54 and Still Going

Thanksgiving was nice. Normally, it's extremely hectic but this year was a little better. I am very thankful for so many things and I'm am truly thankful for a less stressful holiday.

Thank you all for the kind comments on the blanket. It is now measuring 54 inches in length. That seems plenty long for a small child's blanket but I can't seem to stop adding to it.

Originally, the plan was a small blanket for my son. That was the plan. Plans change. After about the sixth skein, I kept telling myself I was going to add about 3 more inches and then the blanket would be done. I said this over and over. I'm still saying it. Only now I think I really mean it...but I could be just kidding myself.

I want my son to be able to enjoy the blanket for a long time. He's just a little tyke right now and he's going to grow. I don't want it to be too small for him to use next year. So the blanket continues to grow, I continue to measure it, and I continue to keep knitting.

I'm not sure where I'll stop.

I managed to get to the not-so-local yarn store on Friday after work. (Yes, I had to work the Friday after Thanksgiving.) I picked up some sock yarn with various shades of blue. I also picked up some Stork to knit Pismo. I should have asked for a specific color number because I think I brought home the wrong shade. I was too consumed with deciding on a sock yarn. Therefore, when I chose the yarn for the Pismo hat I figured the beige was close enough to brown. Now, I regret that I didn't ask about the brown. I'll be trying to pick up the brown later.

I've actually been making it to the Wednesday night knitting meetings. I've been enjoying them. I'm looking forward to the meeting tomorrow. Maybe I'll finish the blanket by the end of the meeting.

Don't count on it, though!

Moving Right Along with the Blanket

The Blanket

The blanket is coming along well. Right now, it's about 31 inches long and about 42 inches wide. It's definitely more than half done which makes me feel really good.

The more I look at the pattern, the more I think about making something else with the basket-weave pattern in it. A kid's sweater or man's sweater in this pattern might be nice.

I had planned to make a trip to Knitting Sisters today to pick up a few things but was just too tired. I decided to take a quick nap and woke up hours later. Maybe I'll get there this coming week.

Lately, I've been taking the blanket everywhere in case the opportunity to knit arises. Recently, I was knitting during my lunch break and one of the ladies at the restaurant commented on the blanket. She has a four-month old daughter and would like to learn to knit so she can make things for the baby. I told her I'd try to help her and invited her to come to our knitting meetings on Wednesday nights. Hopefully, she'll be able to make it to a meeting so she has several people with varied experience to help her.


The Cabled Sweater

I have picked out a pattern for my son. It's the Aran Fishing Shirt from Classic Knits for Kids, by Debbie Bliss. Since I've heard her patterns are frequently published with errors, I visited the errata section of her website. I was pleased that the sweater was not on the list. Yarn will be evaluated soon so that I can make a good choice.


Holidays

I'm looking forward to the holidays this year. Frequently, this is a stressful time for me but I have decided that this year will be different. This year, I'm just going to take everything slowly and say "no" when needed. Since I'm still feeling like crap, I'm thinking I'll be saying "no" a lot more.

Wishing you all a happy holiday season!

Cabled Sweater

My son has a cabled sweater that I love. I purchased it when he was almost two years old. He wore it the very same winter. He even wore it for two subsequent winters. This year, the sleeves are too short. It breaks my heart.

Now, I think I want to knit one for him. I'm feeling a little like Iit could be a bad idea since the GRAND UFO of mine is in fact a sweater I started for him. In reality, however, the only reason I stopped knitting the sweater was because the pattern directions were minimal, at best, and the teacher of my Norwegian Sweater class never went over how to really do anything. (See entries from May 19, here and here, for more details.)

I'm a little more experienced as a knitter now. I am more confident in my knitting and I've found a few more resources for learning steeking and cutting. Since I'm not a fan of using a sewing machine, I may never, ever use these techniques but there is a part of me that really wants to learn. There's a part of me that really wants to go back to finish the original sweater but I'm not sure I know where all of the yarn is any more.

I've looked for a few patterns. I'm going to check out Celtic Knits and Great Knits for Kids, by Debbie Bliss to see if there's something that strikes my fancy. I'm still peeking around different online yarn shops to see if I see an appealing pattern too.

Hopefully I'll find something soon. I'm guessing, it may not be knit until the new year. I told my husband I'd make him an afghan, I want to make socks for me, and there's still a shawl calling me.

At least I'm making progress on the current blanket. I'm about a third of the way done. I'll try to get a progress shot soon as I'm taking a road trip Saturday.

I've been shopping for sock yarn too. I'm going to try to order some before the month ends so I'll be ready to start my socks in December.

In the mean time, I'm dreaming of future projects and of finishing projects from the past.

Hopefully, my son will get a hand-knit sweater before he turns six.