Trish Knits.com

Tag: scarf

Back to Everyday Knitting…

…On what turned out to be a most unusual day. It seems hard or somehow inappropriate to even talk about my mundane knitting when there was such a horrific accident on our Metro system today. I am not the most praying person, but I am indeed praying for all of the victims and their families this day.

But, on to the knitting, even with my heavy heart. I realized earlier today that it’s been a while since I’ve updated Jen’s Hello Kitty Scarf. A solid 6 weeks of knitting, and this is what I’ve got:

Pink scarf in progress

It’s probably close to three feet long now. I figure I’ll knit until almost the end of the ball, then fringe. So it will be however long it is. Thankfully, Jen is small and so it doesn’t need to be hugely long. But it will, I am convinced, be quite long enough.

And ok, here’s a yarny confession:

Purple Yarny Goodness

Yes, I hit the Knit Picks yarn sale last week. I got 22 balls of Andean Treasure yarn, with which I am going to make Ysolda Teague’s Coraline Sweater. I met Ysolda at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year and she was wearing that very sweater. I was smitten! And totally thrilled when she said she had made the pattern in larger sizes. Wow.

Then today? I ordered small quantities of brightly colored sock yarn for another birthday card project. I’ll be rushing. Shhh… it’s a secret.

Oh, and Jon and Kate? I’m so over them now. So sad for the kids.

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June 22, 2009
FO Report: Halloween Scarf

Halloween scarf completed

Project Name: Halloween Scarf
Source: http://circe.canalblog.com/archives/2009/04/23/index.html
Yarn Used: Various, but featuring Vitreous Humor, by Insubordiknit
Needle Size: 13, for the eyeball yarn
Date Started: June 2, 2009
Date Completed: June 9, 2009

Notes: I knit most of this scarf on my Singer Cord Knitter, so each cord went fairly quickly. The eyeball yarn cord was knit by hand on size 13 needles. I actually have a little bit left over so I’m trying to decide what to do with it. I think I’ll keep it for decoration. I braided most of the cords loosely and tacked them together a little bit but I did not tack down the eyeball cord in case I ever want to recycle it for another scarf. I’ll try to get a photo of my daughter wearing it tomorrow. It looks much better on a person than on a chair!

Yarn Yummies

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!

Cascade Eco Alpaca

It’s Cascade Eco Alpaca which I purchased from The Loopy Ewe for 20% off. Sheri is hosting a knitalong for Jared Flood’s Girasole pattern, and well, I had to jump on the bandwagon! The knitalong is supposed to run through October 1, but I doubt I will finish in time. But, wow, the yarn is SO soft and SO yummy… I had to jump at the chance to get some at a discounted price. Oh wow, even though I know I can’t start my blanket just yet, I really want to! I can’t wait to have that yarn in my fingers. Yummy!

Well, I guess I better get to bed before I turn into a pumpkin… just wanted to share the day’s knitting news with people who I know would understand and share my joy. I’m sure most of you know what it’s like to live with people who love you but only tolerate your knitting? That’s what it’s like for me most of the time. Nobody here shares my excitement over the softest yarn ever or the joy of a completed project. (Though I do think my daughter is coveting a skein of the Eco Alpaca at the moment–guess I’d better be sure to count them before casting on for my project!) So, thank you for reading and sharing in the moments with me. It’s great having a community of knitters to share these little things with.

Until next time…

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June 9, 2009
As If…

Well, here it is, the Friday before the Sunday that I’m going to see my friend Jen for the first time in four years. I’m excited! We have lots of catching up to do. A couple of weeks ago, as I was staring at a ball of hot pink sock yarn on my ball winder, I immediately thought of her. She loves Hello Kitty and and all things hot pink, so this scarf was just the thing:

pink scarf in progress

Except, what was I thinking? Of course, there’s no way I could have gotten it done in time. In fact, I’m not sure how people can get a whole scarf done in a few days or a week. On average, a single scarf takes me about a month, a pair of socks can take about two months, and even a simple felted hat takes me about three weeks. Clearly, this was not going to happen. But hey, I tried.

There’s going to be plenty of knitting time this weekend, though. Our pool opens for the season, which is prime knitting time for me. Plus tomorrow night is the Washington Nationals Stitch n’ Pitch, where I’ll be in good company with hundreds of yarny friends. If you’re coming to the game, look for the goofy lady in a wheelchair with spiky hair, knitting furiously away on a hot pink scarf. That would be me.

Oh well, that’s tomorrow! For now, it’s another day at work. I’m chanting already: Come on, 5 o’clock! See ya!

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May 22, 2009
Knitting Ruts and Why We Love Them

It’s true; I am a slave to my knitting habits. This week I realized in horror that one of my best friends, who I have not seen in FOUR years, will be in town for a visit in just two weeks. And I’ve wanted to do something special. But what?

