I finished knitting some things! I know that doesn't seem like a very big accomplishment, but these days my knitting time is limited, although my knitting plans are as ambitious as ever.
A month or so ago I wrote about a cotton sunhat that I was trying to make for my great-niece. I attempted to crochet it multiple times with no success. I gave up, then looked for a knitted pattern. This I also failed to make several times; it came out looking way too small. Undaunted, I went to larger needles and cast on a bigger size, and at last had a hat that looked like it would fit a three year old. I hope I was right. I didn't have a model close by to try it on.
A larger accomplishment was my cotton mitred square blanket. I started these squares about two years ago, knitting them one at a time as I sat in the sun. I planned to make a big blanket out of them, but was in no rush to finish. Then, inspiration struck. My niece's second child was due at the first of May and right before that I started thinking about something I could knit for her. They live in Hawaii, so heavy and warm clothes aren't needed. A cotton blanket would be perfect! I counted up the squares I had finished and I had plenty to make a baby blanket.
Then came the tedious part. Sewing up each set of four into a large square, sewing the squares into strips, and sewing the strips together into a blanket. All that mattress stitch isn't my favorite thing, nor am I that accomplished at finishing techniques. But I figured a baby wouldn't notice if it wasn't perfect and I perservered. After all that sewing, the edging wasn't a problem at all. I wove in all the ends (now that was a project in itself!), threw it into the washer and dryer and voila! A baby blanket extraordinaire, if I do say so myself. I hope it's appreciated and used well, but it's off in the mail now and not mine to worry about any more.
I have a few squares left; may be time to start another?
A month or so ago I wrote about a cotton sunhat that I was trying to make for my great-niece. I attempted to crochet it multiple times with no success. I gave up, then looked for a knitted pattern. This I also failed to make several times; it came out looking way too small. Undaunted, I went to larger needles and cast on a bigger size, and at last had a hat that looked like it would fit a three year old. I hope I was right. I didn't have a model close by to try it on.
A larger accomplishment was my cotton mitred square blanket. I started these squares about two years ago, knitting them one at a time as I sat in the sun. I planned to make a big blanket out of them, but was in no rush to finish. Then, inspiration struck. My niece's second child was due at the first of May and right before that I started thinking about something I could knit for her. They live in Hawaii, so heavy and warm clothes aren't needed. A cotton blanket would be perfect! I counted up the squares I had finished and I had plenty to make a baby blanket.
Then came the tedious part. Sewing up each set of four into a large square, sewing the squares into strips, and sewing the strips together into a blanket. All that mattress stitch isn't my favorite thing, nor am I that accomplished at finishing techniques. But I figured a baby wouldn't notice if it wasn't perfect and I perservered. After all that sewing, the edging wasn't a problem at all. I wove in all the ends (now that was a project in itself!), threw it into the washer and dryer and voila! A baby blanket extraordinaire, if I do say so myself. I hope it's appreciated and used well, but it's off in the mail now and not mine to worry about any more.
I have a few squares left; may be time to start another?
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