Another block

I really should get around to getting the block pictures before it gets dark, I think the flash on my camera washes out details. Anyhow, this is harris tweed. Seems like another good pattern for a scarf. Heh, just to prove that I just looked and I took the picture of the side that I would think of as the wrong side. I couldn't tell without finding my cast on edge. This one isn't all that hard. You have your blocks and then the strips between are either knit a row, purl a row, knit a row, or just the opposite. Nothing too bad. The one I'm working on has twisted stitches, nothing too horrible, but I'm not pushing it. My wrist was acting up at work, so it's good not to push things.

Bright Blessings!

More Crazy Pants

One more block down. Vandyke check, though a long pattern repeat row-wise, but once you understand what's going on in the pattern it's not that hard to follow or memorize. The tricky part is the diagonals, but it still wasn't that hard. To memory, the different directions are worked in the same way, just one starting on the right side and the other on the wrong side. So all in all, not that hard.

I'm still trying to think of uses for this. Might be nice on a sweater or something, but I'm not always big on textures in clothing. We'll see, I'm sure I'll come up with something sooner or later. (Also, I'm planning on getting a better picture of the block tomorrow and editing it in tomorrow. Okay, new picture up, much better to see.)

Bright Blessings!

More blocks

So the first block up right now is (runs off to get her book, sorry it got moved from my normal place a couple weeks ago) little check. Pretty simple and easy to get the hang of, and no twisted stitches to fuss about. Though, so far I'm not quite sure what I'd use most of these for, but I'm sure something will rear it's head at some point and I'll have just the thing. That and I like looking for stuff for socks every so often. (Like it looks like I'm going to be making a few pairs of thigh high socks, partly for the heck of it partly for skirts in winter.) The other block is garter and rib check. I liked it. I'm not sure if I can explain why, maybe looking at it will help you understand.

I think some of it is the differences in how rib and garter stitches act and they you put them together and make them play nice. It's certainly not something that I would have come up with on my own. Might be able to find a use for this. We'll just have to see. If any of you have ideas, feel free to share them in the comments.

Bright Blessings and happy crafting!

Time for pictures

Well, here's the shawl. I was hoping to get the bind off completed today. Clearly that didn't happen. You can probably tell from the curve of the edge, this is a really stretchy bind off. I still have just under half the shawl to bind off. I could have gotten further along if I didn't mess around for a couple hours, though part of that was cooking and eating. I figure that's important and shouldn't be neglected. Probably in the next couple of days I'll be done with the bind off. Which means I'll need to figure out where and how to block it. Oh, I know the basics of how, just haven't really planned how I'm going to do that yet. I'm just not sure my full sized bed is going to be big enough to host such a project for a day. We'll see, I'll figure out something. I could take it upstairs and lay it out on my bed, or even check blocked measurements from the book. It'll get figured out.

Here's the twisted check block. It was somewhat of an actual pain to knit. Yes, it got a good deal easier to work after I switched to the longer 14 inch needle that I could set the needle into my hip joint and knit.

Anyhow, I need to get sleep before work tomorrow. (And I just realized from the date on the photo's that tomorrow's valentines day. Not really looking forward to that.) So it's off to bed for this knitter.

Bright Blessings and happy knitting!

'Nother list

• The longer needles allows the stable needle use and eases the knitting of the block. Though I'd like to try stabilizing using my knee.
• I often knit while sitting with my laptop.
• Shawl-knitting often covers my whole lap (or computer)
• The shawl covering my computer makes me nervous for my computer. This is mainly because I've had a computer die of cooling related problems.
• This means I'm watching tv while I'm knitting instead.
• I have 18 rows left.
• I'm hoping to have the shawl finished sometime during the week.

That's about all I have today. Bright Blessings you guys!

Two-fer!

 So this is the Swedish Check block. In all honesty, yes it's nice, but it feels like a lot more work than it's worth. Why? Every knit stitch on the right side rows are twisted. Which for some odd reason is hard on my left hand. That and it would take a trained eye who knew what they were looking for to see it. It looks like a small basket weave pattern to me.

The one I'm working on now is worse though (on my hand at least). Every stitch that shows as a knit on the right side is twisted. Sometimes I plant my right hand needle so I don't have to worry about holding it in place. (This is either done in the fold of my knee if I'm sitting cross-legged or at about my hip joint otherwise.) It helps if I have to flick the yarn back and forth a lot or if I'm working on something heavy. But if that needle is stable and static I have a hard time purling through the back loop. So I have to hold the needles aloft. Actually, I might shift back to the 14 inch needles and try it again tomorrow, those tend to work better for holding steady anyhow. We'll see how well I do at getting all those twisted stitches... (What would I except when it's called twisted check? Clearly straight forward knitting.)

