Bioluminescent Marine Life - 17 Days Done

I am a couple of days behind on the shawl because I typically only work on it when I am reading something - it is perfect knitting for reading - and I have been focusing more on the blanket.  Having all of the skeins caked up makes it easy to keep going on the blanket, the only limiting factor being the need to take a photo after each block.  Of course that limiting factor also applies to the shawl.

Day 16

Day 15

Day 14

Day 13

The colors so far:

Day 1 - Blue Sea Squirt:  8.4 g / 0 g

Day 2 - Brain Coral:  8.6 g / 0 g

Day 3 - Electric Clam:  8.4 g / 0 g

Day 4 - Violet Sea Slug:  8.4 g / 0 g

Day 5 - Peppermint Shrimp:  7.7 g / 0 g

Day 6 - Squat Lobster:  8.3 g / 0 g

Day 7 - Mauve Stinger:  8.4 g / 0 g

Day 8 - Larval Grideye Fish:  8.6 g / 0 g

Day 9 - Bearded Scorpion Fish:  8.5 g / 0 g

Day 10 - Orange Cup Coral:  8.8 g / 0 g

Day 11 - Pharaoh Cuttlefish:  8.5 g / 0 g

Day 12 - Barred Soapfish:  8.3 g / 0 g

Day 13 - Trumpet Anemone:  8.6 g / 0 g

Day 14 - Green Torch Coral:  8.5 g / 0 g

Day 15 - Bigfin Reef Squid:  8.5 g / 0 g

Day 16 - Hairy Hermit Crab:  8.8 g / 0 g

Day 17 - Peacock Mantis Shrimp:  8.5 g / 0 g

Pattern:  Improvised - Boomerang Garter Stitch Shawl

Yarn:  Mad Scientist Yarns Hybrid, 2021 Jekyll Advent Calendar

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Comfort Blanket - 19 Blocks Done

No blogging last weekend as we were in California for my step-daughter’s graduation from her surgical residency program.  It was a good trip, busy, and tiring.  But I have been making fairly steady progress on my Comfort Blanket.  I even caked up all of the remaining mini-skeins and took this with me, but I only managed to knit a few rows.

Day 18

Day 17

Day 16

Day 15

Day 14

Day 13

Most ends have been woven in, and I will add some sort of edging.

The colors so far:

Day 1 - Blue Sea Squirt:  20.5 g / 8.4 g

Day 2 - Brain Coral:  20.8 g / 8.6 g

Day 3 - Electric Clam:  20.4 g / 8.4 g

Day 4 - Violet Sea Slug:  20.5 g / 8.4 g

Day 5 - Peppermint Shrimp:  20.2 g / 7.7 g

Day 6 - Squat Lobster:  20.4 g / 8.3 g

Day 7 - Mauve Stinger:  20.7 g / 8.4 g

Day 8 - Larval Grideye Fish:  20.9 g / 8.6 g

Day 9 - Bearded Scorpion Fish:  20.4 g / 8.5 g

Day 10 - Orange Cup Coral:  20.7 g / 8.8 g

Day 11 - Pharaoh Cuttlefish:  20.9 g / 8.5 g

Day 12 - Barred Soapfish:  20.7 g / 8.3 g

Day 13 - Trumpet Anemone:  20.7 g / 8.6 g

Day 14 - Green Torch Coral:  20.7 g / 8.5 g

Day 15 - Bigfin Reef Squid:  20.3 g / 8.5 g

Day 16 - Hairy Hermit Crab:  20.3 g / 8.8 g

Day 17 - Peacock Mantis Shrimp:  20.4 g / 8.5 g

Day 18 - Wart Comb Jelly/Sea Walnut:  20.7 g / 8.9 g

Day 19 - Cockatoo Squid:  20.1 g / 8.5 g

As you can see, I’m using about 12 grams of yarn per square.

Pattern:  Comfort Blanket by Louise Tilbrook

Yarn:  Mad Scientist Yarns Hybrid - 2021 Jekyll Advent Calendar

Needle:  US 3 (3.25 mm)

Bioluminescent Marine Life - 12 Days Done

With each block completed on my Comfort Blanket I add a little more to my Bioluminescent Marine Life shawl.  Here is Day 8.

Day 9.

Day 10.

Day 11.

Day 12.

I did switch to a longer needle at some point in this progression.  I had started on a 24 inch, and I’m now using a 32 inch.  I wore one of my Boomerang shawls last week and just love the way they sit on my shoulders.

