DD#1 has plowed through a phenomenal amount of my stash on her new project - a Rainbow Gypsy Afghan. For some reason both girls prefer double stranding so this afghan is more like a plush blanket. She's using a very large hook and the pattern stitch she chose has treble crochets in it so it's a very flexible (not stiff) afghan. The only sustaining color theme is the blue wave that goes through every color patch. It's actually a double strand of Royal Blue and a sort of bright violet blue. The yarn is Lamb's Pride superwash and she's using every color in the stash at random. It reminds me of the Andean Native fibre arts. As always my dumb digital camera makes the reds look weird and the yellow really isn't that bright. It is a delight for the eyes as well as being so snuggly!
DD#2 has finished her cardigan. I took a picture of it before she sewed the raglan sleeves in. We use paper clamps to hold knitted pieces together, especially when they're plush. Pins just don't cut it! These never fall out and don't let go until you make them!The yarn she used is Plymouth Saxony in Sea Green and Blue, double stranded. It smelled pretty 'sheepy' and she says she never wants to use it again! I still have some in pink so am toying with ideas for what I'll use it for. I suspect this Plymouth is a more vintage yarn , not only because of the smell (newer processing usually de-scents yarn) but because it's so rough. I washed it this morning on the ultra-delicate cycle of my high-tech front loader washer with Eucalan and it's so soft now. Because it's double stranded when it 'fulled' it's a real jacket now, not just an indoor cardigan.
I haven't got any pics of it finished (cuz it's still damp) but because we took great pains to measure and count it fits really nicely. She's so pleased and I'm just thrilled for her. For 12 yrs old she can be pretty ambitious and I admit I had my reservations about whether or not she could pull it off!
She's already starting her next project - fingerless gloves! She has a rare condition where the palms of her hands sweat excessively so when she plays video games the controllers are always damp and her brothers won't let her play on their systems because it makes the buttons sticky. So she's selected some wool sock yarn because it will breathe and also wick away the moisture. She's not overly thrilled to be using such a small hook and fine yarn but the gloves need to be thin enough to have unrestricted movement. She's going to use a cuff pattern from Crocheted Socks by Janet Rehfeldt and Mary Jane Wood. I'm also hoping she'll be inspired by some of the other patterns in the book and (mother laughs subversively) maybe I'll make a sock crocheter out of her, if not a sock knitter!! snarf!!