The Lowdown on Slowdown

I saw Passengers the other day with my super knitty pal Troy. Having not seen any real trailers about the movie beforehand, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really really liked it.  It doesn’t hurt that Chris Pratt is pretty dreamy in an old-fashioned, boy-next-door kinda way. As a six degrees of separation side note, my sister-in-law went to high school with him (!). I sure don’t remember any guys at my high school lookin’ like that…… (Sssshhhh… don’t tell R. Darling I said that – we went to high school together!). Granted, lots of dudes get better with age ;)

Anyway, daydreams aside, I was struck by a particular scene in the movie and have been thinking about it ever since.  Jim Preston (Pratt’s character) is asked why he would choose to spend 120 years in hibernation in order to start a new life on an unknown colony far from the life he knew on Earth. He thinks about it for a moment and then says that back on Earth, when something breaks, it is replaced instead of being fixed. As someone who works with his hands for a living, he implies that he wants a simpler life where we value what we create. When I think about what a life like that would mean, I envision a place where people would live more intentionally. We would care more about the things we were doing and the people with whom we chose to populate our lives. Mindfulness, I believe it’s called.

Top to Bottom: Chrysanthemum, ?, Bellini

I have been stuck on this thought ever since.  And not just because of the pretty face and slick Hollywood film that brought it up. It’s not a new thought, and certainly not unique to my existence.  It’s easy enough to define, but more difficult to apply to every day life. But I know I need it.

I was listening to The Minimalists‘ Podcast the other day and they described an exercise they have asked people to do in the past that allows them some clarity when reflecting on what’s important in their lives and what would really make them happy. On a sheet of paper, you write “Today” and list all the things you need or want to do today.  All the stuff that feels important at this moment.  Turn the paper over and title that side “Someday”.  Write down all the things you want to do someday. Now, what would happen if you switched the titles of the two sides?  If “Someday” became “Today”? Would your life be richer, more-fulfilled, and have more meaning?  I think yes.

So I am finding ways to make “someday” into “today”.  I dyed yarn 3 days this week and developed 3 new colors for the Etsy shop.  Normally that would have fallen under “someday” but I made the choice it would be today and I am so much happier for it. And people, happy is really where it’s at.

Let It Go

 

The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Colorado Hairstreak

I have not {gasp} seen Frozen. Yes, there might be a big rock somewhere that I just crawled out from underneath. Even so, I’ve heard the “Let It Go” song a lot of times.  I mean a lot. Usually belted out off-key by preschool girls twirling around in tutus. Ugh.

I mean the song, not the girls. The girls are totally adorable.

But even though I pretty much despise the song, the whole “Let It Go” refrain keeps bouncing around in my head every time I look at this yarn I pulled out of my stash the other day.

A few years ago I was all nerdy fan-girl wacked out over (the now defunct) The Sanguine Gryphon. The obsession was a little over the top to put it mildly.  I was constantly checking for updates, cruising Ravelry destashes for rare colors, and doing my best to bankrupt myself collecting every color I could get my grubby little paws on. If they’d stayed in business just a little longer, I’d probably have sold a kidney to keep the collection going. Can you spell hoarder? Yes, you can. It’s spelled K-n-i-t-t-y-m-u-g-g-i-n-s, thankyouverymuch.

My Sanguine Gryphon stash has long been classified CDH, i.e. “cold dead hands.” As in, you cannot even pry this from my cold dead hands. I will come back from the dead and school your butt if you even try. But the other day I was looking for some purple yarn to knit a gift for Uptown’s Kindergarten teacher and, shockingly, I decided to use a skein of my precious, limited edition, SG Bugga! When I pulled it out, I tried to look at it objectively (for once). It was a beautiful color, but it wasn’t a color that suited me all that well.  I didn’t buy it for a special project, and it had been sitting in my stash since 2011.  What was I waiting for?  The apocalypse?  I’m pretty sure none of the Four Horsemen need shawlettes or socks in lavender.  Neither was I going to need them after I died. So why not use it?  There really wasn’t a single reason I could think of for keeping it around.

