I have committed knitting again . . .

I spent a long weekend visiting friends and I had the opportunity to do a bit of knitting, so . . .

Oh, my! The world has come to an end!

After all this time, would you believe there is actually a new post about . . . wait for it . . . me committing knitting. Yep, I am knitting a simple lace scarf because I really need to relax and there is nothing more relaxing than knitting. Well, there's also cross stitching and crocheting, but I'm not currently working anything involving those so knitting wins by default.

The scarf is being done in (Cascade Yarns) Heritage hand painted sock yarn color 9848 on size 6 needles.



I'm using a seed stitch edging with one repeat of the dimple eyelet pattern followed by one repeat of the ridged ribbon eyelet with an extra knit row and an extra purl row between the ridged ribbon eyelet and the dimple eyelet patterns.

Falling Leaves Scarf

Begun Sunday, March 5, 2006, and completed Sunday, March 26, 2006. The intended recipient is my former mother-in-law. It will be this year's Christmas gift.

Yarn: Hand painted 100% merino wool in various shades of mauve from Kindred Spirit Yarn, fingering weight, approximately 440 yards

Needles: Size 7 US

Gauge: Don't know, don't care

Size: Don't know, still can't find my measuring tape

Pattern: If I give an instruction that is incomprehensible, post a comment and I'll try to clear things up.

k# - knit specified number of stitches
p# - purl specified number of stitches
sl2tog - slip two stitches simultaneously as if to knit
p2sso - pass the two slipped stitches over
yo - yarn over
ssk - slip two stitches individually as if to knit then knit the two together thru the back loop
k2tog - knit two together

NOTE: The pattern is worked over 10 + 6 stitches (the 10 stitch repeat is worked twice) plus 5 stitches on each end for the garter stitch edges for a total of 36 stitches across. The scarf begins and ends with 10 rows of garter stitch. Listed below are the pattern stitches only. The garter stitch edges are not included.

Row 1: k1, yo, k3, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, k2tog

Row 2: p

Row 3: k2, yo, k2, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2, k2tog

Row 4: p

Row 5: k3, yo, k1, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, k2tog

Row 6: p

Row 7: k4, yo, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, yo, k7, yo, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, yo, k7, yo, k2tog

Row 8: p

Row 9: ssk, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k3, yo, k1, yo, k3, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k3, yo, k1

Row 10: p

Row 11: ssk, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k2, yo, k2

Row 12: p

Row 13: ssk, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, k1, yo, k3

Row 14: p

Row 15: ssk, yo, k7, yo, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, yo, k7, yo, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, yo, k4

Row 16: p

Note: I still have to weave in the ends and block it. The garter stitch rib tends to curl under.

As time goes by

A kiss may just be a kiss, but a scarf is . . . um . . . a scarf?

Remember this? Well, it's now become this . . .


Yes, this hideous piece of work is my own personal version of a scarp scarf. I couldn't think what else to do with the leftover bits of sock yarn so I decided I would make a fashionably unfashionable scarf for myself. I shall be the height of un-kewl come next winter.

Done, but not finished

I finished the scarf for my granddaughter at work on Friday. I haven't sewn in the tails but all the knitting is complete.




(Pattern)

I did not work on the butterfly fairy at all this weekend. As a matter of fact, I didn't do anything crafty since I spent the weekend in Corpus Christi with my best friend. I had a wonderful time.

A quick scarf update

As with the butterfly fairy, I've decided to do a last time/this time photo combination so you can see what the progress really is.

Last time . . .


This time . . .

End of month progress report

Since this is the last day of August, I thought I'd do a quick update on the scarf . . .


(Pattern)

. . . and the butterfly fairy . . .

. . . from last update . . .


. . . and what's been done through today.


Of course Mouse had to help while I was trying to photograph the scarf. She is turning into such a little camera hog.

My granddaughter's scarf

I've decided on who gets the next scarf - my granddaughter. Yes, I know I'm stitching the butterfly fairy for her, but everyone else in the household is getting a scarf so I decided she needed one as well.

I was having a sleepless night last night - note the timestamp on the pattern entry - so I decided to start the scarf in the hopes it would put me to sleep. It didn't, but I did get a nice bit knit after I decided what pattern I would use. Here's the first set of progress photos:





I had one skein of Bernat Softee Baby left over from my stepdaughter's scarf, so I'm using it for this one. I cast on 57 stitches which equals 9 iterations of the pattern plus one ending stitch and two Randmaschen.


(Pattern)

Pattern for granddaughter's scarf

If I give an instruction that is incomprehensible, post a comment and I'll try to clear things up. I'm going to put up the instructions for the pattern and not the scarf.

k# - knit specified number of stitches
p# - purl specified number of stitches
sl2tog - slip two stitches as if to knit
p2sso - pass the two slipped stitches over
yo - yarn over
R - Randmacshe (first / last stitch)

NOTE: The pattern is worked over 6 + 1 + 2 stitches. This means the pattern covers 6 stitches plus one stitch to end the pattern on the row as well as one beginning stitch and one ending stitch. In German, the first and last stitches are called Randmaschen and that is how I always think of them. The Randmaschen are never part of the pattern.

Row 1: R, * k1, p1, k3, p1 *, k1, R

Row 2: R, * p1, k1, p3, k1 *, p1, R

Row 3: R, * k1, p1, yo, sl2tog, k1, p2sso, yo, p1 *, k1, R

Row 4: Repeat Row 2

This completes the 4 rows that make up one iteration of the pattern. The asterisks (*) in the pattern rows indicate the 6 stitches of the pattern.

