I think it's progress, sometimes it just doesn't feel like it!
I completed the knitting for another wrap on Wednesday, but I still have to sew most of the 112 squares (5 x 5inches) together and sew all the ends in - goal date: 31 March.
Since finishing the 5x5 inch squares for the wrap (afghan), I have knitted three larger squares (10x10 inches) for another wrap. This morning I woke up at 5.50am and couldn't get back to sleep (it's Saturday, for goodness sake!) so I got up and intended to do some knitting. I couldn't face sewing squares at that time of day and I was not in the mood for another diagonal 10x10inch square, so I decided to knit a baby shrug from the Knitters' Guild of NSW Friendship Crochet and Knitting book. Blow me down, it will take longer to knit than a square for the afghan. The body is 80 stitches per row for 200 rows and the cuffs are 40 stitches per row for 16 rows each. It doesn't sound like much but using baby yarn on 3.25mm (US 3) needles, it doesn't grow very much. Ah well, we live and learn and hopefully many babies will be warmed by the finished project as I am intending to give it to the local Tresillian Care Centre.
I found a couple of wraps/stoles that I liked on Knitty.com but since I want to use only one skein and these need multiple skeins I will have to modify a lot! So, in preparation, I have knitted a couple of swatches in my preferred lace pattern - one in 5ply (fingering) wool, one in 4ply (fingering) cotton. The wool, which knits up quite softly in the form of "that" cardigan, is very hard in a lace pattern, even when knitted on 5mm (US 8) needles! Perhaps because I was using the crinkled yarn I pulled out of one sleeve? The cotton looked good but I will not be able to knit a stole from a 50g ball of cotton! I'm going to have to use my March free day to buy the appropriate yarn as I haven't got anything in my stash (which is mostly 8ply - double knit - wool).
Now I'm going to try the yarn from the summer top in the lace pattern - I want to knit a short sleeved cardigan to put on when the airconditioning gets a little too chilly! If there's not enough yarn for that I will stick to the idea of a lapghan!
I'm off to colour my hair and do some knitting (and washing/laundry and shopping and voting ...)
Thanks for the kind comments on my blog. It was great fun and got me to finish a pile of stuff! So good all round.
ReplyDeleteAdmire your discipline about knitting from your stash! and knitting for charity. Both things I intend to do - I keep getting too distracted to do the first, and too much to do for people that I know to do the second yet.