Fall Sweaters....Completed

Last year I started sweaters for E and C.  I had promised them the year before. I wanted to knit them on my Bond Incredible Sweater Machine.  I had made one several years ago for little L and found it enjoyable.  A couple of Christmases ago I made then for G, A, and L.  Finally I got started last year.

Cardigan knit on the Bond, from Yates' Farm Bartlettyarn in red and blue

In September I finished the red and blue one except for putting in the zipper.  Last weekend I was sick and did not want to share my germs with the brothers and sisters at Church so I stayed home.  I spent a couple or three hours that afternoon at the Bond and finished the front and back of the blue and green sweater.

Still not in good shape physically, I did not sleep well last night so I spent the time finishing the blue and green sweater then inserted the zipper in the red and blue sweater.

Pullover knit on the Bond in blue and heather green from Yates Farm Bartlettyarns

I have just sent an email to children to see what my Christmas knitting project should look like.  Normally I make a pair of mittens for everyone.  I decided to ask what was actually wanted this year!  New strategy....We shall see what tickles the fancy for 1.5, 4,4,4, 6,8,8,10, and 16 year olds. I look forward to knitting what they would like.

Cotton Coverlet Knit on the Bond Incredible Sweater Machine

Company is coming.  The quilt on the guest bedroom bed has been through sheet-rocking to ill effect.  A new bed-covering seems to be the thing.  What to do, what to do....

Lovely people gave me two buckets of cotton yarn, much of it variegated.  What ho!  A cotton coverlet knit on my Bond Incredible Sweater Machine which has an extension and parts from the Bond Ultimate Sweater machine!  Now that is a great idea!

SO...I sat down and started.  Because of the size of the bed, the coverlet is being knit in five strips.  Weeks ago I started, casting on 75 stitches for the width of the strips.  After knitting two of them, I thought I would like to make the middle one a bit wider so I cast on 110 stitches for that one.

Central coverlet strips laid out on bed so you cannot see the error at the top!

The rub came when the number of ROWS came into play.  The first one came out just the right length...but alas, I had not written down anyway I could find how many rows it was, so I counted the rows in 10 inches and multiplies by 108, the proposed number of inches LONG I wanted the coverlet and came up with a number...I think 560 rows, so away I went knitting the second strip.

When I held the two strips together the second strip was WAY TOO LONG!  How had my math failed me so badly?!  Well, however it happened, it really did, so I was back to the drawing board with figuring.  Rather than tear out the long strip rows, I cast on the 110 stitches for the middle strip and went to town knitting up the strip as quickly, but consciously as possible as I HATE IT when the carriage comes off the stitch bed or when the stitches come off the stitch bed and have to be replaced...so time-consuming.

The left strip is WAY too long and the center strip too short

Now I have three strips of three DIFFERENT lengths...a pretty kettle of fish.  What to do, what to do (again!)...

What I did:  First I basted one side section together with the middle section with ravel cord.  That was not that enjoyable so I decided to mattress stitch the second side section to the middle.  It took a long time but by the time I finished I had come up with a plan, so I mattress-stitched the first side section to the middle, pulling out the ravel cord as I went.

With the three strips together I could address the different lengths issue.  What I decided to do was to pick up the stitches on the shortest (middle) strip  with a circular needle, in this case a US size 8 needle about 29 inches long, and begin knitting it up to meet the correct length strip using the yarn that I unraveled-as-I-went from the too long section.

Knitting up the center strip to match the correct length right strip

It is working but taking a while.  The rest of the plan is that when I finish that...getting all three strips the same length, I will then return the sewn-together strips to the Bond machine and "seam-as-I-go", which will be somewhat of a bear project as the coverlet is so big, heavy, and awkward, but then when I get to the right number of rows, I will stop knitting.

What was going to be strip four before new plan

So far I have not come up with a plan for the finishing AROUND the coverlet, but I still have the hours of hand-knitting the central section, and the hours knitting the other two strips to figure it out.  I will post that plan when it comes!

