Blankie and Lace with Subtitles
I had a happy coincidence today. I was planning to write a bit about the blankie progress and my goals for it now that Christmas is over. Then, I found this little package by my back door this afternoon. Margaret in Maple Grove sent me another handful of her leftovers. Margaret has already sent me a couple nice packages, and one of these days I'm going to have to actually meet her since she lives just down the road from me. Thanks, Margaret!
I've mentioned several times in the last month that the blanket has been feeling lonely and neglected. Poor thing has been sitting in her basket waiting for some love, and I've been busy with holiday preparations and tiger hats, among many other things. I pulled her out a few days ago and wove in a pile of ends, which was a start in re-immersing myself in this project. I've been thinking about what my goals for finishing it really are. Originally, I thought it would be best to finish it this winter while it is cold and I want to have a giant blankie on my lap. I still think that would be best, but having done a little math, which I'm about to share with you, I think that's a little unrealistic.
Currently, I have about 18 rows done at 16.5 squares per row (half the rows are 16 squares and the other half are 17 squares.) That means I have about 300 squares done. The thing is currently 26" tall, and I want it to be about 75" finished. That means I'm 1/3 of the way there, and have about 600 more squares to knit. For math simplification purposes, I'm just counting the big squares as four little ones. Over the summer, I was allowing myself to feel satisfied with a minimum of one square per night, and I often knit several without breaking a sweat. However, Winter only lasts till about April around here, leaving me only 120 or so days or 5 squares per day to meet that original goal. That's not going to happen.
What I really want is to finish the blanket in time for the State Fair in August. When you enter things in the fair, they have to be in new condition, and the last thing I want to do is finish my blanket in, say, September and not get to use it all next winter in order to keep it fresh for the Fair. I can't fathom knitting this thing and not entering it in the fair, though - mostly so that anyone who's been reading the blog and wants to see it in person can get a look at it.
Okay, so I want to be conservative in my estimates. 600 squares is definitely a generous estimate of how many are left to knit. Let's say I need to have all the squares done by the end of July so that I have a couple of weeks to get the edging done and block it before entries are due, around the middle of August. That's seven months, or about 200 days (I know it's a few more days than that, but there are going to be days when I don't get to knit on the blanket. I'm trying to err on the side of caution.) That means I need to knit three squares a day on average. I think that might be do-able. Maybe I can even aim for four squares a day and try to finish the thing by the end of May. We'll see. In the mean time, here's what it looks like right now:
I know I also promised pictures of a newly cast-on project. I did cast on a new project yesterday, and I spent a couple hours working on it before ripping the whole thing out. The thing is, I'm no stranger to knitting lace. I just can't learn and execute a new lace pattern, especially with laceweight wool, while watching a movie with subtitles. Too bad I realized this at 1:30 in the morning after knitting many repeats of the pattern and realizing that yes, it was full of mistakes and that no, I couldn't ignore them. Into the frog pond it went, and I'll start over next chance I get. I've got the materials in a bag that I take with me in the car in case the girls fall asleep, so either the next time that happy situation occurs or an evening comes around when I've finished my three or four mitered squares. Drat! I don't think I'm going to have my new scarf done by the end of the winter, but maybe that means I'll be able to enter it in the fair too.
Before I go work on the blankie, I'll leave you with a cute kid picture of the day. Sophie wore one of the new hand-me-down outfits from her cousin today, and was adorable in it. She is SO getting ready to walk. She spends most of her free time pulling herself up and practicing her balance.
I've mentioned several times in the last month that the blanket has been feeling lonely and neglected. Poor thing has been sitting in her basket waiting for some love, and I've been busy with holiday preparations and tiger hats, among many other things. I pulled her out a few days ago and wove in a pile of ends, which was a start in re-immersing myself in this project. I've been thinking about what my goals for finishing it really are. Originally, I thought it would be best to finish it this winter while it is cold and I want to have a giant blankie on my lap. I still think that would be best, but having done a little math, which I'm about to share with you, I think that's a little unrealistic.
Currently, I have about 18 rows done at 16.5 squares per row (half the rows are 16 squares and the other half are 17 squares.) That means I have about 300 squares done. The thing is currently 26" tall, and I want it to be about 75" finished. That means I'm 1/3 of the way there, and have about
What I really want is to finish the blanket in time for the State Fair in August. When you enter things in the fair, they have to be in new condition, and the last thing I want to do is finish my blanket in, say, September and not get to use it all next winter in order to keep it fresh for the Fair. I can't fathom knitting this thing and not entering it in the fair, though - mostly so that anyone who's been reading the blog and wants to see it in person can get a look at it.
Okay, so I want to be conservative in my estimates. 600 squares is definitely a generous estimate of how many are left to knit. Let's say I need to have all the squares done by the end of July so that I have a couple of weeks to get the edging done and block it before entries are due, around the middle of August. That's seven months, or about 200 days (I know it's a few more days than that, but there are going to be days when I don't get to knit on the blanket. I'm trying to err on the side of caution.) That means I need to knit three squares a day on average. I think that might be do-able. Maybe I can even aim for four squares a day and try to finish the thing by the end of May. We'll see. In the mean time, here's what it looks like right now:
I know I also promised pictures of a newly cast-on project. I did cast on a new project yesterday, and I spent a couple hours working on it before ripping the whole thing out. The thing is, I'm no stranger to knitting lace. I just can't learn and execute a new lace pattern, especially with laceweight wool, while watching a movie with subtitles. Too bad I realized this at 1:30 in the morning after knitting many repeats of the pattern and realizing that yes, it was full of mistakes and that no, I couldn't ignore them. Into the frog pond it went, and I'll start over next chance I get. I've got the materials in a bag that I take with me in the car in case the girls fall asleep, so either the next time that happy situation occurs or an evening comes around when I've finished my three or four mitered squares. Drat! I don't think I'm going to have my new scarf done by the end of the winter, but maybe that means I'll be able to enter it in the fair too.
Before I go work on the blankie, I'll leave you with a cute kid picture of the day. Sophie wore one of the new hand-me-down outfits from her cousin today, and was adorable in it. She is SO getting ready to walk. She spends most of her free time pulling herself up and practicing her balance.
posted by Shelly Kang at 10:15 PM
6 Comments:
Thanks for the blankie picture. Mine's languishing in it's basket too, but I'll pull it out one day soon. I have one more project to finish before I get some blankie time.
I can't believe how much Sophie has grown and changed, just in the little time that I've been reading your blog. Sure looks cute in that new dress. Happy New Year!
What pattern are you using for your blanket. I don't usually like knitted blankets, but I find this one very interesting.
(visualize cheerleaders) Knit! Knit! Knit your bits! Knit 4 squares and it's a hit! Gooooo Shelley! (and the crowd breaks into cheers)
Thanks for the cheering, Carol. Holly, the pattern is my own and you can read the tutorial about it by clicking on the links over on the right. We even have a little knit-along going!
The blankie is looking great. I realised I can't knit lace in staff meetings!
I've finally finished an item with the yarn you sent from the leftovers - I frogged two previous attempts, and it's posted on my blog. Thanks once again.
Can I make one small request? I'd love to see what your blankie looks like up close, but the picture is a little small...also, I think it would make a terrific desktop wallpaper if you could make it a large enough image.
Just a thought...love your blog!
Smiles,
Erin
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