{"id":189,"date":"2011-02-26T12:03:14","date_gmt":"2011-02-26T20:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kheryn.com\/blog\/?p=189"},"modified":"2011-02-26T14:17:01","modified_gmt":"2011-02-26T22:17:01","slug":"yarn-proliferation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kheryn.com\/blog\/2011\/02\/26\/yarn-proliferation\/","title":{"rendered":"Yarn Proliferation"},"content":{"rendered":"

So many projects, and many of them from the last two months!<\/p>\n

1. Fluffy Pink Scarf (of Doom)<\/strong>, a present for my youngest niece’s birthday.\u00a0 This was my “first” knitting project.\u00a0 It was super simple garter stitch with two strands of Fun Fur<\/a> held together using very large needles.\u00a0 Being so new to knitting, this project was quite difficult as the Fun Fur made it very hard to see what I was doing.\u00a0 Of course, it also meant that my (many) mistakes were not visible!<\/p>\n

\"Fluffy<\/a> \"Test\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2. In January, I finished off the Trophy Scarf<\/strong>.\u00a0 (Big thanks to Allie for coming up with the best name!)\u00a0 It’s a pretty easy crochet pattern, which I will post in a future blog entry.\u00a0 I’m happy with how the scarf turned out; I almost kept it for myself!\u00a0 I can’t tell you all how much I loved the yarn I used on this, Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend<\/a>.\u00a0 This ended up\u00a0 taking a lot more yarn than I had anticipated.<\/p>\n

\"Trophy<\/a><\/p>\n

3. After my experience with the Fluffy Pink Scarf (of Doom), I started working through the Dirty-Girl Washcloths<\/strong> (from Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting<\/a>) in order to improve my knitting skills.\u00a0 There are three washcloths in the pattern, one in garter stitch, one in stockinette, and one in basketweave.\u00a0 Although the washcloths look a little sad (the edges are all uneven), I consider this project a success.\u00a0 My goal was to practice some basic stitches and start training my muscle memory, get a feel for how things should look, etc. and this project was very successful in that regard.<\/p>\n

\"Dirty<\/a><\/p>\n

4. The Rainbow Hook Roll<\/strong> I mentioned in a previous post<\/a>.\u00a0 Most of the construction went pretty smoothly, but I had a fair amount of trouble with crocheting into the row ends, which is why the hook roll is not square.\u00a0 I belatedly discovered that Interweave Crochet’s Winter 2010<\/a> issue had an article specifically about crocheting into row ends.\u00a0 I’ll likely make another one of these (more hooks, plus need to store DPNs somewhere!), so maybe that article will help me figure out what I’m doing wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Rainbow<\/a> \"Rainbow<\/a><\/p>\n

5. My 3rd Bomber Hat<\/strong> (aka Da Bomb<\/strong>), for my middle sister.\u00a0 After she saw the bomber hats I’d sent for Christmas<\/a>, she requested one of her own in hot pink and black.\u00a0 The yarn I’d used for the previous two, Lion Wool-Ease Thick & Quick<\/a> does not come in a pink any brighter than the one I’d already used, so she sent me a couple skeins of Lion Jiffy<\/a>.\u00a0 Jiffy is a bulky (category 5) yarn, rather than a super-bulky (category 6) yarn, so I had to make several modifications.\u00a0 I’m pretty pleased with the final result.<\/p>\n

\"Da<\/a><\/p>\n

6. My 4th Bomber Hat<\/strong> (aka Steelers Bomber<\/strong>) for my stepmom (interestingly also requested by my middle sister).\u00a0 I went back to a super bulky yarn, but tried yet another one (again, needing specific colors): Lion Hometown USA<\/a>.\u00a0 I actually really like this yarn.\u00a0 It’s easy to work with and feels surprisingly nice for a 100% acrylic yarn.\u00a0 Unfortunately, 1 skein of Hometown is not quite enough to finish the main portion of the hat, so the project is on hold until my additional yarn arrives next week.<\/p>\n

7. My knitting group opted to do the Myrtle Beach washcloth<\/strong><\/a> as a knit-along.\u00a0 This was another great learning pattern: seed stitch and color changes!\u00a0 Unfortunately I did the simplest color change method – cutting the yarn every time – rather than something more elegant, so I’m still working on weaving in all the ends.\u00a0 A helpful fellow Raveler<\/a> gave me a great suggestion about how to avoid all the cut ends<\/a>, but it came too late to help me on this project.\u00a0 I’ll definitely be trying this next time I have this sort of frequent color change.\u00a0 I did find working with Lion Cotton-Ease<\/a> to be much easier than most of the pure cotton yarns I’ve worked with before.\u00a0 It’s a little bit splitty, but it does have a nice almost microfiber texture.<\/p>\n

\"Myrtle<\/a><\/p>\n

No, I don’ t know what I’m going to do with all of these washcloths!<\/p>\n

8. My 5th Bomber Hat<\/strong> (sorry, no clever name) for my youngest sister.\u00a0 All of the crochet work is done; it’s just waiting on me to block it and attach the buttons.\u00a0 This one was made from Berroco Peruvia Quick<\/a>, which I also enjoyed working with.\u00a0 Although categorized as super bulky, it worked up a little more open than the Lion yarns I’d used for my nieces hats and the Steelers Bomber.\u00a0 However, I didn’t have to make modifications to the pattern as I did when using Jiffy for Da Bomb.<\/p>\n

\"Brown<\/a><\/p>\n

9. Making Links Chain Reaction Afghan<\/a> Square<\/strong>, from Interweave Crochet’s Summer 2010 issue<\/a>.\u00a0 I’ve decided that I want to attempt to make an afghan utilizing all of the Chain Reaction Afghan squares.\u00a0 To date, I believe that 15 have been published (Interweave Crochet Summer 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2010), plus 3 more “bonus” squares over on CrochetMe.com<\/a>.\u00a0 I think there are 10 more official squares to come.\u00a0 I haven’t decided what I’ll do with said afghan, or set any sort of timeline on it.\u00a0 I figure I’ll just work on the various squares as I feel like it.\u00a0 For example, I started this one because I needed a backup project for my most recent flight.\u00a0 I knew I’d probably finish the (undisclosed baby item) I was working on, but I wasn’t quite ready to start on the next big project during that trip.\u00a0 I’m reserving judgment about this square until I block it; I think it’s growing on me, though.\u00a0 This was done using some of the Lion Cotton-Ease left over from the Myrtle Beach Washcloth.<\/p>\n

\"Chain<\/a><\/p>\n

10, 11, and 12. And three super secret projects for a friend’s baby… more on those after said gifts have been delivered!<\/p>\n

Whew! That’s a lot!\u00a0 I’ve started 8<\/em><\/strong> new projects since the beginning of the year.\u00a0 The Fluffy Pink Scarf (of Doom) was completed last year.\u00a0 Two projects I started last year completed this year (Trophy Scarf and the Dirty-Girl Washcloths) were completed this year.\u00a0 I’m 100% complete with 3 projects I started this year (Rainbow Hook Roll, Da Bomb, and one secret baby project), and have 4 more just waiting for some finishing touches.<\/p>\n

So, what’s next?<\/p>\n