Apologies are in order

I neglected to say that I won't have access to my own computer for a week. Hence orders that have come in during the last 3 days can't be filled until Sunday. I will send them out promptly, I promise.

Tiny shopping trip

A friend called mid afternoon and wondered if I wanted to go to the huge JoAnn Fabrics in a suburb about 1/2 hour away. Not having much else to do, I said sure! It's a big store filled with stuff (to be polite). I always find things I didn't know I needed---especially with coupon in hand. Found these cute little buttons for kids' clothing. The butterflies were $.33 a piece there are actually 7 in the pkg) and the snow family .22 (10 in this one), Plus tax, minus 20%.


I also found another skein of the Deborah Norville yarn that I made my last cowl out of, a thread cutter pendant that I hope to be able to wear on the airplane and a yard of Insulbrite for hotpads.

The pendant was on clearance, so if I get it taken away, it won't be a huge loss. Really, you'd have to work very hard to cut anything with it other than thread..but we shall see.

Funny how these little purchases can make a body happy. Of course dinner afterward with a little complimentary wine sample helped round out the afternoon.

New Old Rayon Yarn

Friend Sandy gave me some rayon yarn about a year ago (maybe longer?). I didn't know what to do with it, then remembered some other friends had made some attractive, slinky scarves with rayon. So I tried a couple of tuck stitches out of the Stitchworld book to see what they would look like. They all looked the same because of the variegated nature of the yarn! The color changes hide the stitches.




So, I just went with one of the patterns, cast on 45 stitches, knit at T 10 for 550 rows. Some of the needles are out of work, creating a lacey effect. Finished size is 7" wide x 7' long. What you can't see is the silky sheen of the yarn. I had to steam it pretty aggressively to uncurl it, but it did cooperate in the end. Very drapey, nice feel to it. I really like it---might have to get some more in different colors.

In case you were wondering, I like to fool around in Photoshop. Not that good at it, but it doesn't take much to entertain me while the blizzard rages outside.

Machine Knit Earflap Hat Success!

How absolutely adorable is this?!!! Iryna (Iris68 on Ravelry) posted this project, which is the free pattern on my blog for an earflap hat. Isn't her daughter the cutest? She looks so sweet.

Here's what Iryna said about knitting the hat: (used with permission)
I made it on Brother 260 machine. Used T4, knitted the small child’s size. Followed the pattern strictly. Took me about 1 to 1 1/2 hr to complete. The button-heart I made before, using Fimo clay. Could make it 4 rows shorter, but my kid likes it the way it is. I like how the yarn behaves in this hat.

She used one skein of Lion Brand Woolease Solids and Heathers. One skein has 197 yards and the size she made is a 4T.

Iryna said she is a new knitter, just learning her machine. So it's gratifying to know that she was able to follow the pattern and get such a nice result. The bottom right picture shows her neat finishing on the inside of the hat. Good job!!!

If you need the pattern, scroll down on the right side here to the free patterns. When you click on the picture, you'll be transported to the post containing the pattern.

Thanks to Iryna for posting the pictures!

Cheer for scarves!

As in, shake your pom poms! For a little change of pace....got this yarn on the cheap at Joanne Fabrics. One skein makes a hand-knit scarf. Size 9 US needles, cast on 7 stitches, knit every row, two stitches between pom-poms, until you run out of yarn. (Pattern is on the ball band for the yarn.)
It's a temptation to knit more than two stitches at times because this makes a really loose weave. But the pom poms cover up everything so all is good.

Reminds me of the chenille bedspreads from the 50's. So soft. Actually the pinks are even pukier, and wonderful than my scanner portrays. The yarn also comes in black/gray/white and blue/turquoise/blue combinations. I thought the pinks were the most outrageous/good.


And so the love affair with scarves continues...


Later: I found other yarn colors on Ravelry. They just didn't have them at my Joanne's. The pink/red combo is a more accurate representation of mine. The one with the arrow pointing to it would have been something I'd have been seriously interested in. Darn!

Circular knit scarf on the bulky machine

Weird day here. You can only see about 20 feet because of the dense fog. I guess it's a result of warm air meeting cold. Just kind of eerie. The snow continues to melt at a pretty fast clip, but we still have a couple of feet of it. Now it looks like someone seasoned it with coarse black pepper. Not a pretty sight.




Still cold enough to wear scarves. This is one that I did with my circular technique mentioned in the previous post, but done on the bulky machine. If you're interested in purchasing the pattern, see the post below dated Sunday, February 13. I used 4 strands of thin yarn: one silk and 3 wool. The scarf is actually 4" wide x 6.5 feet long. I just stuck the ends in the scanner so you can't see the whole thing. The silk stank to high heaven when I washed it and the wool didn't smell much better. I think it was sitting around too long, but the slightly variegated look is nice. The silk is actually a burnt orange but it gets subdued with the blood red wool. I hand-washed the scarf in Oxyclean (being careful to not agitate too much to cause felting) and rinsed it with hair conditioner. Much better in all respects. This was just another attempt to use up some of the weird yarn around here. It's not like I NEED another scarf... but they're fun to make.

The Stripster Revisited, a machine knit pattern

I always get a kick out of it when someone knits my patterns. Saskia from the Netherlands posted this project on Ravelry and credited me with the pattern. (It's the Stripster, which you can find on the sidebar at the right, a free pattern.) I wrote to her and she gave permission for me to post her scarf picture on my blog. I love the result! I didn't recognize the yarn she used. I doubt it could be purchased in the US, but the nice thing about the pattern is that any yarn is suitable. As is any machine, for that matter.

Here's what she said about her modifications to the pattern:
• I started every strip with 4 st., knit 4 rows
• (incr. 2 st and knit 4 rows) until 10 st.
• knit 50 rows before connecting the next strip.
• knit desired length. -stop connecting, knit 50 rows and decrease the same way.

Tension on Brother 260 (chunky) too low: 4. Next time with this yarn it should be on about 7, I guess. Scarf feels a bit stiff and doesn’t have a nice drape. Added some beads for embellishment.

Yea for the internet and yea for Ravelry. They connect people and ideas so easily.