FO: Red Scarf Scarf (w/"pattern")

The deadline for the Red Scarf Project has come and gone, but I haven't posted about my contribution until just now.

The deadline for the project was coming close, and I was looking for some yarn that chunky, but not too chunky, nice, but affordable and a pattern that was better than plain garter stitch, but would go quickly.

Fortunately, I snagged some beautiful Rio de la Plata Merino Santa Maria in Red Brick from High Strung Yarn's going out of business sale (the owner sold her inventory at one of my knitting groups.) I bought three skeins, but only needed one skein and less than half of the second skein.

The pattern is below. I think it fits most of the Red Scarf Project requirements. It's a little on the skinny side. (I think it was about four and a half inches wide, and they recommend making the scarves at least five inches wide.)

I used US size 9 needles, and the gauge was a little less than 4 stitches per inch.

Cast on 20 stitches.

Rows 1-7: Knit across.
Row 8: K4, P4, K4, P4, K4
Row 9: P4, K4, P4, K4, P4
Row 10: Repeat Row 8
Row 11: Repeat Row 9
Row 12: Repeat Row 8
Row 13: Repeat Row 9
Row 14: P4, K4, P4, K4, P4
Row 15: K4, P4, K4, P4, K4
Row 16: Repeat Row 14
Row 17: Repeat Row 15
Row 18: Repeat Row 14
Row 19: Repeat Row 15

Repeat Rows 1-19 until it's the length you want. (I made it about 60 inches, about as long as I am tall.) Knit 7 rows. Bind off.

Wrap around a five inch piece of cardboard (I actually used my needle gauge) about 40 times. Cut at one end to make fringe.

Block the scarf. I didn't do a very good job blocking because I couldn't find my T-pins. I just sort of put some books on top of it to hold it down. The edges would have been neater if I'd pinned it down. (This picture was taken during the blocking process. Yes, I blocked it in my closet.)

The last step is to add the fringe. I added one piece of yarn to each stitch.

Attach one piece of fringe to each stitch.

For a minute, I thought I saw my scarf here (it was the red one!), but I think it was imagination.

They got me!

Arrrggghhhhh...cough...cough...*falls down*

I got my socks for Sock Wars II today. I'm dead.

Proper pictures of the "funeral" will come later.

Balance

I've fallen a little behind on the blog, but trying not to worry about it. I'm making sure there is some balance in my life. I missed two cool knitting events to attend a church retreat (which was definitely worth it.) And now I'm missing the Meetup yarn crawl to attend Maker Faire with my friends. (We'll see how long I last. I just coughed up something green. Yuck!)

So blog bits will resume next week, for the two people who may be wondering where I am. In the mean time, I'll try to get my last couple of FOs up.

FO: Ribbon One Skeiner (w/"Pattern")

I'm just now posting my last Stash and Burn One Skein Contest entry, and I already I didn't win the contest. But I did have fun.

I've done this "pattern" a couple of times. I bought two balls of Crystal Palace Party Ribbon a while back at the Knit n' Knibble in Tampa. I had already done the drop stitch scarf everyone does with ribbon yarn, and I decided to do something different. I tried all sorts of stitches. Finally, one day I walked into the Knit n' Knibble and saw someone making a mesh shawl with ribbon yarn and giant needles. It took me a minute to figure out that it was just plain old garter stitch, on giant needles.

I've done this scarf a couple of times. I've also used Moda Dea Ticker Tape. I think it will work with just about any ribbon yarn.

I used US size 17 needles. This scarf is in Crystal Palace Party Ribbon in "Ultra Blues." It was one of the two balls I bought from the Knit n' Knibble.

The key is to cut the fringe first. On this one I cut 30 pieces, each about 10.5 inches long.

After cutting the fringe, cast on 15 stitches. Leave a tail that is at least as long as the fringe.

Knit until you run out of yarn. The first time I did this, I tried to keep the ribbon perfectly flat on the needles. It's not worth it. Just knit. Trust me.

Bind off. Make sure you have enough yarn left to bind off the whole row, and leave a tail the length of the fringe.

Add fringe on each stitch. (There's a good tutorial here if you've never done it before.) Tie the tails in with the fringe.

Depending on the yarn you choose, you may want to put clear nail polish or Fray Check on the ends of the fringe to prevent unraveling.

Blog Bits Saturday Sunday

Sorry I'm late!

Girl on the Rocks has a crochet pattern out for Monster Finger Chapstick Cozies.

Quiddity is hosting another "show us your socks" contest.

The Sweet Sheep participated in Run for the Cure. Also, more progress on the Rhinebeck sweater here.

