I Can't Stop Myself

I am weak. Very weak. Maybe it was all those miles of afghan border.

Or perhaps it was knitting all those socks. Whatever the reason, I have come down with a bad case of startitis.

It all started with the February Lady Sweater. I bought the Malabrigo sock yarn in Stonechat and loved the colourway so much that I ordered some in the worsted weight. When it arrived I tried to be good but it kept calling my name and I couldn’t help it. I succumbed to its charm. I quickly made it as far as the bottom of the yoke but I’ve since stalled. I need to rip it back a bit and make some adjustments but somehow that didn’t seem as appealing as casting on the...

Backyard Leaves scarf. I have wanted to make this ever since I first saw it two years ago in Interweave Knits Holiday 2006. I’m knitting it in Sheffield, one of the Valley Yarns from WEBS. It’s a lovely, soft silk, angora, and merino blend in a dark, forest green (the photo does not do it justice—blame the light). In my defense, this will probably end up being a Christmas gift but I’m not committing myself to anything in case I get too distracted by the...

Nightsongs shawl. Do you have any idea how hard it has been to resist this project this long? After knitting practically nonstop on the cabled border on Saturday I rewarded myself by casting it on. The pattern itself is a little vague but the design is truly beautiful. And the merino-seacell yarn is a dream to work with. Initially I had thought of making a scarf from this yarn for my sister-in-law but I knew I could never part with it. Instead, I’m making her the...

Shifting Hues Scarf. Designed to be knit with the Bluefaced Bliss from Impulse of Delight, the colours shift across the scarf in a zig zag pattern when knit in the correct gauge. With its loose, garter-stitch pattern this should knit up well in time for Christmas.

That is, unless something else catches my eye…

Knocking Out the Socks

For my brother-in-law, Ed, some Retro Rib socks for his birthday on Friday.

It’s awfully convenient having a son with the same size feet so he can serve as both a “tryer-onner” and a model. These are now making their way to Toronto in time for the big day.

For my sister, Anna-Marie, for her birthday in January.

Alas, nobody here to try on her socks so this picture will have to do.

And for me, the Mystery Socks for SKA’s November Challenge.

The designer, Debi Leshin (FluffyKnitterDeb on Ravelry) will reveal their name to the group this Saturday.

The toes are supposed to be mainly red but I was running out of yarn so I striped them instead. I could have bought another ball but I knew I would feel as though I should buy two , enough to make a pair, and I just couldn’t face the thought of knitting a third pair in this colour, lovely though it is (I previously knit Cranberry Biscotti socks from this yarn) . So I made do with what I had, necessity being the mother of invention and all.

Un Fait Accompli

It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I present my completed Great American Afghan!

What an interesting and gratifying project this turned out to be. This is definitely one of those patterns that is way better in real life than the sample photo can ever communicate. I wasn’t fond of a lot of the colour choices in the original and I think that had something to do with being underwhelmed with the pattern in the first place. If it weren’t for seeing the afghan in person as a store sample--not to mention Alison’s enthusiasm for it--this is a project I most certainly would have passed on and that would have been a shame.

Dread No More

I am not pessimistic by nature; more often than not, I tend to see the glass as half full. I’ve even been accused (in jest) of being “Little Miss Sunshine” because of my optimistic way of viewing life. Having said that, I have to admit that when looking ahead to certain situations I can’t help but allow dread to take over. As you might have guessed, the sewing up of the Great American Afghan was one of them. The whole time I was knitting the squares I was thinking about how much of a chore it would be to put them all together, especially considering how they were all different colours, were slightly different sizes, and had several different edgings (cast on, bound off, garter stitch). However, like so many things we dread, the job didn’t turn out to be nearly as bad as I feared. In fact, it was rather satisfying to see all the various blocks come together, square by square and row by row. I quickly developed a system and was amazed at how little time and effort it took to join each edge. I had planned to spread the sewing out over a couple of weeks but instead I finished in only three days. It was kind of like eating Lay's—I couldn't stop at just one.

Here’s a taste of how it looks. I wish it were possible to capture the colours as they truly are--believe me, they look way better in real life.

The original pattern calls for a narrow 2-colour garter stitch edging around the entire afghan, which frankly, didn’t do a lot for me. After seeing Jared Flood’s I-cord edging on his Garter Stitch Blanket I thought it would be a better choice—I liked how the smooth cording gave his afghan a simple but polished finish. But as I was sewing all the squares together I realized that such strongly coloured and textured blocks needed an equally strong edging and have instead decided to finish the afghan with the cabled edging from the Great American Aran Afghan (which, by the way, I have decided to knit for my mom).

I think the dark brown cables will frame the piece much more effectively than either the garter stitch or the I-cord.

So, my next task? To cast on 13 stitches and knit 20’ of cabled edging. That’s 120, 14-row repeats, plus 4, 28-row corner sections for a grand total of 23, 296 stitches. I know I should be filled with dread at the enormity of the task but right now all I feel is anticipation. I can’t wait to see how it will look when it is all done.

The Beginning of the End

After several hours of arranging and rearranging I have come up with the final layout of the afghan blocks. I knew that this process would involve some playing around until I got it right but it took a lot longer than I expected. It was a real challenge to arrange the blocks so that there was an even distribution of colours, shades, and textures.

This picture is not great but it gives you sense of how it will all go together. (It is pouring down rain here today so the lighting is poor, adding to the challenge of getting something this big into a single frame.) I’ll start the sewing tomorrow—for now I’m off to make a diagram of the layout and put all the squares away before the cat decides it looks like a comfy place to take a nap...or worse.