Pattern:  Improvised - Boomerang Garter Stitch Shawl

Yarn:  Mad Scientist Yarns Hybrid 2021 Jekyll Advent Calendar

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Comfort Blanket - 12 Blocks Done

While I was focused on finishing up my Campfire Cardi I didn’t make much progress on my Comfort Blanket (I think I only managed one block), so I didn’t bother posting about it last weekend.  But I made up for it this week, finishing 4 more blocks for a total of 5.  The above photo is Day 8.

Day 9.

Day 10.

Day 11.

Day 12.

The colors so far:

Day 1 - Blue Sea Squirt

Day 2 - Brain Coral

Day 3 - Electric Clam

Day 4 - Violet Sea Slug

Day 5 - Peppermint Shrimp

Day 6 - Squat Lobster

Day 7 - Mauve Stinger

Day 8 - Larval Grideye Fish

Day 9 - Bearded Scorpion Fish

Day 10 - Orange Cup Coral

Day 11 - Pharaoh Cuttlefish

Day 12 - Barred Soapfish

Pattern:  Comfort Blanket by Louise Tilbrook

Yarn:  Mad Scientist Yarns Hybrid - 2021 Jekyll Advent Calendar

Needle:  US 3 (3.25 mm)

Campfire Cardi - Finished!

Once I finished the sleeves and blocked the cardigan I focused on finishing up the button bands.  As I mentioned in the last post I didn’t really get what the designer was doing for that part of the design, and the whole joining as you go and picking up the stitches to join as you go just seemed way too fiddly for me.  So I decided to use the same ribbing pattern on the button bands and neck edge.  I also wanted a nice turn on the corner for the transition from the button bands to the neck edge.  In the end I worked the button bands first.  Based on the gauge of the cabled rib I picked up 5 stitches for every 6 rows along the front edge, 108 stitches total.  To figure out the number of stitches to pick up I used the stitch gauge from the cable rib on the hem and used it with the row gauge from the front to determine the ratio.  After the pick up I worked a wrong side set up row to establish the pattern of k1, (k1, p2), end k2.  I worked 5 stitch button holes centered on a purl stitch on rows 9 (bind off) and 10 (cast on).  I matched the cable to the cable on each side, so the right hand button band has left twist, and the left hand button band has right twist.  I worked 19 rows of the cabled rib, binding off on row 20.

Once both button bands were finished I started working the neck edge.  I picked up 2 stitches for every 3 rows along the top of the button band (14 stitches), 9 stitches for every 10 rows along the neck edge (56 stitches), and one for one along the back neck (46 stitches).  To figure out the number of stitches to pick up along the neck edge I measured the length of the neck edge, and used the cable rib gauge to calculate the number of stitches I needed, then counted the number of rows and figured out the ratio.  I placed a marker in the center back and switched the cable orientation at the marker so that the cables matched the button band cables.  After the pickup I worked a wrong side set up row of p14, (k1, p2) to 1 stitch before the center back, k1, sm, k1, (p2, k1) to last 14 stitches, p14.  The stitch count gave me two purl stitches at the center back, one before the marker and one after the marker.  Across the top of the button bands I worked a stockinette triangle, decreasing on the right side rows as follows:  ssk, k to last 2 stitches of button band edge, k2tog, work cable pattern to the other button band, ssk, k to last 2 stitches of button band edge, k2tog.  I worked 15 rows for the neck edge and bound off on row 16.

I am very happy with how the cardigan turned out.  The fabric is great, my gauge was spot on and consistent for the whole project, and I love the contrast edging.  And better yet, I used stash yarn.

Pattern:  Sage Cardi by Zanete Knits

Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy

Needle:  US 3 (3.25 mm) for the body, US 4 (3.5 mm) for the sleeves

Campfire Cardi - Both Sleeves Done

When I began working the sleeves I started with a new skein, and divided it in half so I could just work the sleeve without having to worry about watching my yarn usage.  When I reached the end the half skein I switched to the leftover skein from the body.  Once I finished the sleeves I blocked the Cardi so that I could get a good gauge on the hem ribbing, as I was thinking of using it for the button bands.  I tried to understand what the designer called for in the pattern for the button band, and even watched her video but just didn’t want to go there.

After blocking the fabric does relax a little and has a lot more drape.  Some of that is probably just due to the fact that this is a superwash merino yarn.  I did measure things after blocking and it did not grow.  One thing that I realized when I was blocking it was the front would naturally be shorter than the back due to the cabling.  The pattern does not provide a gauge for the cabled section.

To block I just laid it out on my very first blocking board.  It folds in half for easy storage, and has handles.  I love it for garments.  I did pin the front edges to keep them from curling and to make it easier to pick up stitches for my button bands.

Pattern:  Sage Cardi by Zanete Knits

Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy

Needle:  US 3 (3.25 mm) for the body, US 4 (3.5 mm) for the sleeves