Mochimochi hosts a photo contest and learns to crochet. Also, check out SOS. I love the textured water.

Yarnivation has the artillery list up for sock wars. I'm in this year, which should be interesting considering I'll be out of town when they send the info.

Cosmicpluto participates in some street art.

Wendy Knits reviews the whole "Knit from your Stash" thing. Also, she explains how to find her at Stitches East.

Unraveling goes to the Knit and Crochet Show.

Yes! Suna Knits! has some food for thought on teaching knitting. She is also looking for her wedding top and finishes the top I want to knit.

Lady Octavia makes a drop spindle.

Grumperina has passed the 800 mark in her Jaywalker gallery. (Holy Crap!)

The Yarn Harlot finishes her book.

Needles and Things has trouble winding yarn. (We've all been there.)

Finally, Yarn Pirate strives to knit 31 pairs of baby socks in 31 days. See her progress here, here and here.

FO: Pinky-Purple Boogie Time

I planned to make several Boogie Time watches for the Stash and Burn One Skein Contest, but I only got in two. One is for me, this one will be a gift.

I used a bit of leftover Claudia's Hand Painted Yarn Sport in "Just Plum" leftover from a "mystery" project. I settled on size US 2 bamboo dpns after unraveling it a few times. The watch part is from Jo-Ann.

I also didn't really follow the pattern, just the basic concept. I cast on a number that seemed right, and then knit until it was a length that seemed right.

I did it in one day, the second my second to last entry for the one skein contest.

FO: Skinny Lengthwise Compromise Scarf

Once upon a time, there was a ball of dyed wool on eBay that didn't have a name. A knitter named Sally saw it and decided to buy it because she liked hand dyed yarns and because it was dirt cheap. So cheap, the shipping cost more than the yarn.

But when the ball arrived, she had no idea what to knit with it. So she set it aside.

Then, months later, the new Knitty came out with a lengthwise scarf with fingerless gloves on the ends. The pattern was called Entwined and Sally had to knit it. The yarn with no name was perfect for it.

But there was something with the pattern that didn't seem right. The gauge was awfully loose for worsted weight yarn, even with Sally's loose gauge. Sally decided a quick rewrite was in order to adjust the gauge.

So Sally did the math cast on the yarn with no name with size 6 needles. She was knitting merrily along, when something else didn't seem right. There did not look like there would be enough yarn to finish the scarf.

Sally didn't know what to do. She kept knitting hoping she was wrong, but eventually, she had to admit the truth. Knitting the scarf at a smaller gauge required more yarn than she had. And because the yarn had no name, she couldn't buy more of it.

However, the scarf was coming along quite nicely, so Sally made a decision. She bound off before making the fingerless gloves, added some fringe, and made a regular skinny scarf.

So the yarn with no name was finally knit into a project, and Sally still had another entry for the Stash and Burn One Skein Contest, as well as something to give as a Christmas gift or sell on Etsy or a at a craft show. Not tomentioned that it matched her last FO.

And what about Entwined? The pattern was happy too, because it knew it would be knit another day.

And they all knit happily ever after.

The End

(PS - It just occurred to me after I finished this entry that it has an odd resemblance to a recent blog entry by Persistent Illusion.)

FO: Foliage: Lime, Version One

I'm behind on my blogging my FOs. The Stash and Burn One Skein Contest ended yesterday. I'll never get all four left done tonight, but I can at least do one.

Yes, I made another Foliage from Knitty, and it's another Version One (the chunky version.) I used the Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande in color 1310 and US 10.5 needles. I bought that yarn at the Knit n' Knibble in Tampa when I lived in Florida. It was the big spring sale, and I bought two skeins to give to my Mom for her birthday, and one skein for myself. They asked what I was going to do with just one skein. I said "probably a hat." I knit this with yarn to spare.

I don't remember how long it took. It's been more than a week of one skein projects since I made it. No more than two days. I plan to make more of these. I think it'll be one of the great Christmas gifts of 2007.

I like this one, but not quite as much as the first one. I think the Malabrigo made the stitches a little crisper and gave it more stretch. Also, the subtle semi-solids added a nice touch.

I'll be making more of these for gifts. I want at least two more in Malabrigo Chunky, probably in jewel tones. I have a decent amount left over after each one, and I want to combine the leftovers for a striped scarf.

I think this one was a little bigger than the first one, but the stitch pattern has a bit of stretch, so I'm sure it will be fine.


And yes, to whoever receives this hat, my hair was clean when I tried it on.

PS - Anyone noticed that some of the "Plymouth" yarns in Ravelry have been changed to "Indiecta"? Apparently Indiecta is the distributor, but I think everyone still calls it Plymouth. I hope they'll change it back.