Christmas Scarf #2

After the difficult "Column of Leaves" lace pattern that I just finished, I decided it was time for a much easier pattern that I could mindlessly knit while watching TV. Since I also need to make a "man's" scarf as a friend's Christmas present, I thought this diagonal rib pattern would be exactly what I was looking for.

Last winter, I knitted a similar pattern for myself (in fact, the blogger who posted these two patterns considers them a series - though they have little more in common than both being diagonal ribs.) For my scarf last year, I had used multiple colors, which is something I really like until you start weaving in yarn (something I'm not that great at....) Since I wanted to keep this scarf as easy as possible, I decided to stick with a single color throughout (a light-weight wool on size 6 needles.) Fortunately, the scarf did prove a quick, easy knit - which was exactly what I needed (now I just hope my friend enjoys it.)

Christmas Scarf #1

Although I finished knitting this scarf a couple weeks ago, it took me forever to actually block and finish the scarf (though that might be because I knew I had plenty of time before Christmas and was in no hurry to have a wet scarf draped across my small apartment.)

Fortunately, the knitting of this scarf was remarkably easy. Although the pattern is a bit challenging because of all the yarn-overs (and the complex border that just begs for errors that will be abundantly obviously when finished!) Fortunately, since I'd already knitted this pattern once before, I found that after just a couple repeats the pattern came right back to memory.

Although it too much longer to knit than I first expected, I'm fairly happy with the result. I used a rather light-weight yarn, so the end scarf is extremely light-weight as well. As a side note (and this may be the case with all blocking), the pattern greatly expands during the blocking process. I had originally hoped to make this scarf a foot longer, but a major mistake made me cast off many "leaves" earlier than planned; however, I discovered that that was quite the blessing when viewing the long length after blocking!

Diagonal Ribbed Men's Scarf

I have wanted to make myself a scarf for several months but generally find men's scarf patterns to be a little too boring. However, I found this diagonal rib pattern that proved to be both easy and engaging. In fact, I would say the most difficult aspect of the entire project was weaving in all the yarn from all the color changes!

To make the scarf, I used size 6 needles with a fairly light-weight merino wool (I would guess that it was sport weight - but the packaging wasn't printed in English, so I'm not exactly sure.) I was again impressed with the ease of knitting with wool; I might have a hard time returning to synthetics ever again!

The Magic of Blocking

Since it's been ages since I last completed a knitting project, I decided it was about time to pick up the old knitting needles. I have been wanting to try this column of leaves scarf pattern for awhile now. It was an exceptionally slow pattern for the first several "leaves" due to the fact that every single row in the pattern is a slightly different mixture of knit, purl, and other more complex stitches; however, once the pattern is finally memorized, it certainly speeds up!

To knit this scarf, I used worsted-weight wool yarn on size-6 needles. I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of knitting with wool - I only tried acrylic and cotton in the past. This was also the first time I've ever actually blocked a finished project. I was amazed at how much nicer my pattern looked once I was finished. Any pattern that has lace aspects to it definitely needs the blocking to help stretch it out (though blocking did add a couple feet to my finished project!)

Christmas Knits

"Somewhere, under the flurry of tearing gift wrap and devouring of chocolate bells, is a day about family and connnections and thoughtfulness. Just as every hand-stitched item - every knit, every purl - encodes a secret message about devotation. Knitting is simply an expression of love." - Knit the Season, Kate Jacobs

Chevron Afghan

Since the scarf I made in this simple chevron pattern turned out so nicely, I decided to repeat the pattern on a much larger scale to make this afghan. The original pattern called for 39 stitched for the stripes plus an extra 2 stitches on each side for a garter-stitch border (for a total of 43 stitches.) For my afghan, I increased the pattern portion to include 8 separate repeats of the original 39-stitch pattern, plus a border on both ends of 4 garter stitches (for a grand total of 320 stitches!!!)

I made this afghan on a set of size-7 circular needles, which wasn't a problem initially. However, as the project grew, I discovered that the Phoenix summer wasn't exactly the best time to work on a full-size afghan. I believe that I will be working on several smaller projects before attempting anything this large!

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club

I know it's been ages since I've posted anything here...the only excuse that I have is that my reasoning that "not even the desert heat can stop my clacking needles" was an erroneous statement! For some reason, I just haven't felt much like sitting with an afghan draped across my lap when it's 115 outside! Perhaps the lesson learned is that it's not wise to begin large projects right as you're approaching the hottest part of the year! Oh well, I'm coming along slowly but surely and hope to finish in the coming weeks.

In the mean time, my lack of knitting as allowed me to keep up with my reading. The other day, I discovered The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil and thought it looked worth the read. Although the book is an enjoyable read, I was quite surprised how little the book had to do with the actual knitting club.

The main plot of the story is that a young divorced woman moved away from her busy London life to raise her two children in a smaller seaside town, all while managing her grandmother's yarn shop. While the story does revolve around knitting, the actual knitting group is almost non-existence (appearing on perhaps 10 the 400 pages!) Still, even though the plot was completely unoriginal - the book, like a good romantic comedy, provided a pleasurable escape!