Go Blue! (Despite Today's NCAA Loss)

Finished my daughter's Earflap Hat--this is a fantastic pattern, and the Cascade 128 is a dream to work with. The hat is absolutely adorable, easy to make (completed in 2-3 nights with about an hour's knitting time each night), and looks great on my girl. I am very pleased with it.
After finishing the hat, I immediately cast on for the coordinating blanket, for which I'm altering a baby blanket pattern I saw on Ravelry. About half of the blocks are one by one vertical stripes--which I realized means they are Fair Isle! Well, I hemmed and hawed and ripped this thing about five times, thinking I wasn't ready for Fair Isle and that doing a slip-stitch pattern would be easier. But I just didn't like how the slip-stitch stripes looked versus the Fair Isle ones. I read as many tutorials as I could get my hands on, and took the plunge with the Fair Isle. Since I don't know how to knit Continental, I can't really do the two-handed hold for the Fair Isle, so I'm using the right-handed hold and hoping for the best. I know I'm not doing it perfectly as far as technique goes, but the fabric is coming out very nicely and I am sure I will be more proficient by the time I finish this project.
I am also plugging away on the ribbon tank. After knitting more than 9 inches, I have only gotten to one knot from where I had to cut the tangled yarn. So I think the tangling wasn't as bad as I remember. I think I will just about have enough ribbon for this tank, but that's fine. The bottom is curling also; I may have to hem it if it doesn't steam flat.
Finally, I have been searching for a large knitting back, and finally settled on the Vera Bradley "Vera" bag. I have ordered it in the Purple Punch (now being discontinued) colorway and can't wait to receive it!

Go Blue! (Despite Today's NCAA Loss)

Finished my daughter's Earflap Hat--this is a fantastic pattern, and the Cascade 128 is a dream to work with. The hat is absolutely adorable, easy to make (completed in 2-3 nights with about an hour's knitting time each night), and looks great on my girl. I am very pleased with it.
After finishing the hat, I immediately cast on for the coordinating blanket, for which I'm altering a baby blanket pattern I saw on Ravelry. About half of the blocks are one by one vertical stripes--which I realized means they are Fair Isle! Well, I hemmed and hawed and ripped this thing about five times, thinking I wasn't ready for Fair Isle and that doing a slip-stitch pattern would be easier. But I just didn't like how the slip-stitch stripes looked versus the Fair Isle ones. I read as many tutorials as I could get my hands on, and took the plunge with the Fair Isle. Since I don't know how to knit Continental, I can't really do the two-handed hold for the Fair Isle, so I'm using the right-handed hold and hoping for the best. I know I'm not doing it perfectly as far as technique goes, but the fabric is coming out very nicely and I am sure I will be more proficient by the time I finish this project.
I am also plugging away on the ribbon tank. After knitting more than 9 inches, I have only gotten to one knot from where I had to cut the tangled yarn. So I think the tangling wasn't as bad as I remember. I think I will just about have enough ribbon for this tank, but that's fine. The bottom is curling also; I may have to hem it if it doesn't steam flat.
Finally, I have been searching for a large knitting back, and finally settled on the Vera Bradley "Vera" bag. I have ordered it in the Purple Punch (now being discontinued) colorway and can't wait to receive it!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The Tess Microfiber Ribbon that gave me a lot of trouble in the winding (partly, of course, because I didn't read the very clear winding instructions on the back of the label because I thought I knew better from last time I used this yarn), has also given me a bit of trouble as I started a project with it.
I decided to make the Essential Tank from Custom Knits, but make some mods based on the new Nicky Epstein Knitting on the Edge book I bought. The first edging I tried had you rotating the needle 360 degrees to make a twisted bit every 11 stitches. That's fine if you're working flat, but kind of a scary disaster if you're working in the round! Fortunately I was able to rip back and re-cast on without much trouble, and chose a different edging pattern...a very simple scallop that I think will look nice. Then, I decided to replace the ribbing in the center with a leaf motif from the Nicky book. I must have done something wrong on one of the first few rows, so I ripped that back and started yet again. Now things are moving along; I have about 2 inches done. It looks like it will be very close-fitting, which is what I am aiming for, as this ribbon stretches like crazy. We'll see. There's just something that hasn't been perfect with this batch of Microfiber Ribbon; I'm hoping the end results will be pleasing.
Tonight I will also cast on for my daughter's U of Michigan Earflap Hat, in honor of her committing to attend the University of Michigan next year! Lots of maize and blue yarn in my future! After the hat, I have an afghan queued up!
Did finish one of my On Hold Socks--looks very pretty! Will finish the second one after the tank is done.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The Tess Microfiber Ribbon that gave me a lot of trouble in the winding (partly, of course, because I didn't read the very clear winding instructions on the back of the label because I thought I knew better from last time I used this yarn), has also given me a bit of trouble as I started a project with it.
I decided to make the Essential Tank from Custom Knits, but make some mods based on the new Nicky Epstein Knitting on the Edge book I bought. The first edging I tried had you rotating the needle 360 degrees to make a twisted bit every 11 stitches. That's fine if you're working flat, but kind of a scary disaster if you're working in the round! Fortunately I was able to rip back and re-cast on without much trouble, and chose a different edging pattern...a very simple scallop that I think will look nice. Then, I decided to replace the ribbing in the center with a leaf motif from the Nicky book. I must have done something wrong on one of the first few rows, so I ripped that back and started yet again. Now things are moving along; I have about 2 inches done. It looks like it will be very close-fitting, which is what I am aiming for, as this ribbon stretches like crazy. We'll see. There's just something that hasn't been perfect with this batch of Microfiber Ribbon; I'm hoping the end results will be pleasing.
Tonight I will also cast on for my daughter's U of Michigan Earflap Hat, in honor of her committing to attend the University of Michigan next year! Lots of maize and blue yarn in my future! After the hat, I have an afghan queued up!
Did finish one of my On Hold Socks--looks very pretty! Will finish the second one after the tank is done.