Thursday, March 25, 2010

Up-to-date-ification post!

So, since last we checked, YoungKnitter has been running about like a headless chicken, adventuring with new knitting needles, and promising photos that will never come.

But no more! Here are some pics of new/old projects to bring the internet up to speed :-)

This is a blanket I started last summer with some yarn that I got from Seton Hospital in Round Rock, TX to make as a lap blanket for a patient there. Well... I went off to college before I had the opportunity to finish it, so it's currently in a truck on its way to Maine, so I'll be able to finish it this summer and then maybe eventually send it back to TX?

At any rate, it's a new type of crocheting (by "new" i mean not what i'd been doing previously) where you crochet into the space between stitches instead of in each individual stitch. It's interesting, and it makes a cool kind of broken-stripe pattern. It's also much easier to crochet by touch, without looking at your work, so its great for working on while watching movies or whatever. :-)



This is the blanket I made for my sister that I talked about 2 posts ago. It was a real challenge to make, since it is made of about 100 hexagonal motifs, crocheted in different colors in layers of rings (complicated? o.O) and then crocheted together. It's a beautiful pattern, and I used really great colors. The sis says she loves it, though she hasn't managed to take any pictures better than this one. *rolls eyes exasperatedly* So! This one'll have to do! I really enjoyed this project, but I think I'll wait awhile before making another motif-afghan again. ^^




This is the beginnings of the blanket I'm making for my brother. I'm just a liiiittle short of halfway through! It's gonna be a biiiiiig blanket (he's a big guy!) so it'll take me a little while! I had deluded myself into thinking I could finish it before spring break so I could bring it to him when I visited him, but alas I did not finish. *sigh* So! I'm working on it as much as I can to get it finished before the insanity of finals and I head home for summer so I can give it to him then! Summer is kind of a strange time to be giving someone a warm blanket, but I guess it can just be a late birthday present. :-)

At any rate, I LOVE the colors! I figured grey and navy blue are manly enough, but the bright turquoise adds a pop of color, since portland, where he lives, gets pretty grey and boring. So it's bright, yet still manly. ^^





This is the first thing I made with my lovely new knitting needles! Here you can see the needles in action. :-) It's a simple k2p3 rib hat, but it has a gradual swirl in it (by cabling every other row one stitch to the left). Super easy, super simple, super fast!
I started another hat just like it, but this time I'm using a smaller needle, since this one turned out to be just a tad too big for me. Also, I think the smaller gauge will show off the swirl more!



Aaaaand the finished hat. :-)





My philosophy professor has (finally!) given me permission to knit in class, and I figured it was a simple enough project not to "detract from the learning environment." After I'm done with this, though, I have to get going on the blanket and then maybe even start up those socks that have been hibernating for almost a year! I have no other yarn in my room except the stuff currently involved in a project. :-(

HOWEVER! I recently discovered that one of my friends knits, and she has offered to share some of her yarn with me. She got a bunch of yarn to make some preemie hats for a local hospital, and said she could use my help! I don't think I could have said "YES PLEASE!" any faster! The idea of suffering through the end of the semester with all my projects finished and no yarn to start new ones was just unbearable!

So hopefully I'll get started on that soon. :-) She uses double pointed needles (dpns) to make her hats, but dpns make me want to stab myself, so I'm going to experiment with other options! I still have a few of those 40" circulars that I used for making socks (including the ones on the socks that are hibernating >.<) so I'm hoping to use the magic loop method on those hats! If the gauge is appropriate that is... *sigh*

Well, that's that! I'll post more when I have more news/progress/pictures. :-)
Until then, happy knitting!
~YoungKnitter