A Yarn about a Knitty Problem

An Itch to Knit
This weekend has been pretty laid back for me. But I have managed to get some crafting in amongst all the relaxing and compulsory chores.
I have been crocheting a lot lately. I’ve been crocheting this…

Crochet Project 1

and this…

Crochet Project 2

and I’ve been feeling the urge to get my knit on. It’s been a long time and I just wanted the sweet familiarity of a little knit and purl.

The Problem Yarn
I took a quick look into my yarn drawer – which you’ve seen – and I found some marshmallow yarn. I thought to myself, “this will turn into something interesting”. So I took these…

Moda Vera Marshmallow & size 12 knitting needles

and started to knit… or try to. I didn’t like what was happening to the yarn as I knitted. It didn’t sit right and it was looking uneven and blech. I was wrangling the yarn but it just wasn’t working :(.

I jumped online to see if fellow knitters had worked it out. I finally stumbled upon something saying that I should only knit the cord between the “marshmallows” so I did that and it seemed to work. So I started to knit, knit, knit my little heart out and I was creating a very boring typical square scarf – I didn’t like it. So I frog, frog frogged and started again.

I started knitting the scarf on a slant – increasing the row at one end by 1 stitch and decreasing the same row by 1 stitch at the other end (does that make sense?) – and this is what became of that….

Marshmallow Scarf attempt 3

But I still am not happy with it. It too loopy and there are weird loopy marshmallow bits on some of the rows. But I think I have found a solution – smaller needles .

How I Found My Solution
Yesterday afternoon I was struck with an itch to sew, but I didn’t have a specific project in mind. I was thinking “what is a small sewing project that would be quick to complete and would take the edge off” then it hit me – a mug rug (I may as well give this crazy craze a chance ). So I thought “I’ll just duck over to Spotlight and find some lovely complementary fat quarters and whip up a mug rug”

So after visiting with my lovely friends Miss Sarah – of Stitching Lyrical – and Miss Colleen – her mum who is amazingly creative and cultured – for some tea and scones and some of Sarah’s lovely marmalade, I drove to Spotlight. I was met with a lot of temptation and creative stimulation and it was all a bit overwhelming. At one point a had an armful of fantastic supplies, but then I paused and thought “Do I really need all this? The purpose of me getting crafty is to use up what I already have”. So I walked out with only 2 balls of yarn (which I bought because I already had the same types of yarn but only a couple of each – not that I have to justify it so shut up :-P )…

Yarn from Spotlight

and no fabric for my mug rug.

HOWEVER, I while I was wondering around Spotlight I did come across a sample swatch of marshmallow yarn that was lovely and sturdy and not too loopy. I took a closer look and found that there wasn’t 1 stitch in the cord between the marshmallows but 2! I had what my close personal friend-who-is-no-longer-on-television Oprah would call an ‘Aha!’ moment. The trick is to get smaller needles and knit 2 stitches. So I will try that the next chance I get and let you know how I go.

Sewing Itch
Although I didn’t quite scratch my sewing itch I did manage to sooth it by getting my hands on some of the fabric in my stash. I have cut and ironed my pieces for my mug rug and they are ready to go!

Mug Rug Fabric

Can’t wait to get my sewing machine dusted off! Alas me thinks that will not be until next weekend – but I can wait .

Until then, get your craft on!
V xo

Have you come across any crafty problems? Did you solve them? How? – Leave a comment and share your story