Swatch Watch

I got a message on Ravelry the other day from frequent blog reader MarDe1234 (Ravelry link) wondering just how I was able to adapt my blankets from dishcloths or change the suggested yarn weights in blankets and still come up with a good size. And so, inspired, I decided to let you glimpse into my muddled 'ole brain and see my process to making the blankets and projects you see on this blog.

The answers are all in the swatch. I know what a lot of you are thinking right now. "Oh boo.... a lecture on swatches...." and I know. I get you. It's a tedious task. Often we are INSPIRED! RIGHT! NOW! and don't want to take the time to plan the swatch. But people- swatching has saved me enormous heartache. While a swatch is simple... the process is not always that.

Firstly- I find it hilarious that although my swatch will turn into nothing useful once I have extracted measurements from it that I still keep most of them. Behold- the Ziploc bag of swatches!? (Do you think Ziploc has any idea just how much they mean to the knitting community!? I keep everything in Ziploc bags!!)

This here is a whole lotta swatches. I'm showing you this so you don't think that I'm just blowing smoke on this whole "you gotta swatch" thing. I swatch. A lot. (And apparently I don't throw the swatches out.) But I like to get a good idea about what things are going to look like. I break the swatching process down into 3 categories.

1) The "Traditional Swatch"

These are the swatches that you typically knit in stocking stitch that usually turn into 4" squares. These are necessary to make sure that you're knitting at the same tension with your yarn and needles that the designer intended. Often times you can predict how your project is going to turn out based on your gauge swatch. Sometimes the designer even asks you to swatch something other than stocking stitch but the traditional swatch is your lifeline to make sure your garmet is going to fit.

2) The "Play Swatch"

These are the swatches that I knit, still in small format, when I want to play around with a particular stitch pattern or am trying to get an idea about what I want to knit. I also use it to knit swatches of upcoming projects so that I can get an idea of how large a pattern repeat will be with similar yarn in order for me to cast on a project. This way I can get an idea of size based on an entirely different yarn than the pattern calls for. (Which I do a lot- I rarely use the recommended yarn size!)

3) The "Big Swatch"

I usually reserve the bigger swatch for when I'm attempting a project out of dishcloth or something that requires me to get an idea of how big a particular section is going to knit up, in order to get a really good idea of how many repeats I need, how much yarn I'll need or any other detail. The bigger swatches really help me get a good idea of what I'm about to dive into and if the yarn I've chosen is conducive to that. Yeah- it's tedious to knit a big swatch sometimes, but in the long run it's usually the most effective way to get a clear picture if the dishcloth thing is going to work. (In the case of that boat swatch I decided I hated the yarn I had chosen for the pattern (it was a different color than the yellow) and opted to skip it.)

You'll notice on those swatches that I don't always do a full border... sometimes swatches don't need a full border, sometimes I'll do one sided borders only so that I get an idea how some of the border measures but I'm able to calculate from there. (No need to do unnecessary knitting!)

So that's my "swatch process"- and proof that I do tend to knit swatches! (Some people preach the importance of swatching but don't actually do it themselves. I've learned the hard way that the swatch is a critical piece of knitting!)

I'll be honest- talking about swatches was a great topic for today because it can detract from the fact that progress on my other projects is slow.

In fact, besides 2 hats

(hello September and October hat!) most of the other things that I'm knitting still look relatively the same from last time. Oh, there's progress, just nothing I can really tangibly show you. So instead.... I'm boring you with swatches!

Plugging Away

It's been awhile since the last blog post but I'm happy to say that's because I have been busy. (I have been REALLY busy.) (Haha I accidentally typed "busty"... and well, I suppose that too right now.) The one hour commitment to the various projects have seen slow but steady progress.

Pink baby dots is already 15" in length!

The Teddy Bear blanket is also seeing an end to it's first section.

Even the Nebula socks have seen progress!

