Passap Baby Blanket

I used Bendigo Woollen Mills, Luxury 4ply Baby Wool to make a double sided baby blanket. One side shows white vertical stripes and the other horizontal alternating stripes.

1 each 3 colours, but didn't use all of the 200g balls.

Pattern from the little purple Passap Design booklet # 84
1:1 division, 141 sts, (EON ie L69, R70) NOTE: BB has extra needle on RIGHT.

Caston Col 1, T3, N/N, 1R; T5, CX/CX, 2R; T5, 1R N/N
T5, N/N,
2R white
2R green
2R white RC000
Begin pattern:
2 rows N/AX col 2
2 rows N/N col 1
2 rows N/AX col 3
2 rows N/N col 1
repeat
I did about 62 repeats, 496R, but I did another Col 1 and ended with Col 2
then
2R white
2R green
2R white
2R lavender.
Cast off loosely
( I did K1, ** P1, P2tog Tbl, k1 K2tog tbl ** repeat to end.)
Block out to relax the rib, I lightly pressed under a damp cloth.

Twis the week before Christmas

This week has been a finishing week.

On 16th I knitted the last stitch, wove in ends grafted edge for my Hot socks Nanna rug:

I started in March 08; it is 8 x 15 squares, half square border, 7 x 100g sock wool. 2 x 100g grey socks wool, done in garter stitch with 2.5 needles, and took over 170 hours to knit. And on my legs and feet as I type.

Then later on 16th, I knitted the last couple of rows of my Fetching Mitts: As there are 7695 finished pairs of these on Ravelry (as at 9.00AM Sydney Oz time, 21 Dec) I decided to take an "arty" photo:

Although there is a cool breeze coming through the window and making my feet cold, it aint cold enough for me to wear these.. they are in the drawer waiting for 09.

Having finished both these and doing RnR (rip and redo) of my knitting machine Minty Fresh and building up the strength to go another round with the KM - there was only one thing to do:

Pick up my CPH and knit. I went with the collar and looked on Rav to see how other collar doers did, so, collar first, and bands extending across the collar. That decided, I've done the collar and button band and am onto the buttonhole band. Shelley, my SnB friend gave me a quick lesson on mattress stitch, and I've even sewed up about 10cm of one of the sides.

I did make a positive start on my Crescent Moon scarf, I've redone the "cast on 13 sts" to the same as the Swallowtail shawl, do the K2 garter and pick up the purl bumps, very happy with this, much much better, and have taken it's prelim photo, may rip it back and redo a little section I went back and didn't fix very well, I will do a post just for it sometime next week, after I've had a bit more of a think about it.

It was a cool day yesterday so I asked daughter #1 to help me model my Drops sleeved shawl, here is my "arty" photo, the rest are on flickr or Rav.


So as I'd done some "arty" photos, I got friended on flickr by a photographer... Oh my stars! I shall never whinge about stupid arty photos again! It's my pet hate and proof that it's one anyone can take, but show me the knitted item as it really is: front, back, no hands in the way, no belt pulling in a too big, no arms over the head to cover the lousy sleeve cap contruction.. only showing the side view to hide the fact that it makes a skinny model look frumpy.. (ranty over now). So that will teach me, wont it?

Well, I'd like to wish everyone a wonderful stress free Merry Christmas. (And thank you for reading.) And give you one of my beaded cards:

Knitting News this week

Denim Ornettes aka the Dodos: (focus and finish project): And frogged! Why you say? Why? Well, run out of yarn didn't I? right out. I'd just done row 18 of the foot chart when I noticed that there wasn't a lot of wool left, so I measured it, about 18 m.. and I was knitting over a metre per row at this stage, absolutely no way I had enough yarn. I didn't cut the first sock as it was a little bit big and thought if it looked like that I'd run a bit short, I'd rip it back and reknit it smaller from the heel. Not going to happen, it's short by too much. I'll redo the Ornette pattern at a later date. Meanwhile I do believe they are named for the wrong bird and are now could rightly be called Dodos. I've rewound the wool, but not blaming it! I'll find it a something really special for it, I will.

Go Fetch: (SnB easy knit) My time with the group was cut short last week - family BBQ commitments, with the EX husband AND his extended family, at the EX husband's place, BLAH! Nevermind, I did get a little bit done there and was able to do heaps when Daughter #1 drove half way there. I even "borrowed" some of her wool from her entrelac beret scraps for the thumb (yep past the thumb already). I've got one more row then start the cables. I'm going to make them longer then written to match my longer self.

