I know many people who never swatch. Or they swatch and only knit one inch. If I'm trying a new pattern or new yarn, I really like to do an accurate swatch.
Last night I discovered a new pattern and immediately knew I wanted to knit it.
It's called Maine Squeeze by Katie Smith. It's knit on US Size 13 needles holding two strands of bulky yarn together at the same time. So it's extra quick and thick and it's so adorable.
Before using the actual yarn I bought for a blanket, I used the same yarn in a denim blue that was leftover from a friendship blanket a few years ago.
The swatch on the bottom was my first attempt with a US size 15. Good news! I was spot on gauge of 9 sts = 4 inches. Bad news. I quickly noted two problems. My wraps were too erratic. I discovered that if I held the cable needle independently of the rest of the knitting, but close to the right hand needle, I got a more consistent wrap. The second thing I noticed is that my stitches were a little bit loose. I wasn't certain this is the look I wanted for this blanket.
Trying for a tighter stitch, I cast on again with a US size 13 needle. See the top swatch. Good news. My wraps were more consistent. The fabric I knit was more even. Bad news. My gauge was slightly off. 10 sts = 4 inches.
I decided to go with a US size 13 needle anyway. But as soon as I had knit about 5 inches of the actual blanket, I realized the more even fabric I was creating with the smaller needle was also creating a very dense fabric. That was the opposite of the goal I was trying to achieve.
Ripping out and starting over didn't take too much time. With double bulky yarn and very large size 15 needles, this knits up so quickly. In no time at all I had the beginnings of a gift blanket.
I really like this blanket. My only concern is that I'm not comfortable that the gauge is going to give me the overall dimensions in the pattern.
Gauge: 9 sts = 4 inches
Blanket dimensions: 48" x 54"
Since I cast on 93 sts, I only see that this blanket will be 41 inches. That's pre-blocking, of course. So I hope those final dimensions are post-blocking. Since it knits so quickly, there's a very good chance I finish this blanket today or tomorrow, so I'll let you know the final dimensions pre and post blocking.
I knit therefore I am. I knit everywhere. I knit here. I knit there. I especially knit on the go.
So in the summer of 2013 which was quite the year of traveling, I packed the yarn, needles and pattern for a forest green Sampler Blanket and got in the car with my Scouting friend John Farley to drive to the new Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia for the 2013 National Boy Scout Jamboree.
Here's John's first selfie en route to West Virginia. I swear I offered to help with the driving, but he said "No." OK - better for me. I can spend the next 24 hours knitting!
I managed to knit about half the blanket on the drive down to West Virginia. We broke up the trip in half, so there was a nice dinner and an overnight halfway down. Knitters instantly understand what this means - MORE KNITTING TIME!
Finally we arrived at the Summit Bechtel Reserve (this is a photo from the following year's trip - but it's the only one I have of the sign). For the next few weeks there would be no knitting on the Sampler Blanket. I left it in John's truck for the duration.
We parked the truck in the staff long term parking area. The excitement was palpable. Look who's a happy camper!
John was excited, too, as we boarded the bus for fun and adventure.
The bus dropped us off at Base Camp A - our home away from home for the next few weeks. Coincidentally, our color for the Jamboree was green. How fitting!
Since the Sampler Blanket was too large for Jamboree knitting, I brought some socks to knit for the duration. Even sock knitting is cool at the Jamboree.
We had a lot of exposure to Mother Nature while we were at the Summit. John is a retired middle school science teacher, so it's always fun to have an expert telling us about the flora and fauna. I don't remember what type of moth this was, but let me just say it was H-U-G-E!
We had our official name tags. This must have been early on during the Jamboree, because by the end, my lanyard was adorned with mementos from all the Scouts and new friends I made along the way. My first adornment was a mini Gumby. Because Marines (and Scouts, too) should always be Semper Gumby (this means always being flexible).
The Jamboree was so much fun. We met our close friends and made new friends. Sometimes we even dressed alike. Here's Caroline, me and Dianna posing for a picture in our Sub Camp headquarters. Matchy-matchy!
And the knitting continued. I made a batch of my miniature Scout sock ornaments.
Camp life is always fun. We got these new fancy schmancy bunk bed cots. These were seriously the coolest cots I've ever seen.
Before you could say Summit Bechtel Reserve, the youth arrived. I managed to see Primogeniture once or twice during the entire adventure.
I saw Secundogeniture more often. He came by to decompress, charge his phone, and enjoy things from Mom - like extra patches for trading, ice cream, and the use of the computer.
