Finished, or nearly finished, projects

I'm still knitting.

I haven't done an update on my knitting projects lately, and I have no good excuse.

First, though, I want to share the crib quilt I'm making for a friend's grandchild. I used to make crib quilts and do meticulous, unbelievably time-consuming hand quilting. Recently, I've come to my senses. Why spend so much time on a project that will probably be dragged around the house or fed to the dog?

So I'm machine-quilting this one. But I'm discovering that machine-quilting isn't particularly fun. I asked for a new sewing machine 2-3 years ago because my trusty old Kenmore, vintage 1973, cannot be fitted with a quilting foot.

Santa Claus came through, as he always does, and brought me a new Kenmore. It's not half the machine of my old Kenmore, though. Its parts are mostly plastic, it sounds like a car badly in need of a tune-up, and it's so unfamiliar to me that I use it with the directions book open at all times.

I subscribe to the Craftzine blog, and at the end of August this project was featured. It looked simple enough, and heaven knows I have enough leftover fabric scraps on hand to make dozens of quilts, so I set to work. I have the quilt about half quilted but have hit a road block because the sewing machine is acting up. I haven't taken the time to try to figure out the source of the problem, but I need to do that soon because I hate having half-finished projects lying around. (I'm putting a flannel backing on the quilt, thinking that will make it just that much cozier for the recipient.)

Now back to my knitting.

I finished the Mondo Cable Pulli in late July. It came out quite well, but there's a slight glitch on the neck edging, which is the first thing I see when I look at the sweater. I need to take out a few stitches and try to re-do that spot, I know. Or wear the sweater only with wide, wide collars. One or the other. Maybe an Elizabethan collar will do the trick. My dog hates the darn things, though, so probably I would, too.

In mid-August I was getting tired of the monotony of knitting my first full-sized afghan (see below), so I decided to knit a Girl's Ballerina Kimono for a certain little ballerina I know. Then I found out the ballerina is now a former ballerina, as she has opted not to pursue ballet this year.

Now for the afghan. I took photos of our living room rug to Kaleidoscope Yarns in Essex Jct., VT, at the end of July. A kind and creative sales clerk spent a good deal of time helping me select yarn colors to match various colors in the rug.

I came back home, started knitting, and soon realized I hated the afghan pattern I'd chosen. Too many yarn-color changes, too often. Too many loose ends to weave in.

So I switched to this pattern, which still has many yarn changes but not as frequently.

I can't say I'm wildly in love with the finished product, but it's finished, and it'll be warm to snuggle under, with the wood stove doing its part, when I take my afternoon naps this winter.

Finally, there's these socks.
I started them while in China in May, knit feverishly each day and on the flight home,...then set them aside.

I had every intention of finishing them during the ride to Vermont (see above) in late July, but soon discovered an error in the heel and raveled out several rows. Yesterday I decided to face the inevitable, raveled back several more rows, picked up the 60 stitches, and am back on track. I've successfully turned the heel this morning, so the rest of the sock should be smooth sailing. Or maybe it won't, since I've just predicted it will. Whatever. These socks will be finished at some point, darn it.