For What it's Worth

While, given it's a week into February, that my hopes for getting a new pattern out around New Year's are dashed, I am working on one.  Here's a hint:

One of the reasons I have no pattern still is simply because I keep changing my mind.  I keep changing my mind partly because I keep trying things out and they don't work.  Or I don't like them.  Or it's too small, too big, wrong yarn, etc, etc. It isn't helping that I only did one swatch, and it was small.

This is what happens when you think you can knock out a 'simple' item of your own design without doing much pre-planning, out of scrap yarn.  I should have known it doesn't work that way. Now, it doesn't help that I haven't had much time for knitting recently, let alone calculating things officially in a spreadsheet.  Spreadsheets require hours in front of the computer working on them.  I can knit on the subway,  the bus, and wherever I may be at the moment. Might have contributed to my throw-it-to-the-wind half-ass planning, that did.

Anyway, it seems to be working now.  Hopefully.  Though I can't promise when it'll be written up and out, or if I'll be more than one size,  I can promise that I'll release it for free.

I actually thought about that for a bit, even though this pattern is pretty simple and in the end I decided that it'd only be worth between $0.50 and a dollar, which means it doesn't pay to get it tech edited.  And I won't sell a pattern that hasn't been tech edited, because that's not respectful of my users.  If it's free, well, I try to make sure there's no errors, but that's the trade off for getting a free pattern.

However, it does have a different aspect to it, which is why I paused at first.  Even something as simple as this takes a good amount of planning and some time investment.  This is something I have very little of at the moment.  And since my last pattern was put for sale, there's the aspect of going legit on top of it.  Where's the line between free and not?  Should I give my efforts away like that, after I've said they're worth something?

But then I realize, who am I kidding, I ain't a professional in this nor do I want to be.  So, free pattern. At some point.

I did also get this done:

Pattern is Flame Hat by Irina Dmitrieva.  I did the beret version.

Yay, shiny cable hat.  It's a little big, but it stays on my head, covers my ears, and is warm enough. Now what to do with the other skein of that yarn...

Oh, Look, I'm Done Frogging (Professoressa Cardigan Debrief)

Well, that was a trip.  But I'm finally done:

I don't know how I got it in my head that this would be a quick project.  Ha ha.  Even if I hadn't screwed up as much as I did or had been doing things I've never done before, it still wouldn't have been particularly quick. 

The Pattern
I had no issues with the pattern itself (Professoressa Cardigan from Textured Stitches).  It was clear and easy enough to figure out what was going on. No errors that I saw, which is good because I don't think I looked for errata either. Chart took a couple of read throughs to get, but that's because the symbols were different than the last several charts I'd done, not because the chart was unclear. Also, this is I think one of the first books I've seen with full, complete schematics.

While I did make a good number of changes, the only design oriented one was taking out the bell sleeves.  I almost left them there, because they do add some interest and I don't dislike them, but decided it would be easier to have it straight-sleeved so it would be plain enough to work with my whole work wardrobe (you see, when it comes to jacket-like items, I'm boring.  I'll wear the same cardigan/zip-up sweatshirt over everything.  I wore my last work cardigan almost every day of the year last year...which is probably why it got a hole).

All the other changes I made were because I'm [insert body issue here], and patterns are done in standard sizing.  This isn't a complaint; it's just a fact.  So I change it to fit me, because if I wanted a slightly off-fitting garment, I'd go buy it off the rack.

