not much progress

<>Sorry, not too much progress on my log-cabin. I have been working on my crochet blanket the last few days. I want it finished ! Also, I had a frozen shoulder problem last year, and when I knit too much it acts up again. One of my New Years resolutions was not to overdo it, and limit knitting to strictly one hour a day. Starting a log-cabin was maybe not the smartest thing to do. I figured I could knit on 'just one block'. I find it very addictive to 'finish that block', and one block takes around five hours.

Anyway, I have been thinking about my log cabin. I still want to use the denim yarn, and was thinking about knitting solid color blocks, washing/shrinking those and incorporating that in the afghan. I have been surfing around to find nice lay-outs for an afghan with an even number of multicolored and solid blocks. I am not a quilter (tried it, didn't like all the sewing). I found this free software for quilters : http://www.quiltmakersoftware.com

Anybody knows this ? It looks promising !

Willy-Nilly Log Cabin Afghan

Here's my log cabin (finally). I haven't made much progress on it. I'm just picking up stitches and knitting with whatever color until I get sick of it. Then I cast off and start with a new colors. Not as well-laid out as your afghans, but it'll keep me warm. It's knit out of superwash merino wool using US 5 needles. I can't imagine having to hand wash an afghan!

conundrum

I'm tyring to figure out how to put together my Log Cabin....to see the options, go here and help me out!
Thanks!

progress

I promised progress pictures :

This is square 1 to 4. I like how the colors work together. A comment was to make a baby blanket, or cushion cover. That would work, but I really want a blanket size finished product. My teenage son and daughter both have their TV blanket. These look so old and tattered, that I really want some new ones. (I don't know if they will agree to give up their old blankies ! - actually old sleeping bags).

I started crocheting a blanket, and as that went fast, I started knitting one also. I just think the knitted one will take a lot longer to finish. It will probably be a two year project. That's OK, because I plan to have my living room redecorated by then. I add a picture of my crochet blanket, I hope that's OK. It's nearly finished, but it's a bit scractchy (shetland wool). I'll probably have to line it.

swatches

Time to show some swatches ! I have a bad experience with a sweater in Rowan cotton glace - it stretched out so horrible ! Now I have a dress instead of a sweater. This sweater was knitted on 3,5mm in reverse stockinette. Some of the yarn I use here are leftovers from that sweater !

Anyhow, I decided that a firm gauge for a blanket was essential. This is my swatch on 3mm :

Still thought the gauge was too loose, and tried it on 2,5 mm. I had to go out to buy new needles, the only 2,5mm I had were bent, and very old. I don't usually knit on 2,5mm ! (except socks, but I have small dpns for that purpose). So this is my first square, knitted on 2,5mm :

I'll show a bit more of my progress tomorrow.

joining

hello,

My name is Dominique, I live in Belgium, and I started a log cabin blanket (sounds like an intro to anonymous something ...). I am not good at English, not good at photograpy, new at blogging ....but I do like to knit, and share, and hope to find a forum to do so here.

Probably some of you are on the knitlist also, so if I repeat myself I do apologize. The best thing about blogging is that you can share pictures, so I intend to do that here. I don't have my own blog (yet).

I made a firm resolution to knit from stash, and I don't have enough cotton in different colors to knit this kind of blanket. Surfing around I found another nice blanket, by Mari in Portugal http://www.pura-lana.blogspot.com/ (scroll down a bit to see the blanket).

In my stash I found Rowan cotton glace leftovers, and Anny Blatt 'Louxor' and 'Assouan' (both Egyptian mercerized cottons) in shades of pumpkin, browns (chocolate, mocha, taupe), burgundy and brick red, rust, sunflower, a bit of pink, olive and fuchsia. It works together, but I don't have enough. I also found 12 balls of Schachenmayr Nomotta Blue Jeans. This is a denim yarn that fades and shrinks like the Rowan Denim. I have used 3 balls to knit a baby sweater. I remember it being softer to work with then the Rowan Denim, and gets even softer after washing. The shrinking is less also. I think this pale blue denim color would work well with my other colors.

Because of the special nature of the denim yarn (it shrinks), I asked the knitlist what to do, and most people advised against using it together with the other cottons. So that plan is out. I'll have to think about what to do next, but for the time being I have enough cotton to keep me knitting for some time. Just not enough to finish a blanket.

I tried to get the lay-out right, but don't seem to be able to put the pictures where I want them (in the text). I tried 10 times, so I'll leave it like this. Maybe somebody can help me with this ?
In my next post I can show you some of my progress.

Dominique

Starting out...

