A most amazing scarf

This is the scarf that Emily made. Isn't it beautiful?!? She alternated 2 rows of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted with 2 rows of Inca Alpaca some Jo Sharp yarn (I think), and the effect is breathtaking! I love the way the colors dance with each other for the length of the scarf. The different textures and weights of the two yarns make it even more appealing, both visually and tactilely. And it's so soft and warm! Thank you so much, Emma!

Irish hiking gifts

This Irish hiking scarf and matching wrist warmers are for my mother-in-law. The only modification I made to the Hello Yarn Irish hiking scarf pattern was to use "uneven cables" which I found in Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Instead of putting 3 stitches on a cable needle and knitting the next 3 before knitting the 3 from the cable needle, you put 2 stitches on the cable needle and knit the next 4. I like the way these cables turn out, and they're a bit easier to do. I went with a 6-row repeat, as opposed to the 8-row cables in the Hello Yarn pattern.

The finished scarf is about 60" long. The ends don't fan out much because I did the first cable row on row 3 (the Hello Yarn pattern has you do it at row 8). Likewise I ended the scarf 2 rows after the last cable row.


I improvised a matching wrist warmer pattern, after a botched attempt at modifying the wrist warmer pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. The wrist warmers I made are 36 stitches around (3 repeats of the 12-stitch cable pattern). I started at the arm, and after 22 rounds began increasing for the thumb gusset. I increased 2 stitches every other round until there were 42 stitches. In round 35 I bound off 8 stitches at the thumb, and in round 36 I cast on 2 stitches to complete the circle. After another 10 rounds, I bound off.

1/15/07 EDITED TO ADD: I have posted the complete pattern.


Irish hiking scarf
Started: Nov. 1(?)
Finished: Nov. 30(?)
Pattern: From Hello Yarn
Yarn: Bernat Satin, Sterling, 3 skeins (used very little of the 3rd skein)
Needles: US 8 Addi Turbos

Irish hiking wrist warmers
Started: Dec. 1(?)
Finished: Dec. 9
Pattern: My own
Yarn: Bernat Satin, less than 1 skein
Needles: US 8 dpns

FO: diagonal airy scarf

I made this little scarf for cousin Marie -- it seemed like a good choice for someone who lives in a climate where it never gets cold. The airy scarf pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts is lovely and fun to knit, but I wanted to give it a bit of a twist this time, so I knitted it on the bias. It ended up kind of skinny and required more than just a spray-blocking. I gave this one a proper bath with baby shampoo and pinned it as tightly as I could to open up the lace pattern.


Diagonal airy scarf
Started: Sept. 24
Finished: Oct. 9 (blocked Oct. 16)
Pattern: Adapted from the Airy Scarf pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze, half a skein, Heavenly
Needles: US 10 plastic needles

New Zealand scarf

The beautiful mohair that Emily brought back from New Zealand turned into a scarf! Before I started, I experimented with some very simple lace patterns, but plain stockinette seemed to be the best way to show off the yarn. As I was knitting, the scarf didn't seem to be curling very much. When I bound off, it turned itself into a tube, which ended up working out perfectly because the reverse stockinette is hidden, and it's long enough to go around my neck a couple times. It's so soft, warm, and fuzzy. There's still a whole other skein, so I may make a matching hat one of these days.

New Zealand Scarf
Started: Oct. 12 (ish)
Finished: Oct. 25 (ish)
Pattern: None
Yarn: Te Awa Wools Soft Spun Mohair -- 78% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon -- colorway Gravel, almost 1 skein
Needles: US 10 needles (switched partway from straights to Denises for train knitting)

Mohair from New Zealand!

Emily returned from New Zealand with two luscious hanks of mohair yarn for me! It's really soft and so pretty -- the color ranges from dark to light gray, which I love. I can't wait to see how it knits up! I'm thinking it would make a great lacy scarf or shawl.

Thanks so much Emma!

FO: Airy scarf

On the way up to Pittsburgh, I knit an Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for my aunt. She's been asking me to knit something for her ever since I started knitting. I chose the Airy Scarf pattern because it looked like something my aunt might wear, it seemed appropriate for spring, and I've been itching to try out Rowan Kidsilk Haze. It turned out to be a fairly mindless, relaxing knit, perfect for a road trip. I only had to count up to 10, which I can usually handle. (Anything higher than that and I start running into trouble!) While in Pittsburgh, I weaved the ends in, but decided to wait till I got home to block it.

