Norah's Vintage Afghan: Update

Norah's Vintage Afghan

A Norah's Vintage Afghan post is long overdue!

I have been working on this project since February 2016.  You can see all of the prior posts HERE.  Between February 2016 and June 2018, I completed 12 blocks.  I resumed work on this project on Easter Sunday earlier this year and whipped out the final 8 blocks. They are all blocked and ready to be sewn together. It's going to be a big job and I am procrastinating.  But I really want to be done!  My personal deadline was to finish it in May 2019, but I am writing this on May 30th.  Below you will see some photos that I snapped while some of the various blocks were pinned out on the blocking mats.  Above you can see all of the blocks layed out in the manner in which they will be stitched together.  I'll be sure to post some nice photos when it's finally complete.

NOTE:  If you happen to be making this project, you may want to reprint your pattern. There was an error in the key for the Block 20 Chart.  The orange cable stitch had the stitches reversed.  The pattern was most recently updated in January or February 2019.

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #16 is Complete

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #16



I have not done any work on my Norah's Vintage Afghan Project in several months.  I had started block #12 (maybe?) several months ago and, when I pulled it out to work on it this past week, I then realized I was using the incorrect color. So I skipped ahead to Block #16 which called for the Black Currant color.  It is difficult to photograph the squares done in such dark colors, so here are just a few photos to give you an idea what this block looks like. The chart looks so complicated but this block was actually pretty easy.  There are just for different cable stitches and all are worked over just four stitches.  The instructions also call for a bobble. I think the bobble instructions are incorrect.  The instructions basically indicate you should "knit into the front and the back of the next stitch two times" which should result in FIVE stitches in the original stitch.  That just doesn't add up.  For my bobbles, I knit into the front and the back two times and then knit into the front of the stitch one more time to yield FIVE stitches.  I really like how the bobbles are knit up in this pattern. You do not have to turn your work repeatedly when you make your bobbles.




It was so fun to whip up this block. I think I'll start another.



Chart for Block #16 Norah's Vintage Afghan.

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #11 Complete

Norah's Vintage Afghan: #11 Complete

Wow!  This was a quick block.  It looks so tricky and complicated but this block was one of the easiest yet.  Most of the rows in this block were simply knit 3, purl 3.  Cable stitches occur on only 8 rows in the entire block if I am not mistaken. The cables themselves are a bit tricky.  The cables are worked over 9 stitches. After you work the first 3 stitches from the cable needle, you do have to move some stitches from the cable needle BACK to the left hand needle and work those stitches,  and THEN you work the last 3 stitches on the cable needle.  Not too hard but just enough to make you feel as if you are all thumbs at times.

The yarn in this block is Berroco Vintage Worsted weight and the colorway is "Smoke".  I am not sure if I am going to start another block right now, or if I will work on some other WIPs.  I have two classes to teach this coming Friday (my "Building Blocks" and my "Building in Color" afghan classes at my local knit shop... the Yarn Shop at Words of Life).  I spent most of today making pillows for my Etsy shop and preparing for Friday's classes. 

Up next, I'll show you my latest Building in Color panel.

Also, if you'd like to see all of my posts about my Norah's Vintage Afghan project, you can see all of those posts by clicking HERE. 

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #11 in Progress

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #11 in Progress

This block is knitting up quickly.  Although this block looks complicated, the block is mostly a repeat of knit 3, purl 3 as you work your way along. Cable stiches are completed on only three rows of the pattern repeat.  Above you can see one pattern repeat (the pattern repeat is 24 rows).  I'll have this block done in a jiffy and will be sure to show it to you when it's all done.

Happy Knitting!

Norah's Vintage Afghan: #10 Complete

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #10 complete

Since I've been sick this past week, I got this block done in a jiffy.  This is block #10 of Norah's Vintage Afghan and the yarn is Berroco Vintage Worsted in the "Cracked Pepper" colorway.  The cables in this square were pretty straight forward; it's just a four row repeat.  I placed stitch markers where the red lines appear on the chart.

