Two Diagonal Scarves - Miles

This is Part 1 in a series on Two Diagonal Scarves - Miles and Flora.
The full series is Part 1 and Part 2.

Scroll down further for outlines on how to knit the Miles Scarf.

Miles Scarf (Side A on left; Side B on right)

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Pattern: Miles Scarf (pseudo pattern below)
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, mushroom color, 2 balls
Needles: 5 mm (US8)

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I finished this scarf two weeks ago and it has taken me this long to actually sit down and blog about it. I've also finished the Flora Scarf too, and will blog about it soon.

I needed a break from cable knitting because I suspect it has something to do with the wrist pain I've been experiencing. I thought it was time to do an easy, almost mindless knitting, knit purl type scarf. I wanted something with a diagonal theme to it and found several while browsing through my stitch dictionaries. I settled on this one for Miles, pattern # 61 from NKSL, which looked interesting, offering a bit of texture yet plain enough to be a "manly" scarf. It's perfect for the guy who doesn't want anything too fussy. Although it is not reversible, I find the back side not entirely unattractive. Yes, I know I could choose to do a knit purl pattern that runs diagonally and is completely reversible, but where is the fun in that? It's odd, I actually like the back side a little more than the front side. Here are photos of both sides. Side A is the one with the purple watermark. Side B is the one with the red watermark. Which side do you prefer? Can you tell which side is the "right" side and which is the "wrong" side?

Miles Scarf (Side A)

Miles Scarf (Side B)

As you can see, I am not above using acrylic/wool blend yarns that you can find at places like Jo-Ann or Michael's. I actually like acrylic/wool blends like Lion Brand Wool-Ease and Plymouth Encore. However I wasn't sure about this mushroom color Wool-Ease because it felt more scratchy than any other Wool-Ease I had used in the past. I think it might have something to do with the flecks of black that runs through the yarn. Also, I noticed that the label says it is 86% acrylic / 10% wool /4% rayon. I could have sworn that all the other Wool-Ease I used in the past were 80% acrylic / 20% wool. I'd take a guess that the black flecks make up the 4% rayon in the yarn. I wonder if I would like this mushroom color more if the yarn were softer.

See? I'm not limited to knitting cable scarves. I have a couple of other easy knit/purl type scarves too: Asherton Reversible Scarf; Winterbourne Scarf; Seeded Rib Reversible Scarf; Pythagorean Reversible Scarf.
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MILES SCARF
© Designed by S.M. Kahn, April 2008
Smariek Knits -=<>=- http://smariek.blogspot.com

YARN, NEEDLE & GAUGE:

Lion Brand Wool-Ease (worsted weight yarn), about 400 to 500 yards (more if you want a longer scarf)

5.0 mm (US8)

Guage is not critical. Use a needle size appropriate for the yarn you are using. Thicker yarn & larger needles will give you a larger scarf. Thinner yarn & smaller needles will give you a smaller scarf.

NOTES:

K = Knit

P = Purl

Wrong side even numbered rows can be read as: Work stitches as they present themselves. Viz. knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.


PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS:

Cast on 42 stitches (or 33 stitches for narrower scarf, or 51 stitches for wider scarf).

Knit 4 rows.

Row 1: K3, * K1, P1, K3, P4 *, K3
Row 2: K3, * K4, P3, K1, P1 *, K3
Row 3: K3, * P1, K1, P1, K3, P3 *, K3
Row 4: K3, * K3, P3, K1, P1, k1 *, K3
Row 5: K3, * P2, K1, P1, K3, P2 *, K3
Row 6: K3, * K2, P3, K1, P1, K2 *, K3
Row 7: K3, * P3, K1, P1, K3, P1 *, K3
Row 8: K3, * K1, P3, K1, P1, K3 *, K3
Row 9: K3, * P4, K1, P1, K3 *, K3
Row 10: K3, * P3, K1, P1, K4 *, K3
Row 11: K3, * K1, P4, K1, P1, K2 *, K3
Row 12: K3, * P2, K1, P1, K4, P1 *, K3
Row 13: K3, * K2, P4, K1, P1, K1 *, K3
Row 14: K3, * P1, K1, P1, K4, P2 *, K3
Row 15: K3, * K3, P4, K1, P1 *, K3
Row 16: K3, * K1, P1, K4, P3 *, K3
Row 17: K3, * P1, K3, P4, K1 *, K3
Row 18: K3, * P1, K4, P3, K1 *, K3

Repeat rows 1 to 18 for pattern.

Knit 4 rows.

Bind off. Weave in ends.

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Stitches used in this scarf include:
Garter Stitch, BW 1 pg 10
Pattern # 61, NKSL pg 42
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This is Part 1 in a series on Two Diagonal Scarves - Miles and Flora.
The full series is Part 1 and Part 2.

