Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Spice of Life!

Today marks the end of Week One in the Ravellenics!   And I'm happy to have crossed the finish line in WIPS Wrestling and be able to show a finished Spice of Life Blanket:


The pattern was written for DK weight yarn, but using worsted weight yarn, and making it exactly as the pattern is written (except for adding some rows for length) it measures approximately 54" across and 78" long.  Does that sound crazy?   Written down it sort of does to me, but in reality it's actually pretty perfect for tucking one's self up in.  What can I say?  I like my blankets big.  :)



I've been keeping up practicing knitting, and have 2 more dishcloths to show:


Not perfect, but getting better! 


I really like this pattern and using a stripey yarn makes it even more fun to do. I basically just switched back and forth from garter to seed stitch and back again whenever the color changed.

This may just end up being the year of the knitted dishcloth.  If I master the humble dishcloth, maybe I can move onto something bigger.  But I'm liking using my new knitted dishcloths, so I'm fairly content for the time being knitting away on them.

It's a rainy weekend, with the beginning of the week promising even more rain.  No complaints from me.  The grass is green (not the norm for August in Indiana) and the temps have come down a bit (into the mid-80's.  Maybe high 70's by Monday.)  What a relief that sounds like.

Later today our sons are coming over and we're having a lasagna lupper (that's a late lunch/early supper).  It's a real trip trying to coordinate three adult young men to come to Mom & Dad's house anymore.  I thought they would fawn over the offer of a home cooked meal, but it was like wrangling cattle to get them to agree on a day and time.   I'm still not sure if middle son is going to make it in time for eats.  But these days I take them when I can get them.  :)

And that's a wrap for this YOP Sunday.   To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry!



28 comments:

  1. Love the blanket, it's just perfect and there is no point in having a skimpy blanket, one big enough to wrap up all body parts in, is to my mind essential. Now those cloths, WOW, what a transformation from just a couple of weeks back and you can even see the improvement from the plain blue one to the stripe one, love the stripe one! I don't any knitters who have been knitting for years to do any better than that stripe cloth, it's perfect. Enjoy lunch with your boys and wrangling them all together is not a part I'm looking forward to in the coming years

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    1. Thanks for the knitting encouragement, Ruth. I'm not sure if the improvement is so much on my part, of if the pattern is just too easy to mess up. We'll see. I want to make a few more of these and then, perhaps try something a bit more challenging.

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  2. Now THAT is what I call a blanket. I simply adore your Spice of Life. Pure lusciousness to get wrapped up in. The bigger the better.
    To me your wash cloths are perfect as I cannot knit anything as good as that. I am watching you improve in leaps and bounds every week and I get inspired by your enthusiasm to make it work. One day I'll pluck up enough courage to get out my knitting needles again for another try (or shouting match).
    Hope you have a lot of fun with your three boys. It is lovely when they come home. I'm in the same boat as you with my three sons too (and a daughter). I so look forward to having them all in the house at the same time, but I also love it if they can get home for an impromptu visit on their own. I'll take whatever they can give me.

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    1. Awe, thank you, Cyra. I don't feel like my knitting is improving very quickly, but I guess I WAS surprised at how much better this recent cloth looked than the last one I made. I thought it was fluke of the pattern. Time will tell, I guess - as I move onto new patterns. ;^)

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  3. what a lovely blanket!! :))) Yes, I can see how it would be a real change also to not be able to see your kids all the time; how life has seasons and change, but our Lord, He is with us always and you can always pray to Him for your kids and that is a very active parenting role you can always have! Lovely meal plans! God bless you! Thanks for your encouragement about my blog, btw, I really appreciate that a lot!

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    1. Yes, Elizabeth. Parenting changes as the kids grow into adulthood. While it's much less hands off (obviously), there's sometimes a greater earnestness to parenting. When the main thing you can do for your kids is pray, that activity comes to mean something deeper than it seemed to when they were little. And you're welcome - about your blog. It's a beautiful place on the web.

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  4. The blanket came out great! I've made several and I'm off blankets for now, except the baby one I need to make...hope the middle son made it..

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  5. Oh the blanket turned out perfect!!!!! It is so pretty with all the different colors and different stitches. Awesome job on the dishcloths! They look so good!! You are doing really well at it, glad you kept at it. :) Always so good when the kids come home.

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    1. Thank you, Dianna. Your encouragement means a lot - especially seeing how quickly you picked up the skill of knitting.

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  6. Your blanket is simply splendid, it must be fabulous to snuggle under. The dishcloths are great, I couldn't do any better.I hope everyone made it and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

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  7. Wow your Afghan is wonderful! Your knitting is also coming on well, love the dishcloths. Hope all turned up and you all had a lovely meal together.

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    1. Thanks, Sharon! Everyone made it Sunday. For the meal and then for table games. It was a good, good time.

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  8. I love your blanket, the textures and the colors. We're still in the heat wave but we'll take that over the rain some are getting now. I'm hoping to start learning to Knit soon, your progress is great. I think dishcloths are a very practical learning tool!

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    1. Thank you, Allison. I've been kind of amazed that I've tolerated making this blanket with the heat we've had this summer. Even with air conditioning, I normally wouldn't think of making blankets in the summer. But when a CAL calls, sometimes you've just got to answer.

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  9. Your Spice of Life blanket is wonderful! I absolutely love it. I have that project on my in-the-future list. Hmmm, maybe I can start one after the Christmas rush. I like your striped dishcloth. I really like how the striping yarn worked with the pattern; they were a perfect match.

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    1. Thanks, Stefanie! I wish I had more striped kitchen cotton yarn. I recently picked up some skeins when they were deeply discounted and I didn't event think of buying stripes!

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  10. I love your Spice of Life!! it's so pretty, you used great colors! And your dishcloths look great too

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  11. Your blanket is so colourful and I love big blankets. It looks the perfect size. And, once my C2C is done I can see tacklking something as beautiful as that too.

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  12. I love the colours in your blanket and the size will be very welcome in a few months time.

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  13. I agree on big blankets/wraps/throws. Nothing worse than a stingy cover! Yours looks very nice.

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  14. The blanket is fantastic. So colorful and yummy looking. Dishcloths are the best thing to learn knitting skills on. You are doing great on your knitting, keep it up.

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  15. I'm back and company has gone home. So glad I caught your Spice of Life blanket! It is gorgeous! I've got to make one of those. I just hope mine turns out as pretty as yours! Your washcloths are great and I love the striping...so pretty and you are really becoming a knitter! I'm ready for a new dishcloth pattern. I always love everything you do! See you on Sunday!

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  16. Oh my gosh I just love your blanket! It is so pretty and your colors are amazing. I know that is something you will always treasure. I should try to knit a dishcloth like that. I love that yarn too and I think I have something similar. The scarf I'm knitting is getting easier but it is so easy to get confused and mess up. if I can stop frogging it I might actually finish it.

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