I dutifully started this post waaaaaay back when, but the effects of a long week, a fun time at Knit Night, and then the beginning of feeling yucky for too long took me out of the game before I could finish the post. After that the unfinished post simply got buried. Some people have unfinished objects, I have unfinished posts. But I do want to get this one up so that I can proceed with some overdue knitting-related posts that build off of this one....
Here's a quick tour of my first year of knitting:
With the arrival of twin nieces in March '05, a pair of baby blankets seemed in order, but first I would need to learn how to knit. And I would have to get over my wool allergy. Yikes! It seemed to make more sense to start out with baby-proof, hypo-allergenic acrylic yarn than to splurge on yarn that would likely prove to challenging for sensitive auntie and babies alike. I went down the Pound of Love road and became something of an Acrylic Queen for a few months:
Being a somewhat dyslexic self-taught knitter, it turns out I was knitting into the backs of stitches when I made those blankets. And I think I was messing up the purl stitches, too, but what did I know? At least it didn't stop me from trying. I knit some scarves and a couple of baby sweaters. Another baby blanket (not posted yet). A basket weave lap throw in more cheesy acrylic (definitely not posted yet). Some cotton dishcloths - too well-used to post now - but perhaps the subject of a future post will involve the practical, everyday dishcloth.
When we decided to drive up to Maine for vacation in August, it was time to pick a special project. One of Keith's favorite places in the world is Otter Cove on Mount Desert Island. I wanted to knit a special scarf that would remind him of Otter Cove, its sea tang, exposed cliffs, granite shores, and colors and shapes that are often muted by sea fog. For the yarn, I chose Noro Kureyon in - natch - one of the manliest of colorways (brown/gray/taupe). Keith is not one for stripes or variegated yarns, but it helped enormously that the Noro colorway echoed the colors of our two mini donkeys. More on the simple 2x2 rib Otter Cove scarf later, but here is a pic from when it was still on the needles - and back from its travels in Maine:
While we were on vacation, I picked up a copy of Odd Ball Knitting by Barbara Albright and was taken in by the pattern for a scarf called Bamboo Rib. The pictured yarn was silk, a little pricey for my budget. Never mind that the point of the book is to help you use up the odds and ends that are already in your yarn stash, I went looking for something that would have the desired drape and a pleasing sheen, and ended up picking up a couple of balls of Berroco's Softwist in Twine from my local yarn shop. Here is the scarf when it was still on the needles last fall:
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