Jayne Cobb "cunning" hat...

... from the Firefly series.

Knitted Baby Blanket - Finished!

It has been over a year - but I did finally get this project done. At the top is a full view of the blanket. Directly above is a close up of the border pattern. It is very simple - but I still managed a few errors here and there - but only I would probably notice them.   

Knitted Shawl

This is a shawl I am knitting for my SWAP entry for an outer garment. The colors of the variegated bamboo yarn match the skirts I made. I like this bamboo yarn very much. It is very soft and not too difficult to knit. The pattern, however,  has been a test for both my abilities and my perfectionist tendency to do it right or not at all. I dropped a stitch at one point, but didn't discover it until about two inches later. It would be impossible to take out a portion of this and get it back on the needle correctly. It was too far along to weave it back to the needle. And I wasn't ripping this all out to start over! So my mom helped me tie off the dangling piece and I just went on. Only I would be able to see it. 

More noticeable is where I accidentally added stitches, tried to fix it and went on for about 3 inches trying to get the required 48 stitches back on and going in a correct pattern. Still, it isn't too bad, and I am keeping on. In the end with the type of yarn, its coloring, and the knitted pattern, the mistakes won't be easily spotted - I hope. 

The pattern and a sample finished product can be viewed by clicking on here. 

Knitted Baby Blanket

I am finally nearing the end of my first "big" knitting project. I began knitting when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I can remember my dad teaching me to knit on some pretty pink, plastic knitting needles. My mom has been a knitter (though never a sewer) from when she was young  (and makes beautiful projects), but since I am left handed she could not quite make knitting understandable to me. My dad figured out how to translate it all into "lefthand".
At first I would just knit rectangles which were then fashioned into doll clothes - mostly Barbie, but some baby dolls too. Then over the years I have done simple hats, scarfs, and slippers. I recently started knitting more in the last four or five years. I have done many (many) of those simple dishcloths, both for gifts, and to use in our home. About a year ago I decided I wanted to take a step beyond simple projects, but I also wanted to be sure that they were projects I would  actually finish! I found this free pattern on-line. The picture  above is my work to date, and the pattern link is here.  (The bottom corner isn't quite square as I haven't blocked it yet.)
This baby blanket is actually based on the dishcloth pattern, but is a much bigger project. I felt this was the perfect challenge to prove my staying power and get something large completed. I am almost done! I actually don't have a specific use for it right now, but I will put it in the cedar chest for a future grandchild. Then on to the next project. I am planning to do this one next as  one of my SWAP entries - we will see.