So now my beloved SG Bugga! in Colorado Hairstreak, will become a Frisson for an end of the year teacher gift. I’m finally letting it go.

A Knitter in Crisis

On November 7, 2015 I uttered the words I thought I’d never say: “I think I need to stop knitting.” And I was dead serious.

Earlier that day I had picked up the sweater I finished this year for Loopy Academy, Freshman Year, Semester 2: Slipped Stitches and was stunned to find a small moth hole in the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater. Don’t believe the hype – they DO ABSOLUTELY eat new yarn.  I only wore this sweater for a few minutes to take photos. That was it.

Suck Factor: infinity.

As I looked at it I thought, well, maybe I could repair that small bit.  It was only a couple stitches, I caught them in time, and any knitter worth their salt should be able to fix something like that, right? Thinking I’d catch those motherf*&%^$ing moths while they were sleeping, I decided to soak the sweater first to drown any remaining munchy perpetrators. And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a Modest Sweater with more holes the size of reindeer. It’s probably good I gave it a bath and saw just how much damage was caused, or I might have tried to repair it first and realized later it was a lost cause. I wasted enough time knitting it, I didn’t want to waste any extra time repairing it.

After the sweater debacle in the morning, I was decidedly (and deservedly) down. What was the point of it all? Why should I continue to knit if this kind of thing is going to happen (it’s happened on a smaller scale before)? Why why why? What a waste of time and effort.  There were tears in my voice when I told my husband I should just quit knitting. He looked at me with as much sympathy as a non-knitter, non-hand-knit-wearer could muster and said, “But you love it.  It’s not about finishing things for you. It’s about the process.” Does this man know me or what? Everything he said rang true.

I haven’t given up on knitting, but I am taking a small break to regroup and fortify my spirit against the evil moth hordes. I am …gasp… crocheting with perle cotton and purchased acrylic (ick) for two projects. There are reasons for those things not entirely related to the wool hell I’ve been in, but there’s definitely a correlation. I’ve been burned.

But like a moth to a flame…. or more like a moth to wool….. I’m sure I’ll be back.

In the meantime, please answer me this: Why do you knit/crochet/create? I absolutely need to know the meaning of (knit)life!

A Three Hour (LYS) Tour

Sunday, the last day of the LYS tour, dawned with appropriately sunny glory.  Perfect for a three hour (or so) tour. I know I am completely dating myself with that reference, but I couldn’t help thinking about “…The Professor and Maryanne…” going out for their three hour tour.  We only went to three shops and somehow it felt like a bit of a whirlwind to me, though a fun one.  How do people do the whole tour?! 5 days, 26 shops. Fun, but crazy exhausting.  You know you’re old when that much running around sounds like a lot of fuss instead of a great excuse for a party.  My friend Troy (pictured in front of NW Handspun Yarns on the far right) and I, with our monumental stashes, conferred ahead of time and decided that we would not buy anything unless it was supremely special or something needed for a project.  I’m proud to say we stuck to our guns and were pretty successful, not that I wasn’t tempted by all the Madelinetosh gleaming from the stacks.

First stop after a sensational breakfast at The Calico Cupboard was Wild Fibers in Mt. Vernon, where I was sorely tempted by the Trapper Cowl sample knit in buttery soft Manos del Uruguay Maxima.  Luckily, I couldn’t find any color combos that needed to jump into my greedy little fingers, but I’ll admit to some excessive fondling occurring while in the shop. Repeatedly.

After that we headed back north to NW Handspun Yarns where my steely resolve crumbled in the face of more Manos; bargain bin, silk blend, a good contrast color for some other yarn I’d been gifted. Realistically not good rationalizations, but perhaps I was feeling woozy from a lack of specialty coffee and the profusion of yarn fumes.  Did I need it? No.  Did I like it? Yes. No sense dwelling on it now. Time to put that yarn to work!

