CALL ME CRAZY!

Sorry I haven’t written anything since Thursday. I’ve had homework! Here is a sample of something that has taken 22 hours of my life (and that’s just for the rendering! The drawing for this project took another 10 hours and involved drawing up four graphs because the first three didn’t work out). The entire project is 11" X 18" but the whole thing won’t fit on my scanner so this is the ‘abbreviated’ version. And that’s homework for just one course! I have seven in all and homework in each. Despite this, I have been regularly reading (and in most cases lurking) my regular blogs to catch up when I’ve needed a break but I just haven’t found the time to add anything to my own blog. Terrible.

I downloaded April’s Knit2Btied podcast edition 11 after reading Samantha’s blog about Annette’s Blanket. I listened to the podcast on Friday while I was drawing and, by Saturday morning, had decided that I should knit a block for the cause too. Do I have time for such things? Didn’t I say I was only going to work on only three projects between now and Christmas? Did I enjoy myself knitting anyways? YES! I knitted during breaks (like, when I was on the phone, waiting for supper – life is good around here – or just when I was going crazy from rendering).

My homework for tomorrow is now complete so I guess I was able to fit in knitting and homework. I may not be saying that come Wednesday when I have a presentation due and Thursday when I have drafting due (Shiver. I’m am vewy scared of drafting). I also still have homework to do tonight so I can’t stay long.

Anyways, back to the epic, I mean, knitting. I found some leftover superwash Mission Falls merino from my sweater that, no, isn’t completed yet. Thanks for asking though. I figured I had enough for an 8" X 8" block. Then I figured out how many stitches I thought I needed for the block (why start with a swatch I said confidently?) and cast on 35 on 4 mm needles (I’m a very loose knitter). Then I had to decide on a pattern. I didn’t want to knit a simple garter stitch block (that would be just too easy, wouldn’t it?) so decided to make up my own based on one I’d seen in a baby blanket my aunt knitted for her grandson. I started with five stitches of knit stitch, five stitches of purl, knit for 8 rows, then switched the pattern around to give it a checkerboard effect.

On this little square, I learned the following:
- that I should ALWAYS knit a swatch beforehand (duh!),
- how to make live stitches up two sides of the block to make the block 1" larger by adding an accent colour of yarn (yeah me and thank you to Knitting Help!),
- how to do a crochet cast off when I ran out of yarn (thanks Yarn Harlot!),
- how to undo a crochet cast off when I realized it was too darn tight for my purposes,
- how to block,
- how to stress over blocking because the darn square isn’t dry yet and wasn’t drying square enough for me (I washed it yesterday for Pete’s sake!,
- how to pin while blocking,
- how MUCH stocking stitch actually does roll. Hopefully Samantha can deal with this slight ‘ripple’ effect, and
- how to take out my nicely knit accent colour that I’d added because it made the block way too large.
Whew. Good thing it was only one small square.

The picture of my block above is the original, with the accent colour on the sides. The picture below is of the new and improved finished block.

Luckily for my sanity (but not so much for Annette’s blanket) and my school work, I only had that bit of superwash in the house so I can’t knit two. Sorry, Samantha. However, if you’re reading this and aren’t Samantha, please knit up a block too ASAP and send it to her. Like April said, we can’t have Annette’s family curled up under only 39, 8" X 8" squares now can we (the goal is 72)? And, by the way, how long does it take an 8" X 8" block of merino to dry anyways? I’d like to get my personal creation to Samantha before New Years…