Wednesday, September 26, 2007

knit, frog, repeat...

There's a whole lot of ripping going on, chez needleGirl! I've been slowing piecing the Log Cabin blanket squares together, only to realize that I had two squares that just wouldn't work. Somehow, I had knit one too many of one pattern and completely botched another. I am ripping these two and knitting the correct patterns.

I have been using mattress stitch to join the squares because it is what I am most proficient with. I considered doing a crochet join, but found it really hard to get things to line up correctly where the bound off edges meet salvage edges. I have completed 3 out of the five rows (with five squares in each row). I'm going to block these three rows this weekend.

My second frog fest takes the form of Roza's sock. I hadn't been working on this project since I wanted to finish up the blanket. A couple of weeks ago, I got together with Maya for some knitting, so it seemed natural that I work on it. I had gotten about 5 inches of the leg done, and decided to carefully try it on...Can you see where this is going? The sock-to-be was very tight around my foot, and there is absolutely no way that I could work it around my heel and onto the leg. So, Roza got a one-way ticket to the pond. What really sucks is that I took time to swatch for this project, and things should have worked out. On the bright side, I can go back and add the garter stitch detail that the pattern has, but I neglected to include the first time around.

Friday, September 14, 2007

sleeves are boring...

At least they're quick. I completed the first sleeve for Starsky. I started it on Wednesday and finished this morning on the ride to work. I figure most people know what a knitting sleeve looks like, so I'll spare you of boredom.

Have a good weekend!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

the part that I forgot...

Back in February, when I started the Log Cabin Blanket, I never expected that it would take long to knit. For some reason, I thought that I would be able to churn out square after square after square. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Seven months later, I have finished knitting square...albeit, ten fewer than originally planned.

Now, there's just one more thing...blocking and finishing! Yup, I have to join my 25 squares into one united project. I should be able to start this process over the weekend, but I really have no idea how much time it will take. I'm thinking about crocheting the squares together. It just seems like it would be the quickest way to get the job done. I'm also thinking of putting some kind of edging around the blanket once all of the pieces are together. You know, something to make it look really finished.

The only other dilemma I'm having is whether the blanket will need a backing. My big worry is that the knitting isn't firm enough to withstand years of use. For some reason, I think a simple backing might give it a little more sturdiness...Plus, it might help conceal all of the ends on the wrong side. I'll see how long the assembly process takes, first.