Medicare For All

Knitting Friday

I seemed to be knitting like a champ this week - and accomplishing little. A successful project was the baby’s blanket. It’s the free Lion Brand V-stitch crocheted blanket:

http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/chsb-victoryBlanket.html

(Note: You may remember that I left a teaser in a Knitting Friday about a shawl I was knitting from a free LB pattern. At that time, I was happy will the progress. Unfortunately, ths project was completely ripped out. So until this baby blanket I would have said that I have just not been successful with LB patterns. But the above pattern is a winner.)

I used Lion Brand Pound of Love in antique white which is really pale yellow. I don’t know how this yarn will wash but it was delightful to work with and made a very soft blanket. I kept with the K hook recommendation and got a 32" x 32" blanket. The edging was a row of single crochet followed by a row of picot (which for me is: ch 3, sc in third ch from hook.) The blanket does have holes but my survey of Ravelry moms showed me that they were happy with such blankets. Plus, I did start a garter stitch blanket but it was so dull; not what you want to make for a surprise gift. So, as you can see from the picture, this was a success story.

Not so much with my Red Heart Plush pullover. When you begin chanting: 57 rows to go, 56 rows to go....... you know you have moved into the dreaded brain-dead knitting area. It’s all done except the second sleeve. I never realized my arms were so long because I seem to be knitting for days on the sleeves. But I am happy with the crocheted edging on the body and sleeves (one row sc, one row hdc, one row sc.)

I think I know why they discontinued Plush: it’s not a user-friendly yarn. The garment has “spring” but drop a stitch and it becomes as elastic as cotton, which means you get a gap or ladder when you correct the error by latching up the dropped stitch back to the needle.

I do have a repair tip which may only work on a textured yarn like Plush. When an area in stockinette looks wonky because you’ve done a repair or changed tension, go to the back of the garment and pull a garter bump to close the gap on the right side. Instantly, the right side should look smooth but you’re left with a loop on the wrong side which I usually just tack down (because if you don’t the gap will work its way to the right side again.) With this project, I put the wrong side loop on the needle (you can’t do this if your gap is far down and you just noticed it) knitted it with a regular stitch. Voila! The loop is secured and nothing shows. But, as I said, the textured nature of the yarn helps with hiding this repair.

In spite of my antipathy for Plush, I am happy with knitting a garment from the top and I’m planning to make a cardigan/vest garment next this way.

But the other project I already have on the needles is a blue cotton vest. This is a bottom to top garment in my usually lazy man’s pattern: cast on the stitches for the body. Join. Work round to armhole. Mark armhole. Work straight to shoulders. Bind off. Crochet edging around the neck and armholes. The pattern I’m using for this vest is K 10, Seed stitch 10, in alternate blocks so I don’t know if I will get any rolling. at the hem. If not, I may not make a hem border, or, at best, just do the crab stitch across.

And finally, I’ll leave you with the pattern I’m itching to start, The Cali Cardi:

http://www.flyhoney.com/flyhoney/the-cali-cardi-pattern.html

It’s a top down short cardigan which is really nothing special (garter and stockinette) but it looks like such an easy pattern and I know the directions will work since they are similar to my Plush pullover (similar in number of Cast On stitches that is; some top down Cast On numbers are unbelievably large.) I think I'll substitute seed stitch for garter stitch for some “pop.”

More on this next week. Happy knitting.