smariek knits

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Regina Scarf for MIL

Regina Cable Scarf for MIL

Pattern: Regina Cable Scarf
Yarn: Elann Luxury Merino Superwash, Ruby Red
Needles: 5mm (US8)

I still find it very frustrating to take photographs of any of my red colored knitting. The camera has a difficult time focusing. And when the camera does manage to focus, the photo is always "off" somehow.

Hey, this scarf looks a lot like the pink scarf I made last December! No, I didn't throw it into a pot of dye. I just finished a second one in red. This one is knit with the same yarn, Elann Luxury Merino Superwash, one of my current favorite yarns. Can you tell from how often I've used this yarn? The color is Ruby Red, which is currently out of stock. This scarf is a bit longer than the pink one. I used about 5.5 balls of yarn to work 12 repeats of the pattern for each half.

I started this scarf in January 2008 after my MIL commented on the pink Regina Scarf I wore. It was the first time she really commented on any knitwear I wore to her house. She rarely takes notice of my knitting, so I took this as a sign that she might like having a Regina Scarf of her own. This scarf should have been completed by March or April at the latest. I had knit the first half, then it spent months languishing on our living room sofa where more alluring knits called to me whenever I had a few minutes to knit a little bit. So I thought entering this scarf as my Ravelympics WIPs Wrestling project would help give me that extra push to finish off the scarf. And I really did chip away at it during that 17 day window. Really! Unfortunately I couldn't finish it before the Ravelympics deadline. I like to think that I would have finished the scarf during the last few days of Ravelympics -- I only had ~32 rows left, plus grafting the two halves and weaving in ends -- if it weren't for Miss M coming down with a nasty fever of 104ºF (40ºC), among other not so fun things.

Miss M is still sick so I've been taking care of her, trying to convince her that rest & liquids are best. She missed day care on Monday and I think she misses her friend K there, amosg all the other fun activities in day care. I don't think it is a coincidence that she has come down with something shortly after starting day care this month. We took her to see Dr. L yesterday for some reassurances and I thought it was interesting hearing how we could alternate acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 3 hours.

The bobbles in this scarf are worked by doing a 5 stitch increase, turning the work, and purling 5 stitches. During a short section of the scarf I tried to teach myself to knit backwards so I wouldn't have to keep turning the scarf. It was awkward at first, then I got the hang of it and it became easier. However I didn't feel this was a great improvement since it took me such a long time to purl backwards. Then I reverted back to my old ways, of turning my scarf every time I worked a bobble. There is a nice little article on Knitty about knitting backwards if you want to learn how this nifty technique.

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Sunday, August 24, 2008

Hera Scarf Pattern

Pattern: Hera Cable Scarf (see below for pattern)
Yarn: Elann Luxury Merino Superwash DK, Irish Moss , 7 balls
Needles: 5mm (US8)

Row-by-row instructions are now available! Isn't it ridiculous how long it has taken me to put together row-by-row instructions for this scarf? I made the chart back in May, made the chart available for download in June, and now we're creeping up to September. At least I got it all done this year. :-)

I actually found it more difficult to type up row-by-row instructions for this after not having looked at the pattern for such a long time. That'll teach me to procrastinate!

I designed the scarf on paper on May 3rd. The scarf started out a little rough as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, 3 cables or 5 cables? As I was trying out the 5-cable version, I ran into a little snag and had to frog. (I have some links in my sidebar about fixing cable mistakes; I was just too lazy or didn't have enough wine to tackle my particular cable which was a mixture of 3-stitch & 4-stitch cable crossings of either all knit stitches or combination knit/purl stitches). It was just as well. I just couldn't get a good marriage between that sport weight yarn and the 5-cable pattern due to the scratchiness of the yarn. It was definitely not next-to-skin soft thus wouldn't do for a scarf. On May 13, Vicki told me she preferred the 3-cable version. Sometimes it's good to get other people's opinion during the design process. :-) So this ended up being a 3-cable scarf with my favorite DK weight yarn, Elann Luxury Merino Superwash. The color is Irish Moss, which is really lovely when seen in person. In the end, I do like how this scarf turned out. Both 3-cable & 5-cable versions are available for download in chart format.

In June, the pattern become one small square in Benne's blanket; there was a followup post about Benne's Blanket here which has a link to the finished blanket. You must see it! There are some incredible squares in her blanket.

Hera Cable Scarf Pattern in chart format has been available for quite some time, look here:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2008/06/hera-scarf-sneak-peak-vest-progress.html

Hera Cable Scarf Pattern in row-by-row instructions format:
Triumph Scarf Pattern from Box.com (no registration required, just click on link & save file)

elann.com Peruvian Luxury Merino Superwash
100% Machine Washable Fine Merino Wool
21-22 st/4 inches 3.75-4.0 mm (US 5-6)
112 m (122 yards) per 50g (1.75 oz) ball
$3.98 USD per ball

Stitches used in the Hera Cable Scarf include:
Knit-Two Purl-Two Ribbing, BW1 pg 39
Loop The Loop, BW3 pg 119
Twin Waves, BW2 pg 189
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Saturday, August 23, 2008

Heart Dish Cloths

4 Embossed Hearts Cloths and Heart Lace Cloths

4 Embossed Hearts Cloths (hot blue & hot green)

Heart Lace Cloths (hot green & hot blue)

Since I picked up so much kitchen cotton this year, it was time for me to start using some of it! So I made some heart themed washcloths to make a "set" for gifting. They're all knit with Lily Sugar & Cream, in the "hot" colors. The hot green color is quite bright.

