All the Live-Long Day

"I've been working on a blanket just to pass the time away," which is of course typically avoidant behavior since I have work to do. And really that "working" was all done yesterday. Now I'm just blogging about this project, and after that I'll go back to working on teacher goals and student comments. NOTE: I doubt that you are reading this blog, BFF Monica, but if you are, stop right there. Go find something else to do. You have plenty on your plate, I know, since your play performs this week. ;^)

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Ahem . . .
So my BFF Monica is expecting in January and I've been knitting on a blankie for the little guy (ultrasounds usually don't lie in this direction!). I've now got the blanket backed with polar fleece and sewn buttons on the PF side so that it will be nice and anchored when I sew the binding edge on. I also read up on doing this cleverly and found that many quilters/blanket backers glue the edges together before sewing the binding, so that it will not pucker or gather up weirdly. So I did that too. Now it's dry and I've trimmed the PF edge a bit so I can get around corners well. Last step will be to sew the sucker up. No, I forgot, the last step will be to wash it gently--I found a smudge on the ivory polar fleece after I'd already cut and pinned it, daggone it.

I hear the nursery is being done in a blue/brown combo, so this yellow/ivory blanket will not clash. The knitted side is one of those unbelievably soft boucle baby yarns, just done up in garter stitch since the lumpy bumpiness of the boucle doesn't lend itself to stitch definition. Here's a few pics of the process so far:

Knit mindlessly whenever there's time over several weeks. I don't know how many stitches I cast on or what size needles I used. Maybe 8s.

Cut polar fleece to match, pin down, and sew buttons to the polar fleece side. I chose matching ivory buttons, but that's just one way to go. I was proud of my ability to cut to measure, to fit it all together, and to measure for button placement, remeasure as I sewed, sew randomly from one end to the other so that it would be unlikely to pucker or pull, and then to trim a bit here and there for the final measurements.

I know--you can't see the smudge. But it's there and it's bugging me. Maybe I'll just spot clean it.

Then glue edges of the two blanket layers together and weight down to keep anything from moving around or shrinking up. The glue I used instructed the placement of aluminum foil along the glue edge but it was totally unnecessary.

Looks like a pale quesadilla, no? yum!

I'll post pics of the finished blanket, as well as the sleeves I continue to work on here and there. These require utmost attention because I am decreasing for the shoulder fit and don't want to get off the pattern. So . . . Singing Daughter, I know October has passed and we're into November now. I hope it will be done by Thanksgiving!

As promised . . . the finished blanket. Ahhh!

Stash Angels in Michigan

Live and learn . . . it's going to have to be my mantra for knitting. I was so close to finished with Singing Daughter's Quidditch sweater and then--wow, that's not much yarn left in the knitting bag--uh-oh, guess I'd better scramble.

Ravelry saved my bacon because I found nothing on eBay. First, the aptly named Hope in Michigan came through with a skein of the lovely shade of blue, called cerulean. Then I located two skeins of the chestnut with the right dyelot in the stash of Tina in . . . Michigan! Tina was willing to sell them to me as well. (Wow, I love that state! Even visited it a few times as a child.)


Both Hope and Tina were more than kind and happily mailed them (in Hope's case, before my check even arrived--nice to be trusted) priority shipping so I could get back to the project ASAP.

Tina's recent blogpost on why she always over-purchases for a project really hit home, in addition to the natural-consequences-type learning that resulted from my running out of yarn because I didn't do that.

Meantime, I knitted on several ongoing projects, including Super Secret Project #2,

[sorry, no photos of this super secret project!]

and a scarf I am making for World Saving Daughter's fiance, Paco. This is Bazic wool in two tones, and I just love the way they look together. Pattern is mistaken rib, one of my favorites!


I have also worked on one of my easy drop stitch scarves a bit.

This is probably the only shot I'll put up of Super Secret Project #3, which Kathy kindly helped me drum up the confidence for, as well as getting started with a simple pattern and the Magic Loop method. Nothing like a guide on the new path.

I will admit that I did all this knitting and yarn searching when I should have been grading papers. Sigh . . .

That is, when I wasn't taking photos of the hummingbirds that are now regular visitors to our feeder. That is an addictive pastime--just one more--this will be the shot of the century--etc.

Structured procrastination is supposed to be an admirable trait, one that is usually under appreciated. Time to stop with that technique, though, so I can hold my head up high.

Happy Knitting, all!

A Fun, Funny Mockumentary

Go here to watch a youtube mockumentary about "Wooly Bullies," the elitist attitudes of knitters, and the pain and alienation of the poor black sheep crocheter.

Thanks, cosymakes, for introducing me to this.

Yes, yes, still knitting sleeves. Two episodes of Law and Order (the plain vanilla version) last night saw me with another inch or two of sleeviness. Tomorrow is no weekend day at all, though, with our school's day-long "picnic," so I am going to be grading papers today. Sigh. Another longer sigh. Ah well, that's what summers are for!