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I haven't posted about knitting in awhile (or at least it feels like I haven't posted about knitting in awhile. So here it is - lots and lots about knitting!
This is the scarf I made for my aunt Chris for Christmas, but did not give to her until February. Oops. This scarf was actually finished BEFORE Christmas, but I also made a scarf for my cousin (who'd actually asked for demanded a scarf), my Godson (cousin's son) and my aunt's husband (which makes him my uncle? they got married so recently that it feels weird to say that). Those took until February. And I didn't take pictures of those, or of the scarf I gave to my sister, because I wound up giving the scarves out while I was in Illinois and it was a rush to get the blocking done.
Details about this scarf:
Pattern: Edgar from Knitty
Yarn: Noro Kureyon #157, 2 skeins (100% wool, absolutely stunning colorways)
Needles: US 9
This is the same pattern I used for Emilee's scarf for her birthday. I absolutely love the pattern, because it's a really easy knit once you get the hang of the pattern, and I think it does a great job of showing off the yarn, but makes the knit stitch look really interesting! I will eventually make one for myself, but I'm going to use Big Kureyon, I think, and larger needles so that it will be a little warmer and longer (I love me some warm scarves).
Details about the other scarves I made that I do not have pictures of (maybe I'll get the relative's to take pictures and send them to me):
Tricia's scarf: Latifa from Knitty
Yarn: I used the yarn called for in the pattern, for the first colorway. This was mostly Garnstudio Silke-Tweed in #02, #15, #01 and #21, one skein apiece. The Koigu KPPPM colorway was discontinued, but I found that #P153 (only one skein) looks really good.
Needles: US 3
When I saw this pattern, I absolutely had to make it, and in the color they used. It reminded me of spumoni. I actually bought the yarn to make myself one (though turns out I didn't need to - you dont' actually use that much of the Silke-Tweed, and I bought an extra skein of the Koigu thinking I'd need it for Tricia's scarf - but since I bought MORE Silke-Tweed, I'm going to have to figure out what to do with it!). One day I'll make mine and show a picture.
During the course of making this scarf, I learned why my knitting was so tight, and stopped doing what I was doing. That meant I radically changed gauge partway through the scarf! Luckily, blocking helped with this, but it still looked a little lopsided to me. I hope Tricia doesn't mind!
Daven's scarf: Toddle from Knitty
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Princess in Cobalt, a little more than 1 skein.
Needles: US 8
This was a fabulous yarn to work with, since it's 40% Mohair, 28% Viscose, 10% Cashmere, 7% Angora and 15% Nylon - very soft and appropriate for a 3-4 year-old like Daven. This was also my first experience with cables - they're amazing! I used a double pointed needle, but have since gone out and bought cable needles, because the DPN method is annoying. I didn't do the keyhole in the scarf, because, well, I forgot. The only thing I regret with this one is not making it a little wider, and also blocking it. I blocked because I wanted to to lay a little flatter, but I think it looked much better prior to blocking - maybe because I dunked it in water and I think some of the yarn felted a little - shouldn't do that with cashmere blends. So if I do this again, with this yarn, there will be no blocking!
Bob's scarf: "Double" seed stitch scarf
Yarn: Cascade 220 in a taupe color (not sure of the actual number - don't know what happened to the labels - EDIT: it's #8013), 2 skeins
Needles: US 7
This wasn't from a pattern, per say, just a method. Over an even number of stitches, you K2 P2 across for 2 rows. Then you switch to P2 K2 for 2 rows. Then you repeat these 4 rows until you want to tear your hair out because switching between knitting and purling so often as an English-style knitter is annoying. And it's only one color, so you don't even have that to look forward to.
Anyhow, I made this extra-wide because my uncle is a big guy. And then blocking of course. Everyone kept telling me as I was making it how "pretty" it was, and I freaked out that despite choosing a masculine (at least to me, but what do I know) color and a simple but interesting stitch, it would be exactly that - pretty. Blocking it helped smooth out the fabric, so it still had the interesting stitch without being so obviously textured. I wasn't sure if my uncle was even a scarf guy (you can tell how well I know him) but he seemed to like it, so that makes me happy.
Christina's scarf: My So-Called Scarf
Yarn: Noro Transitions #01, 2 skeins
Needles: US 11
I LOVE this yarn and had been wanting to knit something with it for awhile. Problem is, it's very expensive - $25 for a 100g skein (which is double the normal skein size, but still) - so I bought it off of Ebay! Why is it so special? Not only does it change colors like most Noro yarns, it also changes textures. It's a 55% wool, 10% silk, 7% cashmere, 7% angora, 7% alpaca, 7% kid mohair, 7% camel blend, and I guess the wool is blending with each of the other fibers and it changes textures between those - pretty cool. The yarn is fun to work with, and the stitch pattern isn't as difficult as it looks. Which made a cool looking scarf, which Christina says she really liked (I guess she likes browns and grays, but I wouldn't know since I hardly ever see her).
So that's the gift knitting update. I've gotten through 2 sisters! Now only 2 sisters to go (ordered the yarn for Rebecca's scarf yesterday, still unsure what to do with Kim), and my parents. After that is other relatives and some friends. Not that any of this will come any time soon - this sort of gifting is SLOW! Plus, I want some more stuff for myself. :-)
This concludes a very long post about knitting.
- Lizzardie, at 12:31 PM
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