I Made a Thing!

I finally set up my Cricket Loom over the weekend after buying it several months ago. It took me almost two hours to warp it and, at one point, I texted my boyfriend to tell him how much I hated it and it wasn't enjoyable and it was too difficult to set up. I went back to work on warping it and realized I was almost done.

I used some cheap acrylic yarn that I bought on clearance since it was my first project ever. I had no idea how long it would be - I intended it to be three feet, but I did not take into account how much yarn it would take to tie the warp to the apron rods.

I had a tight tension to begin with, and I don't know if that is because of the warp or because of how I was pulling the yarn and reed. 

And suddenly, I was done. I cannot BELIEVE how quickly I completed this. I don't know if "gauge" has the same meaning or application for weaving as it does for knitting, but my gauge was looser towards the end. It seems the gauge can affect the overall perception of color, as evidenced most clearly by my purple stripes. 

The purple looks much warmer with the looser gauge, especially at a distance, since more of the orange is visible. I'm sure it seems obvious now, but it was not something I had considered before doing this. I want to do a few more projects with more inexpensive yarn since I am still learning about color and tightness of the weave, warp length, and so on. I am just still in shock at how fast this was, including warp time, which I am sure will decrease as I have more practice setting up.

I think my next attempt will be a table runner for our coffee table!

Radio Silence

I fell off of the face of the planet for a bit. Somewhere along the way, I finished section 2 of the KnitPicks Hue Shift afghan.

Then I started and completed my first ever shawl, using KnitPicks Stroll Hand Painted sock yarn. The Colorway is Make Believe. The pattern is free on Ravelry, link here.

I added an extra repeat of the lace pattern because I wanted to make sure the shawl was large enough to wrap around my shoulders if needed. The semester starts soon and classrooms are always so cold.

For the first time ever, I gave myself a tennis elbow because I was knitting on this shawl so much. My boyfriend got an ice pack for me to wrap around my elbow, left the room for a few minutes, and when he came back in I was back to knitting with the ice pack on. We argued for a few minutes and he convinced me to put down the knitting for one night because I needed to take a break for my elbow. It was worth it!