and knitting

project #15: papa scarf

Well, I've made a scarf for my mom, a washcloth for my sister (her scarf will also soon be in the works) and am nearing completion of my brother's scarf, so it's about time I got a start on something for my father. He just retired, and though he will no longer be leaving the house each day to fight the good fight for the highest ideals of journalism, he will need something to keep him warm and cozy during his life as a man of leisure.

I had a hard time deciding just what kind of scarf would look good on a distinguished retiree. He chose the perfect color and I decided upon a seed stitch scarf with a bit of a seaman's scarf feel for ease of wear.

(The photo below is rather horrible, but it is the best I could do without sunshine. It's also a bit rumpled from being stuffed in my brief case.)

The Project: Papa Scarf
The Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in Dark Grey Mix purchased from Needlework Unlimited
The Needles: Crystal Palace 4mm
Started: October 21, 2004

Home Stretch

I came home from work a bit early yesterday due to my wickedly sore throat and general malaise. Can we say stress-related illness? Standing outside in the fall chill the night before probably contributed, but it was worth it to get within 10 feet of our next president.

I'm now spending this morning basking in the blue glow of the television and chugging a cocktail of Tylenol sore throat liquid and V8 splash. Oh yes, shockingly enough, I am now into the home stretch of finishing the project that shall not be named. It's about time! I'm afraid my pokiness will get me banned from all future knitalongs.

It's grim up north

Here in Minnesota, we're on a steady march toward winter so it's about time for the fall issue of R2.

I wish their site was better, because the little photos are intriguing, but not so clear. I'm especially interested in the the diamond lace section. The yarns seem interesting too. I'm sure the sparkle yarn will find it's way to me at some point. Of course I should still do something with the paper yarn I purchased this spring. Perhaps I'll stash it until it's warm again and I can make something more season appropriate.

project #14: Peepshow Creepshow Keyhole Scarf is complete!

The Project: Peepshow Creepshow Keyhole Scarf
The Yarn: Plassard Louinie purchased from Needlework Unlimited (3 balls)
The Needles: Crystal Palace 4mm
Started: October 15, 2004
Completed: October 17, 2004

This scarf does not photograph well at all. I can't believe I finished this project so quickly. Thank God for comfort knitting. It really helped me keep my mind off the weirdness that will ensue this week at work.

The texture of this yarn is absolutely amazing. I am totally in love with it! It's ridiculously soft and "pettable". It's disappointing that my LYS no longer carries it.

Fuzzy black yarn is definitely more of a challenge to knit with than smooth, light colored yarn. The upside is that if you make a tiny mistake it is not likely to show. While I certainly wouldn't want a persnickety knitting critic to look at my last seed stitch section, the errors of my ways aren't visible to the untrained eye.

Silly credits:
At left, Peepshow Creepshow Keyhole Scarf by Amy and necklace by Carrie for Kerry. Sweater, "model's" own.

project #14: Peepshow Creepshow Keyhole Scarf

Hoo boy, am I in avoidance of my other projects or what? I got some particularly stressful news at work on Thursday, and took Friday off in order to collect my thoughts and prepare for a big discussion on Monday. What I needed was some comfort knitting. Comfort knitting, for me, is defined as cozy yarn, easy knitting and near instant gratification. I dug through my stash and found some lovely Frenchy yarn I purchased earlier this year. Honh honh honh!

I started things off with 15 rows of seed stitch and then moved on to a k2p2 rib. At some point I added in a second ball of yarn to make the keyhole. Now I just need to keep on with the k2p2 rib for a bit and then finish off with another seed stitch section.

Please note, no muppets died to make this scarf!

The Project: Peepshow Creepshow Keyhole Scarf
The Yarn: Plassard Louinie purchased from Needlework Unlimited
The Needles: Crystal Palace 4mm
Started: October 15, 2004

kira kira hikaru scarf - Project #13 is complete!

