Running Short

I have been knitting the Op Art baby blanket by Melissa Dominguez published in Knitty 2008 in Rowan Softknit Cotton and Halcyon Yarn Casco Bay Worsted for my new Nephew who is due any day now. I did stockinette on all the rounds but the last stripe.  Garter stitch in the round is slightly evil.

I am on row 6 of 16 in the final stripe (which is white) of this baby blanket.  Last night, hubby commented that it is almost done. I said "Yep and I will have a lot of black left but not much white."  I pulled the cone of black out to show how much is left and then pulled out the white ball that was looking deflated. A little too deflated. 

Tiny ball and big blanket.

I checked my math with my trusty food/ yarn scale. I had used this 50 gram ball to do 7 rows, I have 10 more ever increasing rows and it now weighed...GULP...20 grams.

I ran to the computer to buy another ball.  I found a coupon in my e-mail that gave me free 2-3 day shipping from Paradise Fibers. They are the super fastest shippers and I knew I could count on them.  I even got a notice that it shipped today! "I am going to have it before I finish knitting up this ball!" I danced around the house.

Then I saw the weather...we could get anywhere from 5-18 inches of snow tomorrow night. Sigh.
USPS says, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."  However, I believe I may be knitting on something else to get me through the storm.

Knitting Tip of the Day

I cast on two new projects this week.  One project is Monkey (socks) by Cookie A.  They will be pink and I am super excited but I don't have a photo to share yet. This is mostly because I have been obsessed with starting my second project.



Adriatic Cardigan By Amy Christoffers  is such a cool pattern and I just recently got enough Cotton Fleece in Prosperous Plum.  I hauled the magazine to bed with me Saturday night, read it all the way through and cast on.  I could not get past line 11 of the chart without messing up some how.   I ripped back and went to bed.  This morning I knit and ripped out lines 11-15 twice, the second time after sticking a crap ton of stitch markers in to help keep my place. The lace just wasn't looking like the photos. I went to spend lunch and did a bit of birthday outlet shopping with my mom. While out, I decided I should go to Ravelry to see who else knit this and if they had any problems.

Since I linked it above you may have already spotted the problem.  I didn't look for the Errata.  I should have been working off this chart.  So, your check list before you start a knitting project,  swatch, careful not to twist when joining in the round AND always check for errata before casting on.

P.S. My swatch for this project is a sleeve.  Since this pattern is knit sideways and starts with one cuff, I just figured I could swatch and if I get it right, keep on knitting sweater.  I would never recommend someone else do this because cotton shrinks and I never wash my pseudo swatch.  I am living on the edge.

P.P.S. I will be at Maryland Sheep and Wool on Saturday.  Stop me and say hi if you spot me.  I may be buying some fiber.  I will go into my spinning in another post.

Full circle

Here is my finished Starfish Blanket.
I think there was little boy finger prints on the lens of the camera.
This photo shows the size. My 6 year old holding the blanket is 3'8" with a red hat and white shoes. See him?

Casting off the blanket has left a big void.  I have a sock on the needles that I need to work on but I am going to be thinking about what I want to cast on next. It must be something for me.

As of tomorrow, I have been blogging for one year.  This past year has been a year of self awareness and self respect for me.  I have started putting more effort in those things that bring me joy and have cut out the things that add little value to my life.  It has been very cleansing. I still have more work to do (see My Dog is Fat post) but I am feeling good about life in general.

Baby won!

Little Miss Mermaid decided that her due date was not coming soon enough, so she came on the 19th. She is perfect.

Where is my blanket, Auntie Katie?

Her blanket is not yet done. Section 13 of 15 is almost finished. I hope to have it done before she is a week old. Can you see the starfish shape?