Quickie scarf

I bought some purple rope wool acrylic yarn to make myself a quick scarf. I was going to make this scarf I found on Ravelry, but it looked awful with this stuff. Instead, I decided to use a modification of the shrug I made. I started Sunday evening, and finished it today. I didn't even knit all that much. Very, very quick and only one 50g ball of Moda Vera Hope which I paid a huge $5 for.



It's not elegant, just all loopy and snuggly and warm.



This is the world's easiest pattern:

Cast on 11 stitches.

Knit 2 rows.

K1, *YO, K2 together*, repeat *..* until the last stitch, K1

Repeat that row until you have only enough wool for 3 rows.

Knit 2 rows.

Cast off.

Weave in yadda yadda.

A doddle, in other words.

And I've got some other wool which I'll use for the "Oh No" scarf.

Can't blog. Knitting.

I've got my knitting mojo on, and have been knitting at night instead of blogging. I finally finished the bolero cardigan I was knitting for Elissa. It's a bit big, and the sleeves are folded up in the photo, so you can't see the cuffs. It should still fit next year. It was an easy knit (a pattern I found on Red Heart), all stocking stitch and simple knit stitch decorative edging. It doesn't matter if you like it, she adores it. I'm having trouble making her take it off.


As you can see, dirty clothes that clash violently are no object.

I also finished off a very simple headband for Elissa, which she also loves. It's knitted sort of sideways - 40-odd stitches and about 5 rows. It's stocking stitch, but I like the reverse side better. You can't see it, because she refused to stand still.

Clearly I was being tiresome....

But she's still wearing the cardi....

Completion!

It took a whole term, but the two scarves for Toni's girls are finished!

You gotta love school uniform green. My mother kindly put their initials on them to avoid the inevitable arguments. So now, to finish the cardi for Elissa before she grows out of it.

More knitting

I finished Ben's hat - it's hardly a piece of design brilliance, but it does fit the brief. I started with this pattern, and then changed it completely. For starters, it's for a toddler, but Ben's head is the same size as mine. So I had to guess how much bigger I needed to make it. I took a punt and cast on my stitches.

Also, Ben didn't want contrasting colours, and I figured a brim that looked exactly the same as the rest of the hat was going to be a bit dull, so I decided to change it to k2p2 rib. Of course, better knitters than I have already spotted the flaw in this plan - it's a good idea to decide what style of pattern you are using before you decide how many stitches to cast on. For example, if your pattern is 4 stitches long, it's a good plan to have a multiple of 4 stitches cast on. But that would be dull, really.

Finally, the pattern wanted me to switch to straight stocking stitch at the point at which it starts to decrease - but since I already had two stitches, I didn't want a 3rd, so I randomly decreased in k1p1 rib. It looks a little odd because I didn't put any thought into it, but it doesn't look terrible. And most importantly, Ben likes it, and his head fits into it.


Finishing this clears the way for me to start a new project (wouldn't like to have less than 5 or 6 on the go), which is a shrug for me. I'm about a third of the way through it at the moment.

Knitting pics

A very long time ago, I started to teach myself to knit. I did so by knitting garter stitch until I got bored, and then alternating stocking stitch with garter stitch. After about 2 balls of wool, my tension was vaguely reasonable, and I decided the learner project was going to be a scarf for Crash. The only problem was that he wanted it rather long, and it was a rather boring design, so it has taken me until now to finish it. The edges of the thing were a hideous mess, so I turned it into a tube.

This is not a great photo, there was too much light coming off the white background, but there is only so much time I am prepared to spend to photograph a scarf. Still, you can see in the foreground how the scarf widens at the end - that would be the end I started on. You can't see that the other end doesn't widen. I have suggested he wear it with one end in front and one on his back. Anyway, for better or worse, the Very Long Scarf is completed.

Also, some time back I finished the drunk scarf. The only problem is I don't know what to do with it. I don't really need another scarf myself, but this thing is a touch bold, and I'm not convinced anyone would want it as a gift. Nevertheless, I think it's kinda cool.


Current projects include a shawl which I hope to finish before I die, a hat for Ben, which is probably about half done, another shawl which will find a home once I know how big it is, a scarf that had some stitches drop off the needle so I haven't been game to deal with it, a cardigan for Elissa which needs sewing up, and then the edging knitting, and a beaded headband which is waiting only for the elastic to finish it, and has been that way for over a month now.

Further construction

I've been knitting again - little projects. I figured it would be quick and easy to make head bands, so I visited the bead shop, grabbed some wool to go with what I bought and got stuck in. Some might suggest that I should have read some instructions regarding how to do beaded knitting, but they'd just be silly. (I did look up some instructions when I was about half way through and discovered I might actually have a use for those teeny tiny crochet hooks my mother kept for herself.)

These two were made for the birthday party we went to today - the birthday girl was turning three.


When I saw these little flowers, they leapt out at me as perfect for this kid.



And everyone loves rainbow colours.

The top one was done with 3 ply in moss stitch, with the flowers knitted into the right side purl stitches. The rainbow one is 8 ply and all garter stitch, but done on small needles. I think it had about the right structural integrity for a head band, but I still want to work out the best way to incorporate seed beads and I doubt that 8 ply is going to work for me for that, somehow.

And the real miracle is that they appear to fit properly!

Inside-out school scarf

Ben now has his first Mum-made knitted item. I have finished the inside-out scarf I started a few weeks ago.

That strange colour choice is the school colours. I figured he'd get more wear out of it as a school scarf than anything else. The stripes are made by knitting with both colours at the same time on circular needles, dropping every second stitch into the middle of the fabric by knitting below.

It still needs blocking to make sure the edges stay well tucked under, but it shouldn't change the way it looks.

Charlie's hat

Charlie's hat was finished today - it took me a couple of days to get around to making the pom pom that was demanded.

The pattern is an Australian one, much to my surprise, and you can find it here. I added hat elastic to keep the band's tension (if I make it again, I will use smaller needles for the band, at least for that kind of wool) and after this shot was taken, I also stitched the band permanently up to stop it falling down over his eyes.

Since this is already a post about Charlie, I'll share this quote (with apologies to those who have already seen this on Twitter)

Charlie: You know that fire at Grandma's house? ... Did you get killed in that?

Me: Do I look like I got killed?

Charlie: Yes.

Methinks I failed somewhere. :)

Actually, I speculate that he doesn't know that killed = dead. Killed is what happens to people in Star Wars. Dead is something that happens to him if he gets hit by a train.

A hat!

I have finished my first knitting project. Well, actually, it's the first one I finished, but the second one I started. The scarf I began with will need to be 2m long to be useful, which may take a little longer. So I started on a hat for Elissa. I finished it this afternoon, complete with pom pom.

Here it is modeled by a teddy bear, because Elissa is in bed. It's far from perfect, but I learned a lot doing it, and it was lots of fun. Now back to that enormous scarf...