Some tips and tricks to keep in mind:

• This is a general tip, but weave in ends as you go.  You'll be attaching and re-attaching yarn, and this makes all the difference.  If you're going to be re-attaching where you cut off, leave a tail of yarn long enough to pick up and knit with the working yarn to weave it in (see the second method on this page.  It's what I tend to use for same color joins/random ends.  Though the other methods on that page work if that's more your cup of tea).  
• I can't stress how much easier doing cables like this is when you can cable without a cable needle.  The cabling here isn't hard, but it is slightly intricate (and you can't always read where's its going due to the twisted stitches and wrong-side crossing).  Rows 5 and 15 will throw you as well, since you're not crossing the stitches you think you would be (for example, you'll do a K-P back cross with two K stitches, but when you do that row the back one is worked as a P stitch from that point).  Keep your counts straight and the chart handy, and you'll be fine.
• The cheat method of making sure you do the same number of rows on both sides of the front after splitting for the armholes?  Try to do an even number of repeats of the chart.  If you can't due to sizing, just note how many repeats you did and what row you ended on on the last one.  Simpler number to remember.
• Also, when you start working the first front, write down what row of the chart you started on, so you know where to start on the other side.
• Post-it notes!  I wrote down all my changes on post-it notes and stuck it in the book on the relevant page.  There's enough picture space here to do this, and it's very helpful.  This trick only works for books though, so if you made a copy to carry around, just write everything in.  Also, make sure you record it somewhere a bit more permanent (like in a notebook, or on the Ravelry page, or in a text document) at some point, because you may not lose things, but I misplace paper all the time.
• If you don't want to sew in the sleeve, you can block the body, bind off the shoulders, and then do the whole short-row afterthought sleeve trick.  I didn't because I wanted to learn how to sew in sleeves and it was either learn that or the short-row sleeve trick (which I've never done so I'm fuzzy on the details, but it looks cool).
• On the other hand, if you are sewing in the sleeves, this site was invaluable to me to learn how to do it well. I might have spent the day ripping it out to figure out where to put the ease (I also think I didn't quite block the cap big enough.  Now I know why that's important, ha), but I would have spent more if I hadn't found that site, and I own the book she mentions for calculations (see previous statement about sleeve caps.  The math didn't work so well).
• Since I also had to learn how to do short rows for the neck, well, I used this page, which got me through it (though not neatly, and I still did several things wrong).  I then found this free class on Craftsy (don't ask how I ended up on that site, I just did).  If you don't mind creating an account and have a couple of hours, I highly recommend it.  It also teaches the short-row sleeve trick if you need to learn that as well.

The changes I made (and how to do them) are below:

• Since I'm a pear shape, and not an hourglass like this pattern, I chose to do the 34.75" size (close to my bust size) and CO'ed 12 extra stitches so I started with more width at the bottom.  I figured this out by doing the calculations on how many stitches it would be to get about a 36" circumference at the hips instead (using the blocked gauge, which was pretty much on gauge for me.  See yarn section for more details).  I spaced these stitches out evenly so there were three extra on each front and 6 in the back.
• Due to this, I started the dart decreases around 2.5" from CO edge, and set up the darts so the extra stitches would be on the side of the dart you'd decrease from.  This works out to adding the front stitches between the cable panel and the dart, and the 6 extra in between the two back darts.  I also worked three extra decrease rows to get back to the pattern-specified stitch count for the waist.  From there I stayed with that stitch count.
• I only worked 7 rows between the first three decrease rows, and 5 rows between the rest of them so I could fit all the decrease rows (including the extra ones) in a slightly shorter length.
• 2" straight for the waist, then I did 7 rows between the first three increase rows, and 9 rows between the rest (again, goal was to shorten it so that the darts were done before the bust line).
• In total, I subtracted an inch from the length before armholes.
• To subtract bell sleeves, I added a series of increases starting from 2" from CO of sleeve, spaced out every 7 rows.  Do this until you get to the stitch count stated after the bell decrease.
• Only went up to 9" before starting upper sleeve increases, and 16" before cap shaping.
• Since it turns out that I have no slope between my back and neck (the things you learn about your body when you make clothes for yourself), I added extra 7 st short row to each wedge for the neck (guess how many frogs I had to do to figure that one out) so that the top was shorter than the pattern specified.  I also went down a needle size just because.  I could have gotten away with a little bigger, but I like how this pulls in the cardigan. 

