That Square

Years ago, not too long after I learned to knit, I took a class where we made the Great American Afghan (GAA).  When I first started the class, I wanted to make every square in the GAA book. But as time went on, I was finding squares from the Great American Aran Afghan (GAAA) book and some other sources and I used them in my afghan instead of some of the GAA squares.  There was one square in the GAA book that was so complicated the course instructor would issue an Advanced Knitter Certificate if you could complete it.  That square is the knitted piece shown in the photo above.  Yep, I did it and it was so much fun!!!

Here are some close ups in black and white so you can see the details a bit better.

I think this looks like shafts of wheat.

This is just a rather cool cable; I think it resembles the cables folks knit to make owls.

This block looks like three dimensional blocks.

This one reminds me of flowers or buds on a tree limb.

I remember I gave up on this square when I was a new knitter; I felt like the pattern just needed more written instructions.  Now that I have more knitting experiences under my belt and I worked through this square, I get it.  This square is entrelac and is knit in 13 segments.  Below, you'll see a little diagram to show you the order in which the segments are knit.  First you make the bottom two triangles and then you knit the first side triangle on the right (labeled as #3).  Then you pick up stitches along the top side of triangle #2 so that you can knit the square labeled with a #4.  Pretty amazing, right?

The one thing that really boggled me about this square was the border around the square.  That is the 13th and final segment you knit.  I could not seem to pick up and knit as many stitches as directed along the top of the square.  Instead of following the pattern instructions, I winged it.  I used larger needles than what I used to knit the square, I used two strands of yarn held together, and picked up about 20 stitches less than what the pattern called for.  I also knit the border all at once on a circular needle instead of knitting the border in four separate sections.  I plan to use this square to make a throw pillow; I just need to figure out how to do that. 

The yarn I used for this is a mystery to me.  My best guess is that this is Plymouth Yarns Encore (worsted weight). 

I have not done much knitting this week.  I better get busy!

GAAA project abandoned... for now

I've set aside my Great American Aran Afghan (GAAA) project... for now. I knit up a total of three squares and, from the moment I cast on the first square, I started to have regrets about my yarn choice. I picked the yarn I did (Plymouth Encore Worsted Weight yarn... acrylic/wool blend) because I loved the color. (I believe the GAAA pattern book recommends this yarn as well). I was searching for a yarn color which resembled oatmeal and this yarn fit the bill. At first I thought I was having a hard time adjusting to using straight needles (instead of circular) but as I kept knitting, I kept thinking to myself that I'd never finish the project if I was not happy with how the yarn knit up. I missed my Cascade 220 Superwash yarn. I have used the Encore Worsted Weight yarn in the past and will use it again in the future for sure (it's so soft and the color selection at my local shop is great!), but I think for the Aran designs with all the cables and bobbles, the Cascade yarn has a cleaner, crisper look. Above you will see my almost complete square... need to make some I-cord rays for the sun! I plan to use the two fancy GAAA squares I did complete for a pillow. (The third square I made was just a plain stockinette background for some trees... I did not take a photo... you are not missing much!)

GAAA - Suzanne Atkinson's block in progress

I am really enjoying this block. It looks complicated but it's fast and simple. Again, with this pattern, I am exclusively following the pattern from the chart. The interesting texture is made from alternating purl and knit through the back loop stitches on the right side and then knitting all stitches on the back side. On the left hand side, you can see the outline of a little house emerging... yep, that's a door knob on the door! Very cute! On the right, you can see the trunk of the tree of life emerging. In there sky, there will be a cute sun and birds. I am thinking up a way to add a chimney and a puff of smoke to the house's roof top! I like this pattern because it reminds me of a happy scene I used to draw when I was a kid. I recall my sister and I both drawing the same sort of scene actually... she's older so I must have copied her! It was a simple house, a sun with a happy face in the sky, a tree with red apples in the green foliage. Sometimes the house was on a hill and sometimes there was a stream flowing away from the house toward the bottom of the page.

GAAA - Jay Campbell's block is complete!

I finished my first official block from the Great American Aran Afghan book for my GAAA. I enjoyed this block but it was quite a lot of work. It was easier and easier to memorize this pattern as I went and I exclusively used the great chart, as opposed to using the written out instructions. I am finding I enjoy the charts more and more... it's getting easier to read them. I made a few boo-boos along the way but was able to correct them with some duplicate stitch! There were two instances where I accidentally did the wrong cable stitch. This pattern has quite a few different cable stitches as you can tell. I fixed one boo-boo so well I have a hard time finding it! Such a relief. I discovered the error several rows late and I just did not have the heart to go back and fix it... so as I kept getting father and farther toward the center (the end) of the block, my eye kept gravitating toward the mistake! Dang it! But... like I said... I can hardly find the mistake now. Here's a photo of the boo-boo... my finger is pointing to the messed up cable...

disguised pretty well, don't ya think?! Wishing I would have taken a "before shot" of the boo-boo!

GAAA - Jay Campbell's block in progress

This block is shaping up. This is my second block for my Great American Aran Afghan. The other block I completed is just a stockinette background for three trees, and you know what stockinette looks like so I did not bore you with that. This is Jay Campbell's block (he's from Colorado like me!) It's knit from the outside border to the middle... which you can see here.

I like this method of making a block.

Let the Great American Aran Afghan begin!

I am ready to start my next BIG project... the Great American ARAN Afghan! I selected this yarn because I wanted something that reminded me of OATMEAL. The off white colored "oatmeal" yarn will the background for each block I plan to complete. I selected some sagey green, a heathery blue, and a medium brown for just a little contrast. Before I start... I must finish the Kitchener stitch to close the toes on Mimi's Bed Socks... but after that, I am ready to dig into this project.