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More Sugar and Cream

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Lily Sugar & Cream yarn, Super Size 4 oz balls.

Does this happen to you? You walk into a store with the intention of buying A, but end up walking out with a bunch of B? Well this is what happened to me recently. I somehow ended up with a few balls of kitchen cotton yarn I really did not need. I mean, I have about 100 (2 oz) balls worth of kitchen cotton yarn (Lily Sugar & Cream, Elmore-Pisgah Peaches & Creme) which I bought years ago and am still slowly working through these. But I was weak and couldn't pass up these Super Size 4 oz. balls of yarn at 97 cents each. 97 cents!!! Would you be able to?

There are 6 balls of blue (Hot Blue color, I think), 4 different dye lots. If I look carefully I can almost discern the shade difference between lot numbers. I could have come away with 7 balls, but decided it was not right to do so, so I left one lonely ball of blue on the shelf. I mean, it would have been like taking the last cookie! Couldn't do it. I think the pink is called Hot Pink.

So now I have more Sugar & Cream, and nowhere to put it. The bag is sitting on top of a box in my closet. I have no more box space for yarn. (I even have some yarn tucked on a shelf on a small table which happens to be in the dining room right now (what do you call that piece of furniture that would usually go next to the sofa?). Nobody would really notice it for now, since the room isn't really being used for its intended purpose.

Anyhow, don't be too surprised if you see a lot of blue wash cloths in the future ... ;-)

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DH is funny. I'm lounging on the sofa trying to work on this 7 things meme which Claudia tagged me for aeons ago. These memes are difficult for me because there isn't much interesting going on in my life. As a stay at home mom with a 3 yr old, I could spend hours boring you with how we passed our day. Anyhow, back to what I meant to talk about. DH walks up to me, points to all the bags sitting on the back of our sofa, and asks what is the deal with all the bags and whether I need real bags. The bags were all my knitting WIPs, which each reside in their own little bag, some paper, some more sturdy canvas/fabric type bags. I currently have 7 bags perched up there on the sofa and leaning against the back wall. He wasn't just limiting this question to the bags in sight. He was also referring to the other bags that reside elsewhere in the house. No, I won't tell you how many there are. It's bad enough that I am admitting to 7 WIP bags.

I should explain that many of my bags are just the small shopping bags you get in stores. Think small Bath & Body Works bag or small Macy's bag (well, back when they did give out paper shopping bags), where the handle loops stick up. I love that they're the perfect size for small projects, and they're easy to pick up since the handles are up (as opposed to flopped over). When my WIPs aren't in these types of paper bags, I have other little bags/totes in various sizes too, but nothing I'd call the perfect all-purpose size bag. I guess I should mention one more reason I like these little paper bags. I can leave them in the car, and with their wide opening, passersby can see that they merely contain knitting and hopefully won't be tempted to break into my car for that. I'm afraid that a pretty or more expensive looknig bag would attract more attention and tempt more people to break into my car.

So DH hints that perhaps I should get some "real" bags, meaning replacing the paper bags with more permanent bags. Now don't get all excited here, I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it as a green light for tote bag shopping. I think it was more his bewilderment than anything else. Perhaps I should quietly move a few of these bags off the sofa and have one or two hanging out in the living room...

It's a good thing he hasn't noticed that I sometimes stuff 2 projects into one bag. I really have more WIPs than number of visible bags in the house.

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It's way too hot to knit anything today (or yesterday for that matter). It's 98ºF (37ºC) outside. Thank goodness it's around 75ºF (24ºC) inside the house. Having lived in San Francisco for decades, I am really not accustomed to this much heat! Despite the relatively cooler temperature indoors, I still have no desire to cover myself with wool regardless of how small it may be.

The challenge on these hot days is getting Miss M to take in more liquids. We didn't do too well yesterday. Today I introduced ice cubes to her and let her put them in the new water bottle (the pink one with straw) we got last week. I filled the bottle to the brim with water before hand, so I told her she needed to drink some water to make room for the ice cubes. I helped her with that this morning and we managed to make enough space for her to drop 8 ice cubes into the bottle! I tried this trick again after lunch today, this time she drank the water on her own (without my help), and managed to drop in 4 ice cubes. I don't know how long this trick will last. The newness of anything wears off pretty quickly when it comes to toddlers. I'm just glad she hasn't yet figured out that she can merely pour the contents of the water bottle to make space for ice cubes!

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Knitting Standstill, Done In By Cables

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Knitting has come to a standstill as I'm faced with the blunder I made about 20 rows back. See that elongated "C" curve in the upper half of the photo? Well there should be a cable crossing similar to the one you see in the lower half of the photo. I can't believe I didn't catch the mistake sooner. Now I am faced with trying to unravel this section and hope I can work all the cable crossings correctly as I go up, or tediously tink back over 1350 stitches to correct my mistake. I should add that I'm knitting this on 3.25 mm (US3) needles and it is difficult to see well with this dark green yarn.

