Sunday Craft Update -- August 21

It's done!! The Philosopher's Wool Color Your Own sweater with set-in sleeves is finished. Doing the shaped armholes with steeks wasn’t all that difficult after all. I ended up working the top two inches of the body back and forth to shape the neckline. (I always hated cutting out the neck hole and “wasting” all that yarn and knitting effort.) I also did the top inch of the sleeve caps back and forth, but otherwise, the entire sweater was knit in the round.

I made the armholes roomy enough, so the extra seam allowance doesn’t feel uncomfortable when I wear the sweater. However, the additional bulk prevents the seam from lying completely flat. I may have to do some extra blocking and/or clipping of the seam allowance to make the seam smoother. Otherwise, I’m happy with the finished product and will likely use this procedure again.

What I will not do next time is read the instructions quickly and carelessly. I had to rip out 6 inches of the body because I had decreased too many stitches when shaping the armholes. Often, when I talk to beginner knitters, they are embarrassed to tell me about their "stupid" mistakes. Well, this goes to show that 30 years of knitting experience doesn't protect one from totally idiotic mistakes.

Sunday Craft Update -- August 14

Here, finally, is the fourth and last baby blanket made for Bernat's Project Linus Blanket Drive. I made it with the leftover Bernat Baby Coordinates and Baby Softee yarns from the first three blankets, using one of Bernat's patterns from their extensive collection of free patterns. And here, below, is the stack of blankets that my stitching pal Laura and I made this summer during the Bernat KAL/CAL. (The two on the top are hers.) They've been sent to Bernat and hopefully are on their way to the children who can use them.