Tag Archives: garter

Zen Yarn Garden Do Over

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I might need to have my accountant card revoked. I had a terrible math fail. I had started my Zen Yarn Garden blanket awhile back and I had knit through three stripes. I was reading my pattern (like I should have done at the outset) and realized I have DOUBLE the yarn than the pattern calls for.

Now if I had kept going I would have a crazy skinny and incredibly long blanket on my hands. Not really what I was going for so I did some research on Ravelry. I found a couple of other projects where other knitters had close to my yardage. So based on their project notes and some math using my gauge, I ripped back my blanket and started over.

This time I cast on nine pattern repeats for a total of 144 stitches. I’m MUCH more happy with this version. Now I’m working through my navy and grey stripes until I use half of those colors by weight.

This squishy blanket just makes my happy and has been my therapy project when I sit down to knit after the kids go to bed. Usually I would snuggle and play with Dex and he would sleep near me while I knit. The nights have been hard for me now that he not with me. I find myself reaching for my knitting for comfort.

What would we do without knitting!?

Progressing To The Fourth Color

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I found my lost knitting bag!! Some helpful little hands had put it inside an empty cardboard box in the basement. But the knitting was not disturbed in any way so I chose to let it slide this time. But momma will be watching from now on!!

Once I found it I realized I was super close to fading in the fourth color of the set of five. So I powered through the last few rows and got the next color added in. This new mini is very teal and Elsa blue. I even spied some purple speckles mixed in.

This is going to be one very electric rainbow in a deconstructed way. My mom has eyed this project several times while she was recuperating from her surgery at my house. (She is healing quite nicely by the way. She had some rough day initially but I think she has turned the corner to feeling more like herself.) So I’m torn between keeping this project or putting it in my Christmas box for presents.

Happy Knitting!!

Progressing To The Third Skein

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Thanks to labor day travels I made some teeny tiny progress on my Progression Shawl.

I’m through with the second mini skein (yellow-ish one) and on to the third one (blue green-ish). My mom saw me working on this and commented “oh my that is pretty”. I may see how this knit goes and make it a gift for her….

For sure, this Mad Hatter Tea Party mini skein set is going to make a statement piece. It’s an abstract rainbow with lots of black pops throughout. But I am really finding the garter soothing and easy to work. I have made some mistakes on the eyelets rows and my stitch count got off. But this pattern is easy enough to fudge that I don’t mind. And no one, not even a knitter, will ever find my eyelet mistakes. This yarn is just too busy!

Happy Knitting!!

Progressing To The Second Color

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So after showing you AAAALLLLL kinds of neutral beige looking sweaters all week I had to show you the crazy color progression on my Progression Shawl. I just added the second color.

This mini set takes me right from a berry pink color to a highlighter yellow and black color. These two mini skeins are the starkest of contrast in the set. So I hemmed and hawed and then decided to “fade” them as I added the second color. With this shawl being garter it worked out pretty well. And I guessed pretty well with yardage and only have a tiny tiny ball of pink left over.

I’m not sure how much work this will see now that I have both my sweaters either at the sleeves or separated for the sleeves. I feel like if I can give them some good love that I could have two finished sweaters really soon. Not to mention the Pigskin Party 2019 is coming right around the corner and WIPs don’t count for those imaginary point…

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Progression Shawl

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I have found my zen again. As I wrote yesterday, I frogged my everyday shawl in my Cheshire Cat mini set yarn. Yet another dive down the Ravelry pattern search rabbit hole led me to the Progression Shawl by Carin Risinger.

This pattern is a garter stitch shawl which makes me happy because I was not in the mood to purl after my issues with the everyday shawl. And it’s also incorporated some easy eyelets to add some interest. The Progression Shawl is also asymmetrical and should made a nice long shawl to wrap up cozy in next winter. Not to mention I feel like the garter and eyelets are suited to the heavy variegation in this yarn.

The added bonus to this pattern is the fact that I can adjust the instructions to easily use up all my yarn. Those kinds of details just make my OCD tendencies SUPER happy. I might decide to save out 8-10 grams total of this set to add to my memory blanket. I’ll have to see how the yarn stacks out in this shawl.

Happy Friday and Happy Knitting!!

