Adventures in Intarsia

My friend Pat invited me as a guest to the Knitting Guild of Buffalo's meeting. They were doing a demonstration on intarsia knitting. I had to idea what that meant and was afraid I would stick out like a sore thumb at the meeting. Well, I didn't need to worry about that - there were so many knitters there, I felt like I had walked into a bingo hall! So I blended into the crowd and learned how to "intarsia". I'd love to know why it's called that.

I have little bits of cotton yarn left from some dishcloths, so I want to use this method to use up those leftovers. I better do it quick, or I'm likely to forget how!

Good news Bad news

First the good news--I finished the mid-month dishcloth through the yahoo group. It was really fascinating to make this without knowing what it was.

The Bad News :( I was cranking along on my cable sock, and got to the part where I start the heel flap, looked back and saw a hole! Rats, I must have dropped a stitch like 10 rows back!! Bummer. And I knew something was wrong because my count was one stitch off, but I just added a stitch and kept going (dumb). Lesson learned.

Cable Sock

After learning how to knit socks, I wish I could knit 24/7 just to make socks. I've only made 3 pairs so far, and I am half way to my 4th. This time I tried a cable stitch design, rather than just the ribbing pattern I've done before.

I finished the one and thought I would show it off here. I made it an ankle sock, just for something different. The yarn is a hand dyed wool that can be washed (according to the label). I just hope I remember to pull them out of the wash before I toss the load into the dryer. I can just see me doing that. I'm sure one trip through the dryer and they'll be fit for a toddler!

I'm almost done with my mid-month mystery dishcloth. I checked out the pictures some other knitters have posted and I've realized I must not know how to yarn over right. I brought the yarn over the top of the needle, and I'm thinking I should have brought it around the bottom of the needle. I'll have to experiment with that. The pattern still looks alright....as long as you don't compare it with what it's supposed to look like!

??Fish?? ??Flower??

This is my first month of the mystery KAL for the Yahoo Monthly Dishcloth group and it's a very interesting pattern. I've never done a project where I didn't have the picture to refer to, so I'm knitting blind.

I'm not sure what it's going to be. After the first 2 days of patterns, it sort of looks like a fish, but then I see maybe a flower. Not sure.

I was just telling my mom how I needed to go out and get another set of Size 7 needles, since I still wanted to work on a dishcloth, but my needles were being used for the mystery KAL. My girlfriend Marie is cleaning out her house to make way for her Yoga Room (how cool is that?) and she came across some knitting needles from her husband's mother that she wasn't using, so she gifted them to me. And guess what? there was a pair of size 7!!


They are all nylon circular needles and I got a kick out of the prices on some of them. (98 cents and $1.15) I had only ever knitted with bamboo, but the nylon is nice to work with. My only trouble is that I am finding the needles themselves to be very short, and it's awkward because I don't feel like I'm holding on to them properly. The tops of my hands were quite achy after knitting awhile. I figured I would see how things progress, maybe its just a case of getting used to them.

whew!

Glad this little number is done. Truthfully, it got a lot easier as I went along, but was quite the challenge for me.

I learned I must be a 'tight' knitter, because the one row you need to p3tog, and I struggled to get those 3 stitches on my needle. I eventually loosened up and the last few pattern repeats went along pretty well.

The pattern can be found here. It's called Puffalump Limbo Line.

Timing is Everything

I was so happy to be able to get one of Firefly Farms adorable drawstring pouches. The day after I ordered it, I went back to order another one only to find out they were sold out! Whew-I'm so glad I at least got one. It is the cutest bag ever and so well made.

A purr-fect place to keep my sock project :) Meow!!

This is the BEST dishcloth pattern!

Ok, I've only knitted 2 dishcloths, so I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I really really like this pattern. I haven't used it yet, as it's hot off the needles so to speak, but I can tell it's going to be a perfect dishcloth. Thanks Deb for sharing your pattern!

New Addiction!

Oh boy, I thought the socks were addicting, and now I'm hooked on dishcloths!

I joined up the Monthly Dishcloth group through Yahoo, and made my first one. The knit-along is supposed to act as a learning experience, and I can tell you it was. Not only did I learn the coolest pattern, I also learned that if I try to watch TV and think I can keep track of what row I'm on without a row counter, I'm sure to lose my place.

So although it is far from perfect, my Mid-February Challenge is complete!