Pinwheel Blanket Update

The pinwheel blanket is coming along rather nicely...I'm about halfway through at this point, at least based on my math:

 

There is 100% a boo-boo on one of my edges that I couldn't quite figure out how to fix, and I'm sure there are some other errors too, but I have apparently grown as a knitter, because I don't really care.  That's not to say I don't want it to be perfect, but its also a handmade item and I am human. I am doing my best.

As far as other projects, both the sweater and scarf are currently in hibernation. I did investigate both to see how far long I had actually gotten (my project photos on Ravelry were rather out of date), and it turns out that I have a little more done on my sweater  than I realized (pattern is The Weekender by Andrea Mowry). So, now I'm not sure how I want to tackle it. I may just do another gauge swatch, but I have to double check my yarn to be sure I have enough. 

I had changed my knitting style while working on baby blankets back in 2019/2020 (more on that in an upcoming post), and when I restarted last month I didn't quite have the muscle memory remaining of how I had held the yarn, so have been having to retrain myself a bit on this one. That being said, I'm sure my gauge is NOT the same. And we all know how gauge is my arch nemesis. So...we shall see!  Blanket first. Right now I'm on track to finish before Christmas, but I am traveling for work next week and not sure I can keep up at the same pace (boo).

Times, they are a-changin'...(updates)

I was going back through this blog the other day, and realized that so much has changed since some of my previous posts. I thought I'd do a quick run-down on what's new and different in my world (both knitting-wise and in life).

The most major update is that I've moved to a completely new state (I already miss JBW, though the yarn store closest to me in my new locale is quite charming). Because of this move, a few things happened:

1) I actually cleared out a bit of my stash. Some of it I donated, some I gave to my good friend (and knitting Yoda) Sam. That being said, I still have a fair amount of yarn (two good sized bins, most of which is worsted or fingering weight).

2) I found the Chroma Striped Scarf. I thought I had frogged it, but no. IT STILL EXISTS. I feel like the fact that is has persevered 12+ years is a sign that I should probably break down and finish it.  

IT LIVES!

3) At some point I was working with a drop spindle and learning to spin some lovely Malabrigo roving (if my goals from 2017 tell me anything, though I don't appear to have really blogged about it--terrible), and I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED TO IT. I haven't found the drop spindle in my boxes* (yet?) and the roving wasn't in my stash. 

4) I had restarted these socks (just the very tippy toe), but recently frogged those as well and am thinking about using the yarn to make my mom some kind of shawl because she keeps stealing mine. On that note...

5) I still have a shawl problem.

*In 2015, I also made a move and a ton of stuff ended up in a storage unit; a lot of stuff is STILL in a storage unit, including (until recently) many of my knitting books and accessories. I was finally able to dig a bunch of this out recently, but am now wondering if there is another box in there with other knitting/crafty things I need to hunt down...

Well, hello there

 So...its been awhile.  Six years, actually, which is a little crazy.

Have I been knitting since 2017?  Yes, actually, though I have also taken some breaks.  My last completed project was actually back in 2020 (according to my Ravelry, anyway). I also started my very first sweater during the lock down, but of course got sidetracked by other crafty things (watercolor painting, coloring) so it is still a WIP on my needles.

At any rate, it HAS been three years since I held knitting needles in my hands, and I have picked them up again to knit yet another blanket, because I am insane. My brother and sister-in-law blessed me with a third nephew/niece to spoil back in 2021, and unlike the first two, I was totally a slacker about knitting the poor baby a blanket. Said child is now two, and I'm finally feeling motivated, but alas for me, that means it is now a toddler blanket, not a baby blanket. Oops.

 

All the other blankets I've knit have involved multiple colors and stripes, but I made the executive decision that third babies get a solid color, to give poor Aunt Jackie a break.  I chose the pattern Reversible Blanket Pinwheels by belovedLT on Ravelry, because I thought it was a nice balance between simple and interesting (e.g. not a total bore to knit, but also not overly complicated because blankets are a heck of a lot of stitches). 

I've been plugging along quite nicely, though it was a fight at the beginning because I had to get used to knitting and gauge and all that again. I'm actually wary of re-starting my sweater because I'm positive my gauge has changed. I may need to knit a new swatch and see where I'm at...I wasn't terribly far along, so I might be able frog and restart.  We'll see. Blanket first!