Pretty much anyone who's ever met me knows I love to knit, and my students are no exception.
I was so delighted when one of my student's mom bought me a lovely little skein of handspun alpaca yarn that she had gotten at a local autumn festival.
Despite the fact that I am in the midst of fervid Christmas gift knitting and have waaaay too many projects on the needles, this yarn was so pretty that I couldn't resist the urge to cast it on for a scarf. I knew it wouldn't be enough for an entire scarf by itself (it was only about 40 grams), so I paired it with a little bit of leftover alpaca and merino yarn bits that I had in my stash and edged it with some lovely red Caron Simply Soft for a pop of color.
This was the perfect stashbusting project; I was able to use up some of those little balls of precious yarn that I couldn't bring myself to just throw away, yet weren't enough to make anything of themselves.
Along with being very soft, I love the length, which came out to about 6 1/2 feet of fibery drapey goodness. Scarves that are too short rank up there with nails on chalkboard and people who talk too loud during movies.
I don't really need any more scarves for myself, so perhaps I'll gift this to someone for Christmas or offer it as a blog giveaway gift. Any takers out there?
I have lots of leftover bits of yarn in my stash (as well as lots of yarn, yes, I know), and I decided to knit up a sideways scarf using three different skeins. I think I cast on about 150 stitches on size 10 1/2 needles and worked several rows of garter stitch, switching yarns whenever I felt like it. I don't think it would be long enough for my tastes, but I'm thinking about gifting it to one of my nieces as a Christmas present. (Lynn, do you think they'd like it? Who would like it better, J or B?) I'm not usually much of a tassle gal, but this scarf seemed to need a bit of something on the ends, so I tied a bit of extra yarn onto the edges with a crochet hook.
Another Christmas present done and ready for wrapping!
In November, I and a few gal pals are planning to make the trek to see our dearly departed friend, Flip Flopping Mama. Included in this whirlwind tour of one day is a scheduled visit to St. Louis to go shopping, fondle yarn, and see Pioneer Woman at her cookbook signing. Since we are all avid reader's of PW's blog, Flip Flopping Mama and I decided to contribute a bit of handknit cheer to the woman who has provided so many hours of hysterical laughter. F-F Mama (I'm getting tired of typing all that out, sorry) is knitting her some gorgeous fingerless gloves (because PW is a photographer, and it's hard to photograph with stuff on your fingers), and I'm knitting her a matching scarf. This pattern was so much fun to knit (Just Enough Ruffles), and I whipped it out in (get this) TWO DAYS. Yes! A shorter scarf worked on size 9 needles is a pretty fast piece, and great for mindless knitting. It's just simple stockinette worked with short rows and a ruffle added on last. PW has red hair, which can making matching something a bit difficult. F-F Mama and I debated using a black yarn, but that wouldn't work well with a black coat, so we ultimately decided to go with the always lovely Caron Simply Soft Heathers in the Truffle colorway. Okay, scarf done, gloves almost done, now time to line up some baby sitters (*ahem* suckers) and pack our bags!
St. Louis, here we CCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMEE!
About a year ago my wonderful Mum treated me to some luxurious cashmere yarn from Artyarns Cashmere 2, and it's been resting quietly in my stash, waiting for inspiration to hit me with the perfect pattern. Knitting something from 100% cashmere yarn can be stressful, as the pattern has to live up to the quality of the yarn. I felt a huge weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I may never have such yummy-ness in my hands again, and I didn't want to flub up my opportunity of feeling uber elite and smug.
My first attempt (well, it was actually my 6th attempt if you're counting all the swatching of needle sizes and stitches cast on) was a simple stockinette scarf. Me: I think I'd like a simple stockinette scarf. Simple is good. I need to be more simple. Cashmere: Simple is boring. I am sophisticated and elite. Simple is demeaning to me. Me: I'm not sure if I like this. I don't like simple, but I want to be cool like my friends who have a classic, simple flair for fashion. Maybe if I knit another few rows it will grow on me. Cashmere: I look horrible. Please tear me out now so I can hide in your stash until you attain some sense. I hate this. Me: I hate this. What am I thinking? I am not simple. I hate simple. I like . . . . . . complicated. Why make things simple when you can make them complicated and eye-blurringly difficult? Cashmere: See, I told you so. (Looking all sophisticated and smug.)
Heh. Fooled you. I bet you thought I was going to go into a long and involved explanation of how I've managed to drop the ball with chores and children, etc.
I can definitely claim to have done that, but since this is me blogging here, this post is all about -
Knitting.
Surprise! (*Jazz hands*) This is a scarf I knit a few weeks ago with the free Drop-Stitch Ribbon Pattern from Ravelry. I've made a few modifications (which you can see here) because my yarn was a tad smaller than the yarn called for in the pattern.