I wish I could brag about the progress I've made on the blocking of the blankets- but I can't really speak to that. BUT, the good news is that the blocking board is in my house and the guilt about just finishing these projects is becoming overwhelming! (haha)

So that's where we're at this week! Things are happening but just at a slow (but steady) pace. I'd really like to get the pink dots and the sock done by the end of this month so we'll hope that the productivity plan stays on track!

Blocking Block

Who wants to volunteer to come over to my house and kick me squarely in the a$$? It seems like that's the only thing that will motivate me to block the two otherwise completed baby blankets that are just waiting for their moment alone with the blocking pins. (Which I still have not located.)

MiL did generously offer to block the Welsh blanket for me- but I said no. Because GOSH DARN IT, being a knitter means finishing stuff to completion and that means blocking. But GAH I just can't motivate myself to it! This is probably because I've already moved on to a whole new set of fun projects!

Blocking inhibitor #1: Baby Dots

I am still so thoroughly, and completely and absolutely charmed by this project that I just want to knit it ALL. THE. TIME. It's simple to do and each repeat comes out more charming than the last. Someone has to have a baby girl because this has to be wrapped up in adorable little one STAT.

Blocking inhibitor #2: Teddy Bear Blanket

Did I show you when the swatch I knit last week looked all wonky?

Well I was finally able to at least block the swatch- and thankfully I did because size changed a lot after the initial soak.

.

So, a few short measurements later and hopefully a clear idea of where I want this project to end up- I was able to cast it on and have another "to go" project to haul around with me.

Blocking inhibitor #3: Nebula Brain Bender Socks

We went to Toronto last weekend for a wedding and I decided to only take this project, therefore FORCING me to actually work on the sock and give it some love. Numerous false starts later, (all knitter error, not designer) I was able to get going and well, this is going to be an impressive little number.

(I also managed to squeeze in a visit to the charming and famous (the Harlot's LYS) Lettuce Knit while in Toronto. While I behaved myself and didn't buy anything, it was nice to put a store picture to the name, since it is mentioned so often on Stephanie's blog.)

I can see it now- you're rolling your eyes... thinking "here we go again- Jen has over cast on and now she'll finish nothing." But I'm telling you, this time I'm ready. I have a PLAN. In order to ensure that each project gets to see some progress- I have instituted the 1 hour rule. The 1 hour rule allows me 1 hour to dedicate to a project. When that hour is up- I have to move on to something else... and so on. Once all three projects have seen a minimum of one hour each, I can go back to whatever I'm charmed by in that moment and give it more knitting attention. But this way each project is going to see some action. (Rule does not apply when I am away from my house knitting- I will take whatever is most portable in that moment with me.)

Tomorrow is my last Friday afternoon off this summer. (A nice little employer perk to the summer months.) I am planning an afternoon of utter irresponsibility. I'm not doing laundry, or housework, or anything that would distract me- tomorrow afternoon is all about me, an audio book and the knitting. It'll be good to see what I can come up with some dedicated knitting time.

Who knows- maybe I'll even BLOCK THE BLANKETS!?!?!? (*laughs meniacally because I know I won't.)

Solid D+

Thanks to all who voted with confidence in me this weekend!! You're all so sweet to believe that I can achieve! That's why it pains me to tell you that I didn't achieve. In fact, I barely passed.

If you recall my goals were these:

1) Block the Welsh Blanket
2) Finish Moving Mountains and weave in all ends
3) Knit a baby hat for August
4) Swatch and cast on for next "portable blanket" project

At the end of the weekend here's where I ended up.

1) Block the Welsh Blanket : 0/1
Didn't happen. For one, I'm having second thoughts on blocking it- the ends might just ruffle despite blocking... but I feel like that's the lazy in me talking and not necessarily the practical side of me. I don't really enjoy the blocking process so I'm trying to come up with excuses to not do it. When I went to block something else today though I also discovered a problem. I have no idea where my bloody blocking pins are!! I have looked everywhere. TWICE. It appears a trip to a sewing shop is in my future.

