3 More Squares

My next square was the Ginette Belanger square. I used 5mm needles.













I had previously knit a baby sweater using the trinity stitch (it was called bramble stitch in that pattern) and found it very tedious. It wasn't that bad on this square, possibly because the needles and yarn were so much bigger.

Then I knit the Julie H. Levy Square. It knit up very quickly. I'm very glad I learned Grumperina's technique for cabling without a cable needle. I used 5mm needles.













Yesterday I finished the Ann Strong square. I found the entwining of stocking stitch and moss stitch intriguing. I used 4.5mm needles.

I'm 20% done. Yay!










Now I'm working on the Carol Adams square using 5.0mm needles.

I have decided to knit all the squares and then decide to align them vertically according to width and add garter stitch to make them align horizontally. If there are still major sizing issues, I'll re-knit the offending squares to fit.

Cable Girl Clone

After attending Fiona Ellis' workshop on knitting cables at the end of April, I truly was inspired. So much so that almost everything I want to knit now is cables.

My most recent cable-y projects include:

The Must Have Cardigan from Patons 'Street Smart' booklet and the Putting Down Roots sweater (I'm doing it as a cardigan).

Naturally, when I found The Great American Aran Afghan, I had to do it - even though I'm Canadian. ;-)

Here's my first square designed by Barbara McIntire.













I tried several wool blends and have decided on Lion Brand Wool Ease. I like the look and feel of it and the fact that it's washable. It was also in my price range.

I don't know if I'll do all of the squares in the book. I plan to incorporate some of the cable designs from projects I've already completed. I've also ordered the Barbara Walker 'Learn-to-Knit Afghan' book and will include designs from it as well.

I'm teaching a class tomorrow night at Kniterary on doing cables without a cable needle. It should be fun.

New Member

This is the Barbara McIntire square-in-progress. It is such a fun knit. I plan to do all the easier squares, and then decide about the others. Actually my plan is to knit two of these afghans -- one for each daughter. I am using Lion Brand Wool-ease, and I really like it. And besides both daughters have small children and pets, and it has to be machine washable. I love knitting cables.

Betty

And here are more squares

I couldn't add all the squares I had finished at once, apparently. So here are some more.

Alice

My first grouping of squares

I finally photographed my finished squares - there are about 9 of them so far. I'm using Cascade 220 in a sage green. Then I decided that I really liked some of the squares in the Great American Afghan book, so I am going to add some of them to the Aran Afghan. And I decided that I wanted to make a few of the American Squares that are multicolored, and add the natural Aran color to the afghan. Right now, I am in the midst of knitting the Ada Fenick square, and I am making the central tree natural color, while the rest of the square will be green. Besides the photographed squares, I have also finished the Nicky Epstein square in the American Afghan book, making 2 natural trees and one green tree. I'll photograph it once I have sewn the trees on (they are appliqued).
Here goes - let's see if I can figure out how to add the pics! I love knitting this afghan. It is so much fun to see the patterns emerge.

Alice

Traci bunkers

For the passed fews week I have been trying to get this going... However, I have been ripping out more than getting any knitting done on it...I am not going to give up..I am going rip one more time and hopefully I will get on track after that... The bobbles are fun to do... I really enjoy making those...Anyways I better get back to knitting so I can post a picture soon ...So ya all can see it!!!

Invite

Thank you for the invite! I am just waiting for the pattern so I can begin. I have held off making myself an afghan until I found the right pattern and this is it!!!

New to GAAA

Hi, fellow knitters! I am just starting the GAAA, and have part of the Susan Rainey square done. So far, so good. I have been knitting for over 40 years, but this presents challenges. I live in Wisconsin, and a friend in my knitting group is also working on it at the same time. It makes t so much fun. I am planning on doing 18 squares twice (I figure if I get through a square once, the second time might actually be FUN and easy?!) and two other squares once. Its great to have found a blog for this wonderful project.

Getting started

Stumbled across the GAAA book while on vacation last month. Couldn't wait to start on it! I'm a (self-taught, mainly cold-season!) knitter of about 15 years, but I've never used charts before and my most complicated projects to this point are socks with easy cable designs. Just started a little practice square (Belanger) last night to get my courage up before I invest in $100+ dollars in yarn. :-) I'm up for the challenge though--I hope! Any advice?

