Coming Home Birthday Gift Poncho

I didn't get a picture of this because it was a gift, and I forgot. Suffice it to say it looks just like the purple one, only in the milk of magnesia pink color. I actually started this the summer of 2010 and intended to have it for Jen's birthday, but life (and a new baby!!!) got in the way. I ended up finishing it January 12, 2012

METHOD:
Martha Stewart's "Coming Home Plus Size" poncho, knit as per Homespun, "Cotton Candy" colorway.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
1. Keep the extra skeins handy. Somewhere I lost a skein of this and ended up having to buy a skein off a Ravelry member to finish the thing.
2. WTF is up with the seaming? Apparently it left a flat area and odd seam lines.
3. Jen suggested running sequins through it. I think that would make a cool border.

Desert Poncho

This bad boy took me a year to finally finish, but when I saw the pattern in a Lionbrand ad, I knew  I had to have it, to match my cowboy hat. I enjoyed the knitting of it but I had to do the fringing in sections, because I bore easily.

METHOD:
Done in LionBrand Suede, in colors Coffee, Ecru, and Mocha, the colors from the original pattern (although this would be really pretty in a different colorway, I think.) Done on all circulars, this things was HEAVY. And it's super long when finished, but I think it looks quite cunning.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
1. Bind off LOOSELY! This this is so tight, it almost shows.
2. Double the amount of fringe it calls for. It looks cooler.
3. LionBrand sizing calls for an insane amount of yarn. I have so much left over!

Boucle Poncho

I loved the colors in this yarn so much I ordered some of it from Smileys to make this poncho.

METHOD:
Done in Lionbrand Funfur "Lava" and LionBrand Boucle "Snow Cone," I used 10.5 needles, which seem to be my favorites for bulky yarns. It's one of Lionbrand's free patterns, and I had a devil of a time trying to figure out what color fur would match those weird purples in the boucle.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
1. That I should have seamed this with thread instead of the boucle, as the bulkiness of the boucle made the seams overly bulky.
2. How to pick up stitches around an edge.
3. That LionBrand tells you to buy waaaaaaay more yarn than you will actually ever need.
4. I don't care much for hoods.

Unfinished poncho with fringe

This poncho may never get finished.

All I have to do is add the fringe. But I hate doing fringe, and since I bought cheap yarn, it comes apart, which means I have to Fray-Check each and every strand. I MAY finish this in the nursing home.

METHOD:
The pattern was from LionBrand, for use with their Lion Suede. I saw Hobby Lobby had a chenille/suede yarn the same rough weight that was 50% off, in a brilliant "Island Teal" color, and thought it would work okay. It knits up a little lighter than Suede, and worked okay, except for the edges of the raw yarn falling apart. I got gauge by using #10 needles. I did the caston and bindoff on bigger needles -- 11 I think, to keep the bottom open and loose.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
The lace is messed up, once again, I think. But the way it hangs, you can't tell. I'm not crazy about the length, but I guess it will look different if and when I ever get the fringe on it.

What is it with patterns that tell you to buy waaaay too much yarn, anyway? My leftover stash is growing larger every month.

First poncho!

Whee! This is my favorite project so far! It's supposed to be in the style of the Martha Stewart "Coming Home" poncho, but I hate Martha Stewart and all she represents, so we'll just call it the Lace Poncho.

I think somewhere along the line I screwed up the lace pattern, because the eyelets aren't even, but oh well. I love this garment. It's quite warm, for acrylic, and I think it's so pretty. A lighter yarn might have shown off the textured stitches, but I do so love purple. I think the piece looks store-bought. But then, I'm prejudiced.


METHOD:
From the LionBrand pattern; 4 skeins of HomeSpun on #10 needles. Piece was created in 4 triangular sections, then sewed together, which I did NOT enjoy, even though I tried to do it like the instructions said.

AND WHAT DID WE LEARN?
I really need to learn some proper finishing techniques. But hey, you can't see the mistakes, so as far as I'm concerned, they're not there. :)

(This is now, officially, the largest thing I've knitted. And it didn't take me a lifetime. Afghans aren't looking QUITE so frightening now.)