir director. My daughter is 15 and she has been singing with this director since she was 4 years old!! I made the first blanket in October; it is Debbi Bliss' Alphabet Blanket that you can view here. I used Pinguoin Mousse that I had in my stash from decades ago. Because the yarn was discontinued, I couldn't purchase any more of it for the second blanket. Then, I searched on E-Bay and found some Mousse in another color--a bright turquoise type blue!. Perfect!! The twins are boys.
I am using the Pinwheel Blanket pattern as a base. Because this blanket has ten segments, I decided to put the numerals from 1-10 into it. I didn't have time to figure out how to match the lace alphabet letters, so I am doing the numerals in reverse stockinette stitch. Great fun.
Here is the chart I made for the numbers.
And here's the blanket thus far. (whoops, don't know what happened with the coding, but since the photos are there, I won't worry!!)
catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDG-oZ8SR_IuVX1AJHFDCI4Cqx-K0hgL_lBdoH4tyJk0wGswKwrg86y5Bs4mGT29v-rEVlmLTspE00-taMvv0XYJPAXQIf3Oo6717wEZuyePgM01_lOzfKmBqEthbi73OFefF-Q/s1600-h/102_1632.JPG">I know, lit looks like a great big tam at this point. But, if you look carefully at the knitting closest to the needles (on the middle left) you can see the beginnings of a number!! I don't know if the twins (boys) will ever read the alphabet letters and numbers on their blankets, but I know the mom will.

As if I don't have enough to do already with my three courses (Spanish Advanced Grammar, Instructional Design and Technology and Children's Literature) and my family knitting projects, I started a blanket for our church auction. Ten of us are knitting squares for the blanket out of Cascade 220 using colors that "match" our church building; the building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is a National Historic Landmark. We are making diagonal squares and will assemble them along the lines of Tikkupetto's blankets. Check her design #44. Here's my first square--at least half of it!! We hope the finished project is fabulous that that we sell lots of raffle tickets for it!!



And, not last but least, is this lonely sock from one of Lucy Neatby's patterns--the Marietta sock. I love Lucy Neatby's sock patterns, and all of her patterns. But they do require some attention with the brain and not just the fingers. I'm not sure when I will have time to knit this sock's mate. I long to have both socks on my feet, but will have to wait until I have time to knit for myself again. First, I have to finish that pinwheel number blanket, then the Dale of Norway sweater for husband. I hope it will still be cold outside when I finish that second sock!!

Still Catching Up

Many knitting bloggers are posting about new projects for the new year. Unfortunately, I am still catching up from 2006's Christmas presents. Somehow this happens to me every year. I give people a box of yarn--these are people who do not know how to knit and do not want to learn. (yes, I also have a hard time believing the some people actually do not want to learn to knit, but they do exist. Right in my own family!!)
This past Christmas I gave my mother THREE-FOURTHS of a sock. She was very excited about it--I think. I must tell you that she showed excitement and deep appreciation when she unwrapped the box labelled "Christmas lights." She thought I had given her a box of Christmas lights!!! Now, I ask you, who would give their mother a box of Christmas lights???? And, what mother would be excited about a box of Christmas lights?? My mother did a good job of feigning excitment about the Christmas lights. Therefore, I couldn't tell whether she was feigning excitment about the 3/4 sock or not!!
Let me assure you, however, that she actually liked the completed socks. I used Paton's Kroy sock yarn in a heather-y blue and a pattern from Interweave Knits Spring 2004. The Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn Clark. I added eye of partridge stitch for the heel, just to look pretty for my mom.
Remember the basket of knitted items, from which friends and family could select an item?? Some of those items were not finished objects. This scarf, for example, did not have its ends sewn in. Nevertheless, my step daughter's boyfriend (very, very nice boyfriend whose mother used to knit a lot and APPRECIATES handmade items!!!) selected the scarf for his present! I think this is a boyfriend made in heaven, if you ask me.
The hat for step-daughter was also not complete. It did not have its tassel, nor did it have the microfleece lining sewn in. I was able to finish both, however, while she was looking at family slides with her dad!! My 15-year old demonstrated how one can get the tassle spinning (while wearing the hat, of course) and almost achieve lift-off!! Just watching her do this makes me dizzy. But, step-daughter was very entertained and actually got the tassle spinning!
My 15-year old received one mitten for Christmas. I finally finished mitten #2 and felted it a bit. She likes the mittens--to look at--at to wear--theoretically. Although the weather has finally reached normal (that is, cold) temperatures and we have snow on the ground (hooray!!) she has yet to wear the mittens. She says she is afraid of loosing them. Hmmmmm, Anyway, the pattern is from the book Folk Mittens, a favorite of mine. I used Cascade 220 periwinkle and Ultra Alpaca cream. The mittens are nice and cozy--I hope youngest daughter wears them someday. If she doesn't, the periwinkle also matches my new winter jacket.......

The leftover sock yarn blanket is an ongoing gift for the youngest. I hope to complete it before she goes off to college. Although I promised that I would use only LEFTOVER sock yarn, my definition of "leftover" has expanded. I used yarn leftover from socks that I made and from socks that other people made but I ran out of yarn. I can't knit socks fast enough to fuel the blanket project. Therefore, I have begun to use leftover sock yarn from yarn shops--those 50 gram one-ball remnants that go into the clearance bin because the store doesn't have a second ball. I feel like standing on a street corner begging, "Leftover sock yarn, please help an old lady warm her daughter!"
So far, I've made 90 squares. I gave youngest daughter 9 more squares for Christmas--the squares in the top row. She actually uses this item. It's not big enough to serve as a blanket for her bed, but she puts it ontop of her comforter and it provides nice extra warmth.
My "rules" for making the blanket are here. I would be very (extremely) happy to purchase any leftover sock yarn that you have. (washable and self striping preferred) Just let me know and I'll also pay postage.

I've also been working on my husband's Christmas gift for 2005!!! I won't repeat the painful time we had picking out the pattern and yarn. I finished the color work on the sweater and now am doing boring, boring, boring stockinette shaping the neck. I just can't face it. I am in the black hole of knitting where you knit 10,000 stitches and measure the progress, only to find that the measurement decreased rather than increased!!!! I won't even show you a picture, it is too painful.
What does a knitter do when she is bored with a project??? Cast on for a new project!!! I need mittens. Weather here is COLD!! I opened up the gorgeous book by Charlene Schurch, Knitting Marvelous Mittens. [Digression__I love her patterns and have made three or four of them. But, I can NEVER get the proper gauge. My dad's Christmas mittens from the book ended up 15 inches long!!! And, he has short stubby hands. Fortunately, I like to felt mittens to keep out the wind. His finished mittens will keep out a winter gale!!] I am following a pattern for child mittens, size 3 needles and Mountain Colors weaver's quarters and Ultra Alpaca. I needed to begin decreasing about 10-12 rows sooner than the pattern called for. And the first mitten is fabulous!!


Can you tell the difference between the two photos??? It's not a mistake.

This, however, is a mistake. I tried doing the kitchener stitch for the top of the mitten, but it looks sloppy--especially since I couldn't work the pattern repeat for the desired length. I'm going to pick it out, turn the mitten inside out, and use a three needle bind-off.

My school break ends tomorrow. Back to school on Monday. I have loved knitting so much during the break, and hosting company. And I was tickled to see how excited people were to paw through my basket of hand knit hats, scarves and mittens. I'm going to keep a basket of items, I think, just for the fun of it!!