I've already started to work on Block #11, which is going really quickly. Block #11 is mostly knit 3, purl 3. I'll show you my progress on that block tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #10

Norah's Vintage Afghan:  Block #10

Lately I have actually been working on one project at a time.  This is a bit out of the ordinary for me. I tend to work on lots of different projects, a little work here and there on each project.  Since I am focusing on just one project at a time, I am enjoying the sense that I am actually finishing things.  This week, I have been working on Norah's Vintage Afghan Block #10.  This has been a very enjoyable knit.  I am using Berroco Vintage Worsted Weight yarn for this project and the color used in this square is "Cracked Pepper".  I'll have this done very soon and I'll be sure to share some more photos when it's all complete.

My labradoodles, Sandy and Brutus, are my constant companions. They love it when I sit and knit.  I looked up from my knitting the other day and this is what I found...

"Well, hello there BruBru!  Whatcha need, sweet boy?"

I never did figure out what he wanted or needed.  Maybe he was just checking on me.  He decided to hop up and join me on the couch.  And, just to ensure I did not leave, he plopped his sweet head over my legs to hold me down.  Sweet boy!

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Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #9

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #9

Over the holidays, I worked on Block #9. I took these photos in natural light to capture the details a bit better but the color is way off in the photos.  The color is called "Black Currant" (Berroco Vintage Worsted Weight yarn).  In person, this color is more of a burgundy, but the photos it looks purple. 

When it comes to knitting these blocks in the darker colors, I sure wish I had better light by which to knit. What ever the case may be, I love knitting these blocks.

I need to take a little break from these blocks as I prepare for the new afghan class I am teaching.  The last Friday of each month, I'll be teaching a class called "Building in Color".  The afghan pattern is by Michelle Hunter.  I'll be sharing more about this soon.  This weekend I am working on a knitted stuffed animal which I will probably finish in a jiffy.

Happy Knitting!

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #8

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #8

What a fun and pretty block this is.  I only struggled with one thing in this block and that resulted in me making a few mistakes along the way. The cables in this block are worked over six stitches.  Sometimes you work the cable over the first four stitches and sometimes you work the cable over the last four stitches.  The chart will show that better. See below...

I did NOT notice this when I first started the block so I made mistakes on the very first row with cables.  I got adventurous and laddered down to the mistakes and fixed them a few times without ripping out rows and rows of knitting. That made me happy!

My Etsy shop has kept me busy making pillows for the past several weeks so knitting on this block was my treat when I would finally sit down and put up my feet for a spell.  I put my Etsy shop on "vacation mode" last night so I can catch my breath and enjoy this week.  I still need to put up my Christmas tree!  I am looking forward to knitting and some other projects.  I am feeling the desire to bake some cookies, too.

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #8 REPAIR

Uh oh!

I was nearly done with block #8 of Norah's Vintage Afghan when I discovered I had made a mistake in a cable.  I did not have the presence of mind to take a photo of the mistake; I just ripped down about four rows (only over the six stitches in the cable) and tried to fix it.  It still was not right; I needed to go down maybe four rows deeper. So I set it aside, determined to try again in the morning.

As you can see in the photo above, I am just dealing with the six stitches in the cable portion. Once I figured out where I was in the pattern, it was not that difficult to fix the cable. I just isolated those stitches and followed the chart and reworked the stitches row by row. The hardest thing was moving the cable needle from the back of the work to the front of the work, with all those loose strands of yarn in the way, so that I could knit off the cable needle.

Ta Dah!  All fixed.  I was pleased I did not have to rip out those eight or ten rows.  I do love knitting these blocks, but when I am nearing the end of the block, I grow a wee bit tired of it and I want to be done and move on to the next. 

This block will be finished soon. I'll be sure to post a photo when it's all done.

