Another FO: Reversible Brioche Scarf

My other final finished Christmas Gift (again, last Christmas) is this scarf made for my dad, again to accompany the gloves and hat, all to keep him warm at Seahawks games.

Reversible Brioche Scarf

Start-End: Feb 18 - Mar 8, 2008
Pattern: Reversible Brioche Scarf by Lori Law. I found the directions on The Brioche Stitch much clearer for the brioche stitch itself.
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran in SH008 and SH006
Needles: US7/4.5 mm
New-to-Me Techniques: Brioche stitch

I can't recommend The Brioche Stitch website enough for anything to do with the brioche stitch. The site contains directions and color pictures of many different variations. Much like entrelac, I found the brioche stitch to be a lot of fun once you got the pattern down. I did make a couple mistakes, and found it very difficult to rip back, so there are more "design features" in this than I would normally like.


Brioche up close

This is another pattern I may do again. The knitted fabric is very warm and cushy.

FO Parade: Seahawks-Inspired Danica

I've finally finished all of my Christmas knitting... from last Christmas.

I've posted before about making Danica for my mom to accompany a pair of gloves and a hat to keep her warm at the Seahawks games, and I'm very pleased to say that it's all blocked and ready to be mailed.

Danica completed

Start-End: Jan 1-27, 2008
Pattern: Danica by Jesse Loesberg
Yarn: RYC Cashsoft Aran in SH008, SH004, SH006
Needles: KnitPicks US 8/5.0 mm
New-to-me Techniques: Entrelac
Modifications: I wanted a wider scarf, but instead of adding an extra column of diamonds, I changed the number of base triangle stitches to 16, instead of 10.

Despite having a lot of ends to weave in, I really enjoyed this pattern. I found entrelac to be a lot of fun - simple enough that you can still watch a movie, but with enough complexity that you don't get bored. I also loved working with this yarn. It's the type of yarn that is spendy enough I would likely never have bought it, but when you get it at 75% discount (due to a store closing) you grab what you can.

When blocking this scarf, I decided to try blocking wires. I found a few stainless steel wires at a local welding supply, and enjoyed how quick and easy the process was.


Blocking Danica

I already have plans to knit this pattern again, perhaps playing with the arrangement of color blocks.

Christmas Knitting - Part 3

THE SCARVES

Sadly, the scarves to match my parents' hats and gloves are not quite finished yet.

For mom, I'm working on Danica from Knitty.

Danica, Seahawk Style*

I haven't started Dad's yet, but I'm thinking of either doing a scarf with narrow vertical stripes, or the similar-yet-different High School Colors Scarf.

ONE MORE UFO

For my niece, I have in progress the Matinee Coat from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. I'm knitting the sides together with the back, to eliminate some seaming up. Over the holidays, I got so far as to reach the point where I finished the lace and then started working the upper, stockinette section... until I realized that at this point I needed to be knitting the back and sides separately. Much frogging and yarn detangling later, I am here:

Matinee Coat

THE HATS (again)


Mr. Tall on a snowy Christmas Day

Start-End: December 21 - 22, 2007
Pattern: A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Solid in #152 Oxford Gray
Needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) 16 inch circular Addi Turbos
Notes: I fell in love with the way the decreases in this simple ribbed hat worked. On one of my days off, I cast on soon after Mr. Tall left for work and finished late that evening (technically, early the next morning). Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour, but I was simply amazed. About a year previous, I spent a few weeks making my first ever hat (and knitted item) - The Chocolate Ribbed Hat. It was amazing to me to think of how much I learned in just one year.

Decreases on the Hat Fit for a Boyfriend Husband


Spiderman Hat for my nephew, Wyatt

Start-End: December 18 - 27, 2007
Pattern: We Call Him Spidey from PumpkinKnits, based off the Generic Norweigan Hat from Hello Yarn.
Yarn: Patons Fab DK in #2321 (blue), #2323 (red), and #2311 (black).
Needles: US 3 (3.25mm)
New-to-Me Techniques: Fair Isle Knitting, Continental Knitting
Notes: Despite using DK weight instead of 4 ply, I kept the needle size the same as in the original pattern. The resultant hat is too small for me, but still a bit too big for my nephew. I really enjoyed this pattern and could see trying to design my own chart in the future. I taught myself how to knit Continental so that I could speed up the colorwork by knitting one color Continental and the other using the English method.

Wyatt in his Spidey hat


* All apologies for the weird WIP photos in this post. I prefer to shoot in natural light, which has been lacking a bit lately in this area.

FO - a very Harry Week!

As almost everyone is aware, the past couple weeks have been busy for Harry Potter fans. First, the release of the fifth movie, Order of the Phoneix, followed by the release of the seventh and *sob* final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (don't worry, this post is spoiler-free!).