What would you do in this situation?

I tinked back 2 rows and was completely done in. I frogged the entire piece.

Now I need to work up to casting on again. I'm not sure if I'll actually complete this. I like the pattern but don't like it in this sport weight yarn, however the width too wide if I use the DK weight yarn I really want for this project. It can be challenging to find a good marriage between yarn and pattern, especially when one is making an effort to shop the (very modest sized) stash.

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We're expecting a little heat wave tomorrow and the next day. I may even get to turn on the air conditioner. It feels so strange to have air conditioning. We never had it in San Francisco. Didn't need it there. If it gets unbearable, I may treat Miss M to some Jamba Juice...

I find it difficult to knit with wool on such hot days. Who wants wool draped over one's lap when it's 75ºF (24ºC) and up?

ETA: It's expected to be 92ºF (33ºC) and 99ºF (37ºC)respectively on Tues & Wed, in Sunnyvale, CA.

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I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

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Four Things Meme

Four jobs I've had:
1. Sales person at a department store (which no longer exists).
2. Support staff & factotum at a software company (which no longer exists).
3. IT staff at an investment banking firm (which no longer exists ... do you see a trend?).
4. Network/System Administrator at an accounting firm (one of the Big Four firms, so it still exists).

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Pride and Prejudice (Colin Firth / Jennifer Ehle)
2. Dogma (Matt Damon / Ben Affleck)
3. Much Ado About Nothing (Kenneth Branaugh / Emma Thompson)
4. Le Comte de Monte Cristo (Gérard Depardieu)

Four places where I have lived:
1. San Francisco, CA
2. Davis, CA
3. Sunnyvale, CA
4. Well, that's it...

Four TV shows I watch:
1. Doctor Who
2. Battlestar Gallactica
3. CSI
4. American Idol (guilty pleasure of mine)

Four places I've visited:
1. Nashua, New Hampshire (which had been named the Best Place to Live in the US in 1987 and 1997)
2. Hong Kong (before 1997)
3. Paris (France)
4. Vancouver (Canada)

Four favorite foods:
1. Sashimi (and Nigiri)
2. Chocolate
3. Rib Eye Steak
4. Dim Sum

Four sites I (try to) visit (almost) daily (or weekly):
1. Gmail (email)
2. Elann (chat site and shopping)
3. SF Gate (local news)
4. Pixels from the Orient (following my friend's vacation in China/HK)

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. On the sofa, knitting.
2. Big Island, Hawaii (Kauai comes in second. Oh heck, I'd be happy anywhere in HI, lol ... except for that black sand beach I went to that was overrun by ginormous healthy ants)
3. Paris, France
4. Healdsburg, CA (Grape Leaf Inn B&B and wine tasting in Sonoma)


Four things I'm looking forward to this year:
1. Using my $50 Elann Credit (what to get?).
2. A mini-vacation with Miss M (Monterey & Carmel, CA ... yes, it's already set in stone!).
3. A mini-vacation without Miss M (still trying to work out the details).
4. Putting up our Christmas tree.


Four people I'm (not) tagging:
1.
2.
3.
4.

If you want to play, please leave a comment with your blog url so I can visit and see your post. :-)

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This is insane

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Fuel price on 5 May 2008 at San Antonio & Charleston, Mountain View, CA
$3.99/gal unleaded; $4.25/gal super unleaded

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Fuel price on 5 May 2008 at Fair Oaks & Old San Francisco Rd, Sunnyvale, CA
$3.99/gal unleaded; $4.23/gal super unleaded

This is insane. I bet regular unleaded has already passed 4 bucks in San Francisco. I'm guessing that the Chevron(?) at 19th Avenue & Junipero Serra in San Francisco, which is usually higher priced compared to other stations, has passed the $4 mark a long time ago. (I used to drive past that station often and used to note that they were a little higher priced).

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I've been playing around with Microsoft Sync Toy, a free tool that can help you backup your files to another location. You can specify 5 different methods for backing up or synchronizing your data. I did not have any fancy method for backing up data in the past, I merely manually copied folders (only 4, so not such a big deal... just don't ask how wide and deep those folders are) to an external drive. So far I've only used Sync Toy once and it seems to work OK. I won't really get a good feel for it until the next time I back up. I do like how they've made the interface relatively easy for setting up source destination and target destination.