Ginette Belanger square

I finished another one. Before you think I'm super-knitter for posting two squares so quickly, I have to say that this was a really easy square. My next one won't be so quick, I'm sure!

Progress

I finished my first square--the Julie H. Levy square. I decided to start with one that was labeled one of the easiest. It's not blocked yet, but here it is:

I've already started on my next square--the Ginette Belanger square. I'm working them all in Lion Brand Yarn Wool Ease Fisherman.

Ravelry Group

I thought I had already posted this but it looks like my memory isn't as good as it used to be!

There's an active Ravelry group set up just for the GAAA project and I'd like to extend an invitation to everyone to join. It's so nice to see what yarn people are using and all of those completed afghans. Here's the link to the group: Great American Aran Afghan Along

For those of you unfamiliar with Ravelry put your name on the waiting list now. It seems like the wait is around a week but it may be shorter now. While you're waiting you can read up on all of the cool stuff this site has to offer. It's completely free and so useful!

I think it's great to have many different venues for sharing this afghan with other people!

Hello, everyone

I just joined the blog. My name is Jennifer, and I live in Central Florida. I haven't started the afghan yet--I plan to do that this coming Monday at my regular knitting group. I got the book in the mail last week, and I've picked out my yarn (I've decided to use Lion Brand Wood-Ease in Fisherman). I just need to decide which square I'm going to start with first--what a tough choice!! I'll keep you updated on how it's going...

Progress

It's so nice to have new people actively working on the afghan! You all inspired me to really get working on it and finish this year. I've had all the yarn for several years now. I'm hoping to finish up on the Belanger square sometime this week. Here's my progress as of yesterday:


I got excited because I thought I was going to finish last night. Then I took another look at the instructions and it's 3 repeats of the cable pattern and not 2. Good thing I was paying attention other wise that one would have been a nightmare to block later!

BTW - I'm using Plymouth Encore in the Aran colorway

Dear Cathy,
My name is Barbara and there's a small group of us in Toms River, NJ, who are making this afghan together. We meet 2x/month, work on our blocks, try to work out problems a member is having, choose the next block, etc. We've found that enlarging the graft helps a LOT as does assigning different colors to the graft, key and explanation of each of the different stitches. While it may seem elementary to use colors, it does make things easier to follow for us.

Your Twisted Knitster,
Barbara at the Jersey Shore :)
ShoreShihTzuNurs@aol.com

New to GAAAAaaa

Hi! My name is Cathy. I'm new to this blog (and blogging), new to GAAAAaaaa (did I get that right?), and new to knitting all things Aran. I'm so excited to join this group of knitters as I have always had this lingering interest in the challenge of Aran knitting and can just picture a beautiful afghan in my home, then perhaps in my daughter's (if I ever finish the first one)! Listen to that -- talk about being excited to knit an Aran afghan; I'm already planning my second one! So does anyone have any words from experience to share about getting started with this project? I have ordered the "GAAA" book and will get started as soon as I receive it and have purchased my yarn. Can I search this blog for types of yarn used or can anyone share with me your favorite type of yarn and amount needed for an afghan? I don't know how blogs work, so I'll leave my email address in case that is the way for someone to respond -- help in this regard would be appreciated as well -- cathy.eikenhorst@gmail.com. Thanks for your patience and help with this new blogger and GAAA knitter! BTW, for all you Ravelers, I can be found there as cajanoon as well.

excited about this project!

Hi, all. I'm just starting this afghan...already, I can't wait to give it to my daughter for Christmas! I finished a couple squares, and am kind of stuck on the Dagmara Berztiss square right now. But it's a challenge, and I'm going to get through it! I'm glad to have found others working this same project!

Happy New Year!

I know it's a little late but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year while it's still January!

One of my resolutions is to finish my GAAA by December 31st. I've got 3 squares done so far and many other projects on my list but I think I might be able to do it. I already have the yarn so that's a step in the right direction!

Anyone else trying to do the same?