Our last stop was Apple Yarns, where we were greeted by a flurry of activity and friendly faces.  This is the shop I frequent most often and here, they actually know my name. On the other hand, they know Troy at all the yarn shops :)  I’m ashamed to admit that I don’t make the rounds (or chat much).  Too much temptation.  Plus, it’s been clearly proven that if you talk to me while I’m shopping, your interest in me will result in my feeling it necessary to spend money in your shop.  I’m a sucker I am. And a good one to boot! Anyway, I did pick up two bargain bin skeins of Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in Coral Rose for a future somethin’ somethin’. Best part? I had a gift certificate from last year’s Stash Buster Sale at the shop and I only spent a whopping 30 cents on my two brand spankin’ new skeins of awesome.  Not too shabby.

I’m too lazy to photograph the acquisitions; sorry but you’ve all seen yarn before.  The big news now is that Stash Dash 2015 starts tomorrow!  And unlike my friend Knitting Up North, I have not really sat down and laid a plan for my Dash success.  I assume I’ll be working toward a 5K (5,468 yds) though there is potential to push it to a 10K (10,936 yds) if I’m really motivated.  But with only 1.5 weeks of school left, I’m assuming knitting time will be greatly reduced as I adjust to the summer schedule and trying to find ways to fill our time.  Then again there are karate lessons and park visits which, so far, have resulted in extra knitting time. We shall see.  Stay tuned for some Stash Dash updates to come!

Swatcha Doin?

*The title for this post must be read in Isabella’s sing-song voice from Phineas & Ferb to achieve maximum effect (if you don’t have a 5 year old boy in the house at the moment, check out this link).*

Yep, you guessed it.  I’m swatchin’. Swatchin’, and dreamin’, and hopin’, and prayin’.  O.k., not really prayin’.  If all does not swatch well, there are always more fish in the yarn stash to choose from.

Yarn & Patterns from Left to Right:

• Misti Alpaca Worsted in “Berry Melange” for Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig (Knitbot)
• Jakobsdals Bahamas in Red for the Conestoga Tunic by Heather Zoppetti (in Everyday Lace)
• Laines du Nord Mulberry Silk in “Sky” for Green Apple Tank by Amy Palmer (in Knitscene, Summer 2015)

And there’s more in the works (it’s going to be a long summer of swim lessons & karate lessons!).

But what about you?  What new projects are you excited about as the days turn towards summer?

Fresh Beginnings

My garden doesn’t look like this (yet). But this explosion of spring-y goodness seems to be popping up like little floral treasure chests wherever I look around town. I’m so ready for it – the colors, the cheery flower faces peeping at me, a warm welcome back to my garden and the rich smell of wet soil being turned over.  Good thing  Loopy Academy (presented by The Loopy Ewe) is back in session with a bunch of new beginnings to look forward to! I’m ready to start my second semester as a freshman  and I think I have the perfect pattern picked out for the striping project challenge.  I’m planning on knitting a Duotone Cowl and though I’d originally intended to use Malabrigo Silky Merino for this project, I’m treating myself to a new (to me) luxurious yarn: Mrs. Crosby Carpet Bag. I chose Creme Fraiche and Golden Butter for my contrasting colorways and the thought of them together brings a smile to my face, just like the sweet little Tete A Tete daffodils in the picture above.  I can’t wait for both to arrive at my house!

I’ve Got Magic Balls

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter! I was here first.

What is it about the word “balls” that sends me into giggles like a silly little third grader? We use that word as knitters. Alot. You would think I’d be over it, but every once in a while it just gets me in the giggle trigger.