I love how the yarn (only two balls of Lea by Lang) drapes and changes colors. It almost feels like a t-shirt. This pattern is great for getting lots of yardage out of two balls of ribbon/scarf yarn, since I think having to pay more than $10 for a scarf is a bit pricey.
I like the pattern so much that I've already cast on for a second scarf using some more 50% off yarn that I got at the LYS. Doesn't this look spun and funky? Whoops! I mean "fun" and "spunky". Hmmm, it still seems to work either way!
As most knitters will attest, knitting is fun, but the knitter doesn't often get to knit stuff for themselves. I am a bit more selfish than most, because I do own a few pairs of hand knit socks and three sweaters.
However, after suffering through a majority of the Season of Despair (i.e. Winter) here in the Frigid North WITHOUT a hat, mittens, or fluffy scarf, I have had enough.
I am dropping everything, and knitting something for. me.
Me.I am planning to write up a pattern for a matching set of mittens (I've had it with gloves. Gloves are stupid. Gloves are a waste of time. Gloves are hard.), scarf, and hat.
The scarf is coming along swimmingly. The yarn is Shetland Chunky, and it's squoishy, sproingy, and feels like love on a line.
How appropriate that after wading through negative zero degree temperatures all winter, it's now a balmy 35 degrees outside.
I finished knitting that Clapotis scarf a week ago, but it's been languishing in my knitting bag, waiting to be blocked into shape. Last night, I finally got around to blocking it, and this morning, it was dry and ready for its photo debut.Cashmere is such a diva. Pattern: Clapotis from Knitty Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 3 skeins Needles: Denise US size 6 Modifications: the pattern called for a few too many repeats for my taste, so I only did about six of them. I'm really glad I did, because even with cutting the pattern short, I still had an 8-inch wide scarf! Once the stitches were dropped, the width really grew! Length: about 5 1/2 feet once blocked
When I was at the scrapbook retreat a few weeks ago, my Mum and I took a quick break from the grind of "working" (heh heh) on the scrapbooks to visit some of the local shops in the historic downtown area.
We stopped at a quaint little yarn shop called La bella vita, which sold some really nice stuff. I really wanted to go there because they sold some of Sandy's Palette yarns, which I've gotten before and really liked.
My Mum, who can knit but sadly has not fallen for the obsessive knitter disease (trust me, I've tried to infect her, but so far it hasn't caught; she's immune), did seem to like a particular scarf on display. I was quite happy to offer to knit the scarf if she paid for the yarn. I have an inkling that she really bought the yarn (ArtyarnsSilk Rhapsody in black and gray) because of the greedy light in my eyes, rather than the desire for a new scarf. However, I hope she'll be pleased with the finished results when she gets it at Christmas.It's basically a garter stitch scarf worked on size 13 needles, but I'm knitting freshwater pearls into it as I go. I strung the pearls onto heavy duty black thread, and am knitting the thread in with the silk yarn. Every so often I just slip a pearl into the stitch, and that's it!
The sheen of this thing is amazing, and the drape will make a really nice scarf. I'm almost done, but I ran out of pearls and thread, so I had to put it on hold until I could make a run to JoAnn Fabrics.
Although I like to think of myself as being original and free-spirited, I must confess that every so often I get sucked into a trend. However, even then, I can fool myself into thinking that I'm following the trend waaaaaay later then everyone else, so I'm not really following a trend because all the trend-followers are busy following something else now.
Does that make any sense to you?
Me neither.
Anyway, I have some lovely, delicious, scrumptious cashmere yarn that's been begging to be knit up into something worthy of such a beautifully simple yarn, and I've finally fallen for it's subtle temptation. (Remember, when pronouncing the word "cashmere", you must draw out the "caaaaaash" part in tones dripping with superiority and smugness.Try it. Just say, "Daaaahling, I just adore that caaaaashmere scarf", and you'll instantly feel richer and more hip.)After browsing for awhile on Ravelry, I decided to follow the lemmings and knit the Clapotis scarf from Knitty.
Let me state, that if being a knitting lemming means doing such great patterns, then that's me, the aloha-lemming. This pattern is fantastic, simple, and easy to memorize.Plus, there's this amazing thing called "dropping a stitch". Now, when you're learning to knit, there is the overwhelming fear and dread of dropping a stitch. This fear continues long after you pass through the beginner stage and enter the "mid-life" of the knitting age. It's a bit like agraphobia - Lord of the Ring sized spiders generally don't lurk under your living room furniture, but we're scared of the possibility that they might be there. This explanation should help non-knitters understand the panic that grips every knitter when they've discovered a dropped stitch.So, when the Clapotis pattern says, "drop the stitch", it brings forth primal urges of panic, disbelief, and (dare I say it?) the fun urge to do something dangerous and naughty. Dropping a stitch for me is akin to another person running around the neighborhood in the dead of winter with only a bikini on. Very exciting and naughty feeling - all from dropping a stitch.