The Project: Kira Kira Hikaru Scarf (star mesh pattern found here)
The Yarn: Millie Mohair shade #145 purchased at Depth of Field Yarn
The Needles: 4.5MM Brittany
Started: October 2, 2004
Finished: October 11, 2004

Hurrah - a finished project! This was a pleasantly quick knit (for me). It's already turned very cold here and I've had a few chances to wear this fuzzy little number. I love it! It turned out so luxurious that it feels a bit decadent to wear it around during the day. If I had it to do over again I'd knit it a little narrower and a little longer, but those are minor quibbles.

I'm displaying it on my much loved Sony Vaio laptop. I'm in the market for a new laptop computer for work. Any recommendations for a well designed, well functioning Windows OS laptop are welcome. I saw a very lovely shiny white one (nope, not an ibook) somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

shrug

I picked up the new Vogue Knitting this afternoon. I can't believe I am saying this, but there is a very cute shrug that might become a future project. There are even a couple of other little projects that are rather appealing, and I'm looking forward to reading the article about the British knitwear scene. This issue is definitely an improvement over some other recent isses.

Another item of note is an announcement of a new magazine, knit.1. It's designed for the "young, hip knitters". We'll see...

I love to knit scarves and no one is going to stop me

You appear to be a Knitting Apprentice.
You've got the basics down pat and you might just
be falling in love with this hobby. Big
needles, funky yarns and simple shapes are the
name of the game, but it doesn't mean you don't
experiment a bit, here and there. As an
apprentice, you probably fall back on other
people to get you through those rough spots,
and if you don't know anyone who knits, you
probably have a few books or online sources to
tap.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
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status report

Time again for another status report.

Newcastle United Scarf
Knitting is complete on this one. Luke has given it his nod of approval and I now just need to finish weaving in all those horrid little ends. If I ever do another striped project I'm going to weave in as I go.

Pulli mit Rüsche aka Sweater with Frills - Rebecca #25 pattern #22
I cast this one on way too tightly and have some variations in gauge. There's also the accidental YO. Hopefully the ripping process won't be too painful. Thanks Froggy, for pointing me to those excellent mohair ripping tips.

Frida Tank
No point in taking a new photo of this one as I haven't even touched it except to fling it out of my way to get at other things. I vow that I will finish it sometime soon. Perhaps, even this week.

Kira Kira Hikaru Scarf
Need some wood? Brittany hardwood knitting needles are lovely to work with if you are knitting mohair. I worked a lot on this one while watching the debate and am now about 70% finished. I'm so glad I found the pattern on the internets.

project #13: Kira Kira Hikaru Scarf

What’s this? Another new project? With those others so close to being finished? The truth had to come out sometime. Call me a hussy if you will, but it seems that when it comes to knitting, I am just not the faithful type. The tried and true projects are left on the side when I see a new one -- all shiny, mysterious, and full of hope -- and I just can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Last Saturday’s regularly scheduled blog prowl brought me to this lovely scarf (scroll down a bit). I have wanted a lacy-ish mohair scarf for some time and the pattern seemed simple enough for even me. I knew it had to be mine.

This Millie Mohair is actually the first yarn I ever purchased. The luscious raspberry color and fluffy texture drew me in, but I soon realized this was not the yarn to use to learn to knit. So, it sat. Now five or so years later, I do know how to knit, at least sort of, and I finally get to play with it.

I decided to break up the mesh pattern a bit by doing two repeats of the star rib pattern followed by 4 rows of garter. The fluffy mohair is a bit difficult for me to work with, resulting in an extra stitch here and there, and other errors, but they really don't show that much. The anal retentive crowd would probably rip these out, but I'm just not going to worry about it.

The name of this project came about because a sizeable section of the scarf was completed while watching an old drama called Kira Kira Hikaru. This show doesn't have a thing to do with knitting, but the name means something to the effect of shining brightly so it fits with the star theme of the pattern. I used to watch this program, which I like to refer to as Sexy Coroner, with a certain special someone, so it makes me feel nostalgic and warm to think of it. Perfect feelings to associate with a cozy fluffy scarf.

The Project: Kira Kira Hikaru Scarf
The Yarn: Millie Mohair shade #145 purchased at Depth of Field Yarn
The Needles: 4.5MM Brittany
Started: October 2, 2004