It’s dead easy. Do it! Come to the dark side!!!
I taught myself to crochet off teh internets because I wanted to make fabric crochet rugs like my great-grandma made. How ya like me now? (BTW the yellow fabric in that rug is a set of hideous mustard floral pattern sheets my friend got for her wedding in 1968.)
That is amazing! I’d love to do something like that.
I’m still in a hat phase at the moment. I’ve ordered some gray angora yarn that I’m planning to use for a lacy scarf and hat, and some thick gray wool to knit my boyfriend yet another hat - hopefully this one will cover his ears properly. I already started his hat but ran out of yarn. On Elizabeth Zimmerman’s advice I used the brioche stitch instead of just a regular rib and I LOVE it - it produces a really nice, thick sort of rib that’s perfect for winter hats.
I just got my stash out of storage, and it’s all over the floor. It’s out of control! I did find what I was looking for, a sock-weight yarn that I am knitting an iPhone cozy for.
I am also going to start on various things for my impending niece. I will start with a cap for her to wear in the hospital.
I finished my hat and my scarf! Now I’ve started this scarf-and-hood thingy - I’ll probably regret it because it looks like it’s going to take forever. Also I’m regretting not doing reversible cables, but I’m too lazy to start over again.
I love the scarf!!!
That scarf hoodie thing looks nice, you’ll have to share pics when you’re done! It’s an idea for me too actually, something cozy…
I am currently blocking Pretty Thing, which is a gift for my BFF, and I have to sew up the Willie Warmer for my Dad (not mine, but the creator’s), then I think I shall cast on a tea cozy for Mom (ten days enough to do one in? It’s not that hard actually, I’ll just make sure to bring it to work so I can work on it at lunch.)
Then I need to finish up my Mr Greenjeans and then I’ll figure out where to go from there. Probably I should finish my Fiddlehead mittens (that’s just the outer shell of the first one, I need to do the second outer, block and then knit the inner lining).
Needed a hat to go with my alphabet scarf – so I made one. Improvised the pattern. I’m happy with how it turned out. 
Thanks. 
I’m very proud of my first lacy scarf effort - hopefully the next one will be better - I made a few mistakes in the leaf pattern.
That yarn looks lovely.
Nice hat! I tried a cabled hat but my cables turned out very odd. 
That’s a cozy looking hat twickster. I need to do another one, I love mine but it’s a tad loose in places (a first attempt on large DPN’s and cabling… maybe a second time would work a little better).
Thanks Hazel. That yarn is Sirdar Tweedie Chunkie, a mix of wool, acrylic and alpaca and I love working on it (it knits up fairly fast) but I’ve been really lazy when it comes to finishing bigger things. I have to keep kicking my butt to finish them, I finally managed to finish my Mystic Waters shawl just before we went to the ocean because I decided I had to have it for the trip… Maybe I just work better under a deadline.
Speaking of shawls, one day I will attempt this one, oh yes.
I knit that one last year–it took me the better part of three months. shipwreck It always gets me compliments when I take it out in public.
Here’s the unphotogenic sweater I was working on earlier in this thread
I’ve now moved on to a cabled sweater for me.
No wonder, it’s gorgeous! But it looks rather intimidating. I think I’ll try to knit it for my mother’s Christmas present next year.
Question - my Saroyan scarf tends to curl in on itself around the borders - does that mean I blocked it wrong? Or maybe knitted it too tightly?
Shipwreck is on my shawl list, but what I really want to do that intimidates me is Isis. I know it will take forever but I have this scrumptious skein of Bunny Love (angora and silk) and it just screams at me that that’s what it should be.
Hazel, it could be either but my understanding is stockinette has a tendency to curl, can’t look up the pattern atm but is it stockinette? I’ve seen a number of patterns that use a few rows of garter stitch to stop this from happening.
Seed stitch will also work to prevent curling.
Saroyan is predominantly stockinette but has a garter border and a pattern edging. It probably shouldn’t be curling, but, not having ever knitted the pattern, I don’t know for sure. Garter border and a non-stockinette edging should prevent curl in the stockinette, though.
Hmm… Maybe it just needs to be blocked again? I’m not really sure, I haven’t don’t much blocking.
Near Solstice is the outrageously complicated shawl pattern that is on my list of things I want to do. I guess it’s not really that complicated, just big. The haiku that’s knitted into it is:
At winter’s dawning
Birds are dancing on my snow
To silent music.
Instructions begin: Using whichever provisional method you prefer, cast on 599 sts.
I’m 39 years old. Even assuming perfect health, I don’t have enough time left to knit that thing…
In my experience, blocking is only a temporary fix to a permanent problem with all hand-knitted goods. They just aren’t going to be crisp and flat, if you do anything with them but take pictures.
One more reason I mostly knit socks and hats, really. Scarves are so unsatisfying because of the blocking-lasts-five-minutes issue.
