FFO=Finally Finished Object

I have been working on this blanket for a looong time. I'm so glad it's done. It was an exercise in using what I had to practice a technique--this time it was log cabin knitting--to make something useful. In this case, I used some of the vintage acrylics, which I'd carefully matched up based on color family, to make a squishy, washable dog blankie. As you can tell, Stella thinks very highly of the blankie, and is going to be sad when it's gone.



Pattern: Log Cabin blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting

Yarn: Vintage acrylic from long-ago ebay purchase. These yarns were obviously your standard 70s acrylics, but they varied in scratchiness from really awful to work with (the light brown and the dark brown especially) to rather soft (the variegated). Most of them came without ball bands, so I have no idea of the actual brands, but trust me, I wouldn't use this yarn for anything besides pet blankets or the occasional toy for a drooling baby. It would be extremely harsh against the skin.

Needles: Size 8, Boye Interchangeables

Modifications: Um, I'm pretty sure that I wasn't doing the log cabin-ing the way that Ann and Kay say to do it in the book, but since the project was just practice, and for dogs, I didn't think it would matter. The overall result is the same. The other thing that happened is that all the sides are different lengths. One side, I bound off too tightly, and it does pucker the blanket a bit. That's a little disappointing, but I guess it doesn't matter too much if it will be keeping some shelter dog warm. Finally, I used my nascent crochet skills to add a shell-stitch border around the edge of the blanket. Just to finish it off and give it a more polished edge.

I'm just glad it's done. I have purple and pink yarn set aside to do another one, but I can't stomach it right now. I think I may just crochet that one into a granny square afghan or ripple stitch blanket for the dogs rather than knitting the whole thing. And it isn't going to be until next fall, when Project Spectrum knitting is done. My plate is full, starting Feb 1!



My current WIP, which I think I'll also be glad to put down when February starts, is the turtleneck shrug. I really really want to wear this, but I'm not enjoying the knitting of it all that much. It's basically two ribbed tubes connected with the turtleneck part, so you have to finish 23" of sleeve TWICE before you get to knit the middle. And I'm only about 7" in! It's going to take forever!!! Ah well. The other thing I'm worried about is that the cuff seems really big right now. I decided not to buy the Rowan Kid Classic that it called for, because I'm just not sure how much use I'm going to get out of this garment, and 4 balls of RKC would be $44.00 at my LYS, so I went for the easy care Plymouth Encore, which may be another reason that I'm not loving it so much. The color is really pretty, but it's not as soft as the RKC. So back to the cuff. Basically, there is no shaping in the sleeve, so the width at the cuff is the width that it is also going to be around my fat bicep, so I'm sure once the whole sleeve is done, the effect will be quite different. Right now, it just seems like it's going to have gapping cuffs. I don't know. I'm hoping I will have at least one sleeve done before I put it up in Feb.

You can probably also tell from that last picture, taken on my desk at work, that I've got a trip coming up! YIPPEE. Spanky and I are going to be touring the Land Down Under starting in Mid-Feb. Three weeks of just enjoying ourselves instead of worrying about my authors or the publication schedule of the books or the companion websites or my assistant or ANYTHING. I feel like I've earned the break, dammit. I've not taken a real vacation the whole time I've been there (going on 8 yrs now). I haven't quite figured out what to pack in terms of knitting yet, but I think part of the plane knitting will be socks, and part of the travel knitting will be a sweater or two. We'll see! I don't think I'm taking the intarsia project. There's just too much to bring for that one... Ah. Truly exciting.

update and plans for 2008 knitting

He likes it! He really likes it!!



All's well that ends well... Very satisfying knit, I have to say. And now it's going to snow for tomorrow, so hopefully it won't be the last time I see the scarf.

******

Also, I was reading Lolly Knitting Around, which is fast becoming one of my favorite blogs (I know, I know, where have I been, right?), and when she posted her Project Spectrum rules for 2008, I surprisingly decided to take a chance and try it. I have a lot of stash yarn already in the categories, so it would be a great way of bringing some order into my knitting queue. You can see her guidelines here.

Just a warning, this next bit may be slightly boring for anyone who's not interested in my fumbling attempts to organize my knitting queue...

So anyway, I've gone through my stash, and divided it into different groups:



For February/March's orange/red/pink grouping, we have:

1. the horse intarsia sweater, which is pink
2. hollyberry colored Knit Picks Merino style sweater from a Webs pattern (which I bought and still have to find again)
3. Webs Alpaca/Silk long-sleeved raglan pullover from a Webs pattern
4. rose wool-ease sweater for Isabella with fun fur trim
5. socks that rock lightweight socks in Firebird, which a pink/red/orange colorway from the 2007 Socks that Rock Sock Club. I haven't decided whether I'm going to follow the pattern from the sock club or whether I'm just going to do some other pattern.

I have a lot of red and pink colored yarn, I've discovered. Not so much of the orange, except in the sock yarn, but I'm excited to work on projects that have been in my stash for a looong time!

