On the Hook: Green Afghan

This week's featured project is a wool afghan pattern from Quick and Cozy Afghans; the pattern is called Spring Throw but I've obviously picked not-so-springy colors for my version.

Overview: The pattern is crocheted in strips that are then stitched together, which makes it a surprisingly portable project despite its ultimate size. I'm using Ella Rae Classic in three colors, from darkest to lightest: Green Heather (#110), Moss (#16), and Light Green Heather (#109). Purchased at Knit Happens in Alexandria, VA. I'm using a smaller hook (G, or 4.5mm) than the pattern calls for, so each strip has more repetitions (96) than the pattern originally calls for.

Current status: I've finished and stitched together 7 strips; it's currently 24" wide and 54" long. It's a little bit shorter than I was hoping (whoops - should've checked my gauge!) so I'm planning on adding some kind of border either around the whole afghan or just across the short end to make it a little longer. A couple of ideas:
- two-color border
- afghan border
- shell path edging (I like this because it mirrors the pattern of the afghan, but I don't want it to compete)
- cathedral edge
- biscuit edge

Here's a close-up of what the corner looks like:

On the Needles: Mediterranean Lace

I've been meaning to start this blog for a while now, and now is as good a time as any. This is the inaugural of what I hope will be a weekly feature called "On the _____" to showcase a knitting project (or crochet, or other creative endeavor) currently in progress.

Today: Mediterranean Lace shawl from Meg Swansen's A Gathering of Lace. I modified the pattern from its original shape to be a simple rectangle (inspired by bluegarter.org, specifically this post).

Overview: The shawl is 24 repetitions of a 28-row pattern, with a 50-row border added to it afterwards. I'm using ArtYarns Cashmere 1 in off-white (color #250) and size #2 needles. This project is a lot of firsts for me: first lace project, first project reading from a chart, first project in needles/yarn that small, etc.

Current status: Started this project on March 9th and have finished 9 repetitions so far (yay!). 9 repetitions x 28 rows x 141 stitches = 35,532 stitches (yikes!). The yarn comes in skeins of 510 yards; I'm very close to finishing one skein (it's hard to believe that 500 yards of yarn makes only about 2 feet of finished fabric). I've made two somewhat noticeable mistakes.... but when the shawl is finished, I doubt they'll be noticeable to anyone besides me.

And here's a little before/after:



(those adorable little stitch markers came from Miss Purl)