Cable Knit Overload

This baby blanket pattern will turn any first-time cable knitter into an expert cable knitter. Ask me how I know. Yes, I'm still working on it. It's a big project for me. My goal is to finish it by mid-June which means I should be knitting daily instead of sporadically. My progress so far:



Oh, halfway through knitting a strip in color #3 I realized that it didn't match well with color #2. It had looked good to me in the store, but now it didn't. Panic ensued. I then weighed a finished strip and calculated to see if I have enough yarn in the first two colors to finish the blanket. It seems there will be enough but barely.

Today I knitted at the park. A little boy asked his mom what I was doing. When she told him I was knitting, he asked why. She replied, "Because she wants to." He seemed happy with that answer. It was nice to have something to do while I watched my son play.

Cable Baby Blanket Knitting Progress

The first panel of the baby blanket is finished, completed without ever using a lifeline. I did have to keep myself calm and not panic while trying to fix a few mistakes that were made. I'm happy that my mistake fixing skills have now improved.

Here's the completed panel along with the second panel in progress. I just noticed that the angle of the lighting in the photo makes it appear that the left cables are larger and that the left arms of the Vs going down the center are missing. This earlier picture gives a better view of the stitching.

I need to zip things along much more quickly; the new stepgranddaughter who is to receive this has arrived!

Baby Blanket Progress

I'm still plugging away on the cabled baby blanket. It's coming along nicely. I caught a few mistakes quickly after they happened. Whew. I'm starting to have the pattern memorized; that will help me go a little faster. My stepdaughter's baby is due in only eight days now. I definitely should have started this project months ago!

Knitting Cables: I Can Do It!

I've finally ventured into cable knitting. Here is the start of the first panel on the baby blanket I'm knitting for my stepgranddaughter. The cables are fun to make. I'm also happy for the excuse to be working with pink yarn again.

I'm wondering if I should be putting in a lifeline. I'm not sure how hard it would be for me to fix a mistake with this pattern. At the moment I remain knitting without one.

Hat Knit Flat on Two Needles

My son wanted me to knit him a green hat, so here it is completed in just the right size for him, unlike the other one he modeled for me that was for an adult. Like last time, I knit 1/3 less ribbing than the pattern instructed. I finished it yesterday, and he was so excited about it that he had to wear it to bed. If nobody else ever likes anything I make, it'll be okay; I will remember how much my son liked his hat. :)

Felting Wool Projects

The felting process I used:

1. Use the hot water and small load settings on your washer.

2. Put your project in a pillowcase (for slippers, put each one in separate pillowcases) and place it in the washer when the water is done filling.

3. Run the agitation cycle, stopping it to check your project every 5 minutes (set a timer so you don't forget) until the project looks close to being the right size and felted texture. You will then need to check your project at more frequent intervals until it looks done.

4. Drain and spin out excess water.

5. Rinse in cool water, then roll in a towel to remove excess water.

6. Shape your project and allow it to air dry.

The results were pretty good, but I wonder if they could be better.

Knitting Slippers Norwegian Style

Here are my completed Norwegian house slippers. I used a thicker sized yarn than what the pattern called for, so I did a combination of a little guesswork and math for making pattern and needle size adjustments.

They do fit comfortably, but the ankle flaps don't look as tall as what's shown in the pattern. If I were to make them again, I'd try knitting them bigger and use a longer felting time. I'm pretty happy with them; they'll keep my feet warm and snuggly this winter.