No Spinning?

I haven’t touched my wheel this week. Kind of strange. What I have been doing is knitting. Lots of knitting.

Been working on the baby blanket and it’s moving along really nicely. One advantage to something made in strips is it’s really easy to see progress, which helps keep me motivated.

Finish this blue stripe, one more raspberry, another blue edge and the top strip and it will be done. Well, except for the weaving in of ends.

Last week Jenn asked on Rav about how the blanket is constructed. It’s much easier than it looks. I started with a base strip of seed stitch, then started up the first edge. Seed stitch, then a stockinette section with one edge shaped. I’m slipping the first and last stitch of each right side row. When I reach the top I break the first color. With the next, I pick up in each edge stitch down to the base, then work across the next set of stitches. I work back and forth on them, purling the last stitch of the strip with one of the picked up stitches so it joins as it goes.

The shaping is simple, just increases and decreases paired to move the join line in the wave. There are six rows (three joins) even at the widest/narrowest point of each strip. That gives it the kind of rounded look. I do the shaping two stitches in from the edge to make the picking up easier.

The first Rockin Sock Club shipment of the year came yesterday. It’s called Portland Plaid and it’s nice and bright and cheerful.

The sock pattern is a perfect match. I swatched (REALLY!!!) and started them yesterday as soon as the yarn came. Got this far

and realized they’re too big even at the specified gauge. So I ripped and restarted. I’m done with the heel flap on the first sock.

Before you start going on about how fast a knitter I must be, they’re only 48 stitches around because they’re in medium weight. So no Mom, you can’t have them. You like thin socks and these aren’t.

I’ve also been working on the Sportmate Cowl a little. Very simple pattern, and the yarn feels absolutely amazing.

That’s it. Puppy Bowl is on, so I’m going to get out some soup and wallow in the cuteness while I eat. We’ll watch the Super Bowl when it comes on.