All Over But the Edging

Man -- when you're a naturally monogamous knitter into projects with long timelines, there's really not a whole lot to be posting about. I just did a quick check over at Ravelry, and since one year ago, I've only started 14 projects. Many of these were long, involved projects, but still, I don't feel like I've been very productive. Not exactly lazy -- I've knit what feels like millions of stitches this year. I just don't have many things to show for it.

This past weekend I did manage to reach a milestone on the Honey Baby blanket, though. I've finished all the charts, and all I've left to do is the edging. I got a big chunk of the blanket finished while knitting with friends Saturday morning. My buddy Jene took this great photo with her what she refers to as her "smarty pants phone." It was chilly enough that morning that I got to wear my Hillhead Pullover for much of the time, although it did warm up and I had to pull it off. You can see it folded up on the chair to my right. And to my left, the light lavender blob that is the blanket.

The edging is knitted separately and then knit together to the still-live edge stitches, of which there are over 800 right now. So dozens of stitches of edging for each of those 800. A milestone, yes, but I wouldn't exactly say the end is in sight. I've read through the edging instructions a couple of times, but I'm still not sure I've got it. I'm going to take another stab at it this evening with fresh eyes. I'm sure that once it clicks I'll be off and running. But so far, no clicking.

Ooh, Honey Honey

Long time no post-y. Sorry about that. Although knitting abounds, novelty does not. The Honey Baby blanket has been consuming my knitting time, and as it grows, visible progress slows. It's the curse of the center-out design.

I took this photo showing the progress from the first chart to the second. Below the purled strip is the beehive motif. It's hard to see with me stretching this out by hand, but the purled triangles represent beehives. And the open yarnovers at the top are little bees' wings. I think. Right now, they look like moths, which are scarier than bees to a knitter.

From the original 8 stitches, I've increased to over 600. It takes nearly 30 minutes to do a round now, and it's only going to get slower. When I look at pictures of finished Honey Babies, I can see that I'm only a few inches from the edge, but it's gonna take a lot of knitting to get there. So close and yet so far!

I'm posting this from the regional medical librarians conference I go to each fall. This time we're in Lubbock, and although I've had a great time, I'm ready to head home. The long drive is going to be much more pleasing than the ride up, because I'll be accompanied by another knitting librarian.

More progress soon.