Great (British) Aran Afghan

Hi all
Just wanted to drop a post from the UK to say hello - loving the pics of everyone's completed blocks. I was going to buy the Great American Aran Afghan book but amazon took so long to send it I got a stitch manual out of the library instead and have been making up blocks from various stitches for my own afghan. I have wondered what weight you usually use, because I think you don't have aran weight wool in the US? I'll post pics of my own blocks when I've worked out flickr!
happy knitting
Carolyn

Carol Adams Square - is there an error?

I have finished 3 squares already, and am about 2" into the Carol Adams square. It feels like there is an error in the pattern. In the picture, the cable section (Charts B and D) look like there should be 4 stockinette stitches in the middle, but the pattern says K2P2 twice.

What did you folks do for that square? I'm going to put it down, and start another one in the meantime, but my gut says that the right side rows for B and D should be P2K4P2.

Alice

Still have that question

I know you folks can help me; all your squares look great. I just finished my first one, but still have my question. Some of the squares indicate different size needles - but they do not give gauges. I am working with size 8 needles, because that matches the gauge on the first page. I don't understand if I need to change that size for the "different" squares, and if so, how do I figure out what to change it to?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Alice

Cables and bobbles

I've finished another 2 squares. Barabara McIntire's - this just typifies aran for me - and Ann McCauley's. It's a good job I enjoy bobbles!

Both knitted in Cascade 220 (Oatmeal and Ice Mint) with 5mm KnitPicks Options needles.

Now, which one next ...........

I've Only Just Begun!

Hi Folks - I'm brand new here. Your squares all look magnificent!! I was so happy to find this blog; I'm kind of overwhelmed before I even get started. I've purchased my wool, and found my gauge on size 8 needles. Now, I have a question right off the top.

I see that different patterns use different size needles, and the general instructions say to change needles according to the gauge on the various blocks - but I do not see gauges on the individual blocks. Am I missing something?

Planning to start today with one of the squares that looks like it is easiest. Of course, at the same time I am in the middle of knitting a sweater, and working on 3 different scrapbooks, and cross stitching a baby name hanging (we won't mention the 2 almost full time jobs).

I'd be glad of any help. Thanks so much - Alice

Janet Martin Square

Click To Enlarge

New to the KAL

I've only just discovered the GAAA book but I'm already hooked. These are my first two squares, knit in Cascade 220 (Oatmeal) with 5mm KnitPicks Options needles. I'm halfway through an afghan for my aunty for Christmas, so I'm going to add these two squares (and a few more) to it.

Now to decide which one to knit next. ;0)

Ravelry?

For those of you on Ravelry.com, are you listing GAAA as one project or each square as a separate project?

I'm already on my third square! I'm in no rush because there's no deadline (I'm making this to keep). I'll probably get mine done around 2010 if I keep up at this rate :)

New knitter attempting to complete the afghan before Christmas 2007....

Hi All,

I am relatively new to knitting, and I am teaching myself as I go along. I find that the videos on www.knittinghelp.com to be invaluable. I just finished my fourth square today - The Carol Adam's square. I had great difficulty making the gauge on this one and had to add an additional diamond pattern. Actually ripped it out more times than I care to mention. Has anyone else had trouble with the gauges on the squares? I am going to attempt to do one of the squares that require a circular needle. I've never worked with circular needles before, so wish me luck. My goal is to complete the afghan for a Christmas present (yes, this year!) Is it doable? I'll post photos after I block them.

Best,

Bonnie

Susan Rainey Square

I have finished!

After 20 months of work, I finally finished this beauty:I am so in love with this afghan! You can read about the project here.

Any Updates?

I was searching for inspiration/motivation yesterday afternoon and I checked out most of the member blogs and links to pictures. Very cool stuff!

I noticed that many of our members don't have site or the existing sites don't work anymore. If you have a new blog or a link for pictures definitely let me know and I'll get everything updated. My email address is suziehomemaker323 AT yahoo DOT com.

Thanks! (I should actually have a finished square sometime this week - yay!)

New member from France

Hi,

I am new to that KAL. My name is Sylvie and I am French. I am knitting this beautiful afghan with friends on a french yahoo group.

