Do Over ~ Week 4 (Portable Projects with a Cause)

Yeah, yeah I know. It's actually week five. Don't get all caught up in that number thing! It's just been crazy around here. Busy, busy, busy and the weather has been so stinkin' hot that it's not even fun (not much) to even knit. Temps haven't been all that bad, but it's the humidity that gets me. Ugh. Some days all we do is lay around and read a book.  Hm...if I could get the kid to turn the pages for me I think I would be all set!! Right now it's 0646 am and the temp is only 75degrees! ONLY. The humidity however,  is 98%. Gonna be a real nice day. Yeah. Real nice.
Anyway..... it's week 4 of the project! Woot! Everyone is knitting up their blocks and learning some new things along the way! Miss N has already completed her first set of ALL 6 blocks and is heading off to make the second set. What an overachiever!  Miss T~ the crochet queen has been whipping hers out in between making some pretty fabulous monkeys & washcloths! AND she's also 'learning' knitting... more on that later!   Royal D admits that she didn't mind the color work block (#3) and has finished it, but also admits the yarn that was giving her fits.
 Even her kids laughed at her with her when she was done! **Please admire the block to your right... the tension is perfect, the color choice amazing.. yep! It's a nice block! It is a bit crunchy.. but D is right... the yarn stinks!   Such a snob! *me too!! 
 Me? Um... I'm waiting for the Princess' Mommy to finish her block and then I will move forward!  *That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!  Honestly? I really haven't been knitting.  Oh... I've got projects on the needles (multiples) but I keep getting distracted by just about anything else that comes along! Today I WILL make a block four! I will!  It's looking like rain this morning so I might as well settle in and knock it out!
Here's the pattern just to keep you all up to speed~ Once again using those size 8's and washable worsted weight yarn....
Bean Sprouts
*Multiple of 6 sts +5
With A: Cast on 41 sts
Row 1 (RS): With A, knit.
Row 2: With A, purl
Row 3: With B, k2 *sl 1 wyib, k1: repeat from * to last 3 sts, sl 1 wyib, k2
Row 4: With B, k2, sl 1 wyif, *k, sl 1 wyif, p1 sl 1 wyif, k1, sl 1 wyif; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2
Row 5: With A, k2, *k3, sl 1 wyib, k2; rep from * to last 3 sts, k3
Row 6: With A, p3, * p2, sl 1 wyif, p3; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2
Row 7 & Row 8: Repeat rows 5 and 6
Row 9 & Row 10: Repeat rows 1 and 2
Row 11: With C, *k1, sl 1 wyib; rep from* to last st, k1
Row 12: With C, k1, sl 1 wyif, p1, *[sl 1 wyif, k1] twice, sl 1 wyif, p1: rep from * to last 2 sts,
                sl 1 wyif, k1
Row 13: With A, k2, *sl 1 wyib, k5; rep from * to last 3 sts, sl 1 wyib, k2
Row 14:  With A, p2, sl 1 wyif, *p5, sl 1 wyif; rep from* to last 2 sts, p2
Row 15 and Row 16: Rep rows 13 and 14
Repeat rows 1-16 until piece measures 10" from beginning and end with Row 8 or Row 16
** Just make sure your block ends up being about the same size as the other 3 blocks you've made already**~ if you're doing the project with us!

See?! I've already started. Too bad this yarn is that 'crunchy' stuff.... needs to go into the washer!

Which btw is an experiment in the works and fodder for more posts!

Do Over Week 3

Portable Projects with a Cause is definitely A GO!!!  Thanks to all my wonderful new friends and their knitting & crochet talents,  I think we may end up with (definitely 2) three complete afghans at the end!

 This is just a sample of the blocks we have completed!  Block 1 - Big Bamboo, Block 2 - Horseshoe Cable and now ... insert drum roll please...

Block 3 - Peas & Carrots!!

Don't worry, it's really simple! It only looks hard! It's just a matter of (gasp!) working with three yarns.... ha ha! Really you only work with one at a time! Not some fancy schmancy color work but it certainly looks like it could be!  In this block you just slip some stitches to make it look a lot harder than it actually is!
So... starting out with 3 yarns (all different of course!) *definitely try and use something that coordinates (or is the same) as blocks one and two!  Pick a main color... in the block above, white was the main (color A) color. Red = B & Blue = C.