Heart Lace Cloth (hot blue)

Heart Lace Cloth (hot green)

Pattern: Heart Lace Cloth
Yarn: Lily Sugar & Cream
Needles: 4.5 mm (US7)

This cloth is a quick knit that can be done in a little over an hour. A little while back I added an alternative method for doing the D4 decrease, since some people were having difficulties with it. Give this one a try, you may find it easier to execute.

The alternative method for doing the D4 decrease, where you take the next 5 stitches and reduce it down to 1 stitch, is done as follows:

1. SSK.
2. K3Tog (knit 3 stitches together).
3. Pass the SSK stitch (from step #1) over the K3Tog stitch (from step #2).

There's always more than one way to shear a sheep... :-)

4 Embossed Hearts Cloth (hot green)

Pattern: 4 Embossed Hearts Cloth
Yarn: Lily Sugar & Cream
Needles: 4.5 mm (US7)

Here's Miss M helping me with photographing this cloth. She loves to move or pat the knitting. After receiving her "help", I should probably call this my Flattened Hearts Cloth! lol

Something I probably never mentioned before is that I was originally going to call this cloth "Windowpane Hearts". I've never been very good at naming things. People would probably like this cloth more if I had stuck with the more catchy "Windowpane Hearts" name instead of calling the pattern what it really is, which is "4 Embossed Hearts".

4 Embossed Hearts Cloth (hot blue)

To help make the hearts "pop" more, when you block the cloth, push up the hearts from the back side and press down on the purl background around the hearts.

Is blue and green an odd color combination? I wasn't sure how to pair up the hot green color. Did I mention that this is a really bright green color? I think you'd notice it more when you have the yarn in front of you.

Heart Lace Cloth and 4 Embossed Hearts Cloth

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Speaking of dishcloths, check out these cute Pacman cloths.

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Booking Through Thursday - Libraries

Whether you usually read off of your own book pile or from the library shelves NOW, chances are you started off with trips to the library. (There's no way my parents could otherwise have kept up with my book habit when I was 10.) So … What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have you any funny/odd memories of the library?

My first library was the Noe Valley branch on Jersey Street in San Francisco. I remember walking up the (many) stairs to the main (second) floor and then forward through to the children's section. I spent much of my time there as a kid. I can't recall if there was an elevator in the building (I don't think accessibility was a big thing back then), however I do know that the building has been closed for renovation recently and will probably have an elevator if there wasn't one before. My mom would take me to the library. Other times I would just walk the few blocks over to the library on my own. Yes, this was back in those days when it was safer for kids to walk about on their own. I used to walk to school too. I don't think parents would do that today because times have changed.

I vaguely recall a library van that went around the neighborhood with books you can check out. Unfortunatly I have no further details. My memory of this is quite hazy.

I remember library cards being green. Then there was a long period when I stopped going to the library. I guess I tended to buy more books during this period. Later on, I applied for a new library card and was surprised to find them white colored with a barcode/magnetic strip on the back. This was apparently in May 2006 cuz I happened to blog about it. I've checked out mostly children's books (for Miss M) since then. And then stopped using my San Francisco library card when we moved in September 2007. I remember being surprised at all the changes to the library system. Everything is computerized now. There are no longer small colorful due date papers slipped into pockets on the front cover of books. Or due dates stamped on a piece of paper that is on the book. The best part of these new changes is that we can do catalog searches online and renew books online.

The statue pictured on the library card is outside my current library.

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Friday Fill-In #86

This week Amy provided the questions; thank you, Amy! And...here we go!

1. Dancing to the music while people are watching makes me feel self-conscious.

2. The last time I went to Target (after dropping off Miss M at day care) I spent nearly three hours there!

3. When I drive I feel like I'm being tossed around like a ragdoll by all the other crazy drivers around me.

4. I saw my toddler standing on a stepstool, figuring out she could open the pantry door by doing this.

5. Give me hamachi (yellowtail), give me maguro, give me sake. I'm back on the sushi/sashimi eating boat again!!! :-)

6. Next week I am NOT looking forward to my doctor's appt.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to finishing Elann HUGe swap item #8, tomorrow my plans include taking care of Miss M who has a 104+ fever and Sunday, I want to veg!

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Miss M woke up early this morning and hasn't been feeling well since. She took a 1.5 hour nap in the morning after breakfast and when we took her temperature it was 104+ ºF! (That's 40+ ºC) I'm surprised that she is up and about in relatively good spirits for someone which such a high temperature. I remember having a 104ºF fever decades ago and I spent that time in bed feeling miserable.

