Squee!

(No photos today, sorry, I'm trying to get this posted quickly...next time.)

Earlier this week, I was overcome with delight when I discovered (through Ravelry, of course) that someone is using my Arabesque Baby Blanket pattern. You can see her latest project update. I'm so excited!

She has two complaints about it, other than the usual "damn, but baby blankets are big and take forever" thing (which I can't do anything about, obviously):

1. The chart is too small
2. She loses count when doing the lace rows

She makes excellent points.

Speaking to the chart size, the motif is big, which means there's a lot of chart to fit on the page, which translates into small squares on the chart, which means it can be hard to read. My apologies to any future users of this pattern who also encounter this problem, but since most people don't have printers which can take ledger-size paper (nor do most people have ledger-size paper in the first place), I had to stick with a printout size of 8.5x11", and that limits how big I can make the chart on the page. Maybe enlarging it with a photocopier would do the trick, if you don't mind your chart in pieces?

As for losing count, stitch markers between pattern repeats would definitely come in handy for anybody who is losing track of any pattern. In hindsight, I should have suggested using stitch markers for this purpose in my instructions, but I am one of those weird people who almost never needs to use stitch markers for that kind of thing, so I tend to forget to mention it when instructing others.

However, all in all, she seems to be loving the blanket and she says that it's pretty, which puts me over the moon. I can't wait to see the finished product. (And I really, REALLY can't wait to see her baby - once it's finished gestating - using the finished product.)

But wait...there's more!

Today (also on Ravelry), I got a message from Patrick at Village Yarns in Toronto. He wants to make the Arabesque blanket too, and display it in the shop along with a reference copy of the pattern instructions.

Be still my beating heart. Multiple people want to make my design? The hell you say! I'm THRILLED.

And speaking of my designs...

Mitred blanket for Raymond

This is coming along very nicely indeed, although I am using up far more yarn than I anticipated. (Fortunately, the LYS has set aside extra in the correct dyelot and will reserve it for me as needed. Phew!) I'm now working on the second half of the blanket, and it's looking great.

Leafy baby poncho

I worked and worked on the poncho, enough to realise that there wouldn't be enough yarn to make a 24-month size, but that I would be able to make an 18-month size. Having established that fact, I ripped it back to where I needed to start the garter stitch hem for the 12-month size (to fit my baby daughter), and then finished it up. I tried it on my kid. It looked incredibly cute, and even let her move her arms around (which I was a bit worried about). Unfortunately, the neckhole was too small - it wasn't actually strangling her, but it was too close for my taste. This also resulted in some difficulty getting it to fit over the shoulders - you could do it, but it took some tugging. So I decided to rip it all back and start again with a bigger neckhole, and varying the circumference for each size. That way, it can just fit straight over the babies' heads without needing to bother with putting a zipper in (which was my original plan).

So I am starting with the 24-month size, in the hope that the new, bigger neckhole might free up enough stitches to have enough yarn to do the whole thing. If not, then I'll know I can still only get an 18-month size max, and then I'll rip that out (I am so not looking forward to that point) and start all over again with the 12-month size as the model piece for my daughter to wear.

This has clearly turned into a bigger project than I bargained for. However, I'm still ahead of The Schedule, so I'm not worried.

Child Legs for DD1

The first leg has grown quite a bit, it's at least a foot long now. I tried it on my daughter today and it fits really well. She also really likes it, although she wants it to come right up to the top of her leg instead of mid-thigh (which was my original plan). Hopefully there will be enough yarn to do this. Speaking of which, I should really weigh what's left of the ball to see whether I'm at the halfway point yet.

Oil slick rainbow socks for moi

I needed the long DPNs that this project was using, and I had a not-in-use set of short DPNs kicking around the house, so I traded. And then after I traded I figured, "Oh, what the hell," and started knitting a bit more on these socks. (No self control.) As a consequence, I'm about a half-inch from starting the heel.