Some crochet and thoughts on loom knitting

But first, I'm happy to report that I found the missing socks! They were in the dryer and it seems that I dyed 4 pair, not 3. I'm a little bummed that they are all blue or purple but I do have more plain ones to dye and I can do them the normal way (without ice) so I'll know the colors.

I also got a start on cutting up the remaining patriotic fabric. I decided on 4.5" squares and 2.5" squares and strips. I've got a big bag of various light blues from trimmed veterans quilt backs so I'll cut a bunch of that too and eventually make all  of this into 4-patch blocks.
​Note to self: Do not buy more patriotic fabric until 2023.

On to crochet, I have a finished project! This is a wheelchair blanket. I bought the yarn for a baby blanket because the photo only showed the pastel blues. When I received the order I knew it could not be a baby blanket, but I only had 3 balls. My options were limited. I checked the donation website and saw that they collect wheelchair blankets and the desired dimensions are 27" x 36". I've been wanting to try corner to corner so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I have been hesitant to try C2C because I didn't think I'd like it but now I see the appeal. It's very easy and very fast and the effect from self-striping yarn is awesome. I t really worked great in this yarn, Cascade Cartwheel. I absolutely LOVE this yarn and already have more in my stash. It was on sale at Webs (yarn.com) so I bought more for a couple of blankets. It's really similar to Premier Puzzle and Universal Major if you have used those.  

The C2C patterning created wonderful texture and the marled effect of this yarn makes the striping pretty subtle. I used a K hook and 3 balls of Cascade Cartwheel.

Now on to the topic of loom knitting. Loom knitting is quite fun and is a great "take a break" activity from crochet. My hands are getting better and better every day. I've bought almost ever kind of brace and glove on the market but the one that seems to be the best is the Copperfit Compression Glove. That's been a big surprise to me, but it does work for me.

I can crochet about an hour a day right now and then I pick up the loom knitting. The first set that I started working with is this Boye set and it worked fine but I needed a bigger ring for men's hats. The largest ring in this set will make a hat that's my size. Online I found another set branded as Cousin. It was the cheapest one I could find and that's how I made the decision to get it.

While I was waiting I've been watching all sorts of YouTube videos on loom knitting and one was about tips for beginners. One of the tips was "don't buy the Boye looms". I'd been using mine and couldn't figure out what the lady was going on about.

Well, there is a difference. Here are the 2 looms together. The green one is Boye and the purple one is Cousin. There's a huge difference! See where the head of the Boye peg has a hook? The yarn gets caught there so it's more work to move the loop down the peg for the next round. Also that tiny  slot on the front of the peg makes it more difficult to hook the loop up and over the peg. Within 5 minutes of starting a new project on the Cousin loom I knew that the lady had been right. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the Cousin look is about 50% faster than the Boye loom. The Boye set is packed and ready to be dropped at the thrift store soon.

THis scarf is the last thing I finished on the Boye loom. It's 6 feet long and is done in straight knit stitch so it really wants to curl even after I blocked it. I probably won't be making another that way again. The yarn is Premier Serenity and it's incredibly soft. I got it on sale and have several big balls of it. I think it's making a nice scarf and hat set. I'm afraid it will pill but there's nothing I can do about that.

The matching hat is the first project on the new loom and it will probably be done by the end of the weekend. I'll be able to make a ton of hats in the car ride to Maine.

​Today I'm off to sewing with my quilt club so the weekend is getting off to a great start!