In which she reflects.

Last weekend was WWKIP Day, and being dutifully exhibitionist, I went down to Marin Fiber Arts to join the outdoor knitting group for a few hours. I spent the time working on my Intricate Stag Bag by the incomparable Norah Gaughan (Ravelry).

I've got the front completed (about time, since I cast on in July '07), and now I'm just trying to decide what fill pattern to put on the back. The pattern calls for a plain stockinette back (black, in my case), and that's just boring. Right now, it's looking like I'll just repeat the chevron chart over and over to make zigzags.

Anyhoo, I bring this up because another knitter was astonished at the stranding, and asked how long I've been knitting. "A year and a half," I replied, and she just stared at me.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that's a lie. I've considered myself a "knitter" for a year and a half, ever since I finished my first real object (the Medallion Mitts) at Thanksgiving '06. However, I'd been stumbling along for a few months at that point, with little skill or real "knitterly" tendencies. And really, when I sit and recall properly, a friend and I would spend rainy recesses knitting in the library way back in elementary school (somewhere between ages 8 and 10).

I find this kind of throw-back is true in most of my creative endeavours. I haven't been "a knitter" for very long, but I've always been knitting. I've been "a costumer" for the past several years, but I've always been sewing. It makes me wonder what I consider myself in the future.. I've made a couple quilts, but will I one day consider myself "a quilter"? I can write blog entries and clever emails, but will I ever be "a writer"?

Just some food for thought.

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In which she contributes.

Pattern: Sampler Afghan from Cables Untangled (Ravelry)
Yarn: Garnstudio Paris 
Needles: US9
Modifications: None
Started: May 15, 2008
Completed: May 15, 2008

Tabby, from the Marin Fiber Arts knit night group, is pregnant, so the gals got together to create a baby blanket for her. Everyone picked a color of the cotton Paris and knit an 8" square with a garter stitch border, and Renee seamed the squares together and added a border.

After seeing everyone else's squares, I realized I may have been a little overambitious with the cabling.....

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In which she catches up.

So, apparently, I completely fail when it comes to keeping this blog up-to-date. I'm going to make a couple FO posts over the next couple days to try and catch up to my current projects, and hopefully that will get me to post more regularly... We'll see!
 

Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket (Ravelry)
Yarn: Cascade Eco+
Needles: US10
Modifications: Modified bind-off (k3 into YO instead of k5) to create less-frilly edge
Started: Feb 4, 2008
Completed: March 16, 2008

The throw blocked to just over 4 feet. I was hoping it would be larger, but I already had issues getting the feather and fan to lay flat due to the number of repeats and the limits of how far it could stretch.

I really love the finished throw, and I'm tempted to make another one, but with very bulky yarn and huge needles. I think that would also help with blocking, as fewer repeats seem to submit to flatness much more easily.

The cast-off process was frustrating, to be sure, but the agony has since faded (much like that of childbirth), so I'm excited at the prospect of knitting another... Or perhaps find another doily to "blow up" into a throw!

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