Decisions Decisions

I have made a self-observation - I am not good at random. Symmetry is my middle name. This (extremely!) multicoloured mitred knitting experiment has been interesting-frustrating-fun-hateful-kinda quirky. Just trying to decide where to place the squares has just about killed me - too many choices!! I've ended up using the one on the right, although I don't think I like it all that much. And yet I'll wander past on occasions and decide that it's actually ok and quite interesting. In hindsight I should have used a lot less colours. Anyway, it was an experiment and mitred knitting is cool fun so I'll make it up into a cushion just to say it's completed.

Well, it's not quite there yet. I'm a very raw beginner knitter and know nothing about such things as "knitting in" yarn when changing colour etc. Apparently it's good to do this as you go so you don't end up like me with HUNDREDS of little tails of yarn hanging off the ends of the squares. I guess I could just leave them, as they will be hidden inside the cushion, but as I've mentioned before, I'm a stray thread hater, so they have to go! I sat in front of the tv last night with my crochet hook and did some deft weaving on the backs of the squares. Much better!

Then there's the questions of how to join the squares together. If I'd known at the beginning, apparently the easiest way to do this is to pick up the stitches on one side of a finished square then cast on the same number and knit the next mitred square to that finished one. To be honest that sounds very scary to me! I googled yesterday and read about crocheting seams, mattress stitching seams, kitchener stitching seams and other such choices. Flipping heck, I'm just making a daggy looking cushion! In the end I'm just 'ordinary' sewing them together - whip stitch I think it's called. As it's such a multicoloured wonder it really doesn't matter if I can see the seam yarn. It's coming together ok.



Speaking of knitting, see this scarf? We call it "The Cat's Mother". That's because Asta loves it so much. It lives on the end of my bed just for her. She goes all goo-goo over it, she puts her bum in the air, stretches out her front legs and kneads it with this dopey closed-eyes look on her face, then collapses into it and falls asleep. Never before has a knitted object of mine had such devotion.


Steve's fabulous little vegie patch has been spoiling us with spring abundance. This was part of lunch yesterday. Yummo. Steve has found an easy way to cook beetroot. Just give them a wash and trim off the leaves then wrap each one loosely in alfoil and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes. Let them cool a titch then unwrap and you'll find the skin just slides off. The only cleaning up to do is to throw away the alfoil!