Trish Knits.com

Tag: mitered squares

  • Lonely… and Totally Square

    Noro Kureyon squares in progress
    Noro Kureyon squares in progress
    I’ve got the blues. The “when the hell’s this winter gonna be over?” blues. And, the “I really wish I didn’t have to work ever again and could just sit and knit all day” blues. Sigh.

    Good thing I’m into color, because this blanket in all its weirdness is the bright spot in my days lately. I’m loving the simplicty of the garter stitch and the constant surprises as the colors unfold. Each time I start a new square I have to contain myself from squealing with glee, practically, even though most of the time, no one is listening.

    The cool thing about Noro Kureyon is that the color runs are so long that I can switch off from one end of the ball to the other, thereby doubling my color choices. It’s like a wonderful game for the easily entertained. And that, my friends, would be me.

    But I must stop. I have about three more hours of work to do before bed, thanks to a tragic brain fart I had while saving an HTML document preparing an HTML e-mail newsletter. I’ve got lots of code to strip before bed and I hate that I haven’t been able to face it all evening, so I’ll be up late again. Ah well, at least I can knit again before breakfast, which will be sometime after the customary three-hour’s nap that I’ve been calling an excuse for a night’s sleep lately.

    Do I sound grumpy? You Betcha.

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  • Trish–1, Yarn Ball–0

    mitered square made with Noro Kureyon yarn
    mitered square made with Noro Kureyon yarn
    I declare victory! I finally finished my first square of my Noro Mitered Squares Babette (Ravelry link), after two false starts and frogging due to totally inept counting on my part. Sheesh! Now at long last I can move on to the second square. I think I’m probably going to take years to finish this project, because it can be something I just pick up between projects and add a square here or there, or maybe add one each time I come across a new Kureyon colorway that excites me.

    You know? There’s something to be said for easy-peasy garter stitch. It seems to be the perfect antidote to stress. It’s calming to be able to knit the same thing over and over, to be able to knit without looking or thinking, or to get into a calming rhythm. I know there are people out there who really don’t love doing garter stitch, because the monotony of it drives them batty. But the thing is that I don’t think I am one of those people.


    Check Out This Blog!

    Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Blog
    Susan B. Anderson’s Itty Bitty Blog
    My knit buddy Rhoda sent me a link yesterday for an adorable stash-busting little animal called Elefante, which turned out to be on the blog of Susan B. Anderson, author of one of my favorite books, Itty-Bitty Hats: cute and cuddly caps to knit for babies and toddlers. Why oh why have I not paid attention to this site before? Susan’s books are among my most favorite because the patterns are just a-DORABLE, and this site is like an extension of the books. The photographs are beautiful, and there is a plethora of free and for-sale projects to choose from. I’ve already found several things I’d like to make, including the bunny and chick seen in the screenshot. If you like making cutie pie kid things, definitely check this site out!

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  • Stick to Your Knitting, Trish

    mitered square in progress
    mitered square in progress

    You might be wondering why I haven’t been focusing on my knitting in this blog lately. The truth is, there hasn’t been much knitting to blog about!

    So I thought I’d show you the progress on my giant garter stitch mitered square. Believe it or not, that bit has about one and a half skeins of Noro Kureyon in it, and it has a ways to go! I think I will put a complementary color of Wool of the Andes in the center when I run out rather than try to find a third skein of the same color in the Noro.

    I plan to make a sort of rainbow-y patchwork of squares, picking up stitches along the sides of existing squares to create new ones. There will be several different sizes of squares. I’m using the layout chart from the Babette Blanket as a guide. Of course, though, it’s just in my head for now, because I haven’t yet begun to add the second square. But I do think in theory it will work. In any event, I am finding the endless rows of garter stitch to be a nearly foolproof comfort.

    Even the hat I am knitting right now, the one I am knitting for my daughter? It too is plagued with problems. I am just noticing now that one of the wedge sections has an extra increase in it that the other sections do not. I am thinking I should just ladder down to that extra kfb and get rid of it, hoping that the surrounding stitches will eventually take up the slack of the bit of extra yarn that the extra stitch created. Or should I just rip back? I do hate frogging so the thought of this has caused me to put the hat aside, much to my daughter’s disappointment. I could knit two together somewhere in that wedge and pretend the extra stitch never existed, but I am afraid that the hat will look lopsided in some way.

    Does anybody out there have thoughts on this? Which method should I try? Thanks for the input… my daughter would be forever grateful.

    I am planning to attend Stitches East for the first time this weekend. Who’s going? I hope to meet you there!

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    Listen to this article

  • Hat Progress and Still More New Stuff

    cantaloupe hat almost done except brim
    cantaloupe hat almost done except brim

    It’s been a few days so I thought I’d update you on the hat I’m making. I think it’s almost done! It’s wider at the top than the bottom, and I’m making it slightly longer than I normally would so that it can have room to be a bit billowy. I’ve been trying on as I go and I’m just about ready to knit the brim. I’m sure I’ll get some weird comments about this hat when it’s done, with all the bright colors and stuff. It’s ok, the weirder the better. One of my co-workers once commented that she never knew what I’d show up to work with on my head. This one will probably get her attention too!

    My usual lunch buddy is on vacation for the next two weeks and I was actually feeling a bit anxious about this, but then I happened to discover a knitting group that meets at lunch time every day. I am looking forward to having a group of knitters to eat with. I’ll bring my hat along and do a couple rounds after finishing my sandwich. Should be fun!


    Book Review: Domino Knitting

    I just got the book, Domino Knitting, by Vivian Hoxbro, and I have one thing to say: where, oh WHERE has this book been all my life? I’ve read other mitered square tutorials, and what has stopped me cold from just diving into the mayhem is all the finishing. Why did I avoid buying the book all this time, when in fact the answer has been there, for the entire time I’ve been a knitter and even longer than that? I’m having a super-huge “duh” moment here! The concept is that you make blankets (or lots of other things) out of mitered squares that are knit on as you go. No seaming! Wow.

    But even more than that, I’ve been clamoring for a long time for techniques for a no-sew afghan that is knit in strips where you can knit on the strips as you go. I’ve always wanted to do a blanket showing different panels of cables and other stuff, but I didn’t want to mess it up at the end with sloppy seaming. (I’m REALLY bad at seaming!) Well, several of the designs in the book are for pot holders knit in strips as you go. Voila! Again, the answer was there all along, Dorothy… you had the way to get home all along… just click your heels three times and say, “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…”

    Ok, I’m losing it. Goodnight.