Here are the four squares I have already completed:


Happy knitting! :)

Alternative border

Hi all, I stumbled upon Susan Rainey's (the 1st prize winner) blog by accident and discovered that she had an alternative way of making the border. I think you may like to have a look. You can find the pattern here.

Problems with Kathleen Carty Square

I am working on this afghan to give to my future in-laws in thanks for all that they have done in preparation for my upcoming wedding in November. I have been crusing through the squares and have about 7 of them done. I decided to tackle the Kathleen Carty square and I am stumped. I can't seem to turn the corner from Chart A toChart B correctly. I am pretty sure I did Chart A correctly. I think I am doing the HKW's incorrectly. Any help?

THANKS!

8 squares completed!

Hi, I have also set myself a deadline ... and this afghan will be given away as a wedding gift. This way, I have been a lot more motivated to work on it ... one square at a time. So far, I have completed 8 squares. Here is the link to photos of my finished squares.

Afghan needed For Septmeber

I haven't posted in abit but I need to finish this afghan for September, so hopefully I will have progress soon. I have so much knitting to get doen, I need to sit and figure out a timeline, one block a week or three every two weeks....itt will be good to get it done...

A little switch and we're back in business

Amy contacted me and I'm now able to moderate. I added a new member for the first time this morning and I think it actually worked! Feel free to email me at suziehomemaker323 AT yahoo DOT com if you would like to join this knit along or if you're an existing member and you'd like to update your WIP link.

Thanks!
Angela

Moderator?

I know I'm a little late but I think I can try to moderate this blog. I tried to reach Amy at her yahoo email address but it bounced back to me undeliverable. Does anyone know how to reach her?

If we can't reach her is there any way to switch this over without her involved? I'm still a little new to Blogger so I'm not sure. Thanks!

Angela

suggestions please

getting ready to start my first square ~ any suggestions as to which would be the easiest to start with? i am going to use woolease worsted weight in white.

Ann Strong

thanks for all your help I got my square done and it is beautiful

Judy Sumner Square

I haven't worked on this project for quite some time. But 2007 would be a year for me to clear up my WIPs. So, during the past weekend, I finished the Judy Sumner Square:

I didn't feel too much drawn to this square looking at the picture from the book, but I have to say I LOVE this square while working on it. The pattern is interesting and fun to knit. And the picturesque square is just lovely!

Ann Strong Square help on reading the instructions

I am working on the ann strong square of the aran afghan and I do not understand what rows they want me to use after row 8 they say to do up to row 20 on A chart but B and C only go to 8 what do I do with the stitches inbetween.

Would you like to moderate this blog?

Hi all--

I was wondering if anyone would like to take over the administration of the GAAAA blog? It doesn't take a whole lot of time, just a familiarity with blogger to be able to set up new people on the blog.

I finished this project over a year ago, so my ability to answer questions about it is waning at this point, and my knitting time has dropped significantly, as I've joined a roller derby league (the Ohio Roller Girls) so I am not blogging near as much as I was when this started.

If you are interested in helping me out and keeping this blog running, please let me know by emailing me at pixiegrrl24 AT yahoo DOT com.

Thanks!
Amy

2007 Resolution

I have one square done for this beautiful afghan and I have another that is only partially started. The problem is that I lost my piece of paper that I used to keep track of what row I was on for each section.

SO - my New Year's resolution is to rip that square and try to get at least a couple squares done this year. I think I'm just intimidated because it's one of the hardest patterns I have tried so far. I figure if I post this then it's got to be motivation for me to get going again! Only 362 days left!

Sumner Square

I've been working on the square designed by Judy Sumner, and it appears to be far smaller than the other squares I've made. I know my gauge hasn't changed, and it actually isn't that far off on width, but it seems as though it will be much too short. Has anyone else made this square and experienced something similar? I suppose I could add extra rows in between the spider on the bottom right and the web on the top right.

getting started

poking thru the knitter's 2000 fall issue i stumbled upon the 1st 4 blocks of this afghan. i am in awe. gorgeous! have ordered the pattern and am waiting for it anxiously! question? yarn to use.... considering lion brand's fisherman's wool. any comments or suggestions??? open to anything. would like to keep the afghan in cream, off white, etc.

browsing thru pics of some of the completed afghans. such talent! i hope someday to post a pic of my completed afghan.

chappy

Two squares completed

I've finished two GAAA squares in the past couple of weeks; they were great fun to knit. This one was designed by Ginger Smith and had a very interesting construction: knit up the first column, pick up stitches along the side, knit up the second column while decreasing away the picked up stitches, and so on. I like the way it turned out.

