Brand-New Blankie!

As you will recall from my last post, I learned a new stitch, known as the Trinity or Bramble stitch. The whole idea is that you make three stitches from one & then make 1 stitch from 3, thus creating a lovely bobbled effect. Purling across the  alternating rows gives a flat side. I used 6 balls of Bernat "Peachy" Baby Blanket yarn, on size 11 circular bamboo needles. This is my 1st attempt at writing my own pattern. I originally cast on 84 stitches, with the intent of doing k1 p1 in the 1st & last stitches & the Trinity stitch in between. I worked for several rows, and before I knew it, I was ending up with way too many stitches. So I pulled it all back & started again. & guess what? This happened again! And again...ugh.

This is when I learned the value of stitch counters. You can purchase them at any craft store, or you can make your own, simply by cutting some yarn into small lengths & tying them into little loops & placing them between your stitches. In this case, I placed my 1st stitch counter betwees st1 & st2 (so I would always remember to do my selvedge stitch), & then I placed the other stitch counters 20 sts apart (bc 20 is a multiple of 4), leaving my last stitch on the outstide of the last counter (SELVEDGE, BITCH, SELVEDGE is what I kept tellin myself). I got tired of all of this counting, so I only used 62 stitches instead of 84

By the end of Day 1, I had only done about 4 rows, I was tired, I was bitter, & the damn thing only measured about 2" x 21"

This is the bumpy side

This is the flat side

A cross section of the bumpy side.

I went to sleep slightly frustrated but then I remembered that I didn't always know how to knit, and that these sorts of mis-steps are just part of the process. It is important to trust the process.

On Day Two, I found myself so unable to tear myself away from watching RuPaul's Drag Race Elimination Lunch with Michelle Visage that I was stuck in front of my computer with the knitting in my lap. Thanks to lag time, I discovered that I can actually knit while using a computer. I had the most fascinating FB Chat with a guy I briefly met at the Doctor Who convention. Topics ranged from RuPaul to Colin Baker to How Dr Who Made me Gay and back again. I am not yet at the place where I can really take my eyes off the knitting yet, but soon, I hope. I took a break when I got to the end of the 1st ball of yarn, by now the blankie is about 8" long

Aren't my stitch counters cute!?!

Srsly every1 who saw this when I was working on it questioned me bout the stitch counters

Day 3: Worked for several hours, while watching Dr Who: Terror of The Autons Special Edition. Got so engrossed in the show that I somehow picked up 4 stitches! Thank Gawd for stitch counters! I got it fixed pretty quickly, and by the time I went to bed, it measured about 17" long!

Slight variations in dye lots give it a sort of striped pattern

Day 4: Tragedy strikes when I realize that somehow I have reversed the pattern. The bumps are on the wrong side!! This probably happened while I was crying my face off watching a Torchwood Marathon on BBC America. I don't have the oomph to pull this thing back, so I calmly think it over & add another purl row, and things are back to normal. No layperson could ever detect the difference. & Honestly, if some1 got smart with me about it I'd tell them to make their own damn blankie & not question me. I still keep truckin & by the end of the day, she measures about 23" long!

Too big for the table...

...had to be laid onna bed

...& ooh wee, it's the weekend & I head over to Hahnville for some good, old-fashioned stitch & bitch time with my BFF & her wife! My friend & I mostly just talked about Crazy Hoes I used to know and over the course of a 3-day weekend, BANG. The blankie's finished (well, I'm outta yarn) & measures 44" x 21"

Pics really don't do this thing justice

This took me about a week to make, and I learned a lot in the process: the value of patience, the need for stitch counters, and the beauty that can come from something quite simple. Much more than any of that, I feel like I have turned a proverbial corner in my skill level & am looking forward to raising it even higher. 

Thanks for reading!

Praise be!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/128113445/baby-blanketthrow-in-pinks-yellow

Hot off the Needles...

I feel like it has taken me a year to finish this baby blanket/throw!

The pattern calls for you to cast on 80 stitches with very large needles (I used 11 US circular needles), knit for 7 rows, then transfer to smaller needles (I think mine were 4 US circular) for 7 rows, alternating back & forth until desired length, casting off from the larger set of needles.

I initially tried to do this double-stranded, thinking it would go faster, & that was fine on the larger needles. But ooh lawd what a mistake it was when I got to the smaller ones. I think I knitted 2 rows & it was so tight & so hard to work with that I put it aside for awhile & eventually pulled it back & worked it single-stranded, which was MUCH easier.

I used 3 balls of Bernat "Summer Hours" (AKA Mardi Gras Colors) yarn to make this little beauty, which measures approximately 33" x 22" It is machine washable on cold, dry on medium!

Let me know what you think!

These images don't do the beauty of the ribbing justice

https://www.etsy.com/listing/126378463/ribbed-unisex-baby-blanket-in-mardi-gras