Lunch consisted of 'shelf stable' on the go food. It was plenty of food, and I managed to lose about 10 lbs while I was at the Jamboree - between the food and the miles and miles and miles of walking. Hmmmm.... maybe I should stay here more often!
We got the chance to walk around between our work shifts and see the displays and activities for ourselves.
John met up with another friend and fellow board member from our Council - Charlie.
We got the one currency that all adult leaders treasure - a coveted Staff patch. It was a great time but it was time to head home.
And of course, we sang the classic John Denver song about West Virginia as we departed.
Our first stop on the way home was a delicious steak dinner. I'm not sure what the true quality was, but I can tell you it was the single most delicious meal I have ever eaten! Two weeks of camp food will do that to you.
And we met up with our Long Island friends for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Here we are sitting on the rocking chairs like the Old Timers we are. Look who didn't bring any civilian clothes with her? Hahaha.
And I managed to nearly finish knitting the blanket on the long drive home.
The best part of any trip is arriving home. Home Sweet Home!
Once home, I blocked the five strips for the blanket and only needed to join the strips into one full sized blanket and call it a day. Somewhere along the way, after I blocked the strips, I had to clean up the basement and I put the blanket away for safe keeping.
Of course, you know this means it got forgotten. Out of sight. Out of mind.
And in the two and a half years since the Jamboree, every time I saw John, he would tell the story of the Major knitting the entire blanket on our drive down to West Virginia. I knew while knitting the blanket on the drive to the Jamboree that this needed to find its home with the Farley family.
I saw John again in December as we were interviewing the candidates to be leaders for our Council's Jamboree Contingent for the 2017 Jamboree. He told the knitting story again. I casually mentioned that we should get together for dinner with our spouses.
And of course, the first thing I did when I got home was find the blanket. I joined it sometime in the past year, but still hadn't given it the final blocking. So I wet soaked it.
I rinsed it thoroughly and pressed (no wringing allowed) out the excess water, repeated this until the water ran clear and soap-free.
I laid out the Sampler Blanket on my pool table with its plastic protective covering which is the perfect surface for wet blocking and drying my hand knits.
Finally, last night, BF and I had a delightful and delicious dinner with John and Josephine and I gave them the completed green Sampler Blanket.
There are so many reasons I like knitting the Knitting Central Sampler Blanket. But I think the #1 reason on the board is that it never gets boring. In just a few days I knit six different swatches for the first strip of the blanket. It knits up quickly, is interesting for about 2 hours, then switches to another swatch with a new pattern to learn and a new level of interest. This keeps this blanket moving ever-so-quickly.
#1 Diamond Medallion
#2 Eyelet Check
#3 Diagonal Rib
#4 Bramble Stitch
#5 Knotted Cable
#6 Pebble Stitch
Each swatch is fun to knit. But I have my favorites. For this strip I enjoy knitting the Bramble Stitch and the Pebble Stitch the most.
Stay tuned for more swatch knitting in the weeks to come. Have you made a sampler blanket? Which pattern is your favorite to knit? Which overall blanket is your go-to resource? I have a few more I want to try next...
I'm working on another blanket. But I thought rather than my traditional Sampler Blanket, I'd make something new. So I cast on for a dotty blanket that is knit all in one piece. But the pattern I was using was a baby blanket and I wanted to knit an adult full-sized blanket - so I adjusted it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't working for me. I didn't like knitting it all in one piece. I also didn't think that I would have enough yarn to finish a full-sized blanket given my adaptations. So into the frog pond it went.
I decided to return to my tried-and-true Knitting Central's Sampler Blanket pattern. I know it inside and out. I've made a dozen of these blankets. It's become my signature blanket at this point.
And now I've got my knitting groove on again. I'm happily knitting away this pink sampler. It's fun. It's an old friend. It's got 30 different sections of instant gratification. That works for me. There's no guess work. So I'll knit this, not that.
But I still hold Going Dotty in my library for a future blanket when I want to knit a baby blanket as written -- without trying to adjust it.
It's Friday and I've been so busy this past month trying to clear things off my Ravelry queue - that I somehow created more work for myself. I have been making great progress knitting up the individual swatches for the patchwork knit quilts - but I haven't joined any of them yet.
Today I finished knitting the green and gray four patch swatches for my latest Modern Quilt knit blankets. Now I think I'm ready to finally start assembling at least the first of these whimsical knit projects. This might be the first. I'm quite thrilled since I really used up the odds and ends of the worsted weight yarn that was in my stash. I like it when that happens.