This square was designed by Marian Tabler; it's called "Tipsy Cables." I really like the shape of the cables; it's very unique.

First Finished Square!

I finally finished by Julia H. Levy block the other day. I'm really happy with how it came out. It was my first time blocking anything and it wasn't nearly as daunting as I thought it might be. I'm still amazed at how much blocking does to really finish off your square though. Here is a picture of my square:



I have a closer detail picture and the saga of making this block (it took four tries) on my blog if you would like to check them out.

I'm loving making this afghan already though. :)

Introduction and a Question

Hi everyone! I've been signed up for this blog for a while now though I (finally) just started my afghan. Had to finish up a few projects and save up for the yarn. Better late than never I guess. :) My name is April and I've been knitting for a little over two years now. I haven't tackled a knitting project of this size before but I wanted a challenge.


My question though has to do with blocking. I've never actually had to block anything before and I'm wondering how much of a differance it makes to the squares. I'm about halfway through the Julie H. Levy square and I'm noticing some of my stitches are a bit larger than others. Also, some areas where the cables join the background are a tad loose. Will I be able to tighten this up when I block? Also can you shape the cables to get the nice points like it has in the picture when you block? I'm not sure if I should just rip it out and start over or if these are just minor things that blocking will fix. Lastly...if I try blocking it and it doesn't fix these things can you frog and re-knit yarn that's been blocked or will it effect the wool to much? I'm using Knitpicks Wool of the Andeas in natural if that helps.

Nice to meet you all and can't wait to see more pictures of your afghans. Also thanks in advance to anyone who can help out with my questions.

Finished

After knitting my way through the Steelers vs Colts game, 5 episodes of Babylon 5, You've got Mail and Australian Open my Great American Aran Afghan was completed very late last night. It has been 13 months, 17 skeins of Cascade, numerous hours and been great fun most of the time. Here is a picture from late last night hence the bad quality, it will be replaced by a better one later.

Here is a better picture of the squares before the border.

I really enjoyed this project and been in a happy mood all day. A group of Danish knitters just started an Afghan along and several are knitting GAAA. FYI some have had problems getting the pattern, it seems to be out of print now.
It will be a while before I use white wool again, unless it is homespun, and I have signed up for a cabling without a cable needle class. Oh yes, I have to sew the squares for a baby afghan together next week ;-)

My Last Square

Finally, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I very early on in the project decided to design my own square. There are several squares in the book that do not appeal to me. Moreover, I wanted something personal as well. Initially, it was just going to be a "normal" square with cables found in various knitting books. Later on I decided somehow to incorporate my name or initials as well as the year in that square, to date and sign my work. However, that would just be too obvious with latin letters. The intricate cables in aran knitting have many similarities to the decorations on jewellery, weapons and stones from the Viking Age. So I chose runes (Futhark alphabet), a tribute to my Danish heritage. I have employed the Faith, Love and Hope charts from the Sever square with my runes.

The upper line reads Ulla and the lower MMVI (2006), a more discret way of signing ones work. I used the pattern charts and translation in Elsebeth Lavolds "Vikingemonster i Stickar" (Viking Patterns for Knitting?). I think there may be an English translation, it is not the book featuring silky wool. Visit the designers viking knit home page for more information. I am going to start knitting the border tonight.

Blocking and finishing?

It is time to give an update, but first a questions:

I am comtemplating crocheting the squares together instead of sewing, would that be possible?

The Salpekar square is one tough one. I really like the square except there is too much finishing and ends to weave in for my taste. It was a challenge.

