Knitting x3

[yuuago]

☆ I finished that colourwork cowl I was working on. :D I'll try to get a photo some time soon. If I were to start it again, there are a few things I might do differently, but overall I'm pretty happy with it. It's a good one if you want a quick and striking project, though I couldn't call it brainless television-knitting, as I didn't find the chart particularly easy to memorize. Might be good for working on while listening to podcasts and such, though. I had more yarn left over than expected, so I'm thinking about maybe doing a narrower one in inverse colours, or something.

☆ Unsure when I'll be able to get around to blocking that cowl, mind... I usually would pin it to my bed, but I don't think it would dry quickly enough in winter. And I know that some people like to use those large foam play mat... things, but I don't have the storage space for that sort of thing. Hmm. I wonder if it would work if I pinned it to a thick, folded towel? Or... maybe I could pin it to the ironing board. I'd like to do it some time this winter, rather than wait until summer, because it's so gloriously thick and warm and cozy.

☆ Now, I've started a shawl; the pattern is Rosewater. I'm using one of the two skeins by Kaleidoscope Dyeworks that I have left. They shut down a few years ago, which is a damn shame, because I really liked their stuff, and it felt good to support a small dyer located so close to me. Anyway, it's a natural base with bright sprinkles of colour, and... er. Well. This is probably one of those ones that looks better on the skein than it does in knitted form. Or, well, it'd look very nice as a contrast to black, but I have zero desire to buy more yarn. So. We'll see how this goes. xD At the very least, it makes sense to try some new techniques with a colour that I'm not particularly attached to. This project starts with a garter tab, which I've never done before, and when I read the instructions, it initially seemed very "you do what?", haaa. But it's one of those things that makes perfect sense when you actually do it. Also, I haven't done many works that involve lace (I started one, but hadn't finished it), so this might be... interesting.

Comments

[monksandbones]

I've blocked several projects by pinning them to thick towels/two to three layers of towels, mostly ones that were too big and slow-drying for a bed. Towels seem to be heavy enough, or something like that, that the projects don't really shrink back to their pre-blocked size once they're pinned out. Also, I've definitely stuck pins through the towel into the carpet, not actually for blocking (to hold a measuring tape for my most recent circular project), so depending on your carpet and what you need for your project you might be able to pin it to the carpet through the towel!

[st_aurafina]

I taught myself to cast on! And I knitted a whole row!! But it got weird and I pulled it out and hid the knitting needles from myself. (Until next time.)

It's so weird holding the yarn in my right hand. That doesn't happen with crochet.

[yuuago]

Hmm! I hadn't thought of towel + carpet! Most of our house is wood flooring, but we do have carpet in the basement, which means it would be nicely out of the way while it dries... I think I'll try that. Thanks for the advice! <3

[yuuago]

Yessss go go go! Even if you unravelled it, it's still awesome that you were trying it.

I hold the yarn in my left hand, since I'm left handed. Though I also drop it a lot, which makes the going slow and you aren't supposed to do it, but... well, my form isn't "proper" to begin with, because of aforementioned lefthandedness, so who cares, as long as it gets done. xD
How is it done in crochet?

[st_aurafina]

In crochet you hold it in your left hand, and the hook in your right - presuming you're working right handed which I do even though I am also left handed. I watched a tutorial where the knitter was working with the yarn in her left hand because she was a crocheter, apparently, so I'm hopeful I can shift it back. I miss being able to go really fast!!