I’m Knitting As Fast As I Can

As I was preparing this post, I realized three of the things I’ve knit recently have been destined for my son. Well, not for him to wear, but gifts for his friends and teachers.

He recently finished his college applications and wanted to thank two of the teachers who wrote letters of recommendation for him with knitted gifts. One retired last year and he was the only student for whom she wrote letters. And, let’s just say, he changed his mind about his schools more than once so her poor retired self had to prepare several “batches.”

Anyhoo, here’s the first of the two scarves which I finally got around to blocking. Plus, there was enough sunlight on Saturday to take some photos.

Pattern: Hazy Paves Scarf by Terry Ann Hagerman
Yarn: Feza Kid Mohair Multi
Needle: U.S. size 10 (6mm)

Finished Size: 11″ wide x 54″ long

I can’t say enough great things about this pattern. I absolutely loved knitting it and the finished scarf is totally kickass. Terry’s use of a stitch pattern from the Second BW Treasury is just brilliant.

I used just one, 275-yard skein of yarn and cast on 29 stitches, which is the number called for in the pattern. My finished scarf is a bit wider and shorter than I was hoping for. I’ve already cast on another but I’m using only 21 stitches for this one. I’ll let you know the dimensions of that one when it’s finished.

Also, the photo doesn’t show the great shading of the yarn. It’s color #633 and subtly moves from dark green to light green and then back again in large blocks of color. It’s a good choice for this pattern even though it’s not quite as soft as Kidsilk Haze.

As you’ve probably noticed, I love to knit. However, I’m not particularly enamored with the finishing that usually accompanies the knitting. And the finishing technique I despise most of all is blocking.

Some people love it; I find it stressful. Mostly because I’m paranoid one side of my finished piece will be a fraction longer than the other side.

Need proof of my aversion to blocking?

Yup, I have no fewer than 5 completed projects that just need blocking. And they’re not all lace projects, either. Scoop du Jour can’t be assembled and finished until the knitted pieces are blocked.

At least I’ve made a start on that:

I also have two scarves I knit up this week which both need a nice wet block.

And while I was searching for my blocking wires and forked pins, I uncovered a Grinda scarf and a rather large shawl (of my own design), both of which I barely recall knitting but both of which also just need blocking.

So what’s a grrl to do while Scoop du Jour hogs the blocking board?

Why, knit a neck warmer and a pair of baby socks, of course:

Pattern: Chevron Neck Warmer by Veronik Avery
Yarn: Kathmandu Aran (color 153)

Time to Knit: one night (fast and easy)

Pattern: Pieces of Eight Baby Socks

Yarn: Crystal Palace Maizy (a blend of corn fiber and elastic)

Time to Knit: an evening

FYI–The Maizy yarn was nice to knit with and the finished socks are soft and stretchy. But the dye from the yarn bled all over my fingers.

I got a nice email from Crystal Palace saying they’ve had trouble with the darker colors crocking. Just a heads up.

Last Tuesday was the 4th anniversary of our Stitch ‘n Bitch group. Laurie, who started the group, has a great post about the festivities here. As part of the fun, we held a one-skein swap.

The premise of the swap was to knit something from one skein of yarn; that was the only parameter. In other words, you could make any item you wanted and use any amount or weight of yarn. All the yarn, though, had to be put up in just one skein or hank (or cone if you were really ambitious).

I considered and rejected several projects, purchased several different skeins of yarn, and swatched a couple of scarf patterns from books I own but I was never really happy with the result.

Finally, I grabbed a 50g skein of Knit Picks Suri Dream from the stash and tried a variation of the bee stitch.

I liked the finished scarf but so did my daughter!

So, I gave it to her and made this felted bag for the swap.

In the end, it was best that I didn’t contribute the scarf. The yarn was green and a notorious green-hater ended up with my contribution. She was much happier with the purple/pink in the bag.

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Oh No Scarf

Yarn: 1 skein, Knit Picks Suri Dream

Needle: U.S. #15

Gauge: not important

Finished Size: approximately 7 inches wide and 70 inches long

Instructions:

• CO 15 sts.
• Knit 2 rows.
• Row 1: Slip 1 wyif (see notes), *knit into the st below, k1; repeat from * to end of row.
  Row 2: Slip 1 wyif, k1, *knit into the st below, k1; repeat from * until 1 st remains, k1.
• Repeat Rows 1 & 2 until you are almost out of yarn.
• Knit 2 rows.
• Bind off.
• Block. It’s your choice whether to block lightly to keep some of the texture from the stitch pattern, or to block it severely so it looks more lacey.

Notes: The slipped stitches will give you nice, smooth edges. Slip them purlwise with the yarn in front. Then move the yarn to the back of your work and continue with the rest of the row.

You may be wondering why I’m calling it the “Oh No Scarf.”

On knitting charts, yarnovers are represented by a circle or “O.” This stitch pattern gives a lacy look without any yarnovers. Get it? The chart would have no Os.

There are lots of reasons why I love this stitch pattern for a scarf. Among them:

1. It’s nice and smooshy, almost like thermal underwear, so it’ll trap lots of air to keep you really warm.



2. There are no purl stitches! What, you didn’t know that I hate to purl?
3. It’s mindless, but not boring.
4. It’s reversible and it looks the same upside-down as it does right-side-up.
5. You can use it to make a scarf of any width. Just cast on an odd number of stitches and follow the instructions.
6. It looks good in all colors and weights of yarns. Use a needle about 2 sizes larger than the size recommended on the ball band. Experiment!