The Yarn Harlot's Dream

In the Yarn Harlot's latest book Things I Learned from Knitting (Whether I Wanted to or Not) she's got a bit about how she has a secret wish that she could have a semi-serious leg injury. Nothing excruciatingly painful but something that required no walking to heal. A knitters paradise...


She'd sure be jealous of me. One week ago I had to have surgery on my foot to correct a misaligned joint. My bones didn't line up correctly so the bone ground on the cartilage in the joint. The bone had to be cut and fused into the right place then secured with a screw. It sounds worse than it is but it means 8 weeks of no walking. The first 2 weeks are extreme bed rest, laying/sitting all day with the foot elevated above the heart. The next weeks I can move around on crutches but not too much. Week 8 is when I can finally put weight on the foot again. It has been boring. I've spent most of the time either knitting or practicing for the LSAT but as I'm also on percoset I'm much better at the knitting. Here's proof:


My modern baby blanket is finished. I just got it off the needles today. I was wondering whether or not I should put the border on because my edges were pretty straight as it was, then I thought to myself "it's not like I'm strapped for time..." I'm so glad I decided to add it it really pulled the whole thing together and gave it a professional looking finish.

I used the I-cord edging that Kelly Petkun demonstrates on her blog. Her videos of how to get the edging going, turn a corner, and weave in the ends were very helpful! The blanket has already been through the washer and dryer to fluff it up and get the dog hair off and it held up to washing very well. My only problem is I suck at weaving in ends when using cotton or acrylic yarns. Animal fibers I'm fine with because they felt a little and grab onto each other but cotton and acrylic ends never stay woven in for me. I've got them as under-control as I can but I wish I knew a better method...

I also finished two small projects that I stated while I was working on the blanket. The first was a simple hat for me that I made from yarn I dyed myself. I dyed the white Lopi Reynolds with Kool-Aid. I used Grape, Black Cherry, and Lemon Lime.


I knit the hat from the formula in the "How to knit a basic hat" video on the Knitpicks website. It's a very basic roll-brimmed hat. I added the pom-pom because I think that hats tend to look sloppy at the top where the decreases make them bunch up and the pom-pom distracts from the bunching. I know pom-poms are a very contested fashion decision but I think they're cute, especially when they're a bit disheveled like this one...


The second little project I finished is also a hat but it was for my brother. He found a picture on the internet and asked me if I could duplicate it. Just for fun I searched ravlery and the pattern was there. My brother went with me to Michaels and he picked out the yarn he wanted. He picks some cheap Lion Brand Vanna's Choice it's not bad for acrylic yarn it's pretty soft and easy to work with. Here's the hat I made:

The top "hat part is knit in stockinette and the beard and mustaches are knit in moss stitch. The hat and beard are knit as one piece and the mustaches are knit separately and attach to the beard with snaps. The patten is written so that the hat is a different color from "hair" but Adam decided that he wanted it to be all one color... I didn't complain--fewer ends to weave it. It's a very silly project but Adam really wanted it and I really don't have anything better to do so...

I still have the same WIPs the pink shawl and the green socks but that didn't stop me from casting on another. I like the socks alright but with all the time I've got on the couch I wanted something with a little more interest so I stated my first real lace project the Swallowtail Shawl. I love the pattern it's beautiful and it only takes one skein of lace yarn so I figured it was a good way to try out the new technique. I'm using some fabulous Malabrigo lace yarn it's a deliciously soft merino. The color is wonderful gold/orange semi-solid. I'm only one repeat into the pattern but it's already showing a lot of promise. I tryed taking a picture of it but from the couch I can't get good light and they all either look really shiny where the flash reflected off the yarn or too dark. When I get a few more repeats done I'll have my brother take it outside and get a few good pictures for me.