Erica's Stitches

 I've been slowly plugging away at the scarf I started last November.  It's complete except for an edging. My plan was to knit an edging but the thought of picking up all those stitches along the edge was frightening.  I also don't think I have the correct needles. Then I saw a scarf with a crocheted edge and I had a solution.  Except, I never learned to crochet.  How hard can it be?  I've seen a video of the worlds fastest crocheter.  Couldn't be easier. Actually, it is difficult.  You have to hold the yarn, the needle, your work, keep the tension correct and pull the yarn through without catching.  That's at least 5 things.  At first I could only master on or two at a time.  I was able to get help from a friend with lots of hints that aren't written down anywhere.  Now I'm up to only worrying about tension and catching the yarn.  I can even do several inches at a time without a glitch.  Slowly, I'm ma...

Yes, that's correct.  Quilted, not knitted domino potholders. They are made of one randomly striped fabric sewn into half-square triangles.  When the fabric is lined up carefully, the resulting squares have the same look as the knitted domino squares.  The best part is opening up the individual blocks to see what pattern emerges. I've got the binding finished on 7 of the 9 squares and then all that is left is to sew on the loops. After that they will be sent out as Christmas gifts.  Except for one or two for me.

Hopefully I'm going to be using all these mini-balls of yarn. I've been practicing knitting domino potholders all year and I'm now ready to knit a domino scarf. I haven't knitted much yet but it has been fun and addictive.  I'll plan an evening of cross-stitching and the next thing I know I'm knitting.    Luckily, each square goes quickly and then I can move on to my other projects. It's calling my name now.  Must resist!

Here are some of the potholders I've been working on for the last few months. They are from the book "Domino Knitting".   This batch is all stripey.  For the first two I changed colors by changing the yarn.  For the last one (on the left) I used some self-striping yarn.  The effect was not quite what I was expecting.  I really like the border and I'm going to used it in other projects, I'm sure. But, this washcloth is the way to used self-striping yarn.  It makes the simple design look fancier than it really is.  And, no ends to weave in!

Another finish! This started out as Potholder # 2 from Domino Knitting by Vivian Hoxbro.  I really liked the way the colors worked together and decided to make another one and turn it into a bag. I like bags but making them intimitdates me.  After staring at the parts for a few weeks I finally decided to do it.  I've made my share of errors assembling bags.  I've sewn the pocket in upside down and made the lining too small. This projects first mistake involved the straps.  I remember seeing something somewhere about i-Cords with clothesline on the inside for strength.  That sounded like a good idea.  I knitted the i-Cords and then got some clothesline to stuff inside.  That doesn't work.  Had I done more research I would have learned that you knit the i-Cord around the clothesline (and there are great tutorials out there).  Instead I ended up using a doubled up white shoelace for strength.  It was actually possible to ...