Shaded Entrelac

I can't believe I started this way back in April. Those of you following along will remember that I spoke of its hibernation throughout the summer, and picked it up again in the last couple of weeks, to make a concerted effort to finish.


And it's finally done. Measuring out at 42 x 54 inches, it isn't huge, but it's enough to cover me comfortably as I sit on the sofa and watch tv (and I know, because I've been quite warm as I sat under it, as I finished it over the last week or two.) Bear in mind that those are unblocked dimensions -- I chose not to block it for two reasons: One, that I have no space to block a blanket anywhere in my teeny weeny apartment, and Two, that I love the dimension of it. The squares all curl a bit to the purl side, as knitting is wont to do, so it gives a really puffy quilty look to the blanket. The edging came out a bit ruffly, as you can see in the above photo, which I'm sure would be fixed by blocking it, but as I said, that ain't gonna happen.

Looks like it goes on forever, doesn't it.
That's how it felt when I was knitting it.

Each of those squares took around 5 minutes to knit. Do the math, and then shake your head at my insanity.

In other insanity news, I've actually been contemplating knitting another afghan.

I wish I was joking.

So Close...

I am truly in the home stretch with the Entrelac lap throw -- and very eager to be able to have it off the needles. To entertain yourself while I finish it off, go to Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising website, where he is offering his latest feature-length documentary free to download (or watch streaming online.) How progressive of him! I haven't watched the entirety of it yet myself, so I can't give you a full review, but I trust he's made another doozy.

While I'm on the topic of smart and engaging documentaries, if you're into that sort of thing, you really should check out Ironweed Films, which is a fantastic (and inexpensive) film club that sends you a really cool feature-length documentary every month (with a few short films included on the same theme.) I have been a member for about a year and a half, and I would really highly recommend it. Start a film club, expand your library of documentary films, and expand your horizons!

The Handmade Revolution

Because of my own enjoyment of making things by hand, I've been thinking more and more about where things around me come from, and how they are made. I want to support other artisans out there (let's face it: as much as I'd like to, I can't make everything myself.) So when I spent some time last week shopping on etsy for a gift for my boss, I also ended up buying a couple of mugs for myself.
I can honestly tell you (as a earthy sensual Taurus) that the experience of drinking a coffee from a mug thrown and glazed by hand is so much better than something factory-made. I think one special and precious and beloved mug is well worth the price of many boring cookie-cutter ones. Two must be even better, hm? The two I bought were made by the very talented Jen of Papapots, whom I highly recommend. Just look at the glorious robin's egg blue on the inside of the mug on the left, and the cascading brown speckles on the mug on the right. Is it decadent to buy two? I hope so.

Though it might seem I've been coasting along without crafting for a couple of weeks, I haven't -- you may have noticed the progress bars changing on the sidebar, if you've been paying attention. The Entrelac lap throw is slowly growing bigger; I want to get it off my list of WIPs so it isn't hovering over me any more. Also, I don't like having more than one large project on the needles at the same time, and the next one I have going is pretty big. Finishing the two of them will get a huge part of my yarn stash emptied out (and therefore make room for more huge purchases... *evil laugh*) Want a sneak peek of what's up next?

More Blankets Please

Okay, so this is the view out my window today:

Can you blame me for making blankets??

I admit that I felt a bit silly in the last couple of weeks, since I was working on a quilt and planning a knitted lap throw, just as the weather was starting to warm up nicely (I actually went out without a jacket one day last week, which really says something, if you know me.) But then we had some record snowfall for this time of year, and now I don't feel the least bit silly for making so many blankets. I need to keep warm.


I'm still waiting for my quilt frame to arrive, so nothing new on the quilt, but I've wound up some Cascade 220 that I got on the cheap at the Webs sale. Three lovely cool shades of grey that I adore. I've recently gotten the bug to make a lap throw from a pattern that I've been hoarding since I started knitting. I remember when I first began, I saw this entrelac throw and thought it was the most gorgeous thing ever. At the time, the instructions were like Greek and I set it aside for someday when I was more experienced and could figure them out. Of course entrelac is all over the web, and having done enough short-row socks, I was pretty confident that I could handle it now. I was right. Check this out:

Could. You. Die.