 Some of the issues I had:

• Once again, need to learn to read the instructions before changing something.  I didn't and missed that the stitch count was not the same below and above the bell sleeve.  I figured this out when I got to the top of the sleeve cap and had way too few stitches.  Yes, I had to frog the whole sleeve and start over.
• Need to make sure I block out sleeve caps to measurements.  Also, most of the ease I need is near the armhole, with some at the top (though it would be better if I could have put a little in the top of the second section of the sleeve, but didn't have any left).  Took me four times sewing in one of the sleeves to figure that out.  At least I got really good at the seam stitches.
• The neck piece...it's both ingenious and the biggest pain in the ass.  That got ripped out three times, once because I was learning short rows, once because I wore it to work and decided that I couldn't live with the neckline being too loose (for this pattern, this makes the cardigan hang wider as well), and once because the I added too many short rows when I changed it, and the bottom was too big.  All from it fully being seamed in, since that was the only time I could really get a sense of how it would work.  Then I had a slight issue with the bottom middle bulging out a bit.  To correct that, I did a horizontal-to-horizontal mattress stitch over the bind off to pull it in a bit.  I may do the rest of it, but for now I'm done.  I'm thinking it has more to do with the bind-off being thicker there due to all the sewing ends.  It looked like this in the end:

The Yarn
I used Blue Moon Fiber Arts Woobu, which is a Merino/Bamboo blend.  This is seriously one of the better yarns I've worked with, and it worked perfectly for this pattern. It's warm but with just enough sheen to make it look nice and professional.  It's soft but not overly so, and it can tolerate a good amount of frogging.  It's better after you wash it the first time.

I managed to split it while knitting, but at a much less rate than usual.  But I can split the best of yarns, so that means nothing.

However, this yarn grows after blocking.  Not just a little, but so much it will change your gauge and you NEED to take it into account.  Luckily, I checked out Ravelry first and saw other comments along the same lines, so I made a good sized gauge swatch and blocked it.  To give you an idea, when the swatch was unblocked, I was close to gauge using a size US6 needle.  After I blocked it, I was on gauge with the US5.  Any changes I made involving measurements were calculated using the blocked gauge.  Because I kept this in mind, it fits perfectly after blocking.  If I hadn't done that, I would have been screwed.

Conclusion
I might seem nuts with the notes here, but that's because if this wears out, I'm seriously considering making another one and I want to know what I did.  So, you know, the frogs don't take over my apartment again (my blocking boards on the other hand, they live here now).  I just wish it hadn't taken two months to do.

Now onto the next sweater...a simple top-down raglan.  Because I need a break.

Things That Are Gray and Things That Are White

Oh, look, I've finally got something done:

This should have not taken me a month to do, but it did.  Mainly because I was too busy working on the work sweater at the same time.  However, it didn't help that I frogged parts of this hat multiple times either.

It came out a little big, I have to say that.  Having worn it a couple of times already, I wish that I had made the band a little tighter (though that would have screwed me up on picking up the right stitch count even more, so maybe that isn't the best idea).  It stays on, but if I dart around it sometimes slips foward, and otherwise doesn't always stay where I put it.  Nothing that can't be fixed with a snap clip or two, though.

I love the way it looks, which is always a bonus.  However, I had to switch back to my heavy duty hats today due to the lovely nor'easter that's coming through my area as I type:

That's what it looks like outside my window a couple of hours ago from this post.  Well, if you subtract the fact that my camera turned the scene yellow tinted....

Supposedly its name is Nemo, which I can't hear without getting this song stuck in my head, so I'm going to ignore the Weather Channel's attempt at giving cute names to nor'easters and just call it a snow storm.  Despite everyone freaking about about it here in NYC, it's not supposed to be as bad here.  But that's NYC mentality for you...it's going to be an event enough to cause minor disruption?  Everybody panic!  Meanwhile, back in 2010:

Three feet of snow, whoo hoo.