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I had an appointment with a hand doctor (orthopedic surgeon) about the hard lump at the base the ring finger on my right hand. It turned out to be a ganglion cyst. He said I had three options: wait and see if it goes away on its own; aspirate it; surgery. Surgery seemed like a last resort solution. Aspiration did not appeal to me since I did not like needles. So I was leaning towards the wait and see. However Dr. S noted that the cyst must have bothered me quite a bit for me to land on his doorstep. So I agreed to being briefly tortured by the suction syringe. Like (most) blood draws, I just could not look during this procedure. And as brief as it was, these things always feel sempiternal. The lump is much smaller now and my hand is just a little sore. Most importantly, it has not affected my ability to knit. :-)

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I've been thinking about my drinking water lately after the buzz about bisphenol A (BPA) from water bottles leaching into water and decided that I needed to replace my old Nalgene polycarbonate water bottles with something safer. I'm also wondering what Miss M's sippy cups are constructed from. I love my Nalgene bottles. I have used them for years and think they are great. Now I need to try to find an alternate use for them.

My old Nalgene bottles, made of polycarbonate.

Here is a Consumer Reports Article for some more info:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/consumer-protection/recalls-and-safety-alerts-5-08/plastic-ingredients-in-bottles-and-cans/recalls-plastic.htm

Here's the gist of it:

-- Bottles marked #3, #6, #7, and PC could be unsafe.

-- Bottles which are safe include: #1 PETE; #2 HPDE; #4 LDPE, #5 PP. #1 bottles tend to be single use water/soda type bottles. Some #7 bottles are BPA-free, made with polyethersulfone (PES), and won't have the "PC" marking.

-- BPA-free plastic alternatives include: polyethelene; stainless steel; aluminum with BPA-free liners.

So off I went to research my water bottle alternatives. I did not want one of those soft plastic bottles that made water taste and smell like plastic. Yuck.



Sigg bottles, made of aluminum with a liner inside, seemed like a good light weight alternative and they came in lots of different colors and designs. However I was concerned about the integrity of the liner over time.



Klean Kanteen makes stainless steel bottles. I loved the idea. They are a bit heavier, however I was surprised to find the bottles lighter than I expected when I picked one up (although I might think differently after filling a 40 oz bottle with water). The only drawback to the Sigg and Klean Kanteen bottles are the price. How much did I want to spend on water bottles?



Nalgene now offers BPA-free bottles, however I was only able to find one, the OTG. I loved how the bottle felt in my hand. I nixed it from my list due to the lid construction. The carry loop is on the flip-up lid. I could just see this getting loose over time and then not sealing properly. A bottle is pretty useless when it is not watertight.

Camelbak makes a Better Bottle and a Better Bottle with Classic Cap, both in 500 mL, 750 mL, and 1000 mL sizes. The Classic Cap is just a screw on lid; there's a loop for you to hold it or clip it onto something using a carabiner. The Better Bottle has a spout that folds up for drinking and folds down when not in use (thereby keeping it cleaner). It's great! This bottle does not leak. Turn it upside-down, nothing drips out, even with the spout up. What's the trick? Well, you have to bite down on the valve (spout) to sip water. There's a straw inside, so you can sip water from it while holding it upright. If that feels weird to you, you can remove the straw insert and then turn the bottle upside-down to drink from it. Ok, cleaning this thing does take a little more effort than a regular screw-on top, but it doesn't bother me too much since I'm already used to cleaning all the extra parts (valves, straws) from Miss M's various sippy/straw cups. The Camelbak bottles are dishwasher safe in the top rack. I'm not sure how one would get the larger bottle in the top rack but it's no a big deal for me since I wash my water bottles by hand.

Camelbak Better Bottle and Camelbak Better Bottle with Classic Lid.

I picked up 6 bottles to try out, 2 in each size. The two 1 L bottles (gray and blue, back left) have the flip-up spout. The two 750 mL bottles (orange and pink, back right) have regular caps. The two bottles in front (pink and green) are 500 mL (16 oz) and fit great in my car cup holder; one has the flip-up spout and the other has a regular cap. I made a point to get the 500 mL flip-up spout so Miss M could drink from it (in the car) without spilling. She figured out the bite & sip technique pretty quickly.

Here's a sticker on the bottle:

Sticker on Camelbak Better Bottle.

Of course there will be times when I won't want to hold a water bottle or when I don't have room in my bag for a water bottle, so I will use a biner to clip it onto my bag. I actually have a load bearing carabiner (Trango Superfly), although any "toy" carabiner would also work great for a water bottle. However, using a biner with a screwlock would be overkill, unless you are extremely attached to your water bottle and it would be the end of the world if you ever lose it.

Trango Superfly Straight Gate Carabiner.

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Oh, I did finish a scarf, but I haven't had time to blog about it. So here are some photos, I'll tell you more about it later.


Miles Scarf, Side A on left, Side B on right.

Miles Scarf, Side A.

Miles Scarf, Side B.

All I have to say is that I like the pattern, but hate the color of this yarn.

Ok, time for bed. I have an early morning tomorrow. :-( And yes, I do realize it is after midnight. So much for knitting tonight...

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