I was very honored to have two of my friends from the states come out to enjoy the festivities in the UK, and was very glad to finish both of their scarves on time!

Gryffindor House Scarf for Suzi

Start Date/Finish Date: February 15 - July 11, 2007
Pattern: Prisoner of Azkaban scarf by Lauren Kent
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Claret and Gold.
Needles: Addi Turbo 5.0mm (US 8) 16" circular
Notes: 9" wide, 8'7" long. 12 pattern repeats, 70 stitches/round yields 33,810 total stitches.

This was actually the first of three scarves I started, and the second finished. It ended up a lot bigger than I thought it would (especially in comparison to my shorter friend). Due to it's size and time constraints, I left the scarf at 12 pattern repeats instead of the called for 14.

Sadly, the night before we were due to see the movie premiere, Katie called telling us that one of her flights had been canceled due to weather :( This meant that there were only 2 of us weirdos who would be showing up to the theater in robes and scarves on opening day. As the tickets were already purchased, Suzi and I went along to the movie, which we pretended not to have seen until we went with Katie the following day.

Leicester Square Odeon Cinema


Suzi and I outside the cinema

While in London, I was able to catch a couple musicals - Mary Poppins and Avenue Q. Both were very good, for very different reasons! We also did the usual sightseeing, and some shopping.

After spending time in London, a change of scenery was in order, and so we took the train up to Yorkshire. Suzi and Katie stayed with Mr. Tall and myself for a few days - one of which included an expedition to York to pick up the final book.

Ravenclaw (movie) House Scarf for Katie

Start Date/Finish Date: June 25 - July 12, 2007
Pattern: Prisoner of Azkaban scarf by Lauren Kent
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Dark Country Blue and Grey Heather
Needles: Addi Turbo 4.0mm (US 8) 16" circular
Notes: 7" wide, 6'4" long. 11 pattern repeats, 70 stitches/round yields 31,150 total stitches.

I initially started this scarf in March on 5.0 mm needles. It was a good deal wider, but unfortunately, I was not going to have enough yarn to finish the scarf. Well... I could've had enough, but the two different shades of the "no dye lot" blue I had were different enough that I decided against it. I frogged and restarted on 4.0 mm needles. Even then, I was only able to do 11 pattern repeats. While I would've loved to have it be longer and wider, like the above Gryffindor scarf and my Ravenclaw scarf, I figure it's for the best. Katie (living in New York) is the one most likely to wear the scarf in the winter to keep warm, and the longer, wider scarves are just too troublesome for "regular" wear.

For fun, we laid the scarves out side-by-side:

House Scarves

The Borders we bought our books from had a great atmosphere - there were costume contests, activities, and best of all - staff costumes. Each staff member was dressed as a different character. All throughout the night we would hear things such as "Harry Potter, call 222" over the intercom. Our place in line snaked through the music section:

Waiting for the book

Truth be told, I haven't finished the book yet. This isn't due to lack of interest or excitement - quite the opposite. I only have one time to read this final book (for the first time) and I am trying to savor it!

FO: Book Ravenclaw Scarf

It's been awhile since I've posted a FO here, and for good reason - my needles are madly clicking away trying to finish three Prisoner of Azkaban style Harry Potter scarves. Well... one down, two to go!

Prisoner of Azkaban Book Ravenclaw Scarf

Start/Finish: March 12, 2007 - June 28, 2007
Pattern: Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban Scarf by Lauren Kent
Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes (100% wool) in Winter Night (11 skeins) and Wheat (2 skeins)
Needles: Addi Turbo 5.0 mm (US8) 40 cm (16 inch) circular needles.
New-to-me techniques: PATIENCE!, three needle bind off.
Important stats: 85 stitches per round and a full set of 14 trapped bar repeats (559 rows) yields 47,515 stitches. This is 8 feet, 10 inches long and ranges from 9.5-10 inches wide.

47,515. Four-seven-five-one-five. Forty-seven THOUSAND five hundred fifteen stitches. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I knit that many stitches. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I've done anything that many times. But, as the only knitter in my household, it must be true.

One would think that working a pattern like this - stockinette in the round - would get boring. I didn't really get tired of it. I would often knit while watching a movie or TV show, listening to an audiobook or podcast, which I think really really helped.

There's not much else to say about something this straight forward. I decided to try a three-needle bind off, which worked quite well, I think. However, the difference in appearance of the two ends is what ultimately lead to my decision to add the fringe.