Have you heard of these yet? I’ve been seeing them around in the blogosphere and noticing knitalongs for projects utilizing them, as well as people selling them on etsy. As someone who finds themselves physically incapable of disposing of even the smallest shred of yarn, magic balls are incredibly appealing. Here’s a way to use up all those little wooly bits that are really too small to make much out of, yet have a way of sitting around indefinitely staring you in the face and reminding you you have WAY too much yarn.

For an embarrassingly long time now (we’re talking years here, people!) I’ve had an afghan in my care that I received from a college friend. Her grandmother (I think) had knit it and it had been passed down to her now teenage daughter. They’d noticed it was starting to show some wear and asked me if I could repair/fix it for them. They weren’t sure if it was knitted (turns out it was) or crocheted and since I was the only person they knew who did either, they asked for my help. I was honored of course, but being the Queen of Procrastination that I am, I kept putting it aside. Early this year I decided it was high time I fixed it and sent it back. There are just too many of these unfinished things dragging me down and stressing me out with guilt. Anticipating a long extended repair effort, I was surprised and sheepish to discover that it took me only about an hour to fix the few small spots that needed work. Oy. But one of the things I’d hoped to do when I first received the blanket was to try to decipher the pattern so that if, in the future, one of the panels (it’s knitted in panels which are then crocheted togetther) disintegrated, I’d be able to replace it for them. Now that the repair job had gone so quickly, I felt obligated to put just a little extra time in to try to accomplish this. These are dear college friends, in case you haven’t figured it out :) The blanket owner is the daughter of my college boyfriend and my college roommate. How’s that for sounding awkward? Totally isn’t though. I even went to Maryland for their wedding many years ago!

Enter magic balls. I wanted to try my hand at making one, and I needed yarn to experiment with for my reverse engineered blanket project, so it just seemed like it was meant to be. I used these instructions to make my first magic ball and spent a couple days working out the pattern for the blanket panel. After lots of trial and error, I came to realize that any knitwear designing dreams I might have harbored have absolutely no chance of realization since it’s obvious I’m not cut out for it. Two days to figure out a simple lace pattern? Yeah, no talent here. But yet, part of me is proud to say that I actually did it! And I’m happy with the results, so I see a blanket made of magic balls and this reverse engineered pattern in my near(ish) future.

The first strip is completed and it looks like this:

All the blue shades remind me of mimeographs from when I was a kid (yes, I’m dating myself with that comment!) so that’s what I’m calling my nascent blanket. Can’t wait to make my next magic ball and next blanket strip! The yarn is already picked out and just waiting for me to get my yarn needle and winder out.

Knit 365: A Daily Dose Of Stitch – Days 10 through 28

Total Block Count: 24

 

Score: -4

 

Block #70 – Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in “Honey Fig”

Block #72 – May 11, 2014 – Apothecary Yarns in “Buttercup”

Block #73 – May 12, 2014 – Black Trillium Fibre Studio Pebble in “Strawberry”

Block #74 – May 13, 2014 – Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock in “Ward Circle”

Block #75 – May 17, 2014 – Cosmic Fibers Yarn Andromerino in “The Woods in Forks, WA”

Block #76 – May 17, 2014 – Wandering Wool North Country Sock in “Amaryllis”

Block #77 – May 17, 2014 – Kama Suutra Shakti High Twist in “Raven V”

Block #78 – May 18, 2014 – Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in “Pink Blossom”

Block #79 – May 18, 2014 – Vivid Creations Fibers in “Spectrum”

Block #80 – Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in “Hoppy Blonde”

Block #81 – Maui Yarns in “Sweet Sunrise”

Block #82 – Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in “Hard Candy”

Block #86 – Cloverhill Yarn Shop in unnamed colorway

Block #87 – Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in “Chuckanut Drive”

Block #88 – Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in “Pumpkin”

Wow, things get kinda nuts when you have over two weeks of photos & posting to catch up on.  I bet you thought I fell off the wagon.  I don’t blame you.  Blogging & photographing pretty much fall to the bottom of my to-do list when there’s all kinds of pre-summer-end-of-school running around to deal with. It took me a couple days of looking back over my notes & examining which photos I’d taken already, not to mention adding new photos to the list, before I could post today.  Hopefully I won’t let it get this out of hand in the future, but I can’t guarantee I won’t.