Campbell, 3rd time is a charm, the first attempt ended with the cast on being 4 inch too short, the 2nd went well except I joined the cast on twisted. You will get a very cool Moebius square, unfortunately unsuitable for an afghan. For picture see my blog on Jan 5th.


Two more squares remain, well they are actually knitted and currently being blocked, but it is too dark to post pictures. Thus, it is time for blocking the other 18 squares and knitting the border... I am using a 2x4 foot cork board (floor tile?) from Target as a blocking board. It allows me to block 4-6 squares at a time.

Bad KnitAlonger!

I haven't posted in ages!! shame on me! I will admit that I put the afghan down for a bit. But I have been working on it for the last couple of weeks. I'm on my 3rd last block now, the Carty block. LOVED knitting that block :)

The last two that I've picked to do are the Smith block and the Rainey block.

I'm thinking I may widen the afghan by a column and do up the last 4 blocks and then design a block of my own. We'll see.

The only block that I've had trouble with so far is the Salpekar block! I've tried to start it once already and failed ... I think I will try that one again. Going to look through the archives and see if any of you posted about this block. If you have any hints for me .... please please please comment *lol*

No pics of my blocks ... I'm cameraless for a couple more weeks :(

Happy Knitting!

Squares 13 to 16

Happy New Year.
I have just returned from 2 weeks visting my parents in Denmark and have had time to knit another 3 squares. Well, the first square is Georgia Vincent and was knitted in November in part during a trip to the Bay Area. It is classified as one of the 5 difficult ones. I did not find it very challenging.

The next square is designed by Ginger Smith and was fun to knit. Each pattern section is knitted separately and attached to the neighbour as you knit. It was nice to get some variation.

The Kathleen T Carty was the most challenging square so far. The design is brilliant and uses short rows to create the corners of the frame. Moreover, the assembling and grafting is tedious, but worth the effort.

Finally, the Barbara McIntire square one of the most beautiful, true aran squares in the book. It is one of my favourites.

I had time to knit a square or two more, but ran out of yarn and did not bring the right needles, doooooh!
A Danish online group has launched an afghan along for this year, quite a few are knitting the GAAA. Thus, 2006 may actually be the year I finish GAAA. I have decided not to buy any yarn before I have finished the afghan. Moreover, a certain, purple mermaid is trying to get my attention.

Next up, maybe the Betty Salpeka square?

Hello!

I am so glad to find other people who love this Afghan. I have only knitted two squares but I am looking forward to knitting more. I have knitted Carol Adams and Dana Hurt. I believe I want to try Barbara McIntire's square anybody want to take this on with me?

Claudiam

Finally started!

After 2 false starts, I finally got my gauge right on the Meredith K. Morioka Square:



I am foreseeing a lot of starting and ripping to find the right needle sizes for the various squares. Luckily, I am using Lion Brand Wool-Ease ... not the best quality, but the yarn stays new even after several ripping. Besides, it is machine washable!

I am still undecided on which to start next.

Administrative Stuff

Hey guys, just popping in to say that I just now realized how much spam we've had on here, and am turning on word verification in the comments to try to head that off.

Also, if you have status updates or links for me to put in the sidebar, let me know, and I'll get those added. You can reach me at pixiegrrl24 AT yahoo DOT com.

Thanks, and happy knitting!
Amy

Another two squares finished

Thanks for your comments on the size variation of the squares, the two new ones are more normal. The chilly Autumn in Estonia has resulted in another two squares finished. First one is the Dana Hurts square. It is easy to spot the two obvious mistakes in that square.

Quiet frankly, I did not bother to fix it as the square remains symmetric and it gives a cool effect. I am obsessed with symmetry, an occupational hazard from being a chemist by training.

This is the Dagmara Berztiss square and was knitted enroute from Amsterdam to JFK this Wednesday. What else to do stuck in economy for 8 hrs?
It is one of the prettiest squares in the book, a simple, but elegant pattern. There are a couple of squares which I find too crowded. My current favorites in an unprioritized order and subject to change are:
1. Carol Adams, because it is simple and reversible.
2. Barbara McIntire, I looooove the intricate cables.
3. Betty Salpeka. It will be a challenging knit and beautiful cables.
4. Dagmara Berztiss, scientific design :-)
What are you favorites?

