Category Archives: afghans

Mitred Squares Sock Yarn Afghan

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Last week, I mentioned my afghan in progress made of mitred squares knit in leftover sock yarn and realized I’d never given that project its own post. Today we fix that!

Here’s the base square. This one is knit in (hmm) Collinette Jitterbug, in the colourway Monet. That’s the Ravelry link as it looks like this yarn might be discontinued.

Mitred square knit in sock yarn leftovers by Deborah Cooke

I like knitting mitred squares. They’re easy and the result looks good. One of my favorite books about them is Domino Knitting by Vivian Høxbro – here’s the Amazon.ca link for the book, here’s the Ravelry link and here’s VH’s website. This is a lovely little book with a number of interesting projects.

From this, I developed my sock yarn square. For a mitred square with a central stockinette stitch, you cast on an odd number of stitches, and this makes the outer edge of the L. That central stitch remains in stockinette (knit on the right side and purled on the wrong side) while the rest of the square is knit in garter stitch (all knit, all the time). It makes a prettier edge if you slip the first stitch on each row, and that also makes it easy to pick up stitches and add new squares to the existing ones. it saves you seaming if you just knit them together.

Here are my afghan blocks so far:

Mitred sock yarn squares afghan knit by Deborah Cooke

I’m piecing them together in blocks of 24 squares. I decided on a big block size to keep from having too many repeats in the same area – you can see that these two blocks shouldn’t be right beside each other. I might set them up to make them radiate from a central point instead of like this. We’ll see.

Mitred Sock Yarn Block
I knit mine on a 2.5mm needle.

Cast on 49 stitches.
R1 (RS): Knit
R2 (WS): knit 24, P1, place marker, knit 24
R3 (RS): Slip one, knit to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, slip marker, k1, SSK, knit to end.
R4 (WS): Slip one, knit to 1 stitch before marker, P1, knit to end

Continue as established, repeating rows 3 and 4 and decreasing two stitches on each RS row, until there are 3 sts left. SSK and draw end through the loop to finish.

Lizard Ridge Afghan Completed

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I finished the border on my Lizard Ridge afghan, knit in Noro Kureyon. I used some Berella Muskoka that was in my stash, in the colourway Amethyst Heather.

I was concerned that the yarn would look too smooth in contrast to the Noro, but am very happy with the result. Here it is!Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah Cooke

Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah CookeThis is the edging from the pattern. It’s a nice shell stitch, which fits perfectly with the waves.Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah Cooke

What do you think?

Lizard Ridge Afghan 5

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I’ve been sharing my progress this summer on my Lizard Ridge afghan knitted in Noro Kureyon. This has to be the fastest project I’ve ever knitted. The pattern is addictive, plus I pretty much stuck to this one project. It was great car-knitting for summer road trips.

I showed you the finished squares last time. I’ve washed and blocked them now, and have sewn them together. Kureyon isn’t a really great yarn for seaming because it’s loosely spun. Instead, I used some black sock yarn – it’s three-ply Patons Kroy – which is smoother and thinner as well as having a bit of nylon in it.

Here it is, assembled:Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah Cooke

The pattern suggests a crocheted border in Cascade 220. Instead of buying yet more yarn, I visited the stash. I have more than a sweater’s worth of Berella Muskoka in Amethyst Heather, which is (surprise!) purple. I’ll use that for the border.

The next time you see this beast, it will be done!

Lizard Ridge Afghan 4

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Here’s an update on my Lizard Ridge afghan in Noro Kureyon, predominantly in shades of blue and green.

I finished the seven blocks in colourway 327 which has a lot of deep blues – also some burnt orange and a bit of burgundy.Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah Cooke

I only included six in the picture, since it made a nicer composition, but there are seven of them.

Now I’ve knit one block from each skein. I have 21 blocks and a lot of bits:

They’re grouped by colourway here. The total weight is 150g and it takes about 40g to make one square.

Here are my last three squares, each of which has at least two colourways in it. That’s the last of the yarn below them. They don’t look bad, do they?Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah CookeI’m surprised to only have 13g of yarn left, but several of the colourways were spun thicker than the original one. I have 8 complete blocks of the first colourway I used (the one from my stash – 254), plus it’s in two of the leftover blocks, and there’s still a bit of leftover. I had 7 skeins. In contrast, I bought 7 skeins of the last colourway (327) which was spun much thicker. I got 7 squares out of that, plus half of one of the last three, and the other bit of leftover.

Just for fun, I laid out all the blocks on the patio. They’re curly because they need to be blocked and I know I’ll be moving the order around, but here they are all together:
Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah CookeNow I have a lot of blocking and sewing to do.