Hot Socks Police Nanna Rug: (long term project) is doing the edge. Just picked it up and did a count, if I cover at least two squares a day, I'll be able to finish it with the next focus projects; CPH cardi; then Bannisters jumper.

I've been ploughing through that pile of unfinished so well, I've given myself Sundays: I can do as little or as much knitting as I like. (Just so long as I don't fall back into my old habit of stuffing my face with food! Hopefully I've moved on from doing that.) I'm looking at a long sleeved big circular back motif wrappy/cardi/shawly thingy and found a really nice pattern from the Norwegian DROPS site. I bought an alpaca blend from Lincraft, similar to what was recommended, it worked out well but would come to over $70. No way I can justify spending that when I have so much stash to knit through. So the two Alpaca balls will be turned into another pair Fetching mitts. Which meant if I want to make it, just what do I have in my stash that I could use? I settled on some Mystique in beautiful deep blue "Britannia" in 8ply. I didn't think it would disadvantage the end result if it was done in thinner yarn, especially when I read one of the Rav comments thinking it was a good idea. Just so long as the fabric was firm enough to hold it's shape with the yo and lace holes. To start I'll do the largest size to 20 stitches between the yos, and on Sunday I'll get the calculator and tape measure out to work out what to do next! I like this idea Monday to Friday really plough through those half finished projects and fiddle around on Sundays. Especially with a project like this one, where, by all accounts I've read, gets hideously boring doing the endless rounds as it gets towards the outside of the circle. One Rav knitter did the sleeves inbetween to break up the monotony, which I may do too as the thing gets bigger!

So I did end up buying 2 balls of Alpaca blend this week, but with the back up plan of turning them into top down Fetchings for next year's winter, they didn't actually end up in my bottomless pit of stash, as they are already in the Saturday bag, hopefully that doesn't count!

Garter Edge used on the Nanna Rug

Cast on 14 st on waste yarn/crochet sts. All rows: Knit.
Knitting from the outside back to the inside - pick up one stitch (loop) from the cast on squares and knit it (15 sts), turn, k2 tog knit 13. Along edge till the end of squares.

Knitting from the outside back to the inside - pick up one stitch (loop) from the cast on square corners and knit it (15 sts), turn, DO NOT k2 tog knit- SLIP 1 KNITTED INTO CORNER ST - knit 14, turn, knit 14 W&T, knit to end; turn knit 13 W&T and so on until 2 sts remain to be knitted and begin down the other side. knit 3 turn; slip 1, knit 2, turn; knit 4, turn; slip 1 knit 3, turn, knit 5 turn; slip 1 knit to end, turn and so on back and forth until back to knit 14, knit again into corner st, turn and knit3 tog.

continue down the next side as before, straight garter sts on side, attaching as you go, short rows on corners until you've gone around to the beginning again, unravel waste yarn and attach to end by kitchener st/graft st.

Hot Socks Police Blue Nanna Rug

Knitty Gritty:
squares are 10cmx10cm. (roughly 4"x4").
I used 2.50mm needles
I got just over 20 squares per 100gm ball of sock wool = 420m/100g.
My rug is 7 wide x still going till the wool runs out..
I decided to do a garter st edge, half sized = 14sts x 28rows, so I will be able to cover 40 edge squares per 100g.

A single bed is 90 x 190cm = 9 x 19 squares, for instance and would need 171 squares, 9 x 100g would be needed. and would need 150g to do a half square around the edge.

OK, here is my garter stitch mitred square DIRECTIONS:

All squares: knit every alt row

FIRST ROW:
FIRST square ONLY: cast on 57 = (28+1+28). cast on row is ON THE OUTSIDE
Next row & every alt row: knit
2nd row: knit 27, slip 1, knit 2tog, pass slip st over; knit 27 (=K27; S1, K2tog, psso; k27)
4th row: K26; S1, K2tog, psso; k26
6th row: K25; S1, K2tog, psso; k25
and so on. Continue till you have one stitch left DO NOT CUT YARN.

SECOND square and all squares in first row: pick up 28 from INSIDE edge of one side of the first square (first st is the one left from the previous square) and cast on 29 = (28+1).
Next row & every alt row: knit
2nd row: knit 27, slip 1, knit 2tog, pass slip st over; knit 27 (=K27; S1, K2tog, psso; k27)
4th row: K26; S1, K2tog, psso; k26
6th row: K25; S1, K2tog, psso; k25
and so on. Continue till you have one stitch left DO NOT CUT YARN.

