Crafting Progress and The Little Devil Hat

by Kelly


Two squares done for the charity drive.

The first square I knit came out spot on at 12", which fooled me into thinking this would be simple. I had to wash and block the gray square to make it come out right. Also, notice the two colors of gray? That's because I used a partial skein and ran out of the dark gray yarn. (*sigh*) I hope they're feeling forgiving when they get to my squares.

I checked the SmoothFox site today and saw the leader has 157 points for October. I don't think we've got a chance, girls. But I will persevere despite the long odds.

In other news, I've finished a scarf for our local charity drive :

I used this pattern from TLC. The ends had to be seamed together, then the strips braided. Have I ever mentioned how much I love seaming???

And, since I hate seaming so much, I knit this hat(also for the kid's charity) in the round, on a circular needle.

The free pattern is here. In my usual headlong fashion, I tried many new things at once. And, since this was my first time knitting on a circular needle, and also my first time using a provisional cast on, and my first time knitting this pattern, I sort of made a large mistake. Yes, it's much too large. This is supposed to be a baby hat, and instead it fits me quite nicely. Still, at least my Halloween costume is done.

But I have figured out why my gauge was off for the gray square above, and the hat too. Because I was in a hurry, I was using continental knitting, which is done mostly with the left hand, instead of the English knitting (done with the right) which I normally use. So, I am knitting a wee bit too loosely.

Easily fixed! And the hat is so much fun to knit that I don't mind trying it again. But I still think I will go down a needle size, which means a trip to the local craft store for another circular needle and set of DPN's.

But for now, back to the 12 x 12 squares. Ho hum.

Dishcloth Fail

by Kelly

Unlike NASA, I believe that failure is always an option. A case in point -

I used the Pebble Stitch Cloth found on Knitting Pattern Central (link in our sidebar).

This was the second thing I ever knitted. So, when I produced the dishcloth on the left,  to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. More like devastated. 'WHAT did I do wrong?' I thought. 'Maybe I don't have the hang of this after all.'

In my usual 'jump on in and see what happens' fashion, I was learning as I went - knitting for the first time with cotton yarn, finding out how to knit below a stitch, and knitting with two colors. Actually, in hindsight, I'm surprised that I managed to make anything at all. Sure, it's more of a rhomboid than a square. So what?

So, not having a clue what I had done wrong, I changed a few things and knit the whole darn dishcloth again. And came up with exactly the same thing, only smaller.

The sad part is, I still don't know what I did wrong. I've just resolved not to make another one. Unfortunately, these dishcloths seem to last forever, so they will stay in my kitchen drawer, gently mocking me, until I am old and gray. Well, actually, I already have gray hairs, so maybe that's not the far-off day that it used to be.

Anyway, this project is officially the first project to be placed in The Bin. I doubt that it will be the last.

The Bin is in the navigation bar at the top of the page, and it will be a showcase for failure, whether it be failed techniques, bad patterns, yarn that's not worth the money, or just our own personal fails. So go on and check it out. Meantime, I think I'll go wash some more dishes.