For April/May the colors are green/brown/metallics:
1. OMG: FINISH SPANKY'S (brown) SWEATER (in all fairness, I will probably work on this a bit before April, but I want it to be done during by the end of May.)
2. Regia Crazy Color green and brown striped socks. I have no idea how long I've had this yarn, but it's about time I made it into socks. I love the colors!
3. Second Knit Picks fly-fishing toe-up sock. This will be when I finish this lingering project too. It has been hanging over my head for too long! I want to wear these suckers...
4. Clementine Shawlette, made from the deep chocolate brown Blue Sky Alpaca Silk that I got in Minneapolis last summer.
5. Felted Canteen Bag from Interweave Knits, Fall 2005, from some Jo Sharp Classic merino in two shades of brown that I bought, wow, probably in 2005, at the LYS near my office, with the intention of being this bag.

I apparently have a lot of brown yarn as well! But again, I've been meaning to make that canteen bag for a long time! I can't wait!

June and July are gray/white/yellow. I don't have many projects that fall into this category, but I figure at this point, I'll probably still be finishing things up for the other months as well:

1. gray pair of socks in Baby Ull for Spanky.
2. white and light blue shrugs for my sister and her best friend that I was supposed to finish for the wedding. bleh. Now I have the yarn, so I'm going to make them anyway. Instead of doing the sugarplum shrug, I'm going to do Jellyfish at the suggestion of Tanya from my knitting group. It's easier, and shorter (better for FL weather) and I think I already have enough yarn.

That's it for that one.

Finally, August/September is blue/black/purple:
1. Storm Merino Style cardigan with lace flower on back (I started this a while ago, and had to frog it, because I forgot where I was in the pattern.
2. Socks that Rock Lenore, a goth colorway of blacks and maroons, with a pattern by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, which is pretty awesome, so I'll probably just do the pattern that came with the yarn.
3. button hole bag in various shades of blue Lamb's Pride bulky.
4. Re-doing Spanky's alpaca hat (I have some ideas now), and maybe making some fingerless gloves to go with.
5. deep maroon Zarina for Baudelaires, which, again, I've been meaning to make since the Summer 2006 Knitty came out, which is when I bought this yarn.

So anyway, I can't wait. I think this is a great idea for me, because a) it does help me organize my slightly overwhelming knitting possibilities, and b) to participate more in the knitting community, which is one of my goals this year, as it was last.

BUT, until February, I have a bunch of stuff to work on as well:
1. I am on the border of the dog blanket. This WILL be done by the end of this coming week, and hopefully gifted.
2. I started the turtleneck shrug from Scarf Style, which I just couldn't forget after paging through that book countless times while knitting Interlocking Balloons. It's my travel/work knitting at the moment, but it's also something I didn't plan, so I can put it away when the month ends. I really, really want to wear it though. It's going to be perfect for the office in the summer.
3. I need to finish the rainy day socks. They don't really fit into any of the Project Spectrum categories, and once the dog blanket is over, I'm going to make the turtleneck shrug my at home knitting and take the socks with me to work. Then, when the month turns, I'll be ready to start the horse sweater right away.

I love it! It's all going to work. Right ON. All of this should take me the rest of the year to finish, and if I finish all these projects, I'll have whittled down my stash a respectable amount, and made some really cute things to boot. I'm excited about the challenge.

FO: Interlocking Balloons scarf

She's blocking, ladies and gents!!!



Last night I worked on the last bit of this scarf at my knitting group night, and finished it. I actually left early so I could block it because I was so excited. After a short soak in the lavender Eucalan, I pinned it out, and left it overnight. It is still a little damp, so I'll leave it until tomorrow morning, and then unpin it, weave in the ends, and take it to work for my assistant. YAY!!!



I am really happy with this scarf. It was so much fun to knit, and the yarn was yummy too. When I first squeezed the yarn in Montreal, I was only concerned with whether the color and texture were manly enough (I shouldn't have worried about it--my assistant wears Cosby sweaters UNironically...), and whether it was soft enough to wear around one's neck. In the store, I thought it was passable. When I got it home, I wasn't so sure. After working with it though, I think it is a lot softer than I expected, especially since I've soaked it. The yarn has 10% angora in it, and that obviously does make it softer.



I actually loved knitting this too. The process of moving the sticky notes up the chart repeatedly was kind of annoying, and I couldn't really do it and listen to podcasts or watch tv too closely or anything else that required attention, but it was so satisfying to watch the pattern develop, and I really loved working with the yarn, and was imagining that Matthew would really appreciate all my effort and would look good in the scarf, (and honestly, he could really use some nice things...) that it was a very pleasant knit for me. I wish I had bought that fifth ball of yarn that the owner of the yarn shop was trying to talk me into. He told me it wouldn't be enough, and I was like, 'then the scarf will be short.' and Lo And Behold. The scarf--she is short. Well, not really short, but shortER than the pattern called for. (She's 58.5 inches as opposed to 62".)It is still long enough to wrap once around your neck and tuck into your coat.



I couldn't resist pinning out the balloons either. I don't know how he's going to feel about the pointy bits, but hopefully when he's wearing it, it won't be such a big deal. I really can't wait to give it to him!!!