2) Finish Moving Mountains and weave in all the ends: 1/2

Okay some progress here. The blanket is off the needles and it's completed. I used 9.5 balls of yarn so I'm satisfied with the stash down. This is a photo of the wrong side of the project and as you can see I failed to finish weaving in my ends. I'd like to get that done this week.

3) Knit a baby hat for August: 1/1

YEAH I accomplished a whole goal. August hat is donezo! (And if you're wondering "what's up with all the purple?" lately- I just have a lot leftover I want to use up and out of my stash.)

4) Swatch and cast on for next "portable blanket" project: 1/2

Swatch is done- but cast on is not. It became apparent last night while I was frantically knitting this swatch that it's going to need to be blocked before I can get an idea of what the measurements will be. I'm actually blocking that right now (with safety pins... I need to find those blocking needles!) and I'm glad I waited. The yarn grows. A lot. I need to let the swatch dry before I can adequately determine how many stitches I need to cast on to get a satisfactory sized blanket out of this pattern.

So there you have it. Three out of six things I had hoped to accomplish- or just barely a pass, a solid D+ showing. Contributing to my non-success was an exceptionally hot and beautiful weekend that I spent a few moments just basking in. It was officially too hot to knit outside. (At least blankets) I also spent the weekend girl bonding with my sister and the dogs- and well, sometimes you just need to put down the needles and give them a little attention too. I'm not too heavily disappointed that I couldn't get everything done I had set out to do- but I do feel the urgency to declare these two blankets finished- so hopefully will get them out of the way prior to the long weekend.

On the upside it appears that I have fixed the blog again- the poll was sized to large- throwing all my sidebar stuff to the bottom of the page. A little google search later and I was able to figure out what to do.

For those of you who have been asking- the blankets completed so far are not for my impending little one. Neither is baby dots... it's the wrong colors.... (there's a not so subtle hint for you on the sex of Jr.). I know at least 4 people having babies in and around the arrival of my own and I've told myself I can knit for all of them, including mine. This is probably exceptionally delusional of me- but we'll blame it on pregnancy hormones! (Whoo boy those have kicked in this week. Look out EVERYONE! I will either yell or cry at you- please ignore me.)

Setting Goals

Right. An update is owed.

I'd love to post an update on the states of "Moving Mountains" and "Welsh Blanket" but they would look pretty much the exact same from what they looked like last blog post. So, in the interest of time, just go to my last blog post here and refresh yourself with the state of things. (Progress is occurring, but nothing that would look different from last time.)

I did, however, cast on something new, to make up for the absence on my couch of the last "un-portable" blanket. (Welsh) I started a new "un-portable" blanket! Meet Baby Dots and OH is this one pretty!

SO pretty! But also? SO not able to travel. Check out this delightful yarn ball shmozzle of potential "yarn knot disaster".

I'm staring down a weekend where I'm hoping relaxation is the primary goal and I get to sneak in a whole bunch of knitting progress. Since setting a weekend goal was fairly successful last time when I did it, I give you my weekend goals for this weekend.

1. Block the Welsh Blanket (Ends are woven in, I just need to take the final step to "glamour photo" this project for the blog. I can just imagine this blanket saying "I'm ready for my Close up Mr. DeMille".)


2. Finish Moving Mountains and weave in all ends (I'm on ball 7/10 now)


3. Knit a baby hat for August


4. Swatch and cast on for next "portable blanket" project

If, and when, I accomplish these things I will allow myself to work on Baby Dots- which I am SO enamored with right now, I would knit it and only it. But, I can only work on this project if the list gets completed first. (That's knitting tough love right there.)

So- whaddya think? Think I can accomplish these goals? Place your votes below (poll closes on Sunday at midnight) and I'll try and update you as to where I got after the weekend!

