The next techniques and patterns introduced me to new challenges and to new yarn and I was really enjoying the anticipation and surprise and the camaraderie and support on the Ravelry threads for each project. The accompanying videos were so clear and informative you were never at a loss for direction.
Knitted on edging - this was the first real hurdle for me. I tried the cast on several times before I was happy and did proceed to knit the whole hat, mastering the complex lace repeats until I reached the edging. To be honest, I did not complete the project and block it to ensure that it was the right size. I tried it on and it was too small before the edging was added. I had to be really honest with myself and acknowledge that I was unlikely to wear the hat and thus it would probably be wiser to quit while ahead, and reuse the yarn in another project. This is did successfully within a couple of months, but more on that later.
Turning a heel - I have knitted many pairs of socks but I know there is still much to learn. The interesting technique of knitting into the back of the heel flap edging stitches to ensure a neat pick up was new to me, and very effective. I had never done a slip stitch heel flap either so there was plenty of new learning to apply. I had also never knitted a patterned sock - k2 p2 rib had been as adventurous as I had been. I had nearly always used a self patterning yarn and these were the first socks I knitted in a plain yarn with a lace pattern and they will not be my last as I have discovered so many lovely patterns on Ravelry and have been inspired with ideas for my own patterns too. Socks as a blank canvas for the imagination - who knew? (Lots of people, obviously!).
Provisional cast on - this time I chose the crochet cast on rather than Judy's magic cast on. This was by far the largest project so far but it was a relaxing knit and very rewarding. I chose the largest size to make the most of the yarn in the kit and ordered an additional skein to be sure I could complete the required size. As the yarn was hand-dyed, it wasn't really a surprise that each of the four skeins was slightly different, two were very similar, the third was lighter and the fourth was much darker and bluer. I was glad I noticed this when I was winding them into balls as it allowed me to plan a strategy to deal with the issue. I decided to start and finish the main body of the blanket with the two similar skeins, use the lighter one in the middle (fading it in and out in two row stripes). You can see the hint of striping in the photo above. I then used the darker skein to complete the knitted on lace edging. So even though I had missed out on the knitted on edging in June's project, I had the chance to practice it here. It is a super warm and cosy wrap/blanket - and a lovely pattern that I will knit again at some point in the future.
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