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #7

Block #7

Hello!  Here's another update on Norah's Vintage Afghan.  This is block #7 and the color is "Black Currant" (Yarn: Berroco Vintage Worsted Weight yarn).  I just love this yarn and I love this color.  This block was pretty straight forward; oodles of cables.

I have grown accustomed to cables in knitting being done a certain way; specifically, I am used to cables being flanked by purl stitches to the right and to the left of the cables so the cables really "pop" or stand out.  In this pattern, as in this block, there are cables which are flanked or surrounded by knit stitches so the cables are a little flatter (if that makes sense).  It just gives the cables a different look and it is making me look at cables a bit differently.  I really enjoyed this block.  I find that I am excited to cast on the very next block just as soon as I finish a block. 

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #6

Block #6

Hello!  Here's another post to update you on my progress on Norah's Vintage Afghan.  This is my first block made in black; the color is actually called "Cast Iron" (Yarn: Berroco Vintage Worsted Weight).  I was rather nervous to knit with the black. I was concerned the pattern details would not show up and I was concerned it might be difficult to knit with such a dark color.  These old eyes struggle!  It was hard to photograph the completed black square but I did not finding knitting with the black yarn to be too terribly difficult. I also feel the details show up just fine.  This square was very challenging at the beginning. I actually had to enlarge the chart so I could read it (again...these old eyes).  The first several rows (1 through 11 on the chart) were challenging because there was so much going on.  You can see that portion below at the bottom of the photo.  It's a triangular portion with a lot of texture.  After that, the rest of the block was much simpler.  So if you start this block and find the first part of the chart to be a real struggle... don't give up... it gets way easier after row 11.  You will only complete rows 1 through 11 of the chart one time. Phew!

Sorry these photos are not the greatest.  My iPhone camera has a mind of it's own when photographing certain colors in certain light.

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #5

Block #5

In this post, I've added a few photos of block #5 in various stages of completion so you can see the great texture and detail in different light.

I been working on Norah's Vintage Afghan in earnest in the past several weeks; I've just not taken time to take photos and chat about it all.  This is block #5.  This block, like all the blocks in Norah's afghan pattern, has oodles of cables but it also has "knots".  There is not a lot of instruction in the pattern about how to make the knots but I muddled through.  A gal named Meg, who is also making this project, contacted me and asked about the knots. I figured that since the knots were a stumbling block for both me and Meg, then others might like a little more description of how to make the knots so I will share here what I shared with Meg.

Meg: I'd be happy to help you with that. So you are stuck on the knot? I was stuck on that too. Here's what I did (it's like making a bobble but you don't have to repeatedly turn your work). 

First, in the stitch where there is a red box, you knit into the front of the stitch then you knit into the back of the stitch and then you knit into the front of the stitch. You are creating three stitches where there was just one and you don't take the stitches off the left hand needle and put them on the right hand needle until you've created the three stitches. Then you move the three stitches you've created back to the left hand needle and then knit these three stitches. Leave these stitches on the right hand needle. Now you need to reduce these three stitches back to just one stitch. Looking at the three stitches on your right hand needle... call them A, B, and C from left to right. Using the tip of your left hand needle, slip B over A, and then slip C over A and B, leaving just one stitch. Wow, it's hard to describe. A video would have been easier. Lol. If this doesn't work, send me an email. 

 I am currently working on Block #8.  In the next few days, I'll post photos of Block #6 and Block #7.  I am finding this pattern very enjoyable.

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #4

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #4

I sure am enjoying working on this project again.  I got through blocks #3 and #4 rather quickly.  I've already started work on block #5, but I have a feeling that block will go more slowly as it's rather labor intensive. 

Block #4 above consists of right and left twisting cables, which require the use of a cable needle, as well as some twisted stitches, which require no cable needle.

Below, here are some pretty pictures from one of my recent sunrise walks with the doggies.

Happy Knitting!

