Month: July 2020

Knitting

Baby Blanket 2

Iris Rose

I am back with another baby blanket using the same pattern that I posted on June 28th.

I used a lighter yarn (DK) this time and cast on 144 stitches.   I have a bunch of single skeins from my ebay foray that is so squishy soft.  I had been using it for dolls but with a whole bin full I felt that I could safely borrow some for another use.

The colours are a bit of a mishmash as you can see.  There is something about these colours, great for toys but a blanket, I am not so sure.  Anyway, it is done and although not blocked, looking pretty good even if it is a little bright.  So bright that the colour is too concentrated to take a good photo.  You need your shades for this one!

I have so much of this yarn that I have started another in a new pattern and not quite so eye popping, for my tv knitting.  I have made inroads; the bin is done by about a third, woohoo!

I am still on a yarn fast.  I am determined to work out of stash until it is at least half gone.  Wish me luck and a long life!!!

Thanks for reading and have a lovely week filled with kind thoughts and deeds.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Fixing the Blanket

Iris Rose

A couple of weeks ago, June 28th blog post, I wrote about a small blanket (and included the pattern) that I had knitted using two Caron Cakes without manipulating the colour changes.  While I was happy with the finished blanket in general I did not like where the one colour change from the lightest colour to the darkest happened.

I did not notice this row until I was much further along in the work and, being me, I just kept knitting thinking that I could live with it.  Well, when all was done and ends woven in, I decided that, no, I could not live with the obvious stripe across the middle of the work.  I like the blanket and, after toying with should I just leave it alone or fix it, thought I would give the fixing a try.

 

The light to dark actually made the repair much easier as I could see where to follow the knitting.  I took a blunt needle so that I didn’t catch any threads of the existing yarn and cut a long piece of the dark yarn.  I started at the end of the row and worked backward, weaving in and out following the stitches formed originally.  As it turned out, the dark yarn piece was too short and as I neared the end I had to stop and take it all out (my choice instead of adding another piece!).  Read curse, curse, and curse here.

The gauge was a little tricky but I think I did a pretty good job of matching the original.  I finally made it to the end (beginning) of the row and the moment of truth arrived.  Did I have enough courage to cut the work in the middle?  If I had made a mistake in following the original stitches I would have created a massive mess.  Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained and as you can see, the scissors were in place.  Eyes closed, I snipped.

 

Pulling the old yarn out carefully and checking for mistakes, I proceeded across the row each way from the centre snip and success!!!  I pulled the work across and up and down to even out the stitches and, after I weave in those ends, it is finished and ready for blocking.

 

I am so much happier now with the way this little blanket looks and with myself for not giving in to the easy way and just leaving it as it was.

Thanks for looking and I hope that you have a lovely crafting and safe week ahead.  Remember to be kind.

Baking

Sour Dough, Yum!

Iris Rose

I, as you may know, also love to bake and have been baking my own bread for quite some time.  Last fall I was given a sour dough starter by a fellow vendor at a craft sale and was so glad to have it when the great yeast shortage began.

I got into the habit of making sour dough bread instead of standard yeast bread for the months of March and April and just kept on going even when DD found me some yeast at a local grocer.

I follow my usual whole wheat bread recipe using the sour dough instead of bread yeast and factoring in the additional flour and water used in the build.  I always feed the starter double in the morning before I bake and then, putting away one third (one cup) for the next time, build a sponge that evening.  I use double the flour and the same amount of water that I use for feeding the starter and leave that thick sponge overnight to really get working.

I have been successfully making English muffins too and I decided that I wanted to see if I could make sour dough biscuits for a change.  After a couple of okay tries (read too much whole wheat flour for a real biscuit taste) think that I have hit the jackpot!

It is such a pleasure to make and serve your own baking.  It gives me the same satisfaction as completing a project that turns out exactly as you envisioned.  It is funny how the little homely things can mean so much in these troubling times.

Have a lovely week whatever you do and remember to be kind.