Greetings from Estonia

It is amazing what one week away from home and only local TV channels in Russian, Estonian and Finnish along with BBC world and a Danish! sports channel can do to your productivity. I have not knitted on my GAAA squares since August but have now finished two squares in a 10 days. That's 10 down :-)
I am halfway through a two week visit to Estonia, a wonderful country with strong knitting traditions. They sell yarn in the tourist shops along with beatifulful knitted garments. There is more about that on my blog.

The Barbara Selesnick Square, which came out to 11"x11"

Meridith Morioka which almost measures 13" by 13". Sorry about the bad quality of the pictures, but the light is not the greatest in my hotel room.
I have used the recommended European needle sizes and is somewhat puzzled about the large difference in size for the two squares. Any one else had the same experience?
Oh well, maybe I just picked the largest and the smallest of them to knit. On the needles is the Dana Hurt Square, which is about 20% done.

5th square

I'm not sure that I've posted at all since joining, since I dropped off the face of the knitting world for a few months. However! I am back, and I have completed my fifth square for the GAAA.

That's the Hurt square.

I'm a newbie too

Hey there. I thought I would introduce myself too. Glad others did it first, I was feeling kinda shy about doing it without any progress. Thanks for letting me join.

I am a reader of Carissa's blog and saw all the beautiful squares she was doing. And so I checked out the book and had to get it. I am doing the Rogue and am now in love with cables. This was my first time doing them.

Hopefully I can do it justice.

Another newbie to the group

Hello all,
I am another new member to the group. I haven't started on the GAAA yet because I am busy finishing my second afghan now. It is also a sampler afghan whose pattern was from Family Circle Easy Afghan. However, I have already decided to use Lion Brand Wool-Ease for GAAA because of its price and easy care ... and also I don't have to keep the stash at home. I can just go to Jo-Ann or Michael's when I run out of yarns! :)
You can have a look at the afghan I am working on now here. Once I start on the GAAA I'll post again. Thanks.

A square in a day, too

Last Sunday, a hot, and humid LI summer's day I camped in the room with AC and knitted all day. So I finished the Ada Fenick square, which is a fairly easy one. The designer actually live in the area. It shows the tree of life, though I also see some similarities to a menorah (sp?). That's 8 down and 12 to go.

Sharing my good news....

The Ohio State Fair started Wednesday, so yesterday after work my friend and I rushed to get up to the fair and check out my results. I had heard a rumor of the afghan category results, but I wasn't going to believe it until I saw it myself:



That's first place in the knitted afghans class, and Best in Show in the Afghans division!! I'm absolutely thrilled. The second and first place afghans were really stunning as well, so I'm very proud of my achievement! It was worth the frantic finish at the end to get it done.

I have to admit I find it funny that the worst square in the whole afghan is so prominently displayed. I did something seriously weird to that in the round square at the bottom of the rosette and didn't have time to fix it via blocking! I guess they gave me the benefit of the doubt.

I also placed third in the Original Design class for a fair isle capelet, so I'm really happy with that too!

Has anyone else entered their knitting into county or state fairs?

I finished my first square!

I'm very excited to join GAAAA and to finally post my first square. It took me only a couple weeks to complete it with knitting in the evenings and trying to knit on the weekends. It was so much fun to do and challenging at the same time. My husband helped me pick out the yarn color and helps with motivation: "Honey, that is going to look so cool when your done . . ."

I added the picture of the Levy square here on my blog: http://www.mannmadecrafts.com/blog/index.php?category=1

My 7th Square and an Introduction

Thanks for the invitiation to join this knit-along. Well, I have been obsessed with GAAA ever since I saw a live version in Cascade 220 at Knit, New York last Autumn. Shortly after, I was the happy owner of the pattern and 30 skeins of Cascade 220 (100 % wool) bought at Webs with a 40% discount. Once in a while I wonder how I am going to use the 15 skeins or so that will be leftover... My unambitious plan is to knit a square a month, so far I am on track. It is the 7th monh and I have 7 squares. The current bet with bf is whether the afghan will be done or I have a permanent position first. I currently live on Long Island, New York and work as a post doc at Stony Brook University.
My 7th square is Marion Tabler, which was one of funniest ones so far. I love the tipsy cables.

