Egeblad Blanket

My friends J & R got married this past Labor Day weekend.  For their main present, I knit them a lap blanket following the Egeblad pattern on YarnOver.net.

Pattern: Egeblad
Yarn: Lion's Brand Cotton-Ease in Taupe (8 balls)
Needle: US10/6.0mm

Pattern is knitted in the round, starting at the center and spiraling outwards.

Modifications:  I used worsted weight yarn and larger needles.  I also changed the crochet bind-off to chain 5 instead of 8, since the loops were too long in my worsted weight yarn.

I needed to make the blanket larger than the original pattern.  Other knitters on Ravelry had accomplished this by creating more "rays" (the look of which I didn't particularly care for) or by simply repeating the zig-zag section of the rays multiple times, and stretching everything out in the blocking.  I couldn't do this since I was using cotton/acrylic yarn, so I modified the chart to increase the number of stitches.  I didn't quite succeed in making the blanket lie flat, but I thought I'd share the chart in case it could help someone else.

Egeblad Extension Chart

If you have problems with the download or questions about the chart, please drop a comment.

Getting ready for summer

My latest knitting projects have been all for me -- shawls and wraps for the summer.

First off was a new white cardigan.  I have two -- one is the white cardigan that was part of my school uniform in 5th grade.  I picked the embroidered school name out many years ago, and since it's 100% acrylic it's showing no signs of wear.  Yes, I still wear it.  I'm wearing it right now.  It still fits, and the sleeves are still too long.

My other white cardigan is off-white and I've lost a button or two so I need to replace them.

I decided to knit the "Pearl-Trimmed Cardigan" from the May issue of Creative Knitting.  I decided to make it in the recommended yarn, for once, and even the same color (a cream/off-white).

This picture is about a month old -- I now have the whole body of the sweater done, all of one sleeve, and 90% of the other, thanks to a good few hours of knitting time at my brother-in-law's graduation ceremony Saturday.

A couple of weekends ago I went shopping for a new dress to wear to weddings this summer.  I was hoping for a nice colored dress -- but I didn't like the bold, huge prints that seem to be the style this season.  I ended up with a black-and-white print dress, not a good match for a cream-colored cardigan, so I had to cast on something else to go with.

(Okay, imagine it over a nice dress rather than a T-shirt.)

This is the Summer Lace Shawlette from Interweave Knits (It's available free online).  I finished it in less than a week, using a new acrylic/wool blend yarn from NaturallyCaron.com.  I made mine a little longer and wider than the pattern specifies.  The interesting thing about this pattern is that it's shaped to fit around the shoulders, not just a rectangle or triangle.  I think it will be a little easier to handle without fussing than a triangular shawl would be.

My latest project is another wrap -- this one will be a cape, and I'm knitting it from a lace-weight merino wool so it'll be a little less warm than the red shawlette.

This is a free pattern from Drops Design, a Norwegian company that gives away patterns to sell their yarn.  I had the yarn in my stash from a KnitPicks clearance color sale, so I hope I have enough to finish the project -- otherwise I'll have to buy a different color for whatever part of the top I don't finish.  It seems to be knitting up quickly, and the lace pattern keeps me interested.

By the way, I've started the Ivy League Vest from Interweave Knits Winter 2007.  I had all sorts of fun buying the wrong weight yarn and recalculating the pattern to my new gauge, then misreading the colorwork chart, a couple of times.

It's slow going, a lot of small stitches on slippery needles, and because of the stranded colorwork I'm knitting two-handed which is not yet comfortable.  This is something I'll have to plug away on in short stints.

Dinner!

This is what I ate tonight.

From 12 o'clock, clockwise: extra firm tofu, enoki mushrooms, beef, shitake mushrooms, snow peas, yam noodles, napa cabbage.  Bean sprouts and green onions in the center.

Stitch Markers!

Last weekend I embarked on another cross-craftual enterprise: beaded stitch markers!

I basically followed the instructions from here, but used a jump ring to connect each beaded pin to a toggle closure loop.

I used two different sizes of toggle closures.

I'm now using these markers on my two main projects: the purple wheat tank and the gingham bag.

The bag is turning out quite thick; I'm not sure what I'll use it for (but I'll find something.)  The tank overlay seems to be having some issues -- issues with me failing to read the pattern properly.  I'm not overly worried though.

I'm getting itchy fingers to start a new project.  I'm considering the Ivy League Vest or the Boogie Vest.

A Bevy of Projects

I've been so busy crafting I haven't posted!  Yeah, right.  Anyways, I do have some stuff to show off.

1) Spinning

I attended a Roc Day hosted by the local handspinners guild.  I decided to try my hand at drop spindling and bought the tools to create this:

Top: undyed Cotswold, purchased at Roc Day.  Bottom: hand-dyed "Smokestack" Bluefaced Leicester purchased online.

All yarn is 2-ply: the Cotswold ranges from worsted to bulky weight, and the BFL from sport to worsted.

I don't have any idea what I'll do with the Cotswold; the BFL may become a shawlette or pair of slippers.

I enjoy spinning a lot but drop spindling is too time consuming for me.  I want a Hitchhiker!  Well, it'll go on my list of stuff I want but don't want to pay for quite yet.

2) Crochet

My brother- and sister-in-law are expecting a boy in a couple of months.  I'm working on another Lion Baby Bath Wrap for them:

3) Knit 

 For me, I've got a tank top

(need to finish the straps and knit the wrap overlay)

and my purse project is a little bag from a book my mom gave me for Christmas:

Ok, not so exciting.  There's a picture of the finished item in the above link -- and I've made a bunch of progress on mine since I took this picture last Friday.