Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Project Four: Finishing What You've Started

I have a bad habit of starting things and not finishing them. While this statement can (unfortunately) be broadly applied to most aspects of my life, it is particularly evident in my knitting habits. Here's the proof...

The yarn:


Visible in this photo are parts of a bag that I felted and hated, a single sock, a single mitten, a baby sweater that needs blocking and buttons, half a hat, unfinished toys, a sweater without sleeves and a cat bed. Some of these projects will be finished, some will be frogged, the fate of others remains undetermined.

The project:

The fluffy purple pieces on the left were started in January, 2007 with the goal of making the cat bed from Stitch 'n Bitch. The bed was intended as a second birthday present for the very handsome Little T, pictured below.


Little T is now four years old. I have no reason or excuse for why it took so long, but this is just one of those projects that got put to the side. I finally picked it back up, and in THREE DAYS it was done.

The result:

The cats were already enjoying the project when it was in progress. As evidenced, Milo didn't hesitate in testing it out before it was even sewn.



Eventually it was sewn, however. The pattern didn't call for stuffing, but I thought it would be improved by a little fattening up, so the sides were sewn into a tube and stuffed with polyfil before being stitched to the bottom mat.


Perfect!

The rest:

All of the cats love it, except Little T... of course! He has yet to step foot in it, but I'm not too worried. I'm sure it will get plenty of use!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Project Three: Swine Flu Blanket

Such-titled for the significant amount of knitting accomplished while screening people for the pandemic at the health centre where I work. This huge blanket garnered much attention everywhere I went. Strangers repeatedly asked me for assurance: "It's for a girl, right?" It's not.

Knit for the punk-rock baby of a friend. Seriously, this kid is cooler than you, and he's not even eight pounds yet.

The yarn:

Knit Picks' Swish DK, in Coal and Petal. Took way more yarn than called for, approximately seven balls of each colour to make size small.

The project:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall08/PATTopart.html

The result:


The rest: It was a pain to knit with over 600 stitches in the outer rounds, but much-appreciated by Baby H's parents. I'm sure Baby H will appreciate it too, as soon as he wakes up from his nap.