It really has been a wonderful summer, especially since I haven't had to teach. For those of you who don't already know, I teach piano, voice, and violin to about 20+ students a week (at least when I'm not on baby-hiatus). Don't get me wrong, I love teaching, and consider it a wonderful blessing to be able to use my degree/talents AND be a stay at home mom, but it's very nice to have "nothing" (ha ha, please note the irony and sarcasm there) to do this summer.
A few weeks ago Handyman was working in a small town nearby, so the kids and I packed up and spent the afternoon with him. No, he wasn't working at the playground (wouldn't that be a fun job, ha ha!) but on a house about 30 feet away. We had a nice picnic lunch and the kids played for a few hours. Well, Peter and Banna-boo did. Baby Gabe just slept.
I know, don't die of shock. He slept. What a surprise.
Peter's lips kept "vroom-vrooming" the entire time. What is it with males an their need for sound effects? It's like they live their entire lives as though it's one long action movie. This particular scene from Peter's life movie would be entitled, "Dinosaurs interact with construction trucks and get buried in sand." Yes, I don't see the correlation there either, but apparently it makes perfect sense to my son.
Banna-boo just tried to run over anyone who got near her sandwich. The child is very serious about her food. Back Away From the Food!
So what did I play with while the kids were playing? Why, yarn, of course!
This is a scarf that I knitted with some beautiful black cashmere yarn I bought for sale from Destash. Surprisingly enough, it didn't languish in the stash for years before I used it. Could it be because it's cashmere?
Let's all say it together: Caaaaaaaashmere. (Cashmere must be pronounced with smugness and an overwhelming sense of yarn-superiority).
It's my own pattern, which I can write out if anyone's interested. I was thinking of adding some silver ribbon (like this) through the loops to jazz it up some more. What do you think? Too much? I have a tendency to over-do it. I like complications, it seems. Simplicity is not me, alas. Please vote, even those this blog is a dictatorship.
When it was time to block the scarf, I really wanted blocking wires, since pinning an edge as long as a lace scarf creates a rather bumpy rectangle. However, rather than spend the usual $27 for blocking wires, I stole 27 cents worth of wire from Handyman's latest ground hog booby trap and made my own. I just cut 2 yards of length for each side, threaded it through the scarf edges, and then pinned every foot or so with my T pins.
The wire was easy to straighten out, and the best thing was I just rolled it up for storage when I was done!
I was thinking of naming this scarf pattern "Femme Fatale", since the combination of black lace and cables makes me feel sexy and dangerous. (I said feel, not look, because although I look dangerous due to bad hair, I'm not at all sexy.I'm rather more homey and dumpy.)
Don't you dare feel sorry for me, though. I don't need your pity.
I would accept an offer for house cleaning, though.
It's certainly taken me long enough, but I finally got around to publishing the pattern for the White Diamonds Lace Scarf on my design blog. It's free, so you're welcome to print out a copy and pass it around. Please leave a comment, however, if you do knit it.
You can also access this through Ravelry if you're a member (it's free, so if you're not a member and you knit, you should be!)
Enjoy!
- - - - - - - UPDATE! - - - - - - -
I just figured out how to put the pattern on a pdf file (to open with Adobe or other reader), so I can email it to you if you'd like. Just leave me your email address in the comment box, and I'll send it right off! Unfortunately, I can't upload the pdf to any free hosting sites, because it's too big.
Well, this is WAAAAAAAY past due, but I'd love to show ya'll (I've been in the Sunny South. The sweet tea has a "drawling" effect on me) my lovely scarf knit by my sweet pal Melissa.
Isn't it gorgeous? It's a Merino/Cotton blend, and oh-so-soft next to the skin. What's rather funny, is that I noticed this scarf on the ISE5 blog, and I often thought to myself, "If I ever knit myself a scarf, it'd look just like that!".
What perfect timing, too, because right now we're being buried under a mountain of snow. Scarf weather for sure! After all, the only reason God created snow is so that knitters would have a season to show off their creative gifts.
Thanks, Melissa, for such a thoughtful and sweet gift!
(Special apologies, but I wrote this post for the ISE5 blog, and I'm just too lazy to convert it for this blog. That explains why some of the information is redundant. It doesn't explain why I'm feeling so lazy. Oh well, I'm off to make myself a cup of Earl Grey tea to console myself.)