Can't Talk... Must Keep Knitting

As predicted, August is shaping up to be a month for finished things to show you. I have been a machine (yeah mojo return!)- trying my best to whip through and bust down as much stash as I can. Why? I have four other friends other than myself expecting babies this fall and early winter and I have it in my head that I can get blankets done for everyone. (Ambitious much?) But as this blog title suggest... less blather, more knitting.

This weekend I got the Welsh Blanket off the needles. I really wanted to be sure that I knit the right number of rows on the ends so that the border looked cohesive the whole way around. That's why I provisionally cast on, I wanted to be save the borders until the end. On Saturday morning I got the main section of the pattern done.

By Sunday, I cast off the project in a satisfying swoop. Yes... there is still work to be done on this.

The next few morning while I "patiently" wait for my husband I will forgo the dishcloth knitting and instead will be weaving in ends on this blanket. I decided to reward myself with the actual "being done with it" part and set it aside for the rest of the weekend. End weaving needs to happen and a good hard blocking process needs to occur.

Finishing that blanket also means that I could work more on "Moving Mountains" which is also creeping up to the finish line. Here it is at about 6 out of 10 balls in.

This thing knits FAST and I'm hoping to "crush it" when I visit my grandmother this next weekend.

But since Mountains is so portable, I decided that it was okay to go ahead and bust some stash and begin another project- the Baby Dots Blanket, which is going to be a whole let less portable.

Here's the initial swatching stage completed. Don't get attached to these colors, this is just some Bernat Softee I had lying around in order to perserve the white stash I do have. I won't give away what I'm doing until there's a good picture to show you but I think this one is going to be quite smashing.

So yes- quite the busy place around here knitting wise. Hopefully the knitting time keeps falling into my lap and I can keep up with my goal of having some finished stuff to show you this August.

Keeping on Track

Just thought I'd stop by here quickly to update you on the progress over here at Casa de Nennie. (I'll be quick this week!)

The July hat is done- and I am still on track for my hat-a-month pact with my knitting group.

I'm also making progress on both blankets- although I'm giving much more devoted time to the Welsh Blanket.

I will admit that I am just starting to feel the strains of "blah" with the Welsh blanket. My brain is starting to feel like it's kind of over the whole "look how cool the pattern looks" and is more like "are we there yet?" for the border add on. Blanket measures approximately 23" so far, so I figure about 10 more inches and I will indulge myself to begin the borders. I'm trying to get at least 16 rows done a day. That doesn't always happen, but I find little short term goals like this help to break down the monotony once a project hits that "I'm over it stage."

I had been thinking this blanket would be for my little one... but husband and I have been discussing nursery themes and I'm already indulging delusions of grandeur of another magnum opus. The bigger factor at this point is time. IS THERE TIME to do anything else?

The Moving Mountains blanket is also proving to be a worthy and very quick distraction. (Yay!) It's great to just pull it out when I need to take something along and quickly move along on making progress. I think that once I'm able to devote myself to it completely it will probably finish quite quickly. (Personal rule: can't even work on Mountains until Welsh Blanket has seen at LEAST 16 rows... 32 rows a day on a weekend.)

I keep telling myself to focus on the tasks at hand... FOCUS, because I'm just itching... DYING to cast on the socks all of a sudden. The good news is that there are a few airplane trips in my future and I will allow myself a sock indulgence for those, but not until those come up. I know that focusing on the two tasks at hand here will ultimately result in 2 finished blankets, which is what I need more than a pair of socks at the moment.

So that's what's happening. Progress continues... but there's nothing I can really show off yet. Hang in there- I feel like August is certainly going to be a month for finished stuff!

Back in the Saddle

As Stampede draws to a close tomorrow, I thought the best way to break the good news to you was using a western themed blog title.

I. AM. BACK.

After nearly two months of "meh" progress- this July I feel like the old knitting me has returned! Baby is growing and healthy, but thankfully not sapping my energy anymore and I am squeezing in the time to knit again! The Welsh blanket is coming along at a lovely (although admittedly, a little boring) pace!

