5.31.2007

Photos this time

To follow up yesterday's post, I've got photos of the objects I just mentioned yesterday. Here's the hat (a kit I bought at Maryland Sheep & Wool in 2006, I think):


I LOVE it! The weird thing is that I used 1 size smaller needles than suggested (called for 4s, I used 3s), and the size notes say the hat should fit a large child/medium adult head. I'm here to tell you that this baby fits MY head, which would not be described as "medium" in any language. I came "this close" to running out of the dark main color, too, which made me very nervous as I approached the top of the hat. But those are little details--I love the hat and am quite pleased with myself for negotiating three colors in one row. Yahoo!

The next photo is a series, really, of squares I made for a yarn shop in Blacksburg; they're collecting them to make blankets for the families of the Virginia Tech shooting victims. The only requirements were that the squares be 8" and in VT colors (burnt orange, purple, black, or white). I just happened to have most of a ball of pumpkin-colored yarn left from a Wonderful Wallaby I made last year, so it was meant to be. There are 2 or 3 others, but they aren't worth showing because a) they're not "square" and b) they're not 8". No one ever said I could follow instructions. The stitches all came from my 365 Knit Stitches A Day calendar. I don't remember the dates or the names of the stitches, but I'm sure they're all common stitches.



And my last photo is of the vest I made from Maia's handspun for afghans for Afghans. It's still missing its buttons because I have to go to the store to find some. But you'll get the idea of how cute this turned out, with or without buttons:


Sorry the photo isn't better--I'll do another "photo shoot" when I've got the buttons sewn on, and all. The pattern for the vest came from Knitting for Peace, which is a lovely book, in case you haven't seen it. There's an adorable baby hat I want to make, and a sweater, and...basically everything in the book is something I'd love to make, especially for a good cause.

But my next project is for ME: a Ron Schweitzer faire isle vest. I tried it once before, did a gauge which told me to use an insanely small needle (0s!), which I did, then discovered, once the entire ribbing was complete, that it was far too small. I put it aside to teach it a lesson, and am finally ready to revisit the project. This time I'm using the called-for needles and refuse to knit a swatch since I never get the same gauge twice. So there! Now I've tempted fate and I know something will go drastically wrong. Wait and see--I'm sure the suspense will kill you. I'll try to take photos as the project progresses so maybe one of my readers/viewers will point out any possible error before I get too far. Wouldn't that be nice? For now, I'm on the 2nd attempt to do the ribbing because my original cast-on was too wimpy (the variation I chose, not the process), so I had to rip out all 290 stitches, redo the cast-on (used the knit-on version this time on bigger needles, then am knitting the first row onto smaller needles), and start again with the 2-color ribbing. Sigh. I was surprised to enjoy doing the knit-on cast-on so much--it was very peaceful and almost therapeutic. If only doing the 2-color ribbing could be so enjoyable!

3 Comments:

At 4:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm impressed with your hat, especially three colors in one row! I'm not at all good at stranded knitting yet.

And I look forward to seeing your fair isle vest grow. I like the knitted cast-on, though I usually do a provisional or a cable cast-on for things.

Kendra - a.k.a. Morgen's Mom.
P.S. hi, Henry!

 
At 7:34 AM, Blogger Bess said...

Yes. Those naughty projects sometimes need to be taught a lesson. So there. I hope your's is properly chastized now and will play nicely with guage.

Hope your summer is knitting up nicely.

 
At 10:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

great hat! not much knitting news from me - it's been too hot!

 

Post a Comment

<< Home