May 4th, 2010 
mio I’m making good progress on the yellow hexagon blanket:
(I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to block those at some point…)
Not bad for only working on them on the subway and on my lunch breaks at work!
I’m still debating how I want to join them together. Whip-stitch will probably look best, but sc might give it a bit more stability… I’ll have to experiment!
April 30th, 2010 mio Look what arrived!
It was full of happiness:
See that yellow-ish yarn peeking through on the left side of the box? I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with that yarn… it was cheap, and I like self-striping yarn, and I got 10 balls of it, just in case. (I also got 10 balls of a pink-and-white striping yarn of the same type).
Then it hit me, when I was almost finished that green-and-cream dishcloth from the last post: this yarn would look fantastic in the swirly-hexagon motif!
So, I started the dishcloth pattern again, but with 30ch to begin (instead of 15 for the dishcloths). I did try 15 sts originally, but I found that each wedge was *almost* a single colour, and that wouldn’t really look nice, in my opinion, so I decided to go big.
Here is the result, pinned out (colours a bit off) :
Here’s a close-up, it’s a bit fuzzy, but the colour is more accurate:
And it’s quite drapey!
(Yarn is Bella DK Tapestry, using a 6mm hook)
This might end up being a Christmas present, too… we’ll see!
April 28th, 2010 mio You hear a lot about gauge; every pattern tells you to “save time by checking your gauge”. What does it mean? Well, they want you to crochet (or knit) up a decent sized square (usually) using a stitch pattern used in the pattern. You measure it, and count your stitches. Or you wash it, block it, then measure it an count your stitches. If you match what the pattern says, then you might end up with a finished project in the size you’re expecting. Well, maybe.
I’ve talked about gauge before. I hope we all know now that even if you get gauge with one dye lot, you might not with the next. Different colours of yarn sometimes have different gauges, even if they are otherwise the same yarns… even in variegated and self-striping yarns (I’m looking at you, Bernat Baby Coordinates White)
The other day I made this:
It’s for my cousin; she likes handmade dishcloths and her kitchen colours are blue, green, and yellow.
I also made this for her:
(it’s actually more blue than grey in person… it’s supposed to look like denim)
And then this green-and-cream one:
I finished that last one on the commute home and it wasn’t until I stacked it on top of the other two that I noticed this:
All three dishcloths were made using Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, each with a 6mm hook, each exactly the same pattern.
Luckily, gauge doesn’t always matter. ^_^
(P.S. this post documents the first finished Christmas gifts for 2010. That’s right, you heard me!)
Posted in 
Tags: 
11 Blankets in 2011