So forgive me if I'm not currently impressed at the moment (however, those of you northeast of us that are dealing with the snow amounts in the second pic...I feel for you).  The snow falling this morning was pretty, though.  It was the right weather to have light big snowflakes and not be crazy cold outside.  I actually didn't mind walking in it this morning.  Then again, I like snow and don't mind colder weather.  I just don't like crappy slush and shoveling things and the type of cold that is bitter and biting.

Another positive thing about it was that I got to do this:

Finished the last sleeve on the subway today, and managed to get to the post office before it closed to pick up the package that contained those nice new blocking pads (one bad thing about apartment living in the city; getting packages delivered is a pain in the ass.  Especially when they decide not to bother ringing your doorbell before leaving the slip that says 'we missed you, now you have to go to the post office that's only open during your working hours most of the time!' Ug).

In other news, yes, I finally broke down and bought blocking pads.  T-pins don't really hold when your using towels on a hardwood floor, and while I can work around it for small things, this needed to be pinned out sturdily. 

I'm not done, though.  I still have to sew it up and do the back of the neck (it's a bit of an odd construction).  Hopefully I can get it done within the week, though.  Then I'll have both my over-a-month long projects done.

Then I'll start something else...woops:

I kind of already did.

P.S.: For anyone dealing with the snow, stay safe and warm, and don't try to curse it too much.

P.P.S.: Oh, and we're in a severe French Toast Alert, ya'll (the site is Mass. based, I believe, so it's even more applicable). Have fun!

Vogue Knitting Live Debrief (2013 Edition)

I should've done this Monday, but I was too busy catching up on my sweater and having a battle of wills with a mouse that made its way into my apartment (which, unfortunately, is still going on.  Good news is that I didn't see any evidence from it this morning.  Bad news is that I still haven't caught it, and it escaped one trap and hasn't touched the others I set after that). 

Anyway....onto the Vogue Knitting Live debrief.

In General
I went in expecting more of last year.  It was not.  The whole...feel, I guess is a good word...was different than last year.  Last year was smaller, more fashion forward and had a summery feel to it.  This year was a lot more crowded (on Saturday at least), and the vendors and feel was way more diverse.  In some ways it was like a little Rhinebeck (with many of the same vendors), except with a slight more emphasis on fashion (instead of the more rustic feel of the NYS Sheep and Wool festival, which is to be expected).

I went both days, because like last time I signed up for a lecture on Saturday (and then met my knitting group to trawl around the marketplace), and then I went back to see the shows and the free panels on Sunday (and to trawl around the marketplace alone).  The one constant thing was that the lecture was fun, the panels were interesting (and I got a lot of knitting done), and the fashion shows were mostly horrifying.

The Lecture
I ended up signing up for Manipulating Stitch Patterns conducted by Ysolda Teague.  Unlike the last two times, I've heard of her before (actually, it was her page I found instructions to do those looped button holes for one of my last patterns, which saved my can't-be-bothered-to-plan-for-a-buttonband ass), but that's not why I picked this lecture.  I picked it because for the past four months or so I've been wondering if I shouldn't invest in a stitch dictionary, and if I do, what I will use it for.  You see, I'm pretty picky about my knitting.  There are few patterns I've seen that aren't cables or stockinette that I've liked.  But I keep telling myself I won't do cables in my next project (ha) and I should branch out a little more...or, if I don't find what I like, create it.  It's all easier said than done of course.  So I figured that this lecture should be interesting and help a bit.

While it started late (but it ended on time and provided some laughs, so I don't care), I was happy with it.  While a lot of the tips given seemed somewhat common sense (like calculating a new stitch count when adding or subtracting an element), there were still good tips for me to hear.  One of my major takeaways was an throwaway point, which is that the chart should represent what the pattern will look like.  Her example was a cable chart in that style I'm not too fond of, the one where the cross is a bunch of diagonal lines visually 'representing' the cable.

