FO: 32,850 stitches

73 rows @ 450 stitches/row = 32,850 stitches.

73 rows @ 35 minutes/row = 42.58 hours.    

finished size (post-blocking): 4.5 ft. W x 6.5 ft. L of loveliness.

1 fabulous pattern + 3 skeins of colorful sock yarn + 1 dedicated knitter = 1 amazing scarf.

I am so happy that I finally picked this project up and finished it.  I did grind through those last long rows, however.  It is good that I am a product knitter - and thus really, really, really wanted this scarf in my knitters wardrobe - or I never would have finished it. 

Some people have written that it is a nice mindless stitch pattern, but damn.  This took forever to knit.  And it was boring.  I find some plain knitting to be relaxing, yet this scarf just felt tedious near the end. 

But now it's done and it won't haunt the bottom of my knitting basket anymore - it is free, out in the world, and just where it's supposed to be.  Around my neck, worn with quiet pride for all those 32,850 stitches.

WIP Thursday

I have three different projects on the needles at the moment. Two are for me and one is for my youngest daughter. They are keeping me busy and happy and each offers a different knitting experience. I like it like this.

Typically I am a end-product knitter. And one of these projects fits that bill. The other two are process pieces and I am enjoying learning about how I react to them - and when I turn to work on them, or not.

Here is a photo of the cardigan for daughter #3. This is the product piece, and I can't wait to see her wearing it. She is 3 years old, going on 5, and she takes every opportunity to show you as much. Physically she is taller than her sisters were at her age and thus I am making her a size 5 cardigan. It will be big, but she'll get a couple years of wear out of it.

I really enjoy connecting with her through this project. In the beginning I picked out three patterns I was interested in knitting, left them at her chair at breakfast time, and let her pick out the one she wanted. Then we turned to the magic of the internet and picked out some yarn (Knitpicks CotLin) that would suit the pattern. She got to pick the color - a striking red. I am about half-way done with the piece and hope to finish it off shortly. It needs 3/4-length sleeves and some finishing details. We've already begun calling it her big sister sweater.





This next project - arguably soon to be out of season - is very much a process piece. I am knitting up some mittens with silk (inspiration here). I've never done anything quite like this and love, love, love it. It is very organic, very raw and very rustic.

The silk comes in a hankie (or roughly 11-inch square) that is as thin as a cobweb. Termed mawatas, these hankies are made from the the cocoons of silkworms (DO NOT FOLLOW THIS LINK IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ABOUT BUGS/WORMS). The cocoons are degummed, flattened, layered and then dyed, if one desires. Mine were dyed by the very talented folks at Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

For this project I am using the silk as is, no spinning or processing. I simply stretch out the sticky hankie, split it in one place and ply the end of one to the end of another. Then start knitting. Voila!

The width of the 'yarn' is all over the place, but that is one of things that I love about the project. The variation adds so much character. But stretching each hankie as I needed it caused me to stop too frequently, so instead I stretch about 10 hankies at one sitting and then wind them onto a spent paper towel holder. This allows me to work the yarn much faster and with fewer interruptions.





This last piece has been going for some time now (see here), but has been temporarily abandoned while I work on the two above. This scarf will take forever to finish - it is knit from three balls of sock yarn. Each ball gives you roughly two small socks so this scarf is the equivalant of knitting 6 socks. But the beauty! The colors! The new-to-me stitch pattern! It will be a happy spring scarf if I gather the energy to finish it. It would also make for a stunning fall accessory don't you think?

First Yarn Purchase!

I took the plunge and made my first yarn purchase of the year. I have to say it was a little difficult, a little indulgent, and very exciting. I have been eyeing the Linen Stitch scarf pattern from Churchmouse Yarns for a couple months and went ahead with a purchase to make it happen. I had a skein of Louet Gems on hand, the purple-ish yarn, and paired it with two new skeins of Koigu Painter's Palette, the orange and green yarns.

One lesson moving forward with my knitting is to not get ahead of myself with my purchases. Sure there will be times that certain projects will jump ahead in my queue out of necessity (holidays, births, etc.), but I can't let those projects trump plans for a project that I am excited about knitting; especially one that I purchased new yarn to make. Maintaining fidelity to my stashed and purchased yarns is certainly goal-in-process, but one that was made concrete for me over my last year of knitting adventures.

