Reading Your Knitting

I finished the second Cousteau VEVO (neck warmer) and it's dried from blocking. This was the smaller version with the 148-stitch cast-on.

This is a great item to just shove in your coat pocket, yet around the neck is warm and snuggly, and stylish, too!

It's not hard to figure out which is the right side/outside. The background before each set of stitches in the pattern is 2 purl sts. For the meandering motifs, there is a series of knit stitches with either left-leaning decreases (ssk - slip slip knit the two slipped stitches together) or right-leaning decreases (k2tog - knit two stitches together). To create the lacy holes, yarn overs(yo) balance out the decreased stitches.

I'm glad there was enough yarn in the MadelineTosh Prairie superwash merino yarn to complete the second (and smaller) neck ring, even with two strands held together to get the desired weight. 

On a couple of the previous neck rings I used two strands of laceweight but spun/plied them together with my spinning wheel. But somehow this yarn had been split into two equal balls so it was easy to hold them together.

Last night our guild had an executive meeting to discuss starting an informal community stitching group at one of our local libraries. One of our new members suggested this way to promote our group.

 I had just finished with that Zoom call and I got a message from my niece, Ana, inviting me to a crafty retreat in March. We talked about what projects we might take to work on. They're primarily quilters so it would be appropriate for me to take my sewing stuff and make a couple more project bags. 

Ana has an interest in learning how to crochet a blanket - her kit was purchased quite a while ago. It's called 'Skulls in a Row' and was designed by Chelsea Reese of Chelseacrafts.

She asked if I could teach her. After she sent me the .pdf, I grabbed a couple of balls of worsted weight yarn and started a swatch. I like having charts to back up the written pattern but none were provided. I cast on enough chain stitches to do three repeats of the pattern. The first set of stitches is row of complete skulls, Then the next set of stitched offsets them.

Here, the skulls are outlined.

Very scary! LOL. I tried to find software that would let me chart it but I don't think StitchFiddle has a provision to show stitches 'between' stitches in the row below. Oh well.

All this talking about crocheting got me thinking about the Mystical Lanterns blanket again. There are several options offered from the Wool Warehouse in the UK - depending on which yarn is used. I will wait until after I return from my Spanish knitting tour to decide if I'll 'pull the trigger' and order it.