My Loom Has Seen Better Days

look at my loom! its all scratched up and falling apart!





and while i'm knitting, i have to occasionally push some pegs more firmly in. they seem to be a bit wiggly and coming a bit loose. they haven't completely fallen out yet. when that happens, i'm gonna bring out the good 'ole super glue and put them back it. the green round kk loom has already lost the anchor peg. i just found it under the couch a few days ago. i glued that back in. the yellow round loom is all scratched up too. i think i heard somewhere that you're suppose to laquer or put clear nail polish on the pegs when you first get the looms to make it last longer. i think its time for a new set...

The Newest Baby Blanket

yup, i went and lost my mind and decided to start another baby blanket. this one i'm doing on the small round blue kk loom. i'm using Vanna's Choice yarn in brown and green. i bought 4 skeins of each color, so i better not run out! this time, i'm doing five or six long panels which i'm gonna seam together. don't ask me how. i was thinking about trying to crochet them. or maybe a mattress seam, although i'm not good at either of them. i could also do an i-cord and seam the panels to that. i'm sorta thinking of doing something big and chunky in black yarn so if it comes out too bad, it won't look that obvious.

don't mind the color in this pic. i don't know why it looks so washed out.


i'm just doing a flat knit stitch. its the easiest and fastest thing. but i'm playing around with the idea of doing something different for the two middle panels. we'll see how long it takes me to get these other panels done first and then i'll decide. i took this pic a few days ago. i'm done with this panel now. i'm just stuck on the bind off.

so far i've run across one major problem besides the question of how i'm going to seam it together. how am i gonna get the cast on and cast offs to look the same?! i did a cable cast on. looks like this:



it kinda reminds me of the chunky braid stitch. from all my research, there isn't a cable cast off. so now i'm stuck with two options. either i can do a different bind off on the bottom and just have two looks. or i can do a flat panel bind off and have a curly top and a straight bottom. it will give the blanket an obvious top and bottom, which would be kinda cool. i may just do that. i'm just waiting to hear back from the people on the loom list on yahoo. a lot of them are much more experienced loomers than me and i'm sure they'll have better ideas.

UFO's and New Looms

okay. i still haven't finished that baby blanket. i did more work on it, but then i stopped and went on to something else. and i never finished that sock. again, i did more work on it, but then i got distracted. it looks like i'm not gonna be much good at long term projects! in the mean time, i started two more projects. i'm doing a skinny scarf for my sister with that bernat shimmer yarn in brown. well, i sorta put it down to start on another project. i'm actually doing it on the efg wonder sock loom on the other end from where the sock is, so i've got two UFOs on that loom! and i'm working on another baby blanket! yeah, that's right, ANOTHER baby blanket! but this time i'm doing panels, but i'll do another post about that with pics. but anyways, i really really want to finish up that other first blanket, but i don't like it anymore! its really thick and heavy cause its double stitched on the long loom. its tedious to do a row and awkward because of the shape of the loom. now that i know more about looming, i'll never do a blanket that way again. but now i'm stuck with this unfinished thing on my loom that's been warped out of shape cause its been on there so long! i don't want to finish it! but i have too, because i won't be able to do two blankets in the time i have left! so my plan is to put my all into finishing up this newest blanket first. my friend is due may 14th (two days after my birthday!) then finish up that other blanket for my other friend who's due in july. i may just make the side panels in a single stitch and just have a bulkier middle. here's a link to the post about that other blanket, in case you forgot. as for that sock...i really don't know. i've had too many bad turns with that Kitchener stitch! yeah, i had another incident that i just couldn't write about. lets just say i got so angry i almost broke my blue round loom. i know, i know. very childish. in hindsight, i am very ashamed of myself. but i really don't want to go near that stitch again for a while.
i actually just bought two looms second-hand off a fellow member of the dalooms list on yahoo. one is a fine gauge mini wonderloom. i'll probably try another sock on that. it may be a bit easier and faster cause its a slightly larger gauge. i also bought a ten inch authentic knitting board off of her. she was selling them at really great prices! only $30 for the mini wonderloom and $15 for the knitting board!!!! isn't that great!!!! now i'll have more looms to put my UFOs on! LOL!

UPDATE: The Never-Ending Sock

I DID IT!!!!!!!!! that's right, i finally did that heel! and you know what? apparently i'm a big baby, 'cause it was nothin'! actually, i think it was easier than on some of the bigger looms. so now i'm all set to finish this sock. my next hurdle will be doing the grafting for the toe, and we all know how my last kitchener stitch experience went... i just hope fear of ruining this sock won't make me put it down for 2 months again! i'll post pics of the heel as soon as it gets some more length and clears the bottom of the loom. YAY!!! so excited!!

Mitten and Hooded Scarf

YAY!!! made a hooded scarf and mitten set for my friend!!!! it came out soooo cute. of course, there were a few mishaps. i decreased wrong on one side. one side of the scraf is longer than the other. But all in all, i'm psyched!!! so, here are the details, but keep in mind i rarely count stitches. i just work it til it looks even. i'm sorry and i know it makes it difficult to gauge how much yarn you'll need. i plan to go back and do it again and get the proper numbers later:

Mittens:
yarn- Lion's Brand Wool Ease Think & Quick in claret, small amount of Bernat Shimmer in brown for the cuff

loom- ITA mitten loom

stitches- rib stitch K2 P2, 2 over 1 e-wrap, 1 over 1 e-wrap.