I’ve added a new feature that I’m calling my overall “score”.  Ideally, my score should be zero or in the “+” range, indicating that I’m right on track (zero) or up a few squares (+).  Right now unfortunately, I’m in the negative range meaning I’m about 4 squares off course.  Not really a big deal, but it helps me keep track of how I’m doing overall during my year long project of knitting squares.

I’ve come to accept a certain level of dissatisfaction with the photos I take & present here.  Usually I am particularly picky about the photos I post and really strive for good quality photos with nice camera angles; even a little artsy at times.  However if I am to keep pace with the amount of photos I will need to share to document this project, I’ll just have to sacrifice a bit of quality for the expediency of using my iphone for photography. Sometimes you gotta know when to hold ’em & when to fold ’em….

In other exciting news, Camp Loopy starts on June 1st!  I’m pretty excited to be doing this for the first time & my knitting pal Knitting Up North is not only joining me, but is going to be “glamping” (glamour camping) in Glamper #1 along with me :)  My gorgeous yarn arrived from The Loopy Ewe a couple weeks ago. Check it out:

 

Dream In Color Smooshy in “Elfish Sweets”

 

I fell in love with this colorway immediately. It’s even more lush & complex in person than it looks online and I can’t wait to knit with it.  I can’t find this color anywhere other than The Loopy Ewe & last time I checked they only had one skein left.  I’m SERIOUSLY tempted to buy the last one even though I don’t really need it for anything other than to squish in my greedy little fingers. Hopefully someone else has snatched it up so I don’t have to dither over whether I really want to add it to my ginormous stash mountain.  Stay tuned to see how it knits up….

Knit 365: A Daily Dose Of Stitch – Days 7 through 9

Total Block Count: 9

 

Block #68: Claudia Handpainted in “Carousel”

Block #69: Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in “Coal Harbour”

Block #71: Yarn Love Juliet in “Sugared Grapefruit”

Things have been pretty hectic here so it’s taken me a few days to get here to post.  I’ve been doing my knitting though & I’m proud to say I’m still on course for making one block a day.  Yay me!  I’m trying something new for days when I post more than one photo.  The images are smaller, but if you hover over them you can see the captions and if you click on them you’ll get to see a full size image.  I’ll still give a breakdown as to yarn details & dates etc. following further down below.  Probably not interesting for you, but it will be interesting for me and Knittymunchkin to someday come back and look at some of these details again :)  If you’re starting to wonder why you wasted the last minute or two you spent reading my nonsense, skip to the section below the solid line which I’m reserving for other knitting talk that might keep you a little more engaged.

 

Far Left Photo:

• Date: May 9, 2014
• Block #68
• Yarn: Claudia Handpainted in “Carousel”

Comments:  This is such a happy bunch of colors!  Strangely, it reminds me a little of some yarn I dyed a few years back with Easter egg dyes.  Dyeing yarn is still somewhere in my future I hope.

 

Center Photo:

• Date: May 10 – 11, 2014
• Block #69
• Yarn: Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in “Coal Harbour”

Comments: This one I knitted over two days due to time constraints.  I’m guessing there will be more of these to come as life assumes its regular ebb and flow.  That’s o.k.  Though I’d ideally like to do one or more block a day, this is really about staying on pace over a year’s worth of working on the blanket.  I’m trying not to stress myself out over it!  “Trying” being the operative word…..

