New Projects, New Dilemmas

July 11, 2009| Lindy| 0 Comment | 5:54 pm

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Knitting Projects

My son and daughter in law are expecting their first baby the end of January. This delightful news has caused the knitter in me to begin formulating a number of knitting projects – all baby items, of course! I started the search for baby blanket patterns – finding several I like, now to decide which to use. I am planning to knit a matching sweater, cap & booties as well.

Then there is the matter of yarns for my baby projects.—I am vascillating between cotton & cotton blends and washable wool or wool blends. I haven’t completely ruled out using an acrylic baby yarn, but I really want to find something that is more long-wearing and high quality. As a long-time knitter, I’ve come to appreciate cotton and wool yarns. But now, we also have new yarns made of bamboo and corn and a myriad of other “new” fibers. Whatever the choice – baby items must be machine washable to be practical and usable for any new mother.

And then, there is the matter of colors. I think color is always an issue when a knitter begins to contemplate knitting for a baby. Do you go with the traditional baby blue and baby pink? Do you go with a cute mix of pastels? Or do you go with primary colors? – which seems to be the latest trend in baby wear if you look at the various knitting magazines and yarn catalogs. Oh my! Lots of decisions to be made here.

Now, most knitters approach a project by selecting a pattern. I have two possibilities for my baby blanket. I will be using very basic patterns for the sweater, cap & booties. I want to use the same yarn for all the items and want to find coordinating colors. I plan to select a yarn or yarns I like and want to use for these projects and then work with the patterns — So off to window shop online for yarns…

Buttons! Who knew?Buttons! Who knew?

I am making significant progress on my Color Block Vest. In fact, I am nearly done! So Saturday, I realized that I really needed to go buy buttons for this vest. And off I went.

Now, I must admit that it has been some time since I ventured into a fabric store to buy buttons. And usually when I am buying buttons, I am also buying thread and fabric to match. What I discovered is that in the time that I have been absent from the fabric store scene that things have really changed. Changed in a good way, actually. Oh my! the selection was enormous! And really wonderful. In addition to the standard buttons in rather standard colors that come in sets of four or five — there are all these unique and stylish buttons available. Who knew? Obviously, not someone like me who hasn’t ventured into the button section of the fabric store in a good long while.

I was enormously challenged — I had so many choices! Wonderful choices! And then…I found them! The perfect buttons for my vest!

Aren’t these just wonderful? They have a lovely brown background with swirls of pink, green and darker reddish brown. They match the three colors where they will be placed nicely.

As wonderfully matched as these buttons are — I must also admit to sticker shock when I went to check out. They were on sale, fortunately, but even at that they were expensive. I paid $7.00 apiece for them. (ON SALE!) Who knew buttons could cost so much? Now, I was willing to spend the money to get these perfect buttons — especially since I have invested money in a high quality yarn for this project. Still I think that buttons should not be so expensive. Even if they are perfect…

Summer Knitting: Washcloths/Dishcloths – #1 – #3Summer Knitting: Washcloths/Dishcloths – #1 – #3

During the summer months, I like to knit smaller projects that knit up quickly, are portable and don’t require a whole lot of intricate knitting. So, 2010 is the Summer of Washcloths. I recently came across a booklet with 10 different knit dishcloth patterns: “Kitchen Bright Dishcloths” from Leisure Arts (2004).

Now, I had already downloaded a few patterns from Ravelry and knit up 1 of those, plus I decided to finally knit the “Ball Band Dishcloth” printed on the back of the Peaches and Cream yarn label. So — if I knit the 10 in the Leisure Arts booklet, by the end of the Summer, I will have …(count ’em)… a Dozen new knitted dishcloths.

I am a quarter of the way through my dozen. Here are the three completed projects:

#1 – Waffle Weave Dishcloth

Pattern found on Ravelry. Yarn Used: Peaches and Cream, Winterberry Ombre. I like this pattern, though I’m not sure I like the way the yarn pooled when I knit it.

#2 – Ball Band Dishcloth

Pattern on back of Peaches and Cream yarn label. Yarn Used: Peaches and Cream, Teal Blue and Teal Ombre. I like the end result, but really did not like knitting this pattern. Not sure why — I just didn’t enjoy knitting it.

#3 – Bee Stitch Dishcloth

Pattern from Leisure Arts booklet. Yarn Used: Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton, Natural. I really enjoyed knitting this dishcloth. The Lion Brand yarn feels softer than the Peaches and Cream (probably due to lack of dye) and I loved knitting the Bee Stitch — it’s an easy 4 row stitch pattern.

WIP: Colored Blocks VestWIP: Colored Blocks Vest

I am still working on the EZ Green Sweater. I have one sleeve finished and about two-thirds of the other one knit. Now usually when I am getting close to completing a project like this, I will work on it steady until I’m finished. But not so this time! I have temporarily set aside the green sweater because I simply fell in love with another pattern.

It’s the Bold Blox pattern in Issue 103 of the Knitter’s Magazine. There was just something that totally intrigued me about this vest. I am not usually someone who knits straight from the pattern in the book or magazine — but here I am, knitting way on this pattern. I did make some modifications to the colors, choosing a different combination that the original — but I did decide to use the yarn called for in the pattern.

This is another unusual choice for me — I almost always subsitute the yarn called for in the pattern with something similar but more likely to be in my stash or available locally. But this time: I took the plunge and splurged on Malabrigo Worsted in six colors. (Yep – 6.)

I finished the yoke of the vest last evening and am now starting on the body of the vest. This is knitting up quickly and boy, oh boy, do I like this yarn! It is simply scrumptious. Lovely feel, wonderful stitch definition — it has it all.

The second picture shows the front of the vest. The yoke and the first sleeve is complete. The sleeves are knit in 1 X 1 rib and form a cap-style sleeve.

The third picture is of the back. I love the color combinations! I am especially in love with the raspberry pink colorway (Geranio). {I would knit something in just this color if I found the right pattern.} But I also am very pleased with how the different colored blocks in the yoke knitted up.

Details:
Pattern: Bold Blox — available on Ravelry. See link below.
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted – Colorways: Geranio, Cypress, Pink Frost, Pearl Ten, Emerald and Red Mahogany.
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 8 (5.0 mm)
Gauge: 18 stitches = 4 inches.

Links:
Bold Blox Pattern on Ravelry
My Project in Ravelry