Not only that, pressed both to have a project that's a little more portable (Welsh blanket is pretty but not easily portable) and having a little stash guilt, I cast on another blanket that I decided to take around with me when I go out.

Meet "Moving Mountains"- a blanket that will probably be a little bit smaller than my regular sized blankets, but is using up some cotton yarn that I got on a mega sale this Christmas. The pattern is simple enough to move quickly but interesting enough not to be entirely boring. This blanket is my "portable" project until I wrap my head around a pair of socks to throw in my purse!

With my mojo back- I'm feeling antsy to get things done and move on to more knitting projects. I've been dialed into Ravelry all week, scouring cute project ideas and trying to think of the perfect "coming home" sweater for our little one. I've seen some good possibilities but I'm having trouble selecting just the right one. My favorites folder are getting a heck of a lot fuller- that's for sure!

I need to also congratulate my Mother in Law, for her Stampede success this year. While I am still feeling a little sad that I wasn't able to participate this year, I was heartily cheered up when I found out how well MiL did with her entries. She placed 3rd in the lace shawl category, (sorry I don't have a photo) and 1st in the cable category. Not only did she get her first red ribbon- but she did it with a BANG- placing second over all in the entire knitting section!

I'm so proud of her! Clearly my family is a knitting force to be reckoned with. Look out next year Phyllis... I'm coming for ya! ;-)

Oops

So, it turns out that if you actually spend time knitting, you make progress! (Who knew?!) Progress on the Welsh Blanket is actually moving along at a (gasp!) NORMAL PACE. (Is there someone who can throw confetti in the air to celebrate?)

It's actually quite satisfying to see that I'm getting somewhere on this project. This picture is 10 inches in. You'll notice I did not begin with knitting a border this time, but there's a lovely pink acrylic bordering this blanket. I opted to provisionally cast on for this project because I worried (correctly) that the garter stitch border would be taller than the actual pattern. Since it's shaping up to look that way, I can fudge the borders on this blanket at the end, to try and get a better "lie flat" look to the whole thing. I will say that the Berroco Comfort yarn is proving to be an excellent choice for this project and in general I'm quite proud of myself to getting back in the saddle with this.

The one problem I have with this blanket is that it doesn't exactly lend itself to "social knitting". I can listen to a book, or watch TV while I knit, but I'm it's harder to participate in a conversation and follow the pattern. I'm heavily debating casting on another, very simple blanket (I have so many babies other than my own due this fall!), to drag around with me to other people's houses.

This last comment about needing to make an easier blanket helps me open the door to my little confession. I had a falling down recently at a yarn store.

Maybe "falling down" isn't the right phrase? I had a "falling down into a black hole where I could not be stopped" is probably a little more accurate. It turns out that Mission Falls is going the way of the discontinued yarn. And my favorite little yarn shop, (Pudding Yarn) put it's stash of it on it's sale rack and included it in it's 75% off sale that is holds annually at Stampede. What if I told you I bought all of this yarn (21 balls) for LESS than $40. It's MERINO Superwash! It's a deal. I don't even feel the usual guilt about buying it!!

I'm thinking the Navy/Red would lend itself to a beautiful, simply striped stocking stitch blanket and the Beige would be a really cute blanket too. So I'll be on Ravelry all afternoon doing a little research on that.

Anyways, thought you'd like to see that I'm holding true to last post's promise that I would be back more regularly and that I'm knitting again. Thank you all so much for your kind comments on our exciting new. We're equal parts thrilled and absolutely terrified- but I will admit I can't wait to meet this little person and see how they're going to grow up. (And people... knitting upside, I figure I will have a cute little knitting model to show off all sorts of cute things!)

