Picking up Stitches

I used this video to learn about
picking up stitches.
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However,
upon watching it,
I began without looking at other videos
and thought I understood how it was done.
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I made a few mistakes.
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First,
I did not knit as I went along,
which this video suggests.
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I gathered the stitches,
got the added thread through the stitches and
thought this is what I needed to do.

I remembered
them saying to pick a stitch two or three
in from the top...
So I did this and, once I knit past the picked up stitches,
 it created a ridge instead of a
smooth transition:


The ridge is from top to bottom on that side.

So that is now the bottom side of the blanket.
I am not expecting perfection from myself
yet as I am still new to knitting.
And I find that while I do frog things back,
sometimes I would rather just have the finished result
show where I am in the process and be part of what
becomes the uniqueness of it.

So then I decided to try again for the other side,
as this blanket is blue with a yellow boarder.

 

I got it much better and there is very little seam
left at the end.
However I found that the fabric is a bit stretched.
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I am going to be doing more research on
how to get better at picking up stitches as
it is a very important knitting technique!
I feel like with this blanket
I am turning a corner in my knitting!
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I still hope to do a yellow duck in the centre!
Any and all suggestions on how to do this welcome!
Also any suggestions or things I can look at
regarding picking up stitches,
do let me know!
I am so excited to learn!
And to show you the finished baby blanket!

Two steps forward, two steps back? At least I got some new yarn...

After being sick with mono
and not walking more than 15 or so minutes one way,
I walked yesterday afternoon to my
local yarn store.
It was so WONDERFUL to get out.
I learned the technique,
'M1 ~ make one'
while I was there,
learned of this website and got a new needle to keep
working on the baby blanket.


I got some new grey yarn
for the elephant I wish to make and
practiced the M1/make one technique.

So I bought my first fancy yarn.
I am hoping it can be enough for two elephants, as it is
160 yards/skein but the pattern did call for
175 yards so not holding my breath...
but still wishing all the same.
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I learned enough to start the pattern...
I am trying to get the baby blanket done first...
Have new ideas for the centre duck/s
and can't wait to try it!

I have begun the second row of yellow;
once that is done, I just have the sides to knit.

I really am captured by this pattern...

In not so distant news,
last weekend Mr. Husband and I suddenly
had a very leaky faucet;
water slowly wetting the kitchen tiles,
soaking our rugs.
A pool of water visible when we opened the
cabinets under the sink.
At first the landlord was not sure about
when it could be fixed;
he valiantly got us an 8 AM Saturday morning plummer
who diagnosed the problem... the landlord for
good reasons did not have the plummer fix the
problem in the end
but suddenly we realized, after the plummer left
that he did not re-hook up the hose right and
we suddenly did not have just a leaky sink but
an unusable one.
So the landlord
thank the Good Lord
came after vespers Saturday night and installed a
a completely new faucet.
It works so well, much better than the original.
But boy,
was it unexpectedly stressful to suddenly be
without a kitchen sink!
Never thought about how much it is used
for food prep, filling the water pitcher,
washing dishes, etc.

 

I have been trying to make some changes
in my daily living to have a more disciplined use
of the computer..
Really appreciated Juliana's post on this.
It echoed so much of what I have been
thinking about and experiencing.
Two things I am trying to do is set times for when
I will do computer time
and trying to do some regular noontime prayers
other than for lunch, etc.
It's really a challenge for many of us who find ourselves,
for various reasons,
feeling isolated and at times lonely,
to not want to be by the computer a lot...
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I could really,
by the way,
use your prayers.
Between some huge insomnia I've been having
{insomnia last night was for hours,
knit a whole skein of blue on the baby blanket!}
and the ongoing mono flares,
I am more and more wishing just
to be better
and be able to take walks to places
like yarn shops, grocery stores etc.
And have these walks be a normal part of my
my everyday ~ instead of a huge wonderful
after many months of not taking walks ~ existence.
I have a phone consult with my doctor tomorrow
that I am hoping can move me along in this direction.
Can you remember me in your prayers? 
I find the hardest part of this illness is that
it came in month 5 of marriage when I was just
starting to feel settled and get to know people.
I've been often so unwell that I can't go out
and so I am at home pretty much day-in-and-day-out
and well, ahem, it gets a tad lonely at times,
esp. as Mr. Husband cannot work at home all the time.
The only person I know outside of Mr. Husband
in my small little NJ town is the yarn shop owner
who is nice but it is not a 'friend-to-friend' relationship,
if that makes sense.
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I know that I am really blessed to have such a good
husband, great church families and a nice place to live,
and lots of fun knitting and using yarn
but I really would like to get better so
I can at least get out and take more walks...
It's funny what one takes for granted until it is taken away!
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Yet, I thank the Lord for His mercy
for the Mother of God and
all the Saints...