this is basically the one loomed mitten design found here. i just did a ribbed cuff instead of the brim. and i adjusted the numbers slightly because the yarn was so thick. i used one skein of Thick & Quick to make both mittens. i used the rib stitch, K2 P2, to make the cuff. but the loom is 18 pegs, so at one point, you're gonna have to K4. the cuff is worked holding one strand of the claret and one strand of the shimmer in brown. i think i did this for about 12 rows. (i actually had notes written up so i could make the mittens symmetrical, but i lost them!! ARG!) then i dropped the Shimmer yarn and just used the claret and began doing a 2 over 1 stitch. this was a little hard on the fingers, but i wanted the mitten to be really thick and warm. you do about 7 rows, and then begin the flat panel for the thumb.
knit pegs 1-5,then turn back and knit pegs 6-2 for 25 rows.
you slipped the first stitch as you went back and forth to make a nice almost braided looking edge which is easier to seam up afterwards. i did the thumb with a regular 1 over 1 e-wrap.
began to knit in the round, going back to 2 over 1, until the mitten is the appropriate length. i can't for the life of me remember how many rows that was. i just stuck my hand in the mitten to gauge the size. then i did a little decrease to make the top not so bulky.
i moved stitches 1, 5, 10, and 15 to the pegs to the right of them and knit off.
then i did a gathered bind off. seam up the thumb and the mittens all done!


The Scarf:
well, the scarf was knit off the top of my head, making it up as i went along. just a warning, i'm not a pattern writer. these directions are crappy, but i'll go back later and spruce them up. here's the details:

yarn- 1 skein Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick in claret, 1 skein of the same in black.

loom- yellow knifty knitter long loom (38 pegs)

stitches- figure 8 stitch, flat panel e-wrap

i began by casting on the fist 15 pairs of pegs using the figure 8 stitch. i used stitch markers to mark all 30 stitches of the first row. i did not use the end pegs at all. after about 5 inches or so, i realized the hood wasn't going to be deep enough if i didn't make it wider, so i began to increase, one pair at a time.
so, as i wrapped my way back up the pegs, when i got to the 15th pair, i also wrapped the 16th pair twice, still using the figure 8 stitch, so i got two rows of stitches on the pegs. now i'm using 16 pairs of pegs. i knit for 4 rows, then i increases another pair. knit another 4 rows. i continued this till all the pegs (except the end pegs) were wrapped. i knit until i had about 10 inches of material the width of the entire loom.

then i began the decrease. now, i did this wrong, but i'll tell you guys the correct way. so, you're at the 18th pair. you take the loop from the 17th pair, bring them over onto the 18th pegs and knit off. then move the loops from the 18th pegs and put them on the empty 17th pegs. knit four rows. decrease again and knit four rows. do this until you're back down to 15 pegs. knit until you have another 5 inches or so, or until its even, meaning if you folded the hood part in half to knit the seam, the increases and decreases line up and the sides are the same length. by this time, i only had about 18 inches of yarn left over. i left this as i planned to use it to seam up the hood later. now its time to introduce the black yarn. you should have 1 row wrapped on the loom. wrap a row of black over that and knit off.
i did 8 rows of black, then i began the decrease. decrease one pair of pegs. knit four rows. decrease another pair. knit four rows. do this until you are using 9 pairs of pegs. knit 4 more rows.

now its times to make the double panel a single panel.
alright, so you have nine pairs of pegs being used, numbered 1-9 from left to right on rows 1 and 2. you're going to criss-cross the pegs as you combine them to get a nice even spaced holey design.
so, you take the loop from peg 8 on row 1 and place it on peg nine on row 2. take the loop from peg 9 on row 1 and place it on peg 8 on row 2. knit off.
loop 6 row 1 goes onto peg 7 row 2, loop 7 row 1 goes on peg 6 row 2. knit off
loop 4 row 1 goes onto peg 5 row 2, loop 5 row 1 goes on peg 4 row 2. knit off
loop 2 row 1 goes onto peg 3 row 2, loop 3 row 1 goes onto peg 2 row 2. knit off
loop 1 row 1 goes onto loop 2 row 2. knit off
now you have nine pegs one 1 side of the loom and you can begin to knit a flat panel using the e-wrap. i knit till the piece was about 7 inches. this part curls up on itself and makes a nice tube like ending.

switch the piece around and put the other end of the hood back on the loom and repeat with the black yarn. Ta-Da!!






i know, i know, that was terrible directions! i promise, i will re-do this later, with accurate numbers, and maybe a video or two to illustrate my point, in about a month or so. i just really need to finish up on this never-ending blanket and sock and maybe make a baby cocoon. and then i'll re-do this properly. but i have to get this down or else i'll forget what i did.

I Must Be Crazy

After the Kitchener stitch nightmare, I had to sooth myself by buying some new yarn at A.C. Moore. Yeah, I just spent $90 on new yarns! And you know what? I do feel better! :-D

Kitchener Stitch Nightmare

okay y'all. i'm a little upset so this post will be brief cause i don't want to talk about it!!! anyways, i was working on a beautiful sock-slipper for my friend for Christmas. i'm already late with the present. i'm already in a rush. i get the first sock done and i decide to go ahead and use the Kitchener stitch to close the toe, cause the sock is pretty bulky and nothing else will look right. but i don't have knitting needles. no problem, i'll follow the directions on the http://www.loomknittinghelp.com/ website, which gives direction for how to do a Kitchener stitch right off the loom. but i get confused. and i loose track of which way i last put the needle. and a few loops fall of the peg as i pass the yarn through them. and my yarn is too short so i have to do a knot to to attach more yarn. which makes the yarn a b$#%h to pull through. and what do i end up with? a big tangled mess of a seam that looks NOTHING like the Kitchener stitch and a ruined sock. i was so upset i almost cried. back to square one.