Westport Decision Point

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I have reached the end of the pattern instructions for my Westport Blanket. I have completed the pattern recommended number of repeats. But I still have a yarn left and I really want this blanket to consume as much as possible. I’m at a decision point.

I know, roughly, how much yarn each of the stockinette block and garter rows repeat consumes. And I have one full and one partial skein left that I can hold together. I *Think* I have enough yarn for two or three more repeats and then the garter border and bindoff.

My only concern that is if I add too much more length that the blanket will become more of weirdly shaped rectangle and less of a usable blanket. This fabric texture and gauge has some good stretch to be able to shape it. But the high acrylic content tells me that it might not hold a blocking very well. I need some time to muddle on this one…but I REALLY want this off my needles soon!

Happy Knitting!!

Westport Halfway!

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A very dear and lovely cousin informed us that the baby she and her husband are expecting will be boy arriving in October. And my knitter brain went DING! The Westport Blanket I started earlier this year will make the perfect baby boy gift. A knitter has got to love when you already have a project started and you find the most perfect home for it. So I picked this project back up and have started really working through it. I’m six pattern repeats in and I just started my second skeins.

I am holding Knit Picks Mighty Stitch held double to achieve bulky yarn gauge. I have used two skeins already, attached two more with a third pair waiting in the wings. The last pair aren’t two equal full skeins. I broke into one skein to knit a swatch I have lost to the ether somewhere. So I know I’ll have enough yarn to finish the blanket but I really want to use all the yarn up. So I may have to do a little pattern modification and re-calculation when I get to the end of the instructions and I still have yarn left. We shall see!

Happy Knitting!!

MOA Shawl Progress

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I made the decision to reboot my MOA shawl after unearthing it from my UFO bin. And I seem to be making good progress on it. I think I’m about to start my last regular body pattern repeat before starting the bind off section.

I’m really finding myself drawn to the yellow and brown combination. The subtle variegation really shows up well in garter, stockinette and the eyelets. Admittedly the eyelets really could benefit from blocking. But that will come in time.

I may be playing a tiny bit of yarn chicken as I have 350 yards of my MJ Yarns Simple Sock and the pattern calls for closer to 400. But I think there are some stockinette sections I can shorten to conserve yarn if I start to run out. Do you think this ball will last me?

Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Kindness KAL 2019 Shawl

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It’s Friday and I have an FO that has me bursting with happiness. My Kindness KAL 2019 shawl is off the blocking mats ready for a close up!

Pattern: Kindness KAL 2019 shawl by Jaala Spiro

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK in Ink and Salty Tales

Needle: US 7

Mods: Added 12 garter eyelet grows in the final section before the bind off to use up my skein of blue yarn.

It really just looks so good no matter how you twist it! I think it looks gorgeous all laid out. But it also looks amazing wrapped around your neck with all the color and texture changes.

I ended up using basically a full skein of the Ink (blue) and 90% of the Salty Tales (grey speckle). This means this shawl consumed 409 yarns of DK weight yarn and weighs about 215 grams. It will be soooooo warm and smooshy this next winter!

I really gave this shawl a good stretching and my finished dimensions ended up being 41 inches by 56 inches and 23 inches deep at the point. I have a full skein of the Ink leftover and I think I’m going to see what matching accessories I can eek out of that to go with this shawl!

Happy Knitting!!

Kindness Unblocked

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I WON AT YARN CHICKEN! And here she is….my finished Kindness KAL 2019 shawl in all her unblocked glory!

I squeaked by with just the tiniest bit of blue yarn left without having to break into the second skein. I did have a more substantial ball of the Salty Tales grey color left. I’m using Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK by the way. The blue color is Ink. I even managed to weave in but not trim my ends from all the color changes.

As you read this my shawl has already been soaked and is drying on the blocking mats. Jellybean helped me and we broke out my blocking wires and really gave this shawl a good stretching. In doing this we found ONE dropped stitch. I calmly grabbed my double ended crochet hook and laddered it back up and then secured it with a piece of waste yarn on the wrong side of the work. No one but me will be the wiser!

Humidity has come to Kansas for summer and so I’m not sure how long this puppy will take to dry. Jellybean keeps checking at least every hour to see if it’s done. I think maybe I’ll set a fan on it to speed up the process for both our sakes!