Few things I want to enter in this online journal before I forget them. First, I want to thank Ted for turning me on to the idea of a vertical swift. I wouldn’t have known about it if he didn’t send me all kinds of info on the various styles of swifts. He truly is a walking knitting encyclopedia. A fiber Guru.

I’ve been knitting quite a bit. I am doing the Four Corner Hat for mom. The crown is made up of four panels. The photo shows the first one that I completed.

You can work the panels separately then sew them together. Or join while you knit. I choose the second method of course. The brim for this style is a slip-stitch pattern, which is much easier than the fair isle pattern for the Nordic style. I am almost done with the third panel of the crown. Yay. Also, the yarn from Blackberry Ridge is very soft and stretchy. Quite enjoyable to knit.

I also started a simple lace project with KnitPicks’ lace weight, Gossamer. I know. I mentioned that I won’t blog about this one because it will be a gift. But this person doesn’t read my blog. So why not?

The pattern is the Candle Flame Shawl that I bought this yarn for. I thought about doing a more challenging pattern. But decided, heck, go with the original plan.

I am also knitting Afghan squares for Marianne’s friend Julie. I am not liking the yarn that I am using. Time to make a trip to A Mano to get something else. Any excuse to make a trip to the LYS, right? But seriously, I also need to get some cotton blend for the next hat project for mom.

Speaking of A Mano, remember the taping of the Men’s night TV segment at A Mano? Yeah. That aired some time ago. And to my horror they used part of my interview. I sounded like Miyagisan in The Karate Kid. Eek. Anyway. A Mano wants to continue Men’s night. Please let them know if you are interested.

Mac users, have you heard of Quicksilver? I discovered it recently. I absolutely love it. It’s an amazing launcher app. Go take a look.

Next topic. I made some changes/improvements to my blogs. First. I decided to end My Project 356 blog. With all the things that have been going on, I stopped taking photos regularly. Keeping a 365 project just doesn’t make sense at this point. I will just keep my Flickr account and make that my photo blog. It is also subscribable if anyone is interested to see my less than amateurish photos.

Speaking of subscribing. I was able to find a way to combine all my blogs plus the Flickr account into one feed. So, if you are interested to read EVERYTHING I post, like my tarot journey, Buddhist practice, and of course, knitting, you can subscribe to this feed. It doesn’t necessary mean that you will get a lot of reading material though.

I also added a feature called “Subscribe to Comment”. I always wonder if anyone who asks a question on my blog would return to look for a response, or would they expect an email instead? This will solve the dilemma. If you expect a response or want to be notified of new comments, just select to be notified by email. As long as you provide a valid email address, you will receive an email for any future comment to that post.

Do you see that new section in my sidebar that’s powered by Twitter? It’s a social networking thingie that I discovered yesterday. I don’t know if it will be useful or not. But definitely fun to try. It lets you use web, IM or mobile phone to send an update of your status, which gets posted on the network and sent to everyone that you consider a friend. The idea is to let friends follow what each other is doing, strengthening the relationships. It’s also used to send updates like news, etc. Go check it out. Read the TIME article. Let me know if you sign up!

A little update on my mom. Her condition is stable. But she is not able to walk around much. She uses a wheelchair most of the time. And her hair is mostly gone. Thank goodness that I finished the first hat. I was going to post more about the ridiculous things that my sisters did. Yes. Sisters. I don’t just have one wacky sister. I have two. And I don’t mean the one that I am working with to find help for mom. I have another one that’s making the matter more difficult. But I am just too tired of talking about them. I’ll just focus on the positive things for my mother and hope that she gets back some strength so she can have better quality of life.

Finished this square last night. It required the most stitches by far. 49 x 56. It was a joy to knit. Needed a lot of attention. At first it seemed a little too wide compared to the other squares. But the k-b and p-b stitches pulled the fabric in quite a bit after 4 or 5 rows. Phew!

Notes to myself: 1) Listening to podcasts, especially the funny ones, and learning a new stitch pattern at the same time can spell disaster. 2) Pay attention to a new stitch technique. See every step and every twist and turn. That knowledge will be needed when undoing stitches one by one. 3) Make sure to use the right color for each square! I realized that I used the wrong color for the this square and the last square. ARRGGHHH!!! I will have to remember to change the colors for two of the future squares so that I won’t risk running out of any color.

Here’s another shot of the square that shows the texture better.

Next square is named Rose Fabric. Two colors will be used. I can’t wait. But this needs to be interrupted momentarily so I can finish the feet of the socks before the class next week. I’m a Virgo. Just want to get them done so I won’t worry about it. You can see them in the photos. They are never too far away! I also want to do a couple of small experiments that I’ve been wanting to get to. I will post on them!