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #3

Norah's Vintage Afghan

I am back to working on Norah's Vintage Afghan.  This is a project which is comprised of 20 different blocks and they all include beautiful cable designs.  I have not worked on this project in several months but this project has resurfaced and I have recently finished two blocks.  Here is Block #3.  I love how it turned out.  It was fun and not too difficult. The only problem I encountered was an error on the chart.  I printed out my pattern back in November or December 2015, and a new corrected version was published sometime in 2016.  So if you are encountering any problems with Norah's Vintage Afghan, ensure you have the most recent version of the pattern.  You can download the pattern for free from Ravelry.  Here is the pattern link (click HERE).

If you would like to see my other posts about Norah's Vintage Afghan, click HERE.

We have been having a beautiful fall here in Southern Colorado. I go for walks with the dogs every morning at sunrise and I take photos nearly every day.  I don't know what to do with all of these gorgeous photos.  I'll share one here!

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Block #2

Block #2 is complete.

I love how the photo above looks like something under an electron microscope (playing with the filters on my iPhone... again).

The color for this block is called "black currant"; I just love it.  I took this photo in the window in my craft room. I think it's going to be difficult to get good photos of blocks completed in darker colors.  I have not yet blocked this block.  This block is incredibly dense and knit up smaller than block #1.  And only 6 grams of yarn was left at the end of this block (so I used 94 grams for this block... killer math skills, right?).  I find it amazing that this block used nearly an entire skein of yarn!

Two photos; two slightly different angles.

This was a really fun block to knit.  I love that when I knit these blocks (so far), I find that I don't have to have my eyes glued to the chart as much as I thought I would.  There are four different cables in this block but two of the cables are repeated more than the other two cables.  Instead of thinking "what does the cable highlighted in hot pink" mean and "what does the cable highlighted in pale pink mean", you really can just look ahead at your knitting in order to see what cable needs to be completed next.  That is, one of the cables is worked over p1,k1,p1 and one cable is worked of three knit stitches.  So if you just look at the knitting, you just know what cable comes next. 

I had some struggles in the second half of this block; I am blaming knitting in poor light in the evening.  I had some instances where I dropped a stitch on the last row of the chart and never noticed it until a row or two later.  Yikes!  I got pretty good at fixing things by just isolating the stitches involved in the "cable gone wrong".  Yesterday, I was wanting to finish this square so I brought it to my Thursday knitting group.  I was working the very last row with cables on the final pattern repeat and I screwed up each and every cable. It was a disaster.  The cables were all in different directions; right, left, over, under.  I even had a place where I had held the yarn in the wrong place during the cable and there was a weird strand of yarn sort of hanging out on the front of the cable.  Lesson learned. Don't knit complicated cable projects and be a Chatty Cathy at knitting group!

I just looked ahead at Block #3 and it looks amazing.  I think I am using the colorway called "cracked pepper" for that square. I am looking forward to casting that on really soon. 

I have also been working on two pairs of socks.  One is a pattern we are calling "Jerri's Crazy Socks" and I'll post about that very soon. 

Today I have class #3 of my Building Blocks afghan series at my local knit shop. It should be a fun, busy day!

Happy Knitting!

Norah's Vintage Afghan: Beginning Block #2

This is the beginning of Norah's Vintage Afghan Block #2. For this block, I am using Berroco Vintage worsted weight yarn in the "black currant" colorway. I love it!

I was so excited to finish up block #1 last night that I cast on block #2 this morning.  I've finished one pattern repeat so far.  What great texture in this block, don't you think?  One of the fun things about this project is that the pattern does NOT include a photo of each block nor can you see every block in the pattern photos (in the pattern, there is a photo of a woman with the blanket wrapped around her).  So each time you cast on a block, you are not quite sure what the block will look like.  It's almost like 20 small mystery-knit-alongs which is kind of fun!  I did find a photo of an entire completed afghan on line but I am trying to not look at it.  I like the surprise each time.

Here is one of the photos from the pattern. www.berroco.com