Lion Brand Notebook ®
Having completed a full repeat of each of patterns (Twin Trees, Dividing Rows, and Flower Garden), the afghan gets easier and easier.
Even though I still had to follow the pattern chart for the Twin Trees, I found that my work pace got really fast, and I didn’t feel like I had to worry or pay such close attention anymore. And just in time for some perfect New York weather too!
So far, I’ve knitted on my roof, at my sunday morning knitting club while sipping coffee, and I even took the afghan and got in a few rows at a BBQ in a friend’s back yard. I love to be able to spend time with friends and get out of the house, while still being productive; and of course the response to the impressive looking afghan is unbelievable. Everyone wants to work on it, and learn the stitches.
Tonight, curled up on my couch with my three cats, watching North By Northwest (my favorite Hitchcock film) I’m just about to bind off, after the final Twin Trees repeat. I don’t know if there is anything more gratifying than, cozying up under a project that you’re still working on. Once I bind off, all that will be left to do is the border edge, which I’m really looking forward too.
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Denise
I am impressed!!! It looks so good!! I am still working on the first section of trees. In my defense, I haven’t had much time this summer to knit. ?Maybe on vaction next month?? Probably not, LOL, but you never know. The picture in the blog is awesome!! Great work! I can hardly wait to see the final with the border posted. (maybe this time next year mine will be finished too!! LOL!!) Good luck on finishing the border!
lata
i am on the last part of the flower section and then after the twin trees i can bind off.
i must say it has been a fun ‘knit along’.
Karen
I am on row 24 of my last set of trees! I will say that I’m somewhat concerned/puzzled about the border. Instructions say to sew it on as you go. Hmmm. I should finish the trees on the Fourth by the fireworks glow.
Happy Birthday, America!
Susan
I’m only just now finishing up the first section of flowers, but it’s turning out really well! I haven;t been able to work on it as much as I’d like to lately, but I’m determined to get it finished. This is my first KAL and I can’t wait to do another!
susan
Oh my goodness…My daughter just sent me this link but I fear I’ve missed the sign up date…is that true? Have I? I collect trees of life and would just love to have this pattern. Any one respond, please?
Zontee says: Hi Susan, the pattern was offered free to readers for a limited time during May and the beginning of June, but it is still available for purchase on our website. There’s no need to sign up to participate, just work at your own pace and join in the conversation here on the blog. For all the blog posts relating to the knit-along, just click on the “Knit-Along” category in the right-hand bar, or click on the links at the bottom of this entry by Corinna. Hope that clarifies things.
Beth K
I’m plugging along, despite the heat. I’m midway through the second set of twin trees and using this as an opportunity to learn how to cable without an extra needle. It makes those rows with a bazillion crosses so much easier — especially since we only need to cross one or occasionally two stitches.
I’m already thinking ahead to the border. I don’t think the instructions gave any guidelines as to how to join the end of the border back to the beginning. Are any of you planning on a provisional cast-on and grafting the start to the end? Any other tricks to make this appear reasonably seamless? I’m still wondering why the border is made separately and sewn on. Why not pick up stitches as we go and knit it right onto the afghan?
Zontee says: Hi Beth, a provisional cast-on is an interesting idea and worth exploring. The border is made separately because the way the tulip-bud motif folds inwards on itself will cause the border to have a different gauge than the rest of the afghan and picking up stitches may cause the afghan to pucker at the border. Using “invisible” seaming techniques like the mattress stitch will make the afghan look neater. P.S. Thanks for all the help you’ve given other knit-along participants!
Maureen
I had to put the ToL project down for a while during a heat wave – just too hot to be covered with a blanket! 🙂 But I picked it up again in the past week and I am almost done my last tree section. Can’t wait to bind off and begin the border.
Liz P
I’m finding it difficult to navigate into the comment section of the Tree of Life KAL. Is it possible to have an icon to click on to bring the KAL participants directly to the comment section in order to communicate about the project and share info?
Zontee says: Hi Liz, you can find all blog posts related to the knit-along by clicking “Knit-Along” under the “Categories” heading in the left-hand column. Then, at the bottom of each post there is a link that says, “000 comments” (where 000 is whatever number of comments there are on that post). Click that link and you’ll go directly to the comments section of that post.
Maureen
I finished the afghan last night and started on the border! I’m very excited to be so close to completing this project.
My only question at this point, is how do I work the border at the corners? Do I knit the border in 1 long piece for all 4 sides, or do I make 4 separate pieces, one for each side? I want to make sure the corners look smooth.
Beth K
It sounds like the border is knitted in one long piece. I am just hoping that shaping it around the corners is easier than it sounds. 🙂 I’d love to hear about other people’s experiences sewing on the border. Any advice for those of us coming up to this step?
Zontee says: Hi Beth, don’t forget to check out Corinna’s last post, in which she talks about sewing up the border.
Beth K
Zontee! Glad to see you are still monitoring the knit-along! I read Corinna’s last post. It has inspired me to work harder at memorizing the tulip bud border so I can finish faster. 🙂 But I was hoping for some technical tips — e.g., best place to start stitching, best way to ease around the corners, or how to make sure that the border is stitched on evenly and still comes out to an even number of repeats…
I’d love to see a close-up picture of a corner.
Zontee says: Hi Beth, I think that the most important thing to keep in mind as you’re sewing on the border is to keep even tension as you flatten both pieces. Once you have made a few repeats of the border, measure it. Let’s say you’ve got 5 repeats for 15 inches (I’m just making up arbitrary numbers for this example). Measure the outside edge of your afghan to see how big it is. Let’s say it’s 120 inches. Then you know that it’s going to be around 40 repeats. Towards the end of your sewing, you can probably tell about how many more repeats you’re going to need, so you may be able to stretch (or not stretch/gather) the border slightly, so that it ends evenly at the end of a repeat.
It’s probably best to start away from the corner, so that your join isn’t right on the corner, which might be a less forgiving place to join it up. There are some great photos of completed Tree of Life Afghans on Flickr. Here’s one from Sinead that might be helpful to you and here’s one by another knitter. Good luck!