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Knitting Friday
I'd like to report that on the snow day we had last Wednesday (Website Wednesday) I used a recipe from my website pick and made copy-cat nutrition bars. They were a hit. Well, not so much with the boy who insists they remind him of some food which made him throw up once. I added half peanut butter to the butter ingredients and mini chocolate chips to the jelly filling. OK, not that nutritious but the chips were dark chocolate. I'm like to try wheat germ mixed with the cake mix and a jelly which has fiber next time. But they were good.
Yesterday, I punched up the first draft of my newsletter, moaning and bitching the whole time. But it's basically done.
On to knitting: My blocking wires arrived from Knit Picks. I love them. Of course, my first blocking try on the floor was the most strenuous knitting time I have ever had - ever. Boy, was that work! I stretched a 55" shawl to 90"! It was am
azing. Now, I'm wondering if I should stop my work 30" before the desired length and just block the hell out of it. It would definitely save on yarn costs.
Here's a picture of my second blocking project. Notice that I'm working off a table now? Notice the mistake in the center? I never saw that one before and, of course, I have no idea what pattern I used. However, I wear this as a scarf and no one will notice it. This one blocked to 55", which is too short for a shawl for me, but the width is an enormous 30".
Knit Picks sends you enough wires (15 - 32") for a project but not enough T pins (20.)
My mom asked me what I wanted for my b-day (I'm a Feb. baby; shortest month to celebrate in the year and I do think you should celebrate all month.) so I worked up a $50 free-shipping present from Knit Picks. I'm going to try their interchangeable needle sampler; get their Boye's crochet kit (I probably have all the hook sizes known to man but they do come in a convenient case) and a package of 60 T pins.
I just clicked on the Knit Picks site and the front page has 100 skeins of Palette - all their colors, one skein each - for $184. I am tempted........ (Back story: the shawl I just blocked to 90" came from a huge ball of green wools, spliced together. I was toying with a wacky winter vest but the girl said: Make a shawl. She was so right. I'm looking at the Palette sampler and imagining all the scarves/shawls I could make.)
Finally: Anna's Shawl at right. Jenny Coombe is the designer and it's a free Ravelry download so you need to be a member to view it. However, getting this pattern is worth Ravelry membership; which, of course, is free.
Jenny crocheted this in Paton Classic Wool on an I hook. The shawl you see at the right only doubles in size before you start the very wide lace border. What I like about this pattern:
1. It's Row 3 repeated all the way until you get to the lace section.
2. The center is chain 2, single crochet (center stitch), chain 2. This makes for a very nice open middle with substance. I really don't like the flimsiness of the knitted (YO, K1, YO) for the center of many triangular shawls.
3. The triangle is not pointed but more curved.
4. You can deepen the shawl by continuing Row 3 for more than 50 rows.
5. I started another shawl in this pattern in lace weight and an L hook and it looks gorgeous. (You may know, I love lace weight on large hooks or needles.)
What I changed with my pattern. First, what you see is my prototype. As you may also know, I've been burned so many times with patterns that I always start out on "inferior" yarn. This time, I'm making a "house" shawl where the yarn just has to be warm, never mind that it's a rip-out from a past afghan. It's the right weight as Paton Classic but I'm using an N hook which I think is making a warm fit without having the look of your grandma's crochet projects.
Oh, and I can save you some time if you like to experiment with your work as I do. I've tried half-double crochet and extended single crochet on this project. I've tried making the center more closed by chaining one and not two stitches on each side of the center stitch. Stick with the pattern as written; it works. Change the hook size if you want variation.
Happy knitting.
I'd like to report that on the snow day we had last Wednesday (Website Wednesday) I used a recipe from my website pick and made copy-cat nutrition bars. They were a hit. Well, not so much with the boy who insists they remind him of some food which made him throw up once. I added half peanut butter to the butter ingredients and mini chocolate chips to the jelly filling. OK, not that nutritious but the chips were dark chocolate. I'm like to try wheat germ mixed with the cake mix and a jelly which has fiber next time. But they were good.
Yesterday, I punched up the first draft of my newsletter, moaning and bitching the whole time. But it's basically done.
On to knitting: My blocking wires arrived from Knit Picks. I love them. Of course, my first blocking try on the floor was the most strenuous knitting time I have ever had - ever. Boy, was that work! I stretched a 55" shawl to 90"! It was am
azing. Now, I'm wondering if I should stop my work 30" before the desired length and just block the hell out of it. It would definitely save on yarn costs.Here's a picture of my second blocking project. Notice that I'm working off a table now? Notice the mistake in the center? I never saw that one before and, of course, I have no idea what pattern I used. However, I wear this as a scarf and no one will notice it. This one blocked to 55", which is too short for a shawl for me, but the width is an enormous 30".
Knit Picks sends you enough wires (15 - 32") for a project but not enough T pins (20.)
My mom asked me what I wanted for my b-day (I'm a Feb. baby; shortest month to celebrate in the year and I do think you should celebrate all month.) so I worked up a $50 free-shipping present from Knit Picks. I'm going to try their interchangeable needle sampler; get their Boye's crochet kit (I probably have all the hook sizes known to man but they do come in a convenient case) and a package of 60 T pins.
I just clicked on the Knit Picks site and the front page has 100 skeins of Palette - all their colors, one skein each - for $184. I am tempted........ (Back story: the shawl I just blocked to 90" came from a huge ball of green wools, spliced together. I was toying with a wacky winter vest but the girl said: Make a shawl. She was so right. I'm looking at the Palette sampler and imagining all the scarves/shawls I could make.)
Finally: Anna's Shawl at right. Jenny Coombe is the designer and it's a free Ravelry download so you need to be a member to view it. However, getting this pattern is worth Ravelry membership; which, of course, is free.
Jenny crocheted this in Paton Classic Wool on an I hook. The shawl you see at the right only doubles in size before you start the very wide lace border. What I like about this pattern:
1. It's Row 3 repeated all the way until you get to the lace section.
2. The center is chain 2, single crochet (center stitch), chain 2. This makes for a very nice open middle with substance. I really don't like the flimsiness of the knitted (YO, K1, YO) for the center of many triangular shawls.
3. The triangle is not pointed but more curved.
4. You can deepen the shawl by continuing Row 3 for more than 50 rows.
5. I started another shawl in this pattern in lace weight and an L hook and it looks gorgeous. (You may know, I love lace weight on large hooks or needles.)
What I changed with my pattern. First, what you see is my prototype. As you may also know, I've been burned so many times with patterns that I always start out on "inferior" yarn. This time, I'm making a "house" shawl where the yarn just has to be warm, never mind that it's a rip-out from a past afghan. It's the right weight as Paton Classic but I'm using an N hook which I think is making a warm fit without having the look of your grandma's crochet projects.
Oh, and I can save you some time if you like to experiment with your work as I do. I've tried half-double crochet and extended single crochet on this project. I've tried making the center more closed by chaining one and not two stitches on each side of the center stitch. Stick with the pattern as written; it works. Change the hook size if you want variation.
Happy knitting.
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