Designing Scarves

I mentioned in the entrelac post that I tend to skip important words in knitting instructions. I find I am better off designing my own, using the template from a published pattern and choosing stitches from a stitch dictionary.

By choosing my own stitches, I can make the project simpler to knit, keeping it in my comfort zone. After struggling to no avail with that MS3 shawl, I decided that any lace or texture project I knitted had to have extremely simple repetitions. I want a "big bang for my buck" stitch recipe.

What really triggered this scarf designing path I find myself on, was "Leafy Scarf" in Special Little Knits from Just One Skein. I keep losing stitches, even though it looks simple. This book does not use charts and I need charts for lace knitting, to see where my stitches should be.

Anyway, I have collected several yarns that I want to use "right now", so have a collection of ziploc bags, each containing a different project, three scarves, one shawl, and one pair of Cascade 220 Superwash tube socks, in a basket by my chair. I knit on one for an hour or so, then switch. I believe this is called "Knitting ADD"???

First of all, this is a scarf knitted from Malabrigo Alpine Pearl. I am using a "crossed braid" pattern for a nice thick texture. It is a two pattern repeat; my kind of pattern. I also knitted a beret and fingerless gloves with this amazingly soft and cuddly yarn.


Next is a scarf from an Elizabeth Lavold wool/silk blend. I have had this yarn awhile and finally had to cast something on with it. I like my scarves no more than 5" wide and quite long. The lace and textured patterns in my stitch dictionary were not working out. I suddenly remembered my sock knitting book and found a plethora of textures and lace patterns that were wonderful for a narrow scarf. This one is lacy triangles with very simple repeats. I might not have gotten the sock knitting 'bug' but I am enjoying the book, anyway! There will be many more lace projects from this book.


And, finally, this is a scarf that I am not pleased with, so I cast it off from boredom as soon as I could tie it around my neck for a little extra warmth. The problems with this one is primarily that I don't like laceweight yarn knitted on big needles. The pattern called for an even bigger needle. On the upside, this wool/silk blend is amazingly soft and I have enough for a shawl. Someday.



My main tip in this blog entry is to look at sock patterns in a new way....those patterns for the legs make wonderful scarves. And if you do knit socks you can have scarves to match them!

Entrelac....Finally!!!

On a recent Saturday, I took a two hour technique class on the subject of Entrelac knitting. I have tried on several occasions to master this technique, using online tutorials. I could get the first band done, but could not figure out how to do the next band. So when this chance came up, I grabbed it. Here is what I have accomplished; I am using SWTC's Karaoke. Obviously it is a scarf.

I think I understand why I could not master entrelac before this class: I tend to skip critical words in instructions and I think I must have missed the part where, when you begin a new rectangle, you put the last stitch on the right needle back onto the left. Very critical, indeed. I also found that the right and wrong sides are very important in seeing where you are in the technique and I was trying to make the "garterlac washcloth" I found a tutorial for. What does the work "garter" mean...corrrect...wrong and right sides are identical!

This technique is very fascinating and absolutely beautiful. A real 'magic trick'.

New Shawl Beginnings with Old Yarn

Remember in an earlier post (this past summer) when I talked about making the Figure Eight Shawl with Cherry Tree Hill laceweight? Even showed a photo of one of the middle figure 8 motifs?

Well, I made three motifs and one long side and they do not fit together. No way, no how, never. Obviously I sewed and blocked the motifs improperly. and with than fine yarn, they will remain forever motifs in my yarn drawer!

Never fear, however, I still have enough yarn to knit a nice rectangular shoulder shaw. And if I run short I CAN unravel the side piece I knitted. I am knitting this new project on size 7 needles using the basic feather and fan motif.

I started this shawl just before I left for a week's Christmas trip. My choices for knitting on this trip were this shawl and the baby blanket for my expected third grandchild. The blanket is halfway done and so is heavy in my lap, plus the CottonTots yarn is shedding badly. So....the shawl it was. Below is a photo of how much I got knitted in the car and then three days of lovely screened-porch sitting at our beach house. Since it was VERY quiet down there, I got LOTS of knitting done!

Knitting with wool in the summer warning: Look carefully at the middle of the shawl section pictured at the top. Do you see it? It is called "inadvertent hand felting". Moist hands and warm temperatures and obsessive clutching of the knitted object WILL felt it! When I noticed it, I thought about frogging back to the spot, but decided it just added interest and texture!