I did manage to finish the little blue chenille bag in time for Saturday!
Over all, it wasn’t that tough but man, I swear I don’t care if I ever work with this stuff again! I wasn’t aware of any significant problems with my fingers until I went from the chenille to the nice sproingy wool scarf and my hands practically jumped up and down with glee :) I like the bag though; it has a lovely feel to it. Those braided ties will have to go, however. There’s just too much grab in the material and it makes opening and closing the bag quite a chore.
I also finished the scarf. In fact I enjoyed the working of it so much that I could hardly put it down :)
Having not worked much with variegated yarn that I’ve dyed myself, I wasn’t sure what to expect and there was some flashing which I don’t really think sullies the general overall appearance. But I will be trying to think of ways to either avoid this or take advantage of the tendency for future attempts. 4 oz. (approximately 130 grams) of heavy worsted weight yarn on size 9 US (5.5mm) needles produced a scarf 6.25” wide and about 48” long.
All I can tell you is that it makes me happy just to look at it and it’s a good thing it’s already in the Dulaan bag because if it were in constant view, I might be tempted to keep it :)
I got the heel turned on the cable sock…
...and it’s straight on down the foot now. I’m hoping to have these done for my next trip which leaves November 4th. I have never been terribly diligent about socks, but I’ll be trying to put in the necessary time to get this pair finished by then.
There’s also another scarf in the offing, but it exists more in potentia than in actuality. I started by pulling out little balls and remnants that were clogging up my work basket and starting something in simple garter stitch…
...which isn’t really tripping my trigger and will probably be frogged. But I like the range of colors and have been thinking all morning about what might be a nice way to use them together. I even have a couple of full balls of yarns in appropriate shades that I could throw into the mix if necessary. I’ve never been big on striping stuff, but the idea occurs that making the scarf by casting on the length rather than the width might be an amusing way to manage things. Certainly they would be long rows to work, but there wouldn’t be many of them! Slip stitch, maybe? Hmmmm….
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The scarf looks like a pretty sunset….someone will love having it. What is the pattern stitch? ‘Tis nice.
holy cow, you are knitting in overdrive! quite the productive weekend- i have to regrettably admit that i might have cast (ha-bad pun intended) a glance toward the pile of unfinished and unstarted projects waiting not so patiently for attention, but that was about as far as i got with anything-
a scarf knit lengthwise and perhaps striped randomly from your bits and bobs might be interesting- the only problem with making a scarf that way is the inevitable and eternal binding off row- that can seem to go on forever!
stay happy-
Hi Ann :) The stitch pattern is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s and you can find it in her post One Row Handspun Scarf (click on the name). It’s really easy, really pretty and lies flat!
A scarf knit lengthwise is a great way to do stripes. You can even make it self-fringing by leaving long tails at both ends and then later knotting them against the fabric. For a flat laying scarf, you might try seed stitch or linen stitch. Of course, there’s always good old garter but I think I’d try one of the others first.
Barb - I hear you about the bind-off row, but after having bound off a shawl edge, I don’t think this will bother me overly much :)
Charlotte - I love the look of seed stitch so that’s a possibility and linen (well, maybe half-linen) would give me the slipped stitch effect I was thinking about. I say half-linen because linen tends to work up very firmly and I’d like the scarf to be soft and drapey :) Maybe some of each?
A “firm” stitch worked on bigger than normal needles should drape nicely. I haven’t tried this but it’s logical.
Love the scarf and what a gorgeous color. I am not a fan of chenille either. The bag is adorable.
Maureen - I love the colors too - now all I have to do is figure out how to do it again. Maybe I’m looking at this wrong - maybe each batch of dyed yarn should be regarded as unique unto itself :) Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Robbyn: yes, each batch of yarn must be its own self.
On the bag: try rattail cord for ties. You could even double it if you found the two right blues.
It’s snowing here . . .
Amaryllis - Great minds think alike - I was thinking about rat-tail cord myself! Pretty stuff, nice and slippery so as to go through things easily :)
Well, I admit that it doesn’t take much arm twisting for me to agree that each batch of yarn is it’s own self - I’d say that’s my default feeling about it. Someday though, I’ll find a practical way to make a bigger batch of yarn in my tiny kitchen!
Very cute bag. What’s rat-tail cord?
Hi Marcy :) - Thanks about the bag. Rat-tail cord is a smooth, round, slender satin cord that you can get in fabric shops - usually in with the ribbons and stuff that you purchase by the yard. I always thought that was kind of an icky name for something so pretty!