Since this is my first finished lace project (I will finish Branching Out someday!), it was also my first attempt at blocking lace. I don't have a blocking board, and the dog sleeps on the bed, so the only appropriate surface I could come up with was our ironing board. I decided to more or less follow Yarn Harlot's lace blocking method. I threaded all four edges of the scarf with crochet cotton and pinned it down to the proper dimensions. Then I took a spray bottle and spritzed it till it was damp. The spray bottle I had on hand doesn't do a fine mist, just a rather powerful stream. I tried to angle it so I could hit a larger surface area with one spritz. Mostly I ended up with droplets on the surface of the scarf, which I patted with a towel. I suppose I could have soaked the scarf in the sink, but I was afraid to subject the delicate Kidsilk Haze to that kind of abuse. The next evening I freed the scarf from the pins, strings, and towels, and it retained its shape . . . for a little while at least. Before long though, the ends flared out again. I left it at is, since it's a birthday gift and there wasn't enough time to re-block it, plus I don't think it looks that bad, especially if it's going to be tied around a neck. At least the stitches look more even than they did before blocking.

Airy scarf
Started: Mar. 10
Finished: Mar. 10 (weaved in ends and blocked later)
Pattern: From Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze, half a skein, Heavenly
Needles: US 10 plastic needles (cast on and bound off with Grandma's US 11 plastic needles)

Knitting inheritance

In the process of going through Grandma's apartment, we found needles and crochet hooks of every size, all sorts of notions, patterns, books and magazines, and a carton full of yarn! As the sole active knitter in my family, I have inherited all these treasures. The patterns are especially exciting because they're covered in Grandma's notes. Judging by the sheer volume of knitting stuff, it would seem that Grandma was much more of a knitter than she made herself out to be. Mom recognized a short wooden needle with a red ball on the end (sadly, without a mate) as what she learned to knit on when she was a child. (Apparently my family is full of closet former knitters!) Most of the yarn is acrylic, but there are a couple of skeins that say 100% Pure Virgin Wool, as well as some unlabelled mystery yarn. Everything is at least 20 years old, some of it dating back to the '50s and '60s. There are also bags full of small crocheted squares. I'd like to learn how to crochet so I can finish the afghan project that was probably started 25 years ago. I hope to post pictures of some of these items in the near future.

For now, no new pictures, but I have been knitting! Branching Out is probably close to halfway done, and the lace pattern is showing up better now that it's weighing itself down a bit. I'm also about a foot into the Men's Zip Raglan Cardigan. I was originally going to use Happy Wool but due to a fire in a Jerusalem post office storage room, that fell through. Instead I went with Cascade Ecological Wool, color #9010, and I love it! It comes in such enormous skeins (478 yds.) and it's so soft!

The Fairly Easy Fair Isle stares at me from its hanger, taunting me with its dangling ends and its unseemly proportions. I still think blocking could turn it into something I'd actually wear, but the sweater is too big to fit in the bathroom sink and I'm reluctant to use the bathtub and waste all that extra water. Excuses, excuses!

Socktopus and odds and ends

John made a Socktopus for a friend's birthday, and every socktopus needs a hat so I knit him one. I improvised the pattern and used leftover Bernat Satin and bamboo double-pointeds (size 8, I believe). It was a very satisfying, instantly gratifying knit. I finished the hat just as John was adding the final touches to the socktopus. I have to say I really like working with that yarn -- so soft and shiny.


This is the beginning of Knitty's Branching Out with some 100% cashmere I got at School Products. I can't decide if the yarn is too lightweight for this pattern. It might be fingering weight but I'm not sure -- the tag doesn't give much information. Maybe it would look better with a smaller needle size rather than the US 8 which the pattern suggests (if that's even what I'm using -- to be honest, I can't recall), but then it would be super skinny. I'll have to do a few more pattern repeats and see if it shapes up. The Silky Wool suggested in the pattern sounds lovely and is surprisingly inexpensive -- I may order some online since I can't seem to find it in stores. I'm sure I can come up with something to do with the cashmere if Branching Out isn't the answer. The trick is I only have about 250 yards.

