Hey Y'all,
First things first-- many of you know I'm down here in Texas and boy did we have some weather recently. Still a few more storms expected. It's been hard and sad but in the face of so much flooding and chaos I have to say the outpouring of love and support has been just stunning. Also, lemons-to-lemonade and all that, once the flooding receded but before the sun came out, when it was raining enough to keep us inside but not so much as to be life-threatening, I sure got lots and lots of knitting done.
I'm just about to finish up yet another Sweet Bon Bon Baby Blanket, which was designed by Suzanne Middlebrooks, who owns Hill Country Weavers in Austin, one of the top shops in the country. (Actually I'd say one of the top shops in the world.) I love this blanket because it knits up super fast on US 8-9 using Blue Sky Cotton, which my hands enjoy working with. In my case, since I'm still recovering from that six-month US 4 Adult Baby Surprise Jacket endeavor, working on 8's almost gives me an adrenaline rush.
Something I super dig about the Sweet Bon Bon Blanket is that it uses a Chevron pattern which is easy enough to memorize but still has enough switching from K to P to KFBF that I don't get bored. However, I still managed to make a few mistakes... er "Elments of Design" (as discussed in my last post). Before I point out these "bonus features," a bit more about the pattern. The original pattern calls for for rows of garter between each Chevron set using Filatura di Crosa, a fun, candy-like yarn. Unfortunately, that's been discontinued. Fortunately there are plenty of other yarns you can use for a nice contrast.
For the blue blanket pictured above left I used the Filatura. The brown and green one down below, in process, uses... oh I don't even remember now what I pulled from my stash for the contrast rows. The yellow might be Cascade cotton, which I held together with some super super fine (lace weight?) fuzzy stuff.
Well as I was knitting along on an early section of in-between garter rows, I purled when I should've knitted. Not the end of the world. Rather than tear it out-- I mean really, is a newborn baby going to complain?-- I just created this new step where every other in-between section I did all garter, and every other other in-between section I did K 1-3 and P 4. That is until I got engrossed in a long phone call with an old friend and then I did a KPKK section. So yeah, some rows are double bumpy, and some are a combo of bumpy and flat.
Does this amuse you as much as it amuses me? It amused me less last night as I discovered it. I swear one of these days I am going to complete one Utterly Meticulously Completed Pattern. Likely it will be a washcloth. A very very small washcloth. On the other hand, I already have proof that we can fast get over worrying about "the errors." Remember when I was bemoaning the pair of odd little "corners" that mysteriously appeared as I knitted the Adult Baby Surprise Jacket? Well check out the picture below. If I didn't mention those weird corners to you, likely you wouldn't even notice them, partly because I blocked the heck out of the sweater, but partly because you simply can't tell unless you are a member of the knitting police.
Which brings me to the Knitting and Yoga Adventures Monhegan Island Retreat, coming up in less than three months. It's our TENTH ADVENTURE. That seems impossible. Quite a few of us come year after year (or every other year) and the feeling is like that of a family reunion only without the stress. (Haha-- that was kind of a joke but not totally.) We've still got a few spots left and would love for you to become part of our Knitting and Yoga family. Just click here to register.
Hope to see you soon,
Spike
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