Initially, I wanted to add the "S" monogram by intarsia or duplicate stitching with the bronze color, but that was not to be as I was lucky to have enough to finished my last set of trapped bars. Instead I purled it in. The benefit to also being a cross-stitcher is the fact that a lot of cross-stitch software will allow you to "type" using any font on your computer and have it display in stitches. I believe the font for this is Copperplate. As I was adding this to the last repeat of the scarf, I decided to add it in "upside down" so it wouldn't seem upside down while wearing the scarf. While I remembered to turn my pattern upside down, I forgot about the fact that I was knitting right to left while reading left to right. Oops! I frogged back and fixed it and am quite pleased with the results.

I think I will have to postpone Part 2 of my ogranization picturepalooza. Tomorrow we're off to the Lake District after work to partake in Woolfest, so I will catch up with that in the upcoming weeks!

WIP: Blocking!

I am 99.9% done with one of my three Harry Potter PoA-style scarves! This is the first project I've used 100% wool for, and it's the first project I've ever blocked. Originally, I wasn't planning on blocking it, but I wanted to make sure that the crease along the side went where I wanted it to, and I did have a few patches of uneven stitches, so I decided to give it a try...

For blocking, I chose our conservatory - it's one of a few rooms in our house long enough to hold the scarf, and the fact that it can be shut off from the house is a huge advantage as it keeps curious cat paws off the scarf.

I read up what I could about blocking (it seemed fairly straightforward), and nervously dunked my scarf in a bucket of water. My makeshift blocking board is two yoga mats laid end-to-end. The yoga mats are nice in a pinch in that pins stick easily into it, and there is already a bit of a grid pattern. Now that I've used it, though, I think I will take some time to mark off a few pre-set lines at 1/2 inch (or so) intervals.

It took a couple tries to figure out the best way to tackle a soppy, large scarf. As my rounds weren't done with jogless color changes, I really wanted the uneven bit to be on the edge, where the fold is. After a couple failed attempts, I started a couple repeats from one end, pinned a set of trapped bars on the jogged end, and then made sure I had half the stitches showing. From there, I just kept measuring and pinning, measuring and pinning. Mr. Tall came and asked if he should start dinner (no, not done yet!), and when I finished, it was dark outside. This may not mean a lot depending where you are in the world, but here in England, in June, it's not dark until 10:30 p.m. or so. I had spent 2.5 hours blocking!

Blocking scarf - only a couple inches from each end didn't make it into the photo.
This is 106 inches long (8'10") and 9.5-10 inches wide (I gave up on total perfection after awhile!)

I'm not yet calling this a FO - it's still drying (not aided by the weather, unfortunately), and I still need to trim the finge.

I've also been playing with some different layout options for this blog - I may have that up in the next day or so, so check back!

Eye Candy Friday: A tale of three scarves

For those who may not know me too well, it’s time I came clean about something: I’m a geek. I’m a nerd, a goober, a weirdo, whatever you want to call me is fine by me (so long as it’s not derogatory!).

Having gotten that (startling, I know) confession out of the way, it should come as no surprise that I like Harry Potter. Two of my friends and I make book and movie releases an event – as much as we can given how far-flung we are.

For the last movie release (Goblet of Fire), we all dressed up in our HP gear, and met up at the cinemas at Pacific Place mall in Seattle, Washington. Mr. Tall even got into the spirit by dressing up as Hagrid (the kids loved it!)


Mr. Tall and myself at the Goblet of Fire premiere

That orchid in my hair? That was from Hawaii… See, the movie came out the day that Mr. Tall and I arrived back in Seattle from our Honeymoon in Hawaii. (Is this proof enough of my geekiness yet?) The wonderful cloak I’m wearing was made by my friend Suzi and her mom.

So, fast forward to now. I’m now living in the U.K. which is a mecca of all things Potter. My two friends have decided to come out here for the release of Order of the Phoenix and the release of the final book (Harry, you better live!). As such, I have decided to put my knitterly talents to use and make us all scarves representing the house we think we’re in! Here is the story of these scarves. (All patterns came from atypically.knit)


Suzi's Gryffindor scarf

I started Suzi’s Gryffindor scarf first. I wanted to use one type of yarn for each scarf, and I found the colors best represented by every knitters favorite whipping boy, Red Heart Super Saver. I realize I’ve likely made the scarf a bit wider than it needs to be (it’s just over 9” wide), but at this point, I’m not frogging.

I bought the yarn for this scarf when I was visiting the states last October. At the time, I picked up 4 total skeins of the red and 2 of the yellow, as half of it was for a fellow knitter here who had her own Gryffindor scarf to make.