I've also made some more progress on the Koigu sock (hopefully someday to belong to a pair), my ongoing portable project. The heel flap is almost done. Over the weekend I borrowed the needles I've been using for the sock to make a pair of angora baby booties from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for my landlord's baby. Those are complete; pictures to come.

While watching the SuperBowl and the L Word last night, I finally seamed up the Fairly Easy Fair Isle's underarms and sleeves. The fit doesn't appear to be too bad -- the sleeves are snug and longish, just how I like them. The jury's still out on the body -- might be a tad looser than I'd like -- but today I bought buttons at M & J Trimming so soon we shall see. There are also a gazillion ends that need to be weaved in.

Socktopus hat
Started: Feb. 3
Finished: Feb. 3
Yarn: Bernat Satin leftovers in sapphire
Needles: US 8 bamboo straights

FO: Griffindor scarf

Done! This took more yarn than I expected -- 3 skeins of each color instead of 2, but knitting it wasn't as time-consuming or tedious as I expected either. I ended up not blocking it, since I flattened it out as I knitted, keeping the color changes along the edge. Also, accounts seem to differ as to whether blocking is effective on 100% acrylic yarn.

Griffindor scarf
Started: Dec. 20
Finished: Dec. 31
Yarn: Tolegno Lana Gatto Luxor, 3 skeins scarlet, 3 skeins yellow
Needles: metal circular size 8

Happy New Year!

On Sunday I celebrated Hanukkah and New Year's Day with my Grandma (and many other family members). You can sort of see the scarf I knit for her in this picture.

The Denise needles arrived today, so I can get started on Grandma's vest tonight! It will be a belated Hanukkah gift. I used Grandma's Hanukkah gelt to purchase the needles, so it all comes around full circle.

I've been reading Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting Without Tears" and she's convinced me I need to try and relax my stitches a bit. This will be one of my New Year's resolutions.

Holidays are for knitting

My long weekend in Pittsburgh was a great opportunity to get some knitting done. First I worked on the Griffindor scarf until I ran out of yarn. I've still got a few more stripes to go, especially now that I've found out that Andrew wants to wear it doubled up and looped through. (Is there a name for that method of scarf wearing?) We're talking about a guy who's never even had a scarf before. But apparently law students spend a lot of time discussing things such as how scarves ought to be worn.

Then I finished up John's double-knit ski cap. My purls must be looser than my knits, as the yellow side came out significantly bigger than the gray side. I'm hoping blocking will fix it. The stripes also didn't land where I wanted them. I had envisioned the hat being long enough to fold the edge up, so I started the stripes later, made them thicker, and added some extra rows before beginning the decreases. It still ended up being just long enough to cover John's ears without folding up the edge. And the stripes are very close to the top of the hat. Oh well -- live and learn. John says he's happy with it. Still, I know he'd prefer to wear it with the gray side out, but as it is right now, the extra fabric on the yellow side gets all wadded up inside so it isn't comfortable. The good news is, the reason I haven't had a chance to block it is that John has been wearing it every day!


While in Pittsburgh I got to see Courtney wearing her Kittyville hat. It fits her perfectly, and her parents like it because it covers her ears. One potential danger is that the pom-poms are just the right size to fit in her mouth. I probably should have made them bigger. During our stay I learned that she needs a pair of mittens, so the night I got back to Brooklyn, I found a pattern and made a pair from the same yarn I used for the kitty hat (Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted). The thumbs came out very long even though I made them shorter than the pattern suggested. I don't think it's something I can fix with blocking, so I'm planning to try and redo them. It's going to be tricky since I already seamed up the thumbs and weaved in the ends. Once I get a measurement from her mom, I will also make an I-cord to connect the mittens.


