Alter ego

I just realized that if I had a blog AnyeDotNet for one of my passions, I should also create AnyeDotKnit for another. I love to knit. And crochet, and generally "make stuff". I also like to share my ideas for others, so that's what this is. Plus, now I can have a craft-only blog to point to from Ravelry.com (which, if you are a knitter or crocheter, you should join pronto.)

I currently have a bunch of projects in progress, some more active than others. My goal this year is to get all my holiday presents knitted in time for the holidays. This may seem simple but I have at least three people I need to make things for and most knitting things aren't particularly fast. So I started early, back in August, with a pair of socks (my first socks actually) that I was intending to give to my mother. But, I am probably not going to - I am just not happy with the yarn. It is too scratchy - I know *I* wouldn't want them on my feet, so I wouldn't give them to someone else for their feet either. I do really like the pattern though, so I may try it again with nicer yarn and just can the current pair and use the yarn for something non-garmental.

The socks are a very slow project though - small needles, small thread, long time. So I started my second project last week, which is definitely going to be faster. My MIL (well, technically she's a quasi-mother-in-law since her son and I aren't actually married, though we might as well be, but for all practical purposes I refer to her as MIL, and honey's kids as my stepsons, just so you know...but I digress) wanted a shawl with cuffs. I had never heard of such a thing but she showed me the one she already had, and it really is a shawl with cuffs. The one I'm making is a bit different than the one she had, but same general principal. It's my own design, and I had a couple of false starts in the making which often happens when you aren't using a published pattern, but now I am very happy with how it is coming out.

I plan to publish the pattern here for y'all and will have pics soon, but here's a sneak preview. It is knitting VERY fast. The cuffs start very small with a sport weight boucle cotton yarn, 36 stitches in the round on size 3 double pointed needles in a k4p2 rib for a couple inches and then I switch to a back-and-forth knitting pattern and cast off 12 stitches over 4 rows. Then I pick up the bulky weight boucle and over the next few rows gradually switch needles to 11, and then the goal size which is #17 (BIG!) . This widens the row a bit, but then over the next 10 inches or so I increase by several stitches a row until the width of the shawl is about shoulderwidth. Now I just have to knit in stockinette until the shawl is about 10" less than I need, where I will start decreasing and do the reverse on the other side. I knitted up the first 10" of the shawl in about an hour on the size 17 needles. As I said, they are very big and there aren't all that many stitches.

I love this yarn though - it is very soft, very cheap, and has a nice texture so you don't need fancy stitchery to get a nice look (even though fancy stitchery is fun, it is slower.)

Next project will be a small formal black handbag with two buckle closures for my SIL. I am seriously considering then making my mom a shawl like the one for my MIL instead of socks, since it would probably be more useful and I have a better chance of finishing in a reasonable amount of time.

Then I can get back to my monster "Tilted Duster" which is a gorgeous cardigan that I have been working on for nearly a year and that my honey teases me about given how expensive the yarn was.

Yippee!