Tag: acrylic

Admonishment

Scrummy Mitts... poorly executed
The offending objects

I’m in the midst of last-second holiday gift knitting… not really my style, I’m more of a slo-mo knitter and not much of a holiday or gift-giving type, either. In any case, I whipped up a pair of super-bulky mittens.

My wife looked at them and said something to the effect of “if you’re going to be an excellent knitter, you’re going to have to try for excellence every time.”

She’s right, these are not my best work. I was rushing and don’t like the yarn much, and due to lack of attention ended up with one mitten having an extra 4 rows. With yarn this big, it translates to something like 3/4 of an inch of difference between the two.

I will do better! No sloppy knitting for me. My apologies to the recipient… I promise to make a better pair for you!

(below is the second pair I made… for another recipient… more care taken)

From Knitting

Trying to revive the blog…

I’m trying to get myself back into writing. I’ve been keeping up pretty well with my knitting, but have been so busy at work that when I’m at home I usually feel too tired to write much of anything. However… I’ve discovered that I miss posting here, so after a seven-month break, here I go again.

First up, the third of my colorful caps, this one knitted in size “baby.” I knitted it on July 4th, finishing by weaving in the ends of the strands on Sunday the 5th. I found out on Monday the 6th that the baby I made it for was also born on the 4th! So the color selection turned out to be perfect.

From Knitting projects

I used the basic pattern from the book Knit Hats! by Deb and Lynda Gemmell, modifying it to use letters I mocked up using spreadsheet software. I particularly like how the top of the hat turned out. I’m hoping for a photo of the baby wearing the cap, but since he is the nephew of a co-worker, I hold out little hope of getting one.

From Knitting projects

Want the book?
Knit Hats!: 15 Cool Patterns to Keep You Warm

Done Some Monday Afghan

I went to a great event this month, the Charlotte version of the World Wide Knit in Public Day (a.k.a. WWKiP Day). The Charlotte Knitting Guild (who organized it) and a raft of local yarn shops and other sponsors (who donated supplies and raffle prizes) created an event that I hope will recur every year for many years. I was got there late and had to leave early, and as I was slowly and sadly trudging away with my knitting, my cooler, and my folding chair, I heard someone calling me on a bullhorn. I walked back to find that I’d won an afghan kit from Charlotte Yarn! The kit included a circular needle, ten balls of Encore® Worsted yarn, and a book of afghan patterns. It is produced by Plymouth Yarn, and the booklet has 15 designs by JoAnne Turcotte, the Design Director of the company.

I probably would never have done a piece this large without the kit to get me started. I am about to finish the second repeat, doing 3 to 6 rows a night just before bed. The pattern is easy enough to do while watching a movie. I think I’m going to like the finished work a lot, but the white color is doomed in our house. The poor thing is already covered in black cat fur.

My first afghan

A couple of quick snapshots

Afghan in progress 2

 

By the way, my nickname for this project is a joke about how slowly I knit. The pattern book is called “Done by Monday Afghans.” The intro describes a person casting on after work on Friday and finishing up on Sunday evening after a relaxing weekend of knitting by the fire. I’m estimating that it would take me three such weekends to finish this project… so yeah, I’ll be done by Monday. Some Monday!