The Pattern That Wasn't Meant To Be

Precocious Baby Blanket No More!

I found out yesterday evening that a good family friend is expecting a bouncing baby girl! I had just cast on 180 stitches for a totally different pattern (a simple basketweave) with the mounds of pink acrylic, so I decided this pink yarn will become a blanket for the baby girl who should be here in about 4-5 months.

I attempted the Precious (Precocious) Baby Blanket one last time with size US 9 needles and still wasn’t happy with the fabric. Here’s a photo of what it looked like when I was using the way-too-small size US 2 needles.

So I ripped it out one last time when the fabric continued to wave and bump. It was much softer on the bigger needles, but there’s just something about that decrease 2 stitch (dec2: slip two st knitwise, k1, pass 2 sl sts over k1) in the pattern that forces the fabric into any position except flat. Perhaps a lighter-weight yarn on these needles would give the yarn room to move around and settle in. I may just move on and accept that this pattern is just not gonna happen for me. The funny part is that it’s the most shared/re-pinned pattern on my Pinterest boards. I pinned it over six months ago and it’s gotten a ton of hits and repins. I wonder if anyone has successfully knit it?

Like I said earlier, I cast on 180 stitches for a simple basketweave stitch blanket with seed stitch borders. I’ve always liked basketweave, and I remember wondering how knitters made that happen back in my pre-knitting days. So, I’m sticking with this for now. The fabric I’m creating with the medium-weight acrylic and my size US 9’s is already soft. Once this yarn goes through a wash cycle, it will be soft as can be like the other blankets I’ve made with this yarn. My ultimate goal is a gift the parents can readily use without fear of damaging it; this is their fourth child, so they don’t have time to care for a natural fiber blanket. I’d like to get some soft wool blend yarn to make a set of booties and a little hat, too. But we have to get through the blanket first. Here’s a photo of the blanket a few rows beyond the first pattern repeat. It’s a simple k6, p6 for six rows with seed stitch borders. Knit the knits and purl the purls for 6 rows, then alternate. Pretty mindless as long as I pay attention to the first rows to set the right stitches in the right places.

  

Fibonacci Sock #1 Complete

I finished Alex’s first sock (the Fibonacci Sock) yesterday afternoon before I started playing with the pink yarn. He insisted on wearing it all afternoon, evening, and even in bed last night. It hasn’t been washed yet, but he’s declared it his most comfortable sock ever. =)  Once I get another pattern repeat finished on the Baby Basketweave Blanket, I’ll cast on his second Fibonacci Sock. I’ll try to remember to take a photo of the sock on his foot to better show the Fibonacci sequence rib stitches.

Project Tracking

I have the hardest time remembering fibers, needle sizes, gauges, measurements, etc with my past projects. I’ve heard stories about people who keep a notebook handy to track all that information for each project and thought it was worth a shot. I picked up a hardcover, spiral-bound, lined notebook a couple weeks ago and just started tracking the detailed information on Alex’s Fibonacci Socks. I started it in ink and have already made calculation errors (remember the 7-inch sock foot that should have been 8 inches?). I’m resisting the urge to grab my correction tape and trying to just go with it. So far, so good. It should help me keep track of methods, techniques, patterns, and yarns I like and loathe. Or so I hope. We’ll see how this goes. At least the technical information for the Baby Basketweave Blanket was short and simple to jot down. I need to get the tree stitch from my Cameo Tree socks in the book, because I’m going to use that same pattern on a pair of socks for my mom in June. I know I’ll forget it by then, so I’ll have to remember to bring my book with me. Fingers crossed.

Intarsia Sock Update 

Mom sent me a message to add information about the socks she gave me as a gift a couple years ago (photo is in the previous post). The knitter’s name is KarenInTheWoods and she can be found on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/KarenInTheWoods  She uses a vintage, hand-crank sock-knitting machine and does beautiful work. She makes much more than just socks, so click through to see some of her creations. (A Google search will lead you to her blog, should you so desire.)

Weekend Knitting, or the Lack There-of 

The hubby wants to replace part of the roof on his workshop this weekend, so I may lose some knitting time to be his helper. Luckily, a weather front is heading our way for early next week, so I can use the wet weather as a good excuse to stay in the house with my pointy sticks. (When it’s nice out, I lose most excuses for not doing laundry. Boo, laundry.) We’re also going to buy a new window air conditioning unit to replace one that’s several years overdue for replacement – our house was built in the 1940s and was a winter cottage, therefore central heat/air isn’t an option for us. This is much better timing than waiting until the old unit totally stops working on a very hot Gulf Coast day. We can take care of it now and be ready for the humid summer ahead. In addition to the work on the house/property, we’re going to window shop at a local RV outlet. We’re close to being in the market for a camper and are limited by the towing capacity of my Jeep Wrangler. The low tow capacity limits our search quite a bit. I think we’re going to come full circle soon back to the nifty little R-Pod ultra light-weight models. This weekend, though, we’re going to look at some pop-up campers (he calls them ‘tent trailers’). Here’s the R-Pod site: http://www.forestriverinc.com/rpod/  So, all of that was to say the posts and knitting will probably slow down for the weekend, as usual.

Happy Friday!