Summer Knitting Goals

I have big plans for knitting this summer. Big plans, I tell you!

First off, I'm on a yarn diet. I cannot purchase more yarn until I use up at least half of what is in my stash.

Here are my goals for the summer:
2 not-yet-started baby blankets (pattern to be determined)
Finish up moderne baby blanket
***Everyone I know seems to be pregnant, so finishing these are a must for the summer!
4-5 UT Dishcloths for silent auctions that are going on back home
***I will have to break the yarn diet to purchase more orange cotton, but this is excusable.
At least another 10 garter stitch squares for the Rebuilding Greensburg Project
At least another 10 baby hats for my church's Warm Embrace ministry
1 scarf for my church's Warm Embrace ministry
An unnamed gift for a friend. (Details can't be listed for obvious reasons!)

This might be a little ambitious, but I'm going to give it a go. I feel like writing it down will really help me get a handle on things, and this also helps for accountability purposes. If I fall off the wagon, I know someone will scold me.

If I can keep this up and finish all my goals without purchasing more yarn, I'm treating myself to some really nice sock yarn that my friend Sarah recommended. I really, really want to learn to knit socks, but I'm putting the project off as a reward in hopes that it will make me want to work harder.

Rebuilding Greensburg Blocks

What?? Two posts in one night after having nothing for months and months? This is craziness.

I just wanted to plug a great charity knitting project for anyone who wants to do something wonderful & use up some of those small pieces of stash yarn.

Laura Spradlin of Sugar Bunny Knits is collecting 8" garter square blocks to sew into afghans for some of the families whose homes were destroyed by the tornadoes that ripped through Greensburg, Kansas earlier this spring. She's hoping for a little more than 1000, and already has over 300!

The squares are coming in from all over, and before the end of the summer, there will be some coming in from right here in East Lansing too! I've made about 14 or 15 so far, and I'm just going to keep letting the squares pile up and send them towards the end of the summer. How many can you make?

These little things are perfect for using up those tiny balls of yarn that you really can't do anything with, yet refuse to throw away. Back in the fall, Nicole sent me a package for winning a contest on her blog (yay for random goodness!). It had all kinds of goodies in it, and there were tons of little balls of yarn so that I could sample some different fibers. I used them of all for these blocks.. they probably made 4-5!

Tennessee Vols Dishcloth

Wow! It's been so long since I've posted on here that I had to go through some serious hoops before I could even sign in to this thing!

Anyway, I've been knitting as much as I can - and I survived my first year of law school! Whoo hoo! I'm celebrating by taking summer courses. What? Huh?? Anyway, I've been more than a little homesick. The other day I was looking at my bright orange cotton yarn, and a few hours later - I had this! It isn't perfect, but it really reminds me of home, and that's all that matters.

In case anyone is interested, here's the pattern:

Materials:

Size 7 (4.5mm) needles

Sugar n’ Cream Hot Orange

Sugar n’ Cream White

To begin, wind a few bobbles of yarn in both white & orange. It will make life so much easier! I recommend two small ones of orange (for the small spots under the top of the T), two medium ones of orange (for the outer edges), one medium one of white (for the middle), and two smaller ones of white (for the outer edges of the T).

CO 45 with orange

Rows 1-6: Knit 3 garter ridges

Row 7: K5, P35, K5

Row 8: K45

Row 9: K5, P35, K5

Row 10: K45

Row 11: K5, P35, K5

Row 12: K13, (white) K19, (orange) K13

Row 13: K5, P8, (white) P19, (orange) P8, K5

Row 14-17: Repeat rows 12 & 13

Row 18: K15, (white) K15, (orange) K15

Row 19: K5, P12, (white) P11, (orange) P12, K5

Row 20: K19, (white) K7, (orange) K19

Row 21: K5, P14, (white) P7, (orange) P14, K5

Rows 22-38: Repeat rows 20 & 21

Row 39: K8, (white) K3, (orange) K8, (white) K7, (orange) K8, (white) K3, (orange) K8

Row 40: K5, P3, (white) P3, (orange) P8, (white) P7, (orange) P8, (white) P3, (orange) P3, K5

Row 41: K8, (white) K5, (orange) K6, (white) K7, (orange) K6, (white) K5, (orange) K8

Row 42: K5, P3, (white) P7, (orange) P4, (white) P7, (orange) P4, (white) P7, (orange) P3, K5

Row 43: K8, (white) K29, (orange) K8

Row 44: K5, P3, (white) P29, (orange) P3, K5

Row 45-52: Repeat rows 43 & 44

Row 53: K45

Row 54: K5, P35, K5

Row 55-56: Repeat 53-54

Row 57-62: K45

Cast Off