What do you think?

Lizard Ridge Afghan 3

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I’ve been talking about the afghan I’m knitting in Noro Kureyon, in a pattern called Lizard Ridge. There are two posts so far: here’s the first one, and here’s the update.

Today, there’s another update. 🙂

This week, I knit the three blocks in colourway 40. Here they are:Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah Cooke

This takes me into the blues from the greens. I have some bits left but will do my blended squares after knitting all the ones that are in a single colourway. I’ve started to knit the blocks in 327 which has a lot of lovely deep blues. I’ll show you some of them next week. I have seven balls of that colourway, so it will take me a couple of weeks to get them all knitted. Then the mixy mixy ones. THEN I can start to put it together!

What do you think of these?

Lizard Ridge Afghan 2

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I’ve been knitting away on my Lizard Ridge afghan in Noro Kureyon, and wanted to show you my progress today. I showed you the first two squares two weeks ago, which were knitted from some Kureyon in my stash. That was colour 254, which is discontinued. I knit up most of that, and have the eight squares at the top of this picture as a result, as well as some bits and ends leftover.

I then knit 3 squares with colour 332, which is shades of green with a bit of brick red. Those three squares are at the very bottom.Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah Cooke

Because it hasn’t been blocked or had the blocks sewn together, it’s a bit curly on the edges, but you get the idea.

Right now, I’m knitting squares from colour 40, which is more blue with a touch of lime and pink.

Finally, I have seven balls in colour 327, which is mostly blues with a little bit of orange and purple.

These eleven squares completed means that I’ve done almost half. The pattern calls for 24 squares (4 by 6) but I’d rather it was 25 (5 by 5). I’ll have to see what I can do with those bits and ends once the blocks that are entirely each colour are done.

What do you think? I think it’s going to be fun to rearrange the blocks once I have them all knitted! There’s an edging in a solid colour and I have a feeling mine might need to be purple. We’ll see!

Lizard Ridge Afghan 1

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This past week, I cast on yet another knitting project. It’s funny how no matter what is on the needles, I crave something else. I realized that I needed something to knit in the car, a portable project on larger needles (than socks) that didn’t require a lot of attention. Summer is the season of road trips, after all! I wanted to use yarn from my stash, too.

The Lizard Ridge afghan is one that I’ve admired for years – this is the Ravelry link and this is the link to the pattern on Knitty, where it was originally published in 2008. It’s a free pattern. Lizard Ridge is designed to showcase Noro Kureyon, one of my favorite yarns, and does that brilliantly.

Here my first few blocks – this is the colourway 254 from my stash.Lizard Ridge by Laura Aylor knit in Noro Kureyon by Deborah Cooke

I had seven skeins of Kureyon in my stash, but the pattern calls for twenty. I played with mixing and matching, but really, the Kureyon makes the project. I was compelled (alas!) to buy more Kureyon in coordinating colorways. 🙂

What do you think?

Rowan Pure Wool Mystery Afghan

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I finished an afghan in the last couple of weeks. I was determined to get it off my needles. It was yet another bulky project that was crazy for me to knit in the summer. This was the Rowan knit-a-long mystery afghan by Martin Storey, which I started in 2014. I designed my own border for it, and had to knit it in a contrasting colour since I ran out of the variegated yarn. It’s been waiting on that border to be finished for a while.

The variegated yarn proved to be a bad choice, even though it was in my stash, since the different stitch combinations on the blocks meant that the colours pooled in different ways on different blocks. Oh well. (Interestingly enough, the pooling is much more evident in this pic than in real life.) I’m glad it’s done, and there’s 5 lbs less of Patons Decor in my stash. It’s now in the car and The New Girl loves it, so all ends well.Pure Wool Mystery Afghan by Martin Storey knit by Deborah Cooke in Paton's Decor

 

Mystery Afghan KAL – 2

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You might remember me posting about the Rowan yarns Mystery Knit-A-Long a few weeks back, which is an incremental pattern for an afghan. Each week, there’s a pattern published for a new afghan block, and each week, you’re supposed to knit six of that week’s block. After 8 weeks of this, knitters will each have 48 blocks. The subsequent weeks include instructions for the border and for assembling the afghan.

