Turn the Corner

Since Mermaid's View is basically a log cabin pattern, I began with the green rectangle in the middle.

As usual, I used my markers with tails to define the bloops.

I don't have pictures of the entire process but I'll do my best to explain.

Once the green section had been completed (e.g. all the bloops were made and the markers were removed), I didn't cast off, but instead picked up stitches along one side and switched to the orange color group. I knitted one plain ridge (garter stitch across and back) across all the stitches, placing the markers for the bloops. At the corner I placed three special markers so I could always distinguish which ones these were.

When I got to the trio of corner markers on the first bloop row, I added a stitch on either side of the middle marker (so I had marker - stitch - center marker - stitch - marker), and on each subsequent right-side row I added another stitch on each side of that center marker. This meant that as I added rows, the two outer markers got farther and farther from the center one.

Here is the trick to make this work for bloop knitting: whatever color I was using when I got to the first marker was continued until I got to the third marker. In other words, the corner section was just an elongation of whatever was happening with the stitches on either side of it. If I was making bloops, the corner section didn't count as stitches. If I had to increase 3 stitches for my bloop, and the stitch just before the first corner marker was stitch 1, then I would knit that one stitch, continue knitting through the center section, increasing one on either side of the center marker, and then after the third center marker I knit the other two bloop stitches, wrapped and turned, and knit back.

This meant the center section increased as part of any bloops that were being created around it. Perhaps you can see this here (it is really a square, but slightly distorted because of how this is hanging on the bar).

With that hint, can you see it elsewhere?

I really love this piece now, but when I was knitting it, I almost took it apart just after staring the orange corner, because I hadn't realized how on the part where I didn't cast off (now on the bottom of the green section) the orange would look like a continuation of the green bloops. I was afraid that the log cabin sections wouldn't be distinctive as sections.

In the event, I didn't have to worry, but I wanted to share that moment of doubt in order to inspire you (and myself) to be a little more patient. Some things can only be seen large.