I finished item #8 for the Elann HUGe 2008 swap. I haven't gotten around to taking photos of it yet. Now I have 2 more to complete and then mail all 10 to Theresa by October something. I haven't decided whether I will wrap each of them. I'm inclined to leave them "open" so Theresa can see what colors they are. I have the feeling she has a good idea of who would like which color when she is putting together the swap boxes.

Besides the heart dishcloths I made above, I did finish another one last week. It's a lacy dishcloth. I'll share photos of that one another day.

I've been meaning to frog my February Lady Sweater because I need to start over using smaller needles and make larger button holes for the buttons I got for the sweater. I just hadn't gotten around to doing this yet and now I'm afraid the yarn will be too "curly". Trish is using the same yarn, Elann Superwash Bamboo, for her February Lady Sweater and she has posted some interesting findings from swatching with this yarn.

I've been too busy lately to keep up with blog reading and notice that my blog reader says I have 1000+ posts to catch up on. Right now it feels like an overwhelming task to try to catch up. Would it be terribly wrong to mark them all as "read" and start over with a clean slate? Will the Blog Reading Police come after me if I do this?

On the other hand, I have found myself stealing a few minutes here and there to chip away at "A Suitable Vengeance" by Elizabeth George. I'm reading her novels out of order and am thrown off by the fact that (in this book) Thomas Lynley is about to marry Deborah Cotter because I know in later books he's actually married to Helen Clyde. I've made it halfway through the book without Miss M pulling out my book mark. :-)

And when I'm knitting in bed, I'm chipping away at "The Two Towers", book #2 in The Lord of the Rings series. This is an audio book. I love audio books as they allow me to knit at the same time.

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Triumph Cable Scarf Pattern

Triumph Cable Scarf

Pattern: Triumph Cable Scarf (see below for pattern)
Yarn: Elann Luxury Merino Superwash DK, Cafe au Lait
Needles: 5mm (US8)

Here it is! My Triumph Cable Scarf which I designed as my Cable Steeplechase and Scarf Stroke (Ravelympics event) project. I am so thrilled about being able to complete this scarf within the 17 day window. I just hope that watching the Summer Olympics wasn't a prerequisite for this because I did most of my knitting while catching up on other stuff I had Tivo'd. This is Cable Scarf #11 in my series of cable scarves.

I used about 4.5 balls of Elann Luxury Merino Superwash in the Cafe au Lait colorway. This yarn is soft soft soft for a "superwash" yarn, I think it is because of the Merino wool. The scarf measures 173 cm (68 inches). I hadn't yet decided whether I wanted to block the scarf, and didn't want the scarf to become overly long if I did eventually block it. I thought I would like the scarf more after a little blocking, so that the center cable panel can show itself better, however I later decided that I preferred the more "scrunched" up look. So no blocking for this scarf.

Note: Row-by-Row Pattern last updated 9/15/2008. Chart last updated 9/1/2008, corrected 2 squares on Row 1 of chart. Please download newer version(s) if you have a previous copy.

Triumph Cable Scarf Pattern in chart format has been available for quite some time, look here:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2008/07/triumph-cable-scarf-chart.html

Triumph Cable Scarf Pattern in row-by-row instructions format:
Triumph Scarf Pattern from Box.com (no registration required, just click on link & save file)

elann.com Peruvian Luxury Merino Superwash
100% Machine Washable Fine Merino Wool
21-22 st/4 inches 3.75-4.0 mm (US 5-6)
112 m (122 yards) per 50g (1.75 oz) ball
$3.98 USD per ball

Stitches used in the Triumph Cable Scarf include:
Four-Stitch Cable Crossed Every Fourth Row, BW1 pg 241
Knit-Two Purl-Two Ribbing, BW1 pg 39
Six Rib Knot Cable, BW3 pg 76

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Monday, August 18, 2008

3 balls out of 5

Triumph Cable Scarf, 3balls length

Woohoo! I've knit 3 balls out of 5 in my Triumph Scarf.

I've discovered that I was all wrong last week about how much progress I should be making each day on this scarf. My goal should not have been to knit x inches per day. Since I have only 5 balls of Elann Luxury Superwash DK yarn for this scarf, and knowing that I only have 17 days to knit this scarf, then I really should have figured on knitting 1 ball of yarn every 3 days, which should leave me with a little extra time to weave in ends. In this case, I am on schedule. :-)

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Check out this needle gauge made by Karastix. It is so cute! And it's exactly what I need! This 29 hole needle gauge is what I need for those in-between sizes most needle gauges don't measure (such as 3.0 mm). I experienced some needle discrepancies while knitting these fingerless mitts where some of my needles which were marked US2 / 2.75 mm were actually more like 3.0 mm (which is not quite US3 / 3.25 mm). Unfortunately the Susan Bates needle gauge I have does not measure those in-between sizes. So this needle gauge would be perfect! And you have to admit that the turtles are really cute.

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