Now,  I don't like this style because it gets messy with more complicated cables.  I had to read one that had traveling cables, and I found it hard to differentiate between the K2, K2 cables and the K2, P1 cables (putting a tiny dot near the bottom left does not make a clear symbol).  Also, as many of them aren't standardized (despite what the link above tries; you'll notice that they have no traveling cables in there), they vary by just enough that it's confusing.  I can't imagine what a K4 with a P stitch in the middle cable would look like in that notation.  But Ysolda's comment of 'the chart should look like the pattern' made me realize why people like that style: taken together, the chart really does show the cable flow.  It looks like the cable, because many of the symbols look like the shape the knitting makes (of course, there are other similar styles.  Standardization doesn't exist here).

She also mentioned, in relation to that point, that the chart shouldn't be a code.  I think that's my biggest pitfall here.  I'm a programmer.  I see charts as codes, I'm conformable with charts as codes, and judge their merits as such.  I like clear, flexible codes over pictorial representation that just complicates matters.  This is why my currently preferred notation is one I learned in Aran Knitting, which looks similar to the chart in this link.

It doesn't really show the pattern when you see it as one object.  But it does give flexibility to represent all types of cables (as any cable uses a variation of the same symbols), and is much easier to write out when I'm pattern drafting (and on the computer without buying special software like she was using in the lecture).  But you do have to learn it and understand it to see the brilliance of it, which doesn't come easy to many knitters.

I also find it funny that crochet is more standerized than knitting in this respect.  But that's another topic for another day.

The other major takeaway I got was that you can fake cables with increases and decreases, and you can use ribbing to do reversible cables.  I had no clue.  That's great to know.

Fashion Shows and the Panels
I only ended up catching two full fashion shows (and bits and pieces of others), but what I saw was pretty much similar to last year.  Weird outfits, modular knitting, garments that don't flatter anything but the coat-hanger models walking down the runway (and then there was this thing.  No excuse for that monstrosity of a cardigan).  Oye.  No novelty yarns this year, though.  And there were a couple more outfits I wasn't revolted by.  Improvement, improvement.

There was two free panels, and I went to both.  One was on being a designer, which while being funny, made me really want to stay an amateur designer.  The other was on the change in knitting culture and where it was going, which was pretty predictable, but wasn't too boring.  Though one panelist had to repeat the whole 'crochet uses more yarn' myth. Ug.

Purchases
I was good, and only got one skein of yarn:

I bought it because not only was a  'oo, pretty blue!' one of a kind Madelintosh skein, it's from my old LYS (who were there, much to my surprise.  The other surprise was that they remembered me after a year of not going (while I had only been their customer for a little over a year)).

I also got another bottle of Soak to replace the one I left in my old apartment (that I bought last VKLive).  While Woolite might be cheaper, you don't have to rinse with Soak.  And it smells a lot better.

Also, the second day I texted my mom this picture:

It was a joke about big crochet hooks.  The next text I get, however, was 'do they have x size?  I'll pay for it.'  Cue back and forth texts where I realized they were Tunisian crochet hooks and attracted the attention of one of the shop people, who taught me to Tunisian crochet (which isn't that hard, but I also knit and crochet, and it's obviously a weird blend of those things).  I then, while waiting for my mother's answer as to if she really wanted the Tunisian version, got hustled into buying the crochet hook. For $40.

I later found a vendor selling normal crochet hooks in the size my mother wanted for normal prices.  I ended up buying those as well.  We'll see if my mom buys the Tunisian thing off of me.  I may get stuck with it.

Conclusion
Overall, I had a good time.  It was different than I was expecting, both good and bad, but I enjoyed it.  Hopefully they'll have better trends next year (ha ha ha).

Twisted X Neck Warmer

Need a quick gift?  Cold and need something to warm your neck right now?  This cowl can be made in a day and is sure to delight.

The highlights of this pattern are listed below. To get the actual pattern (pdf), please click here to download it (the pattern's free, don't worry).

