Decision!

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I have decided! The cabled squares that were being considered for either pillows or a quilt will be pillows. I've finished one side of one of the pillows, but need to get more green yarn for the back. I'm really quite nervous; this will be my first adventure with dye lots. I'm hoping that they'll match up well enough that you won't be able to tell. I'd be so frustrated if the front and the back of the pillow looked really different.

I am still going to need to block this side though. The edges are a little curly and I'm pretty sure that it will be MUCH easier to make the pillow if both sides are the same size and lay flat.

I've purchased the materials needed to make a blocking board and I'll be posting soon with a 'how I made my blocking board' tutorial.


Potholders for Curtis
I've also been working on some potholders for my darling boyfriend, Curtis. I've discovered that for him to get things out of the oven, he has been using a mix of dish rag and paper towel. To protect his fingers and reduce fire hazards - as well as for the direct benefit of my mental health - I'm making seed stitched pot holders out of a variegated, 100% cotton yarn. 45 sitches across and 59 rows long. I'm making two squares and will then whip stitch them together. I've already finished one square and have made significant progress on the second. Only 18 more rows!

SEED STITCH
To make a seed stitch, cast on an odd number of stitches.
Then, *knit one, purl one* and repeat until you have one stitch left. Knit that stitch.
Repeat that row until you have the desired length.

CO #odd
Row 1: *K1, P1* Repeat ** until 1 stitch remains, K1
Row 2 and on: Repeat Row 1.

To make the same potholders I am:
Using US size 8 needles and 4 ply worsted weight 100% cotton yarn...
CO 45 stitches.
Row 1: *K1, P1*  Repeat ** until 1 stitch remains, K1.
Rows 2 - 59: Repeat Row 1.
BO purlwise.

My grandma sent me this image. It's a magazine cover from Good Housekeeping and it's quite old (from 1918!). She and I were thinking that maybe I could make prints of it and sell them. I'd touch it up a bit (center it and make sure it had a nice background) and print it on nice card stock or a heavier paper. Do you think it would sell? And if so, for how much? Either way, it's very cute!

For future projects:
I do still plan on making a blanket for the living room. I've decided on the pattern "Yggdrasil Afghan" by Lisa Jacobs (see Ravelry link HERE). In the center there are four trees whose branches are entertwined and their roots lead down to some really fantastic looking cables and leafy-vine designs. It's a pretty large blanket though and will require a lot of yarn and a lot of patience. (The image is from Ravelry and is probably under copyright.)

Also, for my BRAND NEW APARTMENT (woo!) I am going to be making a bunch of house slippers since the floors are painted concrete. The slippers I've found are called French Press Felted Slippers. They are, as the name implies, felted and represent the first and so far only felted project that I've liked. They are little ballet type flats with a button! The pattern from Ravelry can be found HERE. (This image is also from Ravelry.)

Since it looks like the slippers will knit up pretty quickly, I'm thinking I might make a variety of colors and, more importantly, use a variety of cute buttons! I really like buttons and buckles so these will just be great.


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