I also started trying to make gauge for Grandma's vest. It calls for size 8 needles, but I know my stitches tend to be tight, plus the yarn I bought (Lion's Brand Wool-Ease) is on the lighter side of worsted, so I started with US size 9. My stitches came out way too tiny. I didn't have any larger needles, so when I got home I bought some cheap 10's and 10.5's. (I was hoping to come across a Denise interchangeable set, but couldn't find it in stores so I bought it on eBay.) Last night I started a new gauge swatch, following the method outlined in Stitch 'N Bitch Nation, which I have out from the library. With US size 10's I was still way off. With 10.5's I'm getting closer, but I'm wondering if 11's might be better. At this point I'm not going to purchase any more needles, but will wait for the Denise set to arrive. (I'm so excited!)

The Christmas scarves seemed to go over well. Turns out Amy had her eye on a cashmere cable-knit scarf from L.L. Bean, so the Irish hiking scarf worked out nicely. Though now I wish I had used cashmere instead of acrylic! Derek seemed pleased with the Broncos scarf. Apparently the blue I used is their "old" blue, and one of the patches is their old logo, which seemed to be plusses.

Last night I tried to attend the local Stitch 'n Bitch group for the first time, but when I got to the designated coffee shop, I couldn't find any other knitters. I bought some tea, settled down on a couch and started knitting, waiting to see if anyone else would show up, but nobody did! I guess a lot of people are out of town the week between Christmas and New Year's.

John's double-knit ski cap
Started: Nov. 30
Finished: Dec. 26
Yarn: Tolegno Lana Gatto Luxor, 1 skein yellow, 1 skein dark gray
Needles: metal circular size 6, bamboo dpns size 6

Griffindor scarf

The Griffindor scarf for my brother is about 1/3 finished. At this rate it will be ready in time for Hanukkah, no problem, assuming I don't run out of yarn. The pattern is the Hogwarts scarf from Atypically.Knit, and I'm using the same Lana Gatto Luxor yarn that I'm using for John's double-knit ski cap (on which I've made some progress, but am having some difficulty changing colors for the stripes). It does look like I'm going to run out of yarn, and getting back to School Products may be challenging in light of the transit strike. I've been working from home since Tuesday and haven't set foot in Manhattan. Tomorrow we leave for Pittsburgh. Oh well, my brother won't mind if his gift is a little late.

The big thing on my mind right now is my grandma's health. She had her leg amputated yesterday. I really want to get started knitting that vest for her. I feel so horrible about what she's been going through, and I'm hoping a hand-knitted gift will cheer her up some.

Finishing touches

The patches arrived yesterday, and last night I managed to sew them on without injuring myself too seriously. (I'm not used to using needles that are actually sharp!) I also added the fringe, which nicely covers up the fact that one end of the scarf is narrower than the other.

Having done that, I decided to see if fringe would also cover up the fanned-out end of the Irish hiking scarf. I'd say that was successful as well. I used yarn from the very inside of a skein so it's all curly, which I think goes nicely with the cables.


Diagonal Denver scarf
Started: Dec. 12
Finished: Dec. 19
Yarn: Bernat Super Value, 1 skein Carrot, 1 skein Royal Blue
Needles: US 9 bamboo straights

Irish hiking scarf
Started: Dec. 8
Finished: Dec. 12 (added fringe Dec. 19)
Yarn: Bernat Satin in sapphire, 2 skeins plus a little extra for the fringe
Needles: US 9 bamboo straights

Holiday crunch time

The gifts are almost ready! I just have to add some fringe to the Denver scarf. And maybe sew on patches if they arrive. And perhaps try to redo the bind-off on the Irish hiking scarf. And possibly block both scarves. And finish John's hat. And, oh, knit a Griffindor scarf for my brother. And a vest for my grandma! Fortunately Hanukkah's late this year -- we're celebrating on Jan. 1 -- and at least I'm in pretty good shape with the Christmas gifts! I'll have lots of knitting time when we drive to Pittsburgh on Friday.

Over the weekend Mom took me clothes shopping at the Danbury Mall. I kept getting distracted by all the knitwear. Instead of looking for things to buy, I kept thinking, "I bet that wouldn't be hard to make!"

I also stopped at JoAnn Fabrics and bought some alpine fleece to sew inside my Gimli hat for extra warmth and softness. That will of course have to wait till after the holidays. I'll also try and fix the tassels which are coming apart strand by strand.

