square done

Square is packaged and will be on its way tomorrow with usps.com tracking # 03061070000561468438

Image taken before blocking, and is more purple than the image shows :-}

A square is always a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square

Rectangle (7.5 x 13.5):

I squished it
And stretched it
And poked and prodded and pressed it

I soaked it
And sprayed it
And in the end I made it...

Square.

Soooo...blocking wires, huh? I'll have to look into it.

Now we are eight

Really we're ten, but the new two came after I took the pictures.

I am fortunate to have an in-house professional mail opener...
When he was done, I got to take a picture of this, from Ann

And this, from Nancy

And then I put them together and admired them, like this.

What's that on the upper right hand corner? Why, it looks like the logo of Woven Art! Ooh! Nancy did intarsia! It looks like Araucania worsted-weight nature wool to me, though that's just a guess. I couldn't get the pattern to photograph--I'll try that one again on a sunnier day.

More pictures to come...

Basketweave Square is Done

I ripped out about 1/3 of the square I'd done with the wonky gauge and reknit it. Miraculously it turned out well this time (on the same needles as before).

Because I was working a repeat that did not turn out even for a 12" length, I bound off so that it would look symmetrical and then I put a single crochet on the top and bottom to make it the right size. The edges look 12" exactly (well, as exactly as knitting can be when blocking without wires). I will shake it around a bit now that it's dry and decide if I need any more crochet top and bottom, I may need something as small as a chain stitch if I need another 1/4" but it may be OK. It was OK when I put it down wet on the sweater dryer last night, but dry fabric is not as forgiving.

I had started a second square but ran out of my knit-along yarn. Boo Hoo. No more of that yarn to be had (it was handspun) so I'm going to have to rip it out and start again with just plain solid commercial yarn. I may do a garter diagonal square so I can make it measure properly as I knit. These days I am really enjoying the texture and warmth of garter fabric. Maybe I can find some laceweight mohair in my stash as a knit-along to make the color more interesting.

It looks like I may not get this square into the mail until Wednesday but it is done!

Almost there...

I knit the last 3/4 of my square yesterday (3 DVD's + the Oscars). I had sad little claw hands by the time I was done. Tonight will be for blocking. I really want to win the Fabulous Prize but it will be a miracle if my square ends up exactly 12x12. I'll take before and after pictures because right now it's probably 8x15! The cable pattern pulled in so much that I had to knit extra to make sure that when I stretched it widthwise it didn't end up too short lenthwise. It was all just guesswork so we'll see what happens. I don't have a blocking board or wires (or pins, now that I think about it) either. I do have water. Wish me luck!

Check In

I just wanted to check in & let you know my first square is finished & blocked and my second square is well underway.
I'm so in love with the second square. I'm knitting in with Crystal Palace Taos in the Lizard Ridge pattern (from knitty). I had to cast-on an extra repeat to make a 12" square, but it seems to be turning out really well.

A hint for those of you blocking squares. I use blocking wires to make sure my sides are really straight. However, even with blocking wires your square might not really be 'square'. You should also measure the diagonals to check if they're 17". If the the square measures 17" corner to corner (both ways) then you know it's not leaning to the side or off in some way.

I can't wait to see the blanket all put together & the look on Sarah's face when she receives it!

Hi, checking in

Hi, I'm Diana, Lynn's Sis-in-Love :-}
I'm well-started on a diagonal square of lilac flammegarn tip-toe sock yarn (double stranded). No pics yet, but soon.