Christmas Knits

"Somewhere, under the flurry of tearing gift wrap and devouring of chocolate bells, is a day about family and connnections and thoughtfulness. Just as every hand-stitched item - every knit, every purl - encodes a secret message about devotation. Knitting is simply an expression of love." - Knit the Season, Kate Jacobs

Chevron Afghan

Since the scarf I made in this simple chevron pattern turned out so nicely, I decided to repeat the pattern on a much larger scale to make this afghan. The original pattern called for 39 stitched for the stripes plus an extra 2 stitches on each side for a garter-stitch border (for a total of 43 stitches.) For my afghan, I increased the pattern portion to include 8 separate repeats of the original 39-stitch pattern, plus a border on both ends of 4 garter stitches (for a grand total of 320 stitches!!!)

I made this afghan on a set of size-7 circular needles, which wasn't a problem initially. However, as the project grew, I discovered that the Phoenix summer wasn't exactly the best time to work on a full-size afghan. I believe that I will be working on several smaller projects before attempting anything this large!

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club

I know it's been ages since I've posted anything here...the only excuse that I have is that my reasoning that "not even the desert heat can stop my clacking needles" was an erroneous statement! For some reason, I just haven't felt much like sitting with an afghan draped across my lap when it's 115 outside! Perhaps the lesson learned is that it's not wise to begin large projects right as you're approaching the hottest part of the year! Oh well, I'm coming along slowly but surely and hope to finish in the coming weeks.

In the mean time, my lack of knitting as allowed me to keep up with my reading. The other day, I discovered The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil and thought it looked worth the read. Although the book is an enjoyable read, I was quite surprised how little the book had to do with the actual knitting club.

The main plot of the story is that a young divorced woman moved away from her busy London life to raise her two children in a smaller seaside town, all while managing her grandmother's yarn shop. While the story does revolve around knitting, the actual knitting group is almost non-existence (appearing on perhaps 10 the 400 pages!) Still, even though the plot was completely unoriginal - the book, like a good romantic comedy, provided a pleasurable escape!

Knit Two

Although I read the Friday Night Knitting Club last year, I was a little hesitate to read the sequel. Although I enjoyed the first book, I found it to be extremely predictable and rather formulaic. Therefore, when I heard Kate Jacobs had written a sequel, I didn't expect much (and took my time getting around to reading it.) Fortunately, I was delightfully surprised by this book! The plot of Knit Two was much more interesting, and the characters so much more developed. I highly recommend this book and hope Ms. Jacobs writes a third.

Susan's Scarf

Since I was unhappy with the lighthouse dishcloth I attempted to knit for Susan, I decided my first "major" project would be for her. Although she lives in southern Florida, she mentioned that she would like to have a nice lightweight scarf for when she attends hockey games (or is it hockey matches?)

Anyway, I found this pattern for a beautiful chevron scarf and decided I had to try it! I was actually impressed that it was a relatively easy pattern to knit - thank God for the videos on KnittingHelp! I must say that I love, love, love the way this scarf turned out! I absolutely love this pattern, and the Caron Simply Soft acrylic is soooo soft; I may try this pattern and yarn again in something larger if I don't go crazy from the repetitiveness.

Lighthouse Dishcloth

I'm beginning to love these dishcloth patterns - they're quick, easy ways to practice new skills! I was originally planning to make this lighthouse square for my friend, Susan, since she and I recently visited the historic Key West lighthouse together. The cloth was an excellent chance to master the combination of garter and stockinette stitch. I didn't have much difficulty, although I'm not entirely happy with the appearance of the "light rays" extending from the lighthouse. I don't know whether I incorrectly did the stitches, of if that just how the pattern's suppose to look. If I were to re-knit this cloth (which I have no intention of doing), I might forget the more complicated stitches in the light rays, and just complete them with simple garter stitches.

Windmill Dishcloth

After weeks of practice swatches, I finally decided to embrace my first knitting project. I found this relatively easily dishcloth pattern online and decided I had to try it. Although it probably wasn't the easiest project I could have chosen, I am happy with the overall result. Unfortunately, I used a cheap acrylic since I was just practicing, so I don't know how useful this dishcloth will actually be...