You can see my knitting projects in my blog strikkeforsker (knitting scientist), where I write about knitting and life as a Dane in the US. The strange language is Danish :-)

I made it!!

My GAAA has been delivered to Ohio State Fair judging. A mere one hour before the deadline, but it's there. Next time I see it will be when it's on display at the fair.

I started sewing up the squares on Sunday, and after taking off a day and a half from work, knitting from basically 9:30 am Monday until 3:30 am Tuesday and then sewing on the border as I was knitting it to get it sized right (I'd actually recommend this, because my corners would not have been in the right place otherwise) I finished it up about 4:45 on Tuesday. That left me enough time to get the entry tags on it, find my other two entries and hop into the car to drop it off, which was a strangely uneventful process.

I didn't get a chance to get any great photos, because I basically had to stand on my couch and shoot them while the afghan was on the floor, but here's a decent attempt:



My wrists are so swollen I'm not sure I'll be able to knit for the rest of this week. Which is a shame because I am absolutely *dying* to start something new. Something colorful, and not in cream colored yarn. :-)

Typing is making me a bit sore now, so I'll post more of my technical caveats here later. This was such a fun project -- I wish you all luck as you continue!

Down to the wire

I've had 3 hours of sleep, but I'm at work today. I have about 2 more feet of border to knit and attach. I know it's been said already, but allow me to repeat: the sewing up takes relatively little time, but DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE LENGTH OF TIME IT WILL TAKE TO KNIT THE BORDER. I've figured out it takes me 8 - 10 minutes to knit one repeat of the border chart. Multiply that by 108 + corners and .... well, now you know why I've had three hours of sleep.

I have at least been sewing it to the afghan as I've been knitting a section of it, so I know exactly how much is left to go pretty accurately.

Am going home to knit at lunch, then will take off a bit early this afternoon from work. Hopefully this will be finished in time to get to the fair dropoff by 7 pm. Luckily, I live a mere 20 minutes from the fairgrounds. I have actually considered having a friend pick me up and drive me there so I can weave in ends in the car if need be.

I am happy to report though, that the afghan's looks multiply exponentially once you get it sewn together. It really is gorgeous if I do say so myself. I'll post some photos tonight after I drop it off.

In the homestretch

I have roughly 35 hours to finish the GAAA and drop it off to the state fair.

Currently, all squares are knitted, and I have 3 rows of squares seamed up. I have almost 50% of the border knitted. And I just took a sick day from work.

I think I'll make it. Barely!

Hopefully a photo will appear here by tonight or tomorrow!

Stats

I have 8 days left.

I have 2.5 squares left to knit.
I will then have about 7 squares to block. And all 20 to sew together.
I have about 2 feet of border knitted.

I have a full time job. (Though I do have part of Wednesday off)

Will I make it? Maybe.

I do think I've made a definite decision to give up on the Salpekar square. While it's one of my favorite designs in the book, and I did finally figure out the invisible cast on with the help of someone at my Stitch n' Bitch this weekend (I just needed to know that yes, I could use my normal way of doing a provisional cast on -- not the wacky way in the book) I think it's just too challenging to do this late in the game. It took me 2 hours to do an inch of the center square! Perhaps I'll make myself a pillow with my leftovers and give that a shot after my deadline. In the meantime, I'm thinking of doing another one of the in the round ones (the Campbell was the only one I did).

Welcome

We are really picking up steam this week in the new member department. I've just added two more people, Cathie, and Sarah. Welcome!

If anyone, new or not, has a blog or progress page they'd like me to link over in the side bar that isn't currently linked, let me know, and I'll get that posted too.

--Amy

Housekeeping!

First off, congratulations to Kristin, who is our first finisher! It's a gorgeous afghan!

Secondly, welcome to two new members, Susan and Janet!


On my own personal progress, I have 14 days left, and about 3.75 squares left to knit, along with most of the border, half the blocking and all the seaming. This is what I call drama, folks!