I know Grandma’s blanket isn’t done yet, but I had to scratch a brain itch. I have an idea for a brioche knit using vertical stripes of color, and I just had to start a prototype. This is scrap cotton yarn (yup, when I’ve done my experiments, it will go in the washcloth bin).
That the colors match my knitting bag is complete serendipity.
I am calling the center field of Grandma’s blanket done. Now to knit a bit more length on the long side borders.
I have four borders and most of the center field done of Grandma’s blanket. The side borders are not finished because the plan is to maximize the length of the blanket with the yarn I have remaining. The pattern calls for tassels, but I don’t like tassels (because they become a tangled mess), so I’m going to use the tassel intended yarn to make the blanket longer (we have tall people in our family). The yarn remaining is laid out on the center portion. I will use one skein to make the length, and the other skein for the join technique I want to use. I consider this a calculated risk, not yarn roulette.
I’m still plugging away at finishing Grandma’s blanket. I have a renewed fervor for finishing, since I now have five projects in queue. I’m currently working on the border pieces, which are mostly a five row repeat. At this point I have the five rows memorized, but to keep track of where I am, I made a simple chart. Since I have to make two, I make the first leg of the X for one side, and the second for the other. Then they should come out the same length.
Since I finished the brioche cowl, I decided to try the next project in the Modern Daily Knitting Brioche Field Guide. It was a long honey comb scarf, but I wasn’t sure I wanted another scarf (we are in Texas) so set out to learn the stitch pattern with scrap yarn to see if I liked it.
I don’t.
About 2” into the test I decidedly did not like the emerging fabric. The pattern is interesting, but the fabric is flat with almost no depth. I was hoping to make a bag, but did not think the thin holey knit would do well. So now what? In perusing Pinterest double knit items caught my eye. Double knit also uses two colors of yarn, as does brioche, and produces a double-sided fabric, as does brioche, so I gave that a go.
I like it. Especially after I rigged up a wire ring to hold the two strands of yarn on my finger, but slightly apart.
The resulting fabric from double knit is also thick and has a nice feel. I think it will do quite well in many applications, so I shall tuck it into my bag of tricks. The cotton test knit shall go into the dish cloth drawer.
Critters and Craft 