Stash reduction update:
I had a big bag of Reynolds Cotton Rope.
Actually, I have two bags – one of turquoise and one of orange. Folks on Ravelry say it’s splitty and it is,
because there’s a little thread that seems to be the acrylic that wants to
separate and hang out outside the stitch sometimes. Still, it has a nice crunchy cool cotton feel
and the colors are wonderful. I dove
into the bag of turquoise and made this sweater.
It’s called “Shalom”by Megan McFarlane and is simpler than it
looks, at least to me, and knits up pretty quickly. I learned from my last sweater with garter
stitch borders that you should not join a new ball of yarn at the end/beginning
of the border. The tightening of the
stitches and weaving in of the ends detracts from the uniform texture of the
border. Possibly more skilled knitters
know a better way around this, but I think it works better if you sneak your join
in where the garter stitch meets the stockinette.
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With the leftover yarn, I made this monster from Rebecca
Danger’s The Big Book of KnittedMonsters. This book is worth having
just for the fun stories she writes about the various monsters and where they
live. I’m naming mine “Bluto” (for obvious
reasons). He’s made from the “Hugo” pattern.
The blue hair on top was my addition –I think it adds to his
personality. Rebecca says to go down a couple of needle sizes below what you
need for gauge to give a tight knit for structure and to hold in the
stuffing. Next time I would go even
smaller on the needles, because when you stuff the monster, the stitches
expand. Bluto is going into the
grandkid’s toy box. The toy box is full
of Kevin’s castoff cars and action figures.
I wanted to add something a little softer and gentler. The monsters are fun to make and only take a
couple of skeins. I’m going to do a two
color one next. Maybe the “Irving”
pattern.