In this vein, I am happy that I pulled one skein from my stash and matched it with two more new purchases. The me from 2009 would have purchased three new skeins (maybe even 4 if I couldn't make up my mind), and then worked the project, letting the perfectly suitable, lovely, and fantastic purple skein rest awhile longer in my stash. When would the old me ever have used that purple? I'm not sure. Hopefully the me of 2011 is more conscious and more creative.

I am very excited to cast on for this project - I think the scarf is going to be fantastic. It also uses a stitch that is new to me, the linen stitch. What a lovely fabric it produces!

A Finished Project

I can finally move something from the WIP column to the FP column! I completed the lace scarf last night and blocked it this morning. I love the way it looks, feels and drapes. I also love that the pattern completely hides all my mistakes!

Scarf complete!

The scarf for the husband is complete! Here are some pictures. I felt so proud when I saw him wear it to work on the first day of spring. I thought to myself, "hmmm, he probably won't be able to wear it for much longer this season." Then, this morning, we awoke to snow, snow, snow. Maybe finishing a scarf in March in Wisconsin is perfect timing afterall.



The lace scarf is up next to be finished, but I have now been sidetracked by preprations for a conference presentation next week in NYC. With us being out of town for the holiday weekend, I forsee many late nights in my future, and not much knitting.

Stuck on Scarf Island

Here's the progress on the two scarves in the queue. I'm certainly not breaking any speed records, but I think that I have made some respectable gains. Obviously neither are blocked - and won't be for some time - but this gives you and idea of where I'm at. The other picture is of a current project that is eating up some knitting time. I borrowed the book from my Mom. It's a great read so far and intriguing enough to keep me from my needles. Tonight is movie night for me and Dad, so maybe I'll make a move towards getting off this island.

Lace!

After two false starts I actually have some lace going! At first I was reversing the YO and instead of creating the necessary 'holes' I was just doing increases. Once I figured out what I was doing it is has been smooth sailing.

I have modified the pattern to fit better with my skill/comfort level so I am only doing three repeats (vs. the five in the pattern). I also added a couple of rows to the bottom border so that it better matches the side border. It took me about 45 minutes to get through the patterned 16 rows so we'll see how long this scarf actually becomes (maybe I'll get faster as I get more used to it?). I am really enjoying learning lace - but it is definately NOT naptime knitting. It requires too much focus; something that is in short supply with three kiddos!

...I will learn some lace.

Since I finished up the baby booties, my knitting queue is clear and I am free to create something for myself! I can hardly believe it. Yes, the scarf is still in the wings, as is the felted bag, and there are some more stockings to be knit for the advent calendar, but I am ready for a challenge...ready to learn something new.


The other week our family attended a benefit for Aubrey Poole. As the lone bidder on the one knitting item in the silent auction, I was delighed to win it! It was a knitting basket with three skeins of yarn (used to create the booties below), two sets of knitting patterns (scarves and sweaters) and a set of three knitting classes at a local knitting store, The Knitting Tree. I am very excited by all of these things! I can't wait to use the classes to try out some new things (cables) and have decided that my new project will be to learn some lace techniques by knitting up the Fern Lace Wrap from The Little Box of Scarves, by Melissa Matthay and Sheryl Thies. Here's to trying something new!

...I will blog "the scarf."

"The scarf" has been around for quite awhile. It was actually my very first knitting project when I re-learned how to knit. My friend Sara taught me in 2003 while we were living in NYC - she gets all the credit for my current knitting craze - but it was my grandmother (may she rest in peace) that first taught me how to knit when I was a little girl. I made the scarf for my (then) boyfriend (now husband). He loved it - or at least said he did. The colors and basic design were/are great, but what I didn't understand at the time was that stockingette stitch rolls up. This design element wasn't so great. So, it has been at least four years since I first knit that scarf and I have now decided to deconstruct it and start over in a rib stitch (3 by 3). It is coming along nicely, but I worry that using the recycled yarn is impacting the "look." I have hope that once I block it it will look great. Well...maybe at least I'll get another four years out of it before he asks for a new one altogether.

There is also "the sweater" that I started for him around the same time - yes, I got pompous and thought that once I completed a scarf I could knit anything - but that one is packed away in a box upstairs. Another story for another post...