Here are the first four block patterns in my substitution yarn. (Knitters are only eligible for prizes from Rowan if they use the specified yarn, Rowan Pure Wool Worsted, which is available in 50 solid colours. I chose to stash-dive instead.) My yarn is Patons Decor and it is variegated, which adds some spice to the blocks.Pure Wool Mystery Afghan by Martin Storey knit by Deborah Cooke in Paton's DecorThese aren’t blocked to size. I block lace, but am not going to bother with afghan blocks. If I did block them, they’d all be perfectly square and the exactly the same size—blocking means that the damp or wet squares are gently stretched to shape and left pinned until they dry.

The variegated yarn definitely obscures the stitch pattern in the blocks and makes them more visually busy—but it’s also pooling in a very predictable pattern. “Pooling” refers to the way that the colours in a variegated yarn come together in a knitted piece. Some pooling is beautiful (see Dayana deliberately playing with pooling here – as well as explaining a lot about it) and some is ghastly. What works is also a question of personal taste. Knitters tend to get excited about pooling—if you’re on Ravelry, you might want to check out this thread for thousands of examples. The thread is six years old and still active, a sign of how much pooling can agitates knitters. (Some call pooling “clown barf” which is another hint.)

The pooling is similar in each block here because the blocks are the same number of stitches in width and the variegation—done by a machine—occurs at fixed intervals. Even so, it’s more regular than I anticipated it would be. I’d thought I would have to cast on at the same point to make the pooling match, but didn’t do that because I thought the stitch pattern would also influence how the colours fell. Apparently not. I’m curious to see whether the eye dismisses the pooling when all 48 blocks are assembled. If so, the stitch pattern might appear to be more evident. We’ll see. (This afghan is an experiment, and it will be warm and useful either way. My opinion of it will determine only its final location: living room, television room or dog bed.)

This pooling pattern also means that unless the border is the same number of stitches in width, the pooling in the border will be different from everywhere else in the afghan. That might be distracting, and I’m considering the possibility of making the border in a solid colour—either the teal or the burgundy, depending upon which I can match. Again, we’ll see.

As anticipated, I’m behind on my squares already. I need to do three more from week 3 (the one with the zigzag) and five from week four (the XOX’s). Since there will be a new clue on Monday, I’ll probably fall farther behind. C’est la vie!

Mystery Afghan KAL

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This spring, I’ve also been participating in a Mystery KAL. “KAL” stands for Knit-A-Long. The idea is that a lot of people knit the same thing at the same time. Social media are great for this, because people chat about the project as it goes. A mystery KAL means that you don’t see the final project until the end: the instructions are released as clues, each of which guides you to completing the next phase of the project. New patterns for lace shawls are sometimes revealed as mystery KAL’s, but this one is for an afghan.

The pattern is from Rowan Yarns and designed by Martin Storey. It’s free – you just have to register as a member at their website to be able to download the PDF files with the clues. It’s designed to highlight their new yarn, Pure Wool Worsted, and if you knit it in that yarn, you can register for the KAL and be eligible to win prizes. If you knit it in another yarn—as I”m doing—you can still join in the chitty chat around the internet, and knit something pretty.

I decided to stash-dive for this project and remembered that I’d bought a “tangle” of Patons Decor years ago. A tangle is a huge skein sold by the mill. It’s not really tangled, but it’s big. This one weighed more than 5 lbs. Patons Decor is a wool and acrylic yarn specifically intended for afghans and household items – because it feels like wool but is machine washable. It’s also close to the weight of the PWW used in the pattern, and certainly close enough to substitute. My plan when I bought it was to make an afghan, but I didn’t enjoy knitting the pattern I’d chosen, so all the many (many) cakes of yarn went into the stash. This yarn is variegated instead of a solid colour, which adds another dimension to knitting this pattern. It might end up being too much visually, but I kind of like it. Maybe I have a high chaos tolerance. Here’s my first block in the first clue:Pure Wool Mystery Afghan by Martin Storey knit by Deborah Cooke in Paton's Decor

I’m already behind, as I’d anticipated. Each week, you’re supposed to knit 6 blocks in the provided clue. I finished clue 1 on time but right now have only 2 of the clue 2 blocks finished. Clue 3 won’t be out until Tuesday, so maybe I’ll catch up in time.

If you’d like to join the KAL, there’s more information on the Rowan website. There are also some YouTube videos with the designer, Martin Storey, as he talks about the project. The wonderful thing about this KAL is that it’s planned for the blocks to become gradually more challenging—the KAL is designed to help knitters learn new skills. To aid in that, there are lots of links provided with each clue for videos about techniques. Rowan has more info and chat on their Facebook page, and of course, there’s a lot of chatter on Ravelry in the Rowan yarns forum(s) about the KAL.

Are any of you participating in this mystery KAL? Have you ever participating in a KAL, mysterious or otherwise?