Just as I am writing this I remember the Barbara Walker Learn To Knit Afghan project I started a couple of years ago.  Maybe I should have finished that one instead!  Well, if I get this project completed in the next few days, perhaps I can get rolling on Barbara Walker again...

Early Rising

Another early morning rising...2:14 AM this time.  Since I could not get back to sleep I crawled out and up to the workroom where I finished the middle strip of a cotton coverlet I am knitting on the Bond Incredible Sweater machine.  Two of the four side strips are already completed.

It turns out that all three strips are of a different length!  Gr-r-r-r!  What to do?  Well, since the middle one is the shortest, I decided to unravel the longest side and pick up stitches along both edges of the shortest side until two of the three strips are of the same length then knit the remaining two sides in a seam-as-you-go.  I think I can do it.  I am edgy to get this done as it is part of the preparation for family reunion in less than a month's time!

Very kind people gave me two buckets of cotton yarn, which is why this is happening.  As for the rest of the yarn, I think I have enough cotton yarn to make all the dish and face cloths I plan for the rest of my life!

Another doll blanket

Leah wants a doll blanket.  She has many babies that need blankets.  She wants a purple blanket.  This is the blanket I knit on the Bond Incredible Sweater Machine, then picked up and knit on a garter stitch border.

Knit on Bond, picked up and knit garter border...

Better detail on the icky picked-up-and-knit stitches

Things I learned while knitting on the border:  the live stitches from the Bond are much prettier to knit from than the edge stitches where your have to pick up and knit the garter ridges;  the picked up stitches, besides not being pretty, can throw off my garter ridges' appearance,  it is possible, when using up scraps ends of yarn to totally make nasty the garter stitch border.  Perhaps Leah will not notice, but I know I will have to make another blanket and do it better.  You can see along the right side of the photo above the picked-up-and-knit stitches.  Totally not nice.  I do hope Leah will be happy enough for her babies to have a blanket all their own and not borrowed from Leah's little brother that it won't matter that it is awful.  The next one will be better....

First Doll Blankets on the Bond and Sawtooth edging pattern

Several weeks ago a very kind gentleman offered a grill on FREECYCLE.  When we went out to pick it up, he had decided to keep his old grill (the one he originally offered us) because the newer one he was using to replace his old one turned out to be missing a part.  He thought we would be able to find the necessary parts at Home Depot.  (Turns out he was right, and we have a lovely grill now for the first time ever....just in time for a dinner we were having here...)

While we are at his house his two darling little daughters came out to chat with us and watch us.  They reminded me so much of Taylor and Addison both is looks and personality that I decided to do a little knitting for them.  The little one was holding a doll very tightly to her and the older one had a bigger doll whose name she told us, but which I forgot almost immediately...so what to do by make blankets for the dolls!

Eyelet lace around the edge, knit on Bond Incredible Sweater Machine, KP3

Knit on Bond, hand-knit sawtooth border

Using the Bond Incredible Sweater Machine I cast on 70 stitched and knitted 100 rows, I seem to remember.  The first one I did a minor lace eyelet pattern around the edge.   I then hand-knit on a garter stitch border.   For the second one I knitted it on the Bond as well, but made it totally plain then added a sawtooth edge border with dark purple yarn.

To make the sawtooth edging, after finishing and binding off the blanket, on another set of needles:

Cast on 4 stitches.

Row 1: Knit 4, pick up and knit one stitch from edge of blanket. Turn.

Row 2:  SSK, YO, K3, Turn.

Row  3, 5, 7 knit to end of row, then pick up and knit one stitch from edge of blanket.  Turn.

Row 4:  SSK, YO, K4, Turn.
Row 6:  SSK, YO, K5, Turn.

Row 8:  SSK, YO, K6, Turn.

Row 9:  Bind off 4 sts, knit to end of row, pick up and knit one stitch from edge of blanket and continue on in this pattern until you go completely around the blanket.  At corners, adjust by adding a few more stitches in the corner stitch.