 

Far Right Photo:

• Date: May 11, 2014
• Block #71
• Yarn: Yarn Love Juliet in “Sugared Grapefruit”

Comments: This is the first time I’ve knit with this yarn and it is so super soft and yummy!  There is something so luscious about this grapefruit shade too that just makes my mouth water.  The perfect thing to be knitting on Mother’s Day!  Some of you may have noticed that there is no Block #70 listed here.  No, that is not a mistake.  Sometimes I can’t find the perfect color for a specific block, so I move on until I can get a better overall picture of how the colors are blending in the blanket.  Never fear, Block #70 will still get its 15 minutes of fame!

 

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So, did any of you seriously doubt that I would cave and entangle myself in yet another knitting adventure that I probably won’t be able to keep up with?  Yes, you guessed it.  I signed up for Campy Loopy 2014 after all.  The first project is supposed to be inspired by a movie, book, or TV series that you especially love.  I chose Harry Potter (because I’m a magic nerd).  I’ll theoretically be knitting Shelves Upon Shelves in Dream In Color Smooshy in “Elfish Sweets”.  I chose this pattern because it’s been in my faves for a while and the designer has a lot of Harry Potter themed sock patterns.  This one isn’t strictly Harry Potter, but I imagine that the library at Hogwart’s has “shelves upon shelves” of magical texts.  When I found the yarn, the name was the clincher.  How could “Elfish Sweets” NOT sound like Harry Potter?  Anyway, I’m excited to be doing Camp Loopy for the first time and semi-confident that if I finish a couple things before June 1st I might actually be able to finish these socks in time for the first challenge.  Wish me luck!  Or send me some Felix Felicis if you’re so inclined….

Knit 365: A Daily Dose Of Stitch – Days 5 & 6

Total Block Count: 6

 

Three Irish Girls Springvale Sock in “Freya”

 

• Day 5:  May 7, 2014
• Block #66
• Yarn: Three Irish Girls Springvale Sock  in “Freya”

Comments:  What a gorgeous color!  I knit this in a couple different sittings because things have been so hectic at home.  It’s nice to keep this at the table for those times when Knittymunchkin is playing with his food & generally stalling at the dinner table (he probably would never eat if he didn’t have to!).  One thing I’ve noticed about myself lately is that I can’t stand having idle hands when I’m waiting around for something or someone.

 

Block #67 – Mystery Yarn

 

• Day 6:  May 8, 2014
• Block #67
• Yarn:  Mystery Sock Yarn (Plymouth Happy Feet?)

Comments:  This yarn came from another knitter’s mini destash and arrived without any yarn info.  I think most people don’t care as much as I do about keeping track of what their minis are and where they come from.  For me, it’s kind of a fun way to record the project and it’s interesting to see when and how I received each mini.  This feels a lot to me like Plymouth Happy Feet, but you just never know.  This block was knit in the ideal setting of sitting in a coffee shop with my good friend Troy, chatting & relaxing.  The perfect knitting therapy!  However, I did manage to screw up this most simple of projects and had to basically knit the block twice.  So much for trying to choose something I could knit whilst talking at the same time. But I’m staying on schedule :)

 

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Last time I was discussing the black borders a bit and my friend Josiane left me a comment on the subject mentioning it would be interesting to see the effect when I share photos of the blanket itself, not just individual blocks.  I think this will be incredibly difficult to photograph when it’s finished since it’s going to be so huge, but I can share some photos along the way and do my best when it’s complete.  Here’s a photo of part of the strip I have in progress at the moment:

 

Sock Yarn Blanket – May 8, 2014

 

It’s looking like posting a photo every single day is going to be a bit difficult with all the other stuff going on in my life.  But every other day seems reasonable so far.  I’m enjoying sharing with you and the opportunity to put a little more time into my blog than I have been for the past couple years.  Plus, reflecting on the journey of adding a little knitting to each day is an interesting exercise in self-awareness.

