I went back to Purl again last week, oh yes I did.
Let's just recap where we are, shall we?
I have on the needles:
Aurora hat, scarf and mittens set for my two year old niece (hat is done, one mitten is done, the other just needs seeming, scarf is almost done)
Yankees hat, scarf and handwarmers set for my eight year old nephew (hat is pretty much done, scarf is about 3/5ths done)
The trouble is that, aside from the snow dump we just had, well, winter is pretty much over and excited as I am for spring to be here, am I going to give these gifts only to have them sit in a closet for the next eight months? Or should I keep them in my closet until then?
Also, the scarf is a plain 2x2 rib and a little monotonous to knit. I mean, so far, I've tried to give myself a new challenge with every piece I've knit but the plain simple sporty eight year old boy look that I wanted for the scarf overruled that. Besides, the hat was challenging and new.
But the real problem is that today my husband's family are having a big St. Patrick's Day get together and I wanted to bring something to knit, especially as I have pretty much lost my voice (combination of sickness and too much talking on my birthday), but I don't want to be knitting gifts that I am giving to people who are present because a) it ruins the surprise and b) it makes those who are not being knitted for jealous.
So, even though I have so far been more of a "one project at a time" kind of knitter, I have started a third project!
Now I realize that Molly is going to be one of the most hatted babies around but I couldn't resist a cute pattern and a gorgeous yarn, all of which will remain super secret until the gift is completed and given, except to say that I am trying a new technique called "the magic loop" whereby you can knit a smaller circumference item in the round using one long circular needle (the same site also has a good tip for a clean join a little way down this page - I was wondering about that when I knit the Yankees hat). It was a little hairy to start with, especially because with the yarn I'm using, you can't really see the stitches so easily, but now that I'm eight or nine rows in, it's coming along nicely, and I definitely recommend this technique.
And how did I end up knitting this way, you might wonder? Well, it wasn't really by choice, but Purl was out of the Addi Turbo's I wanted (12" US #7) and another customer in the store said "what about the magic loop." Honestly, I didn't even realize she was talking to me at first! But the sales assistant concurred and both said it should be easy enough to find out about how to do it on the internet (by the way, there are also some handy video clips although while actually knitting I found it easier to follow the instructions that were written with photos).
Anyway, I really like this method (I'm using 40" US #7 needles) because a) it means you really only have to buy 40" circulars to knit any size hat, mitten or glove and b) you can stay on the same needles as you decrease rather than having to switch to double pointed needles which I found to be rather awkward when I was knitting the Yankees hat. Also, I like the 40" circulars better than the smaller ones because you get longer straight parts to hold onto. I found I didn't really like the short straight parts of the 16" circulars - they kind of stressed me out a bit.
So that's what I bought last week - one skein of super secret yarn for Molly's hat, 40" US #7 Addi Turbos, and also another skein of Shepherd's Worsted in "jeans" to complete the Yankees set, and single pointed Crystal Palace Bamboo needles in US #5 and #6 to flesh out my growing set of needles and in preparation for Uniscarfity.
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