Continue along in this way until you have the length you want. CUT yarn on LAST SQUARE

Step 1: FIRST SQUARE OF NEXT ROW OF SQUARES, starts on the opposite end, ie go back to the beginning and do first square UNDER the very first square done:
cast on 29 = (28+1) and pick up 28 from INSIDE edge of one side of the first square.
Next row & every alt row: knit
2nd row: knit 27, slip 1, knit 2tog, pass slip st over; knit 27 (=K27; S1, K2tog, psso; k27)
4th row: K26; S1, K2tog, psso; k26
6th row: K25; S1, K2tog, psso; k25
continue till you have one stitch left, DO NOT CUT YARN.

Step 2: ALL "INSIDE" SQUARES:
Pick up 28 from INSIDE edge of one side of the first square (first st is the one left from the previous square), 1 from the centre then 28 from the other side = 57sts.
Next row & every alt row: knit
2nd row: knit 27, slip 1, knit 2tog, pass slip st over; knit 27 (=K27; S1, K2tog, psso; k27)
4th row: K26; S1, K2tog, psso; k26
6th row: K25; S1, K2tog, psso; k25
continue till you have one stitch left DO NOT CUT YARN.

continue along in this way until you have the length you want. Cut the yarn on the last square.

Repeat these steps 1 and 2 until you have the length you want (or the wool runs out, whichever comes first!).

Victorias Grey Machine Knitted rugs

I made myself a rug on the Passap last Saturday, then I took it to Basketball cause it's always freezing. Daughter #2 saw it and decided she'd like one. Son #1's girlfriend said she'd like one too. Only trouble is Daughter #1 is in London, and if I made the girls one each and when she lands back in June and I haven't done one for her too... no can't do that, and did one extra one for her. I rummaged through to the bottom of the sale bins in Lincraft to get the last balls..Then time to call #2 and asked if she'd like her Christmas leftover wool in hers, or could I put some in Kelly's rug too? and she said put some in each, so I did. then I was off and running. the arms have just about fallen off from knitting 4 rugs this week.. but what does one really need working arms for? huh?

Leftover socks Rug border update

I've been trialling/test knitting different borders for the rug on the Passap. Did the Interlock, was too thick really, the Overlock didn't really look as good as my final try.

I'd discovered this one quite by accident while knitting my one and only pair of socks. I'd forgotten to flip one of the levers, so instead of knitting across the front bed and then back bed, as you do to get a nice cylinderical, circular, round - in fact knitting with a hole in the middle.. so you can put your foot into it... no didn't happen.. on the knit across the front bed bit?? the lever was set to knit all stitches from both bed, ie 1:1 rib. and on the way back, where I had remembered to flip the lever, only the front bed was knit. This lovely oversight sealed the round bit of the sock so made it nice and flat, no round, no place for feet - rip, rip, rip. This is my "***let's do that again pattern for socks" ... (I put this saga in for anyone who actually thinks that knitting stuff on a knitting machine is quick, painless and easy... HUH, never owned an old Passap Duo 80, I say..)

So on to the borders: I've decided to make the rug 7 squares wide. That decided, the border pattern and then the construction to be considered. The specs for the KM: 25 sts, T4, N/C, to RC 364. (this is for any Passap people, none of whom I've found to be living in Oz, I seem to be the only one).

I've decided to do 7 of these panels, which I think will work out well combined with the symetry of the 7x7 squares, and split the rug into two sections. This will also solve the problem of all the same sock scraps from the one sock being on the one end and all the newer sock scraps and smaller bits being toward end, giving a much better balance. This will give the rug a centre, top and bottom long panel and repeated on sides. I'll make corner squares and centre joining squares by hand. I thought I'd do double yarn on the centre side panels and to four mitres.. Anyway, that's the plan.. other than that.. time to get knitting. will pop back later and put up a picci.

*** "Let's do that again" style of garment is a very popular term used by many many machine knitters, as I discovered when discussing this very same topic on Ravelry.. popular sweater in the northern hemisphere apparently, many machine knitters have made several versions, or so they say...

Leftover Sock Rug

I did a square for Ravelry's Thom Afghan and posted it off to the US with a couple of cards popped into the enve for Jennifer the Pacific Rim assembler. I followed the group's direction for mine (5 or 8ply/ machine wash 10x10cm square).

I was so thrilled with the ease of making it, off I went to my very big bag of left over scraps, I'm such a bower bird - I can't bear to chuck out really good quality sock wool - well my rug is started.

I've done about 7 big squares and 2 little ones. They will make a wonderfully warm rug .