the blue blog archives: 64 going on 16

I finished the 64th square on Saturday and spent Sunday sewing the 64 little squares into 16 large ones. Wee one is very curious about the squares. She's always pulling herself up to peek at them on the counter and when I laid them all out for the picture, she had to scoot on over to check them out. She even tried to take off with one of the pink ones!

Sewing each four-square block together with a crochet slip stitch took about 20 minutes. It felt fast and it was very satisfying to see the biiiiig pile of squares turn into a small one. The crochet seam looks pretty neat from the back as well.

What isn't quite as nice is all those ends to weave in! I tackled the ends on two of the big blocks and found that getting rid of the extraneous ends takes about the same amount of time as it did for me to sew the block together. So the next few hours of afghan-dedicated crafting time will be spent on that inglorious little task. Then we make rows!

posted by alison at 9:48 am | in an afghan

Comments

I hate seaming, and I hate weaving in ends even more. When I finished weaving the ends on all the fingers of 7 pairs of Christmas gloves there was much celebrating. You are in my thoughts! What a celebration you will have when this is over!

Posted by: Katherine at December 10, 2007 11:47 AM

This is the kind of project that I avoid like crazy. I hate finishing & weaving in ends so I usually try to weave in ends as much as possible while knitting. But that obviously is not possible on a project like this. What a brave & steadfast knitter you are! And I'm not sure which is more gorgeous - the afghan or Wee One.

Posted by: Donna at December 10, 2007 12:53 PM

She's going to be a knitter! I can't believe how big she's getting already!

Posted by: Sarah at December 10, 2007 2:43 PM

I like seaming, but weaving in ends makes me want to cry.

Posted by: Jenn at December 10, 2007 2:59 PM

Oh, I don't know that I could EVER weave in that many ends. I knit beautifully (I think), but my weaving and seaming always looks like it was done by a not-particularly-skilled toddler. :(

Good luck with it, though!

Posted by: Courtney at December 10, 2007 3:11 PM

Glad to see the wee one helping out.

Posted by: Gayle at December 10, 2007 5:42 PM

Oh my Gosh! That can't be wee one!!!!

I was wondering how you were keeping her out of there.

Thank you for the baby pics. I can't get enough of your kids.

Posted by: Anita at December 10, 2007 6:05 PM

Wee one is adorable! And she likes pink. LOL!

Posted by: Laurie at December 10, 2007 6:08 PM

Your blanket is going to be fantastic! You are so close to being finished, how great does that feel?

Posted by: Amanda at December 10, 2007 6:11 PM

Wow - these are really looking fabulous! Great job. I'm impressed with how far you've come in what seems like such a short amount of time.

Wee One looks so sweet with the squares. She has a real eye for textiles. Hmmmm... not too early to try out a set of needles on her, is it? ;)

Posted by: Chelsea at December 10, 2007 6:30 PM

You can take care of most those ends as you crochet the seams... just trap the yarn ends inside the crochet stiches by laying them along the seam before you begin crochetting them. At the end, you'll have very little weaving left. :)

Posted by: Billi-Jean at December 10, 2007 6:37 PM

I love watching this come together!

Posted by: Sarah at December 11, 2007 2:00 AM

I am enthralled by this blanket. Between you and the women of Mason Dixon, I think I may work on my first blanket in '08.

Good luck making your airplane - with a finished blanket, to boot!

Posted by: Jenni at December 11, 2007 8:54 AM

wow! these are looking really awesome! i've loved following their progress.. and boy, that wee one is super mobile already! my peanut won't crawl for months at this rate :) perhaps i should be happy about that? ;)

Posted by: gleek at December 11, 2007 9:15 AM

You could always weave in a section of end and cut short, how long are your ends and where do you stop weaving in and not chopping back bits of waste yarn?
I'd be brutal and leave it at an inch each one.
good luck!

Posted by: jiva at December 11, 2007 1:58 PM

Wow, very impressive!

Posted by: Kat with a K at December 11, 2007 4:50 PM

I usually just tuck the ends through the crocheted seam with a tapestry needle... pushing it all the way through the whole seam, pulling a little, snipping close and then straightening the square out so that the end pulls back into the seam.

Posted by: Jena (the yarn harpy) at December 12, 2007 10:43 AM

You are amazing!!! Your house always looks so clean in the back ground as well. When do you find the time to do all that you do? I am in awe.

Posted by: Stephanie at December 12, 2007 11:05 AM

I salute your patience.

Posted by: Orli at December 17, 2007 5:02 AM