Cable Car Coat Update

I started the right panel today. I finished the left one last night. I'm really happy with how much faster this is going than I expected. After this panel, I just have sleeves, the collar, and a couple other small details to finish. I think this will probably take me less than a week to finish!

Here's pictures of what I've got done so far. 

This is a close up of the cable pattern. It's actually pretty easy! 

It almost looks like half a coat! 

Finished!

Yay! I've never made anything that was really "clothing" oriented and I'm glad this turned out as nicely as it did. When there is so much project it's easy to lose count multiple times. The end result is usually some sort of monster blob of knitting. This ended up being on target every step of the way and I'm so happy I didn't screw it up! The only thing I wasn't totally happy with was the neck. It's a bit tight, but I think it's because I didn't have a size 7 round needle so I used a 6. I should have added more stitches to compensate for the size difference. Overall though it turned out great.

Front View

Sort of a side view.

Without it being on. 

Getting Close

I went into knitting overhaul the last couple of days and finished the bulk of the shoulder wrap I've been working on. I'm really liking how it's turning out. I looped it on to a round needle which went better than I expected. I've never had to pull stitches onto the side of a panel I've done and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Then again, I had to do it twice because the first time I pulled them up on the wrong side so that there was a big bump sticking out on the front. But I fixed it and I am just hours from glory!

I'll add pictures to this post soon.

Reconsidering

I think I may not be someone who crochets. I started this blanket for the parents-in-law and I'm not sure if I really want to do it this way. I like the yarn, I like the pattern, I just don't like that I can't ever seem to count it right and there's no way to tell if I'm off until I get to the end of each row. It's rather frustrating. So I think I am going to scour Ravelry to find a pattern I can live with. The picture is what I've done so far. It looks good, but is totally frustrating to count right. I'm worried the sides are going to be all slanted and the blanket will be some sort of amorphous shape.  I already have a blanket about 1/4 of the way done that I gave up on because the sides started to slant in and I didn't have the will to fix it. so it has remained in my bag for years. Poor sad unfinished blanket.

In other news I took my snake basket of knitting with me camping and ended up not getting to work on any of it. First I brought the wrong needles for the afghan panel. Then I forgot my stitch counting board for my wrap. I probably could have figured it out, but I decided I didn't want to undo everything when I got back. I am really antsy to start on the duster jacket for my sister and I want to get these projects done before I start!

Buckle Down!

Today I discovered the power of proactivity. Well, not really, but it sounds good right?
Apparently you can find coupons online. Good ones. Both Michael's and Joanne Fabrics put an ad out in the paper every week. There's usually a coupon for 40% off a single item, sometimes for more. So, since I couldn't remember what I did with my ad, I just found it online and printed it. Which felt very proactive. Then I rode my bike to Michael's and bought the skein of yarn that I've been missing so that I can start on the Gaelic Blanket for Paul's parents.

I haven't crocheted in awhile and it took a little time to get back into the hang of it. It appears that the few rows that I had done when I started it were quite a few stitches off because I couldn't get the pattern to work out. Knitting I think is easier for counting because you can tell right away if you got off. It's harder to see if you're off with this crochet pattern. Hopefully it won't be as hard to work on as it was to start!

Cable Blanket & Cabled Shoulder Wrap

This is the shoulder shrug I'm working on, only it's purple. That's what it's supposed to look like when it's finished. I've gotten a bit further with it. I'm probably not quite halfway done with the bottom cabled part. It's a bit difficult to stay motivated about knitting something to keep you warm when it's hot outside!


I'm trying to finish this before I start on the duster jacket. I'll find it on Ravelry and post pictures in my next entry.



I added another panel to my cable blanket. I have one more ball of red yarn left before I have to decide how many more colors to add. I'm not sure if I'm going to add new colors or just repeat a couple. It's a hard call!

Another Blog!

So, Ravelry doesn't let me blog about my knitting, so I'm going to blog on blogger and link it to my Ravelry account.

Right now my current projects are a multi-color cable blanket, a purple shoulder wrap, a really long tube scarf, a crochet blanket made from fisherman's wool for Paul's parents, and I'm about to start two long jackets that I found a pattern I like.

I think it's pretty safe to say that all knitters are always working on several projects at once. I think I'd get bored if I only did one at a time.

I got fancy yarn for the wrap I'm making. Here's the progress on it:

I totally suck at keeping track of my stitches and since there's three different sized cables, I made a peg board so I don't screw it all up!