fiberjinx

Did somebody mention a blanket?

Knitting an entire afghan during the summer months may seem like one of those “it was a good idea at the time” ideas after you’ve gotten to the other end of a king sized patch of knit stitches and have to lug the heavy bastard around in blistering heat, but the Lizard Ridge afghan from Knitty entertains the option of knitting one block at a time, thus making this a blanket that is portable in many cases and relatively warm weather knit friendly.

Inspired by Cara’s Miter Madness but lacking the time/effort/space for 95 colors of Cotton Classic in the home of remodelnation status, I burrowed through the stash of Noro and came up with 9 different colors. A 9 square blanket would make an excellent lap sized item for chilly fall days (VA’s 85 degree weather has me dreaming, wishing, praying for Septemeber already). This is the first square, un-steam-blocked and languishing around quite nicely, brightening up the dreary day.

So my original plan was to knit one (1) puffy square from each skein. This changed after I knit the first square and didn’t get to use the intense orange in the skein that I wanted. Oh, how I wanted some more orange-Orange and me, we don’t get along so well in other forums such as clothes, but in knits I can’t get enough of that secondary color.

I weighed the skein to make sure, and there isn’t enough for a second square. (Take note! In the event you are planning such a thing. That was the scientific research for this post). However, two balls of a leftover skein will make another square. This would result in 4 additional squares. We can conclude that 9+4=13, and while 13 is my lucky number, the number of All Importantness, and my home state’s claim to constitution ratifying fame, it does not an evenly spaced blanket make.

And we know our precious needs to be evenly spaced.

The squares of the blanket will be slightly taller than they are wider. This isn’t a big deal to me, because I can block them to be as evenish as I need them to be. So what to do? Find additional colors and bump up the square count? Don’t make additional squares, stick to the original 9 idea, and make coasters out of the rest? Rip back some of the square and use the orange?

One thing is for sure, it doesn’t need to be decided for 8 more squares. I’ll have at it in the meantime.

Don’t judge me.

I am weak.

So I’m reading the Harlot’s new book and I come across something very familiar to me-the term “knitting jag”. Certainly we all know what happens to dishcloth cotton combined with buttons when it gets in my hands… 16 bibs later and I’m still eyeing the Sugar and Cream stash, subconsiously matching it to buttons I have.

Then we had the Monkey sock debacle, after which the knitters of the group I frequent promised severe intervention if I should dare cast 64 stitches onto another size 2 needle in their presence. I think we can call it safe on that one.. in fact, I think I’ve finally hit the brick wall with Second Sock Syndrome, but that’s another show.

Casts Off is a great little read I finished up at a doctor’s appointment today. The caution of Knitting Jags described me pretty well, and one sentence jumps off the page at you: each knitting of the item is as enchanting as the last.

So true. I used four colors for the quick little dishcloths above, matching colors differently and I couldn’t be more happier with the results. The colors are bright, springy, and happy. Plus, the knitting was overly enjoyable… really, what else could you ask for in a hobby?

So many good vibes going on here, in spite of the excessive yard work and the allergies that don’t make such things easier. I’m crossing my fingers for rain, to wash the yellow away and bring on the bright summer days.