First Project: Half a Pillow!

[striker923]

Hello fellow Craftsters! This is my very first project, a Chunky Checks pillow! Technically it is only half of the pillow and there are several reasons why I only did half of the project which I will get into later in this post. The pattern I used was from Learn to Knit in Just One Day by the American School of Needlework. I bought this because not only did it have instructions to teach knitting but it also has a bunch of easy/beginner patterns to choose from! So without further ado, let me present the pictures!





I definitely like the wrong side pattern better than the right side of this. I'm pretty sure it is because of the thick yarn. If I had the right weight it would have looked better on the right side (which is the point, right?)

Here are the reasons why I did not actually finish the other half of the pillow:
1.) I ended up getting *too* bulky of a yarn. I got the brand and the color that the pattern used as their example,  but not the weight. It is way too big to be a pillow because of this (around 25" square!) I'm thinking of stuffing it to make a triangle-like pillow so it doesn't totally go to waste, but we will see.
2.) I didn't want to go buy more of the same bulky yarn to make the other half. I got the recommended amount of balls, but because the weight was too big, I would have had to buy more and since I wasn't going to have a pillow that big, I decided it was a waste of money. Besides, that money could be spent on new yarn for my next project!
3.) Now that autumn is approaching in New England, I really wanted to get going on one of the scarf or shawl patterns, considering heating the house is going to be a b*tch this winter.

So those are pretty much the reasons. Since this was my first knitting project, I feel like I should say what I learned.
1.) Check and double check the weight of the yarn when you are in the craft store
2.) Don't be lazy and do a gauge swatch (I really wanted to get started and because I'm REALLY slow, I was eager to see a finished project...but now I know better )
3.) Learned how to hold my hands and the yarn better as I went along. I think the technical term here is yarn tension (?)
4.) Learned how to change yarn

So all in all it was a good 1st project...if you can have a first project that isn't technically finished.

[Kaiser Scissorhands]

YAY KIMMIE! Dude, you can totally get a sneak preview of all of my crazy wedding stuffs now...

Also, i am jealous of your ability to follow a pattern for knitting.

[striker923]

YAY! I am so excited to see your wedding stuffs! I will have to try and figure out how to find it, but that's ok because I have an hour lunch coming up soon!

The knitting patterns aren't that hard to follow. Well at least, this one wasn't. It was kind of sad actually, I had to actually WRITE out the pattern because it gave you rows 1-8 and then you had to repeat it 7 times. So I actually wrote out 56 or so rows of pattern! This way it was easy for me to cross out a row when I was done with it and I would always know were I left off. Also, I had this thing with counting...I constantly lost track!!! For instance a couple of rows were purl 3, knit 5 and alternate these 2 stitches down the row...well half way down I would realize that I had accidentally purled 5 instead of 3..so I'd have to take out those stitches and redo them. Got really good at that, though, so it was good practice. Sometimes I would also end up with extra stitches on the needle. There were 45 stitches in a row and I would get to the end of one, and realize that the pattern was messed up (I needed to purl 3 but there were only 2 stitches left). When going back I realized when I had purled or knitted I had the yarn in the wrong place. (With knit stitches you need to have the yarn in back and the purl the yarn in front). So then I had to undo almost a whole row to go back. But the pattern was technically an easy one. I'm sure whenever I progress to sweaters, they will be hella-ugly with all the increasing and decreasing I will have to do.

Right now, I just got the yarn to make a scarf! This one is all knit stitches (garter pattern) so it should be easy. I decided to make one for James first and if it comes out good, one for myself. (Isn't that terrible that I'm using him for a guinea pig? If it comes out hideous, he will still wear it out of obligation).

6 more days!!!!! :-D :-D

[CatieD]

Hi, striker.  I think you're right - the *wrong* side does look the best.  If you would prefer to have a square pillow rather than triangular, you could fold it like this (fold lines in green and seam lines in red).



Your tape measure is showing 23 inches so you would end up with a cushion approximately 16 inches square.  Is that still too big, do you think?

[striker923]

CatieD that is a great idea!  The pattern said I would need an 18" pillow form, so 16" isn't bad at all! Now I just have to get to the store this week to get one! This will now give me some practice on seaming. Thanks so much for your input!

P.S. The cat (Lucy?) as your avatar is super-cute! What beautifully colored fur!!

[CatieD]

I'm always happy to help out a fellow Craftster.   Your basketweave pattern will end up on the diagonal if you fold it the way I suggested but I actually like that idea.

Lucy is a sweet girl.  I should have a photo of my blue-eyed fur baby, Ka'at, with her. They both came from the local animal shelter.  As a small thank-you, I made 20 blankets for the shelter's cats out of my stash of acrylic yarn.  I think my DH is happy to see the yarn stash slowly decreasing, lol.