Twisted X Neck Warmer

Craft Type Knitting Skill Level Easy+ (only trick here is cabling. Everything else is straightforward) Finished Size About 14.5" x 3.5" after steam blocking Gauge 4.5 stitches and 7 rows = 1" in stockinette stitch Yarn and Yardage 1 skein Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash (Bulky, 128 yards), or ~70 yards of any compatible bulky yarn. Needles US 9 (5.5mm), any type as this is worked flat. Other Notions 2 buttons sized 7/8" (or somewhere around that) Button or embroidery thread in a coordinating color to both sew in the buttons and make the buttonhole loops (you'll need the instructions found here to make the buttonhole loops) (note: link fixed if you found it broken before)

Happy knitting!

* * *

If you find any errors in this project, please e-mail CompileYarn[at]gmail[dot]com, or leave a comment  here or on Ravelry.  Copyright (c) CompileYarn(), 2012.

Crazy Cable Blanket Debrief (With a Bonus Border Pattern)

So, I finished Crazy Cable Blanket:

Yet I cannot make my bed well, or pick up the shoes I haven't worn in months.

It's all done.  Border, blocked, everything.  I can't believe I managed to finish it.  The label I sewed on it says it all:

I ordered them from KnitPicks, but other retailers may have these labels in stock as well

Anyway, since this took about a year and a month of my life (though if I had worked on it consistently, it would have been more around eight months), I figured I go into detailed 'debrief' of the pattern for anyone who's crazy enough to make one.

The Pattern
The pattern I used for the blanket itself was Alice Starmore's St. Ciaran (missing accents; sorry) from the reprinted version of the book Aran Knitting (it may be in the original as well.  I don't know and I can't vouch for that version).  Like all of Alice Starmore's cable work, it is interesting, creative, intricate, and absolutely crazy.  What made this more fascinating is the idea of having cables form Celtic patterns, which involves learning how to make the cable appear like it's making a bend when in fact that's where you started or ended the cable.  As I love cables, and I like Celtic designs, I loved this.  Hell, I bought Aran Knitting because I saw this pattern knitted up in a KnitPicks catalog.

However, the Celtic cabling is also what made the pattern challenging.  Now, honestly, the pattern and the charts that go with it are flawless.  I had no problem learning how to read the chart, setting it up, and following it.  I did have some issues the whole 'start and finish the cable in the middle of it' step in the beginning, though.  The first couple of times I screwed up and had to re-start the blanket.  But after that, all my mistakes were more due to my momentary lapses in paying attention more than anything (can you blame me? Knitting solid cables 200+ stitches across gets a bit tedious, no matter how much you like the pattern).

The other interesting thing about this pattern is that it's actually supposed to be a shawl.  However, it's a really big shawl...what most of us would call a small blanket.

For anyone who wants to attempt the pattern, the advice I'd give to you is:

1. Use a 60" circular needle.  Use a good quality one as well; you will put stress on the joins between the cord and needle with this pattern and you don't want them popping mid blanket.  However, you will not get far with straight needles unless you are so against circulars you insist on using them.  Your sanity and wrists will thank me later.
2.  I know it's a blanket, but for the love of the knitting goddess, SWATCH FIRST.  If you're too lazy to swatch one of the charts (which is recommended to learn how to do the cable from nothing trick before you start the blanket and then have to re-start it), at least swatch in stockinette.  Alice Starmore's patterns are notorious for tight gauge (I think I saw someone call it 'bullet-proof'; it's not too much of an exaggeration).  You may have an issue with it and have to go up a needle size or two, depending on the yarn used.
3. While I used an acrylic/nylon blend successfully, I would still recommend going will some sort of wool, wool blend, or some other flexible, springy yarn for this blanket.  You will enjoy knitting it more with a yarn that doesn't mind going through some gymnastics, because that's all this pattern is.  You may find a different fiber that will work, but tread carefully.  If you need machine washable like I did, you may have to compromise on ease-of-knitting a bit, however you must triple-check that your chosen yarn won't send you to the wrist doctor for pain either (Ravelry reviews of other knitters having done cables with said yarn are a godsend for this).  This is also why you need to swatch, hopefully before you commit yourself to buying all the skeins.
4. On the other hand, the yardage you will get by calculating it out of the pattern is a bit more than you need, unless you're knitting more loosely or putting the fringe on.  I used a little under 2100 yards on the blanket itself as written (minus the fringe), but bought 2730 yards based on the pattern.  With my border, I used about 2520 yards.
5. Put stitch markers where each chart ends/begins.  They don't really get in the way and they help you see where all the charts are.
6. Have separate row counters for each chart, along with one representing the whole blanket. You can use an app for this if you don't want five string-on counters on your needle cord.  The benefit of the app is that most of them will switch all the counters with one button push.  The downside is that you need your phone/tablet around and not dead whenever you knit.
7. It may be easier if you photocopy the charts so you're not flipping back and forth in the book. I insist on it if you're using a library copy or someone else's copy of Aran Knitting. I didn't do this, and  I broke the spine of my book and the pattern pages de-attached. I had to duct tape them back in. Twice.
8. Don't try to memorize the charts.  You may get the A chart down pat all right, as it's just a six-stitch braid (and it's the most common chart in the blanket), but you will make more mistakes than anything if you try to memorize the other three charts.  They are too long and complicated.  Save yourself some hair-ripping and just stick with reading the charts.