Something a little simpler now. The timed sock. That's with about a half hour's work on it since you last saw it. I don't think I'm going to do much for a cuff, just let it curl. I think it'll look pretty with the hand dyed nature of the yarn. It's actually vacation yarn from when I visited my parents in AZ. Was hand-dyed in AZ as well. (Side-note: This snow loving Nebraskan does not approve of the dry heat. It's tricky and gives me headaches. (Or maybe I should endeavor to stay hydrated, huh?)) I'm at 5:12 so far. Which means that I may end up staying near the 17 hours per pair of socks that I quote at people. Also, the timing myself knitting a pair of socks is something I do every now and again. I have a shoddy sense of time and usually can't quote how long it takes me to make something, and I like being able to tell people how long it takes for me to make a pair of socks, since every so often I do get a request for them from people. (Had a coworker who didn't get that I wasn't going to knit her a gift recently, with less than a week to Christmas and five presents that would take priority over that.) Partly, because I do free-lance knitting every so often, (yes, my resume does say "free-lance textile artist.") and I think it's nice to give people an idea of what they're actually paying for. Then again I also know that it would be crazy to charge an hourly rate. Even if we weren't counting yarn, there's no way to get socks under 100, and get a "living wage."

Wow, I rambled. Maybe I should go to sleep... (or maybe I've decided to play with a function that I have access to)

Bright Blessings and happy crafting!

And More Progress

I saved a little bit of what I got done yesterday so I'd have more to ramble about today. I'm guessing that days off mean that I just sit around and knit for most of the day. That and when I "complete" something, even if it's half a project I let myself work on a different project. (Don't worry, I know I need to get the second sock done, then I can weave in the ends and send that stuff off.) So yesterday after finishing the first sock I picked up the crazy pants blocks again and got a few knocked out.

Okay, the dark blue one's been done for a while, but since it hasn't been shown I though you should see it. and the one in the upper left was finished today. It's still more to add to the pile. Though I suppose I should re-figure out how many blocks I'll need per afghan so I'll know when I can start sewing some together and maybe end up with an blanket for my bed, because that would probably be smart.

Bright Blessings!

Sock and Blocks in the snow.

Well, we had a sunny day today, so I thought it best to run outside and snap a few quick pictures in the snow. (I generally don't wear gloves so my fingers/hands are the coldest part of me right now.) Also, I didn't feel like opening the curtains and making the living room cold. So up first is a retake and new block of the crazy pants pic that was really dark last time.

That blue block between the two green ones? That's new. It wasn't in the old picture. I didn't really want to mar the "perfect" untouched snow so I mainly just threw them on the snow (I didn't see any nice shrubs to lie them on, maybe I'll venture to the park in search of shrubs next time) and be happy with where and how they landed.

And the sock. I've made some progress... I know I have a little ways to go yet before starting the toe. The bag has the yarn (well, duh), and often times I'll have the bag clipped to a belt loop and forget I'm attached when I get up to do something and don't notice until the knitting falls on the floor, or I think I'm attached when I'm not. Maybe I need hot chocolate to cheer myself up.

Bright Blessings and hot chocolate wishes!

Crazy Pants Afghans

This project was inspired by the gift of all four of the Barbra Walker Treasuries by my parents. I decided 6x6 inch blocks would be large enough to get a feel for most of the patterns, and I'd adjust for the rest as necessary. When I first started showing people on G+ I only really had a handful of blocks done.

(That picture's from January last year, for an American I like my dates weird.) I have a knack of forgetting about social networks for periods of time, or at least not actively remembering that they're there, and a good while when by where I was still working on blocks, but wasn't taking pictures of them. That and it wasn't a high priority on my master list of "Crafty Things I'm Working On Right Now." So, about seven to eight months later I had only made about twelve more, even though when I push myself I can make at least a block a day.

Then again, this project tends to get set aside in favor for projects that as a whole will be finished much faster than this one will. Yet, I know that if I don't work on it, it won't get finished. I mainly blame a double block you'll see below for sucking my mojo on this, and just life in general.

Sorry about it being dark, we aren't having a good picture day today. I'll try to remember to give it another go on a sunny day. Once I feel I have enough, (which I'll have to re-math out) I'll start sewing them together. And I'm planning on sewing up the double one sideways.

Catch you guys later!