WIP Wednesday, sort of - and a FO

Hi! Wow, it's been a long time since I last blogged. Oops.

My main project right now is a striped scarf in two colors of Malabrigo Rios (Azul Profundo and Pearl Ten) for my husband. He picked the colors. The pattern is the Seeded Rib Easy Reversible Scarf. I'm about halfway done. It was supposed to be his birthday present, but his birthday was October 19 and I (obviously) didn't finish it on time. I wanted to, but my neck and shoulders have been hurting a lot, which hinders my knitting progress.

Anyway, I don't have a picture of the scarf just yet, so I will entertain you with things I am not currently working on but which are WIPs that I will get back to when I finish the scarf.

Here is my Clapotis:

That one's not a great picture of the colors, but here's a close-up that is:

I've gotten to some of the dropped stitch rows! So exciting! This is going to look so cool.

You may have noticed that I ditched the stitch markers (much as I love them) in favor of purl stitches. It really does make this pattern easier - I just had no idea where the purl stitches (which become the dropped stitches) were supposed to go when I started this. Once I figured it out, this technique started to make sense.

And here is another WIP, my Dew Drop Cowl:

It's just a few rows away from being finished in this picture...and now it's actually just 1 row away, 2 if you count the bind-off. I will finish and block this and then post more pics when I'm done. Here's a close-up:

A little messy-looking in some places, but hey, if I wanted only perfect stuff I'd go buy a cowl at a department store or something.

Now for that FO. I kept this one a secret because it was a wedding present for my cousin and his wife:

It's a super cuddly giant Granny square blanket made with Lion Homespun in a bunch of different colors. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out - I hope they are enjoying it. My husband helped me pick the colors. Here's a picture of it folded:

And that's it for today! Scarf pictures next time, I promise!

Red Granny Square Throw

A dear friend of ours had her bridal shower on March 25. As a gift, I made a Giant Granny Square Afghan in her favorite color, red. Yet another pattern using Lion Homespun! 2 strands held together. Pattern calls for a Q hook, but I used a P to get gauge, and because I didn't want it to be too holey. Here are some pictures.





I am so happy with the way it turned out. It's warm and cuddly and pretty. The bride-to-be and her fiance really like it. Hooray!!!

Here it is all packaged up for the shower, in its huge gift bag:



It was fun to have such a big gift to give! It was saved for last, and everyone "oohed" and "ahhed" and passed it around, and of course I felt really good. :)

This was not a complicated project. I mean, come on, it's a giant granny square. Once you know how to make a basic granny square, you're all set. It took quite a while to make, but it was easy and fun. I really enjoyed seeing it grow! I plan to make another as a wedding gift for another friend, and eventually make one for us as well.

WIPs (WsIP?)

This weekend's been very low-key, since I've been sick and want to make sure I get enough rest. I spent yesterday at home doing various things (nothing the least bit strenuous!), and today looks like it will be much the same.

Last night, I started working on an oven mitt (got the pattern for free from the Bernat web site). I messed it up a few times, but now it's coming along nicely.

Took a break from that today and decided to start working on a Pilloghan, since the "easy" ripple afghan I'd started earlier wasn't so easy! I ripped up the ripple 'ghan and started the Pilloghan. It took me a few hours just to master the basic granny square in the pattern. D'oh. I've got it now, though. :) (And now that I know what to do, it's really easy!) I'm excited about the Pilloghan--I need more pillows, and I need an afghan, so this works well! And I love the geometric pattern. I'm only doing it in 3 colors--light blue, orangey red, and mustard. (I have a great multicolored rug in my living room, and this will match nicely.)

I'm using Caron One Pound yarn for it, which is proving to be a little annoying. I had never worked with it before, but it was such a good deal that I figured I should use it for this afghan. Well, talk about a yarn with no give. I mean, I was working with cotton yarn all day yesterday for potholders and the oven mitt, and the Caron One Pound seems to be even less stretchy! Weird. I had to switch the Pilloghan pattern from a G hook to an I hook, but now I think it'll be fine.

I was all excited to watch the episode of "Bridezillas" that my DVR recorded for me early this morning...when I turned it on, it was the same ep I'd seen last weekend. :( I am addicted to that show. It makes me feel sane in the midst of my wedding-planning frenzy. If I think about it too much, the show offends my feminist sensibilities--so I try not to think about it and just laugh at the crazy ladies. ;)