As if I didn’t already have enough to do, and enough yarn in my stash, I’m seriously considering signing up for Camp Loopy 2014 this year.  I don’t know why I always thought this was a real life camp, but it’s not.  It’s virtual camp.  So that means I can totally go! I’m a little intimidated since this is my first time and many knitters are already seasoned campers, but it sounds like a good challenge and a fun time.  I planted the seed in Troy’s head so maybe I can cajole him into joining me (Jess, how bout you? C’mon….you know you want to!).  I’ll keep you posted; it’s coming up soon!

Knit 365: A Daily Dose Of Stitch – Days 3 & 4

Total Block Count: 4

 

Yesterday was hectic, so I’m playing catch up today….

 

Doodlebird Creations Swell Socks in Tiger Lily

 

• Day 3: May 5, 2014
• Block #64
• Yarn: Doodlebird Creations Swell Socks in “Tiger Lily”

Comments: I timed myself knitting this one out of pure curiosity. It took me 40 minutes to knit one block. That sounds like just the right amount of time to be allotting myself daily for knitting therapy.  Of course, I should be using that time to fit in a workout & burn off some of that Easter candy I have been snarfing for the past few weeks, but that would just be annoying overachievement.

 

Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in “Sea Flower”

 

• Day 3: May 6, 2014
• Block #65
• Yarn: Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock  in “Sea Flower”

Comments: I know a lot of people knitting this blanket just pick a mini at random from their bin & knit it in.  I’m too OCD for that.  I choose the placement very carefully for each color I have, aiming to fit in even the most discordant colors harmoniously.  It’s interesting how a colorway I’m not so sure about when twisted into a mini-skein, can transform into something surprisingly lovely once knit into a block.  There is something about the smaller scale of a mitered square that performs this little bit of magic when you are least expecting it.  It makes you feel as if anything is possible.

******************

My good friend Jess asked me after my last post to talk about the black knitted borders you can see in my photos.  I have seen a few blankets with these black borders on Ravelry, so I can’t take any credit for the idea.  But when I embarked on this particular knitting odyssey I knew that I wanted to make the extra effort to add these.  I love the stained glass effect it imparts and the way it harmonizes colors that might otherwise look strange next to each other. Most people who knit this blanket seem to knit each block individually for maximum portability or ease however, that means hundreds (maybe even thousands!) of blocks to sew together at the end.  Readers of this blog who have been with me for a while will note that I absolutely ABHOR finish work and often never actually get around to weaving in ends on projects I have knit, thus rendering them incomplete for years after the knitting has been officially finalized.  For someone as Type A as I can be, it’s mystifying that I repeatedly do this to myself. But knowing myself so well, I knew that I would never actually sew all those blocks together at the end, so I have chosen to knit the blocks together as I go.  A big bonus was learning to weave in ends as I knit (for continental knitters see here) which further reduces how much finish work I’ll have when I get to the end.  The only downside to doing it this way is that as the blanket gets larger (and larger & larger) it will become a lot harder to work on & will cease to be very portable.  I figure that’s the price I pay for not having to do finish work.  We’ll deal with that when we get there.

So far this venture has been an exercise in learning how to better use my iphone camera and photo editor, as well as transferring info between my various devices in order to publish a blog post.  I’m sure I’ll learn more as I continue to work on this and eventually (hopefully) it will be more of a streamlined process.  For now it’s a bit unwieldy and I can see that it’s going to be difficult to post every single day, but I’m game if you are :)

Knit 365: A Daily Dose Of Stitch – Day 2

• Total Block Count: 2
• Day 2: May 4, 2014
• Block #61
• Yarn:  Loopy Ewe Series in “Cerise”

Comments:  This square was actually the second square I knit yesterday, but I’m counting it as today’s since today was pretty crazy & though I did knit a little, I didn’t knit any blocks. When I look at this one I can’t help but think of the lyrics from Aerosmith’s song, “…pink is the love you discover…” I may not love pink as obsessively as I once did, but it’s still darn pretty. And though perhaps not as exciting to knit as some of the crazy variegated ones in my stash, there is still a very important place for solids in this project.