I knitted along quite happily, that is until I finished my first skein of red yarn without being halfway through the scarf!!! No worries, after all, it’s labeled as “No Dye Lot” yarn, which means it should all be the same, right? My parents were out visiting last month, so I had them pick up an extra 4 skeins of the red to bring with them. Long story short, the red they brought didn’t match the red I already had! At this point in the scarf, I really didn’t want to have to frog and start over, so I emailed my friend also making a Gryffindor scarf. Luckily for me, she had started a scarf, but frogged it only a couple of repeats in, when she realized she didn’t have enough yarn. All should be right in the world, as we’re going to swap – the 4 balls of the new “no dye lot” for the 2 of the old. Phew!

My favorite thing about this scarf (at the moment) is how far I’ve gotten! I’m not sure yet if I’ll make it the full 14 repeats or not, as the recipient is the shortest of the three of us!


My book Ravenclaw scarf

I really, really had my heart set on a book Ravenclaw scarf. However, I really couldn’t find a suitable bronze in any of the yarns I wanted to use for this project (I really didn’t want to spend $20 or more to use Plymouth Encore for a scarf that would largely be a novelty). I had bought some Caron Simply soft, in a beautiful dark blue, and a “bone” color, which is a light tan/khaki color. While not quite the “bronze” I had envisioned, it would have to do.

Then, one night at SnB, I was talking to She-of-the-Gryffindor-Scarf, who let on that she had the yarn for a book Ravenclaw that she was not going to be able to use, as wool and her don’t get along at all. So… would I want it? Yes, please! I therefore became the very happy recipient of some KnitPicks Wool of the Andes.

After my scare over “OMG! NO YARN!” with Suzi’s Gryffindor scarf, I started knitting this one up. While I initially had planned to knit the scarves one at a time, I wanted to capitalize on my parents visit and have them bring me more, if needed. Good thing I did, as I ordered a couple extra skeins to be on the safe side.

My favorite thing about this scarf is that it’s mine. I haven’t yet kept anything I’ve knitted for myself, and this will be my first “for me” finish. It makes me glad that I ended up with WotA, and that I ended up with book Ravenclaw colors.


Katie's movie Ravenclaw scarf

Again, I started this one up in response to concerns that I wouldn’t have enough yarn to finish, but didn’t get too far before my parents came out for their visit. I went ahead and ordered more anyways, but am unsure if I’ll need it or not.

Katie opted for movie Ravenclaw colors, and I think the combination is gorgeous. I’m knitting this one up in Caron Simply Soft, and I truly think the blue is simply to die for! There’s not a whole lot to say about this as I’ve just finished the first set of trapped bars.

My favorite thing about this scarf is that it is sooo soft. As much as I like WotA, there are some days when it feels really nice to me, and others where it is a bit scratchy. I’m very glad to have this scarf there that I can work on when I need a break from the other two yarns!

FO - Irish Hiking Scarf

Pattern: Hello Yarn's Irish Hiking Scarf
Wool: Lion Brand Wool-Ease (80% acrylic, 20% wool) in Oxford Grey #152. 3 skeins used.
Needles: Addi Turbo US 8 (5.0mm) circular
New-to-me Techniques: Cables!
Start/finish: 20 Dec 06 - 29 Jan 07

My husband, who I tend to call Mr. Tall in the blogosphere, bikes and trains to work every day. The cold and wet weather here in England is a lot different than in his native Southern California. I felt very guilty about having the car during the day while he is stuck commuting, so I offered to make him a scarf as a peace offering.

I showed him a number of patterns that I was really gung-ho to try, and we both agreed on this one. It is manly enough for him and it gave me something new to learn, so we were both quite happy.

I cast on our first day back in the states for Christmas. I accompanied my mother-in-law and brother-in-law as we took grandma to a doctor's appointment. I cast on in the waiting room, and 8 rows in, when I successfully turned my first cable, I was so excited, I quickly showed my brother-in-law. He did a god job humoring me and seeming impressed. I found the pattern really easy and fun and quickly got to the point where I just didn't need the pattern anymore.

At first, the yarn felt a bit scratchy to me, but I got used to it, and it started feeling very nice. It was a good match for my addi turbos - I felt like I could fly along on this project (fly is a relative term for me as a beginning knitter).

Mr. Tall is also quite happy with it, and got to use it a few times before spring made it's debut here in Yorkshire. I'm also really glad that I got the make-a-project-for-your-husband thing out of the way as that seems to trip a lot of people up ;)

If I was to do this pattern again (which I would like to do), I would most likely stagger the cabling in the middle row, so that there was cabling every 4th row, as I really looked forward to that part. It might also be interesting to make the middle cable a different color, and if you use two skeins of the same color for the outside cables, this may be possible, right? Again, beginner here so I'm still figuring all of this out ;)