Cast on 42 Sts.
Row 1 (wrong side): with A, purl
Row 2 : With B, k1, sl 1 wyib, *k2, sl2 wyib; repeat from * to last 4 sts, k2, sl 1 wyib, k1.
*** WYIB means 'with yarn in back'... no worries... just hold your yarn like you would normally knit with it... in the back!! Some patterns have you bringing it to the front (as if to purl) to make a wrap and/or to slip the stitches, this one just wants us to keep it in the back when we are knitting a row. Guess what we do with it when we are purling?!! Yep! You guessed it!! With yarn in front!! WYIF!!
Row 3: With B, p1, sl 1 wyif, p2, *sl 2 wyif, p2; repeat from * to last 2 sts, sl 1 wyif, p1
Row 4:  With A, knit entire row
Row 5: With C, *p2, sl 2 wyif; repeat from * to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 6: With C, k2, *sl2 2 wyib, k2; repeat from * across
Repeat Rows 1-6 until piece measures 10'/25.5cm from beginning. Bind off.


The biggest trick to this is remembering to slip those stitches!! And of course to make sure that when you are slipping those stitches that you don't pull your yarn too tight! If you do, it will just smoosh it up and make it tighter! Don't worry though because once we block it, it should stretch out a bit and better yet... when we attach it to the other blocks; we'll never notice!

Again.... for the crochet version. I will ask my resident crochet expert, Ms. T for a little direction and maybe a guest post!
****
WYIF - with yarn in front. Just means to bring the yarn to the front - almost like you were going to purl with it.
WYIB - with yarn in back. Just hold your yarn in back; just like you do in knitting.
sl - slip
sts- stitches
* bla, bla; repeat from * across.... repeat the pattern directions inside the *'s

Fiddly Knitting

For the longest time I didn't even want to attempt cables. They looked so fiddly and really kind of hard. Eek?! A cable needle? I can barely handle working with DPNs! What the heck am I going to do with a (gasp) cable needle?  Sounded like a sure way to lose an eye!
I guess  I was pretty content to just knit and purl and maybe ocasionally throw in a fussy sort of stitch (ugh bobbles...) but I wasn't willing to make something with cables. Nope. Didn't want to..until I saw someone creating with them.  That someone just happened to be my backhoe buddy AND I had  taught her (pretty much forced her) to knit!  Um. Yeah. Nothing like a little healthy competition to spurn me into action! Sometimes that's all it takes and I'm off and running! Or in this case..... cable~ing!
Well BB (Backhoe Buddy) told me cables were easy and not intimidating and of course I could do it. Whatever.  I resisted. Quite a bit at first, but once I saw where she was going with these (read.. not wanting to be shown up...) I tried.
 Well.... she's right. Yeah.... that hurts to say it out loud, but she was right in this one and only  instance.
Cables are fussy and fiddly, but once you get the hang of it you won't even need a cable needle!
Which may be a bummer for Royal D & Princess' Momma.... but I think even they will like cables!
I'm working on my second block #2 in the portable projects with a cause.... you should almost be there I think and this means CABLES! Woo hoo! C'mon! I can do it so that means you can too!

My second version of block #2 is in solid red. I like how it looks in a solid rather than the variegated blue I used for the first time around.  Solid colors will make your cable work POP out!

The cable stitches in the pattern read like this:  AND I can hear you saying.... WHAT? REALLY? WHOA....

*Special Sts*

 6-st RC (3 over 3 right cross) Slip 3 sts to cable needle and hold in back, k3 then k3 from cable needle

6-st LC (3 over 3 left cross) Slip 3 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k3 then k3 from cable needle. It's pretty simple; honest. Just ask BB she'll tell you.... but to help you along the way I'm showing you how I did it. *sorry but Boy is using the video camera so I got stuck with the regular one!



For this pattern... purl the first 6 stitches... slip the next three onto a cable needle (the darker needle) and hold it in back (Right cross), knit the next 3 stitches off of your left needle. Slip the stitches on the cable needle back onto your left needle and knit them.


Next you will do the next 3 in the cable section... the 6-st LC (3 over 3 left cross).  It's easy.. you just did the RC right?! Slip the next 3 stitches onto the cable needle (purlwise is easier) and hold them in FRONT... then knit the next 3 stitches off of your left needle...

Now you slip the slipped stitches (those on the cable needle?) back onto your left needle and knit them! Just like you did before... only difference is where you held the slipped stitches! Back or front! That's what makes the cable twist this way or that way! It really means more fiddly farting around... but it will work out !  That's how we get the 'twist' into the cable!

 Now you purl the next 6 stitches (that center portion) and repeat the cable process for the left side! Just follow the pattern for the remaining rows and repeat the cable section as directed! You only have to do it six (?) times for this block?

It's kind of cool how it looks like you put a whole lot of effort into your knitting fabric, but really you don't. Just twist 3 stitches this way, 3 that way... a couple of times this way, a couple that way and with the purl stitches helping it all pop out.... you made some amazing knitting!

Go you!!

Seriously......... go you! Get some blocks done!!