Well, I cast on for my log cabin afghan... it's fairly fast going right now, but I know as the strips get bigger that it will feel like a never ending thing :)

I think the biggest challenge is keeping my guage. I've noticed that the longer I knit, the more I relax... I want a square blanket, not a wonky diamond. Maybe restricting myself to one strip a night will help keep my laziness in check.

I can see that I'm going to need some new needles... my stitches are getting pretty close together on the needle. I'm thinking a nice new set of circulars... any excuse to buy new needles!!

Off Center Log Cabin

Hey everyone, I'm Abi - I live in Northern California - I knit, I spin and I do some dyeing.

I got the Mason Dixon knitting book a couple of weeks ago and immediately was inspired to cast on for an Off-Center variation of the Log Cabin. I have tons of DK weight cotton in my monstrosity of a stash, and thought that I could get a fair bit done with what I had on hand. Plus I'd been drifting around in the knitting doldrums for a week or so before the book came. I needed a project to sink my teeth into - and by golly I sure got one! This is planned to be a bedspread for my queen sized bed. I'm about 19% done as of the wee hours of last night. 7/36ths done! Whoo hoo - it's taken me a couple of weeks to get this far - and I've been working fairly steadily on it. It's really not a good project for take-along knitting, but I did take it for a road trip that we did last weekend and made some progress.

I ended up starting out with smaller needles than were probably necessary - I swear I thought they were somewhere around a 3.75 mm (US 5) but I couldn't find my needle gauge, and of course after I figured out that I was actually doing a Queen sized blanket on size 3mm (US 3's) I'd already put a lot of work into this puppy. But I do like the fabric!

I put my current spindle in the shot up there on the top right hand corner so you can get some idea of scale. It's silk that I'm spinning on my walks at lunch time.

I'm really having a lot of fun with this - and I'm loving seeing everyone elses projects! Keep up the good work - I'll post again when I get to 9 squares and show you some other layout possibilities with multiple log cabin squares. Of course I have to say that I'm very envious of all you out there working on one big cabin - no sewing together at the end! I'm not looking forward to that part.

Have fun!

Abigale

Hello!!

Thanks for letting me join! I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my MD book (Amazon says they shipped in Saturday, so it should be here soon) and then I'll be starting on my Log Cabin. All the pictures of it convince me that I need to do one of these :)

Hallo everybody!

This is my One Square Log Cabin, which grows a little bit every day. It's about 30" square right now. I made it my main project because I have so many ideas for other projects; so I want to get this one done. I love to look at stuff others are knitting; many times it's a great motivator to get those needles clicking. ;o)

Salutations

At the moment, I am determined to finish a sweater while the nights are still cool enough so I haven't started Log Cabinning. I am planning a dishcloth or three to start as I use up partial balls of cotton. I do prayer shawls with a church group and I'm collecting lots of small balls of the yarn I use for them; I think I will Log Cabin them, too. I hadn't planned on a bathmat, but since String Bean mentioned it in the first post the idea has begun to call to me.

Hi! and buttons...

Hi, I'm Tara, and I'm so excited to get Log-Cabining! I think I'll start with some washcloths (for Mother's Day...better get crackin'!) and then move onto The Blanket.
I have several blankets planned:

1. My handpainted yarn...I'll use the throw for fiber festivals to show off my colorways. I'm still thinking through the layout of colors, because I don't want it to be too crazy. I'm thinking of many small logcabin squares, cool colors on one side and warm on the other, then line them up in a traditional quilt pattern (so all the cool colors make some larger pattern...I'll show pictures of examples when I have them)

2. Blues...made from all my blue yarn scraps....probably a bit more modern, closer to freeform knitting...picking up stitches and knitting until the yarn runs out. I picture it with a mitered border from a blue yarn I have lots of...that is, unless I find another use for that yarn.

3. In-Law throw....not sure yet, but I'm collecting ideas and yarn. I have 3 skeins of dk green Malabrigo and 2 Point Five skeins in Monet (a blend of pastels and greens).

Ok, enough of me, I'd like to share some buttons (I hope that's ok):

Use them at will, and enjoy!

Welcome to the Land O' Garter Stitch

This KAL was made for Garter Stitching Log Cabiners. It doesn't have to be an afghan. Feel free to Log Cabin away on a bathmat, a washcloth, a curtain, a rug...a log cabin sweater (hm, boxy). I'm not fond of kals with a lot of rules so I won't make this kal have many rules. Let's try to stick to Log Cabin knitting though. Go talk about your aran sweater on your own blog. Be one with the garter stitch.