My knitting goal for this summer has been to complete as many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) as possible. I was making great strides finishing those very slow going swatch blankets that have been on my queue for many years. After finishing the purple blanket and the I Heart Blanket I was down to a mere five projects. I was ecstatic. The end was in sight. Except I couldn't quite get the knitting mojo to finish any of the projects.
This black, gray and white swatch blanket really had me at a standstill. It was boring. It had no life. It's been in my queue for ELEVEN years! As I was working on the lovely pastel swatches for the I HEART blanket, I kept thinking about making a hand knit modern quilt using these swatches. So I took all these swatches and broke them apart into white, gray and black piles. And I quickly cast on for some pastel variations of nine patches.
I'm much happier with this modern variation. I even designed about a dozen more modern hand knit quilts in white, gray and black backgrounds.
So instead of having just 5 projects left in my queue... this new shake up of this gray, black and white blanket has added FOUR new projects to finish up. Hahaha! That's OK. The extra design work will be worth the extra effort!
Earlier this month I finished joining all eighty purple swatches that a dozen Scouting friends and I knit or crocheted. It took me awhile to get up the gumption to finally finish it - but finish it I did. Here's the final photo shoot for this community effort before Primogeniture delivered it to its recipient last week.
There are so many swatches that depict the recipient's interests - Harry Potter; Slytherin; Archery; Tardis and Dalek from Dr. Who. And did I mention P-U-R-P-L-E?
I've been working on this blanket for more than two years. It has had a life of its own. Colors were added. Colors were deleted. Multi-colored swatches were added to unify the blanket's myriad colors. I knit furiously on it. I put it away for months at a time. I revisited it with vim and vigor. I stashed it away again putting it in a time out for more months on end. I did a swatch placement test. I simply could not commit to joining all 81 swatches. Finally, I took the plunge and got my finishing mojo on. Last week, Lindaly and I wet blocked her blanket.
It spent the week blocking on my covered pool table in the basement. BTW - with its plastic cover, the pool table has been the best knitting accessory I've ever owned. It definitely gets more use as a knitwear blocking table than it ever got as a pool table.
Tonight Lindaly and I hung the finished blanket on a display clothesline I have in my backyard. Doesn't everyone have a clothesline for the sole purpose of showing off quilts and hand knit blankets?
Who needs bunting when you can display your handmade crafts? Maybe I should have my very own quilt show. OK. I'm getting carried away.
And here's Lindaly's finished blanket. It's been a fun journey creating this for her. It's huge. It would fit a king sized bed. Today it was 95 degrees... so it may not have been the best day to think about a wool blanket. But it will sure be appreciated come winter.
Here's a very rapid project. In just one month, I finished an entire Sampler Afghan. I'm quite pleased. The last part was joining the strips and then finishing the border.
Sampler Afghan - available at Knitting Central or Westport Yarns.
4 skeins of Cascade Yarns Eco+ (this color appears to be discontinued)
US Size 10.5 straight needles
Crochet hook and darning needle
Otis wanted to be a part of the photo op. Hey! Hey! Look at me.
Now I need to clear the pool table - which is my blocking station with its large surface area and heavy duty plastic cover - wet soak this Sampler Afghan - and block and dry it. Woohoo. I love a Finished Object.
My plan is to try to finish as many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) in my Ravelry Queue as possible this summer. I think that is an attainable goal. Wish me luck! Wanna join me?
I've actually been very busy with all sorts of knitting this month. I just haven't shared any pictures because it's not very exciting until it's all done. But I've completed knitting all the parts so I thought I'd share a little sneak peak with you.
Orange is always so happy. The color is bright and sunny and it can give a lift to any day. Just what I needed this week.
I started this project on June 5th. BF was traveling that week so I decided to start a month-long Jane Austen/ Knitting marathon and I knit like my life depended on it while watching every Jane Austen related flick I could get my hands on - via StarzPlay; Netflix; Amazon Prime and my very own DVD library
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Mansfield Park (1999)
Persuasion (2007)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Austenland
Northanger Abbey
Becoming Jane
Emma
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Lost in Austen
Mansfield Park (2007)
Persuasion (1995)
Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Bride and Prejudice
Bridget Jones' Diary
Death Comes to Pemberley
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
I even watched the BBC documentary on Chatsworth (the castle used as Pemberley in 1995)
I know - I left out a few. But then I did watch about one a day. The important thing is that each stitch of this orange creation was filled with love, inspiration, a great vocabulary and a few hundred years of strong women exerting their independence and free spirit within the confines of their world.