To help the scarf lay flat, it begins and ends with a 5 row rib pattern.

Row 1: R, * k1, p1 *, k1, R

Row 2: R, * p1, k1 *, p1, R

Row 3: Repeat Row 1

Row 4: Repeat Row 2

Row 5: Repeat Row 1

(Photo)

Another one bites the dust

Yeehaw!

I've finished the scarf for my stepdaughter.



(Pattern)

I did the good girl/bad girl thing again

Although this week I actually managed to knit a couple of hours on Monday night on the scarf. It's now very nearly as tall as I am. This week's WIP photo is of it in my work box again since there wasn't anyone here to help me model it.


(Pattern)

And I didn't quite spend as much time as I normally would have stitching on the butterfly fairy. I got side tracked by a book I started reading Saturday night and then had to spend all day Sunday reading to finish. The book is Sunshine by Robin McKinley.

Anyway, for comparison's sake, here is a progress photo from last week . . .



. . . and the photo from this week to compare it against.

At long last progress

I managed to beat down the one migraine I tried to get so I had a very successful weekend of stitching on the butterfly fairy. I laid it out on the afghan on the sofa to snap so it has interesting bumps.



I also put a few more inches on the scarf this week. Instead of trying for some sort of "artistic" progress photo of it, I decided to leave it in my project box and snap it there.

The scarf . . . and then some

I managed to put a few more inches on the scarf this week. I conned the Prodigal Son into holding it up so I could get a size perspective. He's about 6 feet tall and the scarf is in the neighborhood of 5 feet long. Of course, Prodigal had to have help from Heru and Mouse. What would yarn laying on the floor be like if it didn't have a couple of cats keeping a very, very keen eye on it?



(Pattern)

It's growing!

Did you know it's actually a little bit difficult to get a full length picture of a scarf that's almost four feet long without someone holding it up? And since there was no one here to do that when I felt the need to snap, un-full length snaps is what you get instead.





That last photo makes the poor scarf look like it has some sort of bumpy disease. It doesn't. I just didn't smooth it down as much as I thought I had.

Oh, well. I never claimed to be much of a photographer.

;D

(Pattern)

Progress report, sampler, scarf, and fairy

I've not worked on the fantasy sampler in three weeks. Still too busy at work to tackle it. The projects I'm involved in at work are both nearer the end, so I should have time to start working on the sampler again soon.

I've only spent about three hours working on the scarf for my stepdaughter this last week. There were just too many penultimate and ultimate episodes of shows I watch regularly on television to knit. With everything winding down this week, there will be lots more time to knit. As you can see, it has gotten a little longer and I think photographing it on the white sheet shows off its blue color better.



(Pattern)

I only work on Night on the weekends, but I usually spend almost all the daylight hours both days stitching on it. This is a picture of the progress as of yesterday evening when I put it away.



As you can see, despite the bad lighting, I've gotten the one wing done.

Progress report, sampler and scarf

I have not worked on the fantasy sampler for two weeks. I've just been too busy at work to tackle it. The projects I'm involved in at work are both near the end, so I should have time to start working on the sampler again soon.

I also haven't spent a lot of time working on the scarf for my stepdaughter though I have managed to do a hair more than double its length.



This is a close-up of the feather and fan pattern. The funny hills and valleys come from the crumpled afghan I spread the scarf out on to photograph. It really doesn't have all those strange distortions.



(Pattern)

Pattern for stepdaughter's scarf

The scarf is a variation of a feather and fan pattern. If I give an instruction that is incomprehensible, post a comment and I'll try to clear things up. I'm going to put up the instructions for the pattern and not the scarf which is just five side by side iterations of the pattern.

k# - knit specified number of stitches
p# - purl specified number of stitches
k2tog - knit two together
yo - yarn over
R - Randmacshe (first / last stitch)

NOTE: The feather and fan pattern is worked over 17 + 2 stitches. This means the pattern covers 17 stitches plus one beginning stitch and one ending stitch. In German, the first and last stitches are called Randmaschen and that is how I always think of them. The Randmaschen are never part of the pattern.

Row 1: R, * p17 *, R

Row 2: R, * k17 *, R

Row 3: R, * k17 *, R

Row 4: R, * k2tog, k2tog, k2tog, yo, K1, yo, K1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k2tog, k2tog *, R

This completes the 4 rows that make up one iteration of the feather and fan pattern. The asterisks (*) in the pattern rows indicate the 17 stitches of the pattern.

(Photo)

The next scarf

And I have started another scarf. This one, I think, will be for my stepdaughter. I'm making it in Bernat Softee Baby in Baby Denim Marls.



It is so soft.

I will put the pattern up later in the week. Right now I'm bored with the computer and I want to get back to my projects.

(Pattern)

XFIL scarf final update

It's done! Fourteen iterations of the cable pattern. I probably should have done another iteration or two, but I'm bored with it so it will just have to do.




I have almost an entire skein of yarn left. I think I will turn it into dish clothes.

(Pattern)

The XFIL's scarf

I worked on the scarf last night. It's up to 11 iterations. This is a picture of my six foot tall Prodigal Son holding the scarf up to get a perspective on how long it is.



And as a special treat for all those people who wonder what I look like, I've included a snap of me holding the scarf.



~ giggle ~

That photo was an accident. The Prodigal Son handed me the scarf and the skein of yarn while I was holding the camera and I snapped accidentally.