Then I realized I had a ball of Socks that Rock in the Hot Flash colorway sitting on my ball winder. (OMG is this a discontinued color? If so, WHY oh why did I not pick up the skein that I saw in a bin at MSW??? Kicking self, now!) Fate stepped in. You see, my friend loves Hello Kitty so much that she even has a Hello Kitty tattoo on her leg. And the Hot Flash yarn is, well, Hello Kitty pink and red. What could be more perfect?

beginnings of hot pink scarf

So I grabbed my copies of my red and blue Barbara Walker books, and began to look for a lacy pattern that would fit the bill for this yarn. In the end, I didn’t choose a lace pattern. I chose Twin Rib. The thing is? I always choose Twin Rib. But why? Well, it’s easy, albeit a little boring, and it does make a lovely fabric. In this case, I am knitting the mediumweight yarn on a size 7 needle, which for me, with my loosey-goosey knitting, makes a very loose, drapey fabric. Other times I’ve knit it much tighter, to make a very dense, warm scarf. But it’s almost summer now, and the yarn is shockingly pink. Loose, drapey and fun seemed the right thing to do.

I wish at times that I would branch out more. I have all of the world of knitting in front of me, and I tend to go back to the same, simple patterns, over and over. Why is that?

If there’s time, I’ll knit a red, Hello Kitty-shaped bow and sew it to the scarf, just for added cuteness. I doubt there will be time. But I can dream.

So, this whole thing has got me thinking. Am I the only one who is a slave to my knitting ruts? What are yours? Please let me know I’m not alone. Drop me a line and tell me all about them. I know you must have them. Please tell me that we all do.

Meanwhile, wish me luck in my quest to finish a whole scarf in the next 10 days. Sleep? Who needs it? Gotta Knit! Ciao for now…

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May 13, 2009
I Just Had to Knit Something New

ruffled edge of Pfeiffer Falls scarf

I’ve been needing to start a new project for carrying along, since I finished the knitting portion of my most recent hat. A couple of posts back I mused about the Pfeiffer Falls Hooded Scarf in the current issue of Interweave Knits. So yesterday I started it, after spending nearly a week reading and re-reading the pattern. I admit that I still don’t understand the construction of the thing entirely, so I am having to trust that the pattern is completely correct and just follow it. I’m hoping that the light bulb goes off soon. Thankfully the designer, Anne Kuo Lukito is on Ravelry and a knitalong will begin soon. I suppose that I knit so slowly that this head start I’ve got going won’t matter much. I’m looking forward to working on this project together with a group.

Hey, look at the new pet that the postman brought me today!

Wollmeise

It’s my very own skein of Wollmeise! Now, I think most folks know I am NOT much of a sock knitter, but I do love me some nice yarn. And I hear people get so worked up about this one that I just wanted to see what it was about. A fellow Raveler had some in a colorway she thought I might like so we struck up a deal. And now it lives with me.

The skein is very generous, which I noticed right away. The yarn itself is very soft too. Perhaps I’ll make myself a scarf with it someday. But really, sometimes I just buy yarn for yarn’s sake. This one is so lovely to pet I’m half inclined to adopt it as my new teddy bear. There’s plenty of time to decide what it will be.

Ciao for now… off to knit a bit then pet my yarn. Then bed. All this new president stuff has my head spinning. In a good way, but honestly I’ve been too excited to sleep. Good things are coming… I can feel it.

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January 23, 2009
Stash Diving

So this evening I went through most of my yarn bins. I took pictures of a lot of stuff to upload it on Ravelry. On one hand, I was comforted to find that my stash was not as vast as most people think it is. But on the other hand, I have lots of single skeins of things that I have no idea what I’m going to do with it.

In this photo is one of my favorites. It’s Cherry Tree Hill Oceania. I bought it about two years ago, when there was this half off sale so I got a really good deal on it. Of course I have no idea what to do with it.

Along the way there was a small pile of UFOs that I rediscovered for possible finishing. There were even a few that I kissed goodbye, including a French Market Bag that I had started with some leftover oddballs that didn’t really go together, and a mini triangular scarf out of some leftover Noro Silk Garden.

The Silk Garden yarn had been used to make a Knit Round Scarf by Sally Melville. (The link takes you to the book at Knit Picks. If you click the “View More Images” button from that page, you’ll see the scarf in the second group of pictures. It actually looks more like a wrap to me…) Anyway, I made it, but was totally unhappy with it being totally in stockinette stitch and then being all curly on the edges. I changed the neckline to a ribbing, but the bottom edge still rolls of course. Well I couldn’t just throw it out because it was made with such expensive yarn and all. Well, Diana, who was probably only 6 or 7 at the time that I made it is now almost 12 and the thing looks just darling on her! Glad I found it today. I’ll have to snap a photo of her wearing it and post it so y’all can see. Diana was so excited that she wove in the remaining ends herself.

We also found a scarf that she liked that only needed ends weaved in and some fringe added. So she started on that, too! So not all of my UFOs are lost causes. Yay!

February 22, 2008