Bohemian Rhapsody Poncho

I started this project in September 2004. Then restarted it January 2005. Then moved it to a stitchholder until April 2005 when I ripped it out. Recall that the impetus to knit had only hit me around January 2004. Recall that I had problems going beyond a garter stitch even into 2005. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that when I got not much farther than the cast on, I was completely lost in the pattern. My previous forays into knitting never advanced beyond garter stitch squares and rectangles. Even the No-Sweat Pants, in a simple stockinette, gave me a problem when it came to increasing (BTW, thanks Violet and Cher for demonstrating various increase methods way back when). Can you imagine trying to figure out "yf" "sl1" "psso"?!

So last Wednesday I started again. Today during my morning break, I wove in the ends. Amazing how far I've come in two years. Not only could I understand the pattern, I knit pretty darn fast!

This pattern is from Paton's in a booklet just for Bohemian. It took 3 skeins of the main color (really should have had four because I ended up doing the collar out of one of the coordinating colors instead of the main as stated in the pattern) and 1 skein each of two coordinating colors for the stripes. It is knit on 10.5 needles.


Dear Chicks, You'll see it tomorrow. Unless my book club meets tomorrow, I'd better check that out.

No-Sweat Pants

This is the pattern I learned to knit for. I saw these in the Spring 2004 issue of Interweave Knits (I bought it because it had a crochet insert). As soon as I saw them, I knew that my previously disastrous knitting attemps must be overcome. One year later, I felt I had advanced enough to try something bigger than a skinny garter-stitch scarf. One year after that, I ripped out the two leg pieces I had completed because I found out my stitches were twisted. One year after that, I started again. One month into them I thought, "Why don't I knit these in the round?" Hence the state they've been in for the last three months. Should I rip or should I knit now?

This pattern was designed by Joyce Wang in Lion Brand Homespun using size 10 needles.

Oh the Voices! (or Where Have all my Needles Gone)

I am posting because the voices in my head are insisting. (I am not usually prone to hearing voices in my head, but after weeks of badgering from my fellow Chicks, I'm starting to.) This is a picture of all the projects I have cast on. This includes WIP's and Orphans (worse than UFO's-UnFinished Objects, these are projects I didn't even remember starting!) but does not include PIW's (Projects-In-Waiting, for which all materials are gathered but nothing is cast on) or TaDa's (Behold the finished project). There are twenty projects pictured above, including one poncho, one tie, one pair of pants, one doll sweater, two me sweaters, two wristwarmes, three shawls, three scarves, five socks, and another clapotis (not quite a shawl, not quite a scarf). I shall post about these individually in the days (weeks?) to come.