12.20.2007

Christmas is Hard

So, I decided to knit things for Chistmas for my grandmas. I thought it would be a funny role reversal to knit something for a grandparent as the norm would be the grandparent knitting something for the grandchild. I chose to embark on a new journey by attempting to learn to knit lace. I searched for some patterns that would suffice for my skill level and found this great easy lace pattern for a scarf. I took one set of the stitches out so it wouldn't be as wide. I think I am using a much heavier weight yarn than is suggested. This also cut down on the amount of time it would take to get the length I wanted before Christmas.

I started scarf one with some Lion Brand Jiffy in dusty rose that I had one skein of with the intent to buy some more when I needed it.



That was a huge mistake! As all yarn wrappers warn you. "Please buy enough yarn in the dye lot for your intended project". FAIL! Anyways, I made my way through that skein and went out to get some more and scope out something for the other scarf as well. I don't think I need to say that no stores that carry Lion Brand yarn had any in dusty rose. The JoAnn on Elston probably had every other color but the one I needed. On the plus side I found this yarn called sensations on sale that was a wool/cotton/nylon blend in a color that looked like buttered popcorn or swiss cheese or spaghetti noodles. It was so appetizing I had to try it for my other grandmas scarf. I had one success anyways!

After purchasing the new yarn I gave up on scarf one and moved to scarf two so as to not waste time that I spent looking for Dusty Rose. I had bought the amount of Sensations yarn that I needed so it was time to get knitting. After knitting the lace pattern for a while, I loved how easy it was and how complicated it looked as I made my way through it. The yarn was awesome too! So soft and slightly stretchy. I am happy I have some left over to make something cool for myself after this craziness is done. I spent every extra second I had for a whole week and finished the scarf at about 4 ft long. I may have gotten a little anxious to finish but the grandma who will receive that scarf is short so I imagine after blocking it will be fine.



After attempting to find some more Dusty Rose and a few trips to craft stores that were probably a little too far away to get to in an hour lunch break. I settled on buying new yarn and starting over. I got some Patons Chunky tweed in a light blue. I started when I got home on the day I bought the yarn and at this point in time.... 5 days before christmas I am going to be knitting and knitting and knitting to get it done in time. So far I have about 12", so not a bad start. Wish me luck!


Also I started a mitten after getting all the way through the dusty rose before I bought the Sensations yarn. I hope after Christmas I can finish my first mittens. I just used some leftover purple yarn (not even sure of the brand) and found a simple pattern that I changed a little to match the gauge for the yarn. I might make some more adjustments as I go along to make them less boring. We shall see!

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