Well, I finally got around to finishing my pal's scarf. Actually, I must confess that I finished it over a week ago, but haven't gotten around to packaging and mailing it. Bad me! Bad scarf pal!
In my defense, I went on a wonderful scrapbooking retreat (click on this if you want to get extraordinarily jealous of me). Then, there was Veteran's Day, which the post office rightly celebrates (because, as we all know, delivering mail up here in the Frigid North is like waging a daily battle with the elements).
Well, without further ado, here's my scarf (well, my pal's scarf, if I ever get around to mailing it). It's knitted with 100% bamboo yarn from Plymouth Yarn Company (it's Royal Bamboo), and the drape is just delicious. My daughter wears it like royalty, and I'm hoping my pal will feel like a queen with this draped around her neck.
It's my own pattern, and this is the second one I've knitted, but this time I added beads for extra glam. People have asked for the pattern, but I've submitted it to Knitty, so I have to wait to give it out until I find out for sure that they've rejected me. (They seem to like doing that). If you'd like the pattern, keep checking my blog, because I'll be sure to post my rejection there, and then I'll put up the pattern to show everyone that I'm not a complete failure.
One last shot of the edging details. After all, it's the details that we knitters (a-hem, knitters and crocheters, sorry) love. I promise, secret pal, that I will get this in the mail by the end of the week. I promise. If I don't, I won't do any more knitting until it's packaged and on it's way. There. Now I'm sure to get it packaged.
I finished the scarf I was test-knitting for Plucky Knitter, and finally got around to blocking it. It never ceases to amaze me what a difference blocking makes for knitted items, especially if it's lace.
Before:
After:
I won't be able to post for a few days, because I'm going to go visit family in Michigan. I can't wait! I'm picking up my Mum at the airport tomorrow, and off we go to Uncle Paul and Aunt Sue's house. We're planning to stay there a day, and then head up to the upper Peninsula to go look for Petosky Stones. Should be fun, and the kids and I are psyched!
As a treat for my Mum and my Auntie Sue, I made some Ghiradelli Chocolate Truffles (if you'd like to make some, the recipe is on the back of Ghiradelli's Semi-sweet chocolate chips). Let me say, that these have made my day go very smoooooooooooothly! I think the boxes took me longer to make than the truffles, though! (I just used some leftover scrapbooking paper).
Well, Fall is supposed to be here, but the weather certainly hasn't felt like it. We've had 90 degree temperatures here! I packed up all my summer clothes, expecting the usually chilly, rainy weather, and now we have a heat wave. Figures.
On the other hand, the colors are simply gorgeous right now. Last year, just when the trees started to change their clothes, we got a terrible windstorm that totally embarrassed the trees by making them go bare sooner than expected. But this year . . . Ahhhhh . . . .
I think Fall is my favorite weather. I used to like Spring, until I moved to the Frigid North where Spring doesn't really come. We just go straight from Bitter Cold to Everything's-Green-and-Summer-is-Here. Anyway, the knitter in me and the Hawaiian in me perfectly agree with Fall. The knitter is happy that temperatures are conducive to showing off hand-knitted garments, and the Hawaiian in me is delighted that Dreaded Winter isn't here yet. Perfect Harmony.
Speaking of knitting, yes, I do have knitting to show you! Are you surprised? No? (Disgruntled "ha-rumph") . This is the Easy Flame Lace Scarf that I'm test knitting for Plucky Knitter. I just love the merino yarn she dyed up (you should check out her etsy shop - she's got the most lovely colors and all sorts of yarns!). This scarf was knitted with lace weight yarn, so it's perfect for light-jacket weather. I don't think I'd actually knit this for myself (I'm too impatient to put up with lace weight. I want something FAST FAST FAST!), but I can still appreciate it for others! Anyway, it's done and now just needs to be blocked, and off it goes to it's new owner!
Scarf No. 2 is for my ISE5 pal. I sincerely hope she likes it! It's my own pattern, and I'm using Plymouth Royal Bamboo yarn (yuuuuuuummmm!). I'm doing it exactly the same as last time, but with the addition of beads. I'm so pleased with how well the beads slid onto the yarn this is my first time knitting with beads). I was a little nervous that they'd be too small, or wouldn't fit quite right.
The only thing I'm unsure of is the yarn color itself. I'm not loving it. I wanted a true teal, but this is looking more of a sickly blue/teal color. What do you think? Should I try over-dyeing it for a nicer color, or am I just being finicky? I'm pretty sure bamboo yarn can be re-dyed . . . . but perhaps I should leave well enough alone.
Well, that's all I'm working on right now! (We won't talk about the Bee Fields and Hourglass Sweater. They're on hold, and I'm trying to ignore them staring at me every time I walk by my knitting bag . . .)