Oh! Almost forgot! There’s a Knit-Along for Learn to Knit Afghan. Check out this Yahoo Group, Square-A-long.

It was nice to take a breather from sock knitting and finish another square for the afghan. We won’t be meeting for the last class until 5/5. So I put down the socks, launched iTunes on my Mac, played knitting podcasts and music and knitted up the sixth square.

It wasn’t the first time I tried k-b and p-b, but I sure got a lot of practice with this square. Awkward at first, especially p-b. But I eventually found a good angle to insert the needle through the back loop. Knitting this way causes the stitches to be twisted and looking tight.

From bottom up in the photo, the first section of ribbing is called Twisted Ribbing. The next is Crossed Ribbing. Twisted Ribbing looks tight and sharp-edged. The Crossed Ribbing has a rounder look and not as tight. But both are tighter than plain ribbing. Good alternatives.

I really like the way this stitch pattern looks. It’s also quick and easy. Uses a lot of yardage though. It needs to be stretched out wider when blocking so the purl stitches show.

Next square, Twisted and Crossed Ribbing. In the photo above you can also see a picture of Origami. I decided to knit this first instead of the Aran Pullover. Colors will be completely different. Let’s hope I have better luck with yarn choices on this. Also need to get buttons and sewing kit. Sewing. Yikes!

This took a little more concentration to knit. As you can see, it needs a good blocking to look good!

Next square, Diagonal Ribbing. It’s already 1/3 done. You can see it at the top of the photo.

Square Three, Basketweave
This one knitted up real fast. Maybe because it was more interesting than just plain knitting. I haven’t woven in the ends yet. That makes it three squares that I need to do that. Anyone else hates weaving in ends as much as I do?

It is a little smaller than the Garter Stitch Square. It will need to be stretched a bit during blocking. Also the texture is a little too bumpy than I like. Blocking will take care of that. I was told that steaming is not good for cables or ribs. Is it true for basketweave?

Next sqaure, Lattice with Seed Stitch.

Square Two, Simple Stripes Stockinette Stitch
It just needs binding off then it is done. I left it on the needle so that it was easier to take a picture without it rolling up too much. I had forgotten how stockinette curl so much.

Halfway through knitting the square I put it down next to the first one and I cringed. I couldn’t see how they could fit together. After giving it a little thought, I wasn’t that worried anymore. There will be 6 color combinations. The dominant colors will be Winter Night and Fern. And these are only 2 squares out of 63. I can definitely find an arrangement when all the squares are done to make it beautiful.

The next one is basketweave. I can’t wait. I also need to cast-on for the baby sweaters for my friend Jennifer. First I need to sort through the yarn. I just got them few days ago. I ordered a bunch for the sweaters and the Dulaan Project. I am kicking myself for not making a list of what’s what.

Square One, Simple Stripes in Garter Stitch
It is done! Well, almost. I haven’t woven in the ends or blocked it. I think I am going to wait and block all the squares around the same time. I procrastinate when it comes to weaving in the ends. I can never decide which is the best way to do it. I don’t want to increase bulk. I don’t want them visible. I want them secure. You know all that stuff.

Here are a few pictures of our living room:

Can you see the colors of my Learn-to-Knit Afghan?

I’ve started the first square of the afghan. I’m actually further along on the process, but Blogger has been up and down that I wasn’t able to post this picture earlier.

The first two squares are simple stripes. First one with garter stitch and the second with stockinette stitch. Quite boring… eh, meditative. It will start getting interesting from third square on, beginning with basketweave. I will post a picture with each completed square.

I am a little worried about the assembly of the squares. I don’t know how! There are a lot of suggestions in the book but without details. Sew? Crochet borders? Knitted borders? I hope I have a book around somewhere on this subject.

Learn-To-Knit-Afghan Book
by Barbara Walker

I can’t believe that I haven’t started this. I got this book when I first started knitting. The purpose is to learn numerous techniques through knitting afghan squares. Mosaic, slip-stitch, twist-stitch patterns, cables and lace, to just name a few. I flipped through the book. Holy cow! I’m excited! Why did I put this off for so long, considering that I have purchased all the yarn and notions? And knitting one square at a time will sure to keep things interesting. Yes, I can do this and knit the baby sweaters at the same time. Yay!

Knitting out of Africa
by Marianne Isager

I got this book in the mail yesterday! Some great designs in there! The author also tried to keep things interesting by incorporating different techniques like entrelac, slip-stitch, intarsia, stranded color knitting and double knitting. How fun!