Diagonal progress

Almost halfway there. I'd be much farther along, but I keep making dumb mistakes and having to go back. This is definitely the most frogging I've done on any project so far. Last night I tried to knit on the subway but somehow ended up making negative progress! When I got home I made actual positive progress though.

Yesterday I purchased a couple little Broncos patches on eBay. I'm thinking it might look cute to sew one on either end of the scarf, but I'll have to see how it looks. If the patches even arrive in time.

It's kind of weird to knit something I'd never wear myself. John assures me the recipient will like it, and that's all that really matters!

Diagonal Denver scarf

This is going to be a Christmas gift for a Denver Broncos fan. I started it last night, using the Diagon Alley scarf pattern from ohmystars. The yarn is Bernat Super Value, which happens to come in the right colors (Carrot and Royal Blue, I believe) and is quite affordable. Can't say I really enjoy working with this yarn -- it's so rubbery it almost squeaks. Too bad I got spoiled on luxurious yarns so early in my knitting career!

Started: Dec. 12
Finished: not yet!
Yarn: Bernat Super Value, 1 skein Carrot, 1 skein Royal Blue
Needles: US 9 bamboo straights

Irish hiking scarf

Last night I finished the Irish hiking scarf which will be a Christmas gift. This was my first go at cables. I love the way they thicken the scarf.

Looks like I will have to block this one. I'm not sure I bound off quite right -- it seems to have flattened out at the end, but maybe that's normal? I also made a couple mistakes along the edge, but I don't think they're terribly noticeable. I know how to turn knits into purls and purls into knits (thank you Stitch 'n Bitch handbook!) but when the mistake happens along the edge, I get all confused when I try and fix it.

The scarf is 52 inches long. It would have been longer, but Norton the dog got a hold of the third skein, and in the process unravelled and drooled all over the yarn. That was a fun scene to come home to -- at first I thought he had unravelled my work. I was relieved to discover that it was just unused yarn. 52 inches should be long enough for this scarf, as its intended recipient, like me, is a hair under 5 feet tall.

Started: Dec. 8
Finished: Dec. 12
Yarn: Bernat Satin in sapphire, 2 skeins
Needles: US 9 bamboo straights

The beginning (my first scarf)

A few months ago, on a train headed upstate, Emily gave me a lesson on knitting. It felt funny to me, coming as I do from a line of women in which each generation is successively less gifted in the "domestic arts," to be holding knitting needles. Nevertheless, I managed to grasp the basics and completed several rows of garter stitch on that train ride. After the first few rows my stitches started to tighten drastically, resulting in a very irregularly shaped swatch.

A few days later, I went out to Purl in SoHo and bought some yellow Manos del Uruguay yarn which John picked out, and started my first scarf. Just plain and simple garter stitch, as I had not yet learned to purl. I started with 40 stitches and soon counted 42, but fortunately my mistakes were not too obvious. During my first few knitting sessions I would concentrate so hard that I'd forget to breathe, and I'd get all queasy and headachey. But as I plodded on, my fingers started to memorize the movements, and my breathing fell into step with the rhythm of the stitches. John likes his scarves extra long and wide, so I didn't finish that scarf for another three months.

Since then, knitting, like most things in which I get involved, seems to have become an obsession. I bought myself Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook and started to get a little more ambitious. I am now halfway through my fourth hat and close to finishing my third scarf. With each new project I have tried to learn something new. I made a scarf for Grandma and learned how to purl, rib, and make stripes. Then I made her a matching hat and learned to follow a pattern, knit in the round with a circular needle and double-pointeds, make baby cables, and decrease. The Kittyville hat I made for John's one-year-old niece taught me to pick up stitches, seed stitch, and make I-cords and pom-poms. And so on and so forth (hopefully more details and pictures to come).

I find myself spending much of the time that I'm not knitting looking at other knitters' web sites. It occurred to me that I really ought to start my own knitting blog, if only to keep track of my projects.

I will try to get pictures of my already completed projects so I can post the backlog, plus there will be lots more in the near future as I am in the process of cramming for the holidays.


John's scarf
Started: July 17, 2005
Finished: Oct. 25, 2005
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Handspun Semi Solid Goldenrod, 3 skeins
Needles: US 9 bamboo straights