It's time to get busy on the Bernat Afgan KAL as I am 'behind' -- though the pace and end date are really of my own choosing. I reckon I don't really need to finish when the clue givers tell me to finish. How's that for knitter rebellion.
As for the bacon and the time, the dots are connected this way. Decided it was time to make haste on the many blocks of the Afghan KAL. The latest clue calls for 8 more blocks. The first clue was for 8 and the second clue for 4. I'm hugely and majorly 'behind.'
So I decided on three-at-a-time.
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| The blue block is this week's clue, so it might be a 'spoiler' for any readers who are also doing the KAL. |
There are three Clue 1 blocks on my US8 Brittany wood needles. The purple pins at the bottom of each tell me which is the right side, which is where the increases take place. The blocks shown each have about 13 stitches. The blocks are all knit, garter stitch, where each row -- back and front -- are knit. BUT you have to increase on each side of the right side. Thus the pins.
Bacon? I love bacon and as a small gift many mornings, my husband will add a few slices to his microwave plate and present the finished items on a paper towel for me to nibble as I finish my coffee. Yes, quite sweet.
This morning when he presented the bacon gift, I was in the middle of a row of the three blocks. And here's the essential rule: do not -- underline not -- stop in the middle of a row, leaving one or two blocks on a needle, with the remaining on the other. No matter how carefully you put down the set of needles, Murphy says something will happen, and you will lose your place. Not irredeemable but a pain when there are many more stitches on each of the three blocks.
So the bacon had to wait. The treat was worth it.
Sample blocks of Clues 1 and 2 follow. I love the colors, though I had no idea how they would be distributed in the afghan.
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| Clue 1 -- I will need 4 of each combination. |
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| Clue 3 is blue. I'll need 8 of these. Clue 2 is the partially completed cream one on the holder. It's knitted as a regular square, not on the diagonal. I'll need 4 of these, I think. |
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| Close-up of the various textures. The designers have done a great job making sure the afghan will be snuggly. Texture stitches add depth to the appearance as well as to the final fabric. The yarn is also quite soft but this doesn't interfere with knitting. It's a very knittable yarn. |
Making a fair bit of progress. The 3-at-a-time keeps the project from being portable, but I can always slip off two of the squares, make a note of the stitch count, and take one of the squares with me to the dentist's waiting room or next baseball club board meeting.
Lesley asked me about keeping multiple items on one needle, especially for a tip about how to keep tangling to a minimum. Here's the secret that works for me. At the end of a right side row I establish how I will turn the left needle, now the one with knitting on it. I use the point as a reference and turn it either away from me or toward my body. Opposite turn at the end of the wrong side row. This goes a long way toward keeping things fairly neat. Even if you forget once or twice it's not a mess to undo.
Another tip -- keep the balls of yarn lying on the floor next to the couch. Keep them in order based on the right side knitting. This will give you a hint when it's time to turn at the end of a wrong side row. You could label the label with a 1, 2, or 3, depending on which ball of yarn is being used for which piece on the needle.
After all of that I think I need more bacon.
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