The Border
The border isn't part of the pattern.  I made it up on the fly.  The blanket just looked unfinished to me without one, and I had extra yarn anyway.  However, the thought of picking up stitches along it and knitting a border...no.  Just no.  So I crocheted it instead.  I love being bi-craftal.

For anyone who wants to go the extra mile of crazy, the border pattern is below:

Start in a stitch or two in front of a corner of the blanket.  It doesn't really matter which corner, but I started on the end of the blanket.

Use a US G/6 (4.25mm) or whatever is slightly smaller than the knitting needle size you're using (Go with the G if you're knitting with an US 7 (4.5mm)). Always end the round by slip stitching (sl st) into the top chain to end the round.  sc = single crochet, dc = double crochet, FPdc = front post double crochet, i = # of side you're on, loc = stitch you're at (the location).  This is a quick and dirty pattern, be warned.  The chart will be added later, as it will take more time to make (though it will be much clearer than my written instructions for many people, I think.  I said it was a bonus).

Round 1:  for(i=0; i < 4; i++){sl st to loc == corner st.  3 sl st.} sl st to loc = 0

Round 2:  Ch 3. for(i=0; i < 4; i++){dc to loc == corner st. 3 dc.} dc to loc = 0

Round 3: Ch 2.  for(i=0; i < 4; i++){sc to loc == corner st. 3 sc } sc to loc = 0

Round 4: Ch 2. for(i=0; i < 4; i++){while(loc != corner st ){sc. FPdc into below dc.} if(loc == corner st){sc, FPdc into corner dc stitch, sc.}}. do{sc. FPdc into below dc.}while(loc != 0)

Round 5-8:  Round 3

Round 9: Round 2

Round 10:  Round 4

Round11: Round 3

I can't tell you how many stitches I did on each side, because I was lazy and didn't count (and therefore had too many stitches and had to decrease. Then I had to learn how to property decrease in crochet, because I realized I've never had to decrease in a way that didn't involve just skipping the stitch.  The result was that I learned that decreasing in crochet is just a two stitch cluster, but I still had a few too many stitches on the ends).  I will tell you that you need to slip stitch into every knit stitch on the sides of the blanket, but you'll need to only do a percentage of them on the ends.

The Yarn
The yarn...what can I say? I used Berroco Comfort in color 9763 (it's a navy blue color, despite some of the photos I took). I knew everything about it from the reviews I read, and I pretty much had the same experience, minus one.  The good is that it's cushy and provides enough stitch definition for cables.  It's also machine washable and dryable, which is good for a blanket for a 13-year-old.  I haven't run it in the washer machine yet, but it's been in the dryer and it came out fine.  The steam blocking job I did created a bit of fuzzy, but that's because I wasn't being careful (it does say not to iron the yarn and while I was using a pillowcase between the iron and the blanket (wet pillowcase = steam without the steam setting), I was pressing too hard and had the iron up too hot).