FO's and WIPs*

Woah. A month. That was a little bit longer absence than I was planning. But I have to tell you- June was absolutely CHAOS. With our house still being rennovated it was hard to do anything. Then, the day after the renno's were done we packed our bags and went to Italy for two weeks- and well, I didn't feel right announcing that on the blog so unfortunately regular posting here just kind of went sideways.

The good news is that I'm still a knitter- and now that my house is back in a state of where I can function, I anticipate this to be a very progress focused summer! So let's just dive right in and I will tell you what exactly is going on! (Brace yourselves, this is going to be long!)

First up- Some finished stuff to show you!

You may remember before I left I mentioned that I had finished the Pointelle socks but was unable to block them. My very sweet MiL stepped in and saved the day, and kindly finished them for me! (Now I need to figure out a way to get her to weave in my ends ;-0)

Pattern: Pointelle by Cookie A from her "Knit, Sock, Love" book.

Yarn: Madelintosh Tosh Sock in "Window Pane"

Needles: US 1.5 dpn's

Thoughts: This pattern was actually a pretty easy pattern to knit once you got into it. Don't let the charts scare you! The only thing I wish was that I went up to a US size 2 since the cuff is a little tight. I need to remember with Cookie socks, I tend to knit them fairly tightly and need to allow for that. I should also note that the Madelintosh was pretty swoon worthy to knit with- it just jumped around my needles so gracefully!

I also completed the easy peasy rainbow socks while on my trip to Italy!

Pattern: A Sock Recipe: A Good Plain Sock by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee from "Knitting Rules"

Yarn: Knit Picks Felici in "Rainbow"

Needles: US 1.5

Reading: (I've really lost track of what I have and haven't read in all this) "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin and "The Chosen One" by Carol Lynch Williams. The Chosen One was especially fantastic and a great audio read- I highly recommend!

Thoughts: I love self striping yarn, that's no secret. This Knit Picks stuff is AWESOME. I would absolutely knit with it again. I did take special care to ensure the stripes were all the same size, which means I actually added more ends to weave (I apparently like pain) by cutting in longer sections after the heel, where the stripes tend to get smaller with the added number of stitches to decrease, but it was well worth the effort. I am very pleased with these!

I hope my sister likes 'em as much as I do- they're for her!

I even managed to squeeze out a June hat when I got home so that I'd stay on track for my one hat a month commitment!

That's not all! I also have stuff that I'm working on again too! (It's amazing how quickly your desire to knit returns when your house isn't in a mass state of chaos!) Yesterday I picked up something I had begun back in May, but just couldn't seem to wrap my head around it with everything going on.

It's the Welsh Blanket by Debbie Bliss- and I had originally intended to knit this as my Stampede submission this year, but I just couldn't get on it and get it done. I'm actually pretty meloncholy that I don't I have any entries in Stampede this year, but I've really struggled getting projects done this year and I just couldn't get something I deemed worthy to enter.

That leads me into telling you about another work in progress I have going on right now. I apologize blog land but I haven't been entirely honest with you. Yes- my mojo died this spring- but for good reason. Instead of coming home and knitting like a demon after work and enjoying my time, I was coming home and sleeping. A LOT. That's because I was making this....

... and that made me tired and just sucked the motivation out of me. Yup! I'm pregnant! Now that the announcement is official and I am well into my 2nd trimester (21 weeks this week, over half way) and not needing long naps to function, I'm finding the mojo is BACK and the desire to knit this little bambino something is great! I'm due on November 9th, (MiL's birthday- look how well I planned that!?!) and aside from the all encompassing sleepiness, I've felt really good. (No morning sickness... feel free to send me hate mail!)

So yes- there's a LOT going on here these days. I will hopefully post some renno "after" photos here in a while, but for now- just know I'm back... I'm knitting and there shouldn't be any more long blog pauses like that for awhile!

I will be back... SOON!

*For those of your unfamiliar with the "knitting community vernacular a FO= Finished Object and WIP= Work in Progress*