Knitting Along – Anthology Blanket by the Underground Crafter

As many of you know, I’ve only fairly recently taken up knitting again, from when I was a child. I have the basics down, and with my background in crochet, I’m pretty comfortable playing around and making up my own things. But my technique is…well…let’s just say “not yet the greatest”.

My tension can be a bit uneven sometimes, particularly if I have to tink and correct mistakes. I’m also still working on “reading” my work so I can find my place when I get lost. I’m pretty good at it with basic stitches, but throw in a complicated texture or lace, and it’s much harder.

I know I am my worst critic, but I also know these skills only come with practice. So that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. What better way to practice than a fun KAL that starts with basic stitch textures and builds up to harder ones? That’s why I’m so happy to have found the Anthology Blanket Knit Along on Underground Crafter.

Anthology Blanket KAL by Underground Crafter

The blanket is made up of 30, six inch squares. The timeline is generous – 1 square a week for 3 weeks, then a 1 week break. This made it very easy to catch up when I had to frog and redo my first 2 squares! Here are my first 5 squares, and I must say I’m pretty proud of them.

first 5 swatches - Anthology Blanket KAL

The first is called sand stitch, the 2nd is seed stitch, then there’s “mistake” rib, garter ridge, and seed stitch boxes. That last one was harder for me than I expected – I kept getting lost in the pattern. I’m particularly happy with the edges on these. I’ve had trouble with cast ons and bind offs being too tight or too lose, and these turned out well. Also I think I’ve finally managed to master the slip stitch selvage without making it too tight or accidentally having the yarn cross over where it shouldn’t.

I haven’t blocked the squares yet, but I think the sizes are already pretty even. Mine all came out closer to 7 inches, but I decided that’s ok as long as I’m consistent. It will just be a bigger blanket! I haven’t woven in any ends yet either. To tell you the truth, I’m dreading that a bit. I find it much easier to weave ends into crochet than into knitting. With knitting I always feel like I’m adding too much bulk, and in fact I often end up with hard little lumps. Practice makes perfect, right? A new square comes out tomorrow – I can’t wait!

What skills (knitting or crochet) do you have trouble with? Are you doing any projects right now to practice those skills?

 

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