The bad is that it does have a tendency to split into tiny threads, especially on the sharp tips of the metal needles I prefer.  I'm pretty used to this by now, as I can split yarns that almost never split when using said needles, but it's a bit of an issue with this yarn in particular. Also, you don't have the desired flexibility with the yarn that you may want with such a cabling job.  Sliding the stitches and twisting them are a bit tougher than one may like or expect with a good flexible yarn like wool.

The one thing I do disagree with from a review I read was that I found it easier to crochet with than to knit with.  Since the crochet hook was blunt, and my knitting needles were sharp, I had less of an issue with splitting when crocheting with it. It still split, don't get me wrong, but not as badly.  But maybe my experience is tainted with the fact that I was crocheting simpler stitches than I was knitting, so it just tolerated the less demanding stitchery better.

Conclusion
This was one of the most trying projects I've worked on, and there were many times I dropped it like a hot potato and let it cool for a couple of months. It got tedious some days, and I can't believe I spent so much time on it.

The next one I do is for me. In a nice wool.  I keep staring at it; I love the cables and I want one now.  Or maybe I'll adopt the cables in St. Brigid into a shawl like I wanted to do before I do another Crazy Cable Blanket.  Or actually get around to making Eala Bhan, which is the other pattern I bought this book for.

Don't worry, it won't happen any time soon.  I have enough yarn for other projects already that it'll be awhile before I get around to buying yarn for another one of these....

Deadlines and Stupid Mistakes

Bad things happen when you actually start to think about deadlines.  Sure, we've all had them, for knitting or otherwise.  Sure, they're sometimes a good thing.  But it's nice when you can take your time with a project as well.

The latter was my first approch to Crazy Cable Blanket.  You know, this one:

This was mostly to preserve my sanity.  Imagine setting a deadline on that sucker...at best, it would have been so far into the future it'd been useless.  Anyway, a week or so ago, I sat down and calculated around how much I needed to knit if I wanted to get it done by next Hanukkah (which is in the middle of December this year).  A rough estimate concluded that if I knit 4 rows a day, I can get it done by November (which would maybe give me time to smack a border on it.  Because all this time-sink of a blanket needs is more work done to it).

Four rows a day?  How hard is that?

Well, pretty hard, actually.  For starters, there are some days I'm just not really home until late, and I have to go to work the next morning, so forget about staying up to work on it.  Despite what I did yesterday, it's not really a good project to bring to a bar, nor to travel with in general.  Some days, I just have other crap to do, or I just don't want to sit down for an hour and a half and knit, or I get distracted by other things (like now).  Despite this, I'm sticking to my goal of four rows a day, even if in reality it's more like 14 to 16 rows a week (about 2.29 rows a day)  This is because this is the most I've worked on it, and even if I don't quite make my deadline of Hanukkah, I'm at least making visible progress.  Also, I really don't want to be talking about it a year from now. 

Of course, attempting to speed things up a bit has it drawbacks.  Like noticing almost 75 rows later that you did this:

...and, even worse, this:

It figures.  Not only did I mis-cross the easiest cable in the blanket, I noticed it way after I did it.  Not like I'm going to frog half the blanket to fix it, so I'm pretty much stuck with this visible emblem of my stupidity.  Well...I did search for a way to fix it, and there happens to be another way.  However, I'm not so sure I want to try cutting just the right piece of yarn to re-cross the cables. Knowing me, I'll cut the wrong piece and ruin a year's worth of work.  A pre-teen won't care about a stupid mis-crossed cable and I'm just being anal, right?

P.S.: By the way, there should be no more interruptions in my life of the unplanned, life-taking-over, variety...at least